A/N: Another time-skip here, this chapter starts roughly a week after the last. I really wanted to convey how big the Wild Area is, but there isn't a lot of plot to be had between Kabu and entering Hammerlocke, and anything else I would've added wouldn't have added much to the story in any meaningful way, and this is already going to be long without extra filler! Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

The sky is black as ink, though it is too early for night to have fallen. Still, I can see; fire surrounds the armies as they continue their battle. Trees are reduced to ash in the wake of the bursts of fire lobbed around like children's toys. Gargantuan Pokémon do battle with little regard to themselves or their surroundings. A vicious Mudsdale gallops toward me and I ready my sword, in hopes to somehow fell it before it fells me. I leap forward and swing my sword, but in a beam of light, something overtakes me and crashes into the giant horse, pushing it off its course and into a shallow valley. The beam of light comes to a halt, and I recognize its form; it is my companion. He is haggard and weary, but his eyes tell me that our purpose lies deeper in the battlefield. I nod, and the two of us speed forward.

The skies have had dark days before, and the giant Pokémon have roamed, leaving terror and death in their wake, but never like this. Not like what the Hand has wrought. A demon from the sky, it lives to terrorize, bringing darkness and awe-inspiring power and chaos everywhere it appears. It was truly what drew us from our long slumber, and though mine and my companion's power is great, even our combined efforts could not be enough.

The battle rages onward, and soon we find ourselves leaving the fray, instead stopping at the walls of a black-bricked castle. The castle was once grandiose and beautiful, but now its entrance lies in rubble, the breach leaving a terrible scar on the city inside. Smoke rises in great plumes, and the smell of blood emanates from the rubble. At the base of the wall stand two men. They both wear armor that is shabby, damaged, dented, and covered in soot and scarred earth. Our masters. I come to a halt at the first, a young man whose brave features hide the terrible fear he feels inside. Through our newfound bond, only I can feel his terror as he realizes the task ahead of us.

His older brother, the master to my companion, seems to be stronger. He rests a steady hand on my master's shoulder and smiles wearily. "See, they come at our hour of need, as the stories always say," he says, gesturing at my companion and me. "We can still win the day."

"Yes," the younger brother says slowly. "I do hope you are right." He walks to me and rests his hand against my head. I can feel it tremble, and I lift my head up so his hand is around my neck and ears. He smiles kindly upon me, comforted by my presence.

Suddenly, a violent shake of the earth gives way to an earthshattering screech from the heart of the city. The sky turns from black to a bloody bright red as the evil aura of the Black Hand radiates out from the city center.

"Milords!" a woman calls as she runs into view. "There is no more time. We must make our stand now. Today." Behind her enters a large grey and white bear Pokémon, a stoic grimace on its face. The bear rears up on his hind legs and stands taller than any of the humans. I do not recognize him but feel instantly reassured by his presence. A worthy ally in our fight.

"Yes. We make our stand," the older brother says, turning back toward the city as the red light grows brighter, harsher. A piercing cry ricochets through the downed city walls, and a massive black form grows from the rubble, splitting into five inky black tendrils – the fingers of the Black Hand. The earth begins to shake. Our party rushes forward for the final confrontation.

I sprung up, breathing heavily. Another dream? Was this a dream? It felt so vivid. My heart was racing, as if I were really about to fight that…Black Hand? Was that what they called it. The rest of the dream was starting to fade, but that inky hand stretching across the sky remain burned into the back of my vision. It all seemed so alien, and yet so familiar…

Hop. Hop had also been having the dreams. Had he dreamt of the Black Hand too? Did he have the same dream, or would we be able to piece together any of the meaning behind it? I scrambled out of my sleeping back, waking up Raboot, who grumbled, spit a tiny flame at me, and rolled back over.

"Sorry, bud," I apologized with a grimace. He had been moodier in the past couple days since the Dynamax Surge, although I could tell he was playing up the injury for bigger helpings of food and less time spent training. I let him have his fun. Knowing that our next gym would probably be the Fighting Master Bea or Raihan the Dragon Tamer himself, he probably wouldn't be of too much help. I zipped open the door and clambered out into the crisp morning air.

