I am so, so sorry for the long wait! One thing led to another, and this chapter got deleted last week right before I was going to publish it. So then I started working to rewrite it, but I got the original chapter back.

Ugh. It's been a tough week.

But anyway this chapter is actually a mix of the two different versions of the chapter. If it doesn't make complete sense, that's probably why.

Gloria sighed as she stepped out of the Pokémon Center the next day. Tuff walked beside her, her nose twitching at the warm air all around.

"Hey Tuff," Gloria began, walking around Turffield for something to do; apparently her Gym Challenge with Milo was two days away. If I had arrived here sooner I would be able to challenge him already. But as it was, Turffield was full of Trainers, and the Pokémon Center already had to resort to having Trainers share rooms for a few nights. Luckily Gloria's room was on the bottom of the list, so she didn't have anyone to share her room. . . yet.

"Scor?" Tuff lifted her head and blinked at Gloria.

"What do you think Milo's Gym is going to be like?" She hoped it wasn't hard; she didn't want her first Gym Challenge to end in a failure.

Tuff looked at her confused, before smirking slightly. "Bun," she replied smugly, crossing her arms. She didn't look the least bit nervous about the upcoming battle. In fact, she seemed pretty confident.

That confidence is going to be what costs us the Gym Badge Gloria wanted to say, but kept her mouth shut. After all, a bit of confidence was a good thing, as long as it didn't overtake your emotions and thoughts. She sighed and took out her phone, only now noticing the missed calls and texts she got from Hop the night before. With the color drained from her face, she slowly read the messages.

Hoppy: hey glo r u ok. . . ?

Hoppy: have u made it 2 turffield yet

Hoppy: is tough still hurt

Hoppy: tuff*

Hoppy: sorry, autocorrect

Hoppy: hello?

Gloria bit her lip and glanced at her Scorbunny, worry on her face. She said nothing and started walking down towards Route 4, her gaze locked downwards as she typed a reply to her friend.

You: Yes, I'm fine. Sorry for not messaging you earlier.

She read over what she sent a few times over, thinking that her reply was pretty vague.

You: I'll call you and explain. Is that okay?

A few moments passed and she saw that he was typing a reply.

Hoppy: sure

Gloria sighed quietly in relief, but worry was still present in her as she pulled up Hop's number and tapped the "call" button. She held the device up to her ear, walking down the grassy path of Route 4, Tuff trailing behind her. She closed her eyes as she waited for Hop to pick up his phone and answer her.

"Look out!" Someone tried to warn, but it was too late. Gloria whirled around, only to be tripped and pushed to the ground as a Wooloo ran right into her.

Gloria crashed backwards into the brick wall behind her, her phone falling from her hand. She groaned and looked down at the ball of floof in between her legs.

"Loooo?" The Wooloo asked, tilting its head and blinking its eyes.

"I'm so sorry 'bout that, Lass." She looked up, only to see a young man standing and holding his arm down to her. At first glance, he looked like the kind of person to be able to send someone flying towards a wall in one hit. However, as she saw his face, she knew immediately that he was anything but mean. Soft emerald eyes looked at her worriedly from behind a sheet of light red hair, partially hidden underneath a large straw hat.

Gloria hardly noticed the Wooloo roll away from her as she tried to process the fact that the Gym Leader Milo was offering her a hand to stand up.

"You a'right there, Lass?" His calm voice brought Gloria back to the present.

"Y- Yes," she stuttered, reaching for his hand. His short, yet strong, fingers wrapped around her own, and she was back on her feet less than a second later. "Y- You're Milo, right?" She couldn't hide her embarrassed face from the fact that she had fallen again and had a Gym Leader help her up again.

Milo nodded. "Aye. That I am." He grinned and glanced down at the Wooloo that was now hiding behind his feet. "You just keep getting into trouble, don't you?" He laughed as the Wooloo baaed quietly in response, and looked at Gloria. "Say, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but you're the lass that fell at the opening ceremony, right?"

Gloria bit her lip; she should've seen it coming. I guess that's who I'll always be remembered as the girl who fell in front of thousands. She sighed at the thought. "Yes, that's me."

Milo seemed to notice her discomfort, for he gently patted her back. "Don't you worry, Lass. The very same thing happened to someone at his opening Gym Leader ceremony years ago." He smiled softly. "I'm sure you know the lad— Raihan?"

"What?" Gloria couldn't help but smile as she imagined the showy Gym Leader falling on live tv. "You can't be serious."

"I am," Milo replied. "I'll save you the details, but I'll just say that he was trying to show off for a certain lass."

