Chapter 1—The wolves in the mist—
Now that I was finished helping Mom care for the garden, I decided to head back inside the house and read a book—I had plenty of time until I had to go to Wedgehurst this evening. When I went upstairs and entered my room, I looked over my books until I decided on a history book and sat down in a chair to read it. My country, Galar, was such a fascinating place—it began as a land of clans that traded and sometimes fought each other until a day came known as the "Darkest Day", when a giant dragon known as "Eternatus" appeared, threatening the peace of the region. No one could defeat it for a while, but eventually two young men who were champions of two types of battle gear—one a champion of the sword and the other, the champion of a shield—worked together with their Pokémon and the clans to defeat Eternatus and banish it before they became the first kings of Galar. Rather than arguing over who would rule the country, the two of them divided it, splitting each half under their reign. Western Galar was the domain of the Shield King while Eastern Galar was the domain of the Sword King. The clans of each half of Galar were made into noble houses that helped govern whatever territory they were in—four houses were present in each half—and that was how Galar became a monarchy.
Of course, that was ages ago—eventually, the Sword King and the Shield King of a much later era disappeared and the noble houses stepped up to take over ruling the country that no longer had their kings. Today, Galar was a republic, run jointly by the noble houses. It was fascinating seeing how it had evolved. Sometimes I wondered what it was like when Galar was still a monarchy…
As for Pokémon? They were wondrous, mysterious creatures that lived in our world. Pokémon came in one of 18 types and countless species, meaning there was a great multitude of them. Some lived on land, some lived in the ocean and others flew through the sky… they were sentient creatures with great potential and who were willing to travel with and live with humans, so people were naturally drawn to them. Everyone wanted to go on an adventure with Pokémon at some point in their lives… even I had harbored the desire to explore Galar with them for years.
I kept reading until I eventually heard a knock at the door and I said: "Come in." Before I heard it open and then I heard a: "Hey! There you are, Abby!"
And I looked up to see Hop there. I had known him since I was a little girl. He wore a black shirt and a blue jacket that had tan fur at the ends around his neck and wrists, black pants, white socks, purple shoes and had a green duffel bag. He had darker skin, short purple hair and gold eyes. His brother was currently the champion of Galar, which meant he was the strongest Pokémon trainer in the region and he had been for a long time. Naturally he was quite the celebrity, but… Hop always had lived in his shadow as a result. Hop always wanted to claim his title for himself. I couldn't imagine how hard that must have been for him, to feel like the unremarkable younger child… I guess that made my life as an only child easy.
And when Hop saw me, he said: "Hey, hey, how can you read now?! Lee's match will be over at this rate!" "There's no rush, Hop. His matches are always filmed—I can always catch it later." I said before Hop said: "Sure, but you know he's coming to see us soon! You don't want to not know if he even won, do you?!" And I laughed and said: "Take it easy, Hop. I wouldn't forget to do that." "Ha! You're so easygoing, Abby." Hop said before he went on: "But Lee's return wasn't the only thing we have to look forward to—he said he had something for us too." "Oh really? What did he say, Hop?" I asked. "Not too much… he wouldn't tell me a thing. But it's not like Lee to hold out on me… if he did, it's got to be something big!" Hop said before he went on: "Well I was hoping to chat a bit, but as long as you're queueing up things to do, I guess I'd better get going. Don't forget to watch that video, Abby!" And he ran off…
I went back to finishing the chapter I was on before I put my book away and decided to watch the footage of that battle… I took out my phone and searched for the footage and found it pretty easily. And then I watched it… it was Hop's brother versus Raihan, one of the gym leaders in Galar… gym leaders were entrusted with testing trainers that were on the gym challenge. If a trainer could defeat a gym leader, they would receive a badge as proof of their victory. Once they collected eight of them, the trainer could enter a tournament to earn the right to challenge the champion if they won. If they defeated the champion, they would replace them as Galar's champion. But I found the tournament to be a little hypocritical… it went in three stages, the preliminaries—where the gym challengers all had to defeat each other until only one was left—then the semifinals, where the remaining trainer and gym leaders had to defeat each other until there was only one left and then the finals, where the remaining trainer fought the champion. That said, the gym challengers were the ones who had to work hard while the gym leaders got credit just for showing up and could advance directly into the semifinals… it didn't seem fair.
Raihan was the strongest of the gym leaders and usually won the right to battle the champion. And he was back at it again this year… the battle lasted for a while, but I saw Hop's brother eventually defeated Raihan again. If Hop hadn't already seen this, he was going to be pleased with this outcome. When I was done, I closed the video and took a little time to relax—school was out now, so I had plenty of time.
