"Bye mum!" Gloria yelled as she closed the front door behind her. With a quick pace she hurried towards Wedgehurst following the quiet country roads of Postwick. In her arms she was safely holding the Shinx that someone dropped in front of her house yesterday. She was meeting with Hop in one hour, but she insisted to go and see Sonia first to tell her about this Shinx. Maybe the new professor had a clue about who the Shinx belonged to and what it was doing on the mainland of Galar. Shinx wasn't native to this enormous island after all. It could be found at the Isle of Armor though! Gloria asked Victor to go with her, but her twin brother always had trouble with waking up early in the morning.
Her mum made her some old fashioned Galarian breakfast, it's been awhile since she had breakfast at home. Gloria nearly drooled when she thought about her mum's cooking skills. It was one of the things she longed the most for when she was away from home to train and work. Her mum even made her starter Pokémon, Inteleon, a plate!
After a good fifteen minutes of walking she got close to her destination. The brown haired girl stood still at the entrance of Wedgehurst. She was standing in the middle of the old stone bridge and gazed around the town. She was wearing her cozy grey parka with her usual pink dress underneath it, combined with some plaid-green socks and her sturdy brown boots. It was the same outfit she wore while she was doing the gymchallenge. The only difference in appearance was her hair. She decided to grow it out for the first time in her life! In one year it grew from chin length to shoulder length! She looked down at the Shinx that was comfortably laying in her arms.
"You still doing okay little guy?" She asked him in a sweet voice.
"Prrr!" Shinx responded happily.
Gloria smiled sweetly at him and started to walk towards the Pokémon lab. The young champion suddenly felt a strange chill going through her spine. It was the same feeling she got as she walked home yesterday from Wedgehurst station, as if she was being watched! She quickened up her pace. The young girl looked through the ivy covered windows of the lab, but saw no one inside yet although the lights were on. Gloria glanced at Shinx a little bit, who looked back up at her with big curious eyes. The champion looked around the area with caution. She alarmedly pulled open the door of the lab when she saw a strange figure standing against a nearby streetlantern, doing nothing but glaring at her from a distance. Gloria was sure, this was the person that's been following her yesterday too! She hurried herself inside and immediately closed the door of the lab shut, holding onto the Shinx tightly. The brunette champion turned around with her back against the closed frontdoor. She let out a deep sigh and looked up.
"Sup mate." Hop said. He suddenly was standing in front of her!
"Aaah!" Gloria screamed and leaped up high in the air as she got startled by him.
Hop laughed out loud and put one hand on her shoulder. Gloria turned beet red out of shame. Her heart was beating loudly in her chest.
"Didn't expect you here today tho... What are you doing here on your day off?" Gloria asked him once she had calmed down.
Hop scratched his head awkwardly and walked towards the coffee table. He grabbed a few papers and handed them to Gloria so she could read them. Gloria grabbed the papers carefully, but before she could put her eyes on them Hop suddenly grabbed the scared Shinx out of Gloria's arms.
"Wow! Is that a Shinx? Where did you catch him? Ya went to the Isle of Armor again?" He excitedly asked her.
Gloria shook her head and frowned at her best friend. "Oi! Go easy on him! Besides, it's not my Pokémon..."
Hop put the blue baby Pokémon on the table and raised one eyebrow at Glodia out of curiosity. "Is it Victor's?"
"Nope." Gloria shook her head.
"Eh? Who's that?" Hop interrupted the conversation as he pointed to one of the windows near the front entrance.
Gloria turned around and saw someone standing near the window. As soon as the stranger was being pointed at he fled. Hop ran towards the door and opened it to see who it was. He opened up the door and saw no one. Gloria stiffened up and shared a worried look with Shinx. Perhaps it was the stranger that kept stalking her?
"How strange..." Hop mumbled as he walked back next to Gloria.
Gloria started to feel a bit unwell. She backed up a little bit towards the wall.
