Crossovers

Rosemary was dragged alongside her self proclaimed best friend and newly minted rival (only, why?) but it wasn’t like she really minded. Just the same she didn’t mind being confused for a boy with Hop’s nickname of ‘Ro’ instead of the more common moniker of Rose or Mary, given the same always happened back home when she was young too. She was just considered very pretty faced, with her mop of curls and long lashes framing pale green eyes. Here she didn’t have to wear Dud’s castoffs though, and no robes or the like to be found. It was still easier, she thought, to shop from both the boy and girl sections and she did usually frequent the former more than the latter. Jeans, a plain black sleeveless turtleneck over an athletics bra that securely contained and sort of hid the breasts she was developing, and sturdy ankle boots and a soft loose knitted parka or fuzzy pastel coat over it tended to be her easiest go-to and she was more often in trousers than skirts, skorts or dresses given that Hop and her tended to run around a lot. Or, he tended to drag her along with him at any rate. She thought he must have been pretty lonely beforehand, given the way he’d latched onto her but he wasn’t bad. A little overzealous sometimes, sure, and maybe a little too obsessed with his brother’s Champion title but he was an alright sort. And at a year and a half younger than her at thirteen, absolutely raring to go on the Gym circuit. Rosemary hadn’t really been interested in it at all, but she did like watching the Pokémon battles sometimes.

But she really didn’t know if Hop was ready for something like that given that he only had a Wooloo and didn’t seem all that interested in catching anything else. Not even a particularly strong Pokémon at that, the bizarre ‘level’ system that only she could see. When she’d asked Hop about it, he seemed to just lump it in with the rest of her ‘psychic’ abilities. Another bizarre phenomenon of her new life- no magic as she had known it before. Instead, things like electric rodents and flame maned horses. Although the fire horses weren’t fiery in Galar, their local flavor was more unicorn like. Except pastel and Fairy typed. But well, it’s not like there aren’t people willing to trade Pokémon over countries and continents- it was only a real bother when it disallowed certain Pokémon breeds for environmental reasons. She would have loved to have a Seviper or Arbok after all. As it were, she could find a Silicobra but the issue was that no one wanted to trade one for something like the Pokémon to be found on Route 1. At least no one she could find anyways. As it stood she had a shiny Espurr named Primrose, Prim for short that she absolutely was not willing to trade. Even so, her mother didn’t want her going beyond Wedgehurst. Given what spotty memories she’d absorbed when coming to in this world, the woman’s worry stemmed from a younger her getting lost in the Slumbering Weald before they’d moved into gram-gram’s house here in Postwick. And they did only come recently, after her mother inherited the house. Maybe two years about and in those two years, she and her mother had managed to miss Galar Champion Leon whenever he visited. Whether it was only an afternoon the busy traveling Champion visited or for holidays, she and her mother both had been out. Visiting her other granny in Kalos (who’d given her Prim) or the occasional trip to Motostoke when Wedgehurst didn’t have quite what her mother needed to buy, they always conveniently avoided the Champion. Her mother did seem a little dodgy on that front, actively pulling her away somewhere when she heard Leon would be visiting from Hop’s mum, Ms. Linda. Didn’t want her to really participate in the Gym going either, which Rosemary didn’t mind but Hop did.

She did finally meet his famous brother, and had even gotten a Pokémon from him alongside Hop- personally she thought her fiery bunny was cuter than his Grookey and given she had defeated Hop with the newly acquired Pokémon immediately, without even bringing out Prim, taking out both his Wooloo and new partner with her Scorbunny Firethorn. She wasn’t sure what he expected trying to put his Grass type against a Fire type but whatever. It didn’t dampen his spirits any at least.

It felt like no time at all before they were being pulled off the station to the Wild Area- though why they didn’t seem able to herd the Wooloo that had stopped them there rather than Motostoke proper was a little bit aggravating. Hop, as she had come to expect from knowing him, ran off almost as soon as they got out the station. No patience, that one. After a brief chat with Sonia, she set off herself.

xXx

“Hoothoot, Nickit, Blipbug, Zigzagoon, Yamper, Chewtle, Rookidee, Purrloin, Lotad, Wooloo, Combee, Bunnelby, Vanilite, Mudbray, Stufful, Delibird, Oddish, Shellder, Natu, Wooper, Swinub, Budew, Stunky, Pancham, Bounsweet, Silicobra, Hatenna…” she muttered to herself, flicking through her party and the boxes from the attachment Sonia had given her. “The first Gym is Grass, no issue there with Firethorn…” the Pokémon’s ears perked up from where he was napping against the fuzzy fluffy softness of her jacket. She tweaked the long ear fondly and then then got bullied into petting Prim again where she was curled partially inside her jacket. Hop had said shinies like Prim, Pokémon with abnormal coloring, were rare but she had found a shiny Wooloo almost instantly when she thought to try to catch a Wooloo to add to her Pokédex so maybe it was more just a fluke than anything. And that shiny Hatenna came from one of those glowing Dens so it probably didn’t count, or maybe they were more common in Dens than elsewhere? She didn’t know.

She probably shouldn’t have stayed the past two days here but there was just so much to explore and poke around. And she was glad she had those Pokédolls given that she had wandered off into areas where there were much stronger Pokémon roaming around. Just the same, there were a lot of...Things lying about. Whether a previous Trainer forgot it or lost it, or maybe a Pokémon found it and then lost interest and dropped it somewhere or apples or leeks or thick roots she could cook with. There were things just lying amok every other corner it seemed. Some she could probably sell for quite a pretty amount of coin- and she would because while she seemed to find heaps of Pokéballs and sometimes Great and even Ultra balls in places she shouldn’t be sneaking around in, she’d like to have a steady stack ready. And potions, for all these bitter energy roots were good for them they seemed to taste horrid. The only ones who didn’t balk at the taste or smell tended to be Grass types and even so, it was easier to have a supply of potions than root around for bitter roots. For now, before she finally entered Motostoke, she was taking the calm warmish afternoon to think about the coming Gyms. Her mother had been hesitant about letting her go but Ms. Linda and Hop, maybe even Leon must have gotten to her a little bit and let her go. She wasn’t sure why the woman was so hesitant because she had suggested she just accompany Hop around but not participate. Not that Hop would have had that, too set on having a friendly rival and competing together.

