Sarah and Leon did not get back to his flat until late that night. When Sarah went to her flat earlier that evening, her conversation with Natasha turned into a heated argument so Sarah was relieved to be away from that and had a bed to crash in. She only had a few hours of sleep before her alarm went off, and Sarah groggily got out of bed and got ready for the early morning train ride to Postwick, which was on the other side of as she was brushing her teeth, she heard a knock on the door. Sarah went over to the door and saw Leon standing on the other side. He was dressed in black jeans with a blue sweater, his purple hair was tucked underneath a grey beanie with large Aviator sunglasses hiding his eyes.
"Are you almost ready to go?"
Sarah nodded and indicated to Leon with her free hand to give her a minute. Sarah went back to the bathroom and finished brushing her teeth. Sarah got out of the bathroom and also put on her "undercover outfit". Now she and Leon were a beanie and aviator sunglasses duo. The ride to the train station was quiet. The sun had not even risen yet and Wyndon was still lit up. It was the weird time between midnight and sunrise where only very few people were out on the streets yet there was a low hum of the city indicating that Wyndon indeed never sleeps. When they got to the station, Leon got their bags. Sarah bantered with Leon as he was pretty adamant about carrying both of them but finally gave Sarah her suitcase. Getting to the train was easy as they had their tickets already and the morning crowd had yet to come. They found the southbound train and went into the VIP car.
Sarah looked around at the VIP car. Besides having better looking cushions, there was nothing physically different between this and the normal car. Sarah did notice that this was also treated as a business class of giving with reminders posted at the corner of windows that this was the quiet section of the train. It was probably a good idea they were in this one as people would not be hounding them in the VIP car at this hour unless they wanted to be publicly shunned for causing a ruckus.
After getting their bags in the overhead compartment, Leon slid into the seat close to the window and Sarah sat down next to him. Leon then let out a yawn, but quickly covered it, but not before it caused Sarah to yawn.
"How long is the train ride again?" asked Sarah.
"It will be six hours," said Leon.
"Hmm…good time to take a nap then," said Sarah
Sarah leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She heard Leon fidgeting a bit in his seat, probably trying to find a comfortable position for the next few hours. Just before Sarah drifted off to sleep, she was trying to avoid thinking about her conversation with Natasha last night.
"You're late," said Natasha.
"Sorry, lots to do at work."
Sarah walked into the flat and went past Natasha. Leon had requested a private car so that the driver could take them to Sarah's flat and also to the train station tomorrow morning. Sarah was at her flat so that she could get some stuff she needed, but also to talk with Natasha privately.
"Sarah! You're back!"
Kate came from the kitchen grinning very happily, her male Indeedee behind her bowed his head in greeting before going into the next room.
"Great job being a social media presenter! You were able to find the funniest tweets!"
"Thanks, Kate," said Sarah with a smile.
Sarah then went to the kitchen to find that there were two bags of marshmallows that Sean and Anne had brought from Alola, along with digestive cookies and chocolate bars that Sarah had asked Kate to buy. Sarah took one of the bags and then looked at the counter to find the malasadas from her favorite bakery by the University of Wyndon that Natasha picked up before closing time. These two things would be the gifts that Sarah would bring. She had asked Leon two days ago what she should bring his family to thank them for having her. Leon had told her that his family was open to anything, but that if she brought Hop sweets it would make his day. Sarah had decided that she was going to introduce Hop to s'mores, the classic Unovan camping treat. It would be a perfect way to end the barbeque that Leon's mother would be having at their arrival. Sarah had also asked Natasha to get the malasadas as a gift to his mother and his grandparents. She would have gone herself but had been too busy to do so.
Sarah walked to her room to see if she needed anything else. Natasha followed her.
"Can we talk now? Don't want to keep the Champion waiting just to talk to you," said Natasaha.
"I think Leon will understand," said Sarah, "Would it kill you to say his name?"
"Have you forgotten how he treated you nearly two weeks ago?" asked Natasha, "Isn't it a little suspicious that he changed his behavior so quickly?"
"Well, didn't you send Gordie to threaten him to be nice to me?" asked Sarah, "Certainly works wonders."
Natasha didn't say anything and began pacing
"It's not just that, although be cautious when Mr. Nice Guy is no more," said Natasha who shot Sarah a warning look, "It's not just Leon, but also the Chairman."
"What do you mean?" asked Sarah
"Do you remember that big scandal of the Chairman trying to kick us out of Wyndon stadium?"
