[One of my amazing friends drew Kireina for me! Her @ is Mauglust on Instagram, I highly recommend checking her art out!]
"See you in Wedgehurst, Kiri!" "Don't call me that." She called after him, knowing that it wouldn't stop him. She turned to the tall grass, searching for a Rookiedee, and found one easily. She caught it within seconds. "I think I'll name you Becheep." She smiled down at the Pokeball, gently placing it in her bag. She continued to navigate through the small route, stopping once to pet a Wooloo. "Guess there aren't that many Pokemon here... Hop probably made them all faint so his Pokemon could get some more training in." Kireina sighed. "I'll just head to the lab like he said." She jogged through the rest of the route, humming to herself. As soon as she stepped into Wedgehurst, somebody let out a scream. "THE CHAMPION IS BACK!" "Figures, the second Leon breathes anywhere, people lose their minds." Kireina muttered, shifting her bag. "Hey, Kireina!" Leon waved her over.
"Looks like you made it to the lab. You did far better than I did my first time. I'm hopeless with directions. I'm glad I have Charizard here to help me." "Leon, it's a straight line, I don't know how you could get lost." Kireina smiled. "Anyway, how's Sobble doing? You get to experience so much more now that you have a Pokemon." He smiled. "I'm doing fine, and so is Sobble. It's a lot of fun so far." "Let's go in, we don't want to keep the Professor waiting." Leon pushed the door open, beckoning for Kireina to follow. A small Yamper ran up to Leon, and he knelt down to pet it. "I've got to hand it to Professor Magnolia. Everything here looks fascinating." "What is it today Leon? Looking for info on another never-before-seen superstrong Pokemon? I wish you'd stop with these outlandish requests." A tall woman spoke up from the pseudo second floor. She walked down the stairs. "This is Sonia. Yamper's trainer. What can I say about Sonia? Well I like the way she cooks. She makes food you can gobble down in a flash." Leon said. "What kind of introduction is that? Did you forget that we were rivals during our Gym Challenge? It wasn't just Yamper helping you out. I did too." She shook her head, turning to Kireina.
"Anyway, nice to meet you! Name's Sonia. I'm the professor's assistant." "This is Kireina. She's a new Pokemon trainer. Set her on the right path, would you?" Leon walked out of the lab. Sonia let out a sigh. "What does he think I am? He's always got his head in the clouds. It's no wonder he gets lost all the time." Kireina nodded. "Oh. Looks like you've got a Rotom Phone." It flew out of her jacket pocket. "Rotom phones are handy little things, aren't they? They've got a map and a navigation tool. That said, Leon gets lost, so... Oh! Sorry, got a little off topic there. So tell me, do you know a lot about Pokemon?" Sonia asked. "A little bit, not much." Kireina said. "Well, in that case, I'll make it so you can use the Pokedex on your phone." She took it for a few seconds, and handed it back. "Could you let my gran know that you received the Pokedex? She lives in the house down along Route 2." Kireina nodded, walking out of the lab.
"Hey Kiri!" Hop called from beside the Pokemon Center. "Got your Pokedex from Sonia?" "Yeah, and please don't call me Kiri." He ignored her. "Then it's time to meet lots of different Pokemon and start building up a strong team! But battling strong Pokemon in the wild can leave your team in a bad way. Not to mention what battling another trainer can do... Luckily, we've got Pokemon Centers! You ever been in one?" "Yeah." "Cool! So I don't need to show you around. I'll see you at the Professor's house!" He turned around, walking a little down the road. She jogged into the Pokemon Center, healing up her Pokemon, and walked back out again.
"You know Kiri, since you're a trainer now, you probably want to try your hand at the Gym Challenge, right?" Hop asked. "Yes! I've always wanted to, I just haven't had the chance yet." Kireina smiled. "The trick is that you have to be endorsed if you want to take part. And Lee doesn't think I'm up to par. So I'm thinking I ought to talk to the professor and see if she could help! Maybe Lee could get you an endorsement too. You and I could be rivals! A proper rival is just the thing every Trainer needs to keep growing stronger, after all. Keeps you motivated, right?" Hop paused. "Anyway, the professor's house is way down at the end of Route 2, so let's head there, and give our teams the chance to train up a bit along the way." He took off, and Kireina let out a sigh of relief for the momentary silence.
A few steps into Route 2, Hop called her over. "All right Kiri, it's time we filled in our teams a bit-" "And I'm here to teach you how!" Kireina whipped around to see Leon running up to them. "You'll need to catch Pokemon if you've got any hope of filling in that Pokedex." "Lee?! Where'd you come from?" Leon ignored Hop. "You've already caught some, Kireina. You've got some Pokeballs already, right?" "No, I used up the ones from home." "Then here, have some of mine. I've got more than enough." He handed her some. "Oh, thank you! You didn't need to do that." "It's not a problem. Really. All I ask is that you catch some Pokemon. The Pokemon around here are easy to catch. Almost like they're itching to join some Trainer's team, wouldn't you say?" he thought for a moment before walking down the route. "I'm gonna catch loads of Pokemon. The professor will be shocked when she sees!" He took off. "I swear if he's around the corner I'm going back home." She muttered. "Wonder if there's a Zigzagoon around somewhere."
