A/N: …hi. I did say back at the beginning of all this that this story updates at the whim of the muse, so. Please don't get mad that it took me *checks notes* nine months to continue the main plot. This chapter ended up being another two-parter, and it's even longer than the last two-parter, so I hope that makes up for it.

In other news, anyone else played the new legendary event in Pokémon Masters? I was so ecstatic when I found out Hop was being added to the game, and even more so when I learned that Leon was going to be the other main focal character in the event story. Their interactions are SO cute… It's all I ever could have wanted from a Postwick bros event, honestly. I totally recommend checking it out if you haven't already!

Hop is awakened by a weight on his chest and something aggressively nuzzling against his face. "Wooloo," Hop groans, blindly reaching up to push his head out of his face. But Wooloo doesn't give up.

"Okay, I'm awake, I'm awake," he says, pushing Wooloo off his chest and sitting upright. "You hungry, buddy?"

Wooloo bleats happily and hops off the bed, racing over to his food bowl. Hop swings his legs off the side of the bed and glances at Lee's, mildly jealous that he didn't get rudely awoken by his Pokémon begging for breakfast.

But to his surprise, Lee's bed is empty. Lee? Waking up before Hop? What kind of parallel dimension did he wake up in? He glances at the clock on his bedside table; it is a bit later than he woke up yesterday. Maybe his internal body clock is finally shifting to match Unovan time.

He gets out of bed, heads over to Wooloo's food bowl, and fills it up with food. Then he opens up the dresser drawer where he had stored all his clothes. But no sooner has he picked out a clean tee and pants than he remembers that he's not gonna be able to change into them if Lee's using the bathroom.

"Lee," Hop calls, glancing over at the bathroom door. The open bathroom door. Huh. Maybe he's just…doing his hair? Not that he's ever done his hair in anything more complicated than a messy ponytail without Mum, Sonia, or a team of stylists to do it for him. Whatever he's doing, he's doing it very quietly.

He wouldn't have left the door open if he were getting dressed or something, right? Hop sticks his head into the bathroom. "Lee?"

The bathroom is empty.

Hop's gut twists, and he turns back around to the main room. The beds are empty. The couch is unoccupied. The entrance hall is deserted.

He's alone.

Wooloo bleats at him from beside his food bowl, reminding Hop that he's not entirely alone. He sits down and pets Wooloo for a few moments, but even that does little to ease his nerves. Where in the world could Lee be? He checks the clock again and tries to remember if he read what time the battles would start today. Surely Lee wouldn't have gone off to the stadium without him, just because Hop was still asleep? He could be a little absentminded sometimes, but he would never be so absentminded as to completely forget about Hop. So what was he doing? And when would he be back?

The answer to that last question comes not even a moment later, when Hop hears the hotel room door click open. He leaps to his feet and shoots across the room, reaching the entrance hall just as Lee steps inside.

"Lee! Where have you been?" Hop demands, resisting the urge to sprint the rest of the way and wrap him in a hug. He doesn't need his brother to realize just how nervous he was that he was gone.

"Just making a couple phone calls," Lee says, rubbing the back of his head. "I thought I'd be back before you woke up. Sorry."

"It's okay," Hop says with feigned nonchalance. "What about?"

He fully expects Lee to wave him off with a vague answer like "Champion stuff", so he's surprised when Lee says instead, "Getting permission to skip the first battle today."

"Skip? But – you can do that?"

Lee shrugs. "Mr. Clay wants everyone to stay in the locker rooms until their match for the day is over, to keep the tournament running efficiently. But Iris isn't so strict, and she understands why I want to do it. So she's totally ace with us not showing up to the stadium until it's time for my battle to start!"

"Why do you want to skip it?"

Lee grins and pumps his fists. "I promised we'd get to do some sightseeing today like you wanted, didn't I?"

A giddy laugh bubbles out of Hop's throat. "Really? That's awesome!" In a rush of excitement, he flings his arms around his brother. "Thanks, Lee! You're the best!"

Lee laughs and hugs him back. "Anytime, Hopscotch."

Hop ducks away, scowling. "Don't call me that," he complains.

"You didn't have a problem with it last night!"

"I was too tired to complain last night, that's all."

"Well, I could mix it up a bit if you'd like," Lee says, a cheeky grin on his face. "Hoppy. Hopper. Ooh, how about Hopcorn?"

Hop wrinkles his nose. "No way! Those are even worse!"

"Then, you admit that you like Hopscotch?" he says triumphantly.

"Never!" Hop declares, folding his arms.

Lee fake pouts for a moment, but the expression quickly morphs into a smirk. "Right then. Rainhop, would you like to go down and get breakfast with me?"

"No! Just call me Hop," Hop protests.

Lee shrugs. "Suit yourself, then, Hop."

With that, he turns around and heads back for the door. It takes Hop a moment to realize what Lee's doing, but as soon as he does he splutters out, "W-wait! Lee – you know that's not what I meant!"

