Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Today was the day, clouds absent in the sky, the grass was a pleasant ever glowing shade of green, the Wooloo in the sun shined like one million diamonds. She had turned 13, it was time for the journey to begin.

Gloria woke up in Potswick, getting dressed with relative haste, she grabbed her bag and a stack of Pokeballs, the journey starts today.

Gloria’s Mom stood at the door, offering one final wish of good luck and wishing her well. She took off to her best friend’s house. Hop was her best mate since they were in diapers.

“Gloria”, greeted Hop from his house “you arrived just in time, Lee is coming over with the Pokemon in just mere minutes”

“Thanks for the heads up Hopster”, she said back to his statement. Soon enough, Leon came in from Wedgehurst, and arrived at his family home in Potswick.

He strolled up to the old house, greeting his brother, who he had last seen as a baby.

“So, who’s ready to have a Champion Start”, Leon started, confident in the young trainers.

“I was born ready Lee”, Hop answered first, and Gloria followed up later with an affirmative response.

Leon showed off the starters. Grookey, The Chimp Pokemon. He ran around, thacking the ground with his branch, showing off his eagerness.

Scorbunny, the Rabbit Pokemon, ran around, energetic, confident, kicking the nearby pebble and dribbling it which such liveliness and bombastic energy.

Sobble, the Water Lizard Pokemon, was the one that caught Gloria’s eye, Sobble cried into the wind, unsure of itself, compared to the bombastic Scorbunny and eager Grookey. Sobble looked lonely compared to the other two.

“I’ll pick him”, said Gloria confidently pointing to Sobble, Hop was more focused on the energetic Scorbunny, as it ran around, now jumping. “I choose you Scorbunny”, Hop said confidently as it ran towards him.

Soon after, Hop challenged Gloria, his newfound rival, to their first battle. And as Hop’s Wooloo took the field, Gloria’s Sobble Tackled, Growled and Fell Stingered the fearsome beast in their duel.

Next was Scorbunny who took the field, and Sobble learned Water Gun on the spot, and as Scorbunny tried to tackle the lizard, Sobble fired back with Water Gun, dousing the rabbit and putting an end to Gloria and Hop’s first Pokemon Battle.

Leon looked proud of the young trainers, dispersing Pokeballs, he instructed them to head to the Pokemon Research Lab, to get their PokeDex, before heading back to Wyndon to talk with Chairman Rose.

Before heading down Routes 1 and 2, Hop stopped Gloria to have a small conversation.

“Hey, you were pretty awesome in that battle”, he said sheepishly, but then continued, “But don’t be complacent, the next time we fight, I’ll be sure to win”.

Gloria fired back, “Not if I have anything to say about it Hopster”and both sped to Magnolia’s House

Gloria went on a catching spree, for maximum type coverage. Rookidee, Blipbug, Seedot and Skwovet all joined her team, and she had 5.

Not long after, Gloria got Camping Supplies and a PokeDex from Professor Magnolia and Sonia. Hop showed up to battle Gloria right after their last endeavor.

“Hopster, you just lost earlier”, started Gloria after Hop issued his challenge.

“I’m feeling lucky, I can win this”, he said with a bright smile, that Gloria couldn’t help but laugh at.

Hop lead with his newly caught Rookidee, and Gloria led with her own. The honor battle was peck for peck, with Hop barely squeaking out the win from that one.

“See, I know I can win this”, said Hop confidently, as Gloria reached for her next Pokeball, smirking at Hop.

Sobble came out, used Fell Stinger, got the attack boost, and then just swept his team again.

“Man, all that went down the pot”, said Hop disappointed at another loss, but Gloria assured her that they’d duel again.

“Maybe you’ll win, but I know everytime we fight we improve, we are rivals after all”, said Gloria, assuring her life long friend.

At Sonia’s Recommendation, they boarded a train heading towards Motostoke tomorrow. And on the day they left, Gloria caught a brief glimpse of Zamazenta, looking at them, but she shrugged it off, her budding journey, budding rivalry, was too exciting.

Hop and Gloria got off at Motostoke, and headed into the Wild Area, to amass a team of Pokemon.

