Yep, we're at that part of the story..

A day went by and Gloria was still in Stow-On-Side. It was a quiet place, free of worries or busy interactions. Many Ground- and Steel-Type Pokémon lived in the town, helping Trainers and offering assistance in market sales.

Gloria paused in her walking around the quaint town when the ground in front of her shook. She blinked, watching as a Sandaconda poked her head out and turned around, meeting Gloria's gaze.

"Ssssssanda?" The snake asked, tilting her head.

The girl smiled at the reptile. "Sandy?"

"Ah, Gloria!" She lifted her head as she saw Victor running over to her. His injury from the Yamask had healed almost completely, even though it was only two nights ago he was hurt.

Victor gave her a smile. "I was walking around here and then Sandy ran off. . . I guess you found her?"

The younger Trainer laughed nervously. "Well, it's more like she found me. . ."

Victor nodded slowly, his expression changed to a more serious one. "Oh, Gloria?"

Gloria tilted her head. "Yeah?"

"I. . . think I saw Hop earlier today. He—"

Gloria stiffened. "Where?!" She demanded. "Where is he?"

The boy pointed towards the town entrance. "Over near the marketplace. I could be wrong though-" He stopped talking; Gloria had already ran off to search for her best friend. Victor sighed, shaking his head with a tiny smile. "She's so impulsive. . ." With that, he walked westward and to a staircase, leading up to a graffitied stone mural. He gazed up at it for several seconds before finally heading into the Stow-On-Side Gym to face the Gym Leader.

⚔️ 🛡

Gloria saw him. He was half-hidden in the shadows of a seller's tent, but his purple hair was unmistakable.

"Hop!"

He flinched at his name and turned around, unable to run away as Gloria tackled him into a hug from behind. "Glo. . .ria?"

She stepped back and looked up at him, positive that he wouldn't try to run off. "Why did you turn your phone off?" She sighed before he could answer and looked down. "I heard what happened the other day. . . I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to help."

"Don't be." Hop's voice sounded far away and empty. "I was the one that lost; you have no need to feel sorry." He turned away. "I feel like I've actually learned something, thanks to all this. . ." He went quiet. "You and Lee and Mar and everyone else keeps telling me that I'm a good Trainer and that I have a lot of potential. I truly believed that. . ."

"Hop. . ." Gloria began, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. She didn't like the tone of his voice.

Hop ignored her. "What if it was my Pokémon that were making me weak? I mean, there's no use training a weak Pokémon, is—"

"Stop saying that!" Gloria ignored the fact that people nearby were staring at them. "That's not true, and you know it. There is no such thing as a weak Trainer or Pokémon, because together they make each other strong."

Hop held her gaze, a void in his eyes. "Prove it then."

Gloria stepped back. "What?"

"Let's have a battle, three on three to determine all of this." He took out an Ultra Ball. "And you can't back down."

The brunette's heart fell. Why was he being like this? Did his battle with Bede really hurt him that much? Silently, she took out Thunder's Poké Ball and released the baby Poison-Type.

Hop didn't even seem to notice as he let out a dark blue bird, its feathers shiny and damp. "Cramorant, Pluck."

His opponent blinked in surprise at the sudden command. "Dodge it!" She told her Toxel, only to have him hit by the avian's large beak. Thunder responded by immediately letting out a bolt of lightning, stunning the bird before it fell to the ground.

Hop said nothing, worrying Gloria even more as he simply returned his Cramorant and let out a Silicobra, its sand-colored body resembling Sandy. "Dig."

"Return!" Gloria said quickly, returning Thunder to protect him from the super effective hit. She sent out Penny.

The Silicobra burst from the ground the moment Penny's paws hit the ground, sending her into the air. She regained her balance and landed back on the sand, letting out a Pin Missile attack at Gloria's command.

The projectiles hit the snake, who didn't even try to dodge.

"Brutal Swing."

"Night Slash!"

Silicobra darted towards Penny, its tail covered in a dark energy. It lifted it up and swung it towards Penny, who immediately scratched the reptile when it was close. Silicobra hissed and was returned before he could fall to the ground.

"Penny, return." Gloria looked up at Hop, seeing clearly the exhaustion in his posture. "We can stop if you—"

He ignored her and sent out a green monkey, resembling Nori. He was taller and a lot more serious-looking. Two twigs balanced atop his head.

