SWORD & SHIELD: THE GREAT JOURNEY

Round 1

What's Up With Wooloo?

Postwick

June 28

SLAM!

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Gloria ran outside of the house to check on what was making that slamming noise.

A fluffy white ball of fur was slamming against the fence that said in bold red lettering, "DO NOT ENTER." It slammed it, rolled back, and jumped again with a yelp.

"Aw, a cute Wooloo... She'll break through!"

Gloria took the Wooloo in her arms and scratched its ears. It jumped back out and decided to smack the fence again.

"Hmph. Why is life so hard for me, and my friends keep rejecting me?" it complained, shaking its fluffy fur. "Mother, Father, anyone! I can't stand this silence!"

"Well..." Gloria began, but stopped. "Could you stop slamming for a sec? I don't think you're supposed to go there."

"Yawn... fine."

Suddenly, the door opened, and a boy the same age as Gloria tumbled onto the cobblestone street, nearly bawling her over. He stopped, panting, "Your brother's going to visit town today! Today! He'll be at Wedgehurst! Let's go!"

"Wedgehurst?" Gloria stopped. "Wedgehurst? Oh right..."

"We should go there!" Victor added. "Come on! Let's go! Last one there is run over by a Rapidash!" He took off.

"Better not be late for that," Gloria said. "See you later, Wooloo."

Route 1

With a hop, skip, and a jump, Victor sped out of her sight, his form brushing along the rare leafy tree in the plain path that was Route 1. While Gloria preferred to be slow and steady, Victor always sped off on random adventures, which Gloria resented.

However, she did not want to be run over by a Rapidash, so she followed Victor.

When she arrived in Wedgehurst, the meeting (if you could call it that, it was closer to a rally) was almost over. Leon said his words, and finished with "Little sis! You're finally here!"

He tackle-hugged Gloria.

You know when your big brother makes a show of you and you feel embarrassed? Well, this was what Gloria was feeling right now. Did Leon not have to show his caring affection for her in front of all these people?

Embarrassing as it may be, Gloria followed Leon to their house, for he had something to show them.

Postwick

Leon took three Poke Balls and released three Pokemon. After a while, they intermingled with each other. The green one went up to a tree and started chewing on an Aspear Berry, the blue one dove in the water and started splashing, and the red one ran around the paved court. They each went their own way, until Leon introduced them.

"The Grass-type Pokemon, Grookey!"

"The Fire-type Pokemon, Scorbunny!"

"And the Water-type Pokemon, Sobble!"

"These are the three Pokemon that you will be getting; you will get one each. Hurry up, Victor, Gloria, make your choice!"

Gloria eyed the three Pokemon carefully. Grookey wasn't exactly her type, he was too outgoing, Scorbunny was clearly fit for Victor, and she did not dare disturb that combination, but Sobble could fit her. After all, Sobble was a soulful Pokemon, and she made it her business to care for Pokemon, no matter how dirty, mud-splattered, or feverish they might become.

She crept closer and pointed at Sobble, while Victor picked Scorbunny.

"Hurry up," Sobble cried.

"I'm coming," Gloria answered.

She took the Sobble in her arms, for it was surprisingly light; Gloria and the Sobble immediately bonded with each other, showing a love and affection with which some strong Pokemon Trainers could not even manage.

"How is it? Name's Sobble, by the way, if I haven't been introduced."

"Well, Sobble's too generic, but what would you like?"

"Hm? Oh, don't worry about Scorbunny. He's just showing off his kicks."

"How, about –– a-ha! Marina, I choose you!"

The two Trainers lined up and got ready to battle. Leon counted down. "Three, two, one..."

Victor's Scorbunny popped out as Gloria's Sobble got ready for battle.

"Marina, use Pound!"

"Scar, use Tackle!"

The two Pokemon exchanged blows, and they were significantly weakened. However, they were still bursting with energy.

"Marina, use Pound again!"

"Scar, use Growl!"

Scar let out a roar that caused Marina to step back, and Gloria knelt down.

"Marina, one last Pound!"

"Scar, Tackle!"

The two Pokemon fell, exhausted by their displays of strength, and yet neither one less determined than the other to prove themselves to each other. They had found owners, and they were happy and content.

Postwick

June 29

After a homemade dinner specially prepared by their moms, Victor and Gloria went back to their houses for rest, hoping to meet up near the morning. However, when they met up, they saw that the fence that normally blocked off the western portion of the town was smashed through.

