It took a few hours to get to Wyndon, but the train trip wasn’t too bad. Once he got there, Hop had been instructed that he had about an hour to do whatever he pleased before his Flying Taxi was scheduled to arrive. He decided to do some sightseeing first. Of course, he had been to Wyndon before, but not very often did he go by himself. He usually had either his brother or one of his friends by his side. ‘Maybe relying on others is what’s bringing me down,’ Hop thought. ‘Maybe I relied too much on Gloria and that’s why she surpassed me.’ Hop tried to dismiss those thoughts as mere speculation. His friends were the reason he was so strong! Being able to lean on others for support occasionally was a strength, not a weakness! But the more he thought about it, the more he thought it to be at least a little credible. The thoughts made Hop’s sightseeing less enjoyable.

Hop decided to look through the luxury storefronts. He didn’t have enough money to buy anything (and Hop thought that shopping at expensive stores would be considered ‘excessive spending’), but just looking couldn’t hurt anyone. Suddenly, he noticed a duo watching him from a distance. He tried to ignore them and at least have a semi-good time, but their murmurs stuck out in Hop’s head.

“Isn’t that the former Champion’s brother?” one asked.

The other responded, “Yeah, I think that’s him. He looks a little mopey, don’t you think?”

“Aw. How awful,” the first sarcastically remarked, “His brother’s not the Champ anymore, so the little brother gets all depressed. Boo hoo.”

“At least he got a taste of a luxurious lifestyle. Many of us will never get that,” the second complained as the two of them walked away.

Maybe they were right. Maybe Hop was being too melancholy for someone who didn’t have to deal with financial hardships. His brother was employed, and being a Flying Taxi driver was actually a pretty high-paying job. Maybe Hop was just being ungrateful.

This put Hop in such a dismal mood that he decided to stop sight-seeing and just head over to the hotel where his Flying Taxi driver told him to be in thirty minutes. ‘Maybe the walk there will help me get into a more cheerful attitude. I’m going on vacation! I should act like it!’ Hop thought, but he still felt glum. However, in his crestfallen mood, he didn’t notice that he was walking next to the Wyndon Stadium. The official headquarters of the Galar Pokemon League. And then he heard a voice he had tried to avoid hearing this entire trip. The voice of the girl he so desperately needed to defeat.

“So you’re telling me that Spikemuth has had a tourist boom since you took over? And that you want to redecorate?” A familiar voice queried.

“Yeah… Um, I think it would be a great way to draw tourists to Galar, you know?” Another voice faltered.

Hop ducked down behind a little pop-up shop so that he was barely visible. That voice… In his absent-mindedness, had he really walked right next to Wyndon Stadium? How could he be so stupid? He peeked his head up just so he could see if his suspicions were confirmed.

The first voice hesitated before saying, “Yeah, Marnie, I think that would be fine.”

Hop caught a glance of the people talking and froze. He knew all three people there, even the boy who hadn’t said a word yet.

Bede and Marnie, the two trainers that basically confirmed that Hop’s battling skills were subpar, were standing right next to a girl with short, brown hair. Hop knew the identity of the first voice. It was who he suspected from the very beginning.

Standing just a few feet away from him was the Champion of Galar, Gloria.

Hop suddenly felt a wave of emotions wash over him. Jealousy was the first. He wasn’t just jealous of Gloria, though. He found himself more jealous of Marnie and Bede for some reason. Maybe it was because Marnie and Bede were respected gym leaders while Hop was just nothing. Or perhaps it was because they were so close to Gloria while Hop had drifted away from her inner circle. Either way, at that moment, Hop really hated them.

The next emotion was anger. No, not anger. Hop identified this emotion as rage. He was infuriated at Gloria for not talking to him for most of five whole months. He was also furious that Gloria didn’t communicate with Victor. Out of everyone in the region, Victor probably idolized her the most. Heck, even after he surpassed Hop, Victor still idolized Hop! It grinded Hop the wrong way seeing Gloria neglect her closest friends, especially Victor, the one that was so caring and sweet that he had made her a necklace for her birthday. And Gloria had the audacity to not even thank him.