Gloria looked at her Team, not knowing who to choose to go into battle next. She wanted to switch into a Pokémon weak to Nori, but everyone on her Team was super effective to him. . .

Everyone except one.

She slowly reached for its Poké Ball and opened it, revealing a slender fish with a propeller-tail. Barraskewda glanced around for a moment, before landing on Gloria and the Poké Ball in her hand. His eyes narrowed at the sight, but he was hit by an onslaught of razor-sharp leaves before he could move.

Barraskewda whirled around, eyes locking onto Nori. Without warning, he darted towards the monkey.

"Wait! Stop!" Gloria shouted to it, but her words fell on deaf ears. Barraskewda opened his mouth, revealing ice-covered teeth.

Nori jumped up, leaving the fish clamping his jaws down on empty air. Nori released another Razor Leaf, hitting Barraskewda and angering him even more.

"Stop!" Gloria pleaded to her Pokémon, her eyes locked on the scene before her.

Barraskewda turned to her, pure anger and hatred in his gaze. Then he suddenly reached out and bit into Nori, ice spreading quickly across the mammal. With him now frozen, Barraskewda rushed towards Gloria.

"R-Return!" She stuttered out, finally willing her body to move and return the aggressive fish. She took a few breaths, trying to calm herself down.

A sigh interrupted her thoughts, and she looked up to see Hop staring at his feet. "I'm sorry, Gloria." He walked to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm going to go and. . . train with everyone. Please don't worry about me."

"Wait, Hop!" Gloria called after her friend, though not once did he look back at her. She gazed at her Barraskewda's Poké Ball, a new anger in her. You were supposed to let him win! You had a Type disadvantage! Her grip tightened around it, as if she hoped the creature inside could feel what she was going through. I wish I could get rid of you; you've been horrible every time I see you. . .

A loud crash broke through her thoughts, and she let out a gasp as she noticed smoke and dust drifting into the air behind the Gym. What was that?! She pushed her Barraskewda's Poké Ball into her bag and took out Tuff's Poké Ball as she ran towards the smoke.

She was led up a hill with clay stairs, before finally stopping as she reached the top.

Bede was at the top, no one else around him, save for a Copperajah. The boy glanced down at a phone and rubbed his eyes free of the dust before looking back at the steel elephant. "Copperajah, hit it once more! The Wishing Star energy behind it is stronger than before!"

Gloria watched in horror as the Pokémon let out a trill of agreement and crashed her trunk into a large stone with multicolored graffiti marks covering it. The elephant hit a spot with cracks already forming, making them larger; one more hit and the stone would crumble for sure.

"Bede!" Gloria shouted at the teen, noticing him tense up at her voice. "What are you doing?"

He turned to her, his gaze empty. "What does it look like? I'm finding Wishing Stars for the Chairman." His eyes narrowed at her before looking back at Copperajah. "One more time, hit it!"

"No!" Gloria tried to tell the elephant, but it was too late; with a single hit, the stone crumbled to the ground, releasing a cloud of dust in the air.

Gloria covered her eyes and coughed as the dust entered her lungs, not noticing Bede glance at her in concern. He quickly wiped his face and looked through the debris, noticing Wishing Stars in a hole left behind by the stone.

He smiled and ran towards them, climbing the rocky debris until he reached the hole in the cliff side. He picked the Wishing Stars up and placed them one by one into his coat's pockets.

"My, so this is what you do when I am not around?"

Bede whirled around, his face lighting up as he saw the man standing behind Gloria. "Mr. Rose! I've found Wishing Stars for you! There were a ton of them behind the rock here." He jumped down the stones and walked towards the Chairman. "I've been collecting them, just as you wanted." He opened his pockets and offered a Wishing Star to the Chairman.

Elijah Rose simply stared at him, disappointment and anger on his face. He said nothing, and hadn't seemed to take notice of Gloria standing nearby.

Slowly Bede lowered his arm, his smile disappearing. "Mr. Rose. . ?"

"You have destroyed the mural." Elijah's voice was as cold as his blank expression. "Do you realize what you have done?"

Bede took a small step back. "I- I found the Wishing Stars though. The ones you want—"

Smack!

Bede staggered backwards, holding his face and gasping in shock. Gloria almos couldn't believe it either; Chairman Rose had slapped Bede right where his bruise had been from earlier.