Gloria’s Box rapidly expanded, Tyrogue, Bunnelby, Combee, Metapod, Mincino, Ralts, Oddish, Wingull, Joltik, Vanillish, Growlithe, Baloty, Dwebble, Tympole, Purrloin, Bounsweet, Stunky, Mudbray, Natu, Pancham, Klink, her Pokedex was filling over the course of several days.

She camped with her newfound friends, and made tons of curry. The bonds she made with her captures were truly unbreakable. Her trusty starter Sobble, was the leader of her ragtag team of six.

Hop also kept in touch via Rotom Phone, talking about how he was going to see if he could go through the Wild Area adjacent to Hammerlocke.

Gloria knew she would challenge Hop sometime soon with her team of six, with her starter leading a team of Corvisquire, Growlithe, Nuzleaf, Tyrogue and Dottler, and trained extra hard for that battle

However, one day while training to take on Hop, she got an urgent call from him.

“Hey, Gloria, I uh, think my time is up…”

“HOP, what happened..”

“Heh, that’s a story”

Gloria was so aghast by the news, she resolved to run past Motostoke, through the wilderness and to Hop.

She found him by a lake, lying next to a Corsola.

Gloria picked him up, and brought him back to camp.

“Hop, it’s gonna be ok..”

She told him this, over and over again, nestling him in her arms, surely there is someone who could help.

Gloria reached for her Rotom Phone, and scrolled up to find one man, Leon.

She pressed the call button.

“LEON, LEON”, she screamed, “HOP, HOP NEEDS YOU, HE NEEDS YOU”

No answer.

She called him for days.

Hop resolved for one final sentence, “I wish I could have ended on a win”, before slipping into unconsciousness.

Days ago, Hop was her first rival, and now, he was dead.

Gloria buried left him in the sleeping bag, hoping he was just asleep.

For nights after Hop slipped off, she called Leon, screaming his name, and was met with silence.

Chapter Text

It has been a year since Hop slipped away.

Gloria has been on her own for an entire year, celebrating her 14th Birthday with her Pokemon, her only friends.

She caught a few more after the incident, but was still on her own, until one day, her Crustle and Diggersby created a secret cave, under the Wild Area for them to live in.

This secret sanctuary was cramped and small at first, but with extra captures it became a clearing.

Days of work from Diggersby spent digging new rooms, days of Curstle smashing boulders, days of Appletun tearing down walls, days of Vespiquen restructuring parts of the enclaves, days of Bellosom getting plants to grow down there, days of Seismitoad, Inteleon and Vanilluxe getting a source of water.

The work wasn’t pretty, but Gloria had a place to call home, a place all her own. She placed Hop, still in the sleeping bag, down in the home, she made a special grotto just for him, incase he ever awoke.

Without a sleeping bag, Gloria slept on the cold hard ground, she got used to it overtime. Eventually she headed into Motostoke to buy new clothes, but she had very little money. Battling assorted trainers around the wild area was the only way she got by.

While Gloria could just go into Motostoke and get a job, stop living her solitary lifestyle, go on that journey Leon wanted for her. She opted against it.

Leon had ignored her in Hop’s Hour of Need, and now he was gone. Hop couldn’t share in the journey, the adventure. Their rivalry she was so looking forward too was dead, and her best and only friend was lying unconscious in a sleeping bag several feet away from her.

It got harder and harder to look at Hop, every day, in his current state.

Gloria still had her Pokemon, loyal compatriots at her side. Sobble, then Drizzle, then Inteleon stood by her for all this time, and the squad that would have battled Hop was intact, Shiftry, Hitmonchan, Arcanine, Orbeetle and Corviknight were ready to serve.

Gloria was at the worst she’d ever been. Resolving not to go back to Potswick. She thought that if she ever came back, she’d be seen as a failure, and they’d ask where Hop is, she’d have to break the news.

One night, Gloria sat alone in her hole. It was clear and you could see the cosmos from where she was sitting. Inteleon nested right by her side. Her starter sat content, staring into the stars, but noticed his trainer. Inteleon wrapped his long body behind her, trying to elicit an emotional response from her trainer.

“Hey”, Gloria said in a rare occurrence. She had started to not talk too often, body language was all she needed to communicate with Pokemon.

Inteleon pointed to the skies, and then aimed his finger back to Potswick, back home.

“We can’t go back…”, Gloria said, already beginning to cry.