"Hop!" I called, running to his tent, only to see that once again, he had left the tent open, with Wooloo and Corvisquire sleeping inside. I spun around, and saw him further away, ordering his new Cramorant to do laps around a giant boulder that stood tall and strong, like a Golurk. I sighed and jogged up to him.

"Hop, you're never gonna—" I started, but he raised his hand stiffly, cutting me off.

"Not now, Gloria. We're working on getting Cramorant's speed and agility up."

"Oh…okay, but this is important."

"So is this," he shot back, ripping his eyes off his Pokémon for a brief second and glaring at me. His eyes had deep purple bags underneath them, but his lenses flared fiercely.

"Hop…"

"I said, not now."

"Have you been up all night?"

"What? No, don't be silly. Rest is important."

"Did you even get any?" I looked over at his Cramorant. It was clearly in good form, but I could tell from some of its movements that it was very tired, borderline exhausted. "Hop, I think maybe you should cool it with the early morning training sessions."

"Can't. Can't be weak. Can't lose. Cramorant's gonna be an ace!"

"Hop…"

"Gloria!"

"Hop, would you cut it out?!" I cried, pushing him aside and running up to Cramorant, who had slowed down considerably, breathing heavily. "Cramorant is completely wiped, you can't push it like this, you're mental!" I caught the bird in my hands and held it tight. It struggled meekly, but gave little resistance, resting its head on my arms.

I swung my head over at Hop angrily, about to rip into him, but I saw that my actions seemed to have knocked some sense into him. His face was positively aghast, and he slumped to his knees, clutching at his short, thick hair.

"Glor…oh hell, Gloria, Cramorant, oh bloody hell this isn't who I am, what am I doing?"

"You're getting far too into your head, you nut," I scolded. "Poor thing's worked half to death with all this crazy training you're doing!"

"I…I'm sorry…"

"Yeah, well, you'd better be," I said stiffly, standing back up and carrying Cramorant over to him. "No more of these ridiculous extra training sessions, alright? Or at least work the rest of your team."

"Right…"

"Hop, what has gotten into you?" I asked, handing him his Pokémon. "Don't tell me you're still chuffed at that battle with Bede."

"That's not it."

"Hop."

"What?"

We looked at each other and I don't know if I'd ever seen him so glum. My heart broke a little, and I grabbed his shoulder. "You can tell me what's up, you know I'm always here for you."

Hop looked down, deep in thought. His eyes were red from lack of sleep, and he looked like he was on the verge of tears. "Gloria, this whole gym challenge is my life. I have to win this."

"Seems a bit extreme," I joked nervously. "Besides, we've got all the time in the world, there's no need to—"

"No need to get sloppy?" Hop said sourly.

"Who said anything about getting sloppy?" I asked.

"You. I saw the video Eddie took. You said I was sloppy."

"I didn't—" I started, but suddenly I remembered the conversation we had. "That's not what I meant. I meant—"

"Gloria," he interrupted, screwing his eyes up. "I know you didn't mean anything harsh about it. You told the truth! I got cocky and let Bede walk all over me. I was cocky and almost lost to Kabu, too."

"So why are you so upset?"

"Because it still hurt to hear," he said with a shrug. "I already have to prove to Leon that I'm as good a battler as him, but I didn't think I had to prove myself to you, too."

"Hop, you're mad. You've got me beat 2-1 in battles; do you remember? You don't need to prove anything to me!" I smiled and grabbed his shoulder, giving him a friendly shake.

He looked at me. His anger and hurt dissolved into a bittersweet happiness and he smiled softly. "I guess you're right. As bad as I am, you're just a little bit worse."

"I'll let this one pass for now," I laughed, giving him a playful shove. "But only if you make breakfast this morning."

He laughed and jogged back to the tent, Cramorant in tow. I smiled, but deep down I found myself just worrying more.

After breakfast, we quickly packed up our tents and started heading further north, in the direction of Hammerlocke. Hop was determined to move quickly, and though I tried to bring it up, I couldn't find a way to bring up the dream from the morning. He must not have been having any more, I thought to myself. Surely, he would have brought it up again. Right?

