Archive of Our Own

Raihan is 5 when he falls in love with dragons.

He had always loved pokemon of all types, in awe of their power and magic. His own family had a young Yamper who he would play catch with in the garden, and an older Umbreon who would follow him around the house protectively. On his 5^th birthday he received a Playstation from his parents and a game to go with it from his older brother Laburno. The game was called Spyro, and in this world of dragons he spent hours and hours flying and searching and setting things on fire until his mum called him down for tea. His teachers remarked that he was constantly talking about it or drawing the purple dragon in class.

For his 6^th birthday he was given his very first pokemon, a male Deino of the same age who Raihan nicknamed Spyro (obviously), and they instantly became inseparable. With his trusted partner by his side he would explore the park by his house, playing until the sun went down.

Raihan is 10 when he falls in love with a boy.

It was around March and school had just started after the Easter break. He had been brutally rejected by his crush Sonia when he asked her to the Year 6 Valentine’s day disco the month before and had vowed to never fall in love again. Laburno had laughed when he announced this to his family over tea, while his mum sighed and tried to hide her smile. On his first day he ran into the playground with Spyro to see a large gathering of children and went to investigate. In the middle of the crowd was a young boy with blue hair and blue eyes called Falkner who stared at Raihan with the strength of the gust of a thousand eagles. The two became best friends and would take turns spending nights at each other’s houses, shouting at the telly as their favourite trainers competed in the Champions Cup.

One day he was asked whether he liked Falkner and despite denying it he could not stop blushing. No matter how much he tried to push it away it the thought kept coming back to haunt him and Raihan spent night after night whispering to Spyro, who would keep him company as he lay awake confused. Falkner soon started dating this girl from their class called Jasmine and the day he found out Raihan ran home crying, hiding in his room for the remainder of the week. On the last day of school Raihan decided to tell Falkner how he felt, knowing that they were going to be attending different secondary schools and would probably not see each other for a long time.

Falkner called him a freak. Raihan decided not to tell anyone ever again.

Raihan is 16 when he enters the Champions Cup.

At the end of Year 11 every secondary student in the country entered a regional tournament, and the winners would be given the recommendation needed to enter the cup. Raihan won his with ease, him and Spyro were an unstoppable force, and were entered into the competition starting in the autumn. Over the summer he caught and trained his pokemon, focusing all his energy into battle. On his last day his family gifted him a short silver necklace with a small yellow Laburnum emblem attached. He found himself holding onto the little flower tightly on the train to Motostoke, heart racing with anticipation and excitement.

When he arrived at the arena, he was shocked to find Sonia also competing, and gravitated towards her instantly. It had been 6 years since he last saw her and yet they fell into their old friendship as if nothing had ever happened. As he walked onto the giant field for the opening ceremony, 241 emblazoned on his back (a pun on the 2-for-1 deals you get from Tesco), he found himself surge with confidence and began waving and smiling to the crowd, laughing as he heard someone scream his number from the stands. There were 20 competitors in total from all across Galar, but one young boy caught his attention. He looked the same age as Raihan, with tanned skin, purple hair and golden eyes that burned into the back of Raihan’s brain.

“Who is that dude?” Raihan whispered to Sonia, subtly pointing to the other boy

“Purple hair?” laughed Sonia, causing Raihan to stare at her confused. “His names Leon, he won the competition for the Scottish schools.”

“Interesting…” replied Raihan, looking over at Leon once again and smirking as he watches the other trip over himself. “I don’t think we need to worry about him though,”

Raihan soon learnt that Leon was a force to be reckoned with, beating the first 3 gyms within a few days of the competition starting. Suddenly his name was everywhere and Raihan couldn’t go a single hour without hearing it and it pisses him off SO much because his name always comes second.

“I’m going to beat him if it’s the last thing I do.” he announces to no one in particular.

Raihan is 17 when he battles Leon for the first time.

He had just beaten the 6^th gym, a dark type gym in the city of Spikemuth headed by a middle-aged woman called Sandy (who rocked some incredible spiked heels) when suddenly the purple haired teen came running up to him.

“You!” he gasped, out of breath and shaking, “Battle me right now!”

Raihan stared at him. He was pretty tired after the last battle and really just wanted to head back to the hotel for a nap, but something about the fire in the others eyes lead him to stay.

“Sure, you’re on!” grinned Raihan, “But don’t start crying when I kick your ass”

“The only ass getting kicked is yours!” spat back Leon, eyes burning even brighter than before.

The battle was intense with both teams being taken down to their last pokemon. Leon’s charmeleon hit Raihan’s flygon with one last dragons’ breath and it was all over. Leon had won. Raihan withdrew flygon and went to shake hands with Leon, who was grinning ear to ear with delight.

“You know you’re the only person who has given me such a hard time.” grinned Leon, taking Raihans hand into his own and grasping tight.

“But what about the gym leaders?” asked Raihan sceptically.

“Nothing compared to you,” admitted Leon, gripping his hand a little tighter before letting go quickly.

Leon took a few paces back before bringing his arm to point at Raihan, making direct contact with the other boy.

“You! I hereby declare that you are my rival!” shouted Leon, still smiling.

Raihan stared back at him confused, before laughing to himself and copying the others pose.

“I accept! And next time I will win!” Raihan shouted back.

