Chapter 422.

"Hope and her new friend."

(Pertland Mansion.)

Hope opens her eyes and she looks around, she then sees the time is around 6 in the morning. "Why the heck did I set my alarm to that time?" She then turns it off and she sees something at the foot of her bed and she smiles.

On the foot of her bed, is a puppy, the very same puppy she found outside the mall after she spoke with Leni.

The puppy is light brown, but has a tuft of fur around the neck that has some stones onto it, the tail is curled up and there are dark brown colors on its feet. It has light blue eyes, dark brown patches on the ends of its ears and a dark brown muzzle and a pink nose.

The little guy has some bandages on it, and he sleeps soundly on her comfortable bed. Hope then scooches closer and she runs her hand through his fur and then he opens his eyes and smiles seeing Hope and barks.

Hope chuckles and she smiles. "Hey there little fella. You feeling okay?"

The little brown puppy barks and the tries to get up, but hi leg is hurt still and so Hope goes over and picks him up and lets him rest on her lap. "Easy there, I don't know how you hurt yourself, but I am not gonna let you go through this pain any longer. The issue is, I don't know how to treat an injury."

Hope feels saddened that she can't help this little guy, the puppy also feels sad seeing her upset and he licks her nose and this makes her smile, then Hope has an idea. "I think I know who can help you."

She then places the puppy onto a large pillow on the ground. "Wait here, I'll be back. I need to do something first okay?" The puppy barks and so Hope grabs her phone and she goes to the bathroom and she sends a text to someone she is still in contact with.

Hope – Gretch, I need to know. Delilah's mom is a veterinarian, so can she help heal an animal that might not be an animal at all?

Gretchen – If you mean by something like my Yamper, than sure she can. Delilah said that her mom has been reading and is now a certified Pokémon medic at the local Veterinarians place. Why? What's wrong?

Hope – I have something with me, I need help. He's hurt, but he's okay and he needs medical treatment.

Gretchen – I'll get Delilah and the others, and then she'll tell her mom and we can see what we can do. Go to the Royal Woods Animal Health Clinic, we'll meet and wait for you there.

Hope – Okay, thank you Gretchen. Thank you.

Gretchen – What are friends for? See you there Hope.

Hope sighs and she looks to herself in the mirror. 'Well, looks like I should take Leni's advice to word and change who I am, especially from the past.' Then she gets a text from someone else.

Leslie – Hope, we need to talk, now!

Hope sighs and she locks her phone and looks to herself in the mirror. 'There's no turning back now, I have to help this little guy and change for the better.' She then looks to her bracelet with the name of Leslie. 'Even if it means, I need to cut ties with those I once called, friends.'

Hope removes the bracelet and just keeps it in her pocket. She now has seen the new path and sure as heck she's not gonna let Leslie and the others get in her way to help this puppy.

(Later.)

Hope walks out of her mansion and with her is a large tote bag, but in the tote bag is the puppy she found and she's wearing some winter clothing. The puppy looks to her and barks.

"Quiet little guy, we don't wanna alarm…." Hope stops and sees four girls by her limo. "Anyone else."

Leslie, Karen, Regina and Chastity look to Hope. "Hey Hope, what are you doing today?" asked Karen.

"Did you get Leslie's text what we all wanna talk to you?" asked Regina.

"What's in the bag and where are you off to with that winter attire?" asked Chastity.

Hope backs away and she makes sure the bag is not seen by the girls, she then sees Leslie and her stern face, she is ticked off and she slowly walks towards her. "Hope Pertland, the one person I see as my best friend. You know, we have been through so much since we met and I always thought you would always be by my side and never betray me."

Hope is nervous about this, and she does her best to calm down the puppy in her bag.

"We have played, laughed and talked so much about ourselves, well about me of course and you have followed me and my all my orders and through all the plans we've made, you were always there to follow me and to continue to do so, just as the others would. But Gretchen she was a fool and an idiot!"

"And now I need to know, Hope are you an idiot or are you with me?" asked Leslie. "Because if so, then why the heck were you talking with Lincoln's older dumb sister at the mall last night? Because you told us you weren't feeling well from eating squid, the one thing you're allergic to."

Hope is shocked. They know, they saw her and now she's in trouble. "Leslie, please. I need to go now."

"Where?" asked Leslie. "Where are you planning to go in such a hurry and what's with the bag? What's in there? Bring it to me! Show me what's inside Hope! That's an order!"

Hope was now feeling fearful, sure Gretchen can stand up to her, but Hope can't and now she sees why Gretchen left their group. Leslie truly is not her friends and more like one of those enemies who would always come back and fail in their attempts to take down Lincoln and Jordan.

"N-No, can't show you what's in here. Let me go, please Leslie."

