Chapter 423.

"A Hope's Change."

(Rose Street.)

Somewhere within Rose Street, the snow is falling slowly and peacefully onto the two neighboring mansions, one belonging to the Rosato Family and the other to the Warwick family, but there is another mansion nearby.

Just across the street from the Warwick mansion, is a mansion that belongs to another rich girl, well a former rich girl and here she comes now.

Walking out of the mansion and wearing sky blue and green snow gear and with her in her tote bag is Rockruff. Hope Pertland, her long brown hair has been made into a ponytail and she sees the two mansions and she looks both ways of the road and then she crosses it.

She makes it to the other side and she walks up to the Warwick house. She takes in a deep breath and she knocks. 'Okay, don't be nervous, she's a friend just like anyone else you wanna be friends with.'

The door opens and the butler with a white mustache smiles seeing her. "Ah, I see you have arrived."

Then someone opens the door wider and it was Gretchen and she's in her snow clothing. "Hi Hope, glad you made it." Then Yamper comes towards them and he runs around Hope and barks with joy.

Hope is nervous about him. "He won't hurt me, will he?"

Gretchen smiles. "Nope. After what you did and how nice you were to take care of this little guy and try to gain trust from everyone else, he doesn't see you as a bad person. Right Yamper?"

The Yamper barks and looks to Rockruff and both dog-like Pokémon are excited to see each other, but Rockruff is still hurt and can't be allowed to run around.

Hope pets the head of Yamper and this makes the electric corgi smile and bark and sparks emanate from his cheeks. "Umm, is this normal?"

Gretchen smirks. "Wait for it." Yamper then let's loose a powerful thunder bolt and it goes into the sky and travels to the newly rebuilt FutureTech reactor that powers the town and it absorbs the lightning and boosts the power to all homes. "And nailed it."

Hope is confused. "Where did it go?"

"Where else? The new Royal Woods power reactor, which is a self-sustaining power core that'll keep the town with power for a long, long time" said Gretchen. She walks out of her home and she and Hope walk away from the mansion. "The whole place was made by FutureTech and now with the big changes, they intend to spread this word to all other cities to have their power sources changed to environmentally friendly power plants."

"Wow. That's nice, my dad will be interested in that when he hears about it" said Hope.

Gretchen is confused. "I thought your dad worked for Leslie and her dad's company?"

"Not anymore" replied Hope. "Leslie doesn't know either, but my dad got a new job and he's the second command to the power plants located in Bay City, my mom also got a new job as well. She runs her own hotel somewhere in Bay City as well."

"Wow. That's convenient." They see Jordan is the one who said that, and with her are Ryan and Lincoln and three of them are waiting next to Luna with her car nearby and the eagles on their shoulder. Well, Patriot, Valkyrie, Artemis, Freya and Bullets.

Hope is nervous and backs away slowly. "Whoa. Easy there dude, we're not gonna hurt you or get angry. We wanna talk to ya" said Luna.

Hope is still nervous about this and looks down with sadness and guilt. Gretchen goes over to her. "Hope, I know it all went down fast when you defied Leslie and didn't wanna be part of hew crew. But at least let them speak to you and you can speak as well, we know you did wrong, but what you did was from the influence of Leslie and we want to help you make new friends, us, them and me."

Lincoln walks up to her. "Hope, we know what you have went through and we wanna be there to help you, so let us help you. Please."

Hope feels a bit nervous about this, but she does wanna see where this goes and speak with all of them and she know she has to speak with all of them. She nods. "O-Okay."

They all go towards Luna's car, which confuses Hope. "We're not taking a limo there?"

Gretchen holds her hand. "Hope, the best way to understand your friends is to get to know what they do in their daily life, and being away from a limo is a good start."

Hope didn't seem to feel comfortable doing this, but she joins them and she goes in first in the back seat of Luna's car, followed by Gretchen with her Yamper on her lap and then Ryan. While Lincoln and Jordan ride the passenger's seat, next to Luna and the rocker teen girl turns the ignition and they drive off.

The eagles take to the skies and keep an eye on them for any signs of a limo following and luckily, there is none. But just in case, a Duskwing gunship follows them and is in stealth mode.

Hope looks around the purple car from the loud sister and she sees it's not as big as the limo's she's used to and she sees Gretchen and Ryan talking to each other and Yamper having a conversation with Rockruff and then she sees Lincoln and Jordan talking to each other.