As we pushed north, further out of the cover of trees, a heavy wind began to blow, and with it, leaves and pollen blew with it. It whipped us from all angles, dancing around rock formations that only seemed to get larger and more ominous in size and shape. Few Pokémon were out, and I couldn't see another trainer at all. The only living things I could see outside of Hop and me were a trio of Mandibuzz circling overhead something in the distance. I pulled out my Rotom phone and saw that we were nearing a part of the Wild Area called the Dusty Bowl. The namesake huge dust cloud lay in front of us. To our left and right, I could see the ground rise up around. Hop pushed forward earnestly.

"Hop, I think we should go the long way around!" I shouted over the gusts of wind.

"No, there's a lot of bang-up ground type Pokémon hidden in the Dusty Bowl! You and I could really find an ace here!" Hop called back, pushing himself further again.

"Can we at least wait until these winds break?" I asked, glancing ahead at the clouds.

"Are you mad? Ground types are crazy for these sandstorms! Some of them can even make sandstorms! I bet we'll find a Tyranitar around here!"

"You have the most frustratingly one-track mind I have ever known," I grumbled, but nevertheless, I followed him nervously. He did have a point – I would eventually need three more Pokémon on my team if I wanted to qualify for the Pokémon league, and ground types were known for being powerful Pokémon who could really take a wailing before falling in battle. But I also knew it would be tough to catch one – Boltund's electric attacks wouldn't even affect a ground type, let alone weaken it to the point of catching. Raboot, still injured, wouldn't be a much greater help either. Good thing Bewear was around.

Soon enough, the wind was whipping around particles of sand and dirt instead of leaves. It was hard to see where we were going, and though none of the sand was strong enough to cut through our skin, there was a sharp enough sting every time a particle struck us that we were slowed down.

"Hop, I really think we should find a place that's safer so we can at least come up with a plan of attack here," I groaned loudly. I could barely hear my voice over the sand whipping around us.

"Hate to admit it, but you've got a point," Hop shouted. He then pointed to a small overcropping where the wind didn't look to be blowing so hard. "Let's try over there!" We trudged through the sand and finally found a bit of shelter. I slumped up against the rock and slid down to a sitting position while Hop peered out, looking for whatever Pokémon would be insane enough to wander in that weather.

"Hop, I really appreciate your enthusiasm, but I think you should actually get some rest," I said, releasing Raboot from his ball. The rabbit took one look at the sandstorm and gave his Pokéball a kick, triggering the return function and hopping back inside his ball.

"Alright, moody boy," I huffed.

"Gloria, look!" Hop cried. I glanced out, and surprisingly enough, I could see the large figure of a Hippowdon trudging calmly through sand. Its black hide was barely visible in the weather, and if it weren't moving, I would've mistaken it for a rock. Even its distinctive blood-red eyes were almost too dull to see.

"These are one of those Pokémon who can naturally summon sandstorms!" Hop explained excitedly. "I bet Lee would have a hell of a time beating me if I had a Hippowdon; Charizard would have a hell of a time with any ground types!"

He made to rush back out into the storm, but I hooked my arm around his neck. "Oh, no you don't, we are resting until this storm subsides or else." Hop struggled for a bit, but after nearly two weeks of early rising, intense training sessions, and weariness from traveling, he wasn't nearly as strong as me.

"Fine, but if I miss out on a strong ground type because of your dumb strong arms, I'm gonna be pissed, mate."

"Get a full night's sleep and maybe you wouldn't be such a weak pisser," I laughed. The two of us sat down and watched the Hippowdon slip back into the spinning sandstorm. Neither of us spoke, and soon enough the winds started to die down.

"Guess that sandstorm was all the Hippowdon's doing," I said with a chuckle, but Hop didn't respond. Looking over, I saw him dozing peacefully. I smiled lightly and pulled myself up off the ground and walked a few steps into the open.