Maybe it had something to do with the Chairman? Rosemary didn’t think her mother knew that she knew, but the few letters she kept locked up in her room had not been free of Rosemary’s exploratory sweep when she ‘woke up’ in this world. A brief affair and from what she could gather, the Chairman had no idea she existed. Suppose some of her looks had to come from somewhere, given her mother didn’t have green eyes or black hair- only very dark brown with hazel eyes. Brown skinned, dark haired and with bright eyes, the one photo her mother kept locked up was of a younger version of her and the Chairman both, back when the woman lived more often in Kalos than Galar. A short lived but fulfilling whirlwind romance- with a surprise memento in the form of a baby. She didn’t think her mother really had to worry about that- while she had a number of the same looks, green eyes or brightly colored eyes against darker skin wasn’t as uncommon here as it was in her old world, for one. And while she was very pretty, it could just as easily just be a passing similarity with the different shape of her eyes and curly hair, the shape of her jaw different and her stature on the smaller, pear-shaped side like her mother and a little darker than him just the same. Hardly enough to warrant much beyond a little ‘huh, weird resemblance’ if she were to stand next to the Chairman. If anything, her face and eyes more resembled Peony’s than it did Rose’s for the slant of her eyes and high cheekbones, though less of the longer masculine faces they had and more a soft oval shape. And with her piercings and generally docile, doll-like expression it wasn’t as immediately obvious.

Rosemary wasn’t particularly worried about being identified as the Chairman’s secret child, not like her mother was.

But back to planning out some of the coming Gyms. She would undoubtedly catch or trade more Pokémon so this was really just a recap of the types used but it seemed such a lovely day to spend in the Wild Area just a little bit longer.

“So, Milo and Grass types, Nessa and Water types, Kabu and Fire and then...Bea or Allister but I think this cycle it’s Allister and his ghosts...And then Opal with Fairy types, and then Circhester with- Gordie was in the past cycle so his mum Melony and her Ice types this round. Piers with Dark types- d’you think I could manage an autograph from him?” she asked her napping Pokémon idly. “His music’s like a mix of Weird Sisters and grunge. Might seem a little weird to ask before a battle though...His uncle is a Dark type Trainer too, used to be an Elite Four member in Unova but I think he stepped down. And then Raihan with Dragon types.”

xXx

Rosemary stepped into Motostoke with a handful of new Pokémon and a few eggs that hadn’t hatched yet besides the other Pokémon she caught on her way to the steps to Motostoke. Trading didn’t always mean hatched or foreign Pokémon but finding reputable Breeders that wouldn’t try to con potential trades was usually a hassle.

Still, she now had a Snom (that yes, she was carrying around with her- the fluffy fuzzy jacket protected her well enough from the chill of ice) and a Larvesta, she had her Silicobra, and a foreign Ponyta, one of the ones with flame and fire. She also got an Impidimp, cute little rascal. A Noibat, and a Kanto Meowth which was actually a lot different from the Meowths she knew in Galar which then led her to also hunt down an Alolan Meowth egg to have as well. Most assuredly worth the aggravation of catching three Purrloins for to trade though why they needed three she had no clue. From that same Breeder she also got a Litten in exchange for a male and female Espurr; they muchly liked cat like and cat type Pokémon.

Of the three, she found herself more prone to doting on the Alolan Meowth, it’s easy demeanor and lap-cat attitude rather charming and it’s silver-blue fur rather eye-catching. Kanto Meowth seemed a little more energetic while the homegrown Galarian were...Well they were closer to wildcats. Small wildcats but wildcats nonetheless and they very notably did not get on very well with the two other forms of Meowth. There was also a Breeder out in the Wild Area that she was able to connect through and get herself both a Grookey and Sobble of her own though she hadn’t hatched them yet.

As it stood, her party at the moment consisted of Firethorn her just evolved Raboot, Prim the shiny Espurr, a Bounsweet named Zinnia, the Noibat Lilac, Cosmos the Stufful, and the shiny Hatenna, Helle, short for Hellebore. Her Snom, Snowdrop, wasn’t actually part of her current team (though she did still sneakily level up in time with the others in party).

She was met in Motostoke by Sonia calling her over and giving her a League Card sample, and Leon’s League card. Once Rosemary was done in the PokéCenter, Sonia pointed out the giant cog thing and reminded her not to forget to register at the Stadium before swanning off to the local boutique. And really she would have gone register but then her mum called and asked her to pick something up and a little hop from the station was practically no time at all-

But somehow she ended up getting sucked into something else. Hop might be a little cross with her when she finally dragged herself to the Stadium but she did have those passes and there were plenty wicked Pokémon, supposedly, at the Isle of Armor. She’ll just pop in, grab a few and then register. And maybe then come back after for something a little more thorough. Besides, that Avery character was delightful looking and almost immediately she began to rotate her own Pokéballs around her after he left.

But then a Dojo hopeful had stepped back, intimidated by Avery who-…

Well he seemed very distraught at her own show of psychic powers and turned away to mutter to himself. Only, not very sneakily.

“I can hear you, y’know.” she called but maybe his hair was blocking his hearing because he didn’t seem to hear her. Or maybe he had some minor hearing damage? Lip reader? Nonetheless he mistook her for the new student and went outside to battle her. Except he loudly muttered that he would show her who the better Trainer was rather menacingly. Perhaps she could see why that young man hesitated given how spirited Avery seemed. As it turned out though he really wasn’t all that strong at all and after beating him, she listened to another little rant that he seemed to think was quiet enough not to hear. He did give her a fancy Style Card though and it has been a little while since she visited and bought from any boutiques before he ran off with a flimsy lie.