Eventually, I saw it was 3:30… half an hour before the time I had to go to Wedgehurst. I decided to get changed now so I'd be ready. Since the champion returning was a special occasion, I wanted to dress nicely, so I put on a pink dress and white shoes. I put my brown hair up in a ponytail at the top of my head—it went down to my shoulder blades.
When I left my room, I went downstairs and soon I heard a: "Ah, Abby. There you are." And I turned to see my mom there. She was the only parent I had—I never knew my father. She wore a white shirt, blue denim pants and brown boots. Her brown hair went down to her shoulders and she was fairly tall. And before I could say anything, she went on: "And it looks like you got dressed for the champion's return. You look good, dear." "Thank you, Mom. Are you coming too?" I asked before Mom said: "I have some work to attend to here, I'm afraid. I'll be joining you later at Hop's when they celebrate." "Hee-hee… even during the champion's return, you're still working away at what needs to be done. I've always admired that about you, Mom." I said before Mom smiled and said: "Thank you, Abby. But you're no less diligent yourself, my dear. Always so devoted, reading, learning and attending to your homework… you really are my child, alright!" And then she went on: "Well since it's getting so close to his arrival time, I won't keep you. I'll see you in a while!" "Okay, Mom. See you later!" I said before I left my house.
And then I set foot out into the streets of Postwick. It was a small rural town with lots of farms and open land. We usually had to go to Wedgehurst to get supplies, which was fine—it was only a short walk from Postwick. I hurried down the street to the town entrance, where I saw Hop there… when he saw me, he said: "There you are, Abby! Had to keep me waiting, eh?" "You didn't have to wait for me, Hop." I said before he said: "Ah, it wouldn't be the same. Besides, what if you ran into a Rookidee on Route 1? You don't even have a Pokémon to protect yourself with!" And I frowned before I said: "Hop, I'm not just some damsel in distress… besides, it would take a lot of negligence to—" And Hop laughed and said: "I'm just teasing. Come on! Lee's going to be arriving soon!" And we ran down Route 1 to Wedgehurst.
We had to take the route's west trail—the east trail had grass where Pokémon went through, which made it dangerous for someone like me who didn't have a Pokémon of my own. Wild Pokémon are notorious for jumping out at people, so people like me had to avoid their habitats. It was fine though; the west trail was faster anyway. When we arrived in Wedgehurst, we saw a crowd assembled before the station. Hop and I got in as close as we could before we waited for a while… until we saw one of the trains pull up into the station. People started gradually leaving the station one by one until we saw him come out last… the champion of Galar… Leon.
He had his traditional uniform on that he had designed and customized himself, which consisted of a black shirt with a red circle in the center that had a blue stripe through it, white pants with a yellow and black stripe on either side, white short boots with a black and yellow tongue, a black hat and a maroon cape with so many stickers and logos on it, it was impossible to keep track of them all. He had darker skin, purple hair down to his shoulders, a purple beard on his chin and gold eyes. He also had his closest Pokémon, Charizard, with him. Charizard were elite fire Pokémon that were quite powerful. They looked like dragons, but weren't actually dragon types… they were fairly humanoid and walked on two legs. They had orange bodies with a white underbelly, two arms and two legs with three white nails on each claw and foot, two blue-green wings (with orange borders) and a tail with a flame at the end! They had two orange horns on their head, blue eyes and generally a surly expression… Though they may sound impressive, they actually were as tall as a human adult.
Leon and his Charizard assembled before the crowd before everyone cheered and Leon assumed his iconic "Charizard claw" pose he had invented (and many of the members of the crowd followed in suit—Hop and I chose not to) before he said: "Thank you, everyone! I am honored to receive such a warm reception from so many devoted fans! Fortunately, I have good news to report: your champion has once again returned in triumph!" And the crowd cheered before Leon waited for the noise to die down and then he said: "My worthy rival, Raihan, once again put up a great fight, but it was nothing I couldn't handle! Even to this day, I get a great thrill when I have a battle on the pitch in Wyndon—facing worthy opponents is what I live for! Though Raihan is a frequent challenger, I will accept a challenge from anyone! That said, if any of you want to face me on the pitch, I would welcome the opportunity anytime! Whether you're going to be my next challenger, a researcher or something else, be sure to give your Pokémon lots of love and believe in them! Pokémon are our partners who support us every day, so we should cherish them, no matter what we do." And then he went on: "Thank you for your warm welcome, Wedgehurst! I'll be back next year, ready to return in triumph again!"
