* Hop is the only [[rival]] in {{pkmn|Sword and Shield}} not to become a [[Gym Leader]] by the end of the games.
* Hop is the only [[rival]] in {{pkmn|Sword and Shield}} not to become a [[Gym Leader]] by the end of the games.
* Hop battles the {{player}} more times than any other [[core series]] rival.
* Hop battles the {{player}} more times than any other [[core series]] rival.
* Hop is the only non-player character in Sword and Shield who uses two different [[Gigantamax]] Pokémon during the course of the game. He Gigantamaxes his {{p|Corviknight}} in [[Wyndon Stadium/Champion tournaments|Champion tournaments]] and his [[starter Pokémon]] in the [[Galarian Star Tournament]]. This is likely due to the fact that {{p|Rillaboom}}, {{p|Cinderace}} and {{p|Inteleon}} didn't receive Gigantamax forms until the release of [[The Isle of Armor]].
* Hop is the only [[non-player character]] in Sword and Shield who uses two different [[Gigantamax]] Pokémon during the course of the game. He Gigantamaxes his {{p|Corviknight}} in [[Wyndon Stadium/Champion tournaments|Champion tournaments]] and his [[starter Pokémon]] in the [[Galarian Star Tournament]]. This is likely due to the fact that {{p|Rillaboom}}, {{p|Cinderace}} and {{p|Inteleon}} didn't receive Gigantamax forms until the release of [[The Isle of Armor]].
==Names==
==Names==
Revision as of 02:16, 16 November 2020
For the move with the Japanese name of Hop, see Splash (move).
Hop is the player's neighbor and rival. His goal is to become the Champion, just like his brother Leon. Hop starts his journey with his first Pokémon, Wooloo, and the starter Pokémon weak to the player's choice. After meeting a mysterious Pokémon in the Slumbering Weald and receiving an endorsement from Leon, Hop and the player board the train to Motostoke, and their respective journeys begin. While an outwardly earnest boy, Hop's dreams are cast into doubt after a crushing defeat at the hands of Bede soon after earning his Fire Badge, compounded by frequent losses to the player and the pressure of following in his brother's footsteps. Believing he is making his brother look weak, Hop begins using different teams to get stronger but still comes up short, losing his first challenge at Circhester Stadium.
After the player wins at Circhester Stadium, Hop and the player learn more about the mysterious Pokémon of Slumbering Weald and their relationship to the hero. Motivated, Hop tells the player he has made up his mind and will no longer doubt himself, challenging them with his new, final team led by his newly-evolved Dubwool. Hop completes his Gym challenge and eventually meets the player as their second opponent in the Champion Cup in Wyndon Stadium. He is eventually defeated, and while visibly upset, Hop congratulates the player.
After the semifinals, Hop and the player search for Leon, who said he would be at the Rose of the Rondelands hotel to join the two for dinner, but he did not show up. With the help of Piers, Marnie, and Team Yell, the player and Hop pursue a member of Macro Cosmos to Rose Tower, where they find Leon having a discussion with Rose at the top. Hop later appears to congratulate the player for clearing the final round of the Champion Cup, and after some encouragement by his starter Pokémon, he decides he is going to cheer for them over his brother. However, after Rose interrupts the Championship match, Hop suggests heading towards the Slumbering Weald to stop the return of Eternatus and the Darkest Day.
In the deepest parts of the Weald, the player and Hop are unable to find the mysterious Pokémon they once saw, and instead, they discover a Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield. Hop takes the ShieldSw/SwordSh and make way to the Energy Plant in Hammerlocke. After defeating Rose, the player and Hop join Leon, who tries and fails to catch Eternatus. After the player knocks it out, Eternatus turns into Eternamax Eternatus. Hop joins the player in a Max Raid Battle against it, but they are unable to do anything until they use the Rusted Sword and Shield to summon Zacian and Zamazenta. Through the combined efforts of Hop and the Legendary heroes, the player can catch and stop Eternatus.
After becoming Champion, the player meets Hop again in the Slumbering Weald where Zacian and Zamazenta once slept, saying he felt compelled to come there. After congratulating the player and having another battle, the player and Hop attempt to return the Rusted Sword and Shield, but are stopped by Sordward and Shielbert, who attempt to steal the artifacts. The player successfully reclaims their artifact in a battle with SordwardSw/ShielbertSh, but Hop is defeated by the other brother and loses his artifact. Feeling responsible, Hop quickly pursues the brothers, who are causing Trainers' Pokémon to Dynamax by force and run amok in Stadiums. While helping the Pokémon in Max Raid Battles with the player, Piers, and the other Gym Leaders, Hop expresses newfound doubts, thinking he is only dragging his friends down.
Hop and the player eventually corner the brothers at the Energy Plant, where they drive ZamazentaSw/ZacianSh into a berserk state by exposing it to Dynamax energy. The player defeats it in battle, and the Legendary Pokémon runs off after nearly attacking Hop, who was trying to help it. Hop goes after it, leaving ZacianSw/ZamazentaSh in the hands of the player, who is challenged by the other Legendary Pokémon. After the player catches ZacianSw/ZamazentaSh, they go back to the Slumbering Weald, where they see Hop soothing a distraught ZamazentaSw/ZacianSh. Thankful, the Legendary hero offers to join Hop's team. Hop then declares he has a new dream; to become a Pokémon Professor to help people as he did during the past incidents, but he also says that he will always see the player as a rival. With that, he and the player have one more battle, with Hop using his new Legendary partner. After the battle, Sonia offers Hop a position as her assistant to help with his studies, which he accepts.
