A/N: Sorry about the very short chapter this week, folks! The pacing called for a bit of a breather between the more battle- and plot-heavy chapters, and I ended up trimming a lot of this one because it was me typing the same thing over and over again. I almost added what I planned to include in the next chapter, but I thought we should have one small, calmer segment just to see where all our heroes are at going into semifinals. Enjoy the short chapter and go catch a Cinderace for 2023 - the year of the Rabbit (I only know this because of the Cinderace event in Scarlet/Violet lol)!

The celebration of Hop's victory over Bede was short-lived. Though it felt like a milestone battle for him, even Hop knew that any other battles he would have in this tournament would be just as, if not more difficult than any he'd ever participated in. All of this became frighteningly clear to not just him, but me, as we returned to the stadium for Leon's quarterfinal match, where he beat Piers so thoroughly that Marnie had already excused herself before her brother had lost his third Pokémon of the bout.

"Leon really is something else, isn't he?" Victor breathed as his Charizard whipped around the stadium at lightning pace, disorienting Piers' Skuntank before hurling a couple small fireballs at it. "It almost looks like a Purrloin playing with its food."

"Yeah," Hop said, gulping, "he does that. Since no one's ever able to come close to beating him so half the time he tends to play it up a bit. Or a lot."

"Well, one of you guys is going to have a lot of fun in the championship match," Victor snickered, as Charizard stopped goofing around and launched a massive wall of fire at Skuntank, far too much power for the Pokémon to withstand.

"Ouch, that Blast Burn really is something else," Hop said, sinking back into his spot on the bench. I said nothing. The way that Leon was battling, I would almost have rather faced Eternatus head-on than go toe-to-toe with him. The battle ultimately was a showcase for Leon's Charizard and Haxorus, who alternated between every Pokémon Piers sent out, easily taking each one out, and soon enough, the battle was done. Four challengers remained: Hop, me, Leon, and Raihan.

Shortly after, we met back up with Marnie and Piers, the latter of which was remarkably calm about how his loss went, and headed back to the hotel. "Gonna be real nice to get out of this town and back home again," he said.

"You're not going to stay for the end of the tournament?" Victor asked. "Don't they do a big ceremony with all the top finishers and gym leaders?"

"Not my scene," he scoffed.

"You're going to stay," Marnie scolded, eyeing Piers sharply. "You're the Dark-type Gym Leader."

"Not for much longer," he groaned. "My offer still stands, and since you're out of the tournament…"

"We'll talk about it some other time," Marnie sighed. "Until then it's all you."

"I never have any fun when I'm in this damn town," Piers grumbled. "Even my own sister is a bloody narc."

"Watch it," Marnie hissed.

The five of us took the long way around, avoiding as much traffic as possible per Marnie's request, and although there were a few Team Yell members who tried to tag along, Piers and Marnie both managed to scare them off without too much effort. Soon we were back in the warmth of the hotel. The four of us that had battled were still totally wiped, so we all said our good nights and headed back to our rooms. I swiped my key card and stumbled into my room, more than ready to hit the hay, but the moment I had changed into my pajamas and slipped under the covers, I found that my mind was not nearly as tired as my body was. I just lay there, rolling to my opposite side every so often, for the better part of an hour before I heard a knock on my door.

I glanced over at my phone on the nightstand. It was only half past eight. How did it feel so much later than it did? I flipped around in my bed again, but the knocking continued, a bit louder this time. With a sigh, I pulled myself out of bed and stomped to the room door and looked through the peephole. Outside, Hop was standing there, still in his denim jacket and training pants, looking like he was ready to go on the next leg of our journey rather than someone whose journey was almost at its end.

I opened the door. "Can't sleep either, huh?" I asked.

"Nope," he admitted, a small grin forming on his lips. "Wanna go for a walk?" I opened the door fully, showing him that I was in no state to go anywhere. "Ah, right. I can just…"

"No, you know what, give me five," I interrupted.

