A/N: Don't actually have one here, but I've started a habit of having one before and after each chapter and I'll be damned if I don't love establishing a pattern. Uhhhhhhh, leave a review with any constructive criticism, thing you like, or question you have! Happy to respond to each one :)
"How are you liking things, my dear?" Magnolia asked, rocking in a wooden chair.
"Tea's delish, thanks," I said, and Victor nodded in agreement as he took a sip.
"Oh, I already knew about that. You and I source our tea from the same woman back in Postwick! I was talking about your new friend, Scorbunny!"
"Oh, he's wonderful too," I chimed. Scorbunny and Sobble were running around on the grass in front of us, not a care in the world. My new Yamper was lying on the porch next to me, belly up and graciously accepting belly rubs, and yipping at me anxiously whenever I moved my arm to grab my mug of tea.
"That's great, dear. Back in my day, when Pokémon journeys were more common and the gym challenge was more of a tradition than…well, what it is now, Scorbunny were some of the most popular Pokémon in all of Galar. I started with one myself, you see. Shame to not see them around as much but seeing you and your brother with a Scorbunny and a Sobble just brings back so many memories."
My mum always thought fondly of the days when the gym challenge was more about the journey than the championship as well. The Pokémon journey was a rite of passage all across the world, from Johto to Unova, and everywhere in between, but here in Galar, we really seemed to value the gym battles much more. She had met my dad on a journey of her own, but even then, the focus of any trainer's journey was the gym challenge. They never had to get a written endorsement to join. I wondered what changed.
"I think I'd rather go on the journey and not do the gym challenge at all," Victor said. "Seems all the hubbub about the endorsements and sponsors and junk takes away all the fun of it."
Magnolia laughed. "An old soul, I see. Don't you say that to Leon when he gets here. And speak of the Morgrem, that just might be them now." I looked up to the sky to see a Corviknight Taxi headed our way, starting its descent. I grinned and grabbed Yamper's Pokéball to return the pup. If Hop wanted a battle, I'd want to keep her for a surprise.
The taxi landed right outside the house, on a worn-down battle pitch that Magnolia had said she used to introduce and instruct young trainers on proper battle etiquette. The Corviknight dug its claws into the tiny pieces of rubber like it was sand and cawed magnificently, its iron feathers still glinting like obsidian in the morning sunlight. Hop, Sonia, and Leon clambered out, and after signing his autograph on a piece of paper for the Corviknight rider, Leon struck his classic champion pose quickly and headed toward us. Sonia handed the cabbie the fare and the man and his bird took to the sky again, soon to be gone from our line of sight. Meanwhile, Hop carried a large bag of fresh-baked goods that I could smell from across the pitch. I could hear Victor's stomach rumbling in time with mine, and we jogged out to greet them.
"Glad you lot made it alright," Sonia said, smiling brightly at Victor.
"Yeah," Hop added. "Lee made me promise to wait until you got here to eat anything and mate, I don't think I coulda done that!"
"He's kidding," Leon laughed.
"I'm not," Hop whispered, winking at Victor, who did not pay attention because he was too busy pining over Sonia. Hop then looked at me mischievously. "B'sides, the less I have to wait to beat you a second time the better."
"You'd like to think that," I taunted, "but if you think I'm going to lose, you're in for a shock."
"C'mon you two," Leon said, grinning. "As much as I love a good battle, you won't be on top of your game on an empty stomach."
"Especially when your endorsement is on the line!" Hop exclaimed, causing Leon to roll his eyes. My heart skipped. Could I get an endorsement from winning this battle? Leave it to the champion of the league and his competitive little brother to raise the stakes like this.
"You'd really do that?" Victor asked quizzically.
"Eh, why not?" Leon said. "All in the spirit of competition, right?"
"Oh, so I'll have to beat you as well?" Hop taunted, his sly grin widening.
"Why not?" Victor asked. "I had a couple good battles on my way here, it could be fun!" He glanced quickly at Sonia to see if she noticed his sudden burst of bravado.