She quickly learned she would not be leaving the Isle as quickly as she thought- like the Wild Area there was just too much to see, too much to find and she may have accidentally been recruited by the Dojo. A Dojo run by former Fighting Gym Leader and former record holding Champion Mustard at that- and meeting and helping Hyde after he gave her some bit of tech to muster more experience per fight. Well, the registration starts in a few days, Hop was just too excited to wait. Good that they took the time to mess about in the Wild Area to try to make their teams stronger anyways she supposed.

xXx

“Seems sort of dumb, I think.” she kicked her feet next to Avery who turned to her and his flair for dramatics made her giggle. “Maybe you have an aspect aside from telekinesis that they’re not familiar with? And that aside, telekinesis is a powerful ability and certainly nothing to scoff at.”

“Oh what do you know? You didn’t come from a long line of psychic Gym Leaders.” he grumbled sullenly.

“Exactly.” she spared a rare grin for him. “I grew up with- mostly everyday folk.” not really sure living with the region’s Professor and the Champion’s family constituted exactly everyday but aside from the titles they really were just regular people. “And anyone and everyone else is usually plenty impressed by any sort of psychic power. It’s what happened here too right? People being in awe of your power? And you have such good control of it too, even keeping it up around your hat most times. If your family can’t see your talents just because they can do more, they don’t sound much like a family at all.”

“...Yeah?”

“You can always visit my mum in Postwick.” she went on. Her mother tended to worry but she was a friendly, bright woman and she would no doubt love to chat with someone as interesting as Avery. “Come for holidays too if you want. Your house seems like it would be too stiff and that’s no way to enjoy festivity.” she scrunched up her nose.

“You aren’t trying to set me up with your mum are you?” he asked warily and she snorted, then burst into more giggles. “Just because I’m a few years older than you doesn’t mean I’m that old.”

“No, you ah, you aren’t her type.” she offered. She knew what it was like to have a family that looked down on her after all and while clearly Avery’s family situation was much different, it no doubt weighed very heavily on Avery. Her mum would get lonely just by herself anyways. “Besides, it’s just mum and I so it would be more fun I think if we had someone else with us.” she shrugged.

“Well...I suppose since you seem so insistent…” he coughed into his fist slightly but she could tell he was pleased. “You’re not so bad Rosemary.”

“Glad to hear it.” she said cheekily. He’d become her newest self-declared rival and she hoped he would get to be a Gym Leader and show his family what they were missing out on.

xXx

“Oh. I don’t think I thought this through.” she mumbled to herself as she checked over her Pokémon. They were...Largely much stronger than they needed to be. Well at least she thought to toss her Pokéballs with telekinesis so she could hold both Snowdrop and her Pincurchin Jambu. Only they were so cute and holdable. “Maybe I should rotate them more? But I don’t want to put Firethorn or Prim away again…” she frowned, dressed in plaid monotone trousers and red loafers though she kept her super fluffy jacket and black sleeveless turtleneck. She’d gotten a new set of some clothes from a lost designer before returning from the Isle of Armor but it was rather...Loud. Vivid. Hop wouldn’t wear a hat but maybe the shirt or jacket? She would offer them to him when she next saw him. Which, as it turned out, was as soon as she entered the Motostoke Stadium. She did pay some attention to the time to make sure she got there after all. She hoped Hop took that handful of days to work on his team like she did, even if he didn’t go to the Isle of Armor, and didn’t focus on something silly like thinking up one-liners or poses. He did take the presentation part of it pretty seriously.

“Your brother got lost again.” she told him as soon as she was within hearing range and Hop was suitably distracted from where he was clearly going to ask about her two cute Pokémon. For the moment she settled her Pokéballs in her bag since she wouldn’t be fighting anyone. Also because Jambu kept trying to eat them when they got close enough which while cute, was not on.

“Wha- but how?! There’s a huge cog smack in the middle of Motostoke!” Hop groaned. “No matter which way you come in, the Stadium is always dead ahead!”

“Don’t worry, his Charizard is responsible enough for the both of them and helped lead the way.”

“And thank goodness for that.” he grumbled before visibly perking up. “So, are you ready for our names to be put out there?! Aw, I know I’m gonna have so many fans I’ll have to fight them off like Lee does!” Hop babbled dreamily.

“Have to get registered first.” she pointed out and he blinked, coming out of whatever weird reverie he’d been in to beam at her.

“You bet! Time for my legend to begin!” he crowed. To be honest, she was a little surprised that he wasn’t already mobbed. He was clearly related to Leon, one good look saw the resemblance. Maybe it was the lack of cap and cape.

She hated Leon’s cape. The endorsements on it anyways, she would love a fur trimmed cape to swish around dramatically sometimes.

As they went up to the front desk, a taller boy with fluffy pale curls and purple-silvery eyes shoulder checked Hop as he moved and the only thought in her head was ‘human Espurr’ so she couldn’t commiserate with Hop over it. Hop heckled the poor desk man for a few moments while he tried to get them signed in and she pondered what number she wanted to use while Hop had her name put down as ‘Ro’ instead of her full name while she was distracted. Something in her whispered seven- it was such a prominent number in her life before. She ignored that though and went for classic 13. She was surprised it hadn’t been registered already but it was no skin off her nose. After that was time to move to the Inn, where she was escorted by one of the officials and, unfortunately, there was a hold up at the desk. Not that she had noticed at first, listening to Sonia talking about the heroes and storms and Darkest Day. Sounded suspiciously like something prophecy like and Rosemary wasn’t terribly excited about that. But, she mused, it shouldn’t fall to her anyways. There should be reasonably adept adults around from what she’d seen.

