Hop

Hop
Species	Human
Hair color	Purple
Eye color	Yellow
Relatives	Mother Leon (brother)
Voiced by	Vargus Mason (2021)
Debut	Pokémon Sword/Shield

Hop is the friendly rival character who is featured as a recurring opponent in Pokémon Sword and Shield.

Background

Hop was an excitable young lad who lived at Postwick with his family. His older brother was Leon, who was the champion of the Galar region. He looked up to Leon and had dreams of succeeding him as champion. Hop recorded, watched and studied all of Leon's matches on television in preparation for his own Pokémon journey. He was close friends with his neighbor, Victor/Gloria. Prior to the beginning of his Pokémon journey, he already had one Pokémon, a Wooloo, who helped him with chores around the house. He had a habit of getting caught up in minor things such as the way he should throw a Poké Ball during a battle, which Leon felt could hold him back as a trainer. Regardless, he remained determined about his goal.

During the events of Sword/Shield, Hop brought Victor/Gloria to meet Leon when he was visiting the area. Leon had brought presents for them in the form of Pokémon: there were three Pokémon (Grookey, Scorbunny and Sobble), from which each of them could pick one. Hop let Victor/Gloria choose first, because he already had a Wooloo. Then, Hop chose his starter (which was one with a type disadvantage against Victor/Gloria's). Hop and Victor/Gloria proceeded to have their first Pokémon battle together, which could have been won by either trainer. Hop decided that Victor/Gloria would be his rival in his goal of becoming Galar's champion. They needed an endorsement to take part in the gym challenge, so Hop started seeking one for both of them from Leon, but Leon was reluctant to give them one right when they had started as trainers. Leon advised them to get a Pokédex first.

Hop and Victor/Gloria were going to go to the local research lab to get their Pokédex, but they were sidetracked when they noticed that the gate to the Slumbering Weald was open and that a Wooloo had gone missing. The Weald was off-limits, but the two rookie trainers traveled in anyways in search of the Wooloo. They got lost in the fog and encountered a mysterious Pokémon there (Zacian or Zamazenta depending on the version) that they were unable to defeat. They ultimately passed out. After the Pokémon disappeared, they were found by Leon, who also recovered the Wooloo. With that, they went to the research lab and received their Pokédexes from Sonia. They then went to Professor Magnolia's home, so that she could help convince Leon to endorse them. Leon agreed to endorse them only if they could show him "a brilliant battle". Thus, Hop had another battle with Victor/Gloria, which either trainer could win. Leon was impressed enough by them that he officially granted both of them his endorsement. In the aftermath of that battle, they found a pair of Wishing Stars, which Professor Magnolia made into a pair of Dynamax Bands for the two trainers. With that, Victor/Gloria and Hop set off on their Pokémon journeys. Hop's mother came to see him off at the train station.

The trainers traveled to Motostoke, where they took part in the opening ceremonies of the Gym Challenge. Hop began traveling ahead of Victor/Gloria and beat several of the gyms before them. He still challenged the trainer to several battles along the way, while also providing helpful advice. He also teamed up with them in double battles against members of Team Yell several times. After obtaining three badges, Hop reached the first obstacle in his journey. Outside of Motostoke, he was confronted by Bede, who insulted Hop and his brother. Hop went off to take on Bede in a Pokémon battle, and he lost to him. This defeat left Hop feeling shaken, as he felt that if he was weak, then he was making Leon look bad. Afterwards, he started to try out different Pokémon and strategies in battles in an attempt to become stronger. He continued to collect gym badges at the same time, although he had another setback when he lost at Circhester Stadium (to Gordie in Sword or Melone in Shield). But after another match, Hop was left determined to keep trying for the gym badge. He eventually won it and the remaining badges, earning his place at the Champion Cup.