"Could it be..." Hop muttered as he took a few steps closer towards Gloria, causing her to face the wall with her back. "That you've got a secret lover you ain't telling me about?" Hop teasingly asked her.
He had her pushed against the wall. His hands were next to her face, keeping her pinned down. Gloria knew that he was only teasing her, but she could sense of worry in his eyes. She turned red. Perhaps he was jealous?
"Eh, Hop you're getting... Too close..." Gloria mumbled shyly.
Her face was heating up when Hop moved his face even closer to hers. His forehead was touching hers now, his piercing yellow eyes were locked with her large brown bambi eyes.
"I... Wouldn't date anyone else than yo-" Gloria put her hands on her mouth and looked away once she realized what she just said. "Anyone at all! As a champion I don't have time for that ya know..." She corrected herself.
Hop started to blush too and immediately backed away from Gloria.
"A-Anyways..." Hop cleared his throat and softly grabbed the paper from Gloria's hands. "Last night my Powerspot detector suddenly went off, but when I went to look for it it started moving around! I made a small report for it so..."
Gloria stood next to Hop so she could read the papers too out of curiosity. She tilted her head to the side.
"Wait, the Powerspot detector send you to my house first? Before I arrived at home, is that correct?" Gloria asked with glinstering eyes.
"Yea, but I don't see-"
"So! That means that it could have something to do with Shinx here! Some bastard left this poor creature on my doorstep yesterday, nurse Joy said that it's wounds were caused by a human you see..." Gloria explained.
Hop turned to Shinx right away, who was still looking around the strange room. The small Pokémon backed away in fear and started to tremble a little. Hop lowered himself and placed his hands on his knees.
"Don't worry little one! I'm sorry for picking you up so suddenly mate!" He soothingly said while sticking out one of his hands to the Pokémon so he could get used to his scent.
The Shinx got closer and sniffed his hand.
"I'm going to train him." Gloria determinedly said while Hop was still busy getting Shinx to recognize his scent.
"I'm going to train him so that we can kick whomever did this to him's bum!" the brunette girl continued with gritted teeth.
A few days passed by peacefully. Gloria spend most of her free time training Shinx together with Victor. She would often go to the Pokémon lab and hang around Hop for a while, helping him with his research. Shinx got stronger and stronger. He was still very timid towards strangers, but has put his full trust in Gloria and the people around her. Gloria was walking home from a small cafe in Wedgehurst. She decided to take Shinx along so he could get a treat for all the hard work he's been doing! She was nearing the start of the route that leads to her house now. Shinx was laying in her arms, purring happily. A big shadow suddenly loomed over them. Gloria could feel her heart beating loudly in her chest. She clenched onto Shinx tightly and turned around with a wide swing, ready to battle whomever was behind her. All she could think about was the stranger that was watching her the past few days. She felt as if everytime she went outside there was someone nearby, keeping an eye on her. Last night she even thought someone was watching her from her bedroom window! Gloria let out a deep sigh and shook her head once she saw who was standing behind her. It was the former champion and Hop's older brother, Leon!
"Hey champ! Didn't mean to scare ya!" The tall boy laughed with a big grin on his face.
Gloria just pouted and turned away with an annoyed glance in her eyes. She took a deep breath and shook her head.
"The legendary hero of the Galar region, Gloria, gets frightened by a tall dude! I can already see the headline!" Leon teased her with a wide grin on his face.
Gloria carefully put the Shinx on the ground beside her and clenched her fist. She had a glance in her eye that could kill!
"Why you..." She groaned as she ran forwards, ready to hit her friend in the stomach.
Leon stopped her by placing his hand atop of her head. He was tall enough to create a distance big enough between them that Gloria's fists couldn't reach him. He laughed loudly.
"Gloria, you're too cute!"
Gloria stopped squirming and crossed her arms together. She opened up her mouth to speak but was stopped by someone tapping Leon's shoulder. The young champions eyes brightened up immediately. Shinx and Gloria shared a look together and smiled brightly. It was Hop! He pushed his brother aside and wrapped his arm around Gloria's neck. He pulled the girl close against his chest while grinning at his big brother.
