Chapter Text
She woke up, alone, in a hospital. It must have been nighttime, because the sky outside her window was pitch black.
She blinked at the window in confusion. She wasn’t supposed to be alone, a feeling in her gut told her, and it wasn’t supposed to be nighttime. How did she know that?
How had she gotten here?
She blinked out at the window again, and frowned. While she was at it, what was her name?
“Champion Gloria?”
She turned at the sound of a voice, and saw a nurse walk into her hospital room. “Champion Gloria, you’re awake!” the nurse said, a smile blossoming over her face. “How are you feeling?”
Champion Gloria. That must have been her. She opened her mouth to speak, couldn’t get a word out, cleared her throat, and tried again. “How did I get here?”
The nurse’s smile faded. “You were ambushed by Team Exit,” she said. “Your pokemon were scattered, but your partner is out rescuing them now.”
Pokemon...the word reverberated like a bell inside her head. She shot upright in bed and shouted, “Cinderace!”
“Never left your side,” the nurse said. “It was quite worried about you when you were brought in, but Professor Hop managed to calm it down before anything was accidently burned. It went with him to help re-capture the rest of your team, but they should both be back as soon as they can.”
She bit her lip and stared at the nurse. “Who’s Professor Hop?” she asked quietly. “I can trust him, right?”
The nurse’s face fell into an unreadable mask. “I can answer the rest of your questions when we’re finished the medical examination,” the nurse said. “Please answer these questions as honestly as you can, Champion Gloria. What’s the last thing you remember?”
She shrugged. “Waking up here, I guess.”
“I’m going to go find your doctor,” the nurse said, and then left.
Gloria - Champion was just a title, the doctor had explained - didn’t know what today’s date was, or how she got there, or who she was. The only things she could describe as missing was Cinderace by her side and the weight of five other pokeballs on her hip. She was led down to the lab and was in the middle of some kind of brain scan when there was a loud boom, like thunder, and the sky suddenly brightened back to high-noon blue.
There was the sound of cheering from out in the hospital walls.
“He did it!” said one of the lab techs.
“Of course he did,” said the other one. “He helped Gloria catch it the first time, after all, and they’ve both only gotten stronger.”
“I didn’t realize how strong he was, what with the Champion around all the time. This is a relief.”
The doctor entered the lab again, a big smile on his face. “The scan is complete, Gloria. Are you feeling any differently?”
Gloria shook her head and got up off the lab table. “No. Should I?”
The doctor shrugged, his smile fading slightly as he consulted his clipboard. “It was a long shot, but we were concerned your head trauma may have been exacerbated by the return of the Darkest Day. However, it seems like Professor Hop has managed to take care of things, so if you’re still experiencing memory problems then it is likely unrelated.”
He started leading the way back to her hospital bedroom. “I’d like to keep you here overnight for observation, as well as to consult with the Professor.”
“Alright,” Gloria said. “When should I start remembering things?”
“It’s different in every case,” the doctor said. “It may come back as you heal from your physical head trauma. It may come back when you see a trigger. It may come back to your at your own pace, or it may never come back.”
“Never come back?” Gloria echoed. “I would hate to abandon my Pokemon like that.”
The doctor sent her a shrewd look. “I’m sure they’ll forgive and accept you as you are,” he said. “Absolutely no pokemon battling until you are medically cleared, no matter what that partner of yours says. Understood?”
Gloria frowned. The only partner she really remembered was Cinderace, and she didn’t think Cinderace could push her into something like that. “Understood,” she said anyways.
The nurse was waiting back at her hospital room. “How are you feeling, Champion Gloria?”
“A little sore, but that’s all,” Gloria answered.
“I have some of your things here,” the nurse said, putting a backpack on the nightstand. “Professor Hop just called - he still has to find your Appletun, but he promised to be back here immediately after that.”
Gloria squirmed as she sat down on the edge of her bed. She didn’t like the idea of a stranger handling all her pokemon, but she kept the thought to herself, as the rest of the staff seemed to have a very positive opinion of the guy. But really, what kind of name was Hop?
“I recommend going through your pokedex, as well as recent journals, if you have any,” the doctor said.
“Your Rotom Pokedex is right here,” the nurse said, pulling a tablet out of the backpack. “And your remote is at the side of the bed. Page us if you need anything, alright?”
