Leon x Reader - Stolen || A Pokémon Fanfic - On Hiatus

20 - Hulbury

Word Count: 1156

You walked into Hulbury, deep in thought. What you had seen in the mine was very real, and very disconcerting. If Team Galactic was here, would they try what they had tried before, again? How would they do it? Without the literal gods of time or space, how would they achieve their goal? Or was there a new goal?

You were so enwrapped in your thoughts, staring at the ground absentmindedly, that you didn't watch where you were going.

Before you knew it, you smacked into something. Hard.

A loud 'Gong!' echoed through the streets as you bounced off of the lamppost and onto your butt.

"Oww." You whined as you rubbed your forehead where you had smacked into the large piece of metal.

You heard someone laugh loudly from somewhere behind you. The laughter getting louder as they approached. "Are you alright?" They chuckled and you looked behind you to see Nessa standing there, holding out her hand for you with a smile.

"Oh! Yeah, thanks." You chuckled a little awkwardly, taking her hand. You made a noise in surprise as she swiftly pulled you up, seemingly with no effort at all.

"Come, walk with me!" Nessa urged you and you complied, dusting yourself off a bit before walking in step with her.

She gave you a tour through town, showing off all the important buildings and structures before ending at her gym.

"We open the doors in three days." Nessa said as she walked with you through the lobby. "We're pretty much done but it never harms to check if everything is in order. Could you perhaps help me with it?" She then asked, turning to you right in front of a set of doors.

"Sure, why not." You smiled a small smile which Nessa returned before she led you inside the Gym challenge of the Water Gym.

You gawked at the large structure in front of you. Massive pipes hung from the ceiling, coloured in red, yellow and blue while a platformed maze consisting of grates showed a path.

"The objective of this challenge is to find a way through the water pipe maze to the other side." As she said that, Nessa pulled a lever, causing giant streams of water to jettison from the pipes. "There are several coloured switches throughout that turn the matching coloured pipes on and off. Our job right now is to see if all the pipes and switches work accordingly."

You nodded your head with childlike glee and you and Nessa started walking. You looked all around, an excitement bubbling in your chest as you gazed around the large room. Pretty soon, the two of you reached the first switch and Nessa motioned you to click it. You did as she asked and the water stopped flowing without any problems, a few droplets of water dripping from the pipe.

"You alright there?" Nessa asked with a smirk as she saw your wonder-like look.

"Yeah!" You shook your head to get out of your trance and looked at her as you said that. "It just reminds me of the Water Gym back in Sinnoh. And more so the fact of how long it had been since I've been inside there."

"Ooh, what's that Gym like?"

"The Gym is run by Crasher Wake. An intimidating man but, with a heart of gold if you ask me." You smirked a bit to yourself as you said that, pressing another switch. "In his Gym, it is also a maze you have to go through basically. There are buttons all around that make the water levels rise and fall and you have to use that to find your way towards him."

Nessa chuckled. "Wouldn't that make the floor very slippery?"

"You bet it does." You laughed and Nessa laughed with you.

"Nothing like a bit of danger. Can you go and push that one over there?" The Gym Leader pointed to a lone switch sitting in a little alcove. You hummed in affirmation before quickly bounding towards it. As you went to press the button, the pipe directly behind you activated, throwing liters upon liters of water down and blocking you in.

"Hey!" You shouted and, even over the sound of the rushing water, heard Nessa laugh from the other side. She had pushed a switch, causing you to get trapped.

"I'll press it again!" Her voice sounded faint but pretty soon the water stopped, showing Nessa with a sly smile on her face.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." You deadpanned. "At least we know it works."

"That we do." Nessa smiled and you shook your head playfully before joining her again. The two of you quickly finished the rest of the maze and Nessa was content that all seemed to be in working order.

"So, thank you for joining me." Nessa stuck out her hand and you gladly took it.

"It was fun, thanks." You smiled. "I should get back to it though."

Nessa nodded a little solemnly but quickly perked up, handing you a small piece of paper. "Here is my number. Text me if you need anything or want someone to talk to."

You gratefully took it and put the paper in your pocket. Nessa had guided you back towards the main lobby of the Gym, which the two of you were currently standing in. "Will do."

You walked away, waving at the Water Type Gym Leader as you did so.

"Oh, and text me when you find one of your Pokémon!" Nessa shouted after you and you laughed, jogging backwards a bit.

"Of course!" With that, you turned back forward and ran through the door, back into Hulbury.

- - - -

As you walked around Hulbury with Rookidee out of his Pokéball and on your shoulder, you could see some Gym Challengers walking around already. These Challengers were the ones who were particularly fast. Those who - within four days - traveled to the first Gym, beat it, traveled again and arrived here in Hulbury. Unfortunately for them, the Gym would not open for another three days; the Challenge taking one week per Gym, with the Gym Challengers having to beat the designated Gyms in that time period or be eliminated from the Challenge.

You read that in the little folder you bought before coming to Galar, the one you were reading on the boat.

You didn't have time for thinking about the Gym Challenge though, no, you were too busy walking all around town and asking people for any clues or rumours about the whereabouts of your Pokémon. Hulbury however, was a lot larger than one would think. With it being the main harbour city of Galar, many people lived here while ships came and went every day.

And so did you. For the rest of this day and the next, you walked through town, Galar mine 2, Route 3 (until the bridge leading to Motostoke) and even part of Route 5.

Once again though, that which you were looking for, remained lost.

- - - -

Don't worry, Leon will be back soon >:3