The air was chilly as we stepped out into the cold streets of Wyndon. The fans that had been gathered around the hotel had long gone home, but the few stragglers we saw weren't too much of a bother. A few stopped to say hi, or get an autograph, but we were largely left alone as we wandered the streets. Most of the people out were headed to pubs so we found a hole in the wall selling authentic Paldean malasada and commandeered a table in a dark corner.

"Crazy that we're the last two trainers in the entire gym challenge," Hop said, tossing a small piece of dough into his mouth.

"Why are you so surprised, Mr. Next-in-the-Dynasty?" I teased.

"Oh, shove off," he said, rolling his eyes and giving my shoulder a push. "You know it was all a bluff."

I snickered and snatched a piece from our basket. "But really, I'm with you, mate. I never would have actually expected one of us to battle in the championship match."

"Kinda fitting that it all comes down to this, huh?"

"How do you mean?"

"I mean, from day one, we've always been pushing each other, right?" he asked. "I mean Vic started the same time as us, but he wasn't into the challenge like we were."

"Ha, no, I suppose not," I said. "Since when did you get all soft on me, Nambarek?"

Hop shrugged and leaned back in his seat. "I dunno," he mused, "probably been building up all this time. It's been a hell of a time for me. You probably never noticed since you kept winning all the time."

"I wouldn't go that far."

"You know what I mean," he insisted. "Still, crazy that it's almost over."

"It will be over for one of us after our match tomorrow," I reminded him.

"Damn, you're right," he said with a hearty exhale. "What even comes after this?"

"Saving Galar from the Darkest Day, apparently," I said.

"Ugh, don't remind me."

"Hey, maybe Leon was right. Maybe they will have it all under control."

"That would be nice," Hop laughed. "It would mean we wouldn't have to steal that sword and shield from the bath house."

"Oh man, could you imagine that scenario?" I asked. "'Hey mister security guard, do you mind if I take this valuable historical relic for a bit? An invisible dog told me I needed to bring it to a stone in the middle of a forest. No, I'm totally sane, this is a normal thing to ask a security guard.'"

Hop burst into laughter. "'No, no, I promise! I'm actually here to stop the Darkest Day. Except it's a darker Darkest Day.'"

"The Darkester Day!" we both concluded, before collapsing into giggles at the idea. Our laughs slowly faded into a content silence, and we finished our bowl of malasada without saying another word. We brought the bowl up to the counter and paid, then walked off into the night.

The moon was bright in the sky tonight, and as we continued to wander the streets, we chatted aimlessly. We reminisced about everything we had been through on the journey; our dive into Butterfree's Den, walking through Glimwood Tangle and finding Ponyta and Morgrem, our battles on the North Motostoke Bridge and on Steamdrift way, and almost everything else in between. Eventually our path took us down by the water of the river that separated the North and South sides of the city. The lights of the financial district painted the sky so bright that not a single star was visible despite clear skies. Rose Tower loomed ominously over the rest of the skyline, but even the pinkish lights at its top levels seemed inviting tonight.

"Wyndon's a lot more exciting when it's not crammed with people," Hop observed.

"It's not so bad at all," I agreed.

"I can see why Lee spends most of his time up here since becoming champion."

"You think if either of us finally knock him off his podium, we'll have to be stuck here all the time?" I asked.

"Spending all that time with Rose? I dunno, Lee's never been super open about it."

"Shocking," I replied with a roll of my eyes. I imagined for a moment that I had won the championship. I couldn't imagine Rose and I would suddenly start getting along for very long.

"What would you do as champion?" Hop asked suddenly.

"I dunno, battle? What does Leon do as champion?"

Hop shrugged and walked to the edge of the river, where an iron fence stood at chest height. "A lot of press stuff, a lot of battling. He apparently has 'league duties,' but he never really has explained it all to me." He leaned on the fence and gazed at the skyline, taking it all in.

I walked over next to him and leaned up on the fence next to him, nudging him with my shoulder for good measure. "You worried you won't spend much time with me anymore once I kick both you and your brother out of this tournament?"

Hop nudged me back with his shoulder. "More worried that I won't be able to make the time to teach you how to properly battle after I ruin your championship hopes tomorrow."

