“Hop, are you sure about this?” Leon questioned his brother as he packed some shirts into Hop’s leather bag. 

     “Positive,” Hop scowled.

     It had been three months. Five long months since Hop’s so-called friend, Gloria, snatched Leon’s champion title. Of course, she also crushed Hop’s ambitions. It was Hop’s goal, ever since his brother first obtained the title of champion, to dethrone his brother as the Galar region’s champion. At first, he had no competition. Postwick was a small town, so Hop was the best battler in the area. His childhood companions, Victor and Gloria, often complimented his battling skills. They were in awe of the fact that he even had a Pokemon at such a young age. He secretly loved the attention. His brother was hardly home to pay attention to him, and the rest of his family always had to watch Leon’s live matches. And reruns of Leon’s matches… At least Hop had friends to compliment him!

     Then… Leon came home. This time, he had starters. Hop politely offered some to his pals. Gloria took the Scorbunny with glee. Victor, a little more hesitant than his female friend, took the Grookey. That left Hop with the Sobble. That didn’t mind Hop, though. 

     “With the power of friendship, we’ll win! I’m sure of it!” Hop declared, holding up his Sobble.

     But at that moment, Hop wasn’t very special anymore.

     Quickly, Gloria surpassed him. Hop tried to be polite, complimenting her skills the same way she complimented his, but she brushed it off with a brief “thanks.” Gloria got attention from everyone, and Hop got… nothing. Desperately, he tried to become his brother. He used the same poses and tried to imitate his idol. But he was weak. That was reassured by a boy named Bede, and implied by a girl named Marnie. Soon, even humble, shy Victor surpassed Hop. 

     “We can train together if you want,” Victor once told Hop, “You’re still great at battling, though!”

     Hop wished he believed him.

     “Hop, I need to get you a suitcase. Your little bag won’t cut it,” Leon remarked, gesturing at Hop’s overflowing leather bag.

     “That’s because you packed it wrong, Leon!” Hop sighed as he dumped out all of Leon’s work into the floor. “The clothes are supposed to be folded, not crumpled! And they belong at the bottom of my bag, not the top!”

     Leon smiled as he picked up one of Hop’s favorite shirts. “Like… this?” he playfully asked as he flipped the shirt inside-out.

     “You know, it would be better if you just let me do it,” Hop scoffed, taking the shirt from Leon and flipping it right side out again.

     Hop’s last dinner in Galar was a hot dog. He remembered when some of the local children used to call him Hot mockingly. Then Gloria would stand up for him, and Victor would tell him that they were just jealous. That would work back then, back when Hop was special and was the only one with a Pokemon of his own, but now people look upon kids with wooloo as trash trainers. Gloria’s reign as champion, although it just started, popularized young children as Pokemon trainers. So he was never strong by today’s standards anyways.

     Hop looked up at his brother. The brother who lost everything. The brother who lost to an eleven year old. The brother who had every right to be depressed at his humiliating failure. Yet he wasn’t. He was still his good old cheerful self. How come Leon could be so joyful while Hop was so miserable? Suddenly, the truth hit Hop like a speeding wooloo. Leon still had all his friends. He still had Raihan, Nessa, and Sonia. Hop only had one now.

     Leon had noticed his poor brother in a glum mood. To try to counter his brother’s gloom, he pulled out the pair of silly fake glasses he had in his pocket.

     “Look at this, Hop!” Leon exclaimed as he made a silly face.

     Hop looked unfazed by Leon’s ridiculous antics. He went back to looking down at his hotdog. His pathetic, no-good hotdog…

     “I’m sorry, Hop,” Leon sympathetically said, “I know you have hotdog PTSD.”

     “It’s not that I’m scared of hotdogs!” Hop defensively argued, “It’s just that the kids used to call me Hot instead of Hop. And hotdog has the word hot in it.”

     “That’s it?” Leon asked, fighting back laughs. “So that’s why you refuse to eat hot curry?”

     Hop hesitated. “Yes…?” he responded.

     Leon suddenly burst out laughing, causing Hop to get embarrassed. Did his brother not think the bullying was serious?

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     “You can ask Victor or Gloria! It actually happened!” Hop scowled. But that sentence made him remember the fun times he had with the two of them, and how Gloria was way too important to hang out with him now.

     Hop didn’t notice it himself, but Leon saw that Hop looked like he was biting back tears. Suddenly feeling guilty for making fun of Hop’s past trauma, Leon put his arm on his crying brother’s shoulder.

     “Hey, Hop, that was wrong of me. I’m sorry, little guy,” Leon solemnly apologized. “Do you want me to eat your hotdog and I can make you some warm curry?”