"Do I?" Lee asks, grinning cheekily.

"I want to go with you! But let me get dressed first!" Hop says, grabbing his clean clothes and racing into the bathroom.

When Hop is finished getting dressed, he and Lee head downstairs to get breakfast. The buffet offerings are just as unappetizing as the ones yesterday, so Hop skips to the end of the line and piles a bunch of pancakes on his plate. They eat quickly – the faster they can get done eating, the sooner they can get to sightseeing. And Hop knows exactly where they're going to go first.

"Where do–"

"Driftveil Market!" Hop exclaims before his brother can even finish the question. He grabs Lee's hand and drags him out of the breakfast room, Lee laughing at his enthusiasm.

"I hope you know where you're going," Lee says as Hop leads him onto the street, "because I don't."

"I saw it on the way to the restaurant last night," Hop says, making a left at the first intersection. "It's this way!"

The streets are far more crowded than they had been the last couple days, especially as the brothers get closer to the market. People of all shapes and sizes pass by – a group of young kids wearing matching t-shirts with the logo of their day-care on it; an elderly couple carrying a surprisingly large amount of shopping bags; a young woman being guided by a Watchog, a Pokémon that Hop only recognizes because he read about them being commonly used as service Pokémon in Unova. The crowd makes it harder for Hop to spot any of the landmarks that he'd seen between their hotel and the market, but he's pretty sure they're still going the right way.

Eventually, Hop spies the pavilion that covers Driftveil Market. He quickens his pace to start weaving through the crowd towards it, but a tug on his hand stops him. He glances back and sees Lee subtly shaking his head. Hop pouts, but slows down and moves along at the Shellos's pace of the crowd.

Finally, they make it under the pavilion and into the market. It's a little less crowded than the area outside, giving Hop a little more room to breathe. Lee lets go of his hand, and Hop immediately rockets off towards the nearest shop. He vaguely hears Lee calling for him to slow down, but he just wants to see what wares this market has to offer!

This shop is a simple little booth, all the vendor's merchandise spread out across a single table. But the merchandise is just herbal medicines for Pokémon – Heal Powder, Revival Herbs, and the like. They sell that kind of thing in Hulbury, too, and it's just as interesting to Hop now as it is there: that is to say, not interesting at all. It's really only useful for traveling Trainers. So, he bounces over to the next shop, which is a booth that's selling incense for Pokémon to hold. The aroma of the incense is too strong for Hop's liking, though, so he turns around and weaves through the crowd to check out the shop across the way. This one is a lot bigger – like a miniature store. Its racks and shelves contain a wide assortment of small accessories, from striped barrettes to dressy ties and even a toy fishing rod.

"What are these?" Hop asks, plucking a top hat off the wall that's too small to fit on his own head, let alone a grown-up's.

"Props for the Pokémon Musical," the merchant answers. When the confusion still doesn't clear from Hop's face, she adds, "It's an activity in Nimbasa City where participants dress up their Pokémon using Props like these, and the Pokémon all perform a dance number together. It's a lot of fun for Trainers and Pokémon alike, and anyone can participate! You should check it out, if you have the time."

"Oh, that's neat!" Hop says, putting down the top hat and browsing a rack of masks and glasses. How would Wooloo look wearing one of these?

Suddenly, Hop hears Lee calling his name. He walks to the entrance of the shop and glances around, but doesn't see his brother right away; only when the crowd thins for a moment does he spot Lee passing in front of the incense booth on the other side of the aisle. He's going to walk right out of the market at this rate, and Hop wonders if he should let him. He has enough allowance to afford gifts for Mum, Gloria, and Lee, and it's gonna be hard to secretly buy a souvenir for Lee if Lee's hanging over his shoulder the whole time.

But…Hop knows he's not supposed to be wandering around by himself. And knowing Lee, he wouldn't even realize that he left the market until he's a few blocks away from it. There's no telling how long it would take for Hop to find a good present for him, which would give him plenty of time to get hopelessly lost. Plus, Hop's a little nervous about the idea of being on his own in this crowded market for that long.

"Lee!" Hop calls, weaving through the crowd towards his brother. Lee stops and turns in his direction, giving Hop enough time to catch up to him.

"Hop! There you are," Lee says, a note of relief in his voice. He wraps an arm around Hop's shoulders and pulls him into the nearest storefront, out of the way of the crowd. "Please don't run off like that. I took a moment to smell the incense in that shop, looked around, and you were gone."

"Sorry, Lee," Hop says, ducking his head. He didn't even think about the fact that his disappearance would make his brother worry.

"You can browse through a shop all you like, but please don't leave the shop unless you're with me or you tell me exactly which shop you're going to," Lee says. "Fair?"

Hop nods. Lee shoots him a grin and squeezes him in a quick side hug before letting go and starting to browse the shop they're in. Hop starts looking around, too. The shelves are full of little plush Pokémon – or "Dolls", as the signage tells him. They're very cute, shaped like lots of rare and foreign Pokémon, and Hop thinks one would make the perfect souvenir to bring back for Gloria. But which Pokémon would she like best?

