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Leon hasn’t been to the lab in a while. It hasn’t changed at all.
Of course, he still expects the elder Magnolia to answer the door, which is why it throws him a bit to see Sonia standing there in the white lab coat.
“Hey,” she says.
“Hey,” he replies.
“Tea?”
“That would be nice.”
They sit in the kitchen. Sonia pours two cups -- one in her Yamper mug, the other in the Wooloo one that Leon used to use when they were kids. (He wonders if Hop uses it now.)
“So, former unbeatable champion, what’s the purpose of this visit?”
“What, I couldn’t want to see my old rival?”
“Hah. When was the last time you referred to me as your rival? Not since you became champion, right?”
Sonia is smiling, but she’s hit the sore point between them. It physically hurts him, aching like a bruise. The two of them had been friends, once, and rivals, and at first they had been neck and neck --
And then Leon grew stronger and stronger, and Sonia fell farther and farther behind. By the time he became champion, he had stopped even thinking of her as a rival near his level. They’d never talked about it. Maybe they should have.
“You know how you called Hop your rival, back in the weald? What did you mean by that?”
“What did I mean?” He remembered being proud of his brother, and he remembered being impressed by the battle, but he didn’t quite remember… actually having any thoughts about the whole thing.
“You called him your rival even though he said he wasn’t going to aim for battling professionally. What did you mean by that?”
Okay, Leon knows he’s not as smart as some people, but he’s not stupid, either. “I was proud of him, you know? Proud of him and Gloria. They’ve grown up so much.”
So much and yet so little.
“Yeah. They have.” She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “I’ve been thinking. You know the story of the Hero of Galar, the one who stopped the Darkest Day?”
He never really cared about that story, but it keeps turning up. “Yeah?”
“Everyone thought it was one hero. But according to the ruins behind the mural Bede destroyed --”
“Behind the what that who destroyed?”
“--it turns out there were actually two heroes. One wielding the sword, and one the shield. The legendary Pokemon either were the first Heroes, or the ones who chose the first Heroes. And right now, those legendary Pokemon are playing fetch with your little brother and his best friend.”
Man, had that been a ride. The public didn’t know what to make of it -- well. Gloria’s part made sense; of course a trainer strong enough to fight alongside the legendary Pokemon would be strong enough to be Champion. But Hop? Strong enough to make it to the Champion Cup, strong enough to befriend the Shield of Galar -- and yet not wishing to try for the champion title again?
(“My goal was always to beat my brother,” Hop had said in an interview, “but he’s not the champion anymore! So my goal now is to help as many people and Pokemon as I can, and I’ll do that by studying hard and becoming a professor!”)
“I have to admit,” Sonia says, twirling her hair, “seeing Hop be so sure of his new goal… and seeing how the legendary Pokemon seemed pleased with his choice… For the first time in forever, I felt like my research had meaning. That it was more than a battling gimmick. No offense.”
“Heh. None taken.” He hasn’t actually had any of his tea. He should probably get on that. “I know I’ve been obsessed with making sure the people of Galar get stronger, but… there’s more to life than just being strong for the sake of it, right?”
“Right.”
From there, the conversation turns to Sonia’s current research. She explains the plot of those monarchists with the weird hairstyles -- (“You should send Piers a thank you card, he was practically babysitting for a while.”) -- and gives her theories on Galar particles. It’s… surprisingly comfortable. Like they’re friends again.
“And then Gloria told me that a Dynamaxed Pokemon destroyed the stadium.” Sonia laughs, covering her eyes with one hand. “I never thought she’d have that kind of a sense of humor, but she said it so… innocently. I had to laugh.”
“She’s good at surprising people, isn’t she?” He knows that contrast between Gloria’s skill in battle and her childlike personality is a big part of why her fans love her. If it’s real or exaggerated -- who knows?
“She’s good at acting the part, definitely.” Sonia looks away, toward the bookshelves. There’s a picture, there, of her and Leon and the rest of their year’s gym challengers. “But I do worry about her. You remember the gym in Circhester? The one where the mission was about walking around the pitfalls with the help of the device they gave you.”
“Would you believe this is the third time in three days that someone’s brought up that gym?”
“Ha. Great minds, right? Well, tell me if you’ve heard this before: the point of the gym is about learning to move forward even when you can’t see what’s ahead of you, right? And you do that by depending on the guidance the gym gives you.”
Huh. Even he hadn’t thought of it that way before. But Sonia is the one with doctorate, after all.
She says, “Someone has to help those kids. I’m an only child, but I think I can act the older sister to them, right?”
“Hey, I’m the one who actually is the older sibling!”
“Well, maybe I’ll be better than you, huh? Think about that!”
They’re both grinning. There’s no reason why they can’t both be older siblings -- Hop and Gloria will be better off if they are, all things considered -- but Leon has a feeling that some healthy competition will be a good thing.
He offers his hand. “Rivals?”
“Rivals.”