"She really is tho!" He agreed with him.
Leon and Hop nodded at each other in agreement. Gloria started to blush a little and tried to squirm herself out of Hop's arms. She felt too embarrassed, if Leon saw her being flustered like this by Hop's words and actions he would tease her for sure!
Out of nowhere, the Power Spot detector in Hop's pocket started to beep loudly. He grabbed it and the trio started to look around in confusion.
"Gloria!" Hop yelled in total panic.
The young champion turned around and saw a mad, red glowing Corviksquire flying her way at extreme speed. Leon reached for his pokeball to throw out his Charizard, but Hop was faster. He jumped towards Gloria, tackling her to the ground to avoid her getting hit by the speeding Pokémon. The two trainers landed on the ground, Hop was hovering above her with his upper body to shield her. The Corviksquire crashed down at the ground where Gloria was standing before.
"What just happened? Are you two okay?" Leon asked with worry in his voice once the dust had settled a little bit.
Hop stood back up and reached out his hand to Gloria. She stood up too with his help, but couldn't stand straight. Her knee was scraped badly and was starting to bleed really bad.
"Hold onto me, mate. " Hop softly hushed as he wrapped his arm around her waist to hold her up.
The Corviksquire jumped up again. It's eyes were beaming red. Although it was gravely wounded it flew up in the sky again and speeded towards Gloria to attack her once again.
Shinx jumped inbetween Gloria and the red glowing Corviksquire. With a loud roar the Shinx started to emit a nearly blinding white light. It was standing in front of the champion, it's paws widely spread to protect his new trainer with his life. It's body started to grow bigger and bigger. The three trainers watched in amazement at the sight of the evolving Pokémon. The light dissappeared. The small, weak and helpless little Shinx was no more. It was a Luxio now!
"Shinx, I mean, Luxio!" Gloria yelled at the Pokémon with pride shining in her eyes.
Luxio started to run straight towards the mad Corviksquire and jumped up high in the air. Sparks started to fly around the blue Pokémons body the higher it got in the sky! With another loud roar it summoned a thunderbolt from the sky, hitting the speedy Corviksquire with a loud bang. Hop held onto Gloria tightly, holding the arm that was still free in front of her face so the dust wouldn't come into her eyes. Once the dust had settled Leon immediately kneeled down next to the fainted Corviksquire. Hop hurried himself towards the Luxio, dragging Gloria along with him.
"The red glow dissappeared..." Leon said while holding his chin with curiosity.
His eyes immediately averted to the wounded Champion and his own little brother.
"How odd..." He mumbled as he held the fainted Corviksquire in his arms.
Hop looked at his brother with a determined face. "We should take it to the lab. We can also tend to your wounds, Glo."
Gloria shook her head. Her eyes were shining with pride at the Luxio she was training. The blue pokemon walked over towards Hop and Gloria.
"You're really amazing, Luxio! You evolved just to save me!" She proudly complimented the Pokémon.
The three of them arrived at the lab after a short walk. They were close by, since the lab was just a few minutes away from the entrance of Wedgehurst. Hop carried Gloria all the way over there and put her atop of the table. Her knee had stopped bleeding but the wound was deep. Leon glanced around the lab a few times.
"Sonia ain't here?" He asked with curiosity.
He started to wander around a little, exploring the empty Pokémon lab.
Hop shook his head. He grabbed a small box from a counter and walked over to Gloria.
"She went home early today! Somethin' to do with helping miss Magnolia around the house!" The young purple haired explained his brother.
In his hand he was holding a wet cloth now. He sat down on the floor so he was at the same height as Gloria's legs now. The two kids glanced at each other and locked eyes for a few seconds. Their cheeks started to turn red. Gloria glanced away awkwardly, realizing the situation they were both in. Hop cleared his throat and softly grabbed her sleek yet muscular leg with his free hand.