"When you had asked to borrow my Copperajah, I believed it was for something important- not for destroying Stow-On-Side's mural! It has been here for centuries, and you just ruined it!"

"I- I'm, sorry! Please, it won't happen again!" Bede was shaking slightly, his eyes wide. He flinched and immediately covered his head as Rose stretched his arm out again.

"Your League Card," Rose demanded.

"Wh- what?"

Without warning, Rose snatched the boy's Card from one of his coat pockets. And then he snapped it in half between his two hands. Bede could do nothing but stare in horror as his League Card was destroyed right in front of him.

"I had believed I was doing you a favor in granting you permission to partake in the Gym Challenge, though it seems I have made a mistake in doing that. From this day forth, you are disqualified from Galar's Gym Challenge." He let the remainders of the League Card fall to the ground and turned around, just now seeing Gloria. Their eyes met but he gave no indication of her presence. Oleana whispered in his ear, and he opened his mouth, glancing back at Bede. "I never want to see you again. Run and stay away from my sight."

Oleana glared at both Bede and Gloria before leading Rose away with his Copperajah.

The area was silent for several seconds as both teens tried to take in what had just happened. It had all happened so fast. . .

A shaky breath caught Gloria's attention, and she quickly hurried to Bede. He was staring at his feet, tears falling down his face. His hands were clenched into fists and his body was shivering.

"Bede," Gloria began as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Leave me alone!" He hissed at her, snatching himself away from her touch. Gloria instantly drew her hand back, taken by surprise at Bede's reaction. "This is your fault!"

"I'm sor—"

"Just shut up!" He ran his hands through his hair, his body shaking as he struggled to stop the tears from falling down his cheeks. "You don't understand. . . What this means. . ."

"Bede," Gloria tried again, but he didn't respond. Instead, he looked at her, his violet eyes puffy and red from his tears. His cheek was a bright red as well, and a white imprint of Rose's hand was still visible on it.

"Just leave me alone. You're better off without me anyway," Bede breathed, his voice as cold as his face was red. Without another word, he turned and took off down the stairs into Stow-On-Side.

"Bede!" Gloria called his name once more, but it was all in vain, as he had already left. Willing up her last remaining strength, she took off after him, hoping to find him once more and help him with whatever he was going through.

"Hey, Gloria!"

She slowed down, looking to her left and seeing Victor walking out of the Stow-On-Side Gym with Brook beside him. He waved to her, smiling, and ran to catch up to her. "What's wrong?" He asked, noticing her worried expression.

The girl glanced around before letting out a sigh. "It's Bede. . . He suddenly ran off, and I want to help him and. . ."

Victor put his hand on her shoulder and looked to the side, his eyes widening slightly as he noticed the crumbled stone of the mural Bede had destroyed. "Does that have anything to do with him?" He asked, motioning in the direction of the mural.

Gloria nodded. "Yes. . . How did you—"

"Because it just made sense. Oh, how was Hop? Did you manage to talk to him?" Victor asked her, changing the subject.

"I did, but it only seemed to make him feel worse." She bit her lip and stared at her feet. "Today's not going good at all. . ."

"Hey, it's alright." Victor patted her head and gave her a kind smile. "Just put it behind you, okay? Worry about it later; the Gym Leader is inside waiting for you." He stopped to nudge her in that direction.

"But—"

"Your friends will still be here. Besides, I know that the fight won't be that bad; you've proven how strong you are." He laughed. "You'll be in and out in less than thirty minutes." He nudged her again. "Go on, I'm cheering for you!"

Reluctantly, Gloria allowed herself to walk to the Gym. She looked back at Victor before entering. He was nowhere to be seen.

⚔️ 🛡

"Penny, I choose you!"

In a bright flash, the striped Linoone appeared, her pink eyes gazing at the crowd around her.

The Gym was more filled than any battle Gloria had had before. All those eyes. . . Watching her. Somehow the thought had never occurred to her until now. She could feel her heart pounding hard against her chest, so loud that she was sure the audience could hear it over the noise.

Across the stadium was the Ghost-Type Gym Leader. This was his first major Pokémon battle according to the announcements, and he would be taking over for Bea the next year. Apparently the two Leaders alternated between challengers; Victor had been first to challenge Bea, so Allister was Gloria's opponent.

