Note: In the last chapter, I realized that I may have confused some people with the whole scene of Gloria getting her Gym Uniform. Basically, all of the Gyms have two locker rooms, one for the girls and one for the boys. The room for the boys was used for giving out the Gym Uniforms, and both boys and girls were in it for their uniforms. However, there were personal dressing rooms and adults there too, and there was only a small group of challengers allowed in the locker rooms at a time, so it wasn't really that weird.

I apologize to those who took this the wrong way.

Also, I still can't write. Sorrryy.

•°•°•

"Brook, use Water Gun!"

The Sobble charged up a powerful blast of water before releasing it and hitting Tuff. She staggered, her fur soaked.

"Tuff!" Gloria shouted, worried for her partner. Tuff stood back up, shaking off the water from her pelt, before running up to Brook and leaping up into the air. And then, she kicked his face multiple times before landing back onto the ground.

"Wow," Victor commented, looking at Tuff, then at Gloria. "Looks like she learned Double Kick."

"Really?" Gloria smiled and looked down at her partner. "Great job, Tuff!"

The Scorbunny grinned, rubbing her rose proudly. "Bun!"

Victor laughed quietly, reminding his opponents of the battle still underway. "Let's show them that we can't be taken down that easily— Water Pulse!"

"What?" Gloria blinked as an even more powerful stream of water shot from Brook's hands, hitting Tuff with such pressure and intensity that she was thrown back, hitting Gloria and knocking her down onto the ground. Tuff was knocked out immediately from the impact.

"I'm sorry!" Victor rushed over to Gloria. "I didn't mean to have her hit you!"

"It's. . . It's fine." Gloria sighed and stood back up, holding Tuff in her arms. "It seems like we still have a lot to learn if we want to challenge the Gyms in a few days."

Victor nodded. "But you were both strong enough to take down my Dottler and Electrike in only a few hits. Plus, you managed to get a few decent hits on Brook, too. That's pretty impressive, if you ask me." He grinned at the girl, causing her to look away quickly.

"I guess. . ." Gloria muttered. I don't understand why Hop doesn't like him. He's nice and. . . "Thanks for asking me to train with you," she said, finally glancing back at him.

"No, thank you for saying yes." He flashed his smile and laughed softly. "I just wanted to train with someone, and I'm thankful that you agreed to help."

Gloria nodded, shuffling her feet. "Me too. I would've asked Hop or Marnie, but they were both gone by the time I woke up this morning."

"Mhm." Victor gazed out over the landscape around them. He glanced back at Gloria before starting to walk. He motioned for Gloria to follow as Brook climbed up to his shoulder.

"So, Gloria, have you heard of the Legend of the Sword and Shield?" He asked as she joined him.

Gloria shook her head. "I've heard of it, but I don't really know what it is."

Victor nodded and led her to a statue of a man. The man had a shield in his hand and a sword held above his head. "There's another story that goes along with the Sword and Shield legend, and it's called the Darkest Day." Gloria nodded slowly, letting him continue.

"The story goes that, thousands of years ago, there was a Pokémon named Eternatus. Eternatus was a very powerful Pokémon, even more so than a Mega Rayquaza."

Mega Rayquaza? Gloria looked at him confused.

Victor noticed her baffled expression. "Never mind that. Anyway, it was so strong that it was unable to control and contain its energy, and ended up causing panic all throughout the region. The inhabitants were led by several people, representing each of the eighteen types of Pokémon. Those people, along with their respective Pokémon, were trying to fight Eternatus, when suddenly a bright red glow of energy came from Eternatus, meant to destroy those Pokémon and people.

"Instead, driven by love and fear for their region and Trainers, those Pokémon absorbed the attack, before performing the first ever Dynamax. As one, they fired their attacks, managing to calm Eternatus down. However, that wasn't enough for the people.

"They selected two brothers to fight and end Eternatus once and for all. And so they did. They ended Eternatus's life, even though it was simply trying to control its energy." Victor's hands were clenched into fists as he stared down at the ground. "It's because of Eternatus that we all have Dynamaxing power today, but because it's gone, that may also leave."

Gloria nodded slowly, not sure whether she should say something. Luckily Victor went on.

"Anyway, there's been a prophecy since that day: 'When the time of the Darkest Day has come, two Trainers will take the throne. One of great strength will stand and rise, wielding a sword as his special prize. And the other, of protection and care, will hold a shield as the next heir. Together they must face the evil, and only as one can they save the people. From highest highs to lowest lows, the place will be as black as Murkrows. The Darkest Day will return. Mark these words, or of the wrath you shall learn.'" He looked up at Gloria. "Do you get it? You and I are—" He stopped abruptly as his phone began to ring. He immediately took it out and looked down at the name before glancing back at the brunette girl.