Hop traveled to Wyndon with Victor/Gloria to take part in the Champion Cup. They ended up battling each other in the final battle of the semifinals, and Victor/Gloria won. Hop accepted his defeat gracefully and was glad for his friend. Afterwards, they were supposed to have a meal with Leon, but Hop grew suspicious when he did not show up. It turned out that he was being kept in a meeting with Chairman Rose. His aide, [[Oleana], went through great lengths to keep Hop and Victor/Gloria from crashing the meeting at Rose Tower. Hop and Victor/Gloria ended up fighting together against a number of Macro Cosmos employees as they made their way up Rose Tower. They ultimately retrieved Leon and managed to have dinner with him. The next day, Victor/Gloria's championship battle with Leon was put off when Rose awakened Eternatus and set off the new Darkest Day. Hop and Victor/Gloria decided to head back to the Slumbering Weald in search of the Legendary Pokémon, so that they could call upon their help for this crisis. There they discovered the altar containing the two Pokémon's items: the Rusted Sword and the Rusted Shield. Hop grabbed the Shield and was associated with Zamazenta in Sword; or grabbed the Sword and was associated with Zacian in Shield. Ultimately, the two Legendary Pokémon came to Hop and Victor/Gloria's aid when they battled Eternatus. Together, they successfully suppressed it. Hop then watched the Championship Match, which was won by Victor/Gloria.

Afterwards, Hop and Victor/Gloria returned to the Slumbering Weald and attempted to return the two relics to their resting place at the altar. However, Sordward and Shielbert intervened, because they claimed to be the true heirs of Galar. Hop and Victor/Gloria attempted to fend them off, but Hop lost to one of the brothers, and it resulted in that brother taking the relic that Hop had been using. With it and a number of stolen Wishing Stars, the two brothers began wreaking havoc and forcibly Dynamaxing Pokémon across Galar. Hop felt discouraged about himself due to his defeat, but he accompanied Victor/Gloria and Piers in traveling to various Pokémon gyms and pacifying the Dynamaxed Pokémon. They eventually confronted the brothers at the Energy Plant, where one of them had summoned the Legendary Pokémon associated with Hop's relic and corrupted it through a bombardment of Galar particles. Victor/Gloria defeated the Pokémon, at which point it tried to attack Hop, but he saved by the other Legendary Pokémon. Hop then reclaimed the relic and pursued the associated Pokémon. This time, he was able to successfully calm it, and it chose to be caught by him. Afterwards, Hop challenged Victor/Gloria to one more battle. Although he was defeated again, Hop had newfound confidence and realized his new path: he wanted to become a someone who tried to help everyone, a Pokémon Professor. Sonia decided to help him with this and hired him as her assistant. He could then be found at the research lab, where he began his studies. Hop could also appear at tournaments hosted by Victor/Gloria for potential rematches. He would also take part in Galarian Star Tournaments, where it was possible to choose him as a partner from the beginning, or he could appear as an opponent teamed up with Leon, Marnie or Opal.

During the game's DLC, Hop appeared at the Isle of Armor. He and Sonia had split up different lands to survey for Dynamax-related research. Hop arrived at the Isle just as Victor/Gloria had complete the training set by Mustard, who had also trained Leon in the past. Hop had initially planned on camping on the island, but Mustard insisted that he stay at the Master Dojo during his research. Hop proceeded to help Victor/Gloria to find an ingredient that would make Max Soup delicious for Victor/Gloria's Urshifu, which turned out to be a special type of honey known as Max Honey. Afterwards, Hop could still be found at the Dojo, where he offered the player information on Pokémon that were not yet in their Pokédex, which he claimed to have encountered during surveys.

Pokémon Roster

The following Pokémon make up his main roster:

• Wooloo/Dubwool - Wooloo was Hop's original Pokémon that he had at the beginning of the game. It is absent from his roster during the fifth and sixth battles, but evolves into Dubwool by the time he uses it again for the seventh battle.
• Grookey/Thwacky/Rillaboom, Scorbunny/Raboot/Cinderace or Sobble/Drizzile/Inteleon - Hop picks the starter Pokémon with an elemental weakness to the one chosen by the player (Grookey for Scorbunny, Scorbunny for Sobble or Sobble for Grookey). His starter Pokémon evolves into its second form by the fourth battle and its third form by the sixth battle. He will Gigantamax this Pokémon during battles at the Galarian Star Tournament, presumably having given this Pokémon Max Soup during his time at the Isle of Armor.
• Rookidee/Corvisquire/Corviknight - Rookidee is first added for the second battle with Hop, at Route 2. It evolves into Corvisquire by the fourth battle, is absent from the fifth and sixth battles, and then evolves into Corviknight by the the seventh battle. During Championship Cup rematch battles, his Corviknight will assume its Gigantamax form.
• Pincurchin - Pincurchin is added to his roster in the seventh battle. It is part of his roster for most successive battles, but it is left out of his roster for rematches at the Championship Cup (leaving him at only five Pokémon for those matches).
• Snorlax - Snorlax is added to his roster starting in the seventh battle.
• Zamazenta or Zacian - Hop catches Zamzanta in Sword or Zacian in Shield. He catches it during the post-game and first uses it in the tenth battle.