As soon as she met the small ghost Trainer, she recognized him as the boy that had attacked her and Victor a few nights ago. She hadn't said anything, but she was almost completely sure that he recognized her as well.

"Mimikyu, come out." The Gym Leader's voice was barely a whisper from his microphone.

"Pin Missile!" Gloria commanded Penny. The Linoone immediately shot missiles towards her opponent.

"Don't let it hit you," Allister told his Mimikyu. The Disguise Pokémon chirped a reply and expertly avoided every one of Penny's attacks.

Gloria frowned, her eyes narrowing as she watched her Pokémon's move miss Mimikyu completely. "Go for a Bite!"

"Dazzling Gleam."

A flash of pink light burst from the Mimikyu, blinding everyone watching and sending a wave of fairy energy crashing to Penny's side. The Linoone was hit, stopping her preparation for her Bite Attack. She let out a small growl and quickly steadied herself once more.

"Bite again!"

Penny charged at the Mimikyu, baring her sharp fangs. This time, Mimikyu jumped up and sent out two long, shadowy arms. The arms glowed pink with fairy energy as they began to pound Penny's back, causing her to whimper in pain.

"Stop! Stop!" Gloria shouted across the field, desperate to save her Pokémon. Both Mimikyu and his Trainer froze to stare at her, before the latter returned his Pokémon to its Dusk Ball.

Gloria glanced at her Linoone, still injured from the Play Rough move Mimikyu had executed. There was no point in keeping her out; her injuries were too much for her to be able to land a single hit, let alone fight properly.

"Return," Gloria called out, bringing Penny back to her Poké Ball. She readied another and threw it, releasing Valiant. The avian flapped his wings, letting his brilliant feathers catch the lights and shine. Across the field, Allister let out a Cursola, her pale, ghostly arms dancing in the air.

Gloria gave a nod to Valiant, letting him know she was ready to let him take the lead if he needed to. "Start with a Hone Claws."

The Corvisquire began sharpening his talons against one another, eyeing the Cursola warily the entire time. When Cursola failed to move at all, Valiant prepared another Home Claws, ready to take it out in one hit.

He sharpened his talons one last time before giving a nod to Gloria. She gave him a nod back, trying to ignore the strange feeling she felt as Cursola never once moved or attacked.

"Power Trip!" At those words, Valiant charged straight towards the Cursola, his dark talons scratching at the ghost's face through her ectoplasmic body.

Cursola winced at the attack, pieces of the plasmic coral breaking away and dissipating as they reached the ground due to the pain from Valiant. Though, with that extra weight now gone, she was able to move a lot quicker now.

"Shadow Ball." The ghost fired a powerful sphere of pure spectral energy, shooting it so fast Valiant had no time to react, let alone dodge. He fell to the ground but quickly got back up, shaking his wings before taking flight again.

Cursola aimed another Shadow Ball at him, but this time he was able to dodge. He flew above the ghost and dove down suddenly, his talons open and ready with a Power Trip attack.

Before he could hit her, however, he suddenly veered to the right and fell to the ground.

"Corvi!" He squawked in alarm, flapping his left wing rapidly in an attempt to lift himself back into the air. His right wing, though, was completely stiff. It almost looked like stone with the way that it was colored. . .

Gloria gasped suddenly as she noticed that the stone was spreading across his entire body. Both of his legs were frozen, as well as most of his chest. "Val!" She cried out his name, hurrying to return him back to his Poké Ball before the stone could spread any further.

"What was that?!" She shouted to Allister. "He could've died from whatever you did to him!"

Allister glanced up, his violet gaze finally meeting Gloria's, sending shivers down her back. "Cursola turns anything that touches it into stone. . . I- I thought you would've known that. . ."

Gloria's eyes narrowed as she bit her tongue to keep from shouting at him anymore. How is anyone supposed to know that, anyway? She let out a sigh and sent out Penny again. If we can at least knock out the Cursola, we should be fine.

Penny popped out, shifting her weight between her forepaws. If we can't attack it from up close, then we'll have to hit it from a distance.

"Pin Missile!" The attacks landed straight at the Ghost-Type, finally knocking her out. "Great job!" Gloria praised Penny, giving her a smile. She returned the Dual-Type, noticing Allister bring back out his Mimikyu; if just a single Fairy attack hit Penny, she would be defeated.

