A/N: Here's chapter five! The journey begins! From here on out, I'm going to be deviating a bit more from the original games, especially the further we get into the gym challenge. There's a lot of really fun stuff coming, so keep an eye out for new chapters!
"Right then, here we are. Wedgehurst station," Mum said, turning the key back towards her and cutting the engine of our car. Victor and I hopped out the back doors and were immediately hit by the sun's brilliant rays. It was still early Spring, but the Weather must have decided that it was time for summer. I ripped my trusty gray sweater off and stuffed it into my leather knapsack. Victor had the right idea, wearing his trusty red polo, although I could see him sweating underneath his gray knit cap. He hoisted his beaten-up leather bag, a relic from Dad's time, over his shoulder and grinned at me. Around his waist was one of those Belts Hop had told us about and nestled in the first pouch was Sobble's Pokéball. I returned the smile, patting the two balls that were looped into my matching belt as well.
"You see Hop yet?" I asked.
"Nah, he's probably busy catching a new Pokémon or something," Victor joked.
"Probably for the best," Mum said, pulling us close into her…what, her fourth hug of the day? "D'you mind if I jabber one for one more minute?"
"Sure, Mum," we sighed in unison.
"Don't worry," she said softly, "I'll only be able to yell at you over the phone for a while now. I just wanted to let you two know how proud I am to be your mum, and that your dad would have been so proud to see you here setting off on your journey together. Victor, blimey you look just like him with that bag 'round your shoulder.
"I also want to let you kids know that you're in for a rough time as a trainer. I know it sounds fun, and you're gonna be havin' lots of it, but this journey is gonna test you, and change you, and Arceus knows if it'll be for the better but if it doesn't you will have to answer to me, okay?"
"Okay, Mum."
"And no matter what, Postwick will always be here for you, even if you don't make it to the league. Your father only got six badges, and I couldn't even get three. The way of a trainer isn't for everyone, and there's no shame in realizing it's not your way, neither. Jus' know that you'll be…you'll be happy knowing you gave it a try."
"Mum, you really don't—"
"Don't interrupt me, young man, it's hard enough to keep from cryin' as it is! Last thing is you two better call me as often as possible because if you start ignorin' your dear old mother, I am revoking that offer to always be there for you!" A couple tears started to fall down her face and she pulled us in for hug number five.
"First one's always the hardest, dear," called Hop's mum from the distance. She had just pulled up in her car as well. Hop had already run to our sides, grinning ear to ear. He had an athletic bag of his own draped over his shoulder and wore his denim jacket proudly, as if it were Leon's Champion cape. He took one look at us, noticed our matching belts, and snickered, knowing his advice had not gone unheeded.
"Excellent, you're finally all here!" said Professor Magnolia as she walked out of the station. In her hands were three small packages, wrapped in brown paper, which she handed to us. "Now in each of these is a special portable charger for your Rotom phones. Remember to always have it nearby so you can scan any Pokémon you aren't familiar with with the CosmosDex app. And here are a pair of Dynamax bracelets from those stars you found yesterday, as well as a pamphlet showing how to battle and care for Pokémon when they are experiencing the Dynamax phenomenon. I wrote those personally. Oh, and Hop? Gloria? Leon went ahead and left me those endorsements, so they're packed in as well. He wanted to give you them himself, but the League Chairman needed him back in Motostoke for some publicity event."
"Sonia couldn't come?" Victor asked. Hop and I stifled a laugh.
"Oh, I'm sure you will be seeing plenty of her in the next few months," she replied coyly.
"Yeah, don't be so worried, Vic," I teased. I could see Hop bite his tongue in the corner of my eye.
"Shuddap, Gloria," Victor mumbled, turning red.
"Alright, you little gremlins," Hop's mum said. "Your train's leaving in five, so get in there. Console your weeping mother, Victor and Gloria. She'll be fine once she discovers the magic of the empty house."
"See you in a couple days. I've already booked a room in Motostoke to see you at the opening ceremonies. Got everything? Camping supplies? Spare charger for your phone? Money for snacks on the train?"
"Bye Mum," I said, giving her yet another hug. She just cried and kept crying when Victor hugged her too. Hop's mum gave him a pat on the back and the three of us hoisted our bags and ran inside, only stopping to show our tickets to the man at the gate.
