Bede checked his watch. The two Flying Taxis were twelve hours ahead of schedule. That means they were almost at Sinnoh. Yay. Bede seriously didn’t know why he agreed to this. He couldn’t care less about both Sinnoh and Hop. Hop was an ignorant little idiot. Bede usually picked on people out of jealousy. He used to pick on Gloria before she befriended him, and he picked on Victor because he was better at battling than him. But Hop? Bede was certain there was nothing special about Hop that he envied. NOTHING.

“Bede,” Marnie noted, “you look tense. And irritated.”

“Am I never irritated?” Bede yelled.

Marnie sighed as she looked back outside the window. Bede knew he was a little too mean to Marnie, but he couldn’t help himself. He grew up with a sense of entitlement. Which he used to mask the truth that his parents gave him up as a child. It made him feel a little better about himself. He knew it was the reason it took him so long to make friends, but that was their problem, not his. He was one of the top trainers in Galar, and if somebody didn’t want to be friends with him because of his attitude, then they were the ones missing out. It wasn’t like Bede wanted friends anyways.

But, then again, having friends seemed to directly correlate with his own friends’ attitudes. Gloria had bunches of friends, and she was always in a pretty pleasant mood. Marnie had fewer friends, but she was pretty cheerful. And then Bede didn’t have very many friends. He always acted awful. Maybe if he had more friends he could be happier, which in turn would lead to more friends, which in turn would make him happier. It would be an endless loop of friends and joy. But Bede didn’t feel like putting the effort into such pointless things such as joy or companionship.

“Do you know how much longer we have until Sandgem Town?” Bede complained.

“Four hours, but we’re going to stop on an island in about an hour,” Marnie responded.

“Hmph.” Bede glared out the window. He could hardly see Leon’s Flying Taxi, but he knew it was behind Madison’s. He wondered what Victor and Gloria were talking about. He assumed, with Gloria’s cheery disposition, that the two had made it up somehow. Hopefully. Bede hoped Victor didn’t lose his cool. If he did, Bede was dead meat.

“So,” Bede started, “how’s Spikemuth?”

“Improving,” stated Marnie. She had pulled out some sort of self-improvement booklet and started reading it. Bede wanted to laugh at her immense care about her appearance. Marnie tried really hard to break out of her shell. But that shell was so thick and fortified that not even a laser could pierce it. But Marnie was so determined to break it down that she read every manual she could about socializing. She imitated what she saw Bede and Gloria doing. ‘Hey,’ Bede thought, ‘at least she tries.’ Unlike Victor, who seemed to live in his shell. Bede probably would’ve opened up to Victor if Victor would put some effort into getting to know Bede. But no such effort had been put out by Victor.

Which was a shame, because if it wasn’t for his timidness, Victor was a pretty cool dude. He was strong, smart, and an overall kind individual. Bede wished he could be nicer to Victor, but he was just a jerk. He was sure he couldn’t change his nature. Plus, he didn’t really have any desire to. Being feared had its perks.

Bede glared at the flying Pokemon in the taxi window. The taxi had gone so far wherever it was going that Bede couldn’t recognize any of them! It felt very peculiar that he didn’t know what those things were.

Before long, an hour had passed. Bede hardly noticed the passing of time. Once the Flying Taxi landed on the small island, Bede bounced out. He needed some fresh air after being crammed up in such a small space for so long.

“Hey, Bede!” Gloria called out to him once Leon landed. “How was the trip?”

“Decent,” Bede sighed. He usually traveled in much bigger vehicles. And he was usually alone.

“How was yours, Gloria?” Marnie inquired.

“Great!” Gloria smiled. “Victor and I caught up on some things.”

“Speaking of Victor,” Bede started, “where is he?”

All three kids looked around. Wherever Victor was, he wasn’t visible. Bede wasn’t very worried. He was probably still in the taxi or something.

“I think he said something about exploring a cave here or something,” Gloria said. “Something about facing fears and all that.”

Huh. Maybe Victor wanted to change after all. Maybe, when Victor came back, Bede could apologize for the torment he’d subjected the child to. That could make way for a fresh new start.

