Work Text:
Idiot. Weirdo. Freak. Spaz. Annoying.
Every day of his life, Leon heard those cruel words. Whispered behind his back. Scribbled on his rucksack. Yelled right into his face in the playground. Those insults followed him around school and the streets of Postwick, with only his home a safe place. And even though Mum and Dad loved him and kept him safe and reassured him that the bullies were cruel and he was wonderful the way he was, the constant abuse did nothing to make him love himself too.
The jabs at his intelligence and social skills and sense of direction stung deep, and even when he set out on the Gym Challenge, a dream for a budding Pokémon trainer like him, Leon felt awkward and ashamed to be himself.
Even now, over ten years later, as the current and undefeated Champion, as a man beloved and respected throughout Galar, all he has to do is think of those cruel words, and he trembles, near tears all over again.