Trees, hills, and tunnels zipped past us as we sped along the tracks, talking eagerly about the challenge to come. We spent most of the afternoon in the dining car, spread about a booth and eating snacks. Hop gave me a run-down of some of the Gym Leaders, the top trainers in the entire league. There were eighteen gyms spread out across Galar, each specializing in every known type of Pokémon. Each gym's top trainer was called the gym leader, and they were each ranked a second time amongst each other. The top eight gym leaders would get an immediate invitation to the league championships, as well as have the added honor of being one of the hurdlers any gym challenger would have to cross should they wish to compete in the finals. The ten leaders not selected were also free to compete in the league, but they would have to undergo the gym challenge, same as the gym challengers. Hop pointed out some of the shoo-ins for this year: The fire-type Veteran Kabu, who consistently placed in the top eight nearly every year of his decades-long career, The Fairy-type Leader Opal, who was even older than Kabu but whose mind was far more shrewd and devious, and of course, the dragon master Raihan, who had competed with Leon during his challenge and had maintained the number one gym for five years in a row since gaining the title of gym leader. I flipped through the leaflet hungrily, wondering what other Pokémon I could add to my team to counter some of the powerful Pokémon these leaders used.
Meanwhile, Victor flipped through travel websites and listicles on his phone, writing down a small list of sites for us to see along our journey. Many of them were near prominent gyms, so I could tell this was shaping up to be a fantastic journey for the three of us.
"Well, look who's on the car with me!" said a familiar voice. We all looked up from our reading materials to see Sonia standing against a nearby seat, wobbling from the uneasy rolling of the train cart and carrying a bright red drink none of us would legally be allowed to taste for a few years. She was once again wearing her tan traveling coat, but her sunglasses were resting on the bridge of her nose, despite largely being in the shade of the train car. "Mind if I sit with you all?" she asked.
"Sonia? What are you…what are you doing here?" Victor said.
"Gran chewed me out last night, saying something like 'I wish you still had the vigor those kids have about exploring and learning!' Daft old bat. Buuuuut, Leon managed to snag me an' Gran a nice research grant, so it looks like I'm headed to Motostoke with you lot!"
"Nice!" exclaimed Hop. "Here, sit down next to me! What's the grant for?"
"Not sure yet," Sonia said, sliding into the booth next to him. "It's top secret! I'm doing some research for Chairman Rose himself, and he, or at least his assistant, wants to keep it on the DL. All I know is it has something to do with Dynamaxing, or else he wouldn't have reached out to Gran. So 'long as you lot do well on your challenge, you'll probably be bumping into me quite a bit."
"That sounds great!" Victor said.
"You would like that," I sniped with a snicker.
"Hey, keep the sibling rivalry on the backburner, you'll need it for those gym battles," Sonia said. "Especially you, Victor. I know you want in on it."
"Oh, he wants to be in on it alright—"
"Shut up, Gloria! I—I don't know what you mean," he stammered.
"Don't worry, you'll figure it out eventually," Sonia laughed. "That's why I had gran whip this up for you!" And with a single fluid motion, she had slipped her hand into her purse and pulled out a folded-up slip of paper. She sat there, slip of paper extended, while Victor looked at her, confused.
"Victor, take the paper."
"But what is it?"
"It's your ticket to the league, dummy," Sonia said, tossing the paper forward so it landed neatly in front of him. "I had gran write up an endorsement for you. If you end up not wanting to it's fine, but there's no point in joining someone on a gym challenge unless you're also doing the challenge yourself. And I say that from experience."
"Didn't you do the challenge with Lee?" Hop asked.
Sonia shrugged. "I dropped out after the first badge; it was never really something I—WHOA!"
The train suddenly lurched and began to slow down quickly. Our snacks shot straight to the floor, and Sonia's drink, so pretty in its crystallized martini glass, splattered on her sweatshirt. A few other passengers looked up in confusion and shock, and suddenly the train was standing still on the tracks.
"Sorry for the delay," buzzed a voice on the intercom. "Seems a rogue herd of Wooloo have stumbled across the track. We'll be here a few minutes while we remedy the situation."
"Oh no!" Hop said, shooting to his feet. "Wooloo don't usually leave their pasture on their own, I hope nothing is up."
"Didn't yours do the exact same thing?" I asked dryly.
"Hush you. Sonia, let me out, I want to see what's up."