After the post-game story, Hop can be rematched as one of the challengers of the Champion Cup. This time, he uses a GigantamaxCorviknight. While not battling, he can be found in Sonia's laboratory at Wedgehurst.
In The Isle of Armor, if the player has completed the post-game story and evolved their Kubfu, Hop will appear at the Master Dojo and assist the player in figuring out the Max Soup ingredient required to make Urshifu eat the dish and gain the ability to Gigantamax. At first, he tests the nectars produced by Lilligant and Applin, but after deeming that neither of them seems right, he deduces that the honey produced by Vespiquen is the correct ingredient. He and the player then travel to Honeycalm Island, where the player gets thrusted into a Max Raid Battle against a Dynamax Vespiquen. Once it has been defeated, the player will obtain a comb of Max Honey, the required Max Soup ingredient. Hop will afterwards stay at the dojo, showing the player Pokémon they've not seen yet for their Pokédex.
"This Pokémon Trainer got endorsed to take part in the Gym Challenge by his brother—the reigning Champion, Leon. Hop claims to have watched all Leon's matches. Commentators speculate that as a result, he might be quite the force to be reckoned with. The Champion himself has said that his brother has potential, but his carefully hoarded knowledge can go to waste as he tends to get easily flustered in battle. It's said that Hop's partner Wooloo is a great help to him both in battle and with chores around the house."
Rare League Card
"This Trainer ultimately was defeated in the final match of the Champion Cup Semifinals. However, many Gym Leaders speak highly of his battle style, where he will let his Pokémon battle freely and really enjoy themselves. During the incident with Eternatus, he provided vital assistance in resolving the situation, proving beyond doubt that he is a skilled Trainer in his own right. It is expected that his battles with the new Champion will be the stuff of legend."
Hop made a cameo appearance in Letter, where he tied a friendship bracelet to the right foreleg of his Wooloo. He briefly reappeared in Training, where he and his Wooloo were watching television.
Hop then appeared more prominently in Buddy, where he was revealed to be watching television with Wooloo so he could study Leon's technique and figure out how to become stronger. However, his admiration of Leon's Charizard caused Wooloo to run away. This prompted Hop to desperately search around town for it. By the end of the episode, Hop was reunited with Wooloo, whereupon he promised it that they will both challenge the Pokémon League together, and assured that it was perfect the way it was.
In Sky, Hop watched the battle between Leon and Raihan on television together with Wooloo.
In The Gathering of Stars, Hop returned to the Pokémon Lab, just in time to see Sonia setting off for her trip to the Crown Tundra. Before leaving, she handed Hop an invitation letter to the Galarian Star Tournament. He was later seen at Wyndon Stadium, walking out onto the field for the tournament's opening ceremony.
Dubwool is Hop's first known Pokémon. It was seen playing with Hop, who gave it a friendship bracelet. Wooloo made another cameo in Training, where it was watching television with its Trainer.
Wooloo then appeared prominently in Buddy, where it became jealous of Hop's admiration of Leon's Charizard and ran away from home. It eventually jumped off a cliff to try and fly like Charizard, only to fail. Wooloo was subsequently found by Milo, who sent Wooloo home on the Flying Taxi. It reunited with Hop, who promised it that they will both challenge the Pokémon League together. He also assured that it was perfect the way it was.
Hop debuted in PASS06. He was first seen in front of the Galar Mine, unable to enter due to a large boulder blocking the entrance. Hop, Shirudomiria, and Marnie combined their Pokémon's attacks to move the boulder. Afterward, everyone gathered at Turffield Stadium, where they each fought a Gym battle against Milo and won.
Later, Hop informed Shirudomiria of an Arrokuda he spotted at a swamp earlier. Hoping it was one of her missing Pokémon, Shirudomiria grabbed Hop and ran off to go look for it. At the swamp, they successfully located Shirudomiria's missing Arrokuda, Kilo, only to find it was being eaten by a wild Cramorant. By combining his efforts with Shirudomiria, Kilo was retrieved, allowing Hop to catch Cramorant. Afterward, Shirudomiria thanked Hop and correctly guessed that he was actually the younger brother of Leon.
Snorlax is Hop's third known Pokémon. It was first used to help battle a wild Cramorant. It used its bulky body to catch Pokémon fired from Cramorant's Gulp Missile.
Cramorant is Hop's fifth known Pokémon. Hop first encountered it at a swamp, where it attempted to eat Shirudomiria's Kilo. With Shirudomiria's guidance, Hop freed Kilo, allowing him to catch Cramorant afterward.
None of Cramorant's moves are known, and its Ability is Gulp Missile.
Hop was introduced as a Supporter card in the Pokémon Trading Card Game during the English Sword & Shield Series (the Japanese Sword & Shield Era). It was first released in the Japanese V Starter Sets before debuting in English in the Sword & Shield expansion, with artwork by Ken Sugimori. It allows the player to draw three cards, the same effect as cards of previous rivals.
Trivia
Hop's uniform number is "189", which can be read in Japanese as goroawase for 飛躍 hiyaku, meaning "leaping".