And then he did his Charizard claw pose once more before the crowd cheered. I had a hard time not chuckling—Leon was so photogenic. Eventually, the crowd dispersed a little… and Leon ran ahead! "Uh… hey! Lee!" Hop said before I said: "He's always so hasty… come on, Hop! Let's catch up!" And we ran down the road to Route 1 and then to Postwick… when we arrived, we looked around and Hop said: "Wait a minute… why isn't Lee here?" "Come to think of it… didn't we lose sight of him?" I asked before we heard a: "Ah, there you are! Hop! Abby!" And we turned to see Leon running up the Route 1 road into Postwick…
I shook my head as I said: "How did we get here first?" And Hop laughed and said: "Aw, Lee! You're always so lousy with directions that you'd get lost even on a short road like Route 1!" And Leon laughed and said: "It's true—directions are a weakness of mine. Luckily Charizard helped me out, as he often does." "Char!" Charizard said before Leon said: "But never mind that—I had something I wanted to give you two! Come with me, won't you?" And then he took us to Hop's house as we followed.
When we arrived, we went into Hop's front yard where we saw his mother waiting to greet us… she wore a white undershirt, a yellow long-sleeved, buttoned shirt, blue pants and black shoes. She had darker skin, purple hair that went down to her shoulders and gold eyes. When she saw us, she turned to Leon and Hop and said: "Welcome home, Leon, Hop. Congratulations on yet another victory this year, Leon! Your battle was splendid." "Ha ha! Thank you, Ma. Raihan's as competitive as ever, but he's nothing I can't handle!" Leon said before she said: "I'd say so—you've triumphed over him several times. I'm so impressed you've held onto your title for so many years! Good job." And then she turned to me and said: "And welcome, Abby. It was so nice of you to come by today. Please, make yourself at home." "Thank you, Mrs. Banks. I always enjoy getting to celebrate Leon's victories with you every year." I said back before Mrs. Banks said: "Quinton and I will be ready to start the celebration not too long from now. Until then, make yourselves comfortable." And she went off before Hop and I turned to Leon and Hop said: "So Lee, what were you going to show us?" "These…" Leon said as he took out… three Poke balls!
Poke balls were devices that Pokémon were stored in. As the name suggested, they were round and a small size, so they could be carried easily. Poke balls were red on the top half and white on the bottom half with a black horizontal line down the center (with a white button in the middle), but there were other models of Poke balls too that looked different and were generally more effective. "P-Poke balls?! Lee are you—" Hop began before Leon said: "Yes—I'll be giving you each one. In truth, I've been thinking about this for a while… you both love Pokémon and travelling Galar might be a good experience for you." And then he turned to Hop and said: "Hop, even though you're still a rookie and sometimes distracted by trivial things when it comes to being a trainer, you really care well for your Wooloo and I think you're mature enough now to receive a new Pokémon to take you further into Galar." And then he turned to me and said: "And Abby, you're so mature and studious about Pokémon! I think you'd do a great job training them!" "Leon…" I said before I went on: "Thank you. Coming from you, that means a lot." And Hop said: "Hey, what do you mean, distracted by trivial things?!" "Like how you throw Wooloo's Poke ball when you call him out. That's not the kind of thing you should be obsessing about when you're training Pokémon." Leon said before Hop said: "That coming from the guy who invented the Charizard claw pose?!" And I giggled before Leon said: "What do you mean? I don't obsess about that." And then he went on: "But that aside, the important thing now is deciding which Pokémon you want. All three of them are different Pokémon with different types, so pay careful attention to them."
And then he called out each Pokémon one by one… the first one he called out was a little green monkey Pokémon that had orange hands and feet (as well as an orange mouth), a brown tail and ears of the same color and yellow patterns around its eyes. It had white eyes with black irises and white pupils and two leaves on the top of its head. It held a stick and was short. The second was a little rabbit that had an almost entirely white body with a red-orange neck, red-orange toes and red-orange tips to its ears (with yellow-orange interiors). It had little white ears, a small yellow bandage over its nose and black eyes with white pupils. It wasn't very tall, either. And the last one was an odd reptilian Pokémon with a blue and pale blue body that had a pale blue underbelly and face and a coiled tail that was blue at the end. It had white eyes with blue irises and white pupils and two little black dots for nostrils and a completely horizontal black line for a mouth. It had a fairly tall blue crest on its head (with yellow sides) and hands and feet that were like little Cs on their sides. It was short too.