Inteleon clawed a bit, and Gloria stood up.

“We’ll be seen as failures, seen as quitters, I can’t deal with the shame and humiliation we’d bring home with us”, she said, continuing to cry as tears hit the floor.

Inteleon stood up and walked towards his trainer.

“Leon journeyed from Potswick, a long time ago, and he’s undefeated, we, we…..we will be held to the same expectations, and Hop.”, she paused, actively crying into her starter, “They’ll know the truth, and we’ll be blamed…”

Gloria collapsed onto the floor, and fell asleep.

On the one year anniversary of Hop’s untimely demise, Gloria didn’t talk the entire day, didn’t eat and didn’t sleep. Gloria looked like a ghost, stricken by grief, she walked around aghast, a soulless ghoul almost.

She walked up to the sleeping bag, and cried. Cried for hours, months of built up grief overflowed in a single moment, and poured out of her eyes, onto the bag where her former friend lay. She took off her hat, and layed it there, walking away.

She layed on the ground, looking outward at the sky, full of clouds, she took a moment to reflect.

She was destitute, underground, with only her copious Pokemon left to keep her company, a true recluse.

Gloria just wanted her dear friend to return, but she gave up hope, wished for him to come back one final time, and went to bed.

Chapter Text

Gloria lifted herself up off the floor, for another potentially grueling and crippling day, blending together. As she dusted herself off and put her bag on, she gauged the temperature.

A lot of her Pokemon were either asleep or by the water, even her Inteleon seemed to be shriveling. Today was a heat wave and being underground wasn’t ideal.

Gloria put all her Pokemon in Pokeballs, grabbed her main team, put the rest in the box, and headed out in the wilds to find some shade. As she walked, she noticed the Pokemon sweating. Growlithe, Rolycoly and Vulpix were out in the sun, and even they seemed to struggle.

As Gloria looked around, she couldn’t find any ample shade that wasn’t already occupied, and the heat began to compound further.

Heat disoriented Gloria, without any other options, decided to do as Hop did, and head to Hammerlocke. Maybe there was ample shade out that way. She waded through the riverbank and the scalding hot water and walked past a sleeping Snorlax.

She moved up further, into the Stony Wilderness, and tried to get shade under a Maractus, but they moved before she could perch herself for a moment's breath.

Eventually, she began to sweat buckets, and with heavy breathes, thought she’d be joining Hop in this moment, accepting her fate, she fell down and passed out.

Fate had other plans than death.

Camping under a tree somewhat far away was a green-haired trainer and his Gallade.

The boy saw Gloria pass out, saw her bag fall and her Pokeballs spill out. His Gallade noted him with some light taps, and the boy got up, and with help from a few of his other Pokemon, carried her back to his camp.

The trainer released one of his Ice Types, an Abamsnow, who used his freezing body to chill the exhausted Gloria as the boy sat down.

As the day went on it, the Heatwave came and went, and the Trainer began training with his Gallade.

Gloria woke up next to a Freezing Cold Abamasnow, and she was startled.

She almost screamed, and The Trainer and His Gallade ran over to the newly awakened Gloria.

“Hey, don’t panic”, the Trainer began, “My name is Rinto, and you were passed out on the ground”

Gloria looked up at him, no one had ever shared that kind of kindness with her in a long while, she began, “Why did you bring me here, where am I?”

Rinto looked down at the other trainer, “At a Camp I set up”, Rinto studied the other party more closely, she had rugged clothes, was covered in dust and looked incredibly malnourished.

Rinto broke the small silence, “You look like you’ve been through a lot, do you need anything?”, he asked concerningly.

Gloria was incredibly shocked at the sudden offer of kindness from this stranger, and there was a lot that she needed. She was very tempted to list everything she truly needed, but decided to not saddle this courteous stranger with her life problems.

“Food and some new clothes”, Gloria decided to ask plainly, “If you have any spares, that would be nice..”

She waited for a response, Rinto thought to himself, that they could go into Motostoke and get both.

“I don’t have any extra, but we could go into Motostoke and get what you need”, he replied. Gloria froze up, going into Motostoke, after living out here all on her own. Gloria did need all those things,, but did she have the confidence to go into the city?

Gloria must have hesitated for too long, Rinto continued, “I guess I’ll go into the city and get what you need”.