The two boys burst into laughter at their own ridiculousness. Leon walked back towards Raihan to make sure that his pokemon were alright and to receive his money. They ended up spending the spending the rest of the evening together, even going to Bobs Your Uncle for tea. Raihan collapsed onto his bed at the Budew Inn, still smiling despite his exhaustion. He stared at the ceiling, Leon’s golden eyes refusing to leave his mind.

Fuck.

Later that year they would battle in the Semi-Finals of the Champion’s Cup, Raihan lost once again and Leon proceeded to win the entire competition, becoming the new Champion of the Galar region. Raihan was happy for him and congratulated his friend wholeheartedly, even if he was a little jealous and a little sad that their journey together had come to an end.

Raihan is 19 when he becomes leader of Hammerlocke Gym.

The former gym leader Cynder had been looking for a replacement the year that Raihan, Leon and Sonia took part in the Champions Cup, and Raihan’s trainer ability and fondness for dragons was apparently everything he was looking for. For next two years Raihan spent his time building up his team and shadowing Cynder in his duties. He learnt how to build a team designed for the Champion’s Cup as well as the intricacies of Dragon type matchups and stats. While training to be gym leader Raihan also took part in the Champion’s Cup once again, getting to the semi-finals in the first year and the finals in the second year, but losing to Leon in a thrilling rematch that ended sooner than he would have liked it to.

Raihan and Leon would meet up as often as they could, which worked out to be roughly once every two months, but even if they could not see each other face to face they were constantly texting each other and video calling. Whenever he met up with Sonia she would tease him about it, introducing him to Nessa as “That one whipped ass I’ve been telling you about!”. Raihan would be lying to himself if he said that he didn’t have any feelings for Leon, in fact it was safe to say that he was head over heels with the Champion. Whenever they messaged, he found himself smiling at the screen, heart racing at the simplest of texts. Whenever they met, he would spend hours before hand doing his hair and messaging his group chat with Nessa and Sonia (aptly named Get Raihan Laid) for outfit advice and general pep talks.

September came around quickly and Raihan took up his position as Gym Leader for the first time. To congratulate him on becoming a Gym Leader Leon, Sonia and Nessa clubbed together and bought Raihan his iconic dragon hoodie, which he wore proudly as he entered the giant stadium in Motostoke followed by the other 7 leaders. From the opposite side walked out Leon, wearing his stupidly big Champions Cape, and when they made eye contact all of Raihan’s nerves disappeared. The announcer called out his name and Raihan smiled, waving to the crowds and flashing his spiky grin. When Leon’s name was called the stadium erupts into a frenzy and Raihan can’t help but smile proudly.

The exhibition was over as soon as it started and all the Gym Leaders began leaving for their respective towns and cities, except one. Raihan decided to stay for an extra night since it was guaranteed that no one could physically get to his gym within the next 48 hours. He called Leon and asked him to hang out, and soon they found themselves walking the canals of Motostoke catching each other up with the last few months of their lives. They stopped on the outskirts of the city overlooking the wild area to admire the view. The rolling hills were indeed breath taking but Raihan found his attention was focused on the boy stood next to him. The eyes that he had always loved glistened in the dusk lighting, thousands of emotions whirling around his iris as he stared out onto Galar. Raihan could see the determination and calmness in his gaze, but there was something else that he couldn’t quite make out, something warmer and more soothing. He could spend days staring into the other’s eyes, hell he could spend months staring at Leon in general. Over the last few years Leon had transformed from the lanky and awkward young boy he had met in the Champions Cup into a more built up and bulkier, yet still equally awkward, young man. Raihan etched the scene into his memory, wondering whether he would see the other again before the new year.

Soon dusk turned into night and they began to walk back to the hotel. Leon would stay for a few more days to do some interviews for the press and make a visit to the local school, while Raihan had an early morning train to catch. Even so, when they arrived at the hotel neither wanted to go in. Raihan looked into Leon’s eyes once more, and all her could see was the same mysterious emotion that he couldn’t read. The tension in the air was thick as ice but Raihan was determined to melt it away like flame from a dragon's breath.

“Do you want to come to my room?” asked Raihan, only realising the connotations of what he said once it had left his mouth. Raihan made no effort to fix his mistake, he would be lying if he said he didn’t want to spend the night together.

Leon stared at him dumbfounded, trying and failing to come up with an answer. Raihan raised his eyebrows slightly, a failed attempt at coaxing an answer from the other boy. He stepped forward slightly, until there was barely any space between them. Leon didn’t move, just kept staring at Raihan. Raihan reached out for the other’s arm, flashing him a smirk as he moved closer once again, only to be stopped by Leon’s hands on his chest.

“I’m sorry I can’t… I would love to… but I’m not allow- I mean we both have to be up early right? No point starting… a movie or something this late at night, right?” Leon rambled, desperation evident in his voice as he repeated the question.

Raihan stepped back, still trying to take in the others answer. His mind was swirling with so many emotions that he was struggling to stand. He took a deep breath and put on his best smile.

“Yeah you’re right. Have a good night’s sleep!” replied Raihan way too enthusiastically to be sincere.

Raihan then turned and walked straight through the hotel’s entrance, into the lift, and up to his room on the 3^rd floor. He closed the door behind him and leaned backwards against it, sliding down until he was sat on the floor. The tears that he had held in for the last few minutes came flooding out and he sobbed into his sleeve.

Raihan is 19 when he becomes a Gym Trainer. Raihan is also 19 when his heart gets broken into two.