Now that the sand was gone, I got to see the basin in its entirety. It was low and flat, with yellowed weeds and dead and dying trees scattered like stubble on a face. It seemed that in an ancient time it could have been a lush forest or a swamp, but now the only sign of life was a lake at the far end of the basin, which was nestled into a cliff face that shot straight up before rounding off at around a hundred fifty feet. At the water's edge were a handful of large Pokémon. It was hard to tell exactly which Pokémon they were, but I thought I could recognize the rocky spines of a Rhyhorn and a Boldore, but there were many Pokémon that I could not recognize. I pulled out my Rotom Phone and tried to scan from a distance, but even with zooming in, I couldn't figure out the shapes. I took a few steps out and noticed a couple rocky dens, each emitting the familiar Dynamax energy, though none were bursting with bright beams of light like when the Perrserker attacked us. I wandered over to one of the dens and looked inside nervously. If anything was inside, it didn't stir. I breathed a sigh of relief and wandered back towards the outcropping where Hop slept.

Inside, I grabbed my backpack and Pokéballs and released my entire team. Bewear and Boltund were both energetic and excited to see me, Bewear going so far as to give me a tight squeeze as soon as he was out of the ball.

"Haha, alright you big softie, leggo," I said, pushing away from him. "What do you say we get a little training in while Hop's asleep?" Raboot, who had also been released, rolled his eyes, but as we wandered back out into the basin, I noticed that he had a hop in his step that I hadn't seen since his fight with Kabu. What a diva he was turning out to be.

"Alright, Bewear," I said once we were in the midst of a small thicket of dead trees. "There's a move I want to make sure we get juuuuust right; s'called 'Hammer Arm.' Basically you hit something as hard as you possibly can. I think you can figure that out." Bewear grinned and launched himself at one of the trees, and in a single swipe of his giant paw, had lobbed off an entire branch cleanly. I screamed with delight, Boltund howling along with me, and we jogged over to the fallen branch as Bewear stood proudly.

"Alright, looks like you got it down pretty quick, then," I said, examining the branch. It may not have been as hard to break since it was dead, but it was a pretty thick branch, and the cut was a clean one. I grinned at the thought of having a Pokémon so strong. "Bewear, I want you to practice hitting just like this. Don't push yourself too hard, mind. As for you two, we should work on your speed. If we out speed our opponent, we'll win every time. Raboot, when I tell you to, use Double Kick. Boltund, try to catch it with Crunch, okay?" With that, I broke some of the sticks off the giant branch and tossed them in the air.

We continued training that way for about an hour; Bewear knocking branches off the dead trees, and Raboot and Boltund kicking and chomping any stick I tossed into their vicinity. I called them back for a break and gave them a once-over. Bewear was moving pretty slowly, a little tired from exerting himself for so long. I made a mental note to keep Hammer Arm as a backup move. Boltund and Raboot on the other hand, looked as energized as ever.

"You're all looking great," I cooed, scratching Boltund's ear and thumping Bewear one on the back. Raboot looked at me smugly.

"You got that right," came a voice from behind me. I turned around to see Hop walking toward us, yawning. He had a Pokéball in his hand; I hoped it wasn't Cramorant's. "Your team looks…they look really good; I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, sleeping beauty!" I said with a smile. "How was the nap?"

"Good, for a nap. Haven't been able to sleep well recently."

"Bad dreams?"

Hop looked at me, tilted his head, and then quickly shook his head no. "Uh, nothing like that, no. Just haven't been able to sleep."

"Sounds a little evasive, but I'm glad you got some rest finally," I muttered.

"I don't really remember any dreams I would have had," Hop said.

"Oh…" I said, deflating a little.

"Have you been having weird dreams?"

I blinked. "No! Not really. Just…just curious."

"Well, hey, wanna have a quick sparring session?" he asked, holding up the Pokéball. "Raboot and Thwackey. Nothing crazy, just get the blood pumping a bit, right?"

"Too afraid to battle me all-out then?" I said, narrowing my eyes playfully. He stepped back and I saw some sort of worry flash in his eyes before he shook his head.

"Nah," he dismissed with forced bravado. "After all, you told me to cool it with the training. I'll really wallop you before our next gym badge, though."

"I guess that wouldn't be so bad. You up for it, Raboot?" I looked down at him. Raboot puffed out his chest bravely and stepped forward, only for the ground to start shaking with what seemed to be an all-too familiar rumbling.