Hope then sees Luna looking to her with the rear view mirror. "How you doing there Hope?"

Hope remains silent, she doesn't know what else to say and the others notice this. They can tell this is new to her, but one person knows how she feels, and that person is Gretchen, oh and also Ryan too.

Hope had no clue what to do or what to even say. 'This is all so different and I'm confused at what I should even do. I've never done this before, making new friends. But, as long as Gretchen is there to help me, then I think I can do that and change for the better.'

But she forgot, that she has the old friendship bracelet in her pocket, the one bearing the name of Leslie Silver.

(Ketcham Park.)

They arrive to the park and they walk into the place and look around for some friends of they're and sure enough they see them.

They combined the picnic benches to make it into one big bench for all of them to enjoy. Whose there at the park and waiting for them?

Simon, Stella, Liam, Tabby, Clyde, Chloe, Zach, Giggles, Rusty, Polly, Lance, Artie, Trent, Joy, Kat, Cookie, Jenny, Flat Tire, Cristina, Richie, Chad, Hassan, Emma, Paige, Renee, Haiku, Allison, Laurence, Darrel, Delilah, Sam, Luan, Lucy and Leni.

Seeing them was making Hope even more nervous than she was before, all of them are friends with Lincoln and Jordan and are also friends with Gretchen and Ryan and the sisters of Lincoln are there, well some of them and also there is the second eldest, Leni.

They all see them walk towards the benches and they all greet each other, but Hope stops walking and looks to all of them. Which they all notice. "Hope?" asked Gretchen.

Hope is frozen in place, like she has no clue what to do. But then she sees Yamper nudge her to move, and then she sees her Rockruff smiling and licks her cheek, the way he wants her to go and interact with them was giving her some courage and so she walks towards them.

"H-Hello everyone."

Leni is the first one to walk towards her. "Hi Hope, glad you could make it." She then hugs the girl and this makes Hope blush and feel nervous.

"Umm, thank you…. Leni, can you let me go."

Leni does so and smiles. "Sorry, but I know someone like you needed that after all the bad things you've done and all the troubles you got yourself into." Leni then sees the puppy Pokémon. "And this must be the new friends you made right?"

Hope nods. "Y-Yeah, I found him after we spoke at the mall and I couldn't just let him be out in the cold. He needed help and….. A friend."

Leni and the others smile hearing this. Hope is trying to change and it seems this Pokémon is guiding her to that new life that could make her into someone better.

Gretchen then goes towards Hope. "Come on, we have a lot to talk about." Hope follows her and they all sit together and look to the girl.

Then Luan and the others brought out the picnic baskets with them and they brought some warm food and thanks to Lynn Sr. Luan, Lucy and Luna brought with them some thermoses with some delicious hot cocoa for them to enjoy.

Hope sees all of them have brought something, but she has nothing. "Sorry, I didn't know we were supposed to bring…"

"No, it's okay" said Stella. "You're new to this, and we wanna hear you out on what you have to say to us. Here." She hands Hope a sandwich and she accepts it and she takes a bite, it's an egg salad sandwich and she takes a piece and she gives it to Rockruff who eats it as well.

"So, we know about what happened between you and Leslie, sort of" said Jenny. "But we don't know the whole story between you and…."

"I don't wanna be her friend anymore, I don't wanna be her best friend anymore" replied Hope. They all remain silent. Hope then stops eating. "I thought, I thought that following her would make me happy, but after what Leni talked to me in the mall… I never bothered to wonder what makes me happy, and Leslie never bothered to ask me either."

"Ever since I first met Leslie all those years ago in kindergarten, she was the first person to be my friend and she was so nice….. Then things changed and it went south real fast, she as different and she sought for happiness, her own happiness and to get what she wants and I fell in line."

Gretchen recalls that one, she also fell in line and it didn't go so well for her.

Hope sighs. "Even though Leni spoke words that were, kinda convincing. The real fact of me seeing my errors, was when Leslie wanted….. The baby."

That one was a deep wound and scratch to Lincoln and Jordan, someone demanding to have the baby was something both preteens did not like and it made them hate Leslie even more to take an innocent infant. Who knows what could've happened if she did try to take the baby, he could've cried and Leslie would've been annoyed and hurt the kid.