Sarah nodded. Natasha had been on Galar's regional women's football team for almost two years now. Football was just as popular as Pokemon battles, especially since there had been more inclusion of Pokémon assisting their trainers with kicks and goals.
"While we're all glad we could still split the stadium between the league and us, my friend from the women's team in Hammerlocke called me recently for help because the Chairman was trying to make them move to a new city"
"What?" said Sarah, "When did this happen?"
"The league kept it hush hush when they realized how much of a controversy it would be. I asked my friend about it and they said that it was due to energy testing being done during their practices. It seemed fishy to me, but then they told me something interesting after I saw this in the tabloids."
Natasha brought out her phone and showed Sarah her web browser that was opened to a tabloid article about Leon being in Hammerlocke and some wild speculation that he and Raihan were having a secret affair.
"Nat, why would you have a trashy tabloid article? I know Raihan came out as pansexual a few years ago, but I don't think Leon loves him romantically," said Sarah, "And Raihan is pretty clear that they are just friends."
"I didn't print that for the love affair, although lock your heart if that's true."
Sarah rolled her eyes.
"But it led me to realize how much time Leon was spending with the Chairman, and I needed to make sure you were safe-"
Sarah quickly shoved the phone away from Natasha. She got a sick feeling in her stomach. She had heard Leon's argument with the Chairman tonight and was done with talking about the Chairman for now. She didn't want to think of Leon being involved in something suspicious
"Natasha-"
"Sarah, would you let me finish?"
Sarah sighed and then grabbed the things she needed from her closet and put them in a bag. Natasha continued.
"It turns out that the Chairman made a deal with the gym leader before Raihan to use the basement in the stadium as an energy plant. According to official news releases, the Chairman wants Hammerlocke to be an example for a modern energy plant by Macro Cosmos. Although, it's seemed to have unintended side effects of excess dymanxed Pokemon with Hammerlocke's power spot."
Sarah then froze.
"What?"
"You heard me, there have been problems that were here and there, but now they happen more regularly. Although they haven't had as much trouble as they did in 20XX-"
"The year I did the gym challenge," said Sarah, feeling her hands start to shake.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that- Sarah!"
Sarah found herself on the floor, the anxiety overwhelming her greatly as she struggled to breathe. Kiki then popped out of her Pokéball and rushed to help Sarah. Natasha tried to help her, but Kiki held a hand up to tell Natasha to stay away
The memories of what ended up being her last day of her gym challenge were a blur. Being stuck for what felt like hours in a dynamax den were some of the worst in her life. She remembered being pulled from the rubble and rushed to the hospital. She kept calling out the names of her Pokémon, but the paramedics were worried when she started rambling about an Alolan Vulpix. It was at that moment that Sarah knew she would never see her Alolan Vulpix named Allen alive again.
The images rushed through her mind. The white walls of the hospital, her parents worried and crying their eyes out, and the logo of Macro Cosmos on the representatives giving her a chance to bow out of the gym challenge with no press.
All she had to do was to decide to never speak of this publicly.
"Sarah!" said Natasha, "I'm sorry! I didn't think how that would trigger you."
Natasha wrapped Sarah in a hug which she weakly accepted.
"Look, I only told you what I know because I love you. I hate seeing you get hurt," said Natasha.
"I know," said Sarah.
Sarah woke up after taking a good long nap. She slowly opened her eyes to figure out where the heck she was sleeping, and realized that her head was resting was on Leon's shoulder. Sarah then quickly sat straight up, eyes widened in horror and looked around the train car to see if anyone else was there. She hoped she didn't drool on him in her sleep. Leon stirred beside her and Sarah held her breath, worried that he was aware of what had happened. He rubbed his eyes, looked over to Sarah and then slowly smiled at her.
"Morning," said Leon as he stretched his arms upward.
Sarah nodded and mumbled out a greeting. She got Roo out and noted that it was almost 10.
"Hmm… judging by the scenery it looks like we're close to Postwick," said Leon, "I'm going to change into my champion uniform. Could I get out?"
Sarah then stood up so that Leon could go and change. Once Leon went to the loo, Sarah got her backpack that had her laptop, video camera, and chargers along with a notebook and her makeup kit. She then began applying some make-up and she had just finished her foundation and eye makeup when Leon came out of the loo. No one else was in the VIP car, but Leon still came up to her with a grin and did his Charizard pose. He then asked, "How do I look?"
"Great!" said Sarah quickly as she finished putting on lipstick, "How about me?"
"Great," said Leon and then took a few seconds to look at her face, "You look really great."