"That Wooloo! It was Tackling the fence... it must've made it through!"

Victor raced in, not caring the myths of a legendary Pokemon that resided deep within the forest to the west of town. Gloria, however, was more cautious.

"Wait up, Victor! I'm coming!"

They raced hand in hand to the Slumbering Weald.

Slumbering Weald

"Wow, this area sure is foggy, and Scar doesn't seem to like it!" Victor remarked. (Scar was his Scorbunny, by the way.) Scar was busy waving its arms in front of its nose in attempt to clear the thick air out of his nose.

"I know. Marina, however, seems to quite enjoy it, if not for the weird mood in the air that seems to be present..." Gloria said.

"C'mon, we haven't seen the Wooloo. Let's search for it more."

Just then, they heard a high shriek pierce the area, momentarily cutting out the most interesting mood that was present in the air.

Victor turned and said, "C'mon! It's that Wooloo! We have to save it from –– whatever's attacking it!"

They rushed deeper into the slumbering woods, and as they ran ahead, the fog became thicker and thicker, to which it could be adequately be described by the term soup. However, having a sense of danger, they halted in front of a Pokemon – no, two Pokemon, to be exact – and cowered as they roared.

"Look! It's a mad Pokemon! Let's battle it!"

"Always so headstrong, Victor," the Pokemon on the left cried.

Victor took a step back.

"Wait," Gloria said, her voice breaking, "do you hear it too?"

"You do?" Victor replied.

"Yes, I do," Gloria responded.

"Woo woo loo loo!" The Wooloo from before barged onto the scene. "What's going on?"

"Quiet," Victor said. Then, he turned his attention to the two Pokemon. "And why are you here? No offense, I promise."

"We are here to warn you that a great danger has come."

"We are here to warn you that now, no place will be home."

"Participate in the Challenge, and together, journey around,"

"You two will restore the region, with the things you found!"

"Seemed interesting," Victor remarked. "And I know what the Challenge is! It's the Gym Challenge of the Galar region, right?"

"You two will have to see for yourself. In the meantime, however..."

Slumbering Weald

"Oh, goodness me! If my little sis and her friend didn't just decide to explore the most dangerous place on earth!" a cheery voice remarked.

"Lee? But you're pants with directions! You'd have gotten lost in this faster than we did!" Gloria remarked, and then let out a loud yawn.

"And where's the Wooloo from earlier?" Victor asked.

"Oh, he's here, at home." Leon pointed towards the edge of the clearing, where Wooloo was bouncing around with his Charizard.

"Lee? But there's a favor I'd like to ask..."

"And what is it?" Leon interrupted.

"Oh! You're just as bad as Victor when it comes to these things! Anyway, could you, perhaps..."

"Endorse us for the Gym Challenge?" Victor butted in, completing her sentence.

"Endorse you? You're just ten years old!" Leon laughed.

"But I know a––"

"I'm not letting you two get into the Challenge. You're just fledgling Trainers, look at you. You'll have to beat your two hundred or so competitors out of the competition to even stand a chance. Even the experts say that no newcomer is going to win this round!"

"I'll show you that we have what it takes! If we get all the Gym Badges in seven days, I'll wager 30,000 PokeDollars on it!"

"You don't even have 1,000 PD! Fine, it's a deal. If you lose and I win, you'll be paying off debts for years to come, and you'll have to explain to Mother why this happened!"

"Galar Region, here I come!"

Postwick

June 30

After getting a good night's sleep to shake off the events of the previous day, Gloria awoke the next morning with her brother Leon sitting on her bed.

"I'd like to give you a going-away present –– don't tell Victor, he'll be jealous –– but here's the Wooloo we found in the Weald yesterday. I think it really suits you."

With one "Woo woo loo loo!" Gloria took an immediate liking to this Wooloo.

"Oh, hi there. My name is Gloria. And yours?"

"Technically it's Paula, but my friends kept on saying it's too old-fashioned. Won't you?"

Gloria laughed. "My name is old-fashioned, too! Maybe we could make a club! Paula's fine."

"Let's go!"

And that would leave Victor wondering where Gloria had somehow obtained her Wooloo from.

A/N: And that ends the first chapter of my Pokemon Sword and Shield fanfic. If you were wondering, sorry, Hop does not exist in this fic – he'd be relegated to the role of minor character, and it would be much more convenient to leave him out. In the next chapter, Sunny-Side-Up Scorbunny, the two fledgling Trainers are going to visit Professor Magnolia, upon other things.