The ones making a fuss at the front desk and not letting anyone sign in though…

“You’re from Spikemuth aren’t you?” she asked them, recognizing the style and outfits from both last year’s cycle and as background dancers and rotating band members from Piers’ more popular videos. “And from that symbol- Trainers there. Should you be obstructing official registered challengers like this?” she asked them and watched them seem to freeze and fidget at her call out. “You could get Piers in trouble doing that y’know? Someone makes a complaint about Spikemuth Gym Trainers harassing or stopping Gym Challenge goers.”

“Erk..! Oi, just who d’ya think you are anyways?” one of them grumbled in nervous agitation.

“S-sorry fer gettin’ in your way…” they slunk off.

“Ah, thank you.” the worker sighed before putting on a kind smile and they got to actually sign into the Inn for the night. She pulled out her Pokémon in her room so they could explore it curiously though Prim was quick to curl up against her under her jacket. Sleep in a strange place usually wasn’t so easy for her, which was awful when she’d first woken up but the warmth and weight of her Pokémon helped to get her to sleep in no time. It was bright and early when Hop found her and slammed into her room to get her which, of course, startled her Pokémon a fair bit. Oh, she thought. Most of them hadn’t met Hop yet. It was a bizarre notion, given he’d quickly made himself a cozy place in her life.

“What’s all this?! You certainly got busy out in the Wild Area didn’t you?” he blinked in shock and she sat up, stretching leisurely. Her sleep-clothes consisted of a super fluffy and soft pullover that was at least two sizes too big and some flowy sleep shorts for maximum comfort.

“It’s alright, that’s my best mate Hop.” she told her tense Pokémon while Prim complained about being jostled from her place before turning to her friend, her Pokémon wandering closer in curiosity. Firethorn and Prim both already knew Hop, Prim better than Firethorn naturally. She noted the slightly dismayed look on Hop’s face. He hadn’t been quite so busy as he put it by the looks of it and she sighed, pulling the silky cap from her head. It was something her mother insisted on for good hair care and it had been easily integrated enough in her body and the memories she’d gotten that it was routine by now. Her curls had never been so pretty and healthy as in this new life. Best not to mention the Isle of Armor then. He might not have had a pass to it. “Why don’t you get acquainted with them and your Pokémon? I’ll go get ready.” she yawned.

xXx

She and Hop got changed and soon they were waiting for their cue to step out onto the Field. She heard them introduce the Gym Leaders and noted Piers’ absence. Shame, she though to herself idly. When they did make it out, the roar of the crowds above and the openness of the field (for Dynamaxing no doubt) made her pause a few moments like it did most of the others. She peered across the seven present Gym Leaders curiously. It was Allister and Melony’s cycle this time. They weren’t out for long though besides the Chairman making a few speeches and a quick run down of the challengers, not even bothering with names or numbers for the moment.

Soon after they got to leave and redress in their own clothes Leon seemed to actually find his way into the building and on his heels was Chairman Rose.

“You’ve made it at last Hop!” Leon led brightly as though he would have been on time without Charizard’s interference. “And you too Ro!”

“So you’re the two Trainers our Champion endorsed himself!” the Chairman stepped closer. “Welcome, and it’s a delight to meet you! I’m Rose, of course. Oh, and what’s this?! I see you both already possess Dynamax Bands!” he noted without actually looking at them. “How wonderful! It seems you two have been led here by the guiding light of the Wishing Stars. By the way, it was my wonderful company that invented those Dynamax Bands, you know!” he told them, jolly enough. “I daresay this year’s Gym Challenge is looking to be an absolute blast! Very good- very good indeed! That means the whole Galar region is in for some excitement! The Gym Challenge is an excellent opportunity to show off your Dynamax Pokémon! Now, I’m terribly sorry, but there is some urgent business I need to attend to, so I must be on my way. The best of luck to both of you!” and with that he was off in long graceful strides. Suppose a CEO/politician/business owner must be pretty busy, what with his company owning most large businesses in Galar.

“Huh. Kinda looked like you, Ro without all the face glitter you got. Weird.” Hop mused before Leon caught their attention.

“The Chairman certainly seems to be in high spirits! Now, listen closely you two. You’ve both only just started on your path as Trainers. If you want to win, you need to do more than just train your Pokémon. You need to train yourselves too.”

What sort of vague advice was that meant to be, she thought to herself dubiously. Suppose for him it was about reaching the broadest audience, the Champion persona melding into who he was. Hop didn’t seem put off by the sweeping generalizations that offered no real advice anyways.

“Let’s do it, Ro! You know the Gym Challenge has a set order that you’ve gotta visit the Gyms in right? The first is in Turffield! And to get there, we need to head to Route 3!”

Hop immediately darted off to go to the Inn, she lingered a little, wandering around the room to talk to some of the other Trainers. While technically anyone eleven and older could compete, they weren’t really normally seen in the competition, usually too green or plucked out before getting far even if they might happen to get an endorsement. There were exceptions of course- Allister specifically was ten when he entered on a loophole and he swapped back and forth with Bea during Gym circuits. But mostly it was young teens up to adults. Some joined purely for the chance to roam Galar with the luck of a sponsor or just to test their mettle without any real ambition of getting to the Finals at all.

The Espurr looking boy was unfortunately smarmy and arrogant, and endorsed by the Chairman but there was a quiet girl that seemed nice enough. And she wore her hair in cute pigtails.

“Challenger Ro! The Chairman asked me to give this to you!” one of the officials called to her when she made her way out. “A gift...Such a wonderful thing...From the Chairman...Such a wonderful man…” she cleared her throat, the dreamy look clearing but the pink tinge remaining. Fans, she thought in despair. Before, she’d had an unfortunate amount of them the older she got and she didn’t much like the thought of dealing with them again. Hopefully Hop would shine and stand out more as Leon’s little brother. “Excuse me,” the woman got back on track, “The gift is access to the Flying Taxis!”