The train began to slow down, indicating they were about to arrive at the Postwick train stop. Sarah grabbed her bags and walked with Leon to the doors. As they stood by the doors, Leon cleared his throat before speaking.
"Just to warn you, there's going to be a lot of people there at the station."
"Really? But isn't Postwick super small?"
"Yes, but Postwick is just outside of Wedgehurst where the stop is. They're both close to each other and within a small-town, news spreads fast."
"So, you have a welcoming committee then?"
"Huh, never thought about it like that, but I guess so."
The train smoothly screeched to a stop. Once the doors opened, they hopped out and Leon grabbed a Pokéball.
"You don't have to battle to get to your house, do you?" asked Sarah.
"No, thank Arceus, but I have Charizard here for the fans and crowd control."
Leon let out his Charizard and no one at the station seemed fazed by it. Sarah and Leon went through the small lobby with Charizard lumbering behind them. At the entrance, a small crowd of probably a few hundred people were there. Sarah was thinking that this could possibly be the whole town itself. Everyone was cheering for them and some were even chanting Leon's name. Leon then set down his suitcase by the entrance and walked forward with a big smile on his face. Then he did his famous Charizard pose which made everyone go wild along with Charizard who roared. Leon then went out of his pose and addressed the crowd.
"Hello, Hello, Wedgehurst! Your Champion, Leon, is back! I promise I'll keep doing my best to deliver the greatest battles for you all to watch!"
The crowd then cheered, and Sarah could hear phrases like, "Woo hoo!" "Leon's the best!" "That's the unbeatable champion!" "You and Charizard are the best!"
Leon's smile seemed to grow wider at the praises being yelled at him.
"Well thank you for that! I hope you'll all carry on training up your Pokémon and never shy from battle."
A little girl who couldn't be more than six came to the front with a Nickit and then said, "We're on it! My Nickit and I have been working on our battle skills! Just like you taught us!"
"Nickit!"
The crowd awed in unison as Leon crouched down and began talking to the girl.
"Is that so?" said Leon, "Well I can't wait then to have a proper battle with you one day! What is your name?"
"Delilah," said the little girl
"Nice to meet you, Delilah, keep on training and you'll be prepared for the gym challenge."
Delilah nodded and her Nickit preened.
"Not if I get to you first!"
A young teenage boy then came out of the crowd. Sarah recognized who it was instantly.
"Hop!" said Leon, who got on his feet and wrapped his brother into a tight hug and ruffled his hair
"Lee! Stop ruffling my hair! You're going to mess it up!
Leon then let go out Hop out of the hug and placed his hands on Hop's shoulders. The crowd then dispersed, respecting that Leon was spending time with his brother.
"Good to see you Hopscotch, I'm glad you came to get me."
"BAAAAA!"
Sarah then noticed a Wooloo beside Hop, looking peeved until Leon paid attention to it and started stroking its fur.
"Nice to see you Woody," said Leon.
"Also, Gloria and Victor are here too." said Hop, pointing to a girl and a boy who looked pretty similar to each other behind him, "They've been keeping me company. Wait, where's your girlfriend?"
Hop then looked around Leon and saw Sarah. Hop's eyes widened and then ran up to her. He stopped a few steps away from her before speaking quickly.
"I can't believe I get to meet you! You're like the coolest girlfriend Lee ever had! You were on the telly last night too! And wow, he brought you here! My name's Hop! Can you tell me about your team? I heard you have a Corviknight! I really want a Corviknight for my team when I go against Lee! Have you-"
"Hop," said Victor gently, "Let's give her time to breathe."
"Baa!" said Woody in agreement.
"Oh, sorry about that," said Hop, who put his hands behind his head and smiled.
Victor and Gloria had come to stand by Hop, along with Leon. His two friends looked amused at Hop's behavior. Leon looked at Sarah, concerned about how she was handling a hyper Hop.
"No worries," said Sarah, "I'm Sarah and I heard a lot about you from Leon. It's nice to meet you! And also, it's good to meet you, Gloria and Victor."
Victor and Gloria nodded their heads in greeting.
"And you too Woody!"
"Woo!" said Woody, looking proud to have been given special attention.
"Hop, why don't you lead us on the way back?" said Leon.
"Okay, let me race you!" said Hop and he was about to sprint when Charizard stepped in front of him and grunted.
"Hop, I won't be able to race you. I rather not leave Sarah behind like that. Besides, we got bags to carry." said Leon.
