Hop plopped down on the train seat. He let his legs rest on the white table. The cart itself was empty, albeit the couple that sat in the booth behind him. Usually, around this time, people would be leaving Wyndon after a hard day of work, not going there like he was.
He took a bite of his egg salad sandwich. The flavorful juices spilled into his mouth and ran down his throat. Hop was sure that the only reason that it tasted so good was because he was famished- but that wouldn't stop him from enjoying the three sandwiches he bought. He needed to at least enjoy something before his dreaded conversation with Leon.
"Did you see the news about Melony?" The woman in the seat behind her asked.
Huh, is she talking to me? Hop turned around, sandwich in his mouth staring at the women.
A man sitting opposite to the women responded, "No, what happened?"
Of course she's not talking to me, I must really be out of it.
"She took a sudden vacation to the Aloha region, she was in the middle of recording a show too- I wonder what happened?"
Hop hadn't seen Melony for almost a year, but he did keep up to date with all the movies she was in. The drama queen made a really convincing antagonist, not many could pull off the vibe of having murdered scores of people so naturally.
"Maybe she's going to watch the champion brawl that Gloria announced." The man said.
Hop tuned out of their conversation and returned his focus to his sandwich. The empty seat in front of him made him frown. He took his Pokémon out of their Poké Balls much less frequently than he used to. It was mainly so his Pokémon could conserve their energy as best as they could before an important fight, but it would be a lie to say he didn't get lonely. Hop reached down at his Poké Ball belt and called out everyone aside from Snorlax, who would damage the train if he was called out.
It was just a normal conversation with Leon, he didn't need to worry about getting into a fight or anything. Pincurchin sat comfortably on his head, Dubwool sat next to Hop, comfortably leaning against his side. Zamazent was curled up, lying down under the table. Cinderace was sprawled out, taking up the entire seat opposite to Hop, and Corviknight stood upright on the table, staring at the rising moon through the large window.
After pulling his laptop out of his bag and setting it on his lap, Hop took a spinach leaf out of his second sandwich and placed it on top of his head. He resumed looking through the forum about Dynamax research, while Pincurchin munched away at the spinach leaf, making jubilant squeaks every so often.
In the recent conversation with Leon, his brother mentioned something about Dynamax technology falling in the hands of The Darkest Thorn. It's probably something worse than that. Leon wouldn't want to talk in private if it was just as simple and innocent as he made out. All of Hop's worst fears were coming true.
He scrolled to the bottom of the page, the researcher had put a name: Sarah Lott. It seemed familiar, where had he heard something like that before? Orson Lott. The person to tried killing Hop over a stupid shard. The monster that tried sacrificing his own Pokémon and killed a Rotom.
Why was Orson stealing the shard, was it for research purposes? His fist clenched, knuckles turning white. Why was he just learning about this Dynamax research now? Usually, things like these would be a big deal.
Lee, what are you doing? What are you hiding? Hop scowled.
Lee, why are you doing this? No matter how much Hop tried wrapping his mind around it, he couldn't think of a reason Leon would involve himself in something like this. If he wanted to improve his Pokémon battles, he could just continue what he was doing before and do things legally.
The question of why loomed over Hop's head the whole train ride. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't find a reason. Maybe I spent too long idolizing him, and now I can't think of any flaws in his personality. All I see in him is the proud, confident and reliable champion who loved Pokémon battles more than anything else in the world.
When the train finally pulled up to Wyndon station, his mind was clouded. What would stop this conversation from being as bad, if not worse than the rest of them? The train doors slid open, Hop stepped out into the still air, followed by his Pokémon. Dark angry clouds blotted the stars out of the sky.
Leon was leaning against the wall facing Hop, waiting for him. A shadow covered his face. His arms were crossed around his ruby red suit with white frills at his collar bone. Hop had never seen Leon look so… intimidating. Not even during his battles as the champion. Not even when he battled Eternatus over the fate of the world
"Hop." Leon stepped out of the dark, both sets of amber eyes making contact with each other, returning each other's fierce gazes.
No matter how much doubt was eating away at the edges of his body, he had to do this.
"Leon." Hop closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Where are we going?"
"Follow me." It was a simple statement, but it held power and authority. The statement of a boss telling their subordinate what to do.
Taking a step forward, Hop invaded Leon's personal space. "Tell me where we're going first."
Leon took a step back, startled. "The roof of Rose of the Rondelands."
"Why?"
"The hotel is doing renovations, it'll be empty until construction starts again."