"Hop Rocks! C'mere, look at this!" Lee calls eagerly.

"Hop Rocks?" Hop repeats, wrinkling his nose.

When he doesn't immediately head over to Lee's side, Lee comes to him, showing off a tiny Electrike Doll that fits in the palm of his hand. "Isn't it adorable?" Lee beams. "I bet Sonia would love it, don't you think?"

"It's a little small," Hop says, picking it up and squishing its snout between his fingers.

"It's pocket-sized," Lee retorts, snatching it back. "Perfect to fit in her purse when she's on the go!"

"When does she need to bring a plush with her on the go?"

"You're no fun," Lee says, flicking Hop on the side of the head. "I think she'll like it. I'm gonna get it for her."

"If you'd already made up your mind, why'd you ask for my opinion?" Hop asks, sticking out his tongue.

"You were supposed to agree with me," Lee says, cracking a smile. "Well, are you gonna get something or can I go ahead and buy this?"

"I'm looking for something for Gloria," Hop says, returning to his search.

After a few minutes deliberating between Dolls, Hop picks out a Hoennian Zigzagoon and brings it over to Lee and the shopkeeper. Lee takes out his wallet and starts to pay for both Dolls, but Hop stops him.

"I can pay for it myself," he says proudly. "It's a gift from me, after all."

Lee's eyebrows raise for a moment, but then he grins and nods. "If you can afford it, Hoparazzi, that's fine by me," he says.

"I can," Hop says, frowning. "And will you stop it with the dumb nicknames?"

Lee's grin just grows wider.

After leaving the Doll shop, they quickly browse through a few more booths: jewelry imported from Alola, Berries imported from Sinnoh, sweets imported from Kalos. It's really amazing how such a wide variety of regions are represented by such a wide variety of products, and it makes Hop feel like an experienced world traveler even though it's his first time visiting a region outside of his own. There's a store full of fine fabrics and dresses made in Johto, and even if he'd never be caught dead wearing one, they're incredibly soft to the touch and very pretty to look at. They even come across a shop selling ceramics imported from Galar – but nothing that strikes Hop's eye as something that Lee or Mum would like.

He gets an idea, though, after seeing a booth selling a variety of hair accessories. Lee loves caps – he has a huge collection of them at home. A souvenir cap would be a great present for him. So, Hop starts keeping an eye out for caps so he can buy Lee the perfect one.

"Oh, these are pretty," Lee says, grabbing Hop's hand to stop him from passing up the booth that caught his eye. The table is covered in small glass accessories, from pins and pendants to figurines and vases.

"You have a good eye, sir," the merchant says. "These items are a Hoennian specialty. We gather volcanic ash from Mt. Chimney and the surrounding areas, and then blow it into glass objects like the ones you see here."

"These are made out of ashes?" Hop exclaims, picking up a diamond-shaped pendant to see what it feels like. But it feels smooth and cool, like normal glass, not ash. "How does that work?"

"When certain materials, such as sand and ash, reach a high enough temperature to melt, their molecular structure is altered. So when they cool, they become glass," he explains. "Glassblowers take the glass while it's still molten and put it on the end of an open pipe. Blowing into the pipe causes the molten glass to expand, and we can then mold the glass into the desired shape, either by hand or by blowing the glass into a mold to create more intricate designs."

"Whoa," Hop breathes. "That's so cool."

The glassblower chuckles. "It is."

Lee picks up one of the pins – it's red and shaped like a flame. "I'd buy one of these, but I think I'd drop and break it before we even got home," he jokes.

Hop nods in agreement. And as if to prove his point, as Lee's starting to put it back on the table, the pin slips out of his grasp. Fortunately, the glassblower has good reflexes, and he catches the pin before it hits the table and shatters.

"You do need to be careful with these," he says, placing the pin gently down on the table. "They're very fragile."

Hop is about to suggest that they head to another booth before Lee actually breaks something when one of the figurines catches his eye. It's a skinny, deerlike Pokémon – just like the one he saw on the day they arrived here. "Sir? What Pokémon is this?" Hop asks, pointing to the figurine.

"Hm? Oh, that's Deerling. They're rather rare in Hoenn, but they're quite common around here," the glassblower says. "You're not familiar with it?"

"Never heard of it," Lee admits. "We're from Galar, and we don't have Deerling at all there."

"Well, Deerling is quite a special Pokémon. Its coat changes color depending on the season," the glassblower explains. He points to three other Deerling figurines on the table, coming in white, pink, and green. "Each of the figurines in the set represents one of Deerling's coat colors: winter, spring, and summer. And the one you're holding is the autumn Deerling."

Hop's brow furrows, and he looks at the figurine in his hand. "I… It comes in a set? You don't sell them individually?"