     Hop looked astonished at Leon’s peculiar kind words. “I’d love that,” Hop whispered, and Leon made him curry.

     Hop just wished Victor and Gloria could’ve been there.

     Hop felt like he had barely any time to formally say goodbye to his home region and the people he’d befriended there. It felt like little time at all before Hop found himself carrying his bag and luggage at the train station. In front of him stood Leon and Victor.

     Victor had grown since the start of their journey. He was still timid and uncertain, but he was much stronger and had become a little more social. Just a little, though. He was wearing a black hoodie he had spent his hard-earned battle money on. Hop thought he looked cool in it, but Victor looked unworthy of it. “It’s not really my style…” Victor had muttered when he first tried it on. However, with Hop and Gloria’s encouragement, Victor had gotten it.

     ‘Of course Gloria is a no-show,’ Hop thought as he looked down, ‘Now she has new friends to replace her old ones.’ Hop felt resentment and a little envious of his former friend for taking the life he so desperately wanted.

     Hop looked up from his trance and noticed tears beading up in Victor’s eyes. As the tears turned to deep sobs, Hop remembered when the two of them had first met. Victor had just moved to Postwick, and Hop had helped the crying, nervous boy get settled in. Well, Hop and Gloria helped him. It pained Hop that Gloria was absent from this moment.

     “I’m sorry,” Victor quiveringly whispered as he pulled out his handkerchief and then blew his nose, “It’s just that… You were one of my first friends. And I’ll really miss you!”

     Victor suddenly grabbed Hop in a tearful embrace. Hop smiled. At least some things didn’t change. Immediately, Hop’s heart filled with pity for his friend. Poor, sensitive Victor… It was doubtful that Gloria would hang out with him much, either because she had too many responsibilities or that she was simply too cool for him. Hop might be deserting his closest friend. Would he turn back into that crying, lonely boy Hop had helped all those years ago?

     “Hey,” Hop reassured Victor, “I’ll call you frequently, okay? I bet if you train while I’m gone, you can take anyone down!”

     “Even Gloria?” Victor hopefully whispered.

     “Even Gloria,” Hop smiled.

     “You promise you’ll call me though, right?” Victor said. Hop noticed that he was blushing.

     “Of course!” Hop responded, tightening his grip against his crying friend.

     “Okay then!” Leon suddenly butted in. “Can I talk with my baby brother now?”

     Victor looked at Leon, obviously flustered. Both boys released their grips on each other and Victor backed away sheepishly. Leon let out a chuckle before he addressed his brother.

     “Hop, you know you only have a limited amount of pokedollars,” Leon started, “So, you know, no excessive spending.”

     “Yes, Leon,” Hop muttered. Of course he knew this. Leon didn’t have his job anymore. The rest of his family were unemployed, previously leeching off of Leon’s immense salary. But now that the salary was gone…

     “Hop,” Leon addressed his brother again, “You know I got a job, right? A nice one, too.”

     Hop already knew his brother’s new job. It was the amazing job of a Corviknight Flying Taxi driver. Definitely a step up from being the Champion of the entire Galar region… 

     Leon then embraced his brother, just as Victor had done previously. Except there were no tears. Leon wasn’t the type to cry, even when he got his Champion title stolen by his brother’s friend. Hop admired this in his brother. The attitude to never give up. Hop wished he had the same level of persistence as him.

     “Hop, I love you,” Leon said with a smile, “I hope you find what you’re looking for in that region you’re going to.”

     Leon freed Hop from his hug swiftly. He then walked over to Victor, who had moved a few feet away.

     “First call for train fifty-four! All leaving for Wyndon please board!” A conductor blared. Hop sensed a bit of irritation in the conductor’s voice.

     “Well, I guess I got to go,” Hop said, “I promise to call both of you once a week.”

     “Three times a week,” Leon bartered.

     “Twice a week,” Hop uttered, annoyed by his brother’s nagging.

     “Stay safe!” Victor desperately added. He sounded like Hop would die if he didn’t get this information.

     Hop boarded the train and looked back at his brother and friend. Victor had started to cry again, but those tears didn’t prevent him from waving and saying his goodbyes. Leon was patting Victor’s back, trying to reassure him that everything would be alright, but to no avail. Hop found himself chuckling at Leon’s efforts as he entered the seating area of the train. He could still see Leon and Victor outside the window. Before long, however, the train started moving and Hop couldn’t see either of them anymore.

     ‘You’ll see them again, Hop,’ he tried to reassure himself, ‘and by then, you’ll be the strongest person in all of Galar! Just focus on your goal!’

     After this trip, Hop knew he would be strong enough to grab the Champion position from Gloria and regain her friendship. And he would do this by any means necessary.