Hulbury.
"By the way, Hop, how strong are you right now?"
Damian took out a contract and then asked Hop a question.
After all, he was about to have Hop sign a contract. Naturally, he had to understand Hop's current level. Even though Damian knew very well that Hop was definitely qualified for a high-ranking officer's contract.
"I'm not bragging, Damian, but I'm actually very strong! I'm only a little bit worse than Gloria!"
Hop puffed out his chest with great confidence. Well, although he hadn't won against Gloria a single time since they started their journey.
But he was still a Trainer who had earned all the Gym Badges.
"Oh? You're only a little bit behind Gloria?" Damian acted surprised.
"Then it seems my luck is very good to have such a powerful fan."
After saying that, Damian couldn't help but smile.
"Hehe~ After all, I can't embarrass my big brother. That's why I work very hard every day."
Hop rubbed his nose, feeling a bit embarrassed. Then he scratched the back of his head and chuckled.
It was easy to see that Hop was a very earnest young man.
But it was exactly because of this that he fearlessly comforted Zamazenta, the Shield King, when it was suffering and corrupted by Dynamax energy in the game.
One must know that at that time, Zamazenta had truly gone mad because the Dynamax energy entered its body. Approaching it meant a very high chance of being attacked and hurt.
But Hop, worried about Zamazenta's safety, chased after it the whole way to comfort it. He did not give up even when he was attacked.
In the end, because of Hop's sincere heart, he turned a disaster into a blessing and gained Zamazenta's recognition.
In fact, in some ways, Hop was very similar to Ash. They had the same innocence, the same deep love for Pokémon, and the same dream of becoming the strongest.
Because of this, Damian actually liked Hop quite a bit.
"Who is your big brother?"
Platinum asked curiously.
"My big brother is Leon! He's a very amazing Champion," Hop answered proudly.
Leon was indeed Hop's number one idol. Because of this, Hop never stopped working hard. One of the reasons was that he didn't want to embarrass Leon, so he tried his best to become a worthy Trainer.
Hearing this, Caitlin and the other two girls all looked at Hop with some surprise. Leon's younger brother?
"So you are Leon's brother? No wonder."
Damian looked at Hop. Being stared at, Hop scratched his head again, feeling awkward.
"Yeah, my big brother has always been my goal. I also want to become a powerful Champion like him."
"Is that so? But I actually think you are very different from Leon, Hop."
Damian patted Hop on the shoulder and spoke with a smile.
"Huh?" Hop was stunned.
"Hop is Hop, and Leon is Leon. You are different people, and you have different paths."
Damian's words had a deeper meaning.
"Champion Leon is very strong, but Hop, don't just blindly copy your brother. If you do that, you will never be able to catch up to Leon. That is also definitely not your own path."
"Although I don't know exactly what you're thinking, I hope you can understand this point. Your future belongs to you. You can learn from other people's success, but in the end, if you want to reach the top, you must find your own Champion's path."
Damian spoke to Hop in a serious and kind tone.
In reality, among the rivals in Sword and Shield, Hop was the character who received the most development. This was because his growth was actually very complicated and full of twists.
But this also proved Hop's potential. Damian thought very highly of him.
"My own path?" Hearing this, Hop was lost in thought, and his eyes became a bit unfocused.
This was the first time someone had taught him with such patience and detail.
What was his path? He remembered his own journey.
Actually, the road he had traveled so far was really not easy. He hadn't defeated Gloria once. Not even once. Not just Gloria, he couldn't even beat Bede...
It seemed that all along, failure was always following him like a shadow.
Yes, for Hop, it really was a case of "failure follows me like the wind."
Even though Hop had a tough heart that normal people couldn't imagine, how could he not be affected?
For a period after losing to Bede, Hop fell into confusion and struggle. During that time, he even locked away the Poké Ball of his favorite Wooloo just to become stronger.
