Pokémon Sword and Shield: Brand New World (for Bombay)

[nomoewoes]

Alex Smithson is a trainer from the Unova region and was raised in Striaton City in a modest home with his mom. When he was much younger, he was awaken in the middle of the night by the sound of Pokémon screaming. Clad in his pajamas and bare foot, he ran outside to see a Farfetch’d standing off against a swarm of Pidoves. But this Farfetch’d looked different, his fur was darker and had a much larger leek. It would take him a while before he found out this was the Galarian version of Farfetch’d. It seemed like it traveled in a swarm of “regular” Farfetch’d and ended up in the Unova region. Without thinking, Alex took a stick and wagged it aggressively to shoo the Pidoves away. He then took the injured Farfetch’d and took him in so he and his mom to take care of him and nurse him back to health. As the years passed, he and Farfetch’d grew up together and Alex decided almost immediately that he would be his official first Pokémon. Together, the two took on the Unovan League together. After coming up short, they traveled the world together before reaching their next destination.

The Galar region, a place recommended to them by a friend that is host to some of the strongest gym leaders in the world and one who they describe as the “world’s strongest trainer” as the undefeated champion. That was more then enough to get Alex and his partner’s blood flowing. When he was young, Alex promised Farfetch’d that they will be the strongest together and to be the best, they have to beat the best. First things first, they need to go meet the professor of this region so they can get a new Pokédex and get an idea where the first gym is. Leaving all of his Pokémon but his Farfetch’d behind with Professor Juniper, the pair made their way to the airport to prepare for the long plane ride.

A few hours later, Alex and his partner stepped off the plane and took a look at the foreign town. This place was called Wedgehurst and seemed to be a huge tourism spot as they not only had an airport but a train station. Dressed in a red beanie, matching red zipped up hoodie, blue jeans, black hair and black glasses; he stepped out of the airport and did a little stretch as his partner followed behind him. He went to his pocket to look for a map when he saw a bunch of kids yelling and running towards a crowd near the train station. “Wonder what’s going on?” He asked his partner, who just shrugged at his trainer. The pair, curious what caused such a crowd to form, decided to head in that direction

[Bombay]

The people of Wedgehurst weren’t just gathering because it was a beautiful day in Galar, it’s because the undefeated champion himself came to spend some time with his younger brother Hop and his mum. Posing for the camera, and taking a few pictures with the crowd, he commanded the crowd with an uproar. He was probably the biggest celebrity in all of Galar, so it’s always fun when his charismatic nature comes out. Ruffling his little bro’s hair, he lifted him up and sat him on his shoulder “But you all better watch out, because I see a future champion in this one!” he said with a wide smile. Even if Hop has some pretty big shoes to fill, he’ll always have Leon on his side, even if he can’t always see it.

Putting the boy down, he waved the crowd away and began to escort Gloria and Hop away so they could have a nice BBQ, but then something caught his eye. He saw the young man he read about once or twice in a Unovian magazine, and spoke to Adler about him. Unfortunately, their league challenges aren’t as public as Galar’s, so he only knew about him from word of mouth, but from what he read and heard, he has a real fire in him and some skill. Going over to Alex, the towering man patted him on the back “Alex, right? Why don’t you join us, I’d love to hear more about Unova. I’ve only had the chance to go there a handful of times, but it’s stunning”

[nomoewoes]

Alex was a bit shocked to see how much attention the champion was getting. He knew having that title meant a good deal of popularity but he never saw the champions he ran into in the past have crowds this big and tv camera all over the place. Is he really THAT strong? To make things even more surprising, here Leon was walking past him and the champ called him out from the crowd out of everyone. Alex blinked a bit but gave a kind smile as he approached Leon and his crew. “It’s nice to meet you Champion Leon! It would be an honor to join you for a bit! Unova is very nice but Galar is so beautiful and unique! I can’t wait to see more as I take on the gym challenge.” He said with a smile as he looked over to see a guy around his own age that looks very similar to Leon and a girl with a pink skirt and a cute hat. “Are you two trainers as well?”

[Bombay]

“I don’t mean to toot our own horn, but I can tell you each and everyone of our gym leaders are the cream of the crop. I’ve had the pleasure of fighting each of them when they tried to be the new champion. Each brings their own flair and style to a battle, even Pierce. I think you’re going to like it here!” she said with a confident smile. The way he spoke about the gym leaders made them seem like they were all on the same playing field even if he’s the undefeated champion. Every battle he goes into, he knows it can be his last as a champion, so he’s cherishing his time. “But I’d watch out for the young bloods, they have some fight in them too” he said with a wink. Hop was the first to introduce himself with the same charisma as Leon. “Yep, you can call me Hop Alex. Leon’s my big bro, and we’re getting our pokemon today!” Gloria was the second one who introduced herself with a firm handshake “Gloria, it’s nice to meet you” but then she leaned down to introduce herself to Farfetch'd “And it’s nice to meet you too” she chuckled. As she bent over, her round rump pushed against her skirt.

