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Hop couldn't stop staring at Gloria as she placed her hand on her chin, apparently struggling with the thought of which she should pick as her partner pokemon. Hop silently agreed, however, the girl seemed to be far more important to him in the moment. Her brown eyes were mesmerizing him, taking his thoughts off of everything else in this world except for this one girl. Nothing else mattered-
"Hop....
Hop!" Leon snapped, attempting to get Hop's attention, as this was a very important moment in his journey. Because of the fact that Hop could not stop staring at the Gloria, she decided she would pick first, and asked for Hop's blessing of course, because, again - this was a very important for them.
"I'll choose you, Sobble!" The brunette gushed with excitement, the water lizard pokemon strut towards Gloria, a reassuring smile on its face. It put its hand on her wooly boot as it smiled weakly. "Welcome to the team, mate," Gloria murmured as she watched the blue creature grow more and more comforted by her.
Hop smiled warmly at her, then turned his attention to his older brother. There were two pokemon left for him to choose from: Scorbunny, the rabbit pokemon, or Grookey, the chimp pokemon. Suddenly, he remembered Leon's fierce Charizard. Determination filled the Champion's eyes as soon as he sends out the fire-type pokemon. With this in mind, a lightbulb moment occurred in his brain.
"I'll go with you, Scorbunny! You're mine!" Hop exclaimed as the fire-type rabbit turned its attention towards the purple-haired teenager. "I'm aiming to beat Lee and become the next Champion of Galar, so get ready for some serious training!" He grinned, making Scorbunny even more eager to join him and his Wooloo, who welcomed the rabbit warmly but reluctantly. Leon sighed, relieved to see that the brand new trainers and their pokemon were getting along. "Good thing I brought along these new pokemon today," He began, "I've just been waiting for some new rivals. I know that someday you two will become so strong that you will become worthy enough to battle the unbeatable Champion, me!"
"Why are you looking at Gloria, Lee?!" Hop shouted, "I'm the one who will be coming to challenge you! I guess that makes her my first rival!"

🛡 a/n im following the original plot from the games a little at the beginning, but changing it up a little bit. for example, i made the curious wooloo belong to hop. just keep that in mind lol and it won't be like this the entire story 🗡

Hop's Wooloo trotted nervously towards an old, wooden gate near Gloria's house. It impulsively hurled itself into the old structure, as if it knew that there was trouble beyond it. "What has gotten into your Wooloo, Hoppy?" Gloria questioned, causing Hop to blush slightly at the nickname. "I'm not sure, maybe it's looking for something?" He replied, his eyes widened as Wooloo hurled into the gate with enough strength to the point where it burst open. However, the sheep did not stop hurling into the Slumbering Weald. It was off limits to anyone because of the rumors that there were extremely dangerous pokemon living there. Consequently, it would be Hop and Gloria who would become strong enough and find out the rumors for themselves, because once they got deep enough into the forest, they still could not find Wooloo - they found two mysterious, dreamlike pokemon: Zacian and Zamazenta. Keep in mind, however, Hop and Gloria were unsure of their names at the time and simply referred to them as "that mad pokemon in the woods." Fortunately, though, Wooloo and the teens returned home to Postwick, safe and sound.
Back home, they barbecued, played board games, had deep conversations.... what's not to love about the entire night. Hop adored her. Gloria adored him. Who knew how long they would go without knowing that, though.
Sonia, the Professor's granddaughter, became intrigued with them and what they saw in the Slumbering Weald. Leon introduced them to her, informing her that they would need a pokédex in order to be set on the right path. Interestingly, Sonia was the first to get a clue that Hop and Gloria were definitely not JUST best friends. It struck her that there was something going on between the new trainers when they both reached for the same pokédex, causing them to touch hands. They handled it the way most awkward, crushing teenagers would. "S-Sorry!!" and blushing everywhere. She looked over at Leon who, of course, couldn't help but laugh at them. Sonia has always had a thing for Leon, but she wasn't sure how he felt. She would always brush her feelings aside by insulting him, and he would just laugh at her as if he could see right through her.
Hop and Gloria had set up a campground on the outskirts of Wedgehurst. They decided to train up their pokemon before sunset by battling against each other, both were determined to be endorsed for the gym challenge.
"Gloria," Hop began, his eyes were filled with warmth, "Thank you for being my rival. Don't forget that, Gloria! My rival."
Something about that statement made Gloria blush, she instantly turned her attention away from her Sobble and looked into Hop's gentle, amber eyes. "I will never forget, Hop," She replied, maintaining eye contact with him once more as the sun continued to set behind the trees. Gloria shifted closer to Hop, resting her head on his shoulder as they watched the sun sink into the earth. Hop put his arm around her, kissing her softly on the forehead, which made Gloria smile in return.
"You'll always be my best friend and my rival. I guess that officially makes me the luckiest boy in the world."

|| a/n omg this is the longest chapter i've ever written! i really hope you're enjoying so far, i love and will be here for each and every one of you! ♡
> qotd: favorite region?
> aotd: unova or sinnoh
> check out this amazing person(s)! :
-DEGASPARK
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