"Alright then, a mini-tournament after breakfast!" Sonia said happily, and then lowered her voice so that only we could hear her. "Feel free to take your time. Gran's hinted at a lot of tasks for me today and I don't want to do any of them." She winked and headed over to Magnolia, as if she hadn't said anything on the matter at all. Hop tossed Victor and me both a sitrus berry scone and for the next few minutes, we all sat around on the porch, eating the delicious breakfast.
After eating, Hop sprinted out onto the old pitch. "Alright," he called, "which of you wants to lose first?"
"He's definitely your brother alright," Sonia muttered to Leon, giving him a jab in the ribs with her elbow.
"I—I'll try!" Victor said hesitantly, trotting out. Sobble followed him out, looking about as confident as its trainer. The two trainers took their places on opposite ends of the pitch. As Sobble made its way cautiously toward the white circle painted in the middle, Hop tossed a Pokéball high into the air. A shimmer of sparks gave form to Grookey, who hopped excitedly over to its friend.
"No hard feelings, mate," Hop snickered. "Can't be going easy on you just 'cause we grew up together!"
Victor looked tense, and I could easily see why. Sobble was not a Pokémon known for high defenses, and on top of that, the grass type Grookey could make short work of it, even if Victor was battling at his best.
"Now!" Hop roared. "Go for a razor leaf!" Grookey chattered excitedly and whipped his head around in a circle. A barrage of leaves from its leafy green head shot out towards Sobble like blades. Victor gave out a shout and Sobble hopped to the side, and though it missed the full force of the attack, a couple leaves still cut into the poor thing. Victor then called for a Pound attack, knowing that a water gun wouldn't do a thing to the monkey, and Sobble leapt in the air, readying its tail to swing at the Grookey.
"Catch it and toss the bugger aside!"
In near perfect harmony with his trainer, Grookey grabbed Sobble's tail at the last moment and swiftly tossed it to the ground. Sobble wobbled a bit and rose to its feet shakily. Victor stood frozen on the spot, not sure what he could do, and Hop took his chance.
"Use Razor Leaf again!"
In another barrage of sharp leaves, it was over. Victor rushed over to his fallen friend and scooped him up.
"He thinks pretty quickly," Leon said thoughtfully.
"He's got a head for strategy, I guess" I agreed. "Natural for a kid who tapes over all your battles and studies them all day."
"You think you're any better?" he asked, clearly amused.
"You wait and see," I said, grinning. I walked over to the two combatants, who were checking Sobble. The Pokémon seemed to be doing simply fine, having already gained consciousness.
"Guess I still got some work to do," Victor said humbly. "Maybe I'll have a better counter for those grass moves next time."
"Hope you do," Hop laughed. "We'll need to face a lot more challenges if we want to take on the league." A little harsh, I thought, but Hop had always been the competitive type.
"If you want a challenge, I'm right here!" I said, tossing Scorbunny's ball in my hand. "You need to take a break first or do you want to just get your loss over with quickly?"
Hop's eyes lit up. "That's the trash talk I love to hear! You're on!"
Victor walked back to the edge of the pitch, where he was joined by Sonia and Leon, who both made sure to double check that Sobble was okay. Sonia gave me a thumbs up and I whirled back around to face Hop, who had already made it back to the edge of the pitch, Pokéball in hand. Grookey was nowhere to be seen, so it seemed I would be facing a different teammate to start. No matter. I tossed Scorbunny's ball high into the air and out tumbled the rapscallion himself, already eager to scuffle.
"I see you're stuck with that old rabbit still!" Hop laughed. "There aren't any fence posts to save you this time! Go! Wooloo!" Out popped the sheep, who looked happy at being able to stretch his feet again. "Defense curl, buddy! Gotta keep those defenses up!"
Wooloo took a deep breath stuck its legs and head into its thick fur, almost like a Chewtle would. I blinked. Hop was not taking the offensive like usual. What was he planning?