"The first Pokémon I called out is a grass type Pokémon called 'Grookey'—" Leon said before then the green Pokémon said: "Grookey!" and Leon said: "It has more weaknesses than usual, but is a strong fighter to make up for it." And then he went on: "The second Pokémon I called out is a fire type Pokémon called 'Scorbunny'—" And then the rabbit Pokémon said: "Scorbunny!" before Leon said: "It has an average number of weaknesses, but is a good attacker." And then he continued: "And the last Pokémon I called out is a water type Pokémon called 'Sobble'—" And then the reptilian Pokémon said: "Sobble!" loudly before Leon said: "It doesn't have many weaknesses, but you should know its stamina is limited." And then he turned to me and said: "And because Abby doesn't have any Pokémon—while Hop already has one—I'd say that entitles her to the first pick. Which one do you want?" And I hesitated as Hop said: "Hmm… well, I suppose that's fair. They all look cool to me, so I don't mind." And then I walked up to the Pokémon to take a closer look at them and they all looked up at me… they all looked like they had potential… but I liked Scorbunny. It was such a little cutie and fire type Pokémon usually were strong against Pokémon that were treacherous, hard to damage, or both, which sounded like valuable qualities for a first Pokémon to possess. "I'll take Scorbunny. I've got a good feeling about him!" I said before Scorbunny said: "Scor!" And he hopped up to me and I picked him up and said: "Hi there, little cutie! My name is Abby. I've been studying Pokémon for years, so you can count on me! I'm looking forward to all the adventures we're going to have together, Scorbunny!" And Scorbunny said: "Scorbunny!" before I hugged him and Leon said: "Then it's decided. I have Scorbunny's Poke ball here for you, Abby. With it, you can call him in and out whenever necessary."
And I put Scorbunny down before I went over to Leon and took it from him and Leon said: "Now, Hop… which do you want to take as your second Pokémon?" "Grookey! He's so cool! Plus, he can help if my Wooloo runs into a rock type!" Hop said before Grookey said: "Grookey!" And ran up to Hop before Hop got down and said: "Pleased to meetcha, Grookey! I know we'll have a lot of fun together!"
And then I saw Sobble looking around disappointedly… it made me a little sad… but then I heard Hop say: "Well then, Abby… now that you have a Pokémon, what would you say to a battle? It'd be a good way to kick off our careers as trainers in style, wouldn't you say?" And then we heard a: "Ha ha ha ha! Where are your manners, boy?" And we looked up to see Mr. Banks… he wore a beige long-sleeved shirt and brown pants with black shoes. He had darker skin, short black hair and brown eyes. And then he approached us as he said: "Taking on a girl who has only one Pokémon with two? That's not entirely fair, is it?" "Uh…" Hop said before Mr. Banks looked at Leon and said: "As long as they're going to have a battle, why don't you let Abby have the other one too, Leon? Or did you have more pressing plans for it?" "…Well now that you mention it, I suppose that's a good point." Leon said before he turned to me and said: "Go on and claim your second Pokémon, Abby." "Really?! Thank you, Leon!" I said before I ran up to Sobble (with Scorbunny following) and I said: "Come with me, Sobble! I'll make sure to take good care of you as we go through Galar together! We're going to have so much fun!" And then Sobble finally looked happy before he said: "Sobble!" and hopped over—and I knelt down and hugged him—before I put him down and Scorbunny hopped over and said: "Bunny!" And thrust his arm in the air as Sobble said: "Sobble!" And clapped his little feet together before he laughed… and then accidentally sprayed some water, which Scorbunny leapt out of the way of like he really meant it. It wasn't any surprise though—fire Pokémon were weak to water, so it was no wonder he wouldn't want to get soaked by that. And then Sobble looked embarrassed before he said: "Sob…" and Scorbunny said: "Bunny!" And posed triumphantly before Sobble lightened up… at least Scorbunny was a good sport about it.
And then we all turned around before Leon said: "You're all certainly fast friends… but as long as I'm giving you Sobble too, you'll need his Poke ball as well. So here." And I took it before Mr. Banks said: "Well now that the numbers are even, how about it? Are you two going to battle now?" "Sure! I'm ready!" I said before Hop said: "Now we're talking! Let's get to it!" And Leon said: "I didn't think you two would be starting with a battle so soon… but you're both knowledgeable, so I guess it's fine. Now it's time for you to learn by doing!" And I called Scorbunny and Sobble back to their Poke balls before Hop called Grookey back to his and then I took Sobble's Poke ball (as Hop took one of his) and I said: "Go, Sobble!" While Hop said: "Go, Wooloo!" And I called him out while Hop called out his old Wooloo. It was very much like a typical sheep—it had a white, wooly body with black legs barely at the bottom of the wool, a black face with a pink nose and black eyes with horizontal white lines for pupils and yellow rings around them. It had black ears, very short black horns that barely stuck up out of its wool and gray braids of wool next to its ears and was somewhat short.