"I'm afraid not," says the glassblower. "It's 16,000 for the whole set."

"Oh," Hop says, putting down the Deerling. "I don't have that much money…"

Lee rests a hand on Hop's shoulder. "Don't worry about that, Hop," he says. "If you want those figurines, I'll buy them for you."

Hop glances up at his brother. "They're not for me," he says. "I thought it would make a good present for Mum."

"Oh, I see," Lee says knowingly. "How about this? You pay as much as you're willing to, and I'll cover the rest. And then it can be a gift from the both of us!"

"You…think it's a good gift, then?"

"Definitely!"

Hop smiles. "Alright, then! We can split it."

Hop has enough money to cover about half the cost, but then he wouldn't have anything left over to buy a gift for Lee. He doesn't want to skimp on Mum's gift, though. So, he decides to pay for a quarter of it – enough to cover the one figurine that he originally wanted to buy. Lee doesn't complain about having to cover more of the cost than Hop, so he figures it was a fair choice. The glassblower wraps up the figurines in bubble wrap to make sure they don't break in transit, and Hop carries the bag just to be safe.

The next shop they visit is a storefront full of accessories like scarves and sunglasses. At first, Hop isn't sure why Lee pulled him in here. Then his brother makes a beeline for the cap display, and Hop has a sudden moment of clarity – immediately followed by disappointment. So much for giving him the perfect souvenir cap.

Unless…Lee can't buy himself the perfect souvenir cap because Hop finds it first?

"What kind of cap are you looking for?" Hop asks.

"I don't have anything specific in mind," Lee says, spinning one of the cap racks. "Just something that speaks to me… I'll know it when I see it."

Hop purses his lips. That's entirely unhelpful. How is he supposed to know what kind of cap "speaks" to his brother?

"Oh, now, this is fun," Lee says, plucking a yellow cap with a Pikachu face on it from the rack. "I'd prefer it with a Pokémon more unique or interesting than Pikachu, though."

Hop perks up. Now that's something he can work with. There's a display of caps hanging on the shop's wall that's full of Pokémon-inspired caps like that, and the perfect one is bound to be in there somewhere. He leaves his brother to the spinning racks and heads over to the wall display.

Unsurprisingly, most of the options are Pokémon native to Unova: Lillipup, Munna, Pidove, Woobat, and Scraggy, to name a few. There are some that aren't native to Unova, like Pikachu, and some that Hop doesn't even recognize at all – though whether that's because they're Pokémon he's unfamiliar with or just poorly designed, he can't say.

One of the caps that catches his eye is a Tympole-themed one, since it's the pre-evolved form of one of Lee's team members and Lee loves having merch of his team. But there's another one that he likes even more: its design is more fun and colorful than the Tympole one, and while the Pokémon it's based on isn't one Lee himself owns, it's a Pokémon special to both him and Hop. It probably isn't the first one Lee would go for, but that's okay – less of a chance of Lee picking it out himself, right?

Hop turns around to find Lee approaching him, wearing the exact same Purrloin-themed cap that Hop picked out.

"What do you think?" Lee asks, grinning. Then he notices the cap in Hop's hands and laughs. "Good taste, Hip-Hop! Did you want to buy that for yourself?"

He pouts. "No, I was gonna buy it for you! But you're already doing it, so there's no point now…"

"Aw, Hip-Hop, you don't need to buy me a present."

"Don't call me Hip-Hop!"

Lee smiles and ruffles his hair. "Being able to spend this time with you is the best present I could ever ask for."

Hop's scowl fades, and his cheeks turn pink. He's not sure how to respond to that, so he just puts the Purrloin cap back and laces his hand with Lee's. They walk to the checkout counter together, where Lee pays for the cap, and then head out.

Lee may have said that Hop doesn't need to buy him a gift, but Hop still wants to buy him one anyways. The cap idea is out, but surely he can find something else that Lee will appreciate. And hopefully Lee won't try to buy it himself before Hop can.

His best bet for finding something good without Lee seeing it is one of the storefront shops, so he drags Lee into the next one they come across. It happens to be filled with Unova souvenirs and home décor. It's pretty generic, cheesy stuff, but Lee loves generic, cheesy stuff. So maybe he can find something that Lee would like here.

His brother starts browsing a rack of t-shirts at the front of the store, so Hop starts his search at the back. He's looking through their selection of wall decorations when he spots it. It's cheesy, it has one of Lee's team members on it, it's within his price range. It's perfect!

"Whatcha looking at, Lollihop?" Lee says.

Hop yelps, quickly holding the sign to his chest so Lee can't see what's written on it. "L-Lee! Don't scare me like that!" he exclaims, glancing over his shoulder at his brother.

"Sorry, sorry," Lee says, grinning widely. "What do you think of this shirt?"

He holds up an orange shirt with the words "I Love Unova" written on it in big black letters. Hop wrinkles his nose. "Why would you want a shirt with that on it?" he asks. "Unova's nice and all, but it can't compare to how great Galar is."