I turned around so I was leaning on the fence and smirking at Hop. "Pfft," I said. "If anything, I've taught you more about battling."

Hop shrugged. "I suppose that's fair, mate. After all, I think you're the favorite to win tomorrow. But don't think I'm gonna fight like hell to beat you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," I said.

"But promise me one thing?" he asked. I looked back over to him, but he didn't meet my eye. His eyes were wide, and I could see Rose Tower reflected in them. "No matter who wins tomorrow, if you are I actually can beat Lee and take the champion spot, we'll still see each other once in a while?"

"Well, Marnie will obviously take priority, but I'll try to pencil you in," I replied quickly.

Hop blinked before registering that I was making a joke, then sighed in feigned exasperation. "You know what, I'll take it."

I stopped him, grabbing his shoulder. "Hop, you know I'm going to make time for you. If I'm going to be the new Leon, you're going to be the new Raihan, and the other way around if you beat me."

Hop smiled. "You think any of the gyms would take me in?"

"They'd be lucky to have you."

"Hmm," he grunted. He turned and began walking in the direction of the hotel. "Maybe. We'll see after tomorrow."

"Last night of the challenge, huh?" I asked as we started to walk together. "Hell of a ride."

"Hell of a ride," he agreed. "And, er, thanks for sticking with me the whole time. I know it kinda got rough there for a bit."

I laughed. "Yeah, you were pretty miserable to be around for like a month, mate. But I wouldn't have changed any of it for the world."

"And you won't be too upset if I'm the one who ended your challenge?" Hop said with a sly grin.

"We'll see if you're this cocksure when I knock your Dubwool into the stands tomorrow," I grunted. A soft breeze blew into us from the river, and we pulled our jackets tighter over ourselves. The night was growing colder, and winter would soon be here. We quickened our paces.

The trip back to the hotel was uneventful, and after Hop and I said our goodnights, I stepped onto my floor from the elevator and walked back to my room. The door opened and I stepped into the darkness. I locked the door and turned my phone off. No more distractions for the night. I was finally feeling that I could finally get some sleep. For a second I debated putting my pajamas on, but the warmth of the room compared to the weather outside paired with the heaviness of the food in my stomach well enough that I could almost feel my consciousness slipping from me. All I had time to do was kick my shoes off and fall into bed before sleep began to take me.

I am floating in a black void. Looking around, I can see that I am not alone. Hop appears next to me, and as he looks over, we share a glance of foreboding. We have been through this before, even if not at the same time together.

"Gloria," Zacian's voice speaks, rising from the blackness in front of us.

"Hop," Zamazenta says. Hop and I both turn to the direction of their voices, and as we do, the blackness of the void begins to melt away. First, we see the forms of the two legendary beasts, standing and waiting for us. The world fills in around them and I feel hardness under my feet. I look down to see that I am on a cobblestone street. Around me we are in the ruins of a great city. The ruins are familiar to me – old Hammerlocke.

"Do you remember this place?" Zacian asks. I nod.

"Do you know why we brought you here?" Zamazenta asks.

"Eternatus?" Hop asks.

"More than that," Zacian says. "Come with us."

"But Eternatus isn't an issue right now," I begin to argue.

"Eternatus will always be an issue," Zamazenta says, his voice harsh. "Do you have our sword and shield?"

I sigh. "No, but we thi—we know where they are."

Zacian looks hard at us. "But you do not have them in your possession?"

"N—no."

Zacian and Zamazenta exchange a glance, and then turn around, lumbering away from us. "Wait!" Hop cries out. "Where are you going?"

"There is something we must show you. Hurry. Terrible things are happening."

A/N: Before you get all "um, akshully..." by saying that Malasadas are Alolan, let me tell you that Malasadas are a real dish originating from Portugal, becoming popular in Hawaii years later. And since Portugal is much closer to the UK where Galar is based anyway and part of the Iberian Peninsula, which is where Paldea is based...

...wait, you didn't notice/care about that tiny thing and probably didn't realize it until you got to this note?

ah.

*ahem*

ok bye

NEXT WEEK: THE DARKEST DAY