Catching Your Love | KirBede

Slumbering Weald

"You spent the whole night with that new partner of yours, right Hop?" Leon asked. "You two getting on all right? Understand one another? Maybe even built up a bit of love?" Leon asked. "You sound like a concerned mother!" Kireina laughed. "It's vital to have strong connections with your Pokémon." "I know, but you just sound overprotective." "Course I have Lee! Kireina's made fast friends with her Sobble too!" "Then listen up you two! Believe in yourself and your Pokémon! If you trust in one another and carry on battling side by side long enough, then someday... you might even become worthy rivals for me, the unbeatable Champion!" "What're you looking at her for, Lee?! I'm the one who'll be coming to challenge you! If you think Kireina might be able to challenge you, then I guess she's my first rival! But I'm not planning to lose to her and miss out on my chance to beat the unbeatable Champion! " Hop turned to Kireina.

"Just having a Pokémon with you doesn't make you a real trainer, you know. Proper trainers raise their Pokémon up to be first rate in battle, too!" "Oh, and you think you're worthy of calling yourself such a proper trainer already, Hop? Guess I'll be the judge of that! Let's see how you handle yourself in a battle against Kireina, if she's up for it." Leon faced Kireina. "What do you say? Willing and ready to take on Hop in the first ever Pokemon battle of your life?" Kireina didn't answer. "You ok Kiri?" Hop noticed that her eyes were misty and she was staring off into space. "Kireina." He waves a hand in front of her face. "Oh, yeah, sorry. Got distracted there for a second!" Her face lit up with a smile, but her eyes didn't do the same. "I'll battle you Hop!" "Believe in your partner Pokémon! And care for them too, with all your heart! Do those two things, and I'm certain you'll learn to choose the moves that suit your Pokémon. And more importantly, to have a champion time battling with them!" Leon reminded.

"Looks like everyone's on board, Pokémon and trainers alike! Then let's do this!" Leon smiled. "I've watched every match that Lee's ever had! I've read every book and magazine he left behind at home too! I know exactly what to do in order to win!"

[I'm gonna skip the battle because we all know how it goes]

"Well that was a shock! Guess I know now why Lee thought he should give you a Pokémon too..." "You and your Pokémon all fought hard. Made me almost want to let out Charizard and join in on all the fun! Good effort out there Sobble! Why don't I get you all sorted?" He took the small Pokémon out of Kireina's arms, and it immediately began to cry. "Sorry about him, he's a bit nervous of other people holding him." Kireina apologized, petting its head. "He's already attached to you, that's sweet." Leon said, healing it with a potion and handing it back.  "Kireina, you've got real promise! In fact, I've got a favor to ask you. Be a real rival to Hop, would you? Push him, and make the both of you stronger!" Leon smiled. "I already want to get stronger and stronger! You've seen me battle now, Lee, so come on, you've gotta let me take on the Pokémon gyms!" "You? Join the gym challenge? You think you're ready for the single greatest competition in the Galar region? Not putting the cart before the Rapidash there, little bro?" He thought for a minute.

"If that's really what you want to do, you two have a whole lot you need to learn about Pokémon. Especially your friend Kireina. Before you think about getting gym badges, best to think about getting a Pokedex. A trainer's Pokédex helps them learn a lot of things all about the Pokémon out there, including their strengths. But it's more than just a collection of data, you know. It's a record of a trainer's love and passion for Pokémon training!" "Right right, we get it! Pokedexes, then! We're on it!" Hop interrupted. "Looks like it's off to the Pokémon research lab for you and me, Kireina!" "That's the kind of enthusiasm a trainer needs! I'll let the professor know to expect you." Leon said. "I'm going to be the next Champion, so completing a simple Pokédex will be nothing! Just another page in my tale of legend!" Hop turned to Kireina. "Let's get a move on!"

"Come on Kireina!" Hop yelled. "You don't have a lot of patience, do you?" Kireina smiled. A loud crash distracted them. "What the...?" Hop muttered. He glanced over at the fence beside Kireina's house, and it had been broken open. "That Wooloo... it was tackling the fence pretty hard earlier. You don't think it actually broke through there, do you?" He took a small breath. "But nobody's supposed to go in there, it's off limits. I remember the professor's granddaughter went in once, and she came back in a real state. And that was nothing compared to the earful she got from the professor afterward! Kireina, what do you say?" Hop asked. "You said it was off limits, and we don't know what's in there." "But we've still got to save it! I'm still going in there!" He ran off into the forest. Kireina let out a sigh, following him.

"That Wooloo... where do you think it got off to?" Hop glanced around. "The fog is really coming on thick now. If we don't find that Wooloo soon, this might be trouble." He began to walk into the forest. "I wonder if there's any Pokemon in here. I want a Rookidee." She muttered, looking around. "Seen anything yet?" She asked Hop. "Not yet." They continued to look around, but a loud cry interrupted them. "That sounded like a Wooloo!" Hop took off deep into the forest, Kireina a few feet behind him. "This is mad... I can't even see my own hand in front of my face. I think I get why this place is off-limits." A large, dog-like Pokemon crept up on them, letting out a low growl. "What in the-?!" It let out a howl. "Kireina, do something!" He yelled. "What am I supposed to do?!" She yelled back. "You have Sobble!" She reached into her bag, and shakily tossed Sobble's Pokeball out. "Water gun!" It did nothing. "Huh?" The fog grew thicker with each attack. "Kireina, I can't see anything, are you ok?!" Hop yelled. "I'm fine!" The other Pokemon let out a loud, shrill scream, and everything went black.

"Hop! Kireina!" Leon ran up to them. "Wha-? Lee? How'd you manage to find your way here? You're pants with directions. You always get lost." "Oh, that's nice to hear from the little brother who had me worried sick! I'd been waiting ages for you two, and you never showed! Of course I came looking for the both of you!" Leon scolded. "Wait, where's the Wooloo?! We were trying to rescue that Wooloo!" Leon gestured to his Charizard, who was standing beside the Wooloo. "It's fine. Though all of you had fainted by the time I found you here. You know this place is out of bounds... but it took courage to come in here all the same. And I can understand well enough why you did it. You did good, Hop!" "And at least that Wooloo's all right... yeah Kireina? I thought we'd had it when that weird fog started rolling in and that mad Pokemon attacked... but at least it wasn't all for nothing!" Hop smiled.

"Attacked by some mad Pokemon? What are you talking about, Hop?" "It seemed loads stronger than any Pokemon I've ever seen. And it just had this sort of presence. Our moves didn't even touch it. I mean, really, they seemed to pass right through it!" "Your moves just passed right through it? So the fearsome Pokemon they say live in the Slumbering Weald. Are they actually illusions or something? Get strong enough and maybe you two of you could be the ones to reveal the truth someday. For now, let's get out of this place. You'll be alright now that I'm here with you." Hop turned to Kireina. "Even if we did get an earful from Lee... what an experience! This'll make a pretty fine first page in the tale of my legend!

"You ready to go to Wedgehurst now?" Hop asked. Kireina nodded. "Then let's go!" They began to walk to Route 1. "You should get yourself to the building with the purple roof." He pointed towards it. "That's the Pokemon Research Lab! You'll find the professor there. I'm going to head  there, but you should try and catch some Pokemon!"

Chapter Two done! My hands hurt because Hop still talks too much. I've got one more chapter before I can get to the good stuff. I'm working on this everyday and I love it! -G 💘