"Gloria? Gloria, are you okay? Wake up!"

"Ugh. . ." Gloria groaned and opened her eyes slowly. The first thing she saw was Hop's face as he knelt over her. His concerned look quickly melted into one of gratefulness.

"You're alive!" He stood up straight and stretched his arm out to Gloria.

"Yeah, I guess I am. . ." She lifted her arm up to him, only to wince in pain and let it fall at her side. "Ow, ow."

Instantly Hop was back at her side, worry lacing his features. "Are you okay? Can you get up?"

Gloria nodded her head. "I'm fine— it's nothing." Fighting through the pain, she sat upright. Her back ached and her head throbbed, leaving her in a very uncomfortable state.

"You're not fine," Hop told her, reading through her lie. Or perhaps he was looking at her face; Gloria was sure that she wasn't hiding her hurt that well. "Let me help you." He moved his arms toward her.

"No!" Gloria said suddenly. "I can get up, just. . . give me time."

"Hop! Gloria!" Hop whirled his head around, only to see his brother running towards them. He was wearing his Champion outfit, with his long ruby cape railing behind him. He stopped once he was beside them both. "I came running when you guys didn't show up. I've been waiting for nearly an hour, and I started to get—"

"Lee," Hop cut him off. "Gloria's hurt."

Leon tensed. "Gloria?" He crouched down next to her.

"I told Hop before that I'm fine." Gloria rubbed her arms with her hands, feeling embarrassed by the brothers' attention. "It's just a little bruise, that's all."

"She can't get up!" Hop told Leon, speaking for Gloria once again.

"I. . ." Leon began, but trailed off.

"Yes I can!" Gloria jumped to her feet, only to wince as her back burned. Her head felt fuzzy too, and she squeezed her eyes shut. She could feel herself shrink down from the unbearable pain in her head and back, and barely registered when Hop caught her in his arms.

"I've got you," he whispered into her ear. Gloria made no acknowledgement that she heard him, and still clutched her head as she waited for the pain to subside.

As she finally managed to regain herself, Gloria opened her eyes, looking first at Hop beside her, then at Leon. "I-I'm sorry about that," she whispered. "I stood up too fast. . ."

Neither person said anything for what seemed like forever. Finally Leon spoke up.

"How about we get you back to your house, Gloria? You can stay there until you're feeling better."

"What? No!" Gloria shook her head quickly, biting her lip as her headache returned. "I'm fine, I promise!" She moved away from Hop, as if proving her point.

Leon sighed. "Listen, I know that you want to appear strong and all in front of my brother—" Hop flinched "—but you need to realize when enough's enough."

"No," she argued. "I've been waiting for over a third of my life to finally get a Starter Pokémon, and now that I have one, you're telling me that I can't start my journey?!" She froze. "Wait, where's Tuff?" Her brown eyes searched around for the fiery Scorbunny.

"I returned it to its Poké Ball," Hop told her. "It's safe with me."

That apparently wasn't enough for Gloria. "What about the Wooloo? The whole reason we came here in the first place?" Her brown gaze searched Hop for an answer.

"If you're talking about this little guy, then he's fine." Leon pointed to a fluffy white Wooloo behind him. "Now, come on. Let's get you back to your house so you can rest."

Gloria said nothing, giving up her need to argue, and allowed Leon to lead the way out of the Slumbering Weald. The Wooloo bounced along beside him.

The sharp pain returned to Gloria's head, but she simply closed her eyes and tugged on Hop's arm. "My head hurts. . ." she said quietly.

"Well, yeah. I'm not surprised," Leon told her. She hadn't meant to have him hear, but he continued on. "From the looks of it, you got a mild concussion. That's why I'm bringing you back to your home."

No one said anything, until Leon spoke again. "What were you two even doing? Both of you seem to be in rough shape. . ." He trailed off and glanced back at them for a second.