Hope then wipes away her tears. "When she….. When Leslie wanted the baby, she… she was crossing the line….. She was not the Leslie I knew and admired, she… She was a monster…. All she wanted, was you." They all look to Lincoln.

"Every time, every day since we came to this town. Leslie kept spending all of her time….. To get to you, and she wouldn't let anything, or anyone get in her way….. I didn't even know Leslie was capable of doing this…. The last time she did this, was to make the old mayor look bad, and get a new mayor and Tuscola was under her boot and hell."

They all look to Gretchen. "That's all true, but Leslie never told me what she did when she planned it all."

"But she told me" said Hope. "She blackmailed the old mayor and got him to step down. The new mayor, is a lawyer that once worked for her dad and was given the new role. Heck even Leslie's dad doesn't know about this scheme she made long ago."

Delilah is shocked out of her mind and so is Jenny who is still recording and Clyde faints hearing this.

But to Lincoln and Jordan, this was sick, evil and vile. Leslie blackmailed someone to step down and have someone she knows take command and rule all of the county of Tuscola.

To the loud sisters, this raised so many dangerous red flags, and Leslie was more dangerous than Lola and her former blackmailing ways. Luna didn't like this at all, this could be a threat to Mayor Davis and it could end badly if Leslie got to the mayor.

Jordan looks to Hope. "So, we see that change is what you want and that you wanna stray away from the bad girl's side right?"

Hope nods and she wipes away her fresh tears, but Leni does that for her. "I'm done, I'm done with her. I'm done listening and following Leslie Silver. She's a bad person now, she's changed and….. And…."

Hope then begins to cry and this makes Leni hug her and so does Gretchen and Rockruff does what he can to comfort his new friend.

"I'm sorry….. I'm sorry for doing all of that stuff. I'm sorry for what I've done. I'm so, so sorry."

They all see, that Hope has lost all faith and trust from her former best friend. Leslie was not her best friend anymore, she has lost her trust and now Hope sees a new and evil being that has taken her best friend, but she lost her after they met, Karen, Regina and Chastity.

"Hope. It's okay, we're not mad at you. I mean, we were before, but that was then and this is now and right now we can see that you do mean it" said Lincoln.

"You wanna have friends who would be there for you, who would help you through the hardest times and see how you can be happy and not just be a pawn in someone's schemes" said Jordan.

"We got your back, all of us" said Ryan. "As they did with me and I with them. I changed and so did Gretchen and some others here as well." They all know who he means and all look towards Flat Tire, who chuckles.

"That's true, oh it is."

"You're not alone anymore Hope" said Leni. "We're here for you, all of us. We'll be your friends." She continues the hug and does her best to comfort this now shattered rich girl. She has no friends and she now sees the reality of her actions with the rich girls. Just like Gretchen Warwick.

Hope then calms down, and she departs from the hug. "Thank you, all of you. I don't know what else to say."

"No need for word Hope, we're all friends here and you're our friend too" said Jordan.

"Like hell!" They all see that Leslie and her friends have arrived. "Leaving the rich neighborhood and consorting with them. I thought you to be loyal Hope, not backstabbing."

Hope is wide eyed seeing this. "How did you know w-where we were?"

Karen smirks and she has a remote control and they see a drone that is white come down. "You forgot this at your mansion."

It's Hope's drone.

"Hey! Give that back, it belongs to her!" said Gretchen.

"Not anymore!" said Regina. "Took us a while and we managed to tinker with it and now it's registered to belong to us now."

Hope is now afraid of what was happening. "Hope Pertland, I found out about your mommy and daddy no longer working for my parents! And so I demanded them to explain why and as usual, they gave them a chance for a business. Now that is weak! I don't like it when my friends would just go off, on their own path, like Gretchen did. Now, you're as stupid and useless as these guys are!"

Hope didn't like it when Leslie would be mean, especially to her. "Please, just leave us alone."

"No. What you're doing now will be the biggest mistake of your life! We're best friends! We always have been!" Leslie shows her friendship bracelet. "You cannot stray way from me, and all this time, you had a puppy?! A stray?! Seriously!"

Rockruff growls at them.

"That mutt is the very reason why she's astray now, she's lost it, just like Gretchen" said Chastity.

Leslie then calms down. "Hope, I'm giving you another chance. Come back with me and my friends and we can be back to the way things are, or stay here and end up like a loser and have your life into one miserable cycle, against me!"

