A/N: We're about to hit two of my favorite locations in all of Galar, and we're going to be spending a bit longer than usual around Glimwood Tangle and Ballonlea, and only part of that is because I love writing Opal so much and it's her time to shine in the gym challenge. The next few chapters are going to be a rollercoaster as far as action goes, so hopefully the pacing evens out to be a fun rollercoaster, and not one that just makes you sick! Enjoy the first taste of Glimwood Tangle!

At the northwest end of Stow-On-Side, not far from where the gym was positioned, there was a long and deep crack in the rock facing the town was built up against. Upon first glance, it seemed like something that had been caused by centuries of erosion, but as Marnie, Victor, and I stood in front of the crack and looked through it, it looked more as if some magical force was pushing itself through the rock and into the city. It wasn't even noon yet, but the thick plant life that spilled out of the hole covered almost any light from the sun, making it look black as night inside. Dark green vines curled out like tentacles, or perhaps hands trying to force the two sides of the crack even further apart. Deeper in, I could see faint green and red lights, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out where the lights were coming from. Even the heat of the desert sun had no effect on the mysterious entrance to Glimwood Tangle; as we took another cautious step toward the opening in the rock, a cool breeze blew out from the hole, sending a shiver down my spine. I reached out and clutched Marnie's hand.

"You turnin' Wimpod on me, Gloria?" she joked, but she clutched my hand tightly. I could feel the slightest tremble in her fingers.

"It's all just illusions," Victor said to himself, but his own words didn't seem to convince him.

"Then we're fine, right?" I said. "Nothing to worry about!" And with that, and still clutching Marnie's hand in my own, I led the two into the darkness. Slowly, our eyes adjusted, and as the path took a sharp left turn and the light from Stow-in-Side became fully obscured, we began to see the inside of the forest truly come to life. Tall grass grew to near half our height in bunches, and deep inside these bunches of grass, I could hear the quiet rustling of wild Pokémon, but due the darkness and possibly their own unwillingness to be seen, I couldn't see any of them. There were ancient, tall trees whose roots dug into the pathway, creating a rough and winding terrain that felt like a maze despite not branching once. The leaves of these trees created a canopy so thick that no light from the sun filtered through, but we could still see by the mysterious glow of giant green and red mushrooms that littered the forest floor, each one far enough from each other to keep the forest evenly lit, but only barely.

"You think if I take a bite of this I'll grow or shrink?" I joked to Victor as he inspected one of the giant mushrooms up close. The stem of the mushroom was up to his waist, and the cap spread out two feet in diameter. He rolled his eyes at my joke and gave the cap a hard slap. The mushroom shuttered with an almost human sigh, and strange glowing spores spilled out and floated lazily to the ground. For a brief second, the world around us was almost bright as daylight, but as the spores landed and extinguished, the forest began to dim yet again. As the lights dimmed, I started getting the feeling that we weren't the only three around anymore…

"Whaaaa! That mushroom moved!" Marnie screamed, wrapping her arms around me suddenly and tightly. I whirled around with some difficulty and grabbed at my Pokéball to see that one of the mushrooms had indeed turned around to face us. Morpeko hopped from Marnie's shoulder and stood on all fours warily, cheeks sparking. But the mushroom didn't look hostile, just curious. Unlike the red and green ones that dotted the forest floor, this one had a faded pink cap, and on its long white stem was a gaunt face that smiled eerily at us. A handlike sinew peeled up from the stem and waved at us before the mushroom turned around and slowly walked back into a patch of tall grass near us.

"Shiinotic," Victor whispered, holding his phone at the receding Pokémon and scanning it with his Pokédex app.

"Who's the Wimpod now," I slyly said to Marnie. She looked at me and frowned, and even in the low light, I could see her pale face was pink with embarrassment.

"You two didn't see that," she grumbled, trying to let go of me.

I held her fast to my side and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "You know, you're very cute when you're scared for your life," I said.

"Shut your dumb mouth," Marnie growled, but the moment I let go of her she quickly kissed me back and grabbed my hand again with a tight squeeze. We set off after Victor, who already seemed to be annoyed at his status as the third wheel.