"Wooloo, tackle Sobble!" Hop said before Wooloo said: "Wo-ooo!" And smacked into Sobble. "Sobble, get him with water gun!" I said before Sobble said: "Sob!" And sprayed Wooloo with water. We repeated this process two more times before Hop's Wooloo collapsed! Although Sobble wasn't in very good shape himself… Hop called him back before he said: "Go, Grookey!" And called him in. I knew there was no way Sobble could make it through one of Grookey's attacks… water Pokémon were weak to grass and Sobble probably couldn't stand up to the pounding of an attack that wasn't super effective as it is… "Grookey—" Hop began before I said: "Stop it, Hop. I'll withdraw Sobble from the battle and have it count as a loss. Just don't attack him." "Hey, no fair! You didn't let me finish!" Hop said before he went on: "But as long as he counts as defeated, that's fair… okay." And then I said: "Great job, Sobble. Now come on back." And I called him back to his Poke ball before I said: "Go, Scorbunny!" And I called him out and Hop said: "Grookey, use scratch!" And Grookey said: "Key!" And ran up to Scorbunny before he scratched him and I said: "Scorbunny, use ember!" And Scorbunny said: "Scorbunny!" And coughed up embers at Grookey which burned him and worked to great effect! Of course, grass Pokémon were weak to fire attacks, which is why it did so much extra damage! "Grookey, attack with scratch again!" Hop said before he did so and I said: "You've got him, Scorbunny! Ember!" And Scorbunny coughed up more embers that burned Grookey… and he collapsed! We had won!
"Yay!" I said before I called Sobble out and said: "Great job, Scorbunny, Sobble! We won our first battle!" "Scor!" Scorbunny said before Sobble said: "Sobble!" And Hop said: "Aw, jeez…" And he called Grookey back before Leon said: "That was a pretty close fight. Even though you both only had two Pokémon, you were very resourceful and used type matchups to your advantage… that was an excellent first battle for you both." And then he went on: "Normally, you'd want to heal your Pokémon after a battle like that. But of course, you don't have your own supplies yet, so you can't do that now. That's why I'll heal your Pokémon this time." And he used healing potions on our Pokémon before they were as good as new and I said: "Thank you, Leon!" And Hop said: "Yeah, thanks Lee. Wooloo and Grookey wouldn't have been too happy at this party in the condition they were in." "Of course! It was only the right thing to do. And it was good of you to recognize your Pokemons' feelings, Hop—that's a habit good trainers get into regularly." Leon said before we heard a: "Hello, everyone. I'm sorry I was so—oh!" It was Mom!
We all turned to her and she looked at me and said: "Wait… are those Pokémon behind Abby?!" "That's right, Ms. Zuckerman! I gave her those Pokémon—Hop got one too!" Leon said before Mom said: "You mean I missed seeing my own daughter get her first Pokémon?" "Uh…" Hop said before Mom said: "Mm… how sad." But then she lightened up and said: "But I believe Abby is ready, so I have no objections. She's been studying Pokémon for as long as she could read." And then she turned to me and said: "And I'm very happy for you too, Dear. Pokémon are a big responsibility, but I think you'll have a lot of fun with them." "Thank you, Mom. I know I certainly have already!" I said before Leon said: "That's right! She just won her first battle with style!" "Oh, you've even had a battle, Abby?! That's incredible! So fill me in! What was it like?" Mom asked.
But then we heard a: "Where have you been, Quinton? I haven't seen you in 12 minutes or so…" It was Mrs. Banks! Mr. Banks turned to her and said: "Ha, ha! Sorry, dear. I guess I got a little carried away with what was going on here." "Indeed, it seems so. Come, darling—we still have work to do. Let's not keep our guests waiting." Mrs. Banks said. "All too true. Alright, I'm ready, dear!" Mr. Banks said before they went off and I spoke with Mom for a bit about my experience battling with Scorbunny and Sobble (while Leon took it easy and Hop played with his Wooloo and Grookey). Once I finished, I spent some time with Hop and Leon before we all had a dinner together (consisting of grilled kebabs and fresh fruit) before we all congratulated Leon and went home.
I had a lot of fun spending time with Scorbunny and Sobble as the days went on, but now that I was a Pokémon trainer, I knew I had a decision to make… summer was the season that Pokémon trainers register to participate in the year's gym challenge. If I wanted to register, I'd have to do it before August… I didn't like the idea of missing a year of school, but I was so advanced, I didn't think it would hurt me that much… and it seemed a waste not to travel with Scorbunny and Sobble now that I had them. Soon, I decided I wanted to register this year. I waited for the following day to tell her when I had dinner with Mom and helped her do the dishes after. When we were done, Mom said: "That was excellent. Thank you for your help, Abby. That went a lot faster with you helping." "I'm happy to help, Mom." I said back before Mom said: "So what are you going to be doing now?" "Well… I actually had something I wanted to talk about, if that's okay." I said before Mom said: "Of course, dear. What is it?"