“Yes,” Gloria agreed, hastily grabbing the tablet and pulling up her recent records as the doctor and nurse left her room. There were clear details of training plans, team compositions, and battle records, but very little information outside of the realm of pokemon. Her recent battles were all names of people she didn’t recognize, so she sighed and switched over to her collection of trainer cards instead.
There was no ‘Professor Hop’ listed under the P’s, and no “Hop” listed under the H’s.
“Oh, come on,” Gloria muttered to herself, staring at the only professor card she had - one Professor Magnolia, a stern-looking old woman that seemed to radiate disapproval through her picture.
Professor Hop must be new, then. Hop - what a short, scrimpy name for a probably short and scrimpy professor. She could practically picture him, small and balding and just eager to get her hands all over her poor pokemon. Why else would he have taken Cinderace away?
“Gloria!” a voice called out from the door, and she barely had time to turn her head before she was tackled by someone in a jean jacket with fur lining. She stiffened, and the man -
(the amazing smelling man, for the record. Best smelling hug she’d ever had in her 1 hour of memory)
- pulled away a few inches, just enough space to give her room to think. “Gloria, I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said, voice wobbling. He had tan skin, dark hair, and gorgeous caramel colored eyes that seemed to be... watering?
Beautiful eyes or not, Gloria was not in the business of being tackle-hugged by strangers. She pushed him away a few more inches and said, “I’m sorry, sir, I’m actually waiting for a very important guest.”
The man blinked adorably. “What?”
Maybe the attractive man could help her. “Pokemon Professor Hop, if you know him,” she said. “He has all my pokemon.”
The man let out a sigh of what seemed to be relief, and swung his own backpack off his back. “Yeah, yeah, I’ve got all six right here,” he said. “Should have known who you’d want to see first. Cinderace is positively dying to check up on you - it took a lot of sweet-talking to get him to not burn down the lobby of this place out of anxiety.”
Gloria frowned. “Wait. You have my…?”
The man was pulling a pokeball out of his backpack as she spoke. “Go, Cinderace!” he shouted, and then suddenly her only memory was here in the flesh.
“Cinderace!” she cried, and her best friend immediately jumped into her arms and started hugging her. Pokemon now in her arms, Gloria stared back at the man who’d brought it to her.
“You must be Professor Hop,” she realized out loud. Far from the short, mean old man she had pictured, Professor Hop was tall, with short spikes of purple-black hair and long eyelashes and frankly overall good looking.
His smile faded. “Not funny, Glo. I know you’ve had it worse, but I’ve had kind of a rough morning too.”
“Do I have your trainer card?” Gloria asked. “I couldn’t find you in my records.”
“What?” he said
She shook her head as if to clear it, and Cinderace got off her and sat down between her and the professor on the bed. “I’m sorry, I should explain. I have amnesia from the attack this morning, and I can’t remember anything. People told me that you were out re-catching my released pokemon, but that was all I knew and I couldn’t find your trainer card in my collection.”
“Amnesia,” the professor said, and suddenly he grabbed her hand and held it in both of hers. “Do you remember me?”
She frowned. “I’m sorry,” she said earnestly. “I don’t.”
He dropped her hand like it was a hot coal, and stood up and took a step back away from her. “I...I’m going to go find your doctor,” he stammered, looking anywhere but at her.
She frowned. “Okay, but-”
He bolted out of the room before she could complete her sentence.
“-the rest of my pokemon,” she finished out loud to the empty space. Sighing, she looked at Cinderace. “Hey, buddy. I’m glad your back with me. I remember you.”
Cinderace’s ears flicked down behind its head, and it blinked up at her with sad eyes.
“I’ll be okay,” Gloria said. “I’ll get the rest of you guys back from the mad-dash professor over there, and then we’ll all be together again, ok? It was nice of you to help him track down the others.”
Cinderace hopped forward and stuck out its head, and Gloria smiled to herself and raised her left hand to pet it. As she raised her hand, something caught her eye.
“Is that...a wedding ring?” she wondered out loud, pulling her hand closer to her. It was a simple band, a cool silver with no embellishments, nothing that could snag on a pokemon. She slid the ring off her fourth finger to find a small inscription on the inside: Sword and Shield.
What the heck kind of wedding inscription was that?
She heard footsteps outside her room and quickly slid the wedding ring back on, just in time before Professor Hop made a reappearance inside her room. “Hey,” the professor said roughly, reaching up to rub the back of his neck with one hand. The idea struck Gloria suddenly that he might have a matching ring on, and she felt herself warming to the idea. “Sorry I ran out on you like that.”