"There was a Pokémon," Hop spoke up for Gloria and him. "It was huge and started attacking Gloria and me. I don't know why though." He took a breath. "But do you want to know the weirdest thing? None of Gloria's attacks did a thing when she tried to fight it!"

Leon stopped. "The Pokémon. . . in the Slumbering Weald. . ." Gloria heard him mutter. He quickly regained himself and turned to the teens with an obviously fake smile on his face. "There's no need to worry about that now, though. I'm pretty sure it was just an illusion, like from a Zoroark or some other creature."

Gloria and Hop shared a glance. Zoroarks? In Galar? The Pokémon hadn't been seen in the region for decades, due to the changing environment and decreasing prey. Still, neither one said anything, not wanting to go against what the Champion had said.

Leon blinked. "Let's get you back home, Gloria." He quickened his pace, his movements a bit more stiff.

"Even with the lecture from Lee, I'm pretty glad this happened. I mean, it makes a perfect start to my story!" Hop laughed quietly, hoping to cheer the mood.

Gloria smiled absentmindedly. She was thinking about how Leon had acted. He seemed. . . odd. Could it be because of that strange Pokémon?

⚔️ 🛡

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. Gloria went in and out of consciousness in her bed, too tired to stay awake, yet too restless to stay asleep.

Her mum had told her to stay in bed and sleep for her head to heal from the concussion, as well as the big bruise on her back. If Gloria did just that, and was feeling better by the next morning, she would be allowed to leave on her Pokémon journey.

When she wasn't asleep, she chatted softly with Hop, who had insisted on staying with her. When she had asked him why, since it's "not like I'm dying," he replied, "I just want to be able to keep you company."

Before Gloria knew it, it was morning again. Hop was asleep on her floor, holding Nori. He was using his soft Wooloo as a pillow. A smile made its way to Gloria's face as she crawled out of her bed and made her way to the kitchen, where her mum was preparing breakfast.

"Oh, Gloria!" Her mum greeted her with a large smile. "You're awake." Gloria nodded. "You feeling better?"

"Yep!" Gloria grinned, looking at her mum's brown eyes, hidden behind her glasses. "What are you making for breakfast?" She glanced behind her.

"Pancakes," her mum replied, turning back around.

"Ooh, can I help?" Gloria hurried to her mum's side, eager to create a delicious breakfast.

"I don't see why not," her mum replied, moving to the side so that Gloria could help out.

Gloria glanced around the kitchen, seeing that the pancake batter was ready, as was the pan. She lifted up the mixing bowl, removing the whisk, and poured a little bit into the pan. She then tilted the pan so that the batter would coat the bottom evenly.

Grabbing a spatula, she scooped under the pancake and flipped it onto its other side. The top of it was a perfect golden-brown.

"You're getting really good at this," her mum told her, sounding impressed.

"Thanks!" Gloria smiled.

Her mum kissed her forehead. "I'll leave you to your breakfast, and I'll go prepare the table; I've invited Hop and his brother to eat with us."

"Why not his mum?" Gloria asked, moving the finished pancake onto a plate. She poured some more batter into the pan.

"She has to work." Her mum smiled. "She says that she would do anything, though, to stay and eat breakfast with us."

Gloria nodded, returning to her task. She flipped the pancake.

It was when Gloria had finished her tenth pancake that Hop had decided to wake up finally.

"About time," Gloria joked, hearing him exit her room.

Hop didn't seem to hear her. "Something smells good."

"That's because I'm making pancakes," Gloria replied, turning over her newest one.

"I can't wait," he told her, then walked into the living room, past the kitchen. "Hey, Gloria, where's you're mum?"

Gloria turned around, seeing Hop with a confused expression on his face. Her mum was nowhere to be found. "She probably left already while I wasn't looking. She's getting your brother." She turned back to her pancake and quickly took it off the pan; it was beginning to blacken. She poured more batter. "Where are Nori and Wooloo?"