"I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I want to do this year now that I have Scorbunny and Sobble. I'm so excited to have Pokémon now and I don't want to have to worry about them getting bored and so—" And then Mom said: "You don't have to say it, Abby; it's clear you want to join the gym challenge this year." "Yes, that's right… would you be okay with that, Mom?" I asked before she said: "You really have changed… I never imagined the day you would do this would come so soon… but if you want to train your Pokémon and you're excited about it now, I think you should do it. As they say, there's no time like the present. And yet…" And she went on: "It also makes me sad to think of you not being in Postwick for eight months… it will be quiet without you here." "Oh, Mom…" I said before she said: "But that's okay! I'll just watch the footage of your accomplishments during the challenge… and look forward to the stories you'll have when you get back. No matter what happens, I'll always be cheering you on, Abby."
"Mom…" I said before I went on: "Thank you. I am so grateful to you for making this possible. I'll be back and when I return… I'll tell you everything about how it went." "Good. I'll be looking forward to that, Abby. Then let's go upstairs and register you online!" Mom said before we went up and went onto the gym challenge website. Thankfully, registering took much less time than I thought. I'm glad they made it easy! After that, we went back downstairs and spent some time together before it was only a matter of time before I had to go to sleep for the night. And yet I found I could hardly sleep, I was so excited for what was to come… I trained Scorbunny and Sobble a little every day as I waited for September to come… that was the month the gym challenge actually started. Yet in late August, an odd day came one morning…
When I woke up and went outside for a walk, I saw Hop come running up the road… he had already registered to be a gym challenger too, he had told me, so he'd be leaving Postwick in September too. "Hey, Abby!" Hop said before I said: "Hi, Hop. What are you in such a hurry for?" "I was wondering if you'd be up for a battle! I need to stay sharp before the gym challenge kicks off!" He said. "You're on!" I said before Hop said: "Alright! Then let's head over to my backyard and—" But then we heard a crashing noise! "What was that?" I asked before Hop pointed to the upper-left and said: "It came from up there! Let's hurry!"
And we hurried up the hill to see a Wooloo had smashed the gate to the Slumbering Weald… and then it started to go in! "HEY! Stop!" Hop yelled, but the Wooloo didn't even seem to notice… by the time we reached the gate, the Wooloo was gone… "Oh man… this is a real problem…" Hop said before I said: "No kidding… even grown-ups fear the Pokémon in the Slumbering Weald… and that's saying nothing about the rumored 'Demons of the Woods' in there either…" "Yeah… and if that Wooloo encounters any of them…" Hop began before he turned to me and said: "Abby, we've got to save it!" "WHAT?! And go into the Slumbering Weald?! Have you lost your mind, Hop?!" I asked before he said: "That Wooloo is too weak to protect itself from anything dangerous. If it encounters any of the dangerous creatures in there, there's no telling what will happen." "You fool! We're barely any stronger than that Wooloo itself! And don't you remember the weather in there?! It's always really foggy with poor visibility! What makes you think we're going to do any better?!" I asked before Hop said: "I can't believe you, Abby! Are you saying you're going to let it wander off and get attacked?"
"Look, Hop… I don't like the thought of it, either. But there isn't anything we can do. We aren't strong enough. Even if that Wooloo goes in and gets eaten, that was its choice. Besides, if anything happened to us, our families would be the ones who would pay for it. I can't betray Mom like that. And surely you couldn't do the same to your parents or Leon, either." I said before Hop said: "Tch… I can't believe how heartless you are! Well fine, then! I'll just save it myself!" "You really are a fool…" I said before I went on: "Fine, then. I'll go get Leon before your adventure comes to its conclusion!" And I ran back to Hop's house.
When I arrived, I rang the doorbell… all I could think was: "Answer, answer, answer…" And thankfully, Mrs. Banks answered the door! "Abby? What is it? Hop said he was going to get you… he's not with you?" She asked. "No, Mrs. Banks… I need to see Leon right away. He made a big mistake." I said. "What? What did he do?" Mrs. Banks asked before I said: "A Wooloo broke down the gate to the Slumbering Weald and went in… he wanted to save it, so he followed it into the Slumbering Weald." "He… he did what?! That's unthinkable!" Mrs. Banks said before she went on: "Never mind! I'll get Leon right now!" And she ran off and I waited for about a minute before Leon came down and said: "Abby!" And I said: "Good timing, Leon. Has your mother filled you in?" "Yes! Thank you for telling us, Abby! Now I'll go to the Slumbering Weald! You just wait here!" Leon said. "…Leon, can I please come with you? I'm worried about Hop. I'll do what you say and won't get in your way. I promise." I said before Leon hesitated and finally said: "Okay, fine. But you stay close, Abby!" And I nodded before we ran off to the gate and then into the Slumbering Weald…
The terrain was just as my studies had indicated… woods that were shrouded with fog year-round that had poor visibility. Leon and I ran through the woods until we came to a clearing where we saw a tall blue wolf… its legs were white and it had black toes with a pink tail and black and pink crests coming from out of its shoulders. It had pink braids coming from out of the sides of its head that were connected to its tail and a black face with white eyes with yellow irises and black pupils… it had a pink nose too… and Hop was on the ground across from it! "Hop!" Leon said before I said: "No! Are we too late?!" And Leon called Charizard out before he said: "Charizard, get rid of that wolf! Fire blast!" And Charizard said: "Char!" And spat a bundled blob of fire at the wolf and when it made contact, it exploded into a star-like shape, but the flames soon faded… and the wolf looked unaffected! "Huh…?" Leon said before I said: "This… is this one of the Demons of the Woods?" And then the wolf discharged mist that made the fog thicker… "Oh no, you don't! Charizard, get rid of the fog!" Leon said before Charizard said: "Charizard!" And flapped his wings fiercely and blew away the fog… but the wolf disappeared with it a few seconds later!