But later he also understood. He could not give up the bond he had with Wooloo and the others. He wanted to get stronger, but he also couldn't give up his "weak" Pokémon.
"That's right. It looks like you are still a bit confused. Hop, let me give you a piece of advice."
Damian looked into Hop's eyes and spoke in a gentle voice.
"When working hard toward a higher goal, ninety-nine percent of people will not have a smooth journey. Encountering setbacks and confusion is a path you must take."
"But what can we do? We cross over these difficult moments. These setbacks will only become the fuel for our growth, until we stand on the highest mountain peak."
"So, always face your own heart and your dreams. Move toward them without stopping. Then everyone will be able to hear our story. Do you understand?"
Damian's voice was like a gentle breeze. It wasn't heavy, but it blew away the confusion in Hop's heart at this moment, making him snap back to reality.
"I understand! Mr. Damian, thank you!"
Hop's eyes gradually became clear, and his tone returned to being energetic and full of spirit.
Yes, failure is actually... not scary! It was the fuel that made him stronger.
Hop agreed very much with what Damian just said. Because wasn't that his own personal experience?
Even though he hadn't won against Gloria once, even though failure followed him like the wind, he was also getting stronger all the time!
One day, everyone in the Galar region would look up to him, Hop!!
Hop looked at Damian with admiration. As expected of his second idol, Mr. Damian!
"Power, ideals, and a place to belong. Hop, I believe you will obtain them all one day. And at that time, you will surely surpass your brother Leon. Do you have confidence?"
Damian asked with a smile.
"I do!!" Hop answered very loudly, sounding very excited.
Caitlin looked at Damian and Hop with a strange expression. Why did these words sound so... familiar?
"Very good. You've got spirit." Damian nodded with satisfaction, then handed the contract to Hop.
"Then sign it, Hop. From today on, you are a high-ranking officer of Team Rocket."
"Yay!"
Hop didn't hesitate at all. He didn't even look at the contract and signed his name directly at the bottom.
Because he trusted his idol Damian. Mr. Damian would definitely never lie to him.
"You kid, you signed it without even looking? What if there were unfair terms in the contract?"
Damian didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he watched Hop hand the contract back.
This guy trusted him way too much.
"Hehe~ I trust you, Mr. Damian." Hop scratched his head and laughed.
"Should I thank you for that? In the future, you need to be more careful with things like this, okay? It's lucky it was me. Otherwise, you might have ended up as a slave for the rest of your life."
Damian found it very funny. This Hop really had a kind of innocence that hadn't been stained by the dirty world.
Before Hop could respond, a pleasant female voice came over.
"Mr. Damian is right, Hop. You really don't have any common sense. You are definitely going to suffer for it in the future."
A beautiful woman with orange hair walked over, swaying her hips. She knocked Hop on the head in annoyance.
"Ow, ow, ow! Sonia, what are you doing?!" Hop cried out in pain while covering his head.
"It's because you are too reckless. Really, it's lucky this person is Mr. Damian."
Sonia crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.
"Hmph..." Hop pouted.
"Mr. Damian, Miss Caitlin, it's been a long time."
Then Sonia greeted Damian and Caitlin in a very polite and natural way.
Seeing this, Caitlin nodded as a response.
"Actually, it hasn't been that long. Why is Miss Sonia here?"
Damian looked at Sonia with quite a bit of curiosity.
"I was planning to investigate a ruin nearby. But I didn't expect so many people to come to Hulbury these past two days. I heard something big happened over in Hammerlocke."
Sonia replied, looking a bit troubled.
"As for Hammerlocke, the matter has already been solved. We just came back from there," Damian replied.
Hearing this, Sonia was very curious and really wanted to know about the situation in Hammerlocke.
"Chairman Rose will release a statement soon with the details. And Hop, here is your high-ranking officer identity badge. Here."
Damian handed the silver Team Rocket officer badge to Hop.
