The editor wrote the last scene in 45 minutes using comic sans. This has been a writing tip from the "brilliant" minds behind Pokedex Adventures.
The last route to Circhester was covered in ice. Naturally, Victor and Gloria both had to comment on it.
"I was not prepared for this level of cold," Victor said to himself as he breathed on his hands to keep them warm.
"You think that's cold?" Gloria challenged. "You should try spending time with my parents and me in the winter. Dad literally froze his butt off..."
"Gloria," Victor warned, and his friend smiled sheepishly.
"I might miss Bede," she admitted. "Just a wee bit. The fighting was fun."
Victor kept his smart remarks to himself. The last thing he needed was to be accused of shipping, like Hop, or to reveal that the stupid arguing was most of the reason he was glad Bede was gone. So, he just rolled his eyes, which was apparently all she needed to get the message.
Her cackling caused a Darumaka to poke its head out of the snowbank it was playing in, and then it quickly retreated back, muttering things about humans that they would have been very grateful not to understand if they'd heard it.
Gloria cheered up when they approached the hot spring in the middle of the town and sent her Inteleon to splash around as she warmed her hands and face in the steam. Victor considered sending Drednaw to do the same, but he had a much more important thought process: how to defeat Gordie and move on so he could crush the dreams of the girl he was very attracted to and get her cheerleaders to shut up once and for all.
Drednaw could have all the swimming time he wanted once Victor was Champion. Right now, he needed to see Hop and figure out just what he'd be up against with Gordie.
Gloria and Ace seemed to understand, as they were very easily called away from the warm water. Ace even followed Victor instead of Gloria, aware of what he was going to have to do.
Apparently, Hop lost. He was sitting in the Gym, drinking hot cocoa with Jojo and the Trevenant that Victor had battled on the bridge, complaining to them about things they already knew.
"I don't understand," Victor heard him complain as he approached. "I did just what I've seen Lee do loads of times. I studied every one of my brother's matches, trying to memorize all his strategies. Gordie still beat me!"
"You can challenge him as often as you have to," Victor reminded him. "You can beat Gordie before the deadline."
It hit him as he said it just how close that deadline was. They only had a few days left to finish up the Gym challenge, or else they would be blocked from entering the finals. And if Marnie had no decent rivals, she'd make it to Leon. If she made it to Leon, Team Yell would become insufferable. If she actually defeated Leon, they'd never get rid of them.
"You have to get that badge," Victor insisted, to Hop's annoyed look. "I'll let you borrow Drednaw for more type advantage after I win."
"And Ace," Gloria added. "With all that type advantage, you're sure to get the badge the second time around."
Hop didn't seem to appreciate it as much as he once did, but he trusted them. He knew that they meant well, that they loved him, and he loved them enough to agree to borrow their Water-types.
"But only if I can't win the second time with Jojo and Trevenant alone," he specified, and they immediately agreed to the terms.
This was stupid. Or at least that's what Victor thought as he made his way through the gym. The challenge was to navigate across the plane without falling into a pit trap, and he was given tools that would beep and vibrate whenever he was close to one of the traps, but he had no idea how it worked. It detected the traps no matter where he pointed them, and he couldn't tell if the trap was in front of his feet until it was too late.
The traps had padding at the bottom and were barely tall enough for him to climb back up, but he had just fallen into the third pit, and it felt like a hassle at this point. Drednaw was capable of taking out any of the gym trainers by utilizing type advantage, but they only knew how to get as far as their designated areas and couldn't help him through the course. So, for now, he was healing his beloved tortoise and removing pebbles from his shoes.
"How can this experience get worse?" he asked himself.
His question was answered as the end of a shovel poked through the wall mere inches from his head, and he let out a piercing scream. The shovel dug a small hole that revealed Gloria's face on the other side. "Hey, Victor," she greeted. "I almost brained ya."
"Yeah, I know," Victor grumbled as he attempted to swallow his fright and rage. "How did you even get in there?"
"The pit locations change every season," she explained. "This is basically a network of tunnels that can lead to the stadium. All I needed was a way to sneak in and a shovel to tunnel the rest of the way."
By the time she finished explaining her plan, Victor had calmed down enough to let genuine curiosity take over. "When did you get the shovel?"
"I went to the department store while you were in the changing room."