"Let's go," Hop called back all of his Pokémon back except for Coviknight. "Let's fly there." Anything he could do to throw off Leon's game would be a worthwhile move.
"Wait, what about your Rotom phone?"
Is he really that concerned about the conversation being recorded?
Hop pulled out his Rotom Phone. "Power off." The screen went dark, and the eyes of Rotom closed, and it produced a faint electric zzz noise. "Is this good?"
Leon nodded while calling out his Charizard. "I'll lead the way."
Both brothers climbed onto their Pokémon. Hop still didn't have a saddle for Corviknight. It was going to be a rough night. He lied down flat on his stomach against the cool metallic feathers and his hands wrapped around the front of Corviknight's wings.
With a few powerful beats of his wings, Corviknight lifted himself into the air. Charizard's burning tail illuminated the night sky, and Corviknight followed, like a moth to a flame. Below him, the city got further and further away, until the cars were just ants beneath them.
Both flying type Pokémon landed on the top of a particularly tall skyscraper. Although it wasn't the tallest by a longshot, it still stood well above most other buildings. The brothers stood opposite to each other on the dark concrete ground. If not for Charziard's glowing tail, he wouldn't be able to make out Leon's figure against the starless sky.
"Tell me everything. Please Lee." Hop's voice came out softer than he intended.
"I'm sorry." A single drop of water fell between both men, if not for the echoing splat of the water, it would've gone undetected. "I just want to say, if you keep digging into this, you're going to get more hurt than you already are."
Anger boiled at Hop's fingertips. "After all of this, you're threatening me?" After all I've done, you still treat me like a lost 14 year old.
"Why don't we just take a nice vacation to Aloha, and forget about all of this?" One drop turned to many, rain splattered against the rigid ground. A high pitched fizz covered the rooftop. The only source of light- Charizard's tail flickered, light and shadows danced drunkenly around the two brothers.
"Cut the crap!" Hop took a few short breaths trying to calm his temper. "What do you mean, go to Aloha?" His eyes narrowed, burning holes through Leon's figure. "I always knew it was you, but I refused to believe that my perfect brother would stoop so low. What are you planning with the Champion's Brawl?"
"Perfect?" Leon scoffed. "You don't know anything about me." Charizard's tail thrashed, smacking against the wet concrete.
"Yeah, you're right." Hop matched every drop of poison in Leon's voice with his. "You're the furthest thing from perfect, and I know nothing about you."
"I thought we could settle this normally." Rain hammered against the concrete, water pooling at the soles of their shoes. "But, all you know how to do is run into things and make them worse."
Hop stumbled back. Leon was right. Darkest day, the Galar Particle panic, and the Shard thief, all he managed to do was screw them up. And now with this, all he managed to do was escalate the situation worse than it needed to be. "I-"
"Hop, you're not the only one who knows how to fight without rules. I also mastered them, considering what I've been getting myself into for the past couple of years."
Hop took a few more steps back, dirty water splashing at his feet.
"I'm the invincible champion, the strongest person. You'll always be weaker than me, in Pokémon battles or anything else. I am- will be perfect." Leon took a few predatory steps forward. "Go to Aloha with me, and forget everything."
Leon was right, he was always right. Hop didn't stand a chance against him, why even try? Leon: oppressively strong; Hop: injured, weak, and-
A gust of wind sent him off balance and he stumbled forward, droplets of water swirling around him. The wind somehow guided his movements. Coviknight's angry squawks and the rhythmic beating of his wings filled the night sky and pushed Hop forward, reclaiming every inch of ground he lost.
What was he doing? All his friends were relying on him. Leon was invincible? Fat chance- he lost to Gloria years ago. Who's Lee to say that he's stronger than me when we've never even fought before?
"Lee- no, Chairman Leon, I will arrest you." Both Hop and Leon shot their hands towards their Poké Ball belts. They were beyond the point of no return. Corviknight and Charizard stood in offensive positions behind their respective trainers.
A bolt of searing white lightning crackled in the distance, lighting up the sky for a single moment. Using the blinding light as cover, in that single moment, both brothers called out their allies.
Leon's Pokémon reacted immediately, their instincts sharpened to the very limit through over a decade of intense training. However, no matter how precise and deadly Leon's Pokémon were, with the wind in Hop's favor, his Pokémon could match that speed.
Precisely a dozen attacks were launched at the same time.
A sharp streak of yellow electricity crackled out from Hop's left shoulder. Purple energy whirled around the fangs and claws of a Haxorus, its eyes fogging with rage as it sliced through the bolt with one swift swipe. Jets of fire swirled around Cinderace's foot and was launched across the rooftop. A dark orb of spiraling darkness countered the flames, sucking them in like a whirlpool before exploding into a shower of light and dark. With a furious cry, light materialized in front of Corviknight and formed a wall of light separating the roof in two.