"Yes! Haha~ From today on, I'm also a Team Rocket officer! Sonia, do I look cool?"
Hop was extremely happy. He took the badge and started jumping around, even showing it off to Sonia.
"Cool, very cool," Sonia replied helplessly as she looked at Hop, who was acting like a child.
This kid, is he really that happy to join Team Rocket? This might not be a good thing. I wonder what Leon will think...
"And then, if you become a high-ranking officer of the organization, you can choose one Ultra Beast to train. Hop, take a look and see which one you like."
Damian pointed at his phone, letting Hop pick an Ultra Beast.
"Wow! There are even benefits like this?"
Hop's eyes lit up. This was a total surprise.
Since there was an Ultra Beast he could take, Hop naturally wasn't going to pass it up.
Sonia also leaned in curiously to take a few looks. Ultra Beasts, if she remembered correctly, were very rare Pokémon from the Alola region.
"Ummm... I feel like every one of them is very strong."
Looking at these Ultra Beasts, Hop bit his finger, feeling very conflicted. He felt like he liked every single one of them.
"Mr. Damian, which one did Gloria choose?"
Hop thought for a moment and asked Damian.
"Gloria chose Nihilego."
"Then I choose Kartana!"
Hop said decisively. Since there weren't any Ground-type Ultra Beasts to choose from, he would just pick Kartana to deal with Nihilego.
Next time, he would definitely defeat Gloria!
"No problem. Once we enter Hulbury, I will have someone transfer Kartana over." Damian said with a smile.
Damian didn't think much of Hop choosing Kartana to deal with Nihilego. After all, choosing based on matchups wasn't strange.
Besides, in a full battle, you still have to manage to bring them face to face.
"Great! I'm going to have an Ultra Beast soon!"
Hop was very excited.
"No, I have to tell my big brother about such good news!"
Hop couldn't wait and took out his phone, preparing to tell his older brother the happy news.
Seeing this, Sonia wanted to say something but stopped. Damian's eyes, however, lit up.
"I'm sure Champion Leon will also be happy for you, Hop." Damian's smile was very bright.
"Hehe~ I think so too."
Hop's smile was just as bright. He had already dialed the number.
A moment later, the call was connected.
"Hop, what's wrong?"
Leon, who was still in Hammerlocke, was standing with Raihan. They were watching Chairman Rose give instructions to the construction leader. Leon spoke gently.
"Big brother, where are you?"
"I'm in Hammerlocke. There is some urgent business here." Leon seemed to remember something and added another sentence.
"By the way, Hop, I actually wanted to talk to you about something soon. Let's meet in the next day or two."
Leon felt he needed to give a serious warning to his brother to stay away from Damian, so he wouldn't be "charmed" by him.
"Sure! I'm in Hulbury. Big brother, I have some good news to tell you!"
Hop's voice was very excited.
"Oh? What good news? Did you beat Gloria?" Leon smiled. Every time he talked to Hop, he would sincerely feel relaxed.
After all, nobody understood his younger brother's pure heart better than Leon.
"No, that's not it yet. But I'll defeat her one day!" Hop pouted.
"It's Team Rocket! Big brother, I just met Mr. Damian from Team Rocket, and Mr. Damian agreed to let me join Team Rocket!!"
"..."
"Big brother, Mr. Damian is really super cool! And he's so gentle. I think joining Team Rocket is the smartest decision I've ever made. I'm going to work with Mr. Damian to wipe out the darkness of this world! We'll make the sky of this world clear and bright!"
"..."
"And did you know, big brother? Mr. Damian even encouraged me! Power, ideals, and a place to belong! He said I will definitely have them all in the future, and I will definitely surpass you, big brother. He's so cool! Hehe~ I think so too! I will definitely surpass you!"
"..."
"Big brother, why aren't you talking? Big brother? Hello, hello? Big brother, are you still there? Are you listening? Strange, the call didn't hang up. What's going on with him?