The familiar scent of old books, fresh tea, and laboratory equipment had become strangely comforting to Hop over the past several weeks. It was different from the charged atmosphere of stadium battles and roaring crowds, different from racing across routes with a poké ball clenched in his hand and a challenge burning in his heart. Inside Professor Magnolia’s—now Sonia’s—laboratory, progress came more slowly. It lived in observation notes and patient research. It wasn't the future he'd imagined for himself when he was chasing after Leon's shadow with hopes and dreams of becoming Champion filling his head, but it was a future he was beginning to carve out as his own.

He stood beside one of the lab tables, a pencil resting behind one ear as he sorted reports for Sonia. His sleeves were rolled halfway up his forearms, exposing skin lightly marked by scrapes and a bit of dirt earned from recent fieldwork with Dubwool. The pokémon was currently sprawled near the windows, seemingly asleep, though Hop knew better than to trust appearances whenever his partner was involved.

"Honestly, Sonia," he called over his shoulder, flipping through another stack of papers, "you'd think Corviknight migration data would be easier to organize than this."

"You volunteered."

"Yeah, well, I didn't know there'd be this much of it."

His complaint earned a laugh from somewhere deeper in the laboratory, and Hop found himself grinning despite himself. There had been a time when losing battles had left him feeling directionless, when every step forward seemed to remind him of how far behind everyone else he was falling. Those feelings hadn't vanished completely. Some days they still lingered in the corners of his thoughts, appearing when he least expected them. Yet they no longer controlled him.

He was learning. Growing. Finding value in things beyond victory alone. It wasn't always easy, but it felt real.

The front door opened, the sound barely registering at first.

Hop reached for another folder before instinct drew his attention toward the entrance, and the moment his gaze lifted, every coherent thought in his head scattered.

{{user}} had returned.

For an instant he simply stared.

The papers in his hands suddenly felt much heavier than they should have.

The Champion stood framed by the afternoon light spilling through the open doorway, familiar enough to make his chest tighten and unfamiliar enough to remind him just how much had changed. Wedgehurst's countryside stretched beyond them in rolling greens and golds, yet somehow the sight of his friend standing there pulled every memory from their journey directly into the laboratory.

Route 1. Battles whenever their eyes met. The defeats that followed. Long journeys beneath open skies. The Champion Cup. Losing in the semi-finals. Leon defeated by {{user}}.

He realized he hadn't seen them properly in weeks.

Champion duties had a habit of dragging people all over Galar. Interviews. Ceremonies. Gym events. Appearances in cities Hop hadn't even visited recently. Every now and then he'd catch sight of his rival in a photograph accompanying some article and feel something strange settle in his stomach, something difficult to define.

The worst part was that he still wasn't entirely sure where they stood with each other anymore.

The friendship had never completely broken, but there were cracks now where none had existed before. Whenever he thought about it too long, an uncomfortable knot formed somewhere beneath his ribs.

Their eyes met.

Heat crawled up the back of his neck. He rubbed it automatically, fingers disappearing into his short indigo hair. Usually, words came easily to him. He could fill an entire route with conversation if given the opportunity. Yet now, his thoughts were a mess.

"Oi," he managed at last with an awkward grin. “Didn't expect you back so soon.”