"Rose?" Gloria guessed.

Milo nodded. "Aye. She'd explain it better than I could, so you should ask her instead."

"Okay—" Gloria began, but was cut off.

"Ey, Milo!" Both people turned to a Gym employee running towards them. "Hurry back; we have challengers lining up to battle you!"

"I've got to go, but I look forward to when you challenge me." Milo gave a closed-eye smile to Gloria before glancing down at his Wooloo. They got no more than a few feet when Milo turned back around. "Oh, I apologize for not asking this sooner. What should I call you?"

"My name?" Gloria asked, to which he nodded. "I'm Gloria. Gloria Shield."

A faint smile came onto his face. "A'right then, Gloria. I'll see you later." He waved as he walked away, back to his Gym.

"Scor," Tuff muttered, reminding Gloria of her presence. The girl glanced down at her, finding her red Rotom Phone held in Tuff's paws.

Gloria leaned down and took her phone back. "Thank you," she told her, before looking down and noticing that her phone was on, and that Hop had picked up and could hear everything going on. How long ago did he pick up? What did he hear? Is he upset. . ? With her face paling, Gloria quickly put her phone to her ear. "Um, hello?"

"Groo!" Nori's voice met her ears, making her wince at his loud sounds. She glanced at Tuff, only to find her with her front paws crossed and kicking a stone against the brick wall.

"Hop? Are you there?" Gloria asked, hoping to hear her friend's voice from the other end of the call.

There was a bit of shuffling on the other end of the call, followed by Nori's cry of annoyance. "Gloria?" Hop's voice appeared, and Gloria involuntarily let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, it's me." She hesitated. "Did I call at the wrong time?"

"No, not at all!" Hop said quickly. "I'm just getting ready to challenge Milo, and he isn't here yet, so I have some time to talk to you."

"Right." Gloria looked down at Tuff for a second. "So, I'm sorry about not calling you last night. I made it to Turffield, but I was just so preoccupied with everything else going on."

"Ah."

"Like, I saw the rude Trainer from before, and I finally got his name. . . Sort of." She smiled quietly as she remembered how she failed to pronounce Bede correctly.

"What do you mean?"

"As in I don't know how to pronounce it, and he refuses to tell me." She sighed. "Bee-Dee? Beh-Deh?"

Hop laughed. "Beh-Deh?"

"Don't judge me!" Gloria told him embarrassed. "Like I said, he didn't tell me how to say his name."

"Alright. . ." Hop was quiet for a second. "Well hopefully you don't have to worry about seeing him again, so there's really no use in trying to figure out how to say his name correctly, right?"

"Yeah," Gloria responded, only to pause as she thought more about the strange platinum-haired Bede. He had actually helped her and Tuff, and even saved Tuff. And what did he get in return? His Pokémon attacking him after he got angry at Gloria. In a way, his injuries were Gloria's own fault, and she felt a bit guilty for them.

"What?" Hop asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Gloria snapped out of her thoughts.

"You said something about how this kid isn't that bad and that you want to see him again to apologize. . ." He trailed off. "Right?"

"I, uh, don't remember saying that." Gloria bit her lip. "I must've said it unconsciously. . ." Her voice grew softer with each word, and she closed her eyes in annoyance. Hop said nothing for several seconds, and Gloria began to grow worried. "Hop?"

"Wait, hold on. Don't tell me this is the same Trainer who started yelling at you when you fell at the opening ceremony. . ." Her silence doubled as a 'yes' to him, and he sighed. "Gloria, you—" He stopped. "I have to go; Milo's back. Bye."

What's going on? She stared at her phone for a moment, too shocked and unsure of what to do to put it away. She couldn't really understand Hop's sudden change of attitude, and she was worried about him.

"Scor?" Tuff asked, looking up at Gloria from a pebble she was juggling on her knees and feet. The small stone fell as soon as her gaze left it.

Gloria took a deep breath and smiled at her. "It's nothing. Hop's just about to challenge Milo, that's all. We should probably go ahead and train too." Hopefully a few battles with wild Pokémon would help to take her mind off of the confusion of Hop.

"Bunny!" Tuff agreed, nodding. She seemed pleased with Gloria's suggestion.

Tuff led the way to a patch of grass, bouncing on her feet happily at the thought of fighting some Pokémon.

Gloria stepped through the fronds, noticing how they all swayed together, even though there was no breeze. The country scent of dirt was stronger here as well, though it wasn't unpleasant.