This incredibly nice trainer Gloria had just met was about to leave, and she didn’t want to be left alone, not again, not anymore.

“Wait”, she said, getting Rinto’s attention, “I’ll come with you”.

Gloria stood up, nervous to go into the bustling city.

Rinto and Gloria headed back across the Bridge into Motostoke, Rinto turned towards Gloria.

“Hey, what’s your name”, he asked, resolving to remember it for future reference.

Gloria froze again, the sheer kindness and chivalry from one person continues, it was making Gloria slightly paranoid, “My name is Gloria, what is yours?”.

Rinto simply responded, “My name is Rinto”, and they continued onwards.

Walking through the dry grass as the sun was on the horizon, the two trainers headed towards the bustling city ahead of them. The gears turning could be heard from their position, as could steam.

Maractus and Wobbuffet were all around their walkway, and they skillfully walked around them to head into the bustling metropolis of Motostoke.

Gloria steeled her nerves, and got ready to reenter society again.

Chapter Text

The bustling city of Motostoke surged with life. The city was like a steam engine brought to life, massive gears and elevators were everywhere, Rolycoly running through the streets, crowds of people moving along the sidewalk, in bustling and busy fashion.

Motostoke’s buildings towered above the gears, a bastion of metal and steam, they block out the gym, the palace of the mighty Kabu. Motostoke has a massive empty barred off walkway splitting the city in half around Kabu’s Gym, the roadblock of challengers.

The ebb and flow of people to and fro was like a ritual, but it was just symbolic of city life. It would be intimidating, people moving into shops like water through the sea. The motion was constant, ever-changing, and that scared Gloria more than she thought was possible.

Just like a Glare from an Arbok, the movement of people paralyzed Gloria in her wake, rendering her unable to move, and as Rinto tried to surge through the ground, Gloria was tempted to run and hide again, but before she could back away…

“Hey are you ok?”, asked Rinto, looking bad at his companion. His eyes radiated with concern as Gloria just shook in her place, frightened into shape by the crowd.

She steeled herself before pushing through, “I’m Ok, just haven’t been in crowds for a while”. This was the first time she’d seen so many souls in one place, it was too much to bear but she had too for a while.

Rinto moved through the trepidatious crowd while Gloria followed closely behind him, to avoid being lost in the flow, going right of the gym.

They found a small place inside a small candlelight alley, with a litwick at the door. The sign on the door said, “The Quilt Factory”.

Rinto stood hesitantly, looking at Gloria, still nervous about being in crowds of people again, he looked at the door, “Guess I’ll go first”.

Rinto opened the door, the restaurant smelled of freshly quilted blankets and burning potatoes. Only one table was seated, a seemingly unamused group. Rinto and Gloria stood at the front for a while.

“Are they coming?”, asked Gloria, unsure of what was going on, she had never been in a situation like this before.

Before Rinto could respond, a Girl covered in soot, burnt food, recipes and fabric emerged from the kitchen, looking almost like a sloppily-drawn monster.

Rinto tried to open his mouth, but the words fell flat. The cook made her way to them, flinging off the amass on her person as she walked, all Gloria and Rinto could do was stare in awe.

“Hi, my name is Patch, and welcome to The Quilt Factory”, she said without skipping a beat, “Can I set your table?”.

Rinto tried to stifle an elegant response, but Gloria was so confused by the site, she responded nearly immediately, “I thought you were the cook, I thought someone else brought up our table, that’s what my Dad told me once.”

The mere mention of Gloria’s Dad from herself got her to cry a bit before looking at the Server/Cook. She looked a bit sad herself, she responded again, “”Uh, I’m the sole human employee here, and the owner, and the manager….”

Gloria felt awful for reminding this seemingly chipper and upbeat person that she was all alone, before Rinto put his hand on her shoulder, inspiring small confidence to continue the conversation.

“I’m so sorry, but…”, she audibly struggled for a second, “Would you still mind setting the table?”, she asked sheepishly.

Patch, looked up at Gloria and Rinto, and went back to her upbeat attitude, “Sure I’ll set the table.”

Rinto and Gloria sat down and looked at the menu, it only had a few select dishes, but since this was a one woman operation, they weren’t too upset. “I think the Quilted Burger looks good”, said Rinto to elicit a response from Gloria related to the menu.