"It's fine," she told him, forcing a small smile. "I'll see you later."

Victor nodded, putting his hand on her shoulder gently. "Right. I'll see you." He winked and then turned around, holding the phone up to his ear. "Hello?"

Gloria sighed and turned around to go train by herself with Tuff and her other Pokémon. After all, tomorrow was the official start of the Gym Challenge, and she wanted to get stronger before then.

⚔️ 🛡

Years ago there was a boy who lived with his sister in a small town. Their parents were busy with work a lot, and so the two kids never saw them that often. They grew very close to each other because of this fact.

The boy lived in a mostly happy home, free from stress and pain. However, he was always worried about what his parents thought. He just was never good enough, no matter how much he did.

One weekend, while his parents were out for a long trip, the boy decided to take his sister out to explore the Pokémon world. She and he would be safe, since the boy had a Pokémon of his own to defend themselves against anything.

The boy told his sister his plan for the weekend, and she was overjoyed. "A Pokémon journey?"

"Just a short one."

"I wanna Pokémon! Please can you catch me one!"

"We'll see, Liddy," her brother replied. He grabbed a hairbrush and a few hair ties, moving to stand behind her. "How do you want your hair?"

"Tepiggy tails!" Liddy grinned and shifted, excited, as her older brother ran the brush through her hair.

The boy parted her hair, brushing half to one side. He tied it with a hair tie after a few moments. He tried to do the same thing to the rest of her hair, but the hair tie broke in his hand. He had to stand back up and grab another one for his sister. Finally he was finished.

"I love it!" Liddy shook her head quickly, making her golden locks slap her brother in his face. He didn't say anything, and instead leaned back to avoid the onslaught of her Tepig tail-whips.

The two grabbed their coats; it wasn't cold outside; but they never knew when they might need them.

"Bat?" The boy turned, seeing his family's Noibat just now waking up from her slumber. Her amethyst wings fluttered open as she prepared to follow them.

"You stay here, Naya. We won't be long." The boy pet the small bat Pokémon. "And if we aren't back by tonight, then you can start worrying."

Naya leaned into his touch, making a sound similar to purring. "Noi," she told him, closing her eyes back up.

The boy looked back at his sister and took her hand. "Ready?"

"Yeah!" She beamed and opened the front door, letting them both outside and into the small town of Turffield.

⚔️ 🛡

"Ladies and gentlemen! I am Rose, Chairman of the Galar Pokémon League!" Every eye in Galar was glued to their tv screens, which all had an image of none other than Chairman Rose. He raised his arm up above him, as if reaching for the sky.

"Every year, we have a tournament in which Trainers from all over the world train and battle the Gym Leaders scattered throughout the region. With the help of their Pokémon, these Trainers collect Gym Badges before ultimately attempting to challenge the Champion himself!" He paused as the audience erupted into cheers and chants.

"Leon! Leon! Leon! Leon!"

"I'm nervous," Gloria muttered, holding her stomach. She was in the girls locker room of Motostoke Gym, beside Marnie. Several girls were in the room as well, all in their Gym Uniforms and all eagerly watching a set of tvs along the far wall.

"Don't be," Marnie told her, handing her a bottle of water. "Ya aren't even gonna be doin' anythin' except walkin', and then ya done."

Gloria opened the water bottle and took a few gulps of water. "How do you know all that?"

"My brother," Marnie replied. "He told me all 'bout it."

"Right. The Gym Leader, right?"

"Mhm." Marnie bit her lip and glanced away. "Oh, the Gym Leaders are comin' on screen!"

Gloria looked back at the tv, seeing the screen zoom in on a set of doors in the back.

"Please welcome. . . Your Gym Leaders of Galar!"

The doors opened, revealing nine people, all dressed in differently colored and styled Gym Uniforms.

"The fighting farmer! Here's the Grass-type expert, Milo!"

The camera focused on a strong-looking man with a white shirt and green shorts. He had a large sunhat covering his pinkish-red hair. He waved at the crowd around him calmly, a smile on his soft face.

"The raging wave! It's the master of Water-types, Nessa!"

A girl with dark skin was shown, with long, navy blue hair. A few cerulean strands seemed to shine from the lights. As she walked, she closed her cerulean eyes and blew a kiss at the crowd.

"The ever-burning man of fire! Here comes the Fire-type veteran, Kabu!"

Next came an older man with light gray hair, speckled with strands of white. He had a small towel around his neck, and seemed to walk with a sense of purpose.

"The Galar karate prodigy! Nobody's better with Fighting-types than Bea!"