Leslie sighs. "Fine, so be it." She snaps her fingers and Karen, Regina and Chastity surround the girl and are ready to go for her. "One more chance, bestie. What's in the bag? Show me what's in there. Bring it to me, now!"

Hope sheds some tears and looks around, there is no way out and nowhere to run. The butlers and maids in her home see this and are now worried for her.

Hope looks into the bag and sees the concerned face from the puppy. "Don't worry, I won't let them get you. I promise."

"Who is that? What are you talking to?!" yelled Regina. "Give us the bag!" But before she can attack, Patriot swoops down and attacks her hair. "AAARRGGH! What the heck?! Get this thing off of me!"

Then Artemis, Freya and Bullets comes down and they attack the rest of the rich girls. Regina, Karen, Chastity and Leslie were now getting scratched and hair messed up in the hands of three bald eagles and one Stellar's Sea Eagle.

Hope sees her window of opportunity and she runs to her limo, the driver is already inside. "Royal Woods Animal Clinic, and step on it!"

"Yes Miss Pertland!" The driver floors it and they drive away from the scene, soon the eagles take back to the skies and they follow Hope and watch over her ride.

Leslie and the others see this and Leslie is fuming with anger. "Come on!" They're hair may be a mess, but they were not gonna let Hope get away with what she has in her bag, and so they get into Leslie's limo and they drive off.

The maids and butlers of Hope sees this, then the grand leader of the group looks to them. "Everyone, it appears Miss Pertland has changed just as Miss Warwick has. We all know what to do."

They all smile and nod, they begin to grab the things from the mansion and pack them in boxes. They have been waiting for Hope to stop being mean, and to follow the same path Gretchen is on. Now, the secret plan to move is in motion.

(Somewhere on the road.)

Hope's limo continues to drive, but not far behind is Leslie and her friends. "Go! Faster! After them!" yelled Leslie. "Make this thing go faster, dang it!"

Hope sees the other limo. "Oh no. We have to shake her off."

The driver sees something. "I think I know what to do. Hang on Miss Pertland, time to see if my high school days in Go-Karts is still with me."

Hope is shocked and confused. "Wait what?"

The driver then spins the limo out of control and Hope buckles up and holds onto the bag with the puppy inside. The limo spinning out of control make Leslie's limo driver panic and he drives to the left, but he accidently drives onto a ramp and Leslie's limo is sent flying and the girls inside scream while the driver plays a violin.

The Silver Limo then lands smack into the center of Tall Timber's Lake and slowly sinks into the water.

Hope's limo stops and the driver sighs. He then looks at the back. "Are you alright there Miss Pertland?"

Hope takes a moment to breathe. "Y-Yeah, peachy." The puppy pops out of the bag and licks her cheek.

The driver smiles and they drive off. "Next stop, the Royal Woods Animal clinic."

As the limo drives away, Leslie and her friends are now at the roof of the limo and it floats back up. They came prepared and the limo comes with some pontoons to keep it afloat when they hit water. Leslie sees the limo drive away.

"They're getting away! After them!"

The driver then turns on the grappling hook of the car. "Miss, we didn't install an engine for water travel, you just wanted the floating part and not the engine part, but we only have this to get us out of the water."

But the grappling hook latched onto the back of the… Abomasnow, yeah they know this big and angry guy. The girls see the large Pokémon grab the rope and pull them close to him and he is angry. Leslie sighs. "Oh poop."

(Royal Woods Animal Clinic.)

Hope's limo arrives and she gets out of the limo and sees Ryan Rosato, Gretchen Warwick with her Yamper, Delilah Silver with her Stunky and also with them are two people she has yet to make up to, Lincoln Loud and Jordan Rosato and with them are the eagles, and Luna and Leni.

Hope tries to speak. "I…. Guys i…" then Helena Silver comes out and goes to Hope.

"You said that something was wrong."

Hope nods and she shows her what was in her tote bag and they see the puppy pop out and bark at them with joy, then they see the bandage on his right paw.

Helena looks to the injury. "He looks fine, I need to run some scans to see how much damage is in here. Come with me." Hope carries the puppy and they go into the animal clinic, though Rockruff is curious at the Yamper with Gretchen and wants to play with him.

They pass by the waiting room and see no one else waiting, which means they just opened and they go into her work station and she places the puppy onto the bed. She then uses the scanner to scan the puppy.

The little guy is nervous, but Hope holds his other paw and this calms him down. "Easy there boy, calm down. They're gonna help you, I promise."

Jordan then asks. "Do you know what kind of dog or animal is he?"

Hope looks to them. "No, what kind of dog? Also, what do you mean what kind of animal?"

Delilah then goes to the screen on the wall and she turns it on, the screen shows the puppy that was scanned and brings out some information and they all see what he is.