Handy, she thought to herself as she took the card. Taking them otherwise tended to be costly but this was an all access pass. She wondered if Bede, the one he endorsed and Hop, Leon’s brother got them too given their rather outstanding sponsors.

“Anyways, your next goal should be Turffield- isn’t that right Ro? When traveling to a new place, it’s best to get there on your own two legs don’t you think?”

“Part of the experience.” she agreed and the woman gave her a grin and thumbs up. She popped into the PokéCenter on the way to Route 3 to make sure her supplies were good. “I suppose I should update my League Card...Maybe.”

The plain black background replaced the more colorful one that was the default and she found a pale flame like effect to at least add a little more interest to her otherwise plain card.

“Hop would definitely approve that, if not all the plain dark colors.” she thought to herself and the plain black framing over it with a matte finish. She held Snowdrop and Jambu in the photo it took, Pokéballs floating around her in a loop. She wore the monotone plaid trousers again and her usual ensemble of black turtleneck and fluffy off-white (a tinge silvery) jacket and the red loafers. Androgynous, she thought, especially with the way her bra and jacket helped hide her torso, hips and the top of her thighs entirely in its fluff. It hid the developing curves quite nicely.

“There you are! I’ve been waiting!” Hop called to her as soon as she stepped foot from the Center. “Let’s have a battle, you’n me. We’ll get in a bit of training!” he told her, a blaze in his eyes. She peered at him curiously. He’d seen her full party and while she switched some of them out, she still had Firethorn and Prim- of whom was just on the cusp of evolving into Meowstic.

“If...You want?”

“Alright! We’ve got to stay keener than anyone else if we want to steal the spotlight from our rivals!” and with that, sent out Wooloo. Who...Was only level 11, she could see. Firelily, who was first in her party and so sent out was at 27 and that was only because she put Firethorn away for a time on the Isle so she could ogle over the new Pokémon and the Alolan ones she’d gotten in return for finding a man’s copious amount of Digletts. She still hadn’t found them all but she did find most of them. The cute Kubfu she had was already an Urshifu, the Water variant at a bold level 42; which was why he was put away for the moment. Seemed...A little bit overkill. Alongside the Krookodile, the absolute unit that was Venusaur, the dumb but cute Sliggoo, her aggressive and pretty Scolipede, and the too-cute Alolan Raichu. A lot of the stronger Pokémon tended to brush off her attempts to catch them, which meant catching their weaker forms elsewhere on the island and sometimes evolving them so she did have a good handful just waiting to be set upon the world and evolve. Cute, precious things…

Firethorn took down Hop’s Wooloo in one hit of Double Kick.

“Typical! Should’ve known you’d master type matchups!” Hop said and she eyed him. Was he trying to gauge how far ahead she was compared to him? He could have just traveled with her to see her battle someone…

Grookey was only slightly better at level 14 so she sent out her Joltik Buttercup. At level 18 she was the weakest on her team at the moment but Bug Bite was a super effective move and since she landed a critical, it took out Grookey pretty instantaneously.

“Backed into a corner? Got it all wrong mate! This’ll make my victory even better!” Hop said and surely he knew better? He only had three Pokémon and she’d one-shot both of the first two. His Rookidee was only level 12. It did mean it took a Thunder Wave to paralyze and then two or three hits to go down since Buttercup didn’t know any other Electric moves yet. Hop groaned. “Was that really good training? Looks like I’d better keep my guard up, you absolutely trounced me!” but he didn’t seem to let the loss slow him down much as money was transferred from his account to hers. “Just what I’d expect from my rival! Y’know what? I’ll even give you one of my League cards! That’s how good I think you did in that battle.” he told her and she didn’t bother mentioning that he would have given her one anyways as she slid her own to him when he passed his to her. “Our Gym Challenge starts right now- from here in Motostoke! Although the first Gym Leader we’ll have to challenge is in a town far off from here...Still, you’d better believe I’m going to keep on winning my way to the Championship Match!” at least he seemed enthusiastic even in the face of resounding defeat. “Hello, Galar!” he cheered as he turned and ran off, “Meet your next Champion! From the sleepy town of Postwick- it’s me, Hop!”

Maybe this loss would kick him into gear about training. After all they haven’t even gotten to the first Gym yet so she probably didn’t need to spend so much time leveling her Pokémon. Even accidentally as she snooped around the Wild Area and Isle of Armor and got herself into all sorts of little kerfuffles. Perhaps, she thought, going to the Isle wasn’t the best move. Not that she regretted it or anything but it seemed to beef up her experience in battling and several of her Pokémon beyond the typical fair of first time Gym goers.

The Gyms had set power levels they used for fair fights during the Gym Challenge unlike other areas where the Gyms didn’t have a set order so to speak, but rather changed out their party depending on how many Gyms their challenger has defeated before. Here, they started with Milo and ended in Raihan in a distinct power curve so all Challengers faced the same challenges. She wondered how often they needed to replace the Pokémon in their teams so they didn’t exceed the limits by defeating challengers and wondered what happened to them- she knew Milo usually used them to help his farming town and probably set them out for other towns to use for a little fee to upkeep the Gym when it wasn’t in use. Or how Opal incorporated them into her theater and plays or passed them to one of her Gym Trainers. She imagined that their personal Pokémon parties had a tiny bit more variance to them even if they did specialize in certain typing.

Well whatever. Once she was done in the first Gym she would stop by at the Isle again and maybe if she could get Hop to stay still and not immediately run off she could bring him too. Though Avery might not be so amused at having Hop as a rival to be her rival. He seemed the sort to get upset over something silly like that. But...Well to think of it, she was Hop’s only friend. Did Avery have any real friends? Some of the other Dojo members seem to think he was unapproachable, even with such oddballs among them. Suppose that bad attitude had been there before she showed up. No doubt he would still have bad days where he would slip back into that bratty attitude but hopefully the others will be willing to reach out and Avery now in a place where he would accept their help and support. What did Hop have? His busy Champion brother, a distracted slightly distant mother and her along with a desperate dream to surpass his famous successful brother.