Hop didn't seem to be sad about the change of plans and was soon walking next to Leon. Leon then grabbed Sarah's hand and held it as they walked down the dirt path that lead outside Wedgehurst to Postwick. The path was lined by tall grass and farm fields filled with Wooloo and Butterfree. As Hop was chatting with Leon, Sarah turned her head to find Victor and Gloria trailing behind.
"Hey, come join us! Victor and Gloria right?"
Victor and Gloria walked quickly to catch up and walked alongside Sarah.
"Yes, that's us!" said Gloria.
"So, I heard from Leon that you two are really good friends with Hop. So, tell me, how did you and Hop become friends?"
Gloria then answered as she recollected the day when she and Victor (her twin brother) moved into their great aunt's house with their mum when they were in kindergarten. They were neighbors with Hop and became friends when his Wooloo Woody nearly rolled them over. Victor didn't add much to the story except when he recalled Hop's fervent declaration at five years old that he, Gloria, and Victor were triplets.
"He was convinced that being a friend with us made him the third twin," said Victor, "It really annoyed our teacher when he kept insisting and refusing to stop until he convinced her!"
"I was five, mate! Cut me some slack" shouted Hop, who apparently had heard Victor's words.
Sarah, Victor, and Gloria laughed at that. Charizard who was following behind them let out a snort while Woody bleated in amusement. Sarah then spotted a two-story house and when Hop sprinted toward it, Sarah realized that this was the Best family's house. Victor and Gloria were about to head back to their home when Leon told them that he had a gift he wanted to give them. The twins were surprised by this but agreed to wait outside in the garden while Leon and Sarah dropped off their stuff and got Hop. As they approached the house, Sarah noticed that the door was left wide open and she could hear Hop's loud voice. A short woman that Sarah recognized as Leon's mum appeared at the doorway and when she spotted Leon, she ran to him. Leon let go of Sarah's hand and dropped his suitcase so that he could hug his mum. It was a sweet sight.
"You're back!" said Leon's mum, sounding relieved.
"I am. I missed you mum," said Leon.
After they finished their hug, Leon's mum turned to face Sarah and Sarah began introducing herself.
"Hi, it's nice to meet you Mrs.-Ah!"
Leon's mum wrapped Sarah into a Bewear hug, which caught Sarah by surprise.
"Thank you! Thank you for saving my son!"
"Oh, um, no problem," said Sarah.
Leon's mum then looked at Sarah with a stern look.
"That's quite small to say considering all that you did for him in that blizzard," said Leon's mum, "I'm so glad you knew what to do."
Sarah nodded, not sure how to react to her expressions of gratitude and so she decided to say, "Me too Mrs. Best. My mum made sure my dad trained me in first aid and survival skills since I was young. My dad has to do a lot of camping for his work and I used to join him when I was a kid."
"Your mum's a smart woman, and please, you can call me, June."
"Okay, I'll keep that in mine. By the way, I brought gifts for you and your family."
June looked surprised, but then quickly replaced it with a smile.
"Aw, you're so sweet. Let's get you inside!"
Sarah stepped inside and suddenly she got a sense of déjà vu. The entrance was an open room containing the kitchen and dining table. When Sarah saw the green cupboards, she was able to realize that Leon's flat had similar colors and style to his childhood home. June then told Leon that he could take his things to his room and that she would show Sarah where she would be staying. June led her down the hall and into a room that was an office with the sofa bed pulled out.
"I'm sorry for the tight space, but I hope this is okay."
"No worries, this is fine," said Sarah.
The room had a cozy feel to it and Sarah liked how there was a big window looking over a field of Wooloo grazing and the town of Wedgehurst. Sarah set down her bag and then looked at the office noticing the photos on the desk, before turning back to June.
"Oh, here's my gift for you and also your parents," said Sarah as she reached into a reusable bag she had been carrying from Wyndon with her gifts for the Best family.
"You mean Agnes and George, they're actually Leon's father's parents," said June.
"Oh," said Sarah, "…Leon told me about his dad and what happened to him. I didn't realize-"
"You didn't know honey, it's fine," said June, "We stayed with Conrad's parents even before he passed away so that we could support them in their old age. Conrad didn't have any siblings to take care of his parents, so I'm here now."
Sarah nodded her head and brought out the box of malasadas.
"These are some malasadas from my favorite bakery at Wyndon. We will need to heat them up, but they still should be good."
"Thank you, Sarah," said June, "I'm looking forward to eating one!"