"Both sleeping." Hop walked up to Gloria and the pile of finished pancakes. "Does your head still hurt?" He asked suddenly.

Gloria shook her head. "A little," she confessed. "But I think that Mum would let me start my Pokémon journey finally." She cast a sideways glance at him for a second. "Thanks for staying with me, by the way. . . even if I didn't talk much. . ."

Hop smiled. "You don't need to thank me," he replied right as the front door opened. Hop jumped away from Gloria, startled, only to see a familiar purple-haired man. "Lee!"

Leon grinned, walking in. "Hey, Hop. And hello, Gloria. Glad to see you're feeling better." Gloria's mum stepped in behind him.

"Yes, I am," Gloria said, pouring the last of the batter into the pan. "Hop, can you go ahead and hand out the pancakes?" she asked whilst running her finger along the inside of the bowl and licking it. So what if she got sick from it? It would all be worth it as long as she could get just a little bit of raw pancake batter.

Hop got four plates and put three pancakes on each, with a few still left over. He spread them out along the counter, and Gloria opened the kitchen cabinet to pull out a jar of powdered sugar. She got a spoonful and sprinkled it over each of the pancakes.

"Okay! All ready!" She picked up two of the plates and carried them to the table, where Leon and her mum were waiting. Hop brought over the last two plates and placed them where he and Gloria would sit.

Gloria sat down and gazed at her thin, perfectly-cooked pancakes. Stabbing a piece with her fork, she took a bite.

Pancakes had never tasted better.

⚔️ 🛡

"Scor! Bun! Scorbun!"

Gloria jogged after Hop and Nori, Tuff hitting her shoulders in an effort to "encourage her".

"Gee, Tuff," Gloria told her partner, "If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you're trying to give me another headache." Tuff stopped hitting her after that. Her mum had agreed to let her start her Pokémon journey, since she seemed to be mostly healed.

Gloria eventually caught up to Hop. He was standing in a patch of grass, looking around himself. Nori perched on his shoulder, holding a new stick (probably from a tree nearby).

"Oh, Gloria!" Hop turned around as he heard her arrive. "You took long enough! I was beginning to think that you changed your mind about wanting to be a Pokémon Trainer!" He grinned.

"After everything I've done to get even this far?" Gloria smiled. "No way!"

Hop laughed softly. "Anyway, remember how Lee said that the first step to being a Trainer is having a Pokédex?" The brunette nodded. "Well, he told me that we can get one in that building over there." He pointed to a large purple and white building in Wedgehurst. "That's where Professor Magnolia and her granddaughter work, and it's also where you can get a Pokédex!"

Gloria tilted her head. "What about you? Aren't you going to get a Pokédex, too?"

"Yeah," Hop told her. He glanced at Nori. "But I'll do it later, after I catch a few Pokémon."

"Ah." Gloria nodded slowly, understanding. "Well, I'll see you later then." She started to walk past him, heading towards Wedgehurst.

"Wait, Gloria!" She turned around, looking at Hop.

"What's up?"

"I, uh. . ." He bit his lip. "Here." He tossed her a handful of Poké Balls. "For catching a Pokémon."

Gloria smiled. "Thanks, Hop." She put the Balls into her bag, beside Tuff. "Bye!" She turned and hurried down Route One, wanting to get her Pokédex as soon as possible.

As she entered Wedgehurst, she saw Leon's Charizard standing in front of the train station, surrounded by children and adults. He seemed pretty proud with all the attention.

Gloria smiled and rolled her eyes before turning right, where the purple building stood. She blinked, noticing Leon standing in front, seemingly waiting for her.

"Where's Hop?" He asked as she neared him.

"Catching Pokémon out on Route One," she answered.

Leon nodded. "Well, he'll just have to get his 'Dex later, because I'm not waiting for him. Anyway, you ready?"

"Yeah," Gloria said to him, glancing at Tuff for a second. Her Scorbunny nodded. "We're both ready to get our Pokédexes and catch Pokémon."