"Alright, Scorbunny, let's go! Tackle!" Scorbunny ran up to Wooloo and bashed him as hard as he could. Wooloo rolled for a few feet, coming to a stop at Hop's feet. Its head and limbs popped out; it looked like it had taken almost no damage.
"Play it safe, Wooloo! Tuck in whenever he comes your way!"
"Keep tackling!" I shouted, and Scorbunny launched another attack at Wooloo. Of course, I thought. Hop was just trying to wear us down. He knew Grookey couldn't take the heat, and I doubt his Rookidee would have been able to last long as well. Scorbunny landed a second and a third tackle, but Wooloo was still looking strong, and when Scorbunny relented for a brief second to catch his breath, Hop took his opportunity.
"Tackle!"
"Dodge and use ember!"
As Wooloo rolled to Scorbunny, the little rabbit hopped up and spat a couple of fireballs, singing some of the fur around Wooloo's face. Distracted, the Wooloo veered off-course, sputtering to a halt near my end of the pitch. It shook its head, letting the fire subside, but I could see a faint red mark across its muzzle. Scorbunny had managed to burn it!
"Use another tackle!" I cried, as Hop called for another defense curl. But Wooloo could not react quickly enough and Scorbunny slammed into it from above. Its knees buckled a bit, but it did not fall.
"Kick him back towards Hop!" I cried, and Scorbunny, triumphant, hopped off the sheep, did a bit of a showboating somersault in the air, landed in a dramatic pose, and then whipped his foot around, and with another spit of fire onto his own foot, landed the kick, sending the Wooloo back to the center of the pitch, where it rolled for a bit and then collapsed just outside the painted circle.
"Wooloo!" Hop cried, holding up his Pokéball and returning the sheep to his ball to rest. "Not bad, Gloria. I always knew you'd be a tough nut to crack. Well, good luck knocking into us when you can't even take to the skies! Go, Rookidee! Show 'er what you're made of!"
"Alright, Scorbunny. Take a break and rest up," I said, returning him to his Pokéball as well. "You can have the skies, Hop, but it's gonna cost you! Go!"
I tossed Yamper's Pokéball out, and when she came out, Yamper gave a little growl to show she meant business. Hop was taken aback. My surprise plan had worked!
"Alright, so you've got a type advantage, no sweat! We can take it! Peck at it!" Rookidee sped toward Yamper with surprising speed.
"Oh, Yamper's a lover, not a fighter!" I quipped. "Nuzzle up to your new friend, Yamp!"
"Pull out! Wait!" Hop yelled, knowing that paralysis could really mess with the strategy, but the sudden command change caught the Rookidee off guard, giving Yamper enough time to hop up into the air and give it a good jolt. Rookidee fell to the ground, but quickly recovered. I looked for the telltale signs of a paralysis, and sure enough, the little bird shook as if an electric current was going through its body.
"Perfect! Now tackle!"
"Peck at it!"
The two Pokémon lunged at each other, but Yamper just managed to get her tackle in first, knocking over the Rookidee, whose paralysis was enough to stun it for a second. I called for another tackle, but the bird flapped its wings and took to the sky just in time, dodging.
"Use Peck again!" Hop commanded, and this time Rookidee managed to hit, snipping at Yamper's ears.
"Nuzzle again!" I yelled, and as Yamper's little body surged with electricity, Rookidee was overcome and fell to the ground again, unable to get up. I heard some cheers from behind me, specifically from Sonia, but I kept my eyes fixed on Hop.
"Alright, you truly are a rival worth my time! I may be backed into a corner here, but you know I wouldn't give up on my Grookey! Come back out, bud!" Out of his Pokéball popped the green monkey, who didn't look even remotely weathered from his fight with Sobble just a couple minutes ago.