The last of Victor's rage washed away as confusion took hold. "So, in an effort to avoid buying a ticket that costs about the same as two candy bars, you decided that the best way to do that was to undoubtedly spend even more money on a shovel?"
Gloria scoffed. "Don't question my bad decisions."
"And you didn't buy one when we thought we were burying a corpse?"
"We would have too much heat on us if she did," Rotom chirped in. They ignored him as usual.
"Well, I guess I still have more ground to cover," Gloria said as she turned away. "See you at the stadium. I'll be rooting for you." And with that, she was off to find her way to the stadium entrance, or rather under it.
Victor sighed as he got up. Knowing that there was an irresponsible half-blind girl lurking underground like a Diglett was a good motivator to keep going and be careful.
By the time Victor made it to Gordie, he was tired, dirty, sore, and angry. Gordie, rather than give him any apology, merely laughed at his misfortune.
"I've never seen a challenger misuse the machine so badly," the Gym Leader said, and Victor tossed the machine down at his feet.
"That machine misused me," he insisted, and Gordie only laughed harder. "I'll end you here, I swear."
"Don't make public threats," Gordie taunted, pulling out his first Pokeball. "We're here to give the public a show."
Victor looked out at the crowd, finding a familiar green hat in the front row. Gordie noticed, too.
"I saw her dig her way out," he commented, and Victor looked back, confused as to why he didn't throw her out immediately. "Mum wanted me to be a proper Gym Leader and call security, but I think she earned her ticket, don't you?"
Victor could only nod. So, Gordie wasn't a complete jerk, after all.
The battle began without much more conversation and continued without much trouble. Drednaw was able to take out the Barbaracle and Shuckle, but by the time he'd defeated the Stonjourner, he was looking a bit rough. So Victor, the nice trainer he was, swapped in the Inteleon to face the Coalossal.
It was as he was watching Gordie's Coalossal reach an enormous size that Victor realized Ace had never Dynamaxed before. Seeing Ace's tail twitch, the only sign of fear he was willing to give, Victor held a bit of sympathy. "Ace!" he called, and Ace straightened up, ready to give Dynamaxing a try. But Victor had other ideas. "Snipe Shot!"
Ace spared only a fraction of a second to wonder what this boy was thinking, and then he followed the order. He wasn't as powerful as Coalossal, but he was faster…and more dramatic.
Ace spun around, before striking a pose with one webbed finger pointing at the monster on the other side of the field, and shot a bullet made of water.
It took a while for the attack to hit the target.
It made a slow trudge towards its target.
Victor lost sight of the water bullet.
It was barely halfway there.
Gordie coughed impatiently.
It finally neared its target.
Coalossal prepared to fire its own attack, and then it hit.
To a Pokémon of Coalossal's size, the bullet was about as strong as getting splashed on the nose. But since Coalossal was a Rock/Fire dual-type, that splash was enough to down it in one shot and win Victor the Rock Badge.
As Victor reunited with Gloria, who had put away her shovel "in case we really do have to bury a corpse," they swapped their starters back and headed on their way out. This plan changed when Victor spotted a familiar head of red hair.
"Don't acknowledge her," he warned, pulling Gloria aside.
"Why not?" Gloria asked. "It's just Sonia. Why don't you want to talk to her?"
"Because she'll ask about why I reacted to the statues in Stow-on-Side."
"And what's the problem with that?"
Victor debated telling her that the Pokémon depicted in the statues was similar to the creature he and Hop had encountered in the woods, the one that Sonia had called a forest god. But before he could make up his mind, Sonia spotted them.
"There you are!" she cheered, stepping up to them like she wasn't there to ask about the statues. "I saw that match, Victor. Brilliant."
"Thank you." He turned to go. Sonia wouldn't let him.
"Don't leave yet! I'm here for Hop, too! Then we can all go to one of Circhester's famous restaurants – I'll pay – and you can listen to my rambles about Galar's history!" She cleared her throat. "And…perhaps you can answer some questions."
Called it, thought Victor, and reluctantly agreed to her terms.
Victor: Dash (Cinderace) Corviknight, Drednaw, Excadrill, Axew
Gloria: Ace (Inteleon) Dishwasher (Galarian Linoone) Rogue (Thievul) Hattie (Hatenna) Harry (Morgrem) Stabitha (Pawniard)