Lee laughs. "Well said, Lollihop!"

"Don't call me that," Hop grumbles.

As Lee heads off to return the shirt to the rack, Hop glances at the checkout counter. Unfortunately, there are a couple of people in line waiting to check out, dashing his chances of being able to buy this wall sign now without Lee noticing. He'll have to sneak back here later to try to buy it while Lee is distracted by something in another shop. For now, he puts the sign back on the shelf and returns to the front of the store, where Lee is waiting.

"This market is huge," Lee comments as they slip back out into the crowd.

Hop snorts. "You're just noticing that now?"

"No, I'm just saying. It feels like an endless labyrinth," he says. "So many shops that we haven't seen yet, and I don't have a clue how to get back to the entrance."

Hop stops, tugging on Lee's arm to get him to stop too. He turns around and points in the direction they came from. "Go straight, and turn left the first chance you get," he says. "That takes you back to the entrance we came in."

"Really?" Lee says. "I could've sworn we made more turns than that." He grins and ruffles Hop's hair. "Thank you, GHS."

"GHS?"

His grin gets even wider. "Global Hop-ositioning System."

Hop closes his eyes and buries his face in his hands to hide his smile. "Please never, ever call me that again."

Lee laughs heartily, and just as Hop is lifting his face out of his hands, Lee pushes him backwards to get out of the way of some shopper and his Tsareena who are obviously in a hurry. This brings them close enough to the booths to hear one of the merchants talking up his product.

"…stuffed with feathers collected straight from Charizard Bridge!"

Hop and Lee immediately exchange a wide-eyed look. Hop glances around and points out the merchant who was probably talking – he's selling pillows – and they both head to the booth right away.

"Sorry, did you say Charizard Bridge?" Lee asks.

"Is that somewhere nearby?" Hop adds.

The merchant gives them a bemused look. "Yes? It's the drawbridge just east of town."

"That can't be right. I've read about that drawbridge," Hop says. "It's just called the Driftveil Drawbridge, right?"

"That's its official name," the vendor says. "But everyone around here calls it Charizard Bridge because of its resemblance to Charizard."

Lee raises an eyebrow at Hop. "What do you say, Hop Top?"

"I say, don't call me that," Hop says. "And let's go see this Charizard Bridge for ourselves!"

"Hm."

"Hmm."

"I don't see it."

"Maybe if I squint really, really hard…"

Charizard grunts in disapproval.

For a drawbridge colloquially known as Charizard Bridge, Driftveil Drawbridge bears remarkably little resemblance to an actual Charizard. The main frame is built of reddish-orange metal, and a pair of arches on each side of the bridge are attached to the frame with loads of gray steel cables. It's certainly nothing like any bridge they have in Galar, but calling it Charizard Bridge seems like a stretch.

"I mean, it's kinda Charizard colored," Hop says, rapping his knuckles on the bridge's railing.

"It's barely orange," Lee says disdainfully, stretching out one of Charizard's wings next to the railing for comparison. The metal looks as red as a Tamato Berry next to Charizard's orange.

"Yo! Is that a real live Charizard!?" someone exclaims – a boy, around Hop's age, wearing an orange shirt and matching cap. He rushes up to Charizard, staring at it in awe. "Wow! Awesome! I've never seen one in person before!"

Charizard raises his snout and stretches out his wings, basking in the praise. Lee grins at the boy, all traces of his disdain vanished in an instant. "Lucky you! The first Charizard you get to meet also happens to be the best Charizard in the world!"

"Whoa! That's so cool!" the boy says, practically vibrating with excitement.

Lee laughs. "You haven't seen anything yet! Charizard, let's show him a real Champion time!"

Charizard roars and flaps his wings a couple of times before taking off into the sky. Hop's seen this loads of times before – ridden on his back, even – but he still watches with wide-eyed wonder as Charizard soars above the bridge, gliding over the arches, turning on his side to weave between the steel cables. The boy whoops in delight beside him.

Focused as he is on Charizard, Hop doesn't notice the small blue flying Pokémon until a flock of them have gathered in the air, blocking Charizard's path. They're too far away for Hop to identify them, but not for the other boy. "Wild Ducklett!" he shouts. "They rule the skies around Charizard Bridge!"

"Charizard, fall back!" Lee orders.

Hop glances at him, eyes wide. "What are you doing? You should fight them! Charizard can take them!"

"I'll explain later," Lee says, not taking his eyes away from Charizard and the flock of Ducklett. Charizard continues to back away and lose altitude, but the Ducklett continue to advance on him. "That's enough, Charizard!" he finally calls when Charizard reaches the air a few yards in front of them.

The Ducklett squawk angrily and launch a collective Water Pulse at Charizard. "Dodge that!" Lee calls. Charizard easily avoids the ball of water; it flies harmlessly over their heads.