The final emotion, however, was different. This one was a twinge of joy. Seeing Gloria’s determined brown eyes made Hop remember the good times they had together once more. He wanted to just appear from his hiding place and have a conversation with her again. ‘Why do I still want to be her friend?’ Hop thought to himself. ‘She’s proven that she doesn’t care about our friendship, so why should I?’

“Gloria, you know that funding Spikemuth’s makeover would require quite a bit of funds,” Bede countered, a smug look etched on his face. Hop wanted to wipe it off so badly. His encounters with the unpleasant boy made him resent Bede quite a bit.

“Money isn’t a big issue, Bede. The Galar region is rich with mineral deposits. Plus, tourism would bring in a lot of revenue,” Gloria pointed out.

“Hmph.” Bede looked at Gloria with an unpleasant look on his face.

Hop wanted to swiftly sneak away. He decided that he didn’t want to speak to Gloria. She would just ignore him until he got stronger. That’s the only thing that really mattered, right? Besides, even if she wanted to speak to Hop, her new friends would probably whisk her away to some meeting or something. Hop had battled both Bede and Marnie prior to this. They were both strong and unique. Hop was neither of those things.

SNAP!

“Who’s there?” Bede growled.

Hop realized his error. Looking under his shoe, he found a broken twig he had stepped on trying to get out of the vicinity quickly. And the area was pretty vacant. Hop realized that they might think that he was someone spying on them if he didn’t show himself. But if he showed his face, he might have to explain why he was there to Gloria. Even if she wasn’t his friend anymore, it would be kind of rude to say “I’m leaving so I can beat you!”

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“I said WHO’S THERE!” Bede demanded.

Marnie chipped in. “I think you mean ‘I asked who’s there,’ right?” Marnie corrected him.

“It’s not that important that I said ‘said,’ Emo Girl!” Bede countered.

Hop used their argument as a good chance to escape. He kept his head low and crept out of sight. Then he found a crowd of people right outside the hotel he was supposed to be waiting at.

A Flying Taxi was right in front of the hotel. Except there wasn’t a Corviknight carrying the cab. It was a Pokemon completely foreign to Hop.

Hop went over to the cab and saw the taxi driver. She was right outside the taxi, twirling her pink ponytail with her finger. She didn’t seem bothered by all the attention. A person in the crowd said, “What’s that Pokemon carrying your taxi?”

The girl looked at the person who asked the question and smiled. “Oh, that’s my dear Starry. She’s a staraptor.” she responded.

Hop thought for a moment. Star-aptor? He’d never heard of a Pokemon like that before. Was it a newly discovered species? Did Gloria know about it? She had completed her Pokedex, a task Hop had started but has since neglected. But if this Pokemon wasn’t on it… Hop could use it and Gloria would be completely unprepared! It was perfect!

“Okay, people, I know you all want to ride with me, but I can only take one person! Do you know a child by the name of Hot?” the woman inquired.

Hop paused. Of course Leon got his name absolutely wrong. But out of all the words that sounded like Hop, Leon confused his name with HOT!? The very same name that those bullies called him? Hop wished Leon would’ve accidentally put Hom or Hob instead. Those names were somewhat acceptable. But Hot?

“My name is Hot!” a few teenagers chanted.

The girl frowned. “What’s your brother’s name then?”

The group of teens murmured amongst themselves. They came up with answers like Jonas, Pablo, and the very creative name of Hot Sr.

“Yeah, I know a boy with a name like that with a brother,” Hop sputtered.

“You do, kid?” the woman smirked. “What’s his brother’s name, smarty-pants?”

“Leon,” Hop answered sharply.

The woman jumped back, clearly startled to hear the correct answer. “Is he here?” marveled the woman, “Is the boy you speak of actually here?”

Hop swore he heard someone in the crowd say, “I meant Leon!” He paid them no mind. “Yes, but his name’s actually Hop,” he mentioned.

“Like the thing the bunearies do?” the woman questioned, a little skeptical now.

Hop had no idea what a buneary was, but he nodded anyway. If he didn’t need to get stronger to impress Gloria, he probably would’ve left this conversation already.

“Well then, where is he?” the woman asked.

“Right here,” clarified Hop.

The woman looked around. Hop had to point to himself so she would look at him. By this time, the crowd had mostly left.

