We Rise and Fall

Surprise

Anyone else out here think Kabu is a total silver fox?  Hopefully not just me?   Well, either way, I've had a massive crush on Kabu for a long while and have been working away at this fic but by bit for the past several months!  I'm over 50k in and really enjoying every bit of it.   This is a total slow burn fic and probably on pace to be my longest fic ever, so my hope is that you all will enjoy the ride here too <3  If you enjoy this story, please feel free to comment!  I love getting to hear what people think of my writing!  You can also find me on Twitter under the handle apharine - I post some of my Kabu art and some other Pokemon stuff pretty regularly, so if that's your vibe, come join me and let's be friends!

I'd like to quickly send out a huge thanks to my friend Jules who designed the cover for this fic!  You can find her on Twitter under the handle PigeonSenpai - her work is absolutely wonderful!

Without further ado, let's jump into the story <3

*****

"Ready?" Nessa loudly whispers across the room to you. You flash her the thumbs-up sign from where you're hiding under the Pokemon Professor's desk. Hop, by her side, grins widely. Beside you, Leon snickers, and Raihan, too lanky for the hiding space, tries to adjust his legs under him, only managing to hit his head on the top of the desk. Then, a moment later, the door to the lab swings open.

Sonia, the newly appointed Pokemon Professor, steps into her new domain.

"Here we are - the lab! It's good to be back here, isn't it, Yamper?" Her sunny voice chirps. Across the room, Nessa flashes you three fingers, then two, then one.

"Surprise!" You and your friends yell, all jumping from your hiding places. Raihan, with his long legs, tips Sonia's chair over as he unfurls himself, a little belatedly, from under the desk and releases a popper full of confetti. Together, you all present an array of offerings to Sonia - you have flowers, Nessa has a handmade cake, and Leon and Hop both have balloons.

"Arceus!" Sonia curses, jumping back and nearly tripping over Yamper. She steadies herself on the bookshelves, though, and dissolves into laughter. "You guys shouldn't have -"

"Congratulations Professor Sonia!" You all chorus, drowning her out in celebration of her new achievement.

"Thank you all so much," Sonia beams, looking actually a little teary-eyed. Yamper jumps in excitement around her ankles, then rushes to greet each of you.

"It was really all Nessa's idea," Leon smiles back.

"But we really are all proud of you!" Raihan adds, trying to shake just a little more confetti from the popper. Yamper barks in agreement.

*****

Nessa's cake was, predictably, amazing, and the time the six of you got to spend was equally as wonderful. You'd been more than a little nervous that there would be tension between you and Leon, as the new Champion who'd finally ended his ten-plus year undefeated streak, but he seemed genuinely glad to be in your presence and excited about starting his post-Championship career.

The cake is almost gone entirely when you finally think to ask Sonia,

"So, what's the Pokemon Professor's first big move gonna be?"

Sonia smiles, a little dreamily, and twirls her ponytail.

"Well," she says. "I learned a lot about Galar's history both leading up to and during this whole Darkest Day thing. And it really surprised me how much of our history is either buried or misinterpreted entirely. So I think my first plan of action as Galar's new Pokemon Professor is going to be to write a definitive history of the Galar Region!"

"Wow, ambitious," Raihan grins.

"If anyone can do it, it's you, Sonia," Nessa says passionately around a mouthful of cake.

"Well, actually, I'm glad you guys brought it up, because I'm hoping you all can help a little," she admits. "As Gym Leaders, you two," she says, pointing to Nessa and Raihan, "should have access to your city's special archival collections in the library, which could really help me with filling in some gaps in knowledge."

"Wow, you're really serious about this, huh, Sonia?" Hop asks.

"Definitely!" She exclaims, taking another quick bite of cake before continuing. "And our new Champion," she adds, pointing her fork to you, "should have access to all the other city's special archival collections. Right, Leon?"

"Yup," Leon agrees. "Fortunately, that's not me anymore, so I guess I'll just have to be copyeditor or something easy like that."

"Or you can just be thanked in the acknowledgments section as moral support," Raihan snickers.

"No way," Hop grins. "I call that role."

"So what do you think? Will you guys help me?" Sonia asks, ignoring the men's banter, an eager look on her face.

"You know I will!" Nessa beams.

"Me too!" You agree, almost as quickly.

"How much reading am I actually gonna have to do?" Raihan asks. You elbow him in the ribs, and he pretends to be grievously wounded, slumping over your smaller frame. "Oh, help, I'm suffering -"

"He's in, too," you confirm for Sonia, one hand on Raihan's cheek as you try to push him off of you. With as tall and muscular as Raihan is, though, he's heavy, too, and you're not winning this battle quickly. "Get off, Rai!" You exclaim, dissolving into laughter.

"I will if you'll all get a selfie with me," he grins, still slumping on you but turning to the group with a hopeful raise of his eyebrows.

"You're the worst," Leon laughs, but you all cluster in a little closer together to get the picture.

*****

When you return to Wyndon later that evening, it's with a not-insignificant list of books and historical documents Sonia has asked you to hunt down for her. She's listed them in order of potential importance, so you can pretty safely start at the top and go through the list. There's no telling where each book actually is, though, and with the evening not too late, you make a pit stop at Wyndon's largest library branch before returning back to your new apartment.

There's something soothing about being in a library, you think. Maybe it's the smell of all the books, or the way everyone's so quiet and polite to each other, or the fact that the whole idea is to encourage literacy and the sharing of knowledge within a community. Even with Wyndon's main library branch being bigger - and busier - than any library you've ever seen before, it still feels a little like a slice of home to you. Plus, with the size of this place, you're more than a little optimistic that the first book on your list - Galar Through the Ages - is archived here.

You hop on one of the available PCs, signing in to the system and typing in the book title, feeling a jolt of excitement when the book comes up in the library catalog. You open the page details, figuring you can always grab it tonight and get started on it tomorrow, but the details tell you the book is actually in Motostoke's Special Archives collection.

Okay, fine. You decide to try the second book on your list: Two Heroes, Two Destinies: Galar's Myths and Legends. Again, it's recognized by the system, but again, when you check the details, it's in Motostoke.

You run down the first few books on your list, including An Amended Theory on the Darkest Day, Swords, Shields, and Symbolism: How Galar's History Affects Us Today, and Galar's Histories and Legends.

Every last one of them is, inexplicably, in Motostoke.

Fine, you figure, signing off the computer and heading home. There has to be some explanation for why they've all wound up in Motostoke. You've got a day off tomorrow; you can take some time to travel to the city and start there.