"T-This may sting a little..." He warned her in a soft voice as he pressed the wet cloth against the wound on her knee.
Gloria bit her lip and moved her head away to hide her pain. It stung a lot! The brunette girl clenched her fists on the table until the stinging got away. Hop put the cloth away after dabbing it a few times onto the wound. He gulped and put a sterile plaster atop of the wound. He gave her upper legs a few soft pats as he stood up and grabbed one of her hands softly. Gloria shyly looked at him from the corner of her eyes and turned beet red. She had to get rid off the tension!
"Sure you're gonna be the next professor, Hop? Nurse Hop seems to fit you perfectly as well." She teasingly said to him as she gave his hand a quick squeeze.
Hop laughed and opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Leon.
"I can't manage to capture this Corviksquire, do you think it belongs to a trainer?" He asked the young teens as he walked back into the room.
Gloria tilted her head and pointed at Luxio.
"Luxio belongs to a trainer too! It was left on my doorstep a few days ago... Oi wait a minute!" the brunette girl trailed off and jumped off of the table.
"Oi, Gloria!" Hop alarmedly yelled at her while reaching out his hand to her.
The young girl landed on her two feet. She had trouble standing still on her wounded leg, but pushed through anyway.
"Didn't you say that on the night I returned home your powerspot detector went off too, right? Perhaps it was Luxio too! What do you think buddy?" She turned her head to the blue Pokémon, who just gave a little roar in agreement.
Hop and Leon glanced at each other, and Hop's eyes sparked up immediately!
"Mate you're a genius!" Hop complimented her.
The young girl put her hands on her waist and puffed out her chest with pride. "duh."
"Oh!" She continued. "Remember when I told you about that stranger that was taking pictures of me when I was hanging out with Milo?"
Leon spoke up. "Ah, he u Jr u upactually told me about that! Milo said that the guy was seen looking around the gym a few times before completely dissappearing!"
Hop placed his hand on his chin and started to think. "Also this morning! There was someone standing in the window, just staring at us!"
Gloria nodded and took a step backwards. "Actually, I've got the feeling that someone's been following me around the past few days..." her voice trailed off awkwardly and she looked away.
Hop and Leon gave each other a worried look.
"I thought I saw him standing by my house yesterday... Victor sleeps in my room now too, so I feel safer now. And I've got my Pokémon too of course!" The champion continued.
Hop grabbed her shoulders and squinted his eyes at her.
"Mate you should've told me sooner!" He scolded her as he shook her back and forth angrily.
Leon stood closer to Gloria and folded his arms together. "There must be some connection to this. I mean, you've got Eternatus tamed after all! The red light, the power spot detector and those two already captured Pokémon... " He started to mumble at the end of his sentence.
"More importantly, you shouldn't be left alone anymore. Whenever you have to go somewhere or have to do something, ask Victor to go with you. If Victor can't come I'll make sure someone else can." Leon said.
Hop let go of Gloria's shoulders and grabbed her wrist instead. He looked at her with determined eyes.
"I'll be sure not to leave you alone either!" He promised her.
Gloria smiled sweetly at her friends.
"I understand your concern, but I've got my Pokémon too! I'm sure no one dares to mess with the Champions Pokémon after all!"
Leon gave her a soft karate chop on her head. "Don't be so stubborn, champ!" He scolded her with a frown.
Hop agreed with his big brother. "I will be researching this, so don't worry! I'll inform Sonia tomorrow, the Corviksquire can stay here for the night. I'm sure Sonia wouldn't mind!"
Gloria didn't respond. She looked at Luxio and opened up her arms wide so the Pokémon could jump into them. Luxio doubted for a second, he got bigger now after all! The Pokémon decided to make the jump anyway, and Gloria caught him like it was nothing. Gloria smiled, she finally faced Hop and Leon. She tilted her head a little bit and nodded at the same time as Luxio did.
"Let's solve this mystery together!"