[nomoewoes]

“That’s be very helpful, maybe if you could point me in the direction of the first gym later, I’d be so grateful.” Alex smiled at the champion, glad to see his kind hearted reputation wasn’t just for show. His attention was then drifted to the two soon to be trainers and he couldn’t help but laugh at Hop’s eagerness. “It’s really nice meeting you both. That’s very exciting that you get to pick your partners today! I remember when I first met Farfetch’d here like it was yesterday.” He sighed as he looked back at his first memories with his partner before snapping back to reality. “Do you mind if I join you both to watch? And if you want to test your skills in a battle, we’d be happy to take you on!”

Farfetch’d didn’t seem that impressed by the trainers and just huffed, not giving Gloria the time of day as she bent over. “I’m so sorry! He’s normally not like this! He must be extremely tired from the flight over here!” Alex apologized to her for his partner

[Bombay]

“Already fired up to fight huh? I like your attitude kid!” the champion said with a confident smile “But, if I’ve learned anything in my travels, it's that you need to take some time to rest up. Enjoy the food, stay at my place the night, and you can travel with these two munchkins tomorrow. You have to start in Hemmerlocke to get signed up for the gym challenge anyway” Leon explained. Hop nodded his head and proclaimed “The more the merrier! Yeah, come on Alex!”

Gloria frowned a little as the cold Farfetch’d brushed her off. “Mmmmmmm” the girl gave a small whine and groan, but Alex knew his pokemon more than her so she can’t really complain. “If you say so” she said in a quiet tone. Feeling the uneasy tension in the air, Leon stepped forward and patted Gloria on the back “Come on, let’s get your pokemon Hun” and with that, he began leading them to the laboratory! Okay, so he started to go in the wrong direction, then turned around, then began leading them to Magnolia!

[nomoewoes]

“Thank you so much! I’m honored!” Alex smiled as he was graciously allowed to be a part of the team, patting Farfetch’d on the head as an effort to get him to calm down. Hop would then join his two fellow trainers, putting an arm over each of them. “Come on then! We can’t get out Pokémon by just standing here!” Hop smiled, earning a chuckle from Alex. “Come on! I’ll race you both!” He stated, suddenly taking off with Farfetch’d not far behind him. “Oh no you don’t!” Hop yelled as he ran after them

Meanwhile, at the lab, Professor Magnolia was sitting at her desk and was going over paperwork. She tisked loudly as she was going over research notes that her granddaughter put on her desk this morning. She wants to hand over all of her research and lab equipment to her one day but she can tell that it seems like Sonia is not taking this seriously

[Bombay]

“A race huh? Well alright!” Leon chuckled. Gloria was having a hard time keeping up. She was wearing traditional shoes instead of the sneakers the other boys were wearing. There’s no way she’d be able to win! That was, until she saw her champion riding on the back of a Charizard fly next to her “Want to show these boys a thing or two Gloria?” Leon winked. Quickly nodding her head, Leon scooped the girl up onto the back of Charizard, and the two began bolting forward. Calling down at the boys, Leon playfully mocked “Hey, you didn’t say anything about no pokemon! See you there guys!” and with that, he was off.

Sonia had a long night, so that was the main reason why her research notes were all over the place and unfocused. She had to help Nessa with a modeling gig because someone canceled at the last moment. She’d do anything for her long time friend, and girlfriend, but even she knew she’d have to face the music from her grandmother. Unfortunately, Magnolia doesn’t know the real reason why she’s so tired. She doesn’t want to get chewed out by Magnolia, so Sonia told a white lie and said she had a hard time falling asleep last night. Sitting at her desk, Sonia clasped a mug of coffee.

[nomoewoes]

Alex smiled as he ran down the road and along the route paved that lead the way perfectly towards the professor’s lab from the town, running past many wild Pokémon that had their head sticking out of the grass. Farfetch’d was not far behind and Hop was was right behind them. It was looking like it might be a close race when Leon and Gloria came flying by on the Charizard. “Not fair!” The guys called out at the same time as they tried running even faster to try to catch up

After finishing the last page of notes, Magnolia felt a bit disgusted reading it. She knew just by looking at it that the paper was rushed and typed out not long ago. That’s not how she taught Sonia to be a good professor. She’ll have to teach her a lesson. “Sonia, may you come here dear?”

[Bombay]

“Hey, you two decided to get a headstart, I just wanted to close the gap!” Leon called out with a chuckle. “Meet you at the lab boys~” Gloria said with a giggle and stuck her tongue out at the duo. There was no way the two on the ground could keep up with a flying charizard. Leon knew this, and he was making sure his starter didn’t go his full speed just so it seemed like it was a close race.

Sonia walked in with bags under her eyes and a mug of coffee in her hand. She had a feeling her grandmother wouldn’t have liked her report, but it was better than turning in nothing. Taking one more sip, she walked in with a small smile “Sure thing Professor, what’s up?” Of course she knew ‘what’s up’ but she had to feign ignorance.