"But to do that, get rid of the dog!"

Hope is wide eyed and they all are shocked. "That is too far Leslie!" said Delilah.

"You don't get to speak to me and this is none of your business!" said Leslie.

"You're being a cruel hearted person and she doesn't need you!" said Lucy.

"Cruel? We're doing what's best and what's best is for us to rule this place and do what we want and what we want, is her back with us and that little mangy mutt out of the picture, just like the rest of you!" said Karen.

"This is goin too far and also a sign of dictatorship!" said Artie.

"We're not dictators, we're queens and we rule this town!" said Regina.

"For the last god damn time! This town is not yours. It was never yours!" said Chloe.

"Screw you! This town is ours, and it's our business, just as Lincoln is Leslie's business and that girl, Hope is her business!" said Chastity.

"You got till the count of ten to get the hell out of here!" said Jordan.

"You don't scare me Rosato, you never did. You can beat me up, you can outdo me, but I'll always be here and I won't leave till Lincoln loves me" said Leslie.

"He doesn't love you!" yelled Hope. They all remain silent, and thank god the park is empty too. But all the Pokémon see this.

"Lincoln Loud has a girlfriend Leslie!" said Hope. She gets off her seat and wipes away her tears. "He never did, stop pretending he's your boyfriend and wake up! You're being stupid and paranoid and all for his attention, you're not yourself anymore and dragged all of us with you in this nightmare you made!"

"This town was peaceful, serene and had no troubles till we came along and you led us here! All of this, all for popularity and attention and what you want."

"Well, I'm done! I don't wanna do with anything you do anymore. I don't wanna be part of your dumb ass schemes! But, I won't let you hurt my friends either!"

Leslie is shaken by this. "Go home Leslie. Go home." Hope pulls out the bracelet and she tosses it in front of Leslie. "Go home, and don't come back, ever again!"

But deep inside of Leslie, she is pissed off. "You are dead to me!" She charges after Hope with anger and tears, but then Hope ducks and she grabs Leslie by her arm and tosses her back with the others and they see the stance she's doing.

"Another thing you did not know about me! I took karate lessons!"

They're all shocked. "When?" asked Gretchen.

"Last month" replied Hope. Regina and Chastity go after her, but she takes them down with ease, then the drone flies down and Hope ducks from the drone being controlled by Karen.

Rockruff is angered by this and the stones to his neck glow and he unleashed his move, stone edge and rocks fly and hit the drone multiple times and it falls and breaks and does a tiny nuke cloud on the snow. Wow.

"My drone!" Karen then gets shocked by Yamper and she drops the remote and falls to the ground.

Leslie sees this and is angry, she then grabs a tree branch in the snow and she attempts to hit Hope, but then they look to what she's holding and are wide eyed.

Leslie is confused and she sees that what she's holding is not a tree branch. Its' a Bonsly and it looks upset. The little guy cries and then falls to the ground and then something comes up from the snow below and it's him again. Abomasnow.

Leslie's left eye twitches. "Not, again." The Abomasnow roars and grabs Leslie, Chastity, Regina and the still burnt Karen and throws them back to the parking lot and smack dab into the limo.

The Abomasnow growls and then walks away with the Bonsly on his head all happy and calm now.

The others are shocked by this. "Thank you sir" said Leni. They then see Hope go over and pick up the damaged drone and controls. Rockruff and Yamper whimper at the damage.

"It's okay, I can fix this. Next to Karate, I can also fix tech." Hope pets the head of Rockruff and Yamper and this makes them happy. "Thanks for helping me guys, thank you."

"We'll help you too." Hope stands up and she sees the others walk towards her. "We got your back Hope" said Hassan.

"We'll help you fix that, and maybe you'd like to join the Tech club" said Stella.

Hope smiles. "Thank you."

Lincoln and Jordan look to each other and nod, they then look to Hope. "Welcome to the RW Cool Crew Hope Pertland."

Hope sheds some tears and she goes over and hugs Gretchen and then Leni joins in and then the others. Hope has friends now, friends who can also be her family.

To be continued…..

A/N: A good way to show you have changed from the bad ways of the rich and snobby, but I think Hope forgot something, the Royal Woods Middle School Christmas Party tomorrow, well this is gonna be a small issue. Leave a review and tell me what you all think.

Date made: 12/2/20.