There are also some Pokémon that he uses temporarily. Cramorant is only present in his roster for the fifth and ninth battles. Toxel and Silicobra are used only for the fifth battle. Trevenant, Heatmor and Boltund are only used for the sixth battle.

For battles during a Galarian Star Tournament, Hop uses only Dubwool, his Legendary Pokémon and his fully evolved starter Pokémon.

In Other Pokémon Games

In Pokémon Masters EX, Hop appeared with Zamazenta as a playable sync pair that could be recruited by completing a Legendary Event that was first made available in August 2021. A Champion variant of Hop paired with Galarian Zapdos was made available through the Sync Pair Scout during limited time periods starting in March 2023. In the Legendary Event through which his default version was acquired, "Howling Shield of Eternity", Hop had just recently arrived on Pasio and helped to investigate sightings of Eternatus. He also used his knowledge from his Pokémon research to theorize about the energy problems plaguing Eternatus. Ultimately, he and Leon worked together to defeat Eternatus, so that Leon could catch it. He was among the Galar trainers attending a winter soiree and receiving presents in the "Winter Wishes" Story Event (and was shown among the important people Leon risked pushing away). Hop also played a role in the "Verdant Guardian" Story Event, in which he gathered some Zygarde cells for the group, reported the rumors of its appearance in the Crown Tundra and suggested that they inquire with a professor from one of the regions that the Pokémon has appeared in. Hop was also featured in the Neo Champion Event "Fight for the Future", in which he formed a team with Marnie and Bede, each of them with a different one of the Galarian forms of Kanto's Legendary birds, and they managed to use their knowledge of Victor, Gloria and Leon strategically in battle in order to win the title of Neo Champions, which came with their Champion outfits.

Other Appearances

In Other Media

• Hop has made appearances in the anime series Pokémon: Twilight Wings, in which the third episode featured Hop and his Wooloo prior to the events of Sword/Shield. Hop was shown to admire Leon on television, and his Wooloo was jealous of Leon's Charizard. It ran away, and Hop went out looking for it, and ultimately they made amends. The Wooloo was shown to attempt to imitate Leon's Charizard. Hop also made several minor appearances tending to his Wooloo and watching Leon on television, and he was also made an appearance in the bonus episode, which was based on the DLC. He was seen returning to the Pokémon Lab just as Sonia was leaving for the Crown Tundra, and she gave him his invitation to the Galarian Star Tournament. He was later seen among the trainers showing up for the tournament's opening ceremony.
• In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Hop appeared during the Sword/Shield arc. He met up with both Henry Sword and Casey Shield during his gym challenge, and he went on to help in the efforts against Rose's followers and Eternatus. He later traveled to the Crown Tundra with others to investigate Henry's disappearance. Some other variations in the manga storyline include that Henry turned down Leon's endorsement to make sure he does not hurt his reputation, and he also did not form a bond with one of the legendary dogs.
• Hop appeared in the first episode of the Pokémon Evolutions series of anime shorts, which depicted his and Victor's battle against Eternatus from Sword/Shield. Hop was initially shown using Dubwool during the battle. As in the games, they ultimately called upon the power of the Legendary Dogs, with Hop using Zamazenta during the battle.
• Hop was initially left out of the Pokémon Journeys series of the Pokémon anime, in which the original character of Goh took Hop's place during an arc based on the storyline of Sword/Shield. Hop ultimately appeared near the end of the series, where he met Ash and challenged him to a battle outside of Wyndon Stadium prior to the beginning of the Masters Eight stadium. He was quickly defeated and proceeded to spectate the Masters Eight matches alongside Goh and later Sonia.

Trivia

• Hop is his name in both the Japanese and English versions, and it refers to the word "hop" which is another term for the plant genus Humulus.
• Hop's uniform number is 189, which can also be read in Japanese as a word meaning "leaping".