Pieces of cement floated around Charizard. With a yell, they were launched like cannonballs at Cinderace. With their speed and power slightly lowered after passing through the barrier of light, Dubwool jumped into the sky, batting away the concrete, reducing it to rubble. Around Snorlax, thick roots bust out of the ground. Snorlax twisted his body, winding it up before throwing his arm around and spinning like a top. Shredded bits of plant matter splashed carelessly on the ground. With a running start, Zamazenta hurled himself at the enemy, not caring who he hit. His shield bashed with the shield of an Aegislash, his movements completely halted.
Beneath them, the ground made a sick whine, cracks breaking through the surface. Water rushed into the ground. Making one last wail, the ground caved in. Dust flew in the air mixing with rainwater as concrete smashed into the floor below bringing Hop and all his Pokémon except Corviknight with it.
In the dark void above, electricity flashed along the clouds. Gathering every ounce of strength, Hop tightened his grip on Pincurchin, not caring about the spikes piercing his skin, and threw her, midfall.
Another strike of lightning ripped across the world. Right in the middle of the broken hotel.
Light exploded across the battlefield, like a flash grenade, but nuclear sized. An ear-splitting boom shook the building, right to its foundation. Burning hot electricity coursed through Pincurchin's metal spikes and was absorbed.
With a wet smack Hop hit the combination of floor and rubble. Drops of blood flew out of his mouth but were quickly destroyed by the torrential downpour. He forced himself to his feet, despite the waves of pain crashing down on his back.
It took Hop a second to analyze the battlefield. 15 ft. above him, Corviknight flew alone, surrounded by Dragapult, Aegislash, and Charizard. Leon was also in the air, lifted up by Charizard's claws.
The ground was brought back to life as approximately 750 kg of Snorlax and Rhyperior crashed into the ground, two craters of cracks and debris blossomed out of the floor.
"Pincurchin! Take out Charizard!" Hop screamed, more blood dripping out of his mouth.
The entire battlefield flashed again. Supercharged electricity burst out of every pore of Pincurchin's body. Charizard barely let go of Leon before the impact, let alone doge. A shower of yellow energy mingled with the water, electrifying it. The blast sent Charizard through the window of a nearby building.
Bursting out from a pile of rubble, Haxorus hurled itself towards Hop, jaws open, and claws out.
A roar cut through the chaos, and everything froze.
Standing atop a pile of rubble, Zamazenta caught Leon in between his teeth.
Teeth that could tear through the flesh of Leon's abdomen in a single chomp.
"Wait, stop, please, I surrender."
Binds gripped tightly around Officer Jenny's body. The world was dark.
Where am I? She needed to find help, this was no longer something she could handle herself. A crime syndicate across multiple regions fell into the jurisdiction of the international police- not the hands of a single person.
She was no longer on the airplane, the ground was still and the air wasn't stuffy. Familiar footsteps got closer to her, but this time it was accompanied by two more sets of steps.
Her blindfold was yanked off, she seemed to be in an underground garden. Exotic plants grew out of the white ground, walls, and ceiling. Why was everything so white- it felt claustrophobic despite the size of the room. Beside Melony stood a frail man in a ridiculously large lab coat and impractically large green goggles.
Beside the fool stood an actual threat- a Hypno.
"This is my friend, Faba. I hope you can become good friends with him." A pure smile was sprawled across Melony's face, but her eyes held a dark glint.
Officer Jenny responded with a murderous glare, she would beat the shit out of all of them- no matter how many protocols she needed to violate in the process.
"Since you decided against talking on the plane, I've decided to put you to good use. Very good use."
A cold shiver ran down her back, and her face twisted from one of rage to one of fear. Given the current situation, there was only one thing that could mean.
Officer Jenny tried forcing her eyes shut, but nothing happened, and an invisible force held her body in place. Her mouth was glued shut, not even a cry for help could come out.
The Hypo slowly made its way towards her. This wasn't happening, it wasn't.
It couldn't.
I will not become a pawn against my own friends. She screamed inside her head.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
The stone pendulum swung rhythmically.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
Don't give in. Don't up.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
You can't give in, not after all of this. A wrenching headache bore through her skull.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
Please. Beads of sweat ran down her face.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
Stop. Everything around her started to fade, all that remained was the comforting swing of the pendulum.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Right.
…
Nothing.