"Eve?" A faint cry from behind made her turn around, finding herself facing a small brown Eevee. His coat seemed to shine in the sun as he stopped a few feet away and sniffed the air around Gloria hesitantly. "Vee?" He sat down, his cream-tipped tail coming across his paws.

Tuff instinctively moved towards the Pokémon, preparing to hit her with an attack, but her Trainer held her back.

Eevee is a unique Pokémon, in that it can evolve into at least eight known Evolutions, she remembered reading somewhere years ago. With that thought in mind, she took out a Poké Ball and took a step forward.

The Eevee jumped to his paws and tensed up, his gaze locking on the red sphere Gloria held in her hand. He also seemed to notice Tuff's aggressive stance, and growled quietly, his mouth opening to reveal tiny, sharp canine teeth.

Realizing that she wouldn't be able to catch the Evolution Pokémon without a fight, Gloria looked to Tuff. "Double Kick," she commanded. Without hesitation, Tuff ran forward, leaping into the air to land her scalding back paws to land on the Eevee. However, Eevee was quicker, and ran around the attack, slamming his body against Tuff— all in a moment that could have only lasted for a few seconds.

"Quick Attack," Gloria hissed, recognizing the move from Tuff's own moveset. "Fine, then. Tuff, use Quick Attack back at him!"

Tuff ran towards Eevee, hitting him with her attack. However, he simply shook out his fur and glared at the two of them.

"Quick Attack!" Gloria instructed, not knowing when the Eevee would use the move again. However, as Tuff was running towards him once more, he jumped up, silvery stars materializing all around him. With a shout, the stars sailed through the sky, hitting Tuff and narrowly missing Gloria. Tuff didn't give up, though, and jumped back up before sending an Ember attack back at him, surprising him, as Gloria hadn't said anything.

With a nod to Tuff, Gloria threw her Poké Ball, hitting the Eevee on his head. In a bright red light, he was sucked inside, and the Ball fell into the grass. She breathed a sigh of relief that the ordeal was over, and leaned down to pick up the sphere, but it opened back up, the Eevee jumping out. He turned and fled without another glance back at them.

"Well, so much for that," Gloria growled, lifting the broken Poké Ball into her hand. She sighed and kneeled down, pulling out a couple Oran Berries, which she handed to Tuff. "That was a good fight you did, nonetheless," she praised her Pokémon, petting her head. Tuff nodded and munched on her Berries silently, likely upset to have let Eevee get away.

"How about we go ahead and leave for now; we can train here again later." Tuff nodded at her suggestion as she finished the last bite of her bluish Berries.

As Gloria exited the grassy area, she was met with a tan and white puppy.

"Yamp!" The canine barked, smiling. "Yamper!" He jumped up onto his hind legs, stretching towards Gloria and grinning.

Gloria blinked a few times, startled and a bit confused by the Pokémon's behavior. Based on how it acted towards her, she guessed that it already had a Trainer, but then again, Penny acted the same way before she was even caught.

"You've got a Trainer?" She asked, petting the Yamper's soft fur. He barked and turned away, glancing back at Gloria as if telling her to follow. Curious, she looked to Tuff before following the Yamper. He led her through Turffield, only to freeze as he saw a golden Corviknight waiting for him. Gloria recognized it as Sonia's majestic bird, and concluded that this Yamper was hers as well.

Corviknight didn't say anything, and simply nodded to Yamper before stretching out its wings and silently leading Gloria, Tuff, and Yamper down a dirt trail. After a few minutes of walking behind Corviknight and Yamper, Gloria could spot Sonia and her sister up ahead, along with a black Corviknight. Behind them stood a huge picture engraved on the side of a large hill. As they neared them, Sonia's golden Corviknight flew to the other Corviknight and closed its eyes as it leaned against the other.

Sonia turned around as she heard her Yamper's cries of excitement, and kneeled down, grinning at her Pokémon. "Good boy," she told him, rubbing his ears and cheeks. Off to the side, Rose watched with a slightly saddened smile.

"Hi Sonia, hi Rose," Gloria told them as she stepped in front of them. She smiled a bit as Sonia stood back up, holding her Yamper. "What are you two doing here. . ?"

Rose stepped forward and cast a quick glance at Sonia before answering, "We were just looking into some of the myths and legends of the Galar Region. Grandma Magnolia says that they could help with her Dynamax research."

Sonia nodded. "Yep. And I sent Yamper to look for you to see if you had any information."

"Right. . ."

Gloria probably still looked confused, so Sonia went on. "Here, check this out." She led Gloria to the edge of the area, looking out over the hill with the engravings on the side. "What do you think this could be about?"