"Then let's go in." Leon opened the door and waited for her to enter. She walked past him and inside the building.

The first thing she noticed were the books. Everywhere, on the shelves, and on piles on the floor.

Moving away from the library aspect of the building, she saw that it was actually a rather large place. There were stairs leading up to more shelves of books along the back wall. At the opposite end of the room was a board with pictures and words on it. From where she was standing, Gloria was too far away to be able to make out any of the words.

"Yamp! Yamp!" A cream-colored Pokémon ran up to the two of them. It was small and had four short legs, with a white face and belly.

"Ah! Yamper!" Leon kneeled down, letting the puppy run into his arms and lick his face. "Aw, you're as sweet as ever!"

"Yes, I know. . . Alright, see you then. . ." Gloria lifted her gaze away from Leon to see a woman holding her phone between her cheek and shoulder. She had vibrant orange hair and a light brown coat, from what Gloria could see. She was searching through the collection of books all around herself. "Love you too. Bye." She ended the call with whoever she was talking to. She had yet to see Gloria and Leon.

"Hey, Sonia!" Leon called out to the woman.

She whirled around, eyes wide. Her hands slipped however, sending the stack of books in her hands down to the floor she was standing on. "Leon!" She shouted, in a not-so-welcoming voice. "How many times do I have to tell you to not scare me like that?"

"Sorry," Leon replied, not sounding very sorry at all. He pet the puppy Pokémon. "Anyway, So, how are you doing? It's been so long since I've seen you last."

"I was doing better before you came by," Sonia replied, walking down the stairs and walking to him and Gloria, arms crossed. "I just got done talking with Rose, by the way."

Leon nodded slowly. "Rose. . . Wait, which Rose?"

Sonia rolled her eyes. "My little sister."

"You're both the same age," Leon muttered to himself. Sonia didn't hear him. Or, if she did, she chose to ignore what he said. "Yeah, Rose," he said louder. "I miss her."

Sonia frowned slightly and continued. "She says that she's coming over to visit in a few days, so. . ." Sonia trailed off and twirled her hair in between her fingers.

"Well, sorry to interrupt you two, but I'm here too," Gloria stated softly.

"Oh, right!" Leon grinned and looked at her. "Gloria, this is Sonia. Her cooking is the best!"

"What kind of introduction is that?" Sonia put her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes at Leon. She looked back at Gloria. "I'm sorry about Leon; he's so immature." She sighed. "Anyway, I'm guessing you're here for the Pokédex?"

About time. Gloria nodded.

"May I see your Rotom Phone, then?"

"Yeah." Gloria reached into her pocket, pulling out her phone. It was bright red and had a Rotom pattern on the back. She gave it to Sonia.

"Well, I'll leave you two for now; I've got to go see how Hop's doing." Leon walked toward the door to leave. "Bye Sonia, you're beautiful!" And then he was gone.

A light pink made its way to Sonia's cheeks, but she simply rolled her eyes. "So immature." She led Sonia to the back of the room, holding her phone. She plugged it into a laptop and began typing into it.

"I am uploading the most updated version of the Pokédex that my grandmother created. She currently isn't here right now, as you can see, but she would be more than glad to share her information with Trainers like yourself." She unplugged the phone and handed it back to Gloria. "There you go- the complete Pokédex."

"Thank you." Gloria took back her phone gratefully.

"Scor!" Tuff nudged her shoulder impatiently.

"Okay, okay, calm down." She loosened her bag so that Tuff could get out. Then she started up the new app on her phone and held it up to her partner. Instantly, information popped up on the screen.

Scorbunny, the Rabbit Pokémon
Type: Fire
"A warm-up of running around gets fire coursing through this Pokémon's body. Once that happens, it's ready to fight at full power. It has three pads on the backs of its feet, and one on its nose. When it's raring to fight, these pads radiate tremendous heat."