Rockruff – The Puppy Pokémon: a little dog looking Pokémon that is rock-type and can be able to evolve into three forms: Lycanroc Midday, Lycanroc Midnight and Lycanroc Dusk.

They are loyal, friendly and are known to fight off those who threaten they're partner of trainer. Some have been known to get into a slight rougher as they grow up and through this have been abandoned.

When they rub the rocks on their neck onto you, then it is a sign that they love you, but the rocks are sharp so precaution is advised. They truly love their trainer and will soon share a bond that could last for as long as they stand, even in their evolved forms.

Hope is amazed by this information and smiles. "Wow. So, his name is Rockruff and he's a Pokémon, I knew those creatures in the park looked so familiar, I know them from when I was younger."

This shocks them. "You know Pokémon?" asked Lincoln.

Hope nods and she looks to the puppy who looks to her. "I've played the game and I have some plush toys and other merchandise, I hid them from the others because I thought they'd think it was stupid. Then I saw Gretchen and her Yamper and then I thought, maybe it was best I showed what I loved back then."

This shocks all of them and Ryan faints onto the chair and Yamper goes over and licks his face to wake him up.

Helena then finishes the scan. "Looks like his foot is just hurt, but I can patch it up with something I learned from FutureTech through they're Pokémon healing lessons." She then grabs a special kind of spray and she applied it to the injured foot of the Rockruff.

The Rockruff is feeling harmed and cringes in pain, but Hope does whatever she can to comfort the little fella. Delilah then goes over and she bandages the Rockruff's foot and Skuntank hands her some more bandaging.

Then Helena gives the little rock-type puppy a berry and he eats it and smiles with joy. She then brings out a sack of the Pokémon food. "This will keep him healthy and happy as the right kind of meal for him, along with some berries for added flavor."

Helena nods. "Thank you ma'am." She then looks towards the puppy. "Also, I don't know where else he should go, he seems kinda happy to be with me after I found him."

"Where did you find this Rockruff?" asked Ryan.

"At the mall, last night. I was headed back to my limo, but then I saw him underneath some old newspapers and he was so cold and hungry and so I brought him home to tend to his injuries and also help him stay warm and give him some food and water. So I fed him some warm milk."

Helena smiles. "That's nice of you dear, what you did was the right thing. Also, I think its best he stays with you. He really does seem fond of you."

The Rockruff looks to Hope and slowly walks towards her and she picks him up and hugs him. "Hey there little guy. Did you hear that? You get to stay with me." She then kisses his cheek and the Rockruff licks her cheek and this makes her giggle. "You're so cute."

"Just keep an eye on him and don't let him move around too much, chances that injury could get worse if he moves around" said Delilah. "Give him till Sunday and he'll be fine again."

"I will thank you, and I'll pay for whatever he needs and the payment for this treatment" said Hope. The others smiled, they didn't know what Leni said to her or what she did at the mall last night, but they can see that it' working and she's changing.

They walk out of the animal clinic with the Rockruff in Hope's arms. "So, we kinda figured you'd run into trouble and that's the very reason why we sent the eagles to go to your home" said Lincoln.

"Oh, well thanks. I did have some trouble with Leslie and the others and I didn't know what to do" said Hope. She seems very uncomfortable.

"Something wrong Hope?" asked Jordan.

"It's nothing, nothing at all. Thanks guys, thank you." Hope then goes back into her limo and she drives off.

They all watch her leave, but deep down they know things are changing into something better. "So, she's changing now. Changing from the path she once followed" said Ryan.

"I guess she is, straying away from her former best friend and crew and now she has a new look on things" said Jordan.

"But she does seem upset, almost like she wants to tell us something but doesn't know how to" said Lincoln.

"Because she's scared." they look to Gretchen who seems concerned. "She must've done something, or has evaded Leslie to keep the Rockruff safe. So, I guess it makes sense and the other fear is towards Lincoln and Jordan."

Lincoln sighs. "That makes sense. You think you can get her to talk to us? All of us?"

Gretchen knows what the plan is. "Sure. Besides, she just moved into the Rose Street Neighborhood."

Ryan and Jordan are confused and look to her. "What?"

(Pertland Limo.)

The limo continues its drive and Hope has the Rockruff on her lap and sleeping. "Driver, take me back home, I need to talk to my parents about some things and about my problems."

"No need to worry Miss Pertland, home is not so far than you thought now" said the driver.

Hope is confused. "What?"

To be continued…..

A/N: Hope has changed, she has strayed away from the path of the bad and rich girls and all it took was her finding the Rockruff and on the next chapter, she is going to speak with Lincoln and the others and how she's been handling issues when she sided with Leslie. Leave a review and tell me what you all think.

Date made: 12/1/20.