June and Sarah then left the office and then walked down the hall where two new people stood listening to a fast-talking Hop about what happened at the train station. One was a black man with a beige cap on his head while the other was a white woman with her hair gone completely grey. When they spotted June and Sarah down the hall, Hop sprinted away leaving June to introduce Sarah to the grandparents. Agnes it turned out seemed to like Sarah the moment June told them about the malasadas. George seemed to be the most chatty and was asking Sarah about Wyndon and her work, noting that they saw her on the telly when watching Leon's match from yesterday.
Leon then came down the stairs still in his champion uniform with three Pokéballs in his hands. Leon handed them to Sarah so that he could hug his grandparents. They were happy to see their grandson. They congratulated him on winning the exhibition match from the day before and also teased about his relationship with Sarah.
"I guess you love her enough to not be afraid to bring her back home," said Agnes with a twinkle in her eye, "It's a pretty special moment. I'm so glad to see this happen before I pass away!"
"Agnes, don't be so dramatic dear," said George with a short laugh, "But I'm glad Lee finally found some time to bring Sarah here."
Leon smiled and took his grandparents' teasing well. Sarah watched and felt guilty as the grandparents had no idea that her relationship with Leon was fake. She remembered how excited her Puna, her grandmother in Alola, was to meet Anne and Gardenia. Puna was glad to see her grandchildren find someone they love. Sarah felt like she was going to break their hearts in a few months considering how happy they were now with Leon bringing a girl home.
"Now, I got to give some gifts to Hopscotch and his friends, but we can talk more during dinner."
Leon then took two of the Pokéballs from Sarah and took one of her hands to lead her to the garden right by the kitchen. Hop, Gloria, and Victor were on the practice battlefield chatting with each other. When they spotted Leon and Sarah, they walked over to them.
"Come on, Lee! You promised us a present! So out with it!" said Hop.
Hop then saw the Pokéballs in Leon and Sarah's hands and Hop got so excited that he went into a weird position where he bent his knees as he put up his fists and shook them. He looked like he was trying to contain his energy, but it was still pretty clear how excited he was.
"It's Pokémon! You brought us all Pokémon!"
Leon nodded.
"This gift is from me and Sarah! It's showtime everyone!"
Leon turned and threw two of the Pokéballs towards the practice pitch and Sarah followed with a throw just a second later. The Pokeballs opened up to reveal Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble.
"Woah!" said Victor.
"They're so cute!" cried Gloria.
The three Pokemon scattered to different places in the yard. Scorbunny started to run on the practice pitch while Grookey climbed up a tree and Sobble hopped in the pond. They are showing off their skills which Sarah found adorable. Unfortunately, Sobble's squirt of water landed on Scorbunny which freaked her out and she jumped so high that she nearly knocked Grookey off of a tree branch. Grookey managed to not fall, but a Sitrus berry fell off the tree into the pond, which scared Sobble. Sobble hopped out of the pond and began to wail, but Grookey and Scorbunny were quick to cheer him up and stop his tears
"All right! Line up, everyone!" said Leon.
Soon the three Pokémon lined up on the practice pitch perfectly. Sarah looked at Leon in surprise.
"Did they practice this?" asked Sarah, "The showing off and line up?
"Maybe," said Leon with a grin, he then turned to the three teenagers, "Now, which one will you choose?"
The three teenagers looked at each other for a moment and then began to converse with themselves. After a minute, Hop spoke to Leon and Sarah.
"I already got my Wooloo, so Gloria and Victor can pick first."
Victor and Gloria then looked at each other and then Gloria stepped forward. The three Pokémon looked up at her eagerly.
"So, before I pick, could I learn more about what they are like?"
"Of course!" said Leon.
Leon began to describe the Pokémon based on their type and what moves they could possibly learn in the future. Sarah also added in descriptions of each of their personalities and how they seemed to interact with her and Leon's Pokémon. Gloria listened intently and after a few minutes decided on Sobble who was shocked, but then babbled happily, giving Gloria a low high five before settling in her arms. Next was Victor, who sat down on the ground and looked at each of the Pokémon. He then called Hop over and they whispered to each other. After he finished talking with Hop, Victor then slowly approached Scorbunny, who was nervously hopping on each foot, but then bounced around when she realized she was going to be with Victor. She gave Victor a fist bump, before tackling him with a hug. Victor took it well as he laughed.
"YES! I get the best!" said Hop, "I get an awesome Grookey!"
Grookey let out a noise of agreement and jumped up to give a high five to Hop.