I wish I could say Yamper looked as fresh, but Rookidee's pecks had done a number on her. She still growled intensely at Grookey, but I knew my best hope was to get a chance to nuzzle and hope for Paralysis before he inevitably knocked her out.
"Nuzzle!" I cried, but Hop just smirked.
"Don't let it get too close!" He ordered. "When you see an opportunity, hit it from afar with your razor leaf!" And that is exactly what happened. Yamper tried to connect with Grookey, but with incredible agility, he never let her get too close. Not that he needed the extra agility. Yamper might have been a right little spark plug, but her tiny legs couldn't carry her very far very quickly. After a minute of this dancing, Yamper took a step too far, allowing Grookey to get behind her and launch the Razor Leaf attack, hitting her directly and knocking her out.
"Easy, mate," Hop said. "And I know you've got the advantage now, but we aren't giving up yet!"
"I wouldn't have it any other way. Finish the job, Scorbunny!"
I exchanged my Pokémon and gave Yamper's ball a little squeeze, letting her know I was proud of her and faced the field yet again. Scorbunny was excitedly hopping left and right.
"You can't outrun the bun!" I cried. "Scorbunny, tackle it!"
"Use Razor leaf on the ground!" As Scorbunny sped off toward the Grookey, Grookey shot its leaves at the ground in front of him, causing the rabbit to lose his footing and tumble to the ground just short of his target. With a quick order from Hop, it then pulled a twig out from the top of its head and attacked with a Branch Poke attack. Scorbunny rolled away after taking the hit.
"Nice one, Hop!" I said, not even trying to trash talk him. It wasn't a super-effective move, but it was an incredible play. We would just have to think of something else to throw that Grookey off its rhythm.
"Use another Razor leaf!" Hop cried.
"Burn the leaves with ember!"
The leaves flew quickly, but at the exact same speed, fell to the ground, crumbling. Hop called for Razor Leaf again and again, and always making sure to not let Scorbunny out of its sight, or to let up in the barrage.
"Scorbunny! You're not going to be able to find an opening! Even you're not that quick! Just keep dodging! Go left! Now right! Again! Left! Right!" Scorbunny did just that, hopping from left to right, from left to right, and the two settled into a pattern.
"Go right again and tackle!" I cried suddenly, and Scorbunny took one extra step further. Grookey, expecting the movement back left, turned to fire off another Razor Leaf, giving Scorbunny a direct line of attack. I didn't even need to tell him twice, as Scorbunny launched himself, quicker than I had ever seen him move, directly at Grookey, knocking him off his feet completely.
"Nice…Nice Quick attack!" I applauded. "Ember! While he's down!"
Scorbunny shot a small blast of fire, hitting Grookey directly, and with another call for Quick Attack, he was back up in Grookey's face with another powerful blow, knocking it all the way to Hop's feet.
"Gah! Grookey! Get him with a branch poke!"
"Don't close in! Ember!"
For the second time, Grookey had miscalculated, and paid the price as another Ember was lodged directly at him as he was defenseless. After the hit, the monkey stumbled and fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Scorbunny, you did it!" I shouted, and Scorbunny zipped back across the pitch and jumped into my arms with such force that I lost my footing and tumbled to the ground as well, giggling. The bunny nuzzled into me excitedly and we hugged each other tight.
"Hell of a fight, that was," said Leon, who came to pull me up off the ground. "I haven't been this impressed by a novice match in my entire life. I had half a mind to throw Charizard out to join all the fun!"
"What did I say, Lee?" Hop asked, walking over and giving me a clap on the back. "Gloria and I don't mess around. Great battle, by the way, Gloria. Your Scorbunny is really something."
"You almost had me with that Razor Leaf strategy," I admitted.
"It's only going to get rougher when you take on the gym challenge without me to prod you along the way," Hop said, with a small hint of sadness. "I'm glad that you're the person who managed to beat me out of Lee's endorsement, at any rate."
"You've definitely earned my endorsement, Gloria," Leon said warmly, "but I was never not going to endorse you, little man. I just had to see if you really had the gumption to do this. And boy, do you ever."