Gloria was deep in thought of what to order, it was a tough thought process, being her first time at an establishment such as this, but decided on the Picnic Salad Bundle, with some fancy ingredients like “Croutons” that she had never had before.

And they said their orders to Patch right away, she got busy on the food, which left Gloria and Rinto to themselves.

Rinto tried to spark a new discussion, “I figured you didn’t like crowds, guess that’s why you live by yourself”.

Gloria was slightly abashed and slightly put down by this remark from the good samaritan, “Well, I have my Pokemon with me”, she said meekly as if that was any defense.

Rinto looked at Gloria, knowing he had probably just crossed too many boundaries too fast, “Well, I guess you're never really alone with a Pokemon right next to you”.

Gloria chuckled a bit before trying to resume the conversation again, “But, I chose to live in the Wild Area because I didn’t think there was anywhere else”

This piqued Rinto’s interest, but he decided not to unturn every stone, some things are better left private he subconsciously decided.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, it’s ok, I was wrong for trying to get you talk about something outside your comfort zone”, he said in a rushed and abashid manner.

Gloria felt relived that she didn’t have to tell this nice stranger that her best friend was dead the day they met.

Rinto, remembered something in the heat of the conversation, an item he had in his possession for a while now, something he handcrafted himself.

Rinto looked at Gloria, now facing the window, and began speaking again.

“You know, I once made this for myself, but I think you need it more, conceal your face when you feel overwhelmed by the crowd”, he said.

Rinto took a mask out of his bag and passed it to Gloria.

The Mask was oval in shape, and had no mouth holes, and two eyeholes, each small and round. The mask itself was brown, and the texture was rough, like it was made of dirt. Regardless, Gloria couldn’t have been any more pleased with the gift, uttering a simple “thanks” in response to Rinto’s thoughtfulness.

Rinto relaxed in his chair, and tapped Gallade’s Pokeball against the table, releasing his partner.

With a small cry, Gallade knelt down next to Rinto’s chair, eliciting an emotion Gloria hadn’t felt in a while.

Gloria released her own partner, Inteleon, in response.

Inteleon and Gallade looked at each other, reaching out. The tension was there for a short while, before settling down and taking their places by their trainer’s sides.

Gloria and Rinto were silent during the interaction, enjoying each other’s company in their own way, unlike the seemingly unamused couple not too far away.

Before Rinto spoke up, Patch came back to the table.

“Here’s your order ”, she said in a pseudo-professional way, due to her enthusiasm. With a lot of the soot, food and fabric off her person, Gloria got another good look at Patch, she was about the same height as them, and wore a quilt-like apron with a quilt-like shirt, quilt-like skirt and quilt-like leggings underneath, all various shades of brown orange and yellow. She had orange-blond hair and wore glasses.

Gloria and Rinto thanked her for the order, and she headed back to work.

Rinto began talking again, “I respect her immensely , doing all this work by herself and still managing to get our order out relatively fast”.

Rinto and Gloria began eating, the meal felt like new found life was flowing directly into her, she hadn’t had a meal like this in her entire life, it was a rejuvenating feeling.

She focused back on the food, looking at Rinto, and enjoying the company they shared.

Chapter Text

Soon, the day turned into night, and Rinto and Gloria ended up sitting on the ground next to the restaurant, as the crowd of Motostoke turned down for the moment. Rinto kept his Gallade out while Inteleon returned to Gloria’s Pokeball. The Quilt Factory was getting ready to close, and Rinto and Gloria didn’t have anywhere else to be but with each other.

Gloria could almost consider Rinto a close friend right now, but…

Her last friend went through the wild area

Her last friend fell flat on his face

Her last friend was Hop

Her last friend wouldn’t be there for her anymore.

Gloria looked around, ripping herself out of the state of safety she was in, she turned to Rinto. He was alright, her imagination was getting the best of her.

Rinto then began to stand up, he turned to Gloria, “Well, it’s going to be dark outside, might as well book a room.”

Gloria just nodded, tired from all her experiences of the day, getting swept up in an almost..

She refused to say the word, this wasn’t an adventure, this was just the first time she left the wild area in over a year.

However, as Rinto was walking, he bumped into someone else, a Red-Haired girl he failed to notice.