"Again?" Hop asked nervously, as I braced myself for the worst. But instead of a massive earthquake and lights bursting from underneath the ground, there was just a small tremor underneath Raboot as the ground burst up, knocking him into the sky.

"Raboot!" I shouted as he crashed onto his backside. He was a little dazed, but other than the shock, he didn't seem to have any lasting damage. I looked back at the disturbed earth. All that was there now was a small hole not much larger than a football.

"Was that a Dig attack?" Hop asked curiously.

"Raboot, back on your feet!" I ordered. Raboot hopped up and hopped from side to side intently, waiting for the rumble to come back. Soon enough, the rumble returned, but this time, Raboot was ready. At the last second, before the earth came up to attack him, Raboot hopped high into the air, avoiding the attack entirely and exposing the large orange head of the Pokémon that was digging around underneath.

"Quick Attack!" I cried, and with a quick pivot on his landing, Raboot sped towards the Pokémon, knocking it off its balance and keeping it from digging back into the dirt. I could finally get a good look at the Pokémon itself. It was almost comical how large its head was in comparison to its body as it pulled itself back up to its feet, but any humor in the strange tiny body was lost as I got a look at its mouth and saw a long line of sharp orange teeth and cold, beady eyes.

"That's a Trapinch!" Hop cried as the Pokémon charged at Raboot again, this time above the ground.

"DIBS!" I shouted. "Raboot, hit it with another quick attack! Whatever you do, keep it from going back underground!" I rushed back to my bag sitting a few feet away and dug through it until I found my empty Pokéballs. I nabbed one and whipped back around to see that Raboot had knocked it over a second time. Seizing the opportunity, I chucked the ball at the Trapinch. The ball collided with its hardened jaws, making a heavy cracking noise, and bounced straight up, opening and shooting a bright red light at the Pokémon. Trapinch was sucked inside, and the ball fell to the ground and started to shake once, twice, three times, and then lay still.

"Ha!" I cried with excitement. "I gotcha!"

"That's brilliant luck," Hop said with a grin. "You know what these guys evolve into, right?"

"Flygon, right?" I asked. "Big green guy with buggy red eyes?"

"Yep," Hop said. "You know, Raihan's got a Flygon, and that thing is one of the few Pokémon that ever gave Lee any trouble."

"Well maybe I'll be the one giving Lee the trouble from now on," I said with a laugh as I went to retrieve my new Pokémon.

"Maybe…"

"Oh man, I gotta call Victor and tell him about this, he definitely won't stand a chance if he ever wants to battle me now!" I said, tossing the ball playfully in my hands. "Hey, did you still want to spar a bit? I wanna see what this thing's made of!"

"Uh, you know, I'm still a little out of it from that nap," Hop said quickly, dropping Thwackey's Pokéball to his side. "I probably should let my team rest, like you said."

"Hop, not wanting to battle or train? What's come over you, mate?" I asked. I turned back to him, but he was already walking back to the rocky outcropping. "Hop?"

"Hey, d'you want to help me find some firewood? Maybe we can make Trapinch some welcoming curry!" he said with feigned enthusiasm.

"Sure…" I nodded to Bewear and Boltund, who immediately went to pick up some of the decimated sticks and branches from our training session. I knelt next to Raboot, who all this time, had been looking for some congratulations. I patted him on the tuft of his white fur and smiled. He squeaked in appreciation.

"That was weird, right? He's acting really weird. I'm not just going insane?" I asked the rabbit. He looked up at me curiously and tilted his head to the side, as if he was telling me I already knew the answer.

A/N: Our hero now has a team of four! Fun fact: Flygon was one of the two aces on my initial run through Galar (and Kalos, and Hoenn...) I always try to use a team of Pokemon I've never used before, but this stupid, dumb, incredible, wonderful dragon seems to keep sneaking into my final team comps. I say that Gloria was not supposed to have a dragon in this when I first plotted out the story, but it looks like it's happened again. Damn you, Flygon, for being such a cool-ass Dragon who I always love to have around (yes I am aware that there are other dragons she could have found but in my defense, get off my back lol)

NEXT WEEK: JAWS OF THE DRAGON