A girl was next on the screen, with tanned skin and light blonde hair. She had a black and orange headband on, resembling Scorbunny ears, and a tight sport shirt on. Her gray eyes gazed straight ahead, as if she was seeing something from long ago.

"The silent boy of mystery! Allister, friend to Ghost-types, and our newest Gym Leader!"

A boy came onto the screen, wearing a white mask that covered his entire face and hid his eyes from view. His raven hair circled his head, with a single strand sticking straight up in the back. The way he walked resembled a confused zombie, unbalanced and quiet.

"The master of a fantastic theatre! It's the charming Fairy-type user, Opal!"

An old lady appeared, her face pale and wrinkly. Her white hair was hidden behind a fancy cap, and she had a large scarf around her neck. She clutched a cane as she walked, although it didn't really seem like she needed it.

"The hard-rock crusher! Please welcome the Rock-type master, Gordie!"

Next a young man came onto view, with white hair and blue eyes. The tips of his hair were dyed blonde, and he had large purple glasses over his eyes. He grinned at the crowd and gave a small salute.

"The ice-cold professional! Please welcome the Ice-type master, Melony!"

A woman came into view, wearing a white sweater and cap. Her long, whitish-blonde hair trailed behind, revealing a dark blue streak that matched her eye color. She looked around and smiled as she waved at the crowd around herself.

"And last but not least, the tamer of dragons. . . It's Raihan, the top Gym Leader!"

Finally a young man was shown, grinning and waving at the crowd. He had dark skin and a fanged smile. After a few seconds, he lifted up his phone, taking several selfies of himself at the center of the stadium.

Marnie stiffened slightly from beside Gloria. "Unfortunately, we're missing one, but. . ." Rose spoke again as all nine Gym Leaders lined up at the middle of the field. "These are the Gym Leaders that we here in the Galar region are proud to call our own!"

Marnie nudged Gloria and stood up. For the first time, Gloria noticed the other girls lining up at the door. She got up and followed them as they all exited the locker room. The boys were outside in the lobby, and Gloria quickly looked around for Hop and Victor.

"Gloria!" She turned around, seeing Hop waving from the middle of the group. She pushed through until she reached his side.

"Ready?" Hop asked, smiling.

"Yeah!" Gloria smiled at him and glanced around for Victor for a second, but gave up after she couldn't find him. Together with the rest of the Gym Challengers, she and Hop stepped forward, through a narrow hallway.

". . . Please welcome your new Gym Challengers of Galar!"

And then, they were out on the field, broadcasted all throughout the region. Gloria lifted her head, taking in the sights and sounds of the crowd all around her. She glanced at the Gym Leaders, all lined up facing them. The girl named Bea was whispering things under her breath, and Allister was nodding next to her. Gloria blinked a few times before raising her gaze to look at everyone else around her. Their cheering, their chanting, it all felt so welcoming to her. She closed her eyes as she walked, taking in the sounds.

She didn't didn't notice a slightly uneven bump in the field, and tripped, falling forward. Her eyes shot open and she moved her arms in front of her, trying to catch herself before she could fall.

It all happened so suddenly. One moment, she was upright, the next she had pushed down another Trainer in front of her, and then she was down on the ground, laying on the other Trainer's back.

Whispers and murmurs came from the crowd and the other challengers nearby, but no one offered to help her up. They all just stopped and crowded around, staring at the girl who had fallen on the strange white-haired boy.

Wait.

She looked down for a second, only to be thrown off the person's back as he rolled onto his side. His violet eyes cut like daggers as he glared at the girl.

"Why can't you ever watch where you're going?!"

Gloria said nothing, too embarrassed to reply. Her face was red as she heard everyone talking and whispering things about her. She saw Hop trying to reach her, but the crowd around her wouldn't let him through.

"Oh, it looks like one of our challengers has fallen." Rose's voice only made the whole experience even worse. Gloria covered her face, not able to move or say anything. "Oh, and what's this?"

"Hey, you okay?" She lifted her head to see one of the Gym Leaders standing there, holding his hand out to help her up.

Gloria nodded slowly. "Yeah," she said quietly, raising her hand and allowing him to pull her up.

"It looks like Gym Leader Raihan has come over to help her up!" Rose's announcement caused shouts to erupt from the audience, and whispers from the challengers around Gloria.

"Th-thanks," Gloria whispered, looking down.

"No prob." Raihan smiled his fanged smile and ruffled her hair before turning to leave, snatching a few extra pictures of himself and a few of the other challengers.

"Wow. You're so pathetic you're making the other Gym Leaders feel pity for you." The white-haired boy crossed his arms.

Gloria looked at him, ignoring his comment. She was already embarrassed enough, and did not want to ruin herself even more. "I'm sorry."