“Oow”, she exclaimed as Rinto collided into her.

“Please mind your surroundings”, she expressed before Rinto could respond, and before anything else could happen, another guy appeared directly behind him, adjusting his glasses before cackling wildly.

Rinto just fell over at that point and his Gallade was luckily able to catch him, and this display got Gloria to rush over, startling the guy who appeared behind Rinto.

The girl just looked down at Rinto and then at the other guy, before calmly saying to him, “How was that going to help?”

The other guy just flashed his glasses before coming to a sudden realization, “Uh, I just wanted to”.

The girl almost face-palmed before calming down, and then turned her attention to Rinto, His Gallade and Gloria who was just lost in the flow of the conversation at this time.

Rinto finally gained some resolve to move on from this socially awkward situation, “Uh, just excuse us, my name is Rinto, and I’ll be on my way”.

Gloria also stood up to follow, but he was stopped by the other girl.

“Hey, don’t go off in a rush just yet, you already told us your name”.

“Ok…”, said Rinto in a slow tone, he didn’t know what to do in this situation.

The other girl introduced herself, “I’m Aria”. The other guy who looked notably phased simply said his name was Conway.

There was a moment of silence, before the people Rinto bumped into walked off.

Then suddenly, a crash of glass is heard, and Gloria turned around faster than anyone could see.

Patch, their host from earlier, had her back facing the wall, and was being robbed.

“This is something that happens surprisingly often here”, remarked Rinto silently, before turning away.

Gloria felt a kind of resolve in that moment, and it would shake the state of things to come.

Wordless she put on the mask, and walked over, all Rinto did was watch.

Corviknight came out of her Pokeball, and flew to the top of the buildings, unleashing a mighty roar. Gloria walked over with the mask on, which got the robber in a tizzy.

She stopped mugging Patch to face Gloria.

She looked unkempt, and dirty, possibly taking glee in her crime.

The robber then remarked, “Don’t interfere”, and a Machoke came out the Pokeball.

Corviknight than wordlessly swooped down from above, and took out the Machop with a single Pluck.

The robber ran far off into the distance.

Gloria was astounded about what she had done, before Patch could thank her, she ran in the opposite direction, Rinto then began to follow.

Chapter Text

Rinto found Gloria staring blankly into the mask, questioning why she did that, why’d she intervene?

Rinto stood silently as Gloria began silent introspection into herself. Was it her sense of justice? Was it her desire to protect a new friend? Was it to prove herself to her new friends? Was it to prove herself to her pokemon? Was it to prove her own worth to herself? Did she just want to lash out the world that hurt her from behind a mask?

Was it all of the above?

Regardless, she didn’t come to a proper conclusion, other than, she had to keep doing this. The world needed can’t see the real her. Can’t see how frail she is and how vulnerable she feels.

She sees Rinto around the corner, and now Aria and Conway had joined him. She muttered a “go away” to the crowd, but they stayed bunched around the corner, watching her.

Gloria stood up after an unknown amount of time and looked at the 3 of them, her intent signaled clearly in her eyes as if to say ‘I won’t hesitate to do it again’.

Rinto understood the silent intent, and said, “Well I’ll book the 4 of us a room for a night”

“The FOUR OF US”, exclaimed Aria, startled at his sudden proclamation. Conway adjusted his glasses and then said “it makes sense, we are a group now”.

Gloria looked at Rinto and then to Aria and Conway, guess she was along for the ride, along for the jour-

She silently nodded off and headed with them to the hotel. They booked two rooms, Gloria and Aria shared a room while Rinto and Conway shared the other room. The two girls exchanged glances that said a million words at a time.

Once morning came, Gloria arose from the bed and just sulked in the lobby. Rinto awoke to Gloria sitting with her head down. He wished her Good Morning and then checked them out of the hotel.

Aria and Conway looked at Rinto and Gloria, before Conway made a motion to say something. He began, “I want to meet back here in an hour, Gloria”, she choked at the mention of his name, “Let’s have a battle in Public, let’s grow your legend”. And then he walked off.

Gloria stood in shock at what she heard, “grow my legend”. But around her, people began talking of the masked figure who stopped the robbery. Rinto nodded his head, “do you want to keep this up?”, he asked sincerely.