If only life was that simple.

Hop never felt as isolated as he did in the cave. Of course, he had his Pokemon, but the lack of humans with him was startling. Throughout his entire journey, he had been in the company of somebody else, but now he was alone. He could just exit the cave, but that would basically be throwing away his entire scheme. This was all because of Gloria. This was all to regain her companionship. That was it.

‘Maybe traversing farther in this cave will show an exit. Then I can start climbing this mountain,’ Hop thought. So he traveled farther into the cave, his shinx cheerfully playing behind him. Hop was thankful he had the little guy with him. Escaping this cave would be impossible without a light source.

Hop glanced at his phone. No service. That was expected. He didn’t need his phone, anyways. The only two people who might pick up his hypothetical calls, Leon and Victor, wouldn’t help him very much on this journey. Leon was absolutely awful with directions, so anything he may have learned about the caverns in the mountain was invalidated. Victor could probably tell Hop a few things about the mountain, but once Hop revealed he was going to catch a powerful (and potentially deadly) Pokemon, Victor would go into a panicked state.

“Sparks, do you want to stop for a break?” Hop asked.

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Sparks the shinx bobbed his little head up and down as he sat down. Hop decided to sit on a gray rock. The duo hadn’t even traveled for an hour and they were this tired? How would they endure a fight against a Pokemon such as Giratina?

After taking a ten minute break, Hop and Sparks started moving again. Hop was starving, but he had to keep going. Giratina was waiting for him. At least, he hoped it was. Maybe it wasn’t. But Hop knew for sure that something was waiting for him on top of this mountain.

After a while, Hop came across an exit to the cave he was in. It was just big enough for him to slide into it. If one of his guides tried, they would get stuck. Hop didn’t even think Victor could slide through the hole! Hop peaked his head out and finally saw the sun again. It was so warm in comparison to the colder cave. Sparks zipped out of the cave and bounced around. Seeing the little Pokemon grinning and personifying cheerfulness infused Hop with hope. The two of them were going to conquer this mountain and capture Giratina!

Except… was that what he really wanted? All he wanted to do was rekindle his old friendship. If he was certain Gloria would accept him, he would gladly climb down this mountain empty-handed. Considering that the mountain was blocked off, he would probably be arrested for trespassing or something like that. But he would go through that fate if Gloria was to become his friend again.

Hop sighed. Why was he pushing himself to catch some Pokemon that could kill him if he didn’t have to? Why couldn’t he just go up to Gloria and tell her that he wanted to be her friend again? Why did he imagine her as a mean person when, in reality, she was just a little hot-headed? Why did Hop have to overcomplicate things? He could just walk down this mountain, get Leon to bail him out of jail, and talk to Gloria.

All he had to do was find a way off of this mountain. He could go back the way he came, but that would be another hour. He was sure he could find a quicker way to get down this mountain. He just needed to find where in this mountain he was. He was on a trail that was pretty high up; it was way too high for him to simply jump off. He followed the trail upward. Even though he wanted to get off it, the trail was bound to have some sort of exit trail. He would travel down that trail and turn himself in. Although he didn’t have a map to verify that for sure. If only he hadn't been so rash! Then he could’ve gotten a map at the place his guides were at.

Hop then noticed Sparks eating berries off of a bush. He had to admit that he was hungry. However, upon further examining the shinx, he thought of something. The shinx reminded Hop of himself. Or, at least, what he used to be. Before he was so concerned with battling, he’d been just as carefree as that shinx. Back when he was exploring Galar with Victor and Gloria, he was upbeat, cheerful, and, most of all, happy. He hadn’t been like that in a while. The state he was in now reminded him of when Bede beat him and started talking about how he was a disgrace to Leon’s name. He had gotten out of that state just long enough to see Gloria beat him and go on to become Champion. Then, a giant wave of despair washed over him once more. All of the trying-to-reach-Gloria’s-level training had deprived Hop of what he really wanted to do. His previous goals were overridden to make way for his new goal of becoming Champion. Hop never really wanted to become Champion. His true aspirations were to be a Pokemon vet, but he thought that Gloria would never want to be friends with a lowly veterinarian. So he decided not to do that.