The boy froze, seemingly taken aback by her sudden change of attitude. He turned away. "Whatever."

Gloria sighed, not wanting to bother him anymore; she didn't want to be the one to fuel this strange kid's annoyance. A few moments passed, and Chairman Rose asked for everybody to clear the field.

The Gym Leaders left to the left side and sat down at specially marked seats. The Gym Challengers did the same, but on the right side of the field.

"Gloria!" Hop called her name, and the brunette looked up. "Come on! Sonia's here!" Gloria smiled to herslef and stood up from her seat, following Hop to where Sonia was seated.

"Hello, Gloria," Sonia greeted the girl kindly as she sat down.

"Hi, Sonia." Gloria smiled at her.

Sonia laughed softly and moved back in her seat. "This is my little sis, Rosie."

On the other side of her was a young woman with strikingly similar features to Sonia. She had a soft, pale face and reddish-orange hair. Her blue eyes darted around nervously and her fingers tugged at her hair worriedly. "H-hi." She had a strange accent to her voice.

Gloria blinked. When she had heard of Sonia's sister, she had thought she would have been more. . . outgoing. "Hey, Rose."

Rose looked up and seemed like she wanted to ask something, but the other Rose— Chairman Rose— cut her off.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, we begin with our first match of the season!" Gloria looked back down at the field, noticing that Raihan was still on the field, even after the other Gym Leaders had evacuated it already. Huh?

"Everyone, please welcome Galar's reigning Champion, the undefeatable Leon Heyer!" The audience erupted into screams and shouts as the Champion's name was called.

"Did you know he was going to be here?" Gloria asked, looking at Hop.

The boy shook his head, his gaze glued on the field below. "He didn't tell me anything. . ."

The crowd chanted even louder (if that was even possible) as Leon stepped out onto the field. He gazed at the people all gathered around him, as if searching for someone. He finally found her in the stands and grinned before striking his Charizard pose.

"Leon. . ." Sonia groaned from beside Gloria, covering her blushing face in her hands.

Raihan, who seemed to be his opponent, looked up to where Leon has found Sonia. His face lit up and he waved his arms around before shouting in a tiny voice, "Rose! Welcome back to Galar!"

Gloria glanced sideways at the two sisters, finding Rose now the one hiding her face. "Why. . ."

"Gloria, watch!" Hop nudged her arm excitedly, bringing her attention back to the battlefield. Both opponents had their Pokémon standing behind them; a Charizard from Leon and a Duraludon for Raihan.

Leon swished his cape back, shouting something to Charizard. Charizard responded by letting himself being pulled back into his Poké Ball. Raihan did the same with his Duraludon.

"Is the battle over already. . ?" Gloria questioned, confused.

Suddenly, both men made their Poké Balls larger. They threw the enlarged Poké Balls behind themselves, releasing their Pokémon once more.

Although, it wasn't exactly their Pokémon.

Duraludon came out first, growing tall in midair. It's back and neck stretched up, reaching toward the sky, which bad now turned reddish-black. It landed back onto the ground with enough power to shake the entire stadium. "DURALUUU!" It shouted, making everyone cover their ears. Even still, it couldn't stop the amazement Gloria felt as she saw this new phenomenon, in which Duraludon now resembled a skyscraper. A few red clouds circled its neck.

That wasn't all, though. Immediately after, Charizard materialized behind Leon, its scales becoming darker as it grew. It opened its mouth, making a wall of fire up above itself as it made itself bigger. That fire wall hit its body, encasing it completely in burning hot flames, which danced along its horns and wings. "CHARRR!" It cried out, lashing its tail around, which also had red clouds circling it.

As the crowd went crazy, both Raihan and Leon shouted inaudible commands to their strange Pokémon. Duraludon raised its head high to the sky, summoning forth a dark purple energy, which surrounded Charizard and attacked him from all sides and angles.

However, Charizard shattered the energy, firing a powerful blast of flames straight at Duraludon. It looked just about over for Raihan and his Duraludon. . .

Ughhhh. This chapter is so choppy and unneat and it ends weird. Sorry.

On another note, ROSE IS FINALLY HERE!! I've been waiting so long to finally bring her into this story, and she's finally here. (This is going to be very confusing come later in the story when she and Chairman Rose are talking to one another...)

Well, since this chapter introduces the original nine Gym Leaders (poor Piers!), here's my question: Who's your favorite Galarian Gym Leader? (of the original 10)

For me, it'd be Alli or Piers or Milo or Raihan... Or anyone, really— they're all so good!!

Also, am I the only one who thinks that "The Greatest Show" would fit perfectly with the Gym Leaders when they're introduced?