Avery she knew would get all in a huff about her having another rival but she wasn’t sure how Hop would feel about it- of course they had competition in the other Challengers but even by the end of the five days she spent on the Isle Avery had trained up his Pokémon more than Hop had bothered to, a good ten levels and added more Pokémon to his roster than Hop added to his. Which might have had help from the Dojo training but the Wild Area was easily accessible from Motostoke. He watched and recorded all of Leon’s fights, he should know the importance of training Pokémon especially in such a highly competitive field. Maybe he really would take the thrashing she gave him to heart to get better though. She hoped so for his sake at least. Sure he bounced back easily enough now but how long would that last if he kept losing? At least the first few Gyms weren’t that hard she thought.

xXx

“People still confuse me for a woman pretty often.” Avery commiserated with her when she returned to the Isle after defeating Milo and after the grueling physical session Mustard put them all through in ‘celebration’ of her victory. “Of course several of them were angry men that blamed me as though I used Attract on them.” he scoffed and she hummed. “I don’t particularly mind it most times. As soon as I speak or they have a longer look at my face they can usually tell.”

“I don’t mind being thought of as a boy really.” she hummed, “The people who matter know I’m a girl and it’s not like I can’t see where they’re coming from. Most times it’s an honest mistake or, if they’re a bit more observant they might think I’m trans. I’m not,” she clarified, “But most times the misgendering isn’t malicious and personally it’s not something that bothers me. Only bothers me when people say sexist things about how I look like a girl as though being a girl is an insult itself. Or,” her nose scrunched up, “People who act like they have the right to tell me to be more ‘lady-like’.”

“Ugh, I know those feelings. ‘Cut your hair, you’re a boy!’ types. I hadn’t thought people like that were still around when I first set out on my own. What does hair have to do with being a man or woman anyways? You’ve seen Pelly in there, his braids are longer than my hair but he’s built like a Machamp. It was never about the hair.” he shook his head. His hat had come off in training- people training she meant, as in stretches and katas for them and obstacle courses and speed training for humans- and his long blond hair was up in a high ponytail. And he did start wearing his Dojo uniform, though he kept the fantastical purple and colorful shirt beneath it. In fact, she had yet to actually see him in casual clothes.

She cleaned her piercings before putting them back in as they relaxed a little in downtime.

“Why all of those anyways?”

“Hm? I just like them I suppose. And even if my hair covers the scar, I think it gathers more attention than it anyways. Besides, look at these cute tiny Seviper helix ones.”

“Seviper? I don’t think I recognize that Pokémon…”

“Oh, they’re banned in Galar.” she waved off. “Big pretty snake Pokémon, would probably decimate the Bunnelby and Rookidee populations if they came over and who knows what else it’d make a snack of.” she sighed. “I did also manage to find these little Luxury Ball studs. Oh! I know your ears aren’t pierced but I found these and thought of you…” she dug around in her pack to pull out little spoons in neo-chrome. She presented them to Avery, who blinked in shock before taking them delicately. His reaction made her frown though. He was acting as though a nice little present, just something she bought on a whim, was something precious. What kind of family life did he have before? She knew he was disowned for not having a full spectrum of psychic powers but...How had he been treated beforehand, when he was still with them?

“W-well I...I had been thinking of piercing my ears anyways.” he fumbled over his words, practically cradling them. She didn’t comment on it- if anyone had done it when she was younger and still around the Dursleys she would have withdrawn so fast it’d make whoever asked head spin. She had her ears rather cluttered between the industrial bar, lobe, upper lobe, tragus and anti-tragus, conch, snug, orbital, forward helix, outer conch, and the regular conch. Her face wasn’t free either; third eye, eyebrow hoop, bridge, nostril, septum, and snake bites. Frenulum piercing and middle-tongue piercing in her mouth though she’d had to use her power to really make sure it was safe. Muggle oral piercings could be dangerous after all. She also had a belly-button piercing and a set of three hip piercings in a slanted line mirroring at her hips. Once she was old enough, she would get her nipples done too, and a nefertiti and the hood of her clit. She would also be getting tattoos.

Her drive for going under the needle stemmed from Ginny, who’d gone full punk-alt during her Holyhead Harpies career, shaving half her head and covered in piercings and tattoos and of course, as tall and athletic as ever. While she and Gin worked better as friends, they were still close after their mutual break-up and even if Rosemary didn’t go as far as she did, she was still fairly done up. Her mum had been a little confused about her seemingly new and sudden interest in this life but had supported her nonetheless.

“Well,” she sighed, “Best get back in before he sends out the Slowpokes again.” Avery shuddered at that and they quickly got up.

xXx

“I found him.” she said to her mother who was staring at the almost two meter tall Pokémon. “He doesn’t want to get caught and he was wandering around the Wild Area so I brought him here. I thought maybe he could hang around here and the Slumbering Weald. He’d be able to handle it I think. He’s really polite I swear.”

“Oh, uh...Well the more the merrier?” she asked more than said and Zarude made a happy little noise, towering over them both. Zarude wasn’t the first Pokémon she off-loaded at home either. Her room was now more Pokémon room than it was hers since she didn’t want to have the guest room interrupted in case Avery came over. She’d helped her mum move her things into the smaller room in the basement below anyways so it was fine. She did also send money home to help feed them all, even if her mum did make a sizable chunk of change off of royalties from her books.

“Are you staying for supper dear?”

“Can’t, promised Avery I’d go scrounging with him in the Wild Area and teach him how to make Spicy Apple Curry. Y’know he’s never had an apple curry masala before? I can’t wait ‘til I can get him here to have some of your food.” she sighed and even though she would be leaving again so soon, the fond smile that grew on her mum’s face was enough for now. She would need to schedule more time for home.

xXx

“I’m just saying, I think it’d be great if the Chairman had a Roserade. Chairman Rose’s Roserade. Chairman Rose...Rade.”

