Pokémon Homecoming | A Galar Fanfiction

Chapter 1: From Alola to Galar

If anyone but Anabel of the International Police asked Abbey to return to Galar, she would have refused. She did not take off to the other side of the world with her rocks and geology textbooks to face everything she spent her whole life avoiding.

Even if Anabel wasn't a dear friend and Battle Tree colleague, Abbey was sure she was the best detective out there. If she believed Abbey was the woman to unravel whatever these criminals in a suspicious factory were up to, she probably was. Despite that, as she took her seat on the connecting flight to Castelia City and pulled on her headphones, blasting folk metal to block out the airline's theme song, she wondered just what she got herself in to.

She rummaged through her bag for her Scorbunny flight pillow. It wasn't there. She left it at her boyfriend's house in Orre. She sighed. Last time she flew into Twin Heroes International Airport, she came to see him performing in a Nimbasa City musical, but now... she was going back to Galar.

Finally boarding the flight to Wyndon, the smiling face of Champion Leon stared her down from the tailfin of the Macro Cosmos Air plane at the next gate. Sawk and Throh loaded luggage. Why did she let even Anabel talk her into this? In Alola, Abbey was an island challenge champion and renowned geologist. What was she in Galar? Just another Gym Challenge dropout, trampled and forgotten in the trail blazed by Leon and Charizard? No, she was wrong. After 11 years in relaxed Alola, she often forgot that the world outside knew exactly who she was, not from the Gym Challenge or even her achievements, but because she was Alfie Addison's girlfriend.

Her own Ballonlea accent was usually the only Galarian one she heard. They were all around her, sounding terribly snooty now. Did she sound like that? Her Alolan friends appeared in her mind to laugh and confirm she did.

She did look forward to seeing her old friends. They talked every day, but it was hard to believe she and Professor Sonia Magnolia went from inseparable roommates to only meeting once in those 11 years.

I owe them a visit, she thought, I really do. I miss them.

Though she also already missed her Alolan friends, her found family who took in the uncertain foreigner like they had known her all their lives. She absentmindedly reached for her Z-Ring, as she often did when stressed, always prompting a reminder of kahuna Hapu's words from her island challenge.

'One day, perhaps you will stand here again and whoever it is you feel so disloyal to, you will stand here knowing you have grown and they forgive you. Tapu Lele is always with you, Abbey, in that Sparkling Stone it thought you worthy of.'

This was only temporary. It wasn't as if she would never return. That should have brought comfort, but despite that, despite paying to access the overpriced wi-fi to call Acerola, her best friend; despite questioning herself all the way to Wyndon, Abbey knew deep down that she did not board that plane just for Anabel.

She wanted to rewrite her own history. She wanted to reclaim her homeland. No matter how hard she tried to suppress it, there were things she no longer wanted to face in Alola, or in all that was familiar. She would not run anymore. She would reclaim it all.

Simply considering returning to Galar was the first step. Agreeing to an exhibition match at Wyndon Stadium was the next one. Only her subconscious noted that if she was asked to participate in one, Galar hadn't forgotten her completely, even if the League was only interested now she was an island challenge champion.

A pink sunrise stretched over the grey rooftops of Wyndon. Abbey was cranky and exhausted, with a crick in her neck thanks to the forgotten pillow. She bought a new one. Alfie was busy filming some new movie about Team Plasma. She wouldn't be seeing him any time soon.

She crammed onto a sweat-scented red bus. The one beside it advertised the Battle Tower that Leon transformed from Rose Tower after its namesake was jailed for causing a catastrophe. Leon's face was everywhere, like the tip of the Battle Tower peeked over every rooftop in Wyndon.

He's a walking commercial... bet he doesn't even remember me.

Walking to the fusty hotel the Galar League booked for her, Abbey released her Pokémon: Ninetales, Cinderace, Lycanroc, Meowstic, Vaporeon and Garchomp. They were eager to stretch their legs and even more eager to guzzle the massive portions of fish and chips she bought for them all.

'It's strange...'

Her eyes took in the colourful houses, flashy billboards, a surprisingly green park and the looming tower.

'Wyndon doesn't actually seem as bad as I remember. But can you imagine if we'd stayed here? We would've had him trying to train us.'

She waved at a passing bus advertising the Battle Tower.

'Getting on his soapbox about wanting Galarian Trainers to be the best.'

She took her phone from Cinderace, who tried to take a selfie of them all together, to snap a photo to send to her friends. It was evening in Alola. Acerola and Olivia, the kahuna of Akala Island and a fellow rock enthusiast, immediately noted the Battle Tower. Leon was a running joke. Olivia almost met him in the World Championships, once, before she was knocked out by some wannabe pirate, Archie. She still grimaced at his 'Charizard pose.'

A package awaited Abbey at the hotel. She knew what was inside: a replacement Galar League uniform, since she threw her old one out. As she unlaced the rope around it, her old number, #18, looked up at her. All those years ago, in a hotel in Hammerlocke, 11 year-old Abbey and five fellow challengers – Sonia, Raihan, Janice, Malcolm and Leon – chose their numbers. Abbey and Leon battled for #1. Leon won, but on their way to the opening ceremony, he got lost. He was late. Abbey contemplated stealing #1. Raihan egged her on. Picturing the disappointment in her 10 year-old friend's innocent eyes, she couldn't do it. She accepted she wasn't #1 now, but she wished she had taken it just to annoy Leon.

She unzipped her suitcase. Protected by bright yellow dresses and shorts, that matched Abbey's dyed hair, was her photo album. Cinderace tripped in its enthusiasm to investigate. After all, it was in most of the photos, regularly photobombing Abbey and Alfie. Cinderace never seemed to like him, even though he was a Trainer, too. Abbey promised revenge for his loss to Leon at the World Championships, though she actually hoped she wouldn't see Leon at all... or did she?

There's nothing to reclaim there. He's a walking commercial. I don't care.

Garchomp flipped through to its favourite photo: Abbey and her team, proudly holding Ribbons for winning 50 consecutive battles at the Battle Tree. They hadn't lost since. Despite that, Abbey never joined her friends at the World Championships. As she nervously held up her uniform, wondering who the Galar League considered an exciting opponent, she realised she wasn't just scared of losing on international TV. She wanted to win in Galar first.