"Huh? Yeah, fine, Hop. Damn, this is definitely going to stain, and I paid a lot of money for that drink! I'm headed to the loo to wash up." Sonia and Hop both got up from the booth, Hop heading for the first car, and Sonia heading for the back.
"Gloria, can you lay off on the jokes about Sonia? Please?" Victor asked once she was out of earshot.
"You make it so fun, though, Vic!"
"How would you like it if I did that to you?"
"Victor, if I ever go loopy when I see a girl, you will be the first one to make fun of me. It is your duty as a brother."
"…fine. But maybe not so much when she's around us?"
I looked at him and saw that he was pretty distressed about the matter, his golden-brown eyes almost pleading for me to ease up. I had to relent, so I stuck my hand out to make a truce with him. "You got a …what's that?"
"What's what?"
"That!" I pointed out the window, and Victor looked out just in time to see a couple figures trudge by, headed to the rear of the train. It was hard to make out their individual features, but both had shocking pink hair, one with long strands running down their back, and the other in a mohawk held together with enough hair gel I swear I could smell it from the cab.
"Who're they?" Victor asked.
"No idea. You think they had something to do with the Wooloo?"
"Maybe, I don't—wait, where are you going?"
I had hardly noticed, but I was already on my feet and stepping toward the back of the train already.
"I guess I'm going to go find out," I shrugged, and jogged to the back of the car.
"Gloria, wait up!" Victor cried, but I was already through the door and standing between cars. I could see the figures further away, but still couldn't make out what they looked like beyond the pink hair, due to their all-black clothing. They definitely were up to no good though, Wooloo or no Wooloo. I rushed into the next car, a crowded coach car filled with confused and annoyed passengers.
"Gloria, do you really think we should be trying to pick a fight with them?" Victor asked, trailing right behind me.
"I'm not—excuse me—trying to pick a fight, I'm just trying to answer a question."
"I'm afraid of any kind of answer someone in a magenta mohawk would give."
"Yeah, well you're afraid of talking to Sonia and she's the least dangerous person I've ever met in my life."
"Gloria, what did I just say?"
"I didn't shake on it; you can't hold me to a promise I didn't get to make yet!"
We had come to the end of the next car, and this third car was a small luggage car bringing up the rear of the train. Victor had just closed the door behind us when the very end of the door opened, and the two figures came in and I got a chance to look at them much more clearly.
The first one, whose pink hair lay flat on her head, was a terrifying sight indeed. Her long hair may have been long on the top, but the sides and rear were shaved to the skin, making her look like a female Pyroar, and her expression, with cold, calculating eyes and a defiant sneer, helped complete the look. Her companion with the mohawk also had a tough, weathered expression. While he was a bigger man, he didn't look soft, and his hands looked to be bigger than either of our heads. Both wore full leather from head to toe, and both had a bright pink mask on to match their hair. The two looked at us and stopped moving. They were alert, but they didn't look nervous; rather, they looked like they were ready to pounce on us.
"Oh no," Victor whispered.
"What do you want?" grunted the mohawk one through gritted teeth. I had to admit, I should have thought this one through a bit further. The two pink-haired goons, looked at me, grinning darkly. Their teeth were yellowed and sharp.
"You…you lot have your tickets?" I said with false bravado.
"Matter of fact, we don't," the long-haired one sneered before turning to her partner. "Didn't realize they hired conductors so young, mate. Looks like we gotta respect this young business-minded individual."
"I'm not respectin' anyone while I still smell like those sheep,"
"So, you had something to do with the Wooloo situation?" I asked.
"Gloria, we should just head back…"
"Maybe we did, maybe we didn't," the pink haired Pyroar one said. "Whatchoo going to do about it?" And to punctuate her point, she pulled a Pokéball from her waist and held it at the ready. Mohawk man grinned and did the same.
"We'll cut you a deal, kid," he said. "You beat us, we hop off this train like nothin' ever happened. We beat you; you hand over your tickets and your money and you hop of this train."
"Are we seriously getting robbed two hours into our journey?" Victor quaked.
"You're on!" I cried, grabbing at Scorbunny's Pokéball, and holding it up as well. "Back me up, Vic."
"You are going to be the death of me, Gloria."
"I'll tell Sonia about what a valiant hero you were."
"I hate you," he grumbled playfully, pulling Sobble's ball off his belt and stepping next to me.