“That’s okay,” Gloria said. “My pokemon?”
He pursed his lips. “The doctor recommended returning to your work slowly, and I agree with him. There’s a reason that Gym badges are a requirement to control higher level Pokemon, and if you don’t remember anything…I’m afraid an incident might occur.”
She frowned. “You can’t keep them from me forever.”
“I’m not going to,” Professor Hop reassured. “Starting tomorrow, I’m going to go after Team Exit - they’ve been assaulting people and kidnapping and releasing pokemon all over Galar, and they need to be stopped. You can’t just drop a confused, scared, and powerful pokemon in the middle of a dynamax-capable city and expect there not to be-” he cut himself off, and clenched his jaw.
Gloria glanced at Cinderace, and was struck with a quick vision of her pokemon, as tall as a castle, blasting fire from the heavens. Dynamax. “Right,” she said, a bit disappointed.
“Do you want to come with me?”
Gloria looked back at Professor Hop sharply. He was wringing his hands and had the most hopeful expression on his face. “Yes,” Gloria breathed instantly - she was powerless not to, not with him looking at her like that - and dropped her gaze to his hands.
His left hand.
He wasn’t wearing a ring.
She inhaled sharply, but he didn’t seem to notice, as he leapt forward and swept her up in a hug again. “Yes!” he yelled into her ear, and then pulled back, blushing a little but not hiding the ecstatic smile on his face. “Sorry, I know I’m still a stranger to you right now, but if we stick together I know you’ll remember everything you need to. This is going to be ace, Gloria. A real adventure, just like when we were kids.”
She swallowed, her head still reeling like she’d just been kicked in the gut. She'd been so sure that he must have been her husband.
Professor Hop sat down on the edge of her bed, swinging his dangling legs and grabbing her Rotom Tablet. “I am positive you still have my trainer card,” he chattered, pulling up her collection and flicking through it. “Just where - aha! You’ve still got me under rival, that’s adorable.”
“Let me see,” Gloria demanded breathlessly, and he passed the tablet to her. She stared with wide eyes at the image below - it was Professor Hop from at least 10 years ago, a foot shorter and making an expression too fierce to really fit his face. Rival Hop, her label read. “We really were kids, Professor,” she said out loud.
His smile flickered. “Call me Hop,” he said, and then turned back to her collection. “Oh, look, you’ve still got Bede and Marnie filed under rival as well. Don’t you ever update these things?”
“I like it,” Gloria blurted out, and then froze.
When Hop turned back to her, a small smile playing on his lips, it felt like a million Butterfrees were flapping in her stomach. She fought back a blush and looked down again at her trainer card collection so he couldn’t see her face.
She could not have a crush on someone who was not her spouse.
Hop spent the next few hours going through the basics with her - Pokemon types, Galar geography, a rudimentary plan to weed out Team Exit. She screwed up her courage and finally asked the question she’d been dying to ever since she saw the wedding ring. “Hey, Hop - what about my family?”
He looked up and snapped his fingers. “Shoot, you’re right. In all the excitement of today, I completely forgot about it. I can take care of calling your mum and everyone for you, if you like.”
Gloria nodded, and then asked softly, “Can I see them?”
Hop winced. “No, unfortunately. The entire Galar region is on lockdown after the Corviknight taxi service was attacked. No travel allowed except for special circumstances.”
“Like you going after Team Exit?” she asked.
“Us going after Team Exit,” he corrected. “You’re the champion here, mate. I’m with you.”
“That seems silly,” she said. “I don’t remember anything. How much use am I going to be?”
“You’re a great Pokemon trainer,” Hop said. “The best there ever was. I’m lucky to be on your team.”
“I’m lucky to have you,” Gloria said, and then bit her tongue. “I mean, for my recovery and everything. Showing me stuff. That’s it. Nothing else.”
His eyes looked gold from the light of the setting sun filtering in through the window. “Right,” he said, searching her face for something. “Well, visiting hours are almost over. I’ll pick you up here tomorrow?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Right,” Hop said again, and then cleared his throat. “Night, Cinderace. Goodnight...Gloria.”
She couldn’t read the look he was giving her. Hop made an aborted motion with his head, and then turned on his heel and walked out the door.
She stared at his back the whole way out, and felt guilt bubble up in her stomach. Guilty because - when Hop said her family couldn’t come see her, she was relieved.
As long as Hop was with her, she didn’t want to meet whoever her real spouse was.