“You know, even with that stoic face of yours you have a terrible sense of humor.”

“We have Budews at home, y’know. I wonder if he’d accept one and get it to Roserade.”

“Please stop saying these things with such a straight face.”

“Chairman Roserade and the Espurr he sponsored.”

“This again?”

“I tell you, Avery, if you saw him you’d agree with me. He even uses Psychic types!” she insisted. “I’m sure he’s already beat the first Gym by now if you wanted to watch the match but he is an absolute prick.”

“I don’t, thank you.” he waved off.

“No? What if the Espurr turns out to be the next Champion?”

“Pish, Champions have never been my concern. I just want to be a Gym Leader so as long as he stays away from being my competition there I couldn’t care.” he waved off.

“He seemed more concerned about being sponsored by the Chairman than trying out for Gym positions. Say, why aren’t you competing in the circuit anyways? That at least would help put your name in the roster if you shine right?”

“No.” Avery frowned. “I still need to train and I’ll wait for the annual Leader boards to put my name up.”

“Alright.” she shrugged. “Are there many people who try out for Gym Leader?”

“Usually only a handful every year- the pressure and trials to be a Gym Leader are nothing to sneeze at y’know and as it stands, a lot of the current Gym Leaders go for years in their positions and can still defend those positions, biggest example being Opal as one of the longest lasting Galarian Gym Leaders. It’s less job and more lifestyle.” he said and she supposed he would know. His family came from a line of psychic Psychic-Type Gym Leaders. “The next generation is taught all about it in our lessons growing up.” his eyes went unfocused. “I took the best to it out of my batch but...Adelaide, Addie was the favorite because she displayed teleportation abilities younger than most manifest it. Problem there was always that Adelaide was never interested in being a Gym Leader. Not that Albert was particularly interested either. Neither had the ambition and Al wasn’t the sort for any sort of rigid set lifestyles. Addie...Last I heard of her she had ran off to Alola. I suppose the pressure and expectation they heaped on her was too much. That was years ago now though.” he sighed. “And by now there’s already probably other cousins being taught the same lessons since my batch didn’t work out to their expectations.”

“...Your family seems pretty trashy to me.” she said breezily, flashes of Sirius talking about his mother or the way Draco had looked when his father was sentenced again at the end of the war. Thoughts of Ron even, and being the sixth boy and youngest son with both academically and athletically gifted older brothers. It made her think of Hop, a little, and of what was known about Peony and how he disappeared. “Anyways, it’s been ages since the last Psychic type Gym Leader anyways. What, at least three generations? I don’t think your parents or aunts or uncles have the high ground to talk from.”

“Perhaps not, but they did have grandmother Arabella and great-grandmother Alice before her that they listened to religiously.” Avery sighed through his nose. “And great-great uncle Archibald.”

“Does everyone born into your family have a name that begins with an ‘A’?” she asked incredulously. She had known about Arabella and Alice and Archibald by reading through some of the previous Galar Gym profiles but she’d hadn’t really looked into it too deeply.

“Everyone close to the main line.”

“Main line.” she crinkled her nose. Like Pureblood traditionalists she thought to herself disdainfully.

“Anyways,” he turned the subject over, “You’ve yet to tell me the story behind your latest accessory.” he gestured to the small and sweet Spritzee nestled on her shoulder.

“I don’t treat them like accessories.” she scolded him. “But since Snowdrop evolved I can’t exactly carry her around anymore. And Jambu took a liking to my mum’s Munchlax so he stays at home. Besides, I like the scent she gives me.”

“It is rather lovely.” he agreed. “A nice floral oriental, a light spice. And that little one hiding in your jacket?”

“Isn’t he just the cutest? Fomantis really are precious.” she reached up to pet the shy Pokémon. “She’s Fuchsia and he’s Tulip.”

“Do...You name all of your Pokémon after flowers?”

“Flower names run in my family.” she explained- whereas in the old world her mother’s matriarchal line had a flower themed naming habit for their girls, here the theme applied to her father’s family and didn’t constrict what might have been considered feminine or masculine names. Her mother here was also flower named; Mauve, the French (or Kalosian in this case) word for mallow. “And it seems a little bit impersonal to just call them by their breed you know, they’re family? You have little petnames for your Pokémon anyways don’t you?”

“Well...Yes.” he admitted grudgingly. “I wouldn’t call them their names though.”

“Just because you’re embarrassed to call them out in front of people doesn’t mean those aren’t their names.” she pointed out.

“And you’d be entirely unaffected calling out Lala, Sweetie, Pancake and Loopy?” he challenged and she stared at him. After a moment he sighed in defeat. “Right, of course you would. With that same unflinching stoic look on your face too, I bet.”

“You’re the only person that says I have a stoic face.” rather than just blank or empty or doll-like.

“Stoic, cool, a perfectly calm and collected poker face.” he said and she tilted her head to the side.

“It’s really just my face.” she said.

“I’m aware. At least you’re not like some people who just smile all the time. Who can keep a face like that twenty-four/seven anyways?”

“Bruxish can.”

“Ah. Another foreign Pokémon I assume?”

“A psychic fish. C’mere, look.” she pulled out her Rotomi phone.

xXx

Getting a free bike that worked in tandem with her Rotom was a weird stroke of luck for battling off some ‘Team Yell’ (ahem, Spikemuth) Trainers but who was she to complain?