"Awright, let's go!" Mohawk man said, tossing his ball out, alongside his partner. They had with them a Thievul and a Zigzagoon, common enough Pokémon back on routes one and two. The Thievul stood tall, with reddish brown fur with black markings that resembled a mask and a suave moustache. Its long tail billowed out behind it. Usually, they kept themselves scarce unless one of us were messing with their Nickit pups, but this one looked much more confrontational. The Zigzagoon darted back and forth between its legs, a little too carelessly. It's vibrant black and white lightning bolt stripes would make a lesser trainer think it was an electric type, but I'd dealt with enough of these pests to know they couldn't take a shock if they tried.
"Alright, here we go!" I yelled, and Victor and I sent out our first partners. Well, Victor did. Sobble hopped to the ready and next to him was…Yamper? Damn, how did trainers always know which Pokéball was which? I'd have to work on that eventually, when I wasn't facing some punks on the back of a train.
"Alright, Yamper, that Thievul's going to be a problem! Tail Whip!"
"Sucker Punch!" yelled Mohawk, and his Thievul cut the distance between itself and Yamper in the blink of an eye, ready to strike, but Yamper immediately twisted around, and brushed her tail delicately on the Thievul's paws, distracting it.
"Pound!" cried Victor, and Sobble quickly smacked one of its grabbers right on the nose of the Thievul. It yipped, annoyed, and took a couple steps back.
"Tackle 'em!" shouted the Pink Pyroar, and Zigzagoon charged at our Pokémon.
"Water Gun!"
"Nuzzle!"
Sobble moved quicker than Yamper, and just as the Zigzagoon leaped toward her, Sobble coated it with a splatter of water, so that it was nice and damp when it rammed into Yamper, who, with a bright yellow flash, shocked the poor thing into submission almost immediately. A critical hit! The Pink Pyroar cursed and withdrew her Pokémon.
"Nice play, Victor," I said, knocking his shoulder softly with my right fist. He smiled.
"Stop fooling around, Thievul! Snarl and go in for a quick attack!" The large fox unleashed a loud and terrifying growl, making Yamper back up into a shelf of suitcases. The Thievul then lunged and the two collided with the shelf, sending bags and suitcases flying.
"Yamper, run to its left and use Nuzzle again!"
"Sobble, you can do it! Take its right side and use water gun!"
Our Pokémon understood immediately and split up, flanking the Thievul and causing it to look nervously from side to side. Its trainer also looked unsure of what to do, blanking and not knowing what command to give at all. In a burst of electricity and water, the Pokémon buckled, and though it looked like it could stand up again, it was immediately recalled in a flash of red light.
"You better watch you and your bloke's back!" Mohawk said as he and Pink Pyroar lept from the back of the cart and onto the tracks below. Just at that moment, the train lurched forward, and we started to pull away from the two punks, who were shaking their fists angrily.
"I guess Hop must have cleared out all those Wooloo pretty quickly then," Victor said, trying to regain his balance.
"Lots of practice with his own, I'd bet," I said, walking over to the door and shutting it tightly. I looked through the door window to see the two punks arguing with each other as a pair of Wooloo wandered back onto the track. It was only then that I noticed their two black leather jackets were both embroidered with a stylized pink Y, same color as their hair.
"Who even were they?" Victor asked.
"Some sort of discount Team Rocket-type wankers, I reckon?" I surmised.
"That…that was actually a lot of fun," Victor grinned. "I think I know why you and Hop are so eager on doing the challenge now."
"Good thing Sonia got that endorsement for you, then."
"Yeah, good thing."
"Hey, I heard some commotion here, what was…WHAT was going on in here?" came an angry sounding voice. Victor and I spun around to see the actual train conductor, livid and looking around the luggage car. It was only now that I realized our scuffle with the two made a right mess of the whole luggage car. Puddles of water covered the floor and suitcases were strewn about left and right, and some had even opened, revealing all sorts of clothes inside. In the center of the car, Yamper sat licking her wounds and Sobble was bawling. The whole car was a mess, and with those two Pink and Black Punks nowhere to be seen, we were the only ones around to take responsibility. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, I supposed.
A/N: That was my first attempt at a double battle! Wow, it is pretty hard to keep track of four Pokemon at once; how do you people do it? Hope you enjoyed, there's plenty more on the horizon!
Up Next: DYNAMAX!