Hop ate a few berries, put a few more in his bag, and then trekked onward with Sparks trailing behind him. Hop was certain he was going to find another trail that led downwards, but he had no such luck. He finally saw the entrance to another cave.

“Maybe there’s an exit in there?” Hop hopefully asked.

Sparks bounced up and down while letting out a happy “shiiinx!” Hop really enjoyed the little guy’s enthusiasm. Hop grabbed the shinx and went into the second cave. He wondered if a Pokemon would jump out at him like in the other cave. He told Sparks to use thunder shock again. The shinx complied, and the cave was illuminated with a brilliant light. There had to be an exit somewhere…

Victor was petrified of the dark. So obviously, to gain inner strength, he decided to go into a cave on the island the taxis had landed at. It was a rather small cave, so if he cried out for help, it would be easy for somebody to find him. He had already told Gloria he was going to try to find a cave on the small island. Luckily for Victor, there was only one lone cave on the isle. And he hadn’t seen any Pokemon on this island, so he doubted there would be any in the cave. Well, he hoped there were no Pokemon in the cave. He had left the Pokemon he brought with Gloria so that they could get some fresh air, so he was practically defenseless. That probably wasn’t his smartest move, but if Victor was alone, it may build some desperately needed courage.

The only noise Victor could hear were the sounds of his footsteps and some dripping water. Victor could hardly see anything in front of him which made him anxious. He brought a flashlight just in case something did happen, but he didn’t want to use it until he absolutely had to. He walked a little deeper into the cavern. He knew it wasn’t going to be too big. It looked very small on the outside. In just a few more steps, he would probably be at the end of the cave. However, those few more steps turned into more steps.

‘Maybe I’m just walking in circles?’ Victor thought.

He looked behind him. The entrance of the cave was barely visible. This cave was way too big. He had to turn back now! He could get lost and be stuck in this cave until he died of starvation or dehydration or something! He wasn’t brave enough to do this! He was just a coward! However, just as he turned to exit, he heard a peculiar voice.

You’re not a coward, Victor.

Victor jumped back. What… what was that? It wasn’t Gloria, Leon, or any of the other people on this island. Nobody sounded remotely similar to this voice. Victor was absolutely terrified.

Don’t be scared, Victor. I’m just a friend.

Could this thing read his mind? Was there a psychic type Pokemon lurking in the shadows? Victor felt petrified, but a little bit of curiosity invaded his thoughts. Could this organism help him? Or was it a cruel trick? Even though the voice didn’t sound like Bede, it could still be him! Maybe. Somehow…

I’m a Pokemon, Victor. And I want you to catch me.

Victor noticed that the voice sounded… annoyed. His timidness often got on other’s nerves, especially his friends. That was one thing he needed to eliminate. He was not going to cower in fear his entire life!

BUT this Pokemon could have ulterior motives. Pokemon were like humans. The only reason a Pokemon would willingly let you capture it is if it believes you’re strong enough to be its trainer. And Victor had not displayed such strength. This Pokemon had some reason it wanted Victor to catch it. Therefore, Victor felt apprehensive about this whole ordeal.

Victor, you want to be strong, correct?

Victor nervously nodded.

If I become your Pokemon, and you, in turn, become my trainer, I can rid you of all that self-doubt you feel. What do you say?

This was rather ironic, as Victor had not even said one word during this encounter. Anyways, Victor still wasn’t convinced. He wasn’t convinced with this creature’s story. Nobody could be that selfless, especially somebody who stuck to the shadows and hadn’t even revealed its name yet.

I see you’re still anxious. If you come into the shadows, I can reveal myself to you.

Victor saw this as a MAJOR red flag. What kind of kind-intentioned being lures you into the shadows? Yet Victor couldn’t ignore the temptation of accepting this offer. He could gain inner strength so easily! He just needed to accept this offer. This suspicious, nerve-wracking offer…

Victor stepped forward slowly. He felt a bitter gust of wind as the shadows of the cave swallowed him up.