Pokémon: Out of the Woods | A Galar, Unova & Sinnoh Fanfiction

Chapter 46: The Three Rivals

Hop tried to sleep after he went to Zacian. He couldn't. More disturbing than the empty house was a creeping feeling of impending doom; then an even stronger one that something was calling him. He would have given up on sleep regardless, but it was as if an invisible force pulled him down the stairs and out of the door. Zacian ran ahead towards Postwick. Hop really didn't like visiting Postwick. All that was left for him there was a reminder of his mother's absence. He was out of breath. He still carried on walking.

The mansion that replaced the crumbling cottage of Hop's early childhood was now in a similar state to its predecessor. The windows were boarded up. Ivy covered the walls. His mother's beloved garden was overgrown and her flowers choked by weeds. Leon had it built when he became the Galar League Champion. Their father never appreciated it. Maybe he was right. It was a waste of time and money. Hop hoped squatters were at least making use of it, but Gloria never saw any, so they probably weren't.

He walked past it. There was nothing for him there. That feeling that pulled him on came from somewhere beyond. Zacian was already running towards its home: the Slumbering Weald.

Hop's father used to be responsible for protecting the woods. Now it was Gloria's job. The branches closed behind Hop. A door creaked in Postwick. He didn't hear it. As soon as someone stepped into the Slumbering Weald, it was as if they left the world for a plane even more ethereal than one decorated by infatuation and dancing Clefairy. It was always a little foggy. Now the fog was thick. It terrified Hop, Gloria and Victor once, when they wandered after a Wooloo into the woods as soon as they received starter Pokémon from Leon. It was a mere inconvenience to jaded Hop now, though that night, he found it didn't annoy him. He welcomed the eerie blanket that stifled his thoughts and senses. Maybe he was called here because this was what he needed: to remember how far he had come if not only for a distraction.

Wild Pokémon scattered for Zacian. It ran on. Hop no longer heard its footsteps. Nor did he hear his own. He didn't feel the mushy ground turn to the stone bridge leading to the deepest part of the woods. Then, as it always did, the fog disappeared and released Hop's senses as he stepped through a crumbling arch to the altar where Zacian and Zamazenta once slept; where he expected they would sleep again soon. Rays of moonlight fell onto the perfectly still lake. They gleamed on the graves of the kings who fought with Zacian and Zamazenta hundreds of years ago. They didn't touch the silhouettes of the man and Pokémon standing before the graves, but Hop recognised them right away.

'What are you doing here?'

He wasn't surprised, but he asked anyway. Victor looked more unsettled when he turned. Zacian finally stopped at Zamazenta's side.

'I could ask ye the same thing.'

'Couldn't sleep. Felt like something was calling me. Bla, bla, bla. You know the drill.'

Footsteps tapped the ancient stone. That shocked them both. They both spun to face whoever approached, ready to command Zacian and Zamazenta, but it was only Gloria.

'What in the world are ye doing here at this time of night...?'

'I could ask you the same thing, too...'

'I saw someone heading for the woods... I s'pose it was one o' you lot. I couldn't sleep, either...'

'I feel like...'

Victor stared down at the spot where he once picked up the Rusted Sword. The flakes that fell from it then remained there as if they were frozen in time. It did always feel like time had stopped in that clearing.

'I'm waiting for something bad to happen... but I can't move...'

Hop sat down on the damp concrete.

'I'd rather sit out here with my sense of impending doom than toss and turn for a minute longer. This place always calms me down.'