#trainer hazel

one thing i'm really eager to write is her Kalos arc- which is post-SWSH. hazel and leon take a trip to kalos together with hop & sonia- sonia is researching similar energy sources to the dynamax phenomenon, beginning with mega evolution, as mega evolution and gigantamaxed pokemon share characteristics

leon wants to go to spend time training and traveling outside of galar, and specifically wants to look into mega evolution for himself, as it takes a lot of dedication and greater focus to pull off! and then they encounter red, green/leaf and blue and leon IMMEDIATELY has a new rival KJLSFGJKL

(i also wanna give leon and red opposing mega charizard forms, and i want excuses to sit down and design leon's charizard and red's charizard- i like the thought of the forms theyve taken the most affecting their normal appearances, so leon's charizard's picked up g-max charizard's markings a little bit for instance)

hazel also considers giving mega evolution a try, but her only pokemon who can mega evolve is Samwell, and. well. the poor guy is Very Anxious... but... he is a little special. and if he decides he wants to go ahead and try it, something cool might happen........

but since i decided hazel does Not go to kalos during the events of XY, i now need to sit here and figure out how to incorporate some of those story elements in post......

additionally, i'm now considering the rainbow rocket stuff from USUM as something happening a few years after hazel's alola arc, and also after SWSH (because leon will be there.)

but i'm tempted to frame it like i am with hazel in kalos and paldea, in that sonia is also visiting alola for research, and then hazel & leon get swept up into the events of episode RR (in which hazel and guzma have to reconcile. and hazel gets to hit ghetsis with the Steel Chair if nobody's holding her back)

i think though as a hypothetical so far the timeline is

Alola -> Galar -> Kalos -> Alola (modified episode RR) -> Paldea

hazel got sparks directly from a breeder in kanto- sparks is shiny, and probably has max IVs. and he's a variant pikachu (notch-eared pichu but evolved) too.

hazel got him for free because they couldn't get rid of him otherwise because he was too aggressive and wouldn't listen to anyone or cooperate (and of course this Weird Little Girl bonds with him immediately on sight)

she never thinks about this. like sparks is just a little sparkly and he himself knows he's Awesome. she knows he's special but he's special to HER because he's her buddy, not because he's rare. (he knows he's like, the best though. he has a little bit of an ego)

and of course this throws everyone else off because sparks is her ace and he's INCREDIBLY strong for a pikachu.

and then years later this happens again because she effectively steals a shiny kantonian-alolan crossbreed vulpix from a breeder- Fiero escaped and bumped right into her and wouldn't leave her alone until she caught him. he would've been stuck in the contest circuit because he's absolutely ideal as a contest pokemon, but he couldn't stand it and just wanted out- and battling turned out to be a way more fitting deal for him!

now hazel does think fiero is special too, and she knows crossbreeds are a little rare, and she recognizes he's shiny- he's also a very pretty ninetales now. but he's also the menace who keeps stealing her food the moment she turns around. (and he's a pretty great space heater)

so my overall thought for the story is still very much "pokemon SV but hop is the player character ft. My Blorbo and His GF(?)"

but I also wanna fiddle around with the story a little bit just to fill in some gaps and make it make a little more sense

overall the goal is hazel's challenging the league while she and leon accompany hop and sonia in paldea- at the same time she and leon have signed up to assist in teaching and possibly they could also be serving as chaperones for some of the students

especially since like. i think the treasure hunt overall is pretty safe all things considered and you have a huge motorcycle dog watching over you the entire time. but i'd like to hope someone's out there keeping a look out for you so you don't vanish into the glaseado mountains???????

but i like the idea of hazel and leon taking on mentor roles for arven, penny, nemona and hop and going with them into area zero (because good lord. WHY ARE THESE KIDS GOING INTO HANDS DOWN THE MOST DANGEROUS AREA IN THE REGION ALONE. i think having one of the strongest trainers in galar (and the world) might be a good person to tag along.

i might also think about sonia being in the mix too even though that's a lot of characters- maybe she'd have come along in hopes of meeting the professor and talking to them while researching terastal energy and its relationship with dynamax energy, only to discover, well..........

on hop's end! i like the thought of him still feeling a little lost on what exactly he wants to do. this isn't undoing his existing character development! i don't think though that he'd INSTANTLY have more of a handle on what he wants to do as a pokemon professor, though. he has to find his place, what calls to him the most. i feel like he'd still be a little impulsive, trying to force his way through by trying to pick up as many skills as he can to try to be an all-rounder. and i feel like in helping the others, and going through all three paths with pokemon battling against nemona, helping heal mabosstiff with arven, and helping penny with team star- it'll likely help him narrow down what he wants to do and what he feels most passionate about!

i don't know what that is yet!!!! but i like that, because as i write/conceptualize for this, i'll go on that journey with him a little bit and that's very delightful to me. i believe in him!!!!!

HIIII HAZE!!!!! 🥺

a misc thought about pokemon trainer!hazel!

Hazel and Raihan are friends! they ended up bonding over their mutual love of art history, having spent a lot of time chatting about the pieces in the vault in Hammerlocke! if Hazel's not hanging around Leon, then you're likely to find her hanging out with Raihan and Sonia, chatting about art and history! (or the two of them trying to get her to confess to Leon already, but. yknow)

✨🥺✨