"It's gone?" Leon said and (finding this outcome suspicious) I looked around… until I saw a different wolf hiding in a thicket… it had orange fur with white legs and black toes (though its front legs were exclusively blue on the claves and had a blue stripe going up the middle of each thigh…) and a blue tail, as well as blue fur like a feather drooping backwards at the top of its head. It had two black stripes on the middle and back of its throat and a blue stripe on the front of its throat, as well as black borders around its lips and eyes, with a white muzzle that had an orange top and a blue nose… it was tall and had white eyes with yellow irises and black pupils… and it was staring at me intently. But only me… its gaze was unbroken no matter how long I looked back at it… it made me afraid to look away. And then I heard Leon say: "Abby? What are you doing?!" And I turned to Leon without thinking and saw he had picked up Hop… but then I immediately turned back to the wolf… and saw it was gone… I looked around nearby, but I didn't see it anywhere else, either… "Abby?" Leon asked before I ran over to him and said: "…It's nothing. Is Hop okay?" "He's fine—not wounded in any way. All things considered, this was rather lucky…" Leon answered before I said: "Good. Then let's head back before those demons show up again…" "I'm not sure that was a demon… or even a Pokémon." Leon said before he went on: "I mean, think about it: it couldn't be harmed by Charizard's fire blast, yet disappeared to a harmless flapping of Charizard's wings… it must have been an illusion of some kind." And before I could answer, he went on: "But what do you mean 'demons', Abby? There was only one of them." "Oh…" I said as I was upset with myself… I had forgotten he hadn't seen the orange wolf… "Yes, I suppose you're right. I thought I saw another one, but… it was probably just a wild Pokémon going by." I said. "Hmm… well, alright. Now come on. Let's get out of here!" Leon said before I nodded and we hurried back to Postwick.
When we arrived, we went to Hop's house… I wasn't looking forward to seeing Mrs. Banks react to this… we were halfway through the yard before Leon said: "Would you ring the doorbell? I've got my hands full—" But then we heard Hop stirring! "Hop!" Leon said before Hop awoke and said: "Lee! Abby! Where are we?" "On the front yard. Abby got me and we came to the Slumbering Weald to rescue you." Leon answered. "Aww… that's embarrassing. And I didn't even find the Wooloo either—" Hop said before we heard Mrs. Banks say: "Hop!"
And we turned around to see she had come out through the front door… she must have seen us coming from the window… she ran up and hugged Hop before she said: "I'm so glad to see you're okay." And then she looked up and said: "What happened?" And Leon explained the story before Hop said: "Ugh… how embarrassing to have dived so deep into danger and to have nothing to show." "Uh… aren't you being a little nonchalant?" I asked and as soon as he turned to me, I slapped him and said: "You are a total fool! Do you even realize what could have happened if we had gotten there a bit later?! As long as you're embarrassed, just think how embarrassed you would have been had you been killed or mauled and it accomplished absolutely nothing! What do you think your parents and brother felt when I had to tell them what you did?! And do you realize that there were people—myself included—who were worried about you?! How full of dread do you think I was when I saw you on the ground?! And no one even knew how strong the Pokémon in the Slumbering Weald were! What if they were stronger than Leon and we had disappeared in the Slumbering Weald too?! And then there's the matter of who would have to come and rescue us and suffer the same fate! You are completely tactless and reckless!"