We continued walking in relative silence for about an hour, though it was hard to figure out how much time was passing at all. I was reminded of the time Hop and I rushed into the Slumbering Weald to chase after Wooloo. It had only been about a month, but it felt like years ago. We had come so far and changed so much. Well, perhaps I hadn't changed much, but Hop certainly had.

I frowned and checked my phone. No new messages from him. Where could he be? He said he had been training here, but this forest was much bigger than it seemed on any map. Plus, we could be walking around in circles for all I knew. Eventually, it was too much for me to handle. "Hop!" I called out, breaking the silence. My voice was weaker, far less loud than I had expected it to be. My voice must not have carried through all the dense foliage. I called out his name again, louder this time.

"Gloria, hush!" Victor said suddenly, looking around with wide eyes.

"What, we have to find him, don't we?" I retorted. "It's not like he can see us through all these leaves. HOP! WHERE ARE YOU?"

"I think your brother might be right," Marnie said, dropping my hand and turning to look behind us. The rustling in the grass had disappeared, and the wood was suddenly silent as death. Morpeko's cheeks sparked again, as if it were sensing something. Soon I could feel it too. Something was watching us.

"C'mon out, Growlithe," Victor squeaked, clicking open one of his Pokéballs. Growlithe landed softly next to him and began to sniff around.

"Hello?" I asked, quieter now. Victor, Marnie, and I backed into each other slowly, looking out from all angles. Suddenly, I saw a shadow move behind one of the red mushrooms. "There!" I cried, pointing it out.

"Growlithe, Take Down!" Victor ordered. The dog launched itself at the mushroom and crashed into it, sending a shower of spores into the air. They floated lazily down, casting their eerie light onto the ground around it. Growlithe picked itself back up and sneezed, a little dazed from using so much of its power at once and completely unaware of the shadowy figure creeping up behind it.

"Victor!" I shouted.

"Morpeko, Aura Wheel!" Marnie said. Morpeko sped forward, blue and yellow sparks spinning around it rapidly, as if she was inside an exercise wheel. She crashed into the figure, who flew back into the mushroom again, sending a new flurry of spores in every direction. As the spores floated down, the three of us tentatively walked up to the mushroom, but there was nothing there. The shadow had disappeared.

"Growlithe, why don't you just stay out with us?" Victor said shakily. Growlithe snapped to attention and wagged its tail, excited for the exercise.

"Not a bad idea," I agreed, tossing out a Pokéball of my own. Vibrava appeared in front of me and fluttered its wings as it looked around curiously. "Vibrava, could you fly a few feet above us and keep an eye out for anything weird?"

Vibrava quickly took to the sky and began buzzing low a few feet above our heads, circling between the tree trunks as we continued to make our way through the woods. We moved a bit slower at first, looking left and right at any noise we heard, but the steady buzz of Vibrava flying above us was a welcome sign that maybe the shadow had been more scared of us than it. I still couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching us as we walked, though.

Another fifteen minutes of silence passed, and we still had no idea how far we had gone or where Hop had run off to. I pulled out my phone again to look for any new messages, but there was no service. Great, I said to myself, stuffing it back into my pocket. Marnie was walking next to me, fingers tapping an Ultra Ball she had pulled from her bag. "Don't wanna get caught off-guard again," she had explained.

Suddenly Vibrava zipped to the ground, dodging a loud crack from above us. The three of us on the ground scattered, just in time for a large tree branch to come crashing down where we had just been.

"Vibrava! Bulldoze!" I ordered, and Vibrava zipped past me and straight into the branch, flying low enough to kick up a bunch of grass and dirt with it. There was another crack as Vibrava crashed into the branch, sending it deep into the trees, but there was no other Pokémon to hit.

"Ember! Up there!" Victor cried, pointing up to where the branch had fallen from. Growlithe shot a small fireball up to the tree line, where it promptly dissipated on the tree trunk. As the fire spread out upon hitting the tree, two bright malicious eyes stared down at us, and then were gone just as quickly.