“You’re Hop?” the woman asked, and Hop nodded in response.

Then, the woman unfolded a piece of paper and examined Hop like he was an animal at a zoo. Hop didn’t mind the attention, but he knew that Victor would not have liked it. Thinking of Victor made Hop feel a little guilty again. There were plenty of places to train in Galar! Why did he have to leave Victor? Hop tried to convince himself that this was the right move and that Gloria would not be expecting Hop to fight her with peculiar new Pokemon.

“Yes, yes, you match the description,” the girl said, “Welcome to your Flying Taxi! I’m Madison, your driver!”

Hop looked at Madison, too. He noticed she hadn’t taken the description out of her pocket this entire time until now. That was either a sign of arrogance or air-headedness. Arrogance because she believed that she was able to find the kid without any descriptors. Other than the incorrect name, that is. If she was truly air-headed, though, she forgot she had the paper with the description on it and just tried to find the kid with no important information on him. Both traits didn’t make him feel super safe with her as his driver.

“Come on, get it,” Madison ordered, pushing Hop into the Flying Taxi.

Hop added impatient to the list of words he had created in his brain to describe Madison.

When they actually got in the air, Madison was not too bad. Maybe that was because she was riding on her staraptor and Hop was in his compartment. Either way, it was an enjoyable ride. Hop’s only major complaint was the size of the compartment he sat alone in. It could only seat two people, and even then it was snug. Hop imagined how cramped it would be if Victor, Gloria, Marnie, and Bede were there with him. There wouldn’t be enough space to do anything!

The ride, if anything, was very scenic. Even though most of the multiple day trip was over the ocean, it was still beautiful. Hop saw some Pokemon in the water he’d never seen before.

“Would they be strong enough to regain Gloria’s friendship?” Hop thought aloud.

It was hard for Hop to believe he was so far from home. When he woke up, he expected to see his brother trying to wake him up or one of his Pokemon bouncing on him. However, his brother wasn’t there and he only brought two of his original team of six. It was rather lonely, being all alone. He wondered where his brother was now. And where Victor was.

Hop didn’t keep track of the days he spent in the compartment. They landed on small islands during the nights and flew back up again early in the morning. Hop spent his time either on his phone, reading, or gazing outside the window.

At last, they landed in a small town. Hop looked around. There were a few houses, a Pokemon Center, a store and a lab. Hop was in awe of how quaint this little town was. It reminded him of his own hometown. Hop suddenly felt extremely homesick. He missed his house, his brother, and his friends. BUT… if he was to return now, Gloria would never respect him. He would have to get stronger.

“Here’s Sandgem Town,” Madison muttered, looking fatigued from the long journey.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Hop sluggishly responded. It was way past Hop’s bedtime. Therefore, Hop needed to find a hotel or somewhere to sleep for the night. When he turned around to ask his taxi driver for directions, the taxi was already in the air. Hop sighed.

“Hey,” a boy walked over to Hop, “Is your name Hot?”

Hop frowned. He probably should be grateful for his brother’s sweet display of affection by booking him a room somewhere, but Leon was his BROTHER. He should remember that his brother’s name was Hop. Maybe Leon booked this before the hotdog incident? If not, Hop would never trust his older brother ever again.

“Excuse me, but is your name Hot?” the boy asked again, a little more frustrated.

“My name is actually Hop,” Hop grumbled, not particularly frustrated at the boy but more so by the actions of his oblivious brother.

“Hop?” the boy inquired.

“Hop,” Hop affirmed.

“Great! Your brother paid me to show you around the expansive land of Sinnoh! I have a spare room in my house you can sleep in, and I can buy you a few pokeballs,” the boy effused.

Hop examined the boy. He was a little taller than Hop, and at least three years older. He had short blue hair and he was constantly readjusting his glasses. He had a scarf and a hat, but it wasn’t that cold out. Hop noticed the pokeball the boy was holding and deduced that the boy was a somewhat strong Pokemon Trainer.

“What’s your name?” Hop suddenly blurted.

“Huh?” the boy asked.

“Your name,” Hop said. “I told you mine.”

“My name…” the boy answered, “is Lucas.”