"If it's a battle they want, a battle they'll get," Lee says, chuckling under his breath. "Charizard, Hurricane!"

Charizard flaps his wings, summoning a powerful tornado of wind that swirls around all the Ducklett.

"Now! Fire Blast!"

Left completely defenseless by Hurricane, the Ducklett can do nothing but squawk in terror as the giant burst of flames strikes them all, knocking them out of the sky and onto the bridge. Charizard lands on the bridge and roars, and the Ducklett all leap to their feet and scuttle away.

"That…was…so amazing!" exclaims the boy, jumping up and down.

"Yeah! Lee, you're the coolest!" Hop beams. "I can't believe those Ducklett had the strength to stand at all after that!"

Lee laughs, grinning widely. "Well, I was trying to go easy on them."

The boy's eyes grow wide. "That was going easy? Wh-what does going hard look like?"

Lee puts his hands on his hips and looks at the boy with a twinkle in his eye. "Stop by the Pokémon World Tournament tomorrow at noon and you'll find out!"

"I will!" The boy starts, as if suddenly remembering something. "Oh! Take this, mister!" He pulls a small bag of something out of his shorts and hands it to Lee.

"Thank you," Lee says, bemused.

"It's thanks for showing me your Charizard," the boy explains. "I get it now why people say this drawbridge looks like one!"

"You do?" Hop says. "Maybe you could explain it to us, then, because we don't."

"Well, you gotta see the drawbridge when it's raised to really see the resemblance," the boy says. "It looks exactly like a Charizard getting ready to take off! It's so cool!"

"Ah. So that's it, then," Lee says, looking at the bridge thoughtfully.

"I gotta go home," the boy declares. "Bye, kid! Bye, mister! I'll watch your battle tomorrow!"

Hop and Lee wave goodbye to the boy as he runs off the bridge. "I still don't think it looks anything like a Charizard," Lee says as soon as he's out of earshot. Hop has to agree with him. "But since we came all the way out here, we ought to take a photo to commemorate the occasion."

Lee puts the boy's gift on the ground, pulls out his phone, and begins poking at it while Hop gets into position, standing beside Charizard. "Okay, on the count of three," Lee says, leaving the phone hovering in the air while he moves to Charizard's other side. "You know what to do."

Hop grins. He knows exactly what his brother has in mind.

"One…two…three!"

Hop and Lee both strike a Charizard pose, and the phone snaps a picture. Lee plucks it out of the air to review the photo and grins, then shows it to Hop. "Looking good, little bro," he says, giving Hop a high five. "Have you been practicing?"

Hop giggles. "Yeah!"

Lee puts his phone away and picks the boy's gift back up. "What did he give you?" Hop asks.

"That's a good question," Lee says, tugging the bag open. "Looks like Heal Powder."

"Oh," Hop says. Boring gift, but it's the thought that counts, he supposes. "So, why didn't you attack those wild Ducklett right away? Charizard totally could have knocked them out all at once!"

"Well, I was trying to avoid a battle with them," Lee explains. "It's no fun fighting an opponent who's nowhere near your skill level. And I didn't want to hurt them too badly since they don't have Trainers to bring them to the Pokémon Center to heal them. I was hoping they would just consider the sky their territory and leave Charizard alone once he left it. But if he got all the way to the ground, then we would be in the line of fire of their attacks."

"Whoa," Hop says, rubbing his temple. "That's a lot to think about…"

Lee chuckles and wraps an arm around Hop's shoulders. "Once you become a proper Trainer, making these kinds of decisions will come naturally," he says. "For now, why don't you decide where we're going next?"

Hop considers their options for a moment – they haven't seen everything he wants to in the city, but they haven't seen very many new Pokémon, either. And he happens to know that this drawbridge connects Driftveil to a route teeming with wild Pokémon.

"Let's head east," Hop declares. "I want to meet loads of rare and new Pokémon!"

Lee stares at him expectantly.

"…this way," he clarifies, pointing to his left.

"Right then! Let's get a move on!"

As Lee returns Charizard and starts walking in that direction, a mischievous thought crosses Hop's mind. "Race you to the end!" he exclaims, sprinting towards the end of the bridge. Lee lets out a startled squawk, but Hop soon hears his footsteps pounding along behind him. Hop can't help giggling as he runs, which eventually escalates into full-out laughter. Unfortunately, that slows him down enough that Lee is able to catch up and pull ahead just before they reach the end of the bridge.

"Nice try, Sock Hop," Lee says triumphantly. "But it looks like I still hold my crown."

"Don't call me that," Hop says. He's aiming for annoyed, but with the residual giggles slipping out, he doesn't think he quite managed that. "That was just a warm-up for the real race when we get home. I'm gonna win that one for sure!"

"Guess I'd better watch out," Lee chuckles.

The route on the other side of the bridge follows a paved road, which appears to be quite popular among Trainers. Hop can see a couple of ongoing battles from here, including one which has drawn a huge crowd of spectators that block most of the road. It piques his curiosity – what's so special about this battle that it would draw such a large audience? He quickens his pace so they can reach the crowd faster, and Lee matches him stride for stride.