"Dragon Breath!" I shouted. Vibrava turned to face where the eyes had just been and inhaled. Before he could start his attack, a shadow fell quickly from a tree and zipped up to Vibrava, punching it with a hard uppercut. Vibrava reeled back in shock, but still managed to send a blast of blue draconic flame in the direction of the attacker. As the flames spread across the shadow, we could finally get a good look at it. It was a small humanoid, with reddish skin that looked purple in the blue light of the flames and large pointy ears that stuck out of its long, thick, black hair like bloody spikes. Its eyes glinted with malice, and so did two small but incredibly sharp fangs.

"Gloria, those flames are doing nothing to it," Victor said nervously, but as soon as the attack was over, the beast made a show of wobbling weakly before falling to its hands and knees. None of us moved for two seconds, watching it carefully.

"Wait, what am I doing?" I asked. "Vibrava! Bulldoze it again!" Vibrava buzzed forward, again low enough to the ground to pick up some dirt with it, but as it was just about to close the gap, the beast looked up with a terrifying grin and whipped its head around. Its black hair lashed out like a whip and smacked directly into Vibrava, sending him careening into a tree trunk and sliding into the tall grass. Vibrava did not rise. I rushed over to the tree, and as I did, I heard the monster cackle and rush off into the forest.

Vibrava was stunned when I got to it, but when it snapped to, he gave a feeble buzz to let me know that he was okay. I smiled with relief and returned him to his Pokéball and then turned back to face Marnie and Victor.

"What was that?" I asked.

"I have no idea, but it gave me the creeps," Victor said, shivering.

"I dunno, I kinda like its moxie," Marnie said with a shrug. "Vibrava's okay, right?"

"Yeah," I said, "but I don't think he'll be good to battle any time soon. We've got to be getting close to Ballonlea. We should make for the Pokémon Center there."

"What about Hop?" Victor asked.

I grimaced. "I don't know. How are we even supposed to find him in this forest? Does he even want us to find him anyway?"

"That's a little harsh," Victor said with a frown.

I groaned and slipped Vibrava's Pokéball back onto my belt with a pronounced click. "Look," I argued, "I know we promised Sonia we'd find him, but it's not like any of us have a dedicated Hop tracker. Plus, none of us have service here anyway, so I'd love to hear what your idea for finding him is!"

"I…I don't know," Victor replied. He looked down at the now-flattened mushroom. The spores were beginning to fade and the shadows around us started to close back in.

"Hey, I'm sorry," I said, rubbing my temple. "This place is just giving me the creeps, and I'm a little stressed about that thing that just attacked us. And even if he is in a funk, I know Hop can handle this place! If he wants to do it alone, that's his prerogative."

"I get it," Victor said, raising his hands in defeat and turning back to the path. "C'mon, Growlithe, we should get moving."

"Victor…" I said, but he kept walking. Marnie gave me a small nudge and walked ahead, too. Her expression was blank. I followed along behind, wishing I hadn't opened my big mouth. We walked in single file, first Growlithe, then Victor, then Marnie with Morpeko snuggled up on her shoulder, and me bringing up the rear. The ominous feeling of being watched came and went too, and we found ourselves checking over our shoulders at the slightest noise or movement.

"D'you think these mushrooms are starting to get closer together?" Victor asked eventually. He was the first one to break the heavy silence.

"I…I hadn't, but now that you mention it, yeah," I agreed, looking at a pair of green mushrooms glowing next to us.

"Maybe we're getting close to Ballonlea?" he asked.

"Definitely," Marnie grunted. She seemed even less enthused than usual.

"Well, if we're close, maybe we can take some more time to look for Hop after all," I offered, hoping Victor would be a little less cold.

"Gloria, I said it's fine. You were right, we can't find him without a plan. Let's plan it out at the Pokémon Cen—"

"Shut up," Marnie said suddenly, grabbing both of our hands and pulling us to the side of the path. "It's back."

"Growlithe, on alert!" Victor hissed. Growlithe spread its paws and barked, ready to fight. Orange embers fell from its mouth and fell to the grass with a sizzle. Morpeko bounced to its side and started shooting sparks from her cheeks. I grabbed at the second Pokéball on my belt – Boltund's. The three of us stared at a bush that was rustling. As soon as whatever it was that was inside realized we were all staring, the rustling stopped, and the inside began to glow a soft yellow.

"That thing's just tryin' to trick us again," Marnie said. "Morpeko. Aura wheel again."