"Look Kireina, it's the professor!" Hop motioned behind him, where Leon and the Professor stood. "So have you unraveled all the secrets of the Dynamax phenomenon?" "Oh goodness no. The whole thing is still full of questions. I'd hoped that my granddaughter would take over my research but..." Hop and Kireina walked up to them. "Dear me, I'm sorry. I didn't even notice my guests. My name is Magnolia. Welcome, young trainers. Now come, let's go inside." Magnolia pushed the door open, beckoning them inside. "Why Hop dear. I see Wooloo has made some new friends." She noted. "And you must be Kireina. I trust you received the Pokedex from Sonia. I'm sure you'll have it completed in no time!" "You must already know about Dynamaxing right, Kireina?" Leon asked, and she nodded. "Professor Magnolia's been doing research into the Dynamax phenomenon for years. And it takes a proper understanding of the thing if you plan to use Dynamaxing to the fullest!" Magnolia sighed. "There you go again Leon, always talking about Pokemon. There are other things that are worth knowing about, you know. Like how many different types of tea there are!" She laughed.
"Hey, Professor, do us a favor, would you? Help me convince Lee that he should endorse us for the Gym Challenge!" Hop asked. "Oh Leon, why won't you endorse them?" Magnolia asked. "Hop and Kireina only just started out as Trainers. There's still loads they don't know yet!" "Dearie, I thought your dream was to have everyone in the Galar region become strong Trainers Isn't that right?" "Well yeah... you're not wrong. That goal's exactly why I gave them both Pokemon, in fact." Leon thought for a minute. "Right then. In that case, how about this? Let's see if the two of you can show me such a brilliant battle that I'm left with no choice but to endorse you. And don't worry, I'll make sure that both of your teams are in good shape before you battle." Leon quickly healed both of their teams. "Right! I'll be waiting outside, Kiri!" Hop said, running outside.
"Hurry it up, Kiri! You've gotta battle me so I can get myself that endorsement!" Kireina let out a sigh, jogging over to the small battling area. "I'm going to become the greatest Pokemon Trainer there is! And to do that, I need that endorsement to take part in the gym challenge! Come at me with everything you've got so we can prove to Lee that we've got what it takes!" "Sure." Magnolia stood beside Leon. "I'm rather interested in seeing how you two young trainers battle too." "Hey, you two. Listen up. The reason I'm unbeatable is because I learn from every battle I see or take part in. That's how I've gotten to where I am today. So show me something good in this battle!" Leon said, a smile on his face. "It's time for my legend to begin!"
[Again, I'm gonna skip the battle because we all know how it goes]
"Dang it, I even got my Pokeball throw perfect. The sting of defeat and the joys of victory. I guess going through both is the key to the two of us getting stronger, right?" Leon walked up to them. "Kireina! Hop! After seeing a match like that one... I suppose I've got to give you both an endorsement as champion!" He handed them both a letter. "Thanks Lee! I swear I'm going to win my way through the gym challenge to reach you!" Hop grinned. "You may both be young still, and plenty rough around the edges, but it was still a proper battle!" Leon turned to Hop. "Hop, you've always tended to get caught up in things like how you throw your Pokeball out. Things like that have nothing to do with real strength. Honestly, I'd been worried about you still obsessing over that sort of nonsense, but it seems you really have grown a bit, little bro!" He glanced over at Kireina, who's eyes had misted over again. "Hey, Kireina?" He asked, and she shook her head. "Hm? Oh, I'm fine." "I'd like to see some more thrilling battles out of you too, Kireina." She nodded. "All right Kiri! You and me are going to train up against one another to aim for that champion's title!" She nodded again. "The more we keep battling against one another, the more our Pokemon will grow."
Hop glanced up at the sky, noticing two shining... things land on the ground a few meters away. He ran over to them. "Kiri! Come and look at this! They're Wishing Stars! There are two of them, you should take one yourself!" Hop handed her one, and she placed it into her bag. "With one of these, my Pokemon can Dynamax! This is gonna be amazing!" "You know, they say Wishing Stars fall down for those who have a true wish in their hearts." "I will be the greatest trainer ever! I WILL be the greatest trainer ever! I WILL BE THE GREATEST TRAINER EVER!!! There, I've said it three times, so surely my wish will come true now, right?" Hop turned to Kireina. "What about you, Kiri? You got a wish?" "I'd rather not say. Isn't there a thing where if you say it out loud, it won't come true?" Kireina said. "Maybe..." "Oh don't be silly Hop. Those Wishing Stars are composed of a curious sort of rock containing unknown power... They are one of the most precious resources we have here in the Galar region. But they won't do a thing for you in that state. Give them to me now, and I'll have you sorted." Magnolia said. "Ah, alright." Kireina and Hop handed them over.
"Seems like I came back home right in time for all the excitement!" Sonia said. "Hey, you lot, why not have some dinner? You must be hungry, right? I've been obsessed with making all the newest curries!"
Finally finished chapter three! And I'm really excited because I finally get to write the good stuff. I got a little busy the past week, that's why it took a little longer than usual to write this, but it's here now. I'm already working on chapter four, and I'm really excited for it! -G💘