"I can't see anything," Hop pouts once they reach the edge of the crowd. There are too many people in the way – he catches a glimpse of a Sigilyph for a moment, but then it moves out of his narrow view of the battlefield.

"Want me to give you a boost?" Lee asks.

Hop nods eagerly.

Lee squats down in front of Hop, letting Hop climb onto his back, and then stands back up. It only takes him a moment to find his balance with the extra weight, and Hop now has a great view of the battle.

But it seems completely unfair – it's one Sigilyph versus a Lucario and two other Pokémon Hop doesn't recognize standing behind it. Sigilyph's Trainer, a punk-looking guy standing beside a motorcycle, commands it to use Psybeam. The opposing Trainer, to Hop's surprise, is a young girl about his age, with long brown hair mostly tied up in buns on either side of her head.

"Rotate right!" she calls.

Hop doesn't understand what that means, but her Pokémon do – Lucario moves to the red monkey Pokémon's position, the red monkey Pokémon moves to the green-and-white snake Pokémon's spot, and the green-and-white snake Pokémon takes Lucario's spot and the Psybeam attack.

"Now, Servine, use Slam!" the girl shouts.

Servine slithers up to Sigilyph and slams its tail into it before it can react, knocking it out and ending the battle.

"What was that?" Hop asks as Lee lets go of his legs so he can slide back down to the ground. "Why was she using three Pokémon at once?"

"That's how Rotation Battles work," drawls one of the nearby spectators. "This chick's pretty good to be able to beat Charles at one of 'em."

The crowd starts to disperse, and Hop and Lee head from the road to the nearby grass. "I've heard of Rotation Battles before, but only in passing," Lee comments. "I guess they haven't caught on outside of Unova."

"That makes sense," Hop says with a shrug. "It seems overly complicated. And can you imagine trying to rotate with a Dynamax Pokémon?"

As they approach the treeline, Hop spots a small black shape nestled within the branches of one. He jogs closer to it to get a better look. The Pokémon turns to look at him when he gets near. A white, round face with big ears and yellow cheeks –

"It's an Emolga!" Hop exclaims.

Emolga, apparently, doesn't appreciate Hop's sudden outburst. It turns tail and jumps off its branch, gliding deeper into the trees.

"Aw," Hop says, folding his hands behind his head. "I've never seen an Emolga in person before."

"Emolga were all over the place on the Isle of Armor," Lee comments. "You'd normally just see them gliding between trees, but they also liked dropping down and ambushing students who had gotten lost."

"So you must've run into them a lot, then!"

Lee grins sheepishly. "Sure did."

Once they reach the tall grass, Lee sends Charizard back out to protect them in case they run into any aggressive wild Pokémon. Fortunately, that's not much of an issue; all the Pokémon they meet are either friendly or too intimidated by Charizard to try anything.

First to greet them is a curious Gothita, who's particularly interested in the fluffy lining of Hop's jacket. Next is an Audino, who graciously shares a couple of Berries it had gathered with them. A wild Liepard shows up to try to steal one of the Berries, but Charizard quickly puts a stop to that. Then they're approached by a timid Trubbish, and Hop coaxes it close enough for him to pet it – only for it to turn tail and flee when Lee tries moving closer.

"Good going, Lee! You scared it off," Hop complains.

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to…"

"I know, I know." He looks down at his hands, which are covered in dirt and Trubbish grime. "I think I'm gonna need to wash my hands after this…"

Suddenly, as if summoned by the words, a Minccino bounds out of the grass and sniffs at Hop's hands. Then it begins wiping its tail across his hands, brushing off all the dirt and grime.

"Oh, thanks, Minccino!" Hop laughs. "Hey, that tickles!"

"Hmm… It tickles, does it?" Lee says. An impish grin crosses his face. "Let's see if you're still ticklish anywhere else!"

He lunges forward and starts tickling Hop's sides, making Hop giggle uncontrollably. He half-heartedly attempts to swat his brother's hands away. "Ahahaha – stop it – Lee – stop – that tickles!" he wheezes out between peals of laughter.

"That's the goal!" Lee laughs.

He moves his tickling assault higher, around Hop's neck. Hop lets out a shriek of laughter and instinctively shrugs his shoulders up to protect his neck, trapping Lee's hands between his shoulders and his head for a brief, blissful, tickle-free second. But Lee pulls his hands free and returns to ticking Hop's sides, sending him into yet another fit of laughter. He falls on his back, protecting his sides a little but leaving his belly vulnerable. Fortunately, Lee has mercy on him, flopping down in the grass beside him instead of continuing his assault.

