Pokémon Homecoming | A Galar Fanfiction

Chapter 3: Professor Hop

Light burst through black smoke. There was a series of deafening claps. Lycanroc landed back at Abbey's feet. A whistle blew. The referee jogged onto the field. His pointed finger swept towards Abbey.

'Abbey wins!'

Lycanroc leapt to embrace its squealing Trainer.

'We won! Lycanroc, we won! We won, we won! We beat Leon! We got him!'

A Braviary swooped over to clear the smoke with Defog. Leon stared at the ground. Still, he had something else Abbey did not – the ability to compose himself and face her with a smile after a loss.

'Fantastic. Just fantastic!'

Her legs trembled as she strode to shake his hand. She forgot about Alfie. In that moment, she no longer found Leon embarrassing. The Leon she remembered was in there somewhere. She almost admired him, for he battled well and took the loss better than she could. Their handshake was warm.

'Thanks. That was fun.'

'Honestly, Abbey – I couldn't be prouder a Trainer I started out with went off to Alola and got so strong.'

He laughed, diverting his gaze. 'Still gutted, though.'

'Well, we'll have to have a rematch. Cinderace would love to settle the score with Charizard.'

His eyes glimmered. 'Oh, yes! Charizard would love that. So would I.'

The commentator's voice reverberated. 'What a thrilling match! Now...'

It meant they wanted Abbey and Leon off the pitch. He bid her goodbye. She couldn't help waving to the crowd as she strode back to the locker room.

Girl, you're acting like Leon's Celebrity Form. Don't do that.

It would take quite a while for it to sink in that Abbey not only won a battle at Wyndon Stadium, but that the Trainer she defeated was Leon, the rival she never could beat all those years ago.

***

Wheels rumbled as Abbey's train pulled into the vast Wild Area. Outside the rustic station, standing in the shade of a tree, were her new colleagues: newly qualified Professor Hop and her old friend, Sonia. Hop sprang to shake her hand.

'Hi! I'm Hop – Professor Hop!'

Abbey couldn't help smiling at his enthusiasm.

'Hi, Hop. I'm Abbey. Professor Hawthorn.'

'So you beat my big bro, huh?'

'Oh, Leon? Yeah. I forgot you're his brother.'

Hop beamed. 'So you've heard of just Professor Hop – not Leon's brother!'

Sonia approached with a wry smile. 'Hop has defeated Leon now, after all.'

'Yeah, but Lee is still the greatest!'

Sonia pulled Abbey into a hug. She smelled of candy, like she always did.

'Can't believe I'm back here.'

Sonia tutted. 'I can't believe you never came back!'

'Back to the land of Jules and my aunt? You're really surprised?'

'So,' Hop interjected, 'That hot International Police officer tells us there might be weirdos in a factory near Motostoke, abusing Dynamax Pokémon to produce energy.'