Without missing a beat she said yes, she’d do this until she’d get what she wanted.

Rinto looked at Gloria, with intent of his own. “Alright, we should prepare”. And with that Rinto, turned to Aria, “get as many people as here as possible in an hour, and Gloria”, she recoiled at the mention of her name. Rinto resumed, “Let’s get you something to go along with the mask, for your alter-ego’s grand debut”.

Gloria smiled, she was going to build her new status as a defender of justice and legendary trainer from behind a mask to hide from the prying world.

Chapter Text

The hour went by fairly quickly, with Gloria mainly sitting quietly as Rinto presented her with various outfits. She couldn’t help but be slightly flattered by some of the nicer ones, as her filth colluded the air around her.

Eventually, Rinto found a simple outfit that was unassuming, a simple pants and shirt combo anyone with a penny to their name could buy, in the clearance bin. It was light brown, and very wrinkled, A few modifications like buying seperate sleeves and she was set.

Rinto brought her the outfit of her new personality and waited outside for her to change. Aria went with her to help in case things went wrong. Before long, she was ready for her battle against Conway.

It had been so long since she had a real battle against an opponent where it wasn’t just for quick cash. She was somewhat excited by the prospect of a good battle.

Soon it was time to fight Conway, and he did something to set the mood, almost like they were putting on a show. He began antagonizing someone nearby, and although it was largely theatric, he put an unbelievable amount of menace into his performance, almost making it seem like an ironic display.

Gloria wound up arriving at this show of false threat to have her scheduled battle. Her mask hiding her emotions, her new outfit hiding her identity. Conway turned to the masked person and acted somewhat fearful but was really ready for this fight.

Gloria and Conway both went for their pokeballs. Gloria withdrew her Corviknight she used against The Robber, establishing continuity with her earlier appearance. Conway sent out his trusty Dusknoir.

Corviknight got in a super effective Assurance attack against his Dusknoir, but he remained calm and had it use Trick Room, bringing the tide in his favor. He was gonna give Gloria a hard time, it would give her victory even more rumor fuel.

Corviknight used a Brave Bird attack next at his trainer’s insistence. The Pokemon knew what to do on their own due to mastering the art of unspoken communication. But before Corviknight attacked, Conway ordered his Pokemon to deliver a super effective Thunder Punch attack. While Corviknight was still ahead in terms of the battle, him and his trainer needed to watch out for what the faster Dusknoir would do.

Sensing the inability to deal with Dusknoir after being hit with another Thunderpunch, The Corviknight went for U-Turn and switched out. Gloria subbed in Shiftry, who landed a critical hit with Sucker Punch nearly immediately, knocking out Conway’s Dusknoir.

Conway sent out his Heracross, and both Heracross and Shiftry began setting up. Although their standoff didn’t last long, one Revenge move from Heracross later and Shiftry was out. This would just mean that it was time to get serious.

Corviknight came out, used Brave Bird and destroyed the Heracross as Trick Room had vanished that turn. A crowd had gathered, and the 2v2 turned into a 3v3 as Conway sent out his Lickilily, which was a more recent capture, as Gloria deployed a Skuntank.

Skuntank went for Sludge Bomb, which poisoned Lickilily, but the thing went for Lick and Skunktank was paralyzed. Then Lickiliy went for Heal Bell on Conway’s orders, which got rid of the Poison. The Skuntank responded with Flamethrower fishing for a burn, but The Lickily resisted the attack.

Another Sludge Bomb was released by Skuntank but Lickiliy held on, but one more move trade later, Lickiliy was down. Conway took this as a sign to end the battle by feigning fear and running far away.

Gloria headed back into the Wild Area to give the illusion of mystery, but really Rinto was just there with her change of clothes.

She looked silently into the sky, she felt like she was betraying Hop by the sheer act of battling someone else. But a part of her knew he’d want to battle others, so she’d be stronger.

Chapter Text

Rinto stayed in Motostoke while his new friend resigned herself to the Wild Area.

With his chivalrous code which had been instilled to him since birth, he couldn’t help but help out this poor girl who looked like a terrible ordeal clouded her entire life. He reasoned with himself that helping this girl along would be what any human would do.

But what had transpired today, him watching her battle from afar, helping her out with stuff, he felt very iffy about it.