"Follow up with Take Down!" Victor added, pointing his finger toward the bush.

Morpeko zipped forward and as it did, I saw the strange prickling in its fur again. After a couple steps, her entire body was no longer yellow but instead that deep purple. The blue and yellow sparks that had accompanied its charge were now bright red, as if they were hot like fire instead of electricity. But before they could even make it to the bush, a blast of air hurled them back toward us. The air was strangely warm and comforting to me as the residual breeze blew past us, and I saw Growlithe quickly shake its head and rush back over to the bush, teeth bared, but Morpeko took the gust much worse, skidding to a halt and barely pulling itself back up to its hind legs, panting heavily.

"Tha's a…fairy wind!" Marnie said, eyes widened. "Morpeko, get back!" As Morpeko staggered back behind her, she tossed a second Pokéball out, and her Croagunk landed on the grass.

Growlithe, meanwhile, jumped into the bush, which rustled violently. The yellow-white light burst out of the bush, illuminating Growlithe and another quadrupedal figure, who reared up on its hind legs and let loose a loud neigh.

"Growlithe, watch out!" Victor called, but it was too late. The other figure spun onto its front and lashed out, kicking Growlithe directly in the face and sending the poor dog out of the bush dizzily. Growlithe slumped to the ground and quickly faded into red particles as Victor returned it to its Pokéball.

"Wait a minute, that move looks oddly familiar…" I said, and sure enough, the glowing yellow shape moved out of the bush and into the faint light of the forest and we finally got a look at the wild Ponyta as it stared at us curiously. We hung there for a few seconds, staring at each other. The glow faded just a little bit, and I noticed that it seemed…different somehow. Bede's Ponyta had a mane that reminded me of cotton candy, pink and blue clouds that floated effortlessly around its neck, tail and hooves, but the cloudy hair on this one was that same oddly glowing light. And perhaps it was because of the intense darkness of the forest, but it seemed to be glowing much brighter than Bede's. It seemed to shine. It took a step toward me curiously, staring deep into my eyes, as if evaluating me; inviting me to come closer to it. I raised my hand with Boltund's Pokéball in it. Perhaps it wanted to battle me?

"Poison jab," Marnie said quickly. Croagunk leaped into action, but with a quick shift of its eyes, Ponyta looked over and neighed loudly. The small black horn on its head began to glow and a quick beam of psychic energy blasted out, hitting Croagunk directly and sending it back to Marnie, where it also crumpled. The Ponyta looked back at me and scuffed the ground with its hooves. I understood exactly what it wanted now.

"Boltund, go! Nuzzle!" Boltund sprung from the ball in my outstretched hand and hit the ground running. Ponyta attempted to hop to the side, but it was no good. Boltund slid her fur up against Ponyta's flank and I saw Ponyta jolt with surprise and stumble backwards, leg muscles rippling.

"Its horn is glowing, watch out!" I called. Boltund looked up and made a quick hop to the left just in time to evade another powerful Psybeam. I pumped my fist in the air and ordered a Spark attack, which Boltund delivered, knocking Ponyta back a few extra feet. Before it even had another time to react, I reached into my backpack and rummaged around until I found a Pokéball, and as Ponyta started to rush at Boltund again, I threw it.

A direct hit! The Pokéball bounced dramatically off Ponyta's forehead and opened, sucking it up in a surge of red energy before dropping to the ground. It shook once, twice, three times and came to a rest with a satisfying click.

I screamed in excitement, and Boltund leapt up into my arms, knocking me over and licking my face, proud of all the help she was during the battle. Victor and Marnie both nodded with approval, and after a couple seconds, managed to pull my excitable pup off me so I could go grab my newest team member. I stood there, Ponyta's Pokéball in hand, and immediately the little horse popped out. It was still weak from the battle, and the electricity from Boltund's nuzzle was still coursing through its veins, but her eyes were happy, as it seemed I had passed the test.

"Welcome to the team, girl," I said, combing my hand through her mane. It was soft as silk, and just having my hand inside filled me with warmth and confidence. Ponyta neighed softly and leaned her head into my hand.

"Hey, you need a paralyze heal?" Victor asked, as I heard him rummaging through his bag. I nodded, and he brought the medicine over to me. As he handed it over though, the air turned cold. Ponyta shivered, and I saw her mane's luminosity start to fade.

