Feeling of Glory -Sword and Shield (SLOW UPDATES)

Chapter 18- Sand

Gloria walked outside of the Pokémon Center with her Raboot following close behind. Neither one made a sound as they walked through Hammerlocke to the west.

Despite it being nearly noon, dark clouds scattered the sky, with the promise of rain on the way. Tuff wrinkled her nose at the thought and buried her paws deeper into the tuft of fur on her belly, impersonating a sweater's pockets. Her ears were down and she had a bored expression on her face, though occasionally her eyes would glance at her Trainer for a second.

Gloria, meanwhile, was staring at a shiny Poké Ball in her hand, her face unreadable. Tuff wished she knew what was inside it; she had noticed it the day before in the Wild Area, but Gloria had never revealed what was inside it. If the rabbit had to guess though, she'd say it was probably not a Pokémon Gloria was happy about, due to the fact that she tensed every time she look at it.

"Oh hey! Gloria!"

Tuff and Gloria each looked up to see Sonia waving at them. Behind her were Rose and Raihan, the former ignoring the latter's nudges as he spoke to her.

Gloria relaxed slightly at the sight of the adults. "Hi. . ." She made her way over to them, forcing a smile as she put her Poké Ball into a pocket.

"So how are you?" Rose asked the brunette, stepping away from Raihan. She glanced down at Tuff and smiled. "I see your Scorbunny evolved."

Gloria nodded. "Yeah, she and Penny evolved yesterday battling a Gyrados."

The redhead turned away. "I had a Scorbunny, back on my journey." She smiled. "He's not here though. . ."

The teen tilted her head. "What do you mean? Did you-" she thought for a second. "Did you leave him back in Sinnoh?"

The three exchanged glances, and it was Sonia who spoke up. "Anyway, Gloria. Have you found out anything more on Dynamax Energy?"

Gloria shook her head. "No. . ?"

"What about Galar's history?"

Again Gloria replied, "I haven't, sorry."

"Don't worry." Sonia clapped her hands and spun in a circle, looking around. "I wonder where Leon is, he said he'd be here by now. . ."

Raihan rolled his eyes, finally speaking up. "Psh, you know Lee. He probably fell asleep or something on his Charizard and is over in Kalos or whatever."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sonia's phone buzzed as she received a text message. Her eyes narrowed as she read it. "He's somehow somewhere snowy. Either Circhester or Crown Tundra. . ." She sighed and turned to the fanged Gym Leader.

"What?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "I suppose you want be to find him?" He sighed, already knowing the answer. He threw out a Flygon and climbed onto its back. "Fine, you guys have permission to enter the Vault while I go save your Prince Charming."

"Thank you," Sonia replied, only to freeze as what he said finally hit her. "Wait, Raihan! He's not—!" But Raihan was already up in the sky, trying to hold in his laughter. "Idiot. . ." She muttered before turning back to Gloria. "I am really sorry about all that." A sigh escaped her and her arms fell to her sides in exasperation. "If you'd like, you can come with us to the Vault."

Gloria looked down at Tuff, who was tapping her leg impatiently. "Thank you, but I'm going to have to say no. I still need to get to Stow-On-Side and battle the Leader there."

Sonia nodded, then turned to her sister. "That's fine. Ready, Rosie?"

"Of course." Rose nodded and turned to lead the way to the Vault.