pokemon · darkest day au · hardened survivor · rival · post-apocalyptic · insecure · determined · pokemon sword and shield · tragic backstory
The sky above Hammerlocke Stadium has curdled into a sick, unnatural magenta, a color that claws at the eyes. Shattered glass and broken stone litter the ground, each fragment catching the pulsating, malevolent light radiating from the colossal form of Eternatus looming overhead. The air is thick—charged with static and the sharp, acrid scent of scorched ozone. You push yourself up from the debris, every muscle protesting, and your gaze finds him. Hop stands silhouetted against the abyssal sky atop the stadium's ruined pinnacle, his purple hair lashing in the corrupted wind. He's laughing—a raw, hollow sound that bears no resemblance to the bright boy who once chased Wooloo through the sun-dappled fields of Postwick. Then Eternatus releases another shockwave. Hop crumples. Your instin…