—————
Nickname: Tuff
Level: 8
Gender: Female
"Hasty" nature

Gloria read through her Pokémon's information, pausing at the third-to-last word.

"You're a girl?" She looked at Tuff with wide and surprised eyes. Tuff simply crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at Gloria. "Right, sorry. That probably sounded rude." She sighed, then looked back at Sonia. "Thank you so much!"

Sonia nodded, beginning to walk back up the stairs. "Anytime." Her Yamper barked a farewell to Gloria as she left.

"Bunny!" Tuff ran ahead of her, leading the way through Wedgehurst and towards Route Two.

Maybe I'll catch a Pokémon or two, while I wait for Hop, Gloria thought, noticing the vast stretches of grass ahead of her. She walked past Tuff, pulling out one of Hop's gifted Poké Balls from her pocket.

She noticed a black-and-white creature, only about a foot in height. It ran back in forth, hopping from one direction to the other.

"Hey," Gloria called out to it. It froze and turned to her, its bright pink eyes lighting up as it saw her.

"Zig!" It cheered as it zigzagged through the grass to reach Gloria. Immediately Tuff jumped in front of her Trainer, preparing to attack.

The strange Pokémon stopped and sat down, tilting its head to the side at Tuff, before looking up at Gloria. "Zag?"

Gloria bit her lip; she wanted this Pokémon so badly! But. . . in order to catch it, she would need to fight it. And she just couldn't bring herself to shout a command for Tuff to attack it. She took a breath and tossed the Poké Ball at the Pokémon, praying that, by some miracle, it would stay in the Ball.

The Ball clicked after a few seconds, signaling a successful capture. Gloria let out a sigh of relief and picked up her newest Team member's Poké Ball. She had done it! She had caught a new Pokémon!

The brunette smiled and opened the Poké Ball, letting out her Pokémon. It materialized onto the ground and shook out its long fur before looking up at Gloria with those huge pink eyes.

"Goon!" It rolled onto its back, looking at Tuff. The Fire-Type made no movement to introduce herself; she just stood beside Gloria, glaring at the newest Party Pokémon.

"Zigzagoon, the Tiny Raccoon Pokémon," Gloria read aloud from her new Pokédex app. "Type: Dark/Normal. Its restlessness has it constantly running around. If it sees another Pokémon, it will purposely run into them in order to start a fight. It's thought to be the oldest form of Zigzagoon, and it zigzags as it moves." She looked at her Zigzagoon. "That doesn't sound like you at all." She leaned down and put her hand near the Zigzagoon. It quickly jumped up and ran to lick her hand. Gloria laughed quietly and read its personal data.

"Level: 5. Gender: Female. 'Jolly' nature." She pet her Pokémon's head. "How about Penny? How's that as a name?"

The Zigzagoon blinked her bright eyes and smiled. "Zigzag!" She cheered, seeming to love the name.

"Alright, Penny it is!" Gloria scooped Penny into her arms and looked at Tuff. "Come on! Let's go catch some more Pokémon!"

Tuff sighed before following her Trainer deeper into Route Two. For once, she didn't seem too eager to speed along with her journey.

Gloria, however, was having the time of her life running around with Penny, exploring the area and looking at different Pokémon.

"Rook!" A winged blue-and black bird flew in front of her. It was small and had yellow breast feathers. Its beak was gray.  Tuff's mood lightened as Gloria looked at her.

"Tuff, use Tackle!"

Sorry this update took a little longer than earlier. I was busy with school and other activities.

However, I have all week off next week, so you know I'll be working on the next few parts during that!

(Wow, when I was first writing this story, I told myself the chapters would be only about 1,000 words. . . Well, 3,500 words later. . .)

Anyway, question: Best Galar form?

At least for me, it would be Zigzagoon or Stunfisk, although Yamask and Corsola are really cool too!

(Also, completely random: I just got into Hamilton a few days ago, and have since been listening to the soundtrack while writing this. It's so good!!!)