"Tuff!" She shouted as she threw her Starter's Ball, releasing the fiery rabbit.

The Raboot had her forepaws in the tufts of fur around her waist as she looked at Mimikyu. She glanced back at Gloria with a bored expression.

Gloria ignored her gaze and shouted out her command. "Tuff, use—"

"What if it's my Pokémon that are making me weak?"

"D- Double Kick!" She shouted quickly, trying to push the sudden image of Hop from her mind.

"Ra," Tuff scoffed, turning away from her Trainer. Gloria could feel herself start to recoil at the sight.

"I- I meant use Flame Charge!"

Tuff looked at her one last time and sighed, shaking her head. And then, with a bright flash, she returned herself to her Poké Ball.

Gloria tensed, but threw out Penny before she could think about what Tuff just did. All we need to do is hit Mimikyu from afar, and then dodge its attacks. "Pin Missile!"

Once again, Penny shot missiles towards Mimikyu, and again it avoided every one of them.

Gloria froze as she noticed the Mimikyu readying another Dazzling Gleam. "Quick, Dark Pulse!"

Penny shot the powerful attack at the Disguise Pokémon. The Mimikyu fell to its side, only to quickly get back up, its head lolling to the side. It wasn't even hurt in any way.

Th- That's it? All of that work, and we didn't even hurt it?

Mimikyu shot another Dazling Gleam, hitting and fainting Penny before she could even react.

How? I can't. . .

No! This can't have happen—

"This is your fault!"

Gloria shook and fell to the ground on her knees. "What's happening. . ?" Why did it seem like everything was against her? Why was everyone suffering all at once? Why couldn't she help her friends. . ?

She couldn't take it anymore, and stared at the ground as tears fell down her cheeks. "I can't. Why. . . is everyone so sad? I'm. . . I'm just trying to help them all. . ."

The brunette couldn't hear the calls of the audience, nor did she notice when someone came behind her and returned Penny.

"A- Are you alright-t?" The quiet voice is what finally made her look up, seeing Allister's masked face watching her.

"I'm sorry. . ." Gloria stood up and wiped her eyes. "I can't. . . I can't battle."

Allister nodded understandingly and gently took her hand without another word. She shivered at his cool touch, and could see that his hand was shaking as he held hers.

Blindly, Gloria allowed herself to be led off the field and down the hallway towards the front lobby. As soon as they reached it, Allister drew his hand back and gripped onto it tightly with his other hand.

"I-I'm sorry for this. I-I hope t-to battle you a-again." His voice grew quieter with each word, before he finally turned and ran the other way.

Gloria stared at the direction he had ran off to, her gaze blank. I. . . lost.

She lost a Gym Battle.

That realization, however, was nothing compared to the pain she felt in her heart from earlier. Hop. . . Bede. . . Fresh tears fell down her face as she remembered that she couldn't help either of them. I wish I could—

She stopped, hearing someone sniffling nearby. She tried to wipe her eyes, realizing that she was outside the Gym.

Trying her hardest, Gloria held back her tears and tried to follow the sound.

There.

Bede was sitting behind the Gym, hugging his knees to his chest. He hadn't seen or heard Gloria approaching him.

For the brunette, though, her heart broke again seeing him like that. Without warning, she ran to him and fell, wrapping him in an attempt at a hug. "I-I'm sorry-y-y." Her voice cracked.

Bede looked at her, his eyes wide and glassy. "Wh-why are you. . ." He trailed off as Gloria wrapped her arms around him tighter.

"W-wait. . . Don't cry, Gloria. Please, don't." His voice was surprisingly soft compared to the anger he released to her earlier. He held her close, letting her cry into him and trying to stop his own tears. "P-please don't cry. You did nothing wrong."

The two held each other close, both needing the other to keep themselves together.

And together, they cried forever everything.

.....
I'm sorry for this chapter.
I tried to have this one out sooner, but there's just so much happening in it, and with how depressing it is, I could only work on it a little each day.
I promise it will start to get better soon though.

Also, Gloria lost her battle. Big surprise, huh. . ?
I feel like having her lose a battle or two helps make her more human and all. . . She'll just have to work that much harder if she wants to live up to the Champion....

Question: what do you think of Gloria losing her battle with Allister?