Hop lays there like that for a minute, staring up at the cloudless Unovan sky, catching his breath, hearing his brother do the same beside him. He doesn't know how long he's been smiling, but he can't imagine it fading anytime soon. It's just so much fun to be able to do something like this – to spend time with his brother, just the two of them, no deadlines, no pressure, just having fun. He wishes that he could freeze time in this moment and live in it forever.

Click!

Lee's Rotom Phone snaps a picture of the two of them, and Hop bets that Lee's thinking the exact same thing.

As Lee reaches for the phone to put it away, it suddenly starts ringing. He pokes the button to answer the call, and Iris's face appears on the screen.

"Well, aren't you two cute," she says, smiling. But it quickly fades into a glare. "But you were supposed to be here for your match five minutes ago! Where in the world are you guys!?"

"Fudge," Lee hisses, sitting upright. "Uh, we got lost," he says, getting to his feet and pulling Hop up as well.

"Sure you did," she says sarcastically. "How long will it take you to get back?"

Lee looks bewildered, and Hop does some quick estimating in his head. "Half an hour, I think," he says. "Faster if we take Charizard."

"Or if we take Dragapult," Lee says. "I don't want to tire out Charizard before tomorrow."

"I'll tell Clay you'll be here in twenty minutes," Iris says, sighing. "Oh, we're both gonna get an earful from him for this one."

Lee winces. "Sorry."

"Hey, you guys had fun, right? Hop?"

"Yeah!" Hop exclaims.

"So, it's worth it," Iris says with a smile. "See you soon!"

She ends the call, and Lee returns Charizard and sends out Dragapult. Hop climbs on first so he can serve as Dragapult's navigator – Dragapult's no better at directions than Lee is – and Lee climbs on behind him.

"Let's go, Dragapult!" Lee calls, and he immediately darts into the sky.

Once they're past the drawbridge, Hop directs Dragapult towards the PWT. However, Lee leans forward and shouts in his ear, "We need to go back to the hotel first!"

"What!? Why?"

"I left my cape there!"

"You can battle without it!"

"Not without upsetting a lot of sponsors!"

Hop groans, but obediently points out their hotel to Dragapult. "Why didn't you grab it when we dropped off our souvenirs in the room earlier?"

"Because I didn't want to wear it while running around a city and playing with wild Pokémon!"

They descend in front of the hotel, and Hop waits outside on Dragapult while Lee runs in to get his cape. He plans to wait ten minutes before declaring him lost and going in to find him, but fortunately his brother returns in only five. Hop can't help staring at him as he runs out and takes his place on Dragapult – he's still wearing the Purrloin hat that he bought at the market today.

"What?" Lee finally asks.

"Your hat…"

"Oh, that," Lee says, touching the hat's brim. He quirks a smile. "Well, the hat's not a sponsor deal. No harm in mixing things up a bit!"

"Oh. Well, it looks good!"

He chuckles. "I'm glad you think so."

Dragapult takes off, and they fly the rest of the distance to the PWT. Iris is waiting outside for them when they land. She immediately whisks Lee away to the locker room before he can protest, leaving Hop alone with Dragapult.

Hop grins at him. "Race you to the box!"

He takes off for the guests' private box, but Dragapult passes him up almost immediately. Fortunately, Hop has the advantage of actually knowing where the box is, so he gets there first. They head inside, where the other Champions' guests – as well as all the other Champions – are already gathered. Professor Kukui is the first to notice them and wave them over.

"Yo, Hop! Glad you finally made it, cousin!" he says.

"I'm guessing this means your brother arrived, too?" asks Professor Burnet.

"Yeah," Hop says, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Were you guys waiting a long time for us?"

"Just a little," Lance says with a smile. "But that gave us more time to sit and chat, so we didn't mind!"

"Speak for yourself," Clair mutters. Lance elbows her in the side.

Hop wants to talk more, but the announcer comes on over the loudspeaker to introduce the participants for the next battle. He settles onto the bench beside Professor Kukui as Lee strides onto the battlefield, ready to beat Alder and extend his winning streak.

Hop can't wait to see it.

A/N: Just wanted to make a footnote that in my brief research on glass, volcanic ash, and glassblowing, I didn't find any evidence that volcanic ash can actually be blown into glass. The Hoenn games already take creative liberties with the fact that Mt. Chimney is always spewing ash and that the ash doesn't have any negative effects on the environment, so I figured there's no harm in taking the creative liberty that ash can be melted into glass the same way sand can.

Also, I'd like to make a little announcement. In the next chapter, Hop will have a couple of opportunities to interact with the other Champions and their guests, but I don't really have any preference about who he'll interact with. So, I'm opening up the floor for suggestions from you guys! Let me know in your comment which character you'd like to see Hop interacting with - or even if there's something specific you want them to talk about - and I just might incorporate that into the next chapter!

As a reminder, your options are:
Champions: Red, Lance, Wallace, Cynthia, Alder, Diantha, Professor Kukui
Guests: Blue, Clair, Lisia, Cynthia's grandma, Iris, Professor Sycamore, Professor Burnet