"Wh-what's going on?" I asked, whipping around next to Victor, who was also looking up through the trees as another shadow started darting around us. Suddenly, from all around us came a wicked cackle that chilled me to the bone. That thing had returned. The small black mass jumped from branch to branch, just out of our line of sight, cackling all the way. Victor shrunk back and grabbed a Pokéball, and I fumbled as I grabbed Cinderace's, just in case. Suddenly, the shadow landed directly in front of us. The little gremlin had finally returned and was stalking directly toward us. Its eyes were sunken in its head, yet still shown like beacons in the dim light, and its grin grew on its face, far wider than it should have been able to grow, and its shrill laugh pierced the air and filled us with dread as it slowly inched toward us, arms outstretched, and ready to—

"Oh, for the love of—fry it, Morpeko!" A burst of electricity sliced through the air, hitting the beast directly. It whipped around and screamed with all its might, only to get beamed by the Ultra Ball that Marnie was tossing about earlier. It immediately was sucked into the ball, which fell on the ground, wobbled three times, and clicked shut. Satisfied with herself, Marnie strutted over and picked it up, then extended a hand to Victor, who graciously accepted the help up to his feet. She then turned to me and pulled me up too, hard enough so our faces were only inches apart.

"We have now established that you are the Wimpod," she smirked.

"My valiant knight, rescueth me yet again," I said in my stuffiest medieval voice.

Marnie blinked in surprised and then rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot," she said rolling her eyes as she leaned in to kiss me.

"Please, fair knight, carrye yon faire maiden to the tower," I continued, shouting to the entire forest and hopping into her arms.

"She always like this?" Marnie asked to Victor as she tried to peel me off her.

"Hey, she's your problem, now," he said, turning back to the path. "C'mon, as much as I want to find Hop, we should really get our new Pokémon a checkup." Marnie gave me a quick but enthusiastic kiss and a warning to never talk in that way again, and then the three of us set off back down the path. Ponyta trotted next to us, lighting the way to our destination.

"So, what are you going to do with that…thing?" Victor asked Marnie after a short time walking.

"That thing just might make a nice spot on my team," Marnie replied haughtily. She was still examining the Ultra ball as the three of us walked through an increasingly brighter Glimwood Tangle. "Morgrem, I think they're called. Dead rare, was kinda hopin' to run into one while we were here, actually. Might give me an edge, since Gloria keeps shitting herself when he pops 'round."

"Two times that happened," I huffed, giving Marnie a light shove. "An' it's not like you can sneak him in during an official battle without my noticing. You don't have a chance."

Marnie frowned, and then sidled up next to me, eyes half closed. "I think I can find other ways to get you distracted," she said softly into my ear as she traced a line down my right arm with her hand and winked.

"Buh," was all I could say in response as I tripped over a root and stumbled onto Ponyta, who neighed in annoyance. Victor and Marnie both laughed, and Victor raised a hand up in front of her. She mulled it over for a second, and then grinned and slapped him five. I grumbled and picked myself off Ponyta, wondering if my heart rate would ever stay low around Marnie.

It wasn't long before the woods started to thin. The light of the mushrooms was getting even brighter, and now they appeared every few yards. Even though the trees seemed smaller, their leaves were still thick overhead, not letting in a single ray of sunlight, as if it were either nighttime, or we were under a magical spell of darkness. Eventually, we started to hear the buzzing of townsfolk, and I knew we finally were getting close. Ponyta whinnied quietly, and after giving her one last pat on the head, I returned her to her Pokéball. Finally, the light from the mushrooms was not the only light near, as faint incandescent light started slipping between the tree trunks.

"Here we are," Victor said. "Ballonlea."

A/N: Fun fact about Horseradish-Sprout, I explicitly chose Shield because Galarian Ponyta was a Shield exclusive! I spent a long time trying to finally find one, and when I did, I named him Charlie because I am a piece of trash who has spent far too much time on the internet over the past...wait how old is the Charlie the Unicorn video now...? WELP SEE YOU NEXT WEEK, GONNA GO HAVE A MID-LIFE CRISIS

NEXT WEEK: THE AUDITION