“Let’s have a taste of what a Gym Badge holder’s team can do!” Hop cried partway across the bridge that cut through the Wild Area. She wasn’t sure what exactly he expected from the battle but his Pokémon were stronger this time. Unfortunately, not strong enough. Level 18 Wooloo, level 19 Corvisquire, and a level 21 Thwackey. It wasn’t...Wasn’t bad for one Gym Badge. Just wasn’t ambitious enough for serious competition. He might grow at a rate good enough for the eight Gyms but that wouldn’t be enough to try to beat whatever other Finalists made it through or his brother. Was he starting slow, thinking he had plenty of time? Was he not battling as much outside of the Gyms and the few Trainers dotting the Routes? Maybe that’s what it was, not battling as many wild Pokémon. Avery had the same problem when she first got to the Dojo but he learned quickly enough and worked to get stronger when she kept beating him. This was her fourth battle against Hop though... “We both got ourselves the same Grass Badge, so how come you’re so much stronger?!”

“I battle in the Wild Area and on the Isle of Armor a lot.” she answered with a frown. “There are a lot of people competing yeah? We want to make it past them we need to be stronger right?”

“You’ve gotten strong, Ro. Seems I’ve got to train even harder from now on.”

“You could come train with me sometime?”

“No, I’ve got a carefully planned training regimen already! I just need to move it up a little faster.” Hop shook his head. “I want all our battles up to the end to be a surprise!” he grinned at her but that didn’t make her feel much better. Why couldn’t they work together? She didn’t want to be Champion even if she made it that far and surely training together would be more diverse? “Next up is Nessa, the leader of the Water Gym!” he pumped his fists before dashing off again. He didn’t even have a full team yet. Hop should know better and should have planned accordingly; he was smart, quick as a tack. Was the bubbling thought of defeating his brother clouding his usual cleverness?

xXx

“I really want a Seviper.” she sighed. “Look at them, they’re smiling.”

“Th-they look charming.” Avery said weakly, eyes on the sharp tail and long fangs.

“Oh don’t they just? Not that I don’t love Rockrose of course, I do, but more snake Pokémon would always be welcome.”

“Ah- your Sandaconda?”

“She’s very cute,” she said happily, “All bundled up like that. Looks cozy.”

“I...Don’t think that’s the word I would use…”

“Oh that reminds me,”

“Oh no.”

“Why d’you think people seem to think that all Impidimps and their lines are fully male and all the Hatenna and their line are fully female? How do they think they breed in that case, in the Impidimp line?”

“Uh...I imagine through...Wild Ditto?”

“But there really aren’t many Ditto in their main forest y’know? And they turn into a copy of those Pokémon anyways, so it would just be another male in that case.”

“Well. This isn’t a discussion I ever thought I’d be having. How did your Sandaconda remind you of this again?”

“Hm? Oh, sometimes she sneezes really cutely and when she does and gets all teary eyed about accidentally blasting sand everywhere so Helle sometimes pulls her into her hair to comfort-hide her.”

“...Right. So if it isn’t wild Ditto, then what do you think it is?”

“Ah, in the case of Hatenna and them, they’re technically hermaphrodites. They can create sperm as needed to maintain their population or for breeding purposes, which mostly means they’re more genderfluid than most people think. There’s been an entire study on it, y’know, one of Opal’s old Gym Trainers was a Fairy type researcher, specifically investigating Hatenna and Impidimp evolutionary lines.”

“O-okay…And the Impidimps, Morgrems and Grimmsnarls?”

“They are also technically hermaphrodites, but they have stricter conditions for breeding than their Psychic neighbors who can get up the duff from other Pokémon in their egg group. They can produce eggs, but it needs to be another from their species that breed with them, since it works with some kind of incredibly specific enzyme to inseminate the egg. Which is why sometimes, yes, wild Dittos have been observed mating with Grimmsnarl. It can copy that special enzyme. And, they have a special sort of internal pouch area that acts as a womb that only another from their line can actually get into.”

“Ah. Right. I’ll add this new information to my list of things I never needed to know.”

“But isn’t it interesting? I can’t believe people would honestly believe that an ‘all male’ species must just magically find wild dittos all the time while conveniently forgetting that Ditto morph into perfect copies, meaning it would just be another male Pokémon. Besides, the ‘egg takes after mother’ rule doesn’t apply to everything anyways.”

“What, really?”

“Braviary and Mandibuzz breed and they don’t all just come out as Vullaby.” she told him easily. “But that’s because of some evolutionary tag-teaming. Braviary can’t produce Rufflet with any other Pokémon in their egg group. They don’t get along the best though, so it’s really a hit-it-and-quit-it. Especially since Mandibuzz sisters and mothers and aunts tend to create nests together. There have been a few reports of life-long partnerships between Braviary and Mandibuzz, but that’s rather rare. Tauros have the same breeding thing going on with Miltank and Bouffalant, though I’m not sure how it managed that last one. Same thing also happens with Mothim and Wormadam. Obviously the diverging Nidorans breed together too, outside of Nidoqueen who loses her ability upon evolving. In Tyrogue’s case, Hitmontop have been seen popping out eggs, and once or twice a Hitmonlee has as well. The only truly male, as we know it, one is Hitmonchan.”

“But if Braviary and Tauros can’t breed in their own lines then how do they with Ditto?”

“Same way Ditto can breed with Pokémon that are biologically sexless like Magnemite and Bronzong, and including itself.” she shrugged. “Through some sort of bizarre Ditto way.”

“But- wait, by that argument then that should mean they find wild Dittos to breed with otherwise there would be none doesn’t it?”

“Not exactly. Some reproduce asexually. Some seem to just...Grow. Or, in cases like Golurk…” she tilted her head to the side. “Ghost type.” she shrugged again. “Ghost types can feed off of eacthother’s Death energy.”

“I...Why did it sound like you capitalized the ‘d’ in death?”

“Before I forget, I ordered something and it finally came.” she turned to her bag to pull out a long sleeved purple shirt with a Bruxish print on the pocket. “And this scrunchie with its colors! It matches your Gym outfit!”

“Y-you don’t have to b-buy these things for me-” Avery’s face turned a charming red and a watery sheen made his eyes glimmer.

“No, but I like to.” she said easily, handing the items over.