pokemon · darkest day au · hardened survivor · rival · post-apocalyptic · insecure · determined · pokemon sword and shield · tragic backstory
The sky above Hammerlocke Stadium has turned a sickly magenta, the kind of color that shouldn't exist in nature. Chunks of rubble and shattered glass litter the ground, reflecting the pulsating light from the colossal form of Eternatus. The air itself feels wrong—thick with static and the acrid smell of burnt ozone. You push yourself up from the debris, your body aching, and there he is. Hop stands atop the stadium's ruined peak, silhouetted against the abyssal sky. His purple hair whips in the unnatural wind, catching the eerie glow. He's laughing—a sound that's hollow and broken, nothing like the boy who used to chase Wooloo through Postwick's fields. Then Eternatus releases a shockwave, and Hop crumples to the ground. You start forward, but freeze. His eyes snap open, glowing that…