And Leon chuckled and said: "She said everything I was going to say." "Okay, okay! I blew it, okay? I get it—I saw how stupid I was when that blue wolf came after me…" Hop said before Mrs. Banks said: "If that's the case, then I suppose we can put any further scolding on hold… for now. Abby's already done an excellent job, after all." And then she went on: "But you are going to be punished for this, Hop—that was not only careless, but what you put us through felt truly horrible." "Y-yes, Mom…" Hop said before Mrs. Banks said: "Then come inside, Hop. I'd say that's enough suspense for one day." And he came up to her and then she said: "Oh, and Hop?" "Yes?" Hop said before she said: "Do not ever go into the Slumbering Weald again. If I hear you've been in there again, I'm cancelling your registration and you won't be going on the gym challenge ever. Is that clear?" "Ahh! Y-yes, perfectly!" Hop said before Mrs. Banks said: "Good. Then come inside." And she and Hop went in before Leon turned to me and said: "Thank you for your help, Abby. I shudder to think what would have become of Hop if you hadn't helped. "You're welcome, Leon. I have to say, Mrs. Banks is pretty cool—she can be intimidating without even raising her voice. She's really impressive." I said before Leon said: "Ha! Well you're pretty scary when you're angry too. You seem like the type to put people in line." And we laughed together before he said: "Don't worry. Ma will sort Hop out. Just go on and enjoy your last two weeks before you have to go off on your journey." "I'll do that. Thank you, Leon." I said before I went off.
I walked home and went up the hill to my house… but a little before I got there, I saw a woman there I had never seen before walking down the hill… she wore a turquoise top and a tan coat that looked a little too big for her, pale blue jeans and turquoise short boots. She had orange hair in a ponytail on the right side of her head that went down to her shoulder blades with a bunch of silver, heart-shaped studs in it and turquoise eyes. And yet she looked rather disappointed…
"Hey, are you okay?" I asked before the woman looked up and said: "Oh, hello. Yes, I'm fine. I just had a little setback on top of the hill here." And before I could say anything, she went on: "You're certainly a sweet girl to care about other people like that, though. What's your name?" "I'm Abby. Who are you?" I asked before the woman said: "My name is Sonia. In spite of my looks, I'm the granddaughter to the Professor of Galar. I'm actually studying Galar's history. It's what led me to come here…" And I suddenly felt some rapport with this woman before I said: "You're studying Galar's history? That's interesting! I've been reading about Galar's history too. I think it's so interesting!" "Is that so? Well, what period were you reading about, Abby?" Sonia asked before I said: "The fall of the Galarian monarchy. It's such a fascinating period of time." "What a coincidence! That's what I'm studying too!" Sonia said before I said: "How about that! But if that's the period of time you're studying, why did you come to Postwick?"
"I wanted to investigate the so-called 'Demons of the Woods' that lived in the Slumbering Weald… it was said that the Sword King and the Shield King had a connection to them. I heard the Slumbering Weald had been opened and I came to investigate… but when I got there, I was told a Pokémon was the one who destroyed the gate and that someone went in there without permission and that doesn't change the fact that it's still off-limits. It's a little disappointing…" Sonia said. "But… the Slumbering Weald is incredibly dangerous. If you went in there, you might not come back out alive." I said before Sonia said: "Don't you worry—I'm a lot stronger than I look with the Pokémon I have with me. Besides, all great researchers have to be willing to take risks in the name of advancing the field." "You're very brave… if I were you, I'd stay out of there." I said before Sonia said: "Thanks for the advice, sweetie. But it was off limits anyway, so I'm going to have to go conduct research elsewhere."
And then she went on: "Anyway, I'd best be going. Maybe we'll meet again someday, if you become a Pokémon trainer!" And she waved at me before I waved back and she went off… Now that she was gone, I finished what I started and went home. When I arrived, I saw Mom go into a nearby room and I approached her before I said: "Hi, Mom." "Oh, hello, Abby. Welcome back. It seems like you've been away for a couple hours… were you and Hop having fun?" Mom asked.
Suddenly I felt rather awkward… I was sure Mom wouldn't be happy that I had been in the Slumbering Weald—even if I went under Leon's supervision—but I couldn't imagine she wouldn't hear about the Wooloo breaking into the Slumbering Weald, Hop charging in there or me accompanying Leon into the Slumbering Weald somehow… I knew I had to tell her what happened. "Um… let me explain it to you." I said.
And then I told her what happened. By the end of it, Mom was stunned and said: "I see… well dear, I'm proud of you for getting Leon. You did the right thing. I'm glad you were thinking carefully, even in the heat of such a stressful moment. But I know I can always count on you—you're so smart." And then she went on: "Still though, it's strange that orange wolf was staring at you so intently… that must have frightened you a lot." "It did. I was too scared to turn away… I don't want to go there again." I said before Mom said: "Good. Even though you were so brave, I'm glad you've come to the right conclusion. And I'll hold you to it, Abby—if you ever go in there like Hop did, you're going to be punished in a similar manner. Is that clear?" "Yes, Mom. Don't worry—I'm not in any hurry to go back to that place." I said before Mom said: "That's my girl. Then you'd best get back to enjoying what's left of your summer, dear. Only two more weeks to go before you're off to train your Pokémon!" "Yes! I'm so excited!" I said before I went back upstairs. I'd had enough adventure for one day—now I just wanted to read a book. Although I wasn't sure what was going to be done with Hop… his parents were sure to be furious.