"Now," said Sarah, "You can give them a nickname, you don't have to name them right away, instead—"
"Meddows!" cried Hop, "That's going to be your name! It's the middle name of one of the best drummers that has ever lived! It's good that you're a grass type too or else it would make no sense."
"Grookey!" said Meddows, smiling as Hop kept repeating his new name.
Oh well, thought Sarah, I guess that was decided.
"Oi! Vic! Glo! We should have a battle together!"
Before anyone could react to Hop's request, June came out with a bunch of food on a tray.
"Hop! No battling! We're making dinner right now!"
Hop groaned as Leon laughed at his little brother's pouting.
"Don't worry Hopscotch, why don't you battle tomorrow morning?" said Leon.
Hop seemed to be happy about this, while Victor and Gloria seemed to be fine with it too. They were already engrossed in playing with the new Pokémon and only gave a nod and a "Sure" for an answer. Soon, everyone began to help June bring out the food and set the table. Victor and Gloria's mum, Janet came over and brought a side of salad, a plate of various berries, and Moomoo milk. June was in charge of cooking the kebabs over the grill. Sarah helped out in bringing them to the table and they were quickly snatched up by everyone.
Sarah at this point had brought out Cornelius, Kiki, and Layla so that they could eat and stretch their legs. Everyone's attention was on them as they came out. Hop was marveling at Cornelius and gushing about how great Corviknights are. Cornelius seemed to be flattered by the praise and took a liking to Hop, which amused everyone except Leon who couldn't believe Cornelius still didn't like him.
"Oh, don't worry Leon," said Agnes, "My dear Purrloin, Sally, may her soul rest in peace, took her sweet time to warm up to George. I'm sure after a while this bird will like you."
"Right," said Leon, "It better be soon."
Everyone laughed and Sarah forced herself to smile. Sarah didn't think that Cornelius would exactly warm up to someone who would only be around for the next few months.
"Sarah, can I ask you something?"
Sarah turned her head and saw that it was Gloria that was talking to her
"Yes?"
"Well, I was wondering if you participated in the gym challenge. You got a Corviknight after all."
"Well…" said Sarah.
Sarah then was aware of Leon who came to sit beside her, looking interested in what she had to say.
"I did do something similar in Alola. It's called the trial challenge and I was able to complete it. Cornelius was the first Pokémon on the team."
"Wait," said Victor, "So basically you became the champion?"
"WHAT?! You're a champion?!" shouted Hop, "That's wicked! How long? Have you tried going against Lee then? What about—"
"Rupert!" said June, "Let her speak."
"Rupert?" said Sarah.
"Mum! Why did you have to call me that?"
Sarah answered Hop's questions and explained to everyone how it was not until recently that Alola had an official champion. Soon, Sarah was telling stories of what her experience in the trial challenge was like, from getting a native Alolan starter Pokémon from her great-uncle Hala to all the totem Pokémon she faced. It was fun for Sarah to be able to tell her of her time as a trail challenger because it was something that she could look back fondly on unlike her time in Galar's gym challenge where the only good thing that came from it was Cornelius and her friendship with Piers. The fact that no one on her team died made the island challenge a good experience overall.
Once the dinner was cleared and the dishes washed, Sarah brought out the things needed to make s'mores. Hop was excited and thanked Sarah for the gift. Geroge then tasked Gloria, Victor, and Hop to gather firewood and directed them in setting up the bonfire. Once the bonfire got going everyone sat around it and chatted. Hop had no patience and began cooking his marshmallow. He burnt at least five before he spotted Sarah readying her first one. Sarah then put her marshmallow over some coals at the edge of the bonfire and slowly turned around her stick, resulting in a perfectly toasted marshmallow.
"Wow! That's amazing!" said Hop, "How did you do that?"
"Slow and steady wins the race Hop," said Sarah, "Here, let me show you how to properly toast a marshmallow."
The night was a success and as Sarah went to sleep that night, she thought about how for just a few minutes she forgot about her fake relationship and found herself enjoying her time with Leon's family.
I know it's been a few months since I last updated. I was finishing my last semester of university and was focused on that. I can officially say that that I graduated! Now, I'm doing job hunting.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It was a lot of fun writing Hop, Gloria, Victor, and Leon's family into the story. And yes, the baby Pokemon are now with Hop, Gloria, and Victor. Also, Grookey has a name! Can you guess which drummer Hop is referring to? It's okay if you need to look it up. I think it's a perfect name for a Grookey. Scorbunny and Sobble will have names by the next chapter (which I want to be posted two weeks from now).
Let me know what you think about this chapter. Thanks for reading this even though it took some time to update.