The brunette frowned slightly and took a few seconds to look at the images. It reminded her a lot of the story Victor had told her about earlier. . . "The Darkest Day?" she guessed.

A grin came onto Sonia's face. "That's what I think too!" She then set her Yamper down and pulled out a mini notepad and a pen from her coat pocket. "Do you have any information or anything at all? I'm just curious about how you knew what it was about."

Sonia listened silently and wrote down on her notepad as Gloria recited what Victor had told her a few days earlier.

"I've never heard this telling of the story before," Sonia muttered when she had finished. She looked back up at Gloria. "Anyway, thank you so much for your help. Now I just need to transfer these notes. . ." She walked off and took out her phone, typing what she had written on the notepad.

A few seconds passed, before Gloria remembered what Milo had told her about Rose and Raihan, and his embarrassing fall years ago. So, with a smile on her face, she made her way back over to the younger Magnolia twin.

The redhead was leaning against the wooden fence, watching Sonia's and her Corviknights sleep against one another. She visibly jumped when Gloria came over, and quickly looked at her with emerald eyes.

"Sorry for bothering you," Gloria began, noticing how startled Rose looked.

Rose shook her head quickly. "Don't worry about it. I wasn't doing anything important anyway." Her voice had a calm and sincere sound to it. "I daze off a lot anyway. . ." She sighed and glanced at her phone before putting it away.

"Um, so I have a question." Gloria felt a bit unsure, and bit her lip in nervousness. "It's about Raihan."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Rose's lips, but it was gone just as suddenly. "Go ahead."

"So Milo brought it up earlier, and he said to ask you." She took a breath. "He said that Raihan fell at his Gym Challenge a while ago, trying to impress you. . ?"

That seemed to surprise Rose, for she blinked and then began laughing at the memory. "Yes, although I wouldn't exactly say he was trying to impress me." She took a few seconds to look back at the memory. "It was years ago, and I had gotten a job back over in Sinnoh as a medical scientist. Raihan refused to let me leave, so he announced live that if he could land a series of flips, I would have to stay here in Galar. Well let's just say that that also happened to be his debut as the Dragon Gym Leader, and that he failed. Horribly." She smiled. "Great first-time impression on his part."

She looked down. "Needless to say, I went over to Sinnoh, where I met Ze. . ." She quickly stopped and sighed. "Anyway, I visit here every once in a while, and Raihan always tries to convince me to stay here and quit my job in Sinnoh."

Gloria nodded, her phone beginning to ring from a call from Hop. She looked back at Rose worriedly, but she was already walking towards the two Corviknights.

"Come on, Tuff," Gloria called to her Starter, who was passing time continuing to juggle stones as if they were footballs. "Hi, Hop. What's up?" She asked as she put the phone to her ear.

"I defeated Milo!" Hop exclaimed excitedly, making Gloria smile at his enthusiasm.

"That's great!" She congratulated. "Now you're one step closer to battling Leon!"

"Yep!" Gloria swore ahead could hear his grin in his voice. "And you'll be battling him soon too, right?"

"Yeah, so I'm not too far behind you," Gloria replied. She had been walking down the dirt trail of Turffield, and was now back in the center of the small town. "Anyway, where are you heading next, now that you're done here in Turffield?"

"Well. . ." He paused to think for a few seconds. "My next Gym challenge is over in Hulbury, where I'll be facing Nessa. But I'll probably end up slowing down somewhere along Route 5, if I'm being honest."

"Alright," Gloria replied, and sighed. "Well I'll see you later then. Tuff and I are going to train and maybe catch a few new Pokémon from here in Turffield before we battle Milo."

"Okay." Hop went quiet for a second. "Good luck then, and be careful with everyone, alright?"

"Yes, Hop," she told him, smiling. "Honestly, you sound like my mum with all your worrying."

"Good! Because I get really worried about you, and now I know that you know that!"

Gloria laughed. "Fine, I'll be careful then. How does that sound?"

"It sounds good," he replied. "Alright, bye, Gloria. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye." She ended the call and glanced down at Tuff before running into the golden-yellow grass to find a new Pokémon.

Okay, so I finally have an update. Yay!

This past week has been so hectic. Three of my teachers decided to throw huge essay-projects at me this week, plus I have Track starting. It hasn't been much fun.

Anyway, enough about me and my problems. Wait, actually. . . If you could live in the Pokémon world, in which you didn't have to worry about one thing of your choice, what would it be?

At least for me, it would be high school. Or big, huge projects, more specifically.