"He's saving face. I gave him a good talking-to last night," Sonia said, coming up with Victor and Magnolia. Leon smiled sheepishly. "You, though, Gloria. I always like to see another trainer with taste. I need to meet your Yamper!"
"You mean we're both getting the endorsement?" Hop asked, his mood raising immediately.
"Of course!" Leon laughed. "I've got a good feeling about this year's tournament already. It'll make me so proud to get to battle you on the pitch in Wyndon! All three of you are welcome to an endorsement, if you'd like."
"I…I think I need a bit more practice yet," Victor muttered, blushing and avoiding Sonia's eye.
Just then, a bright glint shone in the midday sky, and two red streaks shot down from the heavens, landing almost directly next to us with a dull thud, spooking all of us.
"What was…are those what I think they are?" Hop cried incredulously. He rushed over to the two divots in the ground that formed when the streaks hit it and pulled out two shining gems. "Look at this!"
"What are those?" I asked.
"Wishing stars," Magnolia said, matter-of-factly. "Haven't seen any unrefined wishing stars in some time, mind you. Usually gotta dig 'em up from the ground."
"They say that if one falls in front of you, you're in for something big," Victor said. "It would be you two that got one."
"Oh, that's just a bunch of superstition," Magnolia said dismissively. "Last one I heard of who had that happen to her was Sonia, and the biggest thing to happen to her was being navigator for this one here on his championship run."
"Gran…"
"Hey, in her defense, I really needed the navigational help," Leon laughed. "But what's not superstition is what those stars are capable of doing! You'll be able to Dynamax your own Pokémon with the power of the wishing stars. Gonna help you lot loads on your upcoming journey."
"And it's right gorgeous jewelry," Sonia added flashing one of the rings on her finger, showing a small wishing star of her own. "Gran cut this for me herself."
"Why don't I trim those down for you two as well?" Magnolia asked. "I can drop them off to you tomorrow morning, first thing, along with some Pokédexes. You'll need those for your journey as well!"
"I'll be able to whip up some official endorsement papers for you as well," Leon said. "Last chance, Victor!"
"I'll sit this one out," Victor said. "But I'll happily tag along on the journey with you two!"
"Sounds amazing! This is everything I could have hoped it would be!" Hop cried. "C'mon guys, we gotta get back to Postwick and pack! Registration for the league ends in just under a week, we don't have much time!"
"Hop, you can always take the train to Moto—and he's gone," Leon laughed. "I think he has more energy than I did when I started my challenge."
"You were a lot more annoying," Sonia chided.
All of us laughed, and after Victor and I healed up our Pokémon, we said our goodbyes and headed back to Wedgehurst. As I looked back onto the lake, I could see that Leon and Magnolia were deep in conversation, and Sonia was grooming her Yamper, but also…
"Victor, do you see that?"
"See what?"
"Over there, on the other side of the lake!"
I pointed to a small building on the other end of the lake, where I could just make out a patch of brilliant blue fur. Even though it was over a hundred yards away, I could feel its eyes boring holes directly into me.
"I don't see anything."
"No, by that building! That's one of the beasts Hop and I saw!"
"Gloria, there's nothing over there."
"Oh, come off it, Vic, you have to be able to see it! It's friggin' huge—"
I looked back, but the beast was gone.
"Maybe it was a trick of the light," Victor suggested, shrugging. "Or maybe it was that Obstagoon, you know people have been seeing one over there recently?"
"Y…yeah, I guess…"
"Come on, let's catch up to Hop and maybe we can grab lunch in Wedgehurst. Those scones didn't fill me up at all."
"Sure…"
We walked a bit further before I looked back again, but the beast had not reappeared.
A/N: Ooooh, intrigue. But enough about that, it's finally time to get this show on the road. We can't have a Pokemon journey without a journey, right?
NEXT CHAPTER: STOPPED!