How far would he go?

How far can he go?

While on the outside a man of chivalry and noble goals, to the world he was a good samaritan helping out people around him. On the inside, is a deeply troubled man wrought with insecurity and years of neglect.

This girl who had suddenly stumbled into his life had resigned herself once more to the wilds, for however temporary it may be. He never really had any permanent fixtures in his life.

He felt like chasing after what he wanted, a real friend. Alas he gives it much thought, it’s not meant to be.

Meanwhile, Gloria sleeps on the terse hard floor of The Wild Area, surrounded by her Pokemon, their perceptive senses picking up on the events that recently transpired.

Inside she wonders if her new identity is meant to last, or if it’s just temporary like all joy she’s ever felt.

Back in Motostoke, Rinto resigns himself to a temporary lodging near the edge of the city, popular for travelers.

He sees a variety of figures, people that seem familiar but he’s too tired to verify if he knows them.

The shadows of the small cabin fill the space around him as he passes out on the first bed he sits on after throwing some pokedollars at the man running the cabin.

Rinto wakes up the next day, surrounded by the shadows from the night, figures that he now remembers. He had a hard time forgetting that place.

“Mr. Chivalry is finally awake”, said an all too familiar condescending voice

The three figures above him, he had met them a while ago, but couldn’t forget their time together.

Brigantine, Constance and Creed, circumstances bringing them together again is certainly a funny thing.

He finally began to speak

“Fancy seeing your faces again, or maybe it isn’t”

Brigantine is provocative and foul mouthed so of course she is the first to answer his half assed hello

“It better be nice to see our asses again SIR”

The swearing sailor looked the same to him, still wearing her sea-ware complete with an Anchor tied around her torso, carrying it like a backpack.

Creed began to speak after her, being a sucker for all things humorous.

“Ya know it’s rude to be mean to our buddy, he’s TV Famous now”

The remark form the prideful herder startled Rinto, TV Famous?

“Are you talking about the battle from yesterday?”, he asked with a startled voice.

The final member of the trio, Constance, began to talk after previously waking him up

“Who knew you had a Corviknight-”, she said, somewhat shocked.

“Well funny thing about that”, he had to tell them the truth since they already knew, “That wasn’t me”.

The three of them looked on in shock as Rinto simply left. They rushed to stop his exit, but he remained calm and just left anyway.

As long as his old friends didn’t do anything stupid, than Gloria’s new indentity remains anonymous.

He needed to find her now, he didn’t know why, but he felt he needed to find her right this second. Did he want to warn her, did he want to ask for friendship, did he just want to be by her side, did he want all 3 at the same time?

Chapter Text

Gloria sat at the edge of Motostoke, waiting for Rinto or someone else she knew to meet them nearby.

All she knew was loneliness for the longest time, so being without her friends should have felt natural, being on her own.

So she sat at the edge of the city, near the steps that travelers passed through when entering from The WIld Area. Cheering trainers who were enjoying the journey she and Hop were both missing out on.

One duo of trainers seemed extremely enthusiastic, yelling with vigor, throwing pokeballs all over the place. She didn’t know what to make of the chaotic environment of Motostoke’s entrance.

However, a fire was lit beneath her by her battle with Conway and her defense of Patch. The kind of soul she wanted to be wouldn’t just care to languish. So even though her face was shown to the whole world, she decided to do a little exploring of her own.

The city was a bustling environment, not idle at all. And she noticed not many paid attention to her face as they were wrapped up in their own lives. Gloria moved at her own pace, and while she sweared not to get wrapped up in the adventure, she couldn’t help but be somewhat enamored by what she had missed out on.

Guilt still flooded her consciousness as she moved throughout the city, as the world around her turned without noticing her presence.

Streets, gas lamps, massive gears, Motostoke was a mechanical wonderland powered by the energy of fire type Pokemon populated by an industrious population. Although she really wonders if she has a place beyond hiding behind a mask.

Suddenly, she’s knocked over by a stray group of troublemakers, two people with brightly colored Rs on their chest, along with a Meowth who she heard say something odd. She felt pretty dizzy, and began reaching for the mask in her coat pocket. But before she could react with action of some kind, she saw a new figure above her. Standing above her position was a man with a cap on his head, and a Pikachu on his shoulder.