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Despite how much the champion didn’t like it, Rose insisted that Leon have private tutors. He understood how little friends Leon had, Rose knew his only contacts were his family and his childhood friend, Sonia. Alas, Leon really wanted to be with other kids and Rose knew how kids would treat the ever coveted champion. No matter how much Rose warned him, Leon would keep asking every so often. If Leon didn’t want to listen, perhaps his champion had to learn things from first-hand experience.
So he’d agreed to toss Leon into the fray of those who idolized him. It’d be beneficial for the boy to learn the consequences of not listening to him sooner rather than later. How he loved his champion so, but for sake of the future, Leon had to learn how to go from a good champion to a great champion at such a young age.
He assigned Oleana to find an esteemed nearby public institution and make background checks on the students attending along with their parents. Eventually, they had found the best school fit for Leon. The layout was genius as classrooms were color coded so Leon could never get hopelessly lost. Even if Leon’s attendance would be short lived, he still wanted it to be manageable for him.
Soon, it was Leon’s first day.
When he started, kids were excited for the champion to be in their class. He gave them tips on raising their pokemon and, honestly, if he wasn’t the champion, Leon would make a good teacher or pokemon daycare specialist. Instead, he was the star of Galar.
Everyday, his son would come home and tell him all about his school exploits and the excitement. And everyday, Rose felt his guil piling up; he knew Leon’s enjoyment wouldn’t last for long. It was for the best, he continued to tell himself.
A month had passed with minimal issues. Leon was able to make his way towards his classes as he was allowed to have his charmander out to help guide him. Usually they only let pokemon out during recess but Rose knew how to pull some strings. An extra monetary deposit let all qualms over the issue stop, as it so usually does.
Another month had passed before what he’d been expecting.
The door swung open but rather than the excited patter of Leon’s footsteps, it was replaced with heavy steps towards his room.
So, it seemed his lesson had been learned.
-
After Leon had begged Rose to let him enter into a public school for seemingly ages, he was finally enrolled! He was ecstatic over the news and couldn’t sleep a wink the night before. His pokemon were also up either excitedly moving in their pokeballs or shuffling in Leon’s bed with him. They were all restless and for good reason!
Sure, his education with his private tutors were alright but he was just surrounded by adults everyday! It was so… boring ! He’d never say that to Rose, his mother had raised him with respect. Which was a trait that surprised most Wyndon folk as he was basically raised on a farm. He usually rolled his eyes or ignored the prejudice because he knew their shock wasn’t laced with ill-intent, at least most of the time.
Oh, there he goes on another tangent, he had to focus on getting sleep for school! … but it was so difficult when his nerves were buzzing and he’d been anticipating it for so long!
He’d texted Sonia about it hours prior, right after Rose told him the good news. He was nearly bouncing off the walls before Oleana came in and gave him a curt look that meant stop . So, he did and instead of bouncing everywhere in Rose’s office, he bounced everywhere in his room.
And that’s how Leon found himself awake, staring at the ceiling and waiting for his first day of school to begin. Usually whenever he was up late, it was because Rose had something important in his schedule for the next day and Leon’s nerves would eat him alive. The only way he’d fall asleep was if he did some training before bed. And that’s exactly what he did.
-
Thinking back on how excited he was about school all those far-away months ago seemed like a cruel joke from the universe. Leon was on his bed and hugging his pillow for dear life. His tear streaked cheeks were mostly dry but his face still felt so tender after bawling his eyes out. His team surrounded him and gave him company while he was in distress. At first, they tried to comfort him but to no avail, whatever had happened during school shook him to his core.
Mime Jr. (Fancypants) even tried to ask Charmander (Sunny) what had happened but she just shook her head and sighed. She was playing with the other pokemon when a tall kid pulled Leon into a seldom used area of the school. By the time she’d noticed Leon was gone and left to find him, she made it just in time before things got really bad and drove the tall kid away.
Whatever happened was known only to him.
Leon’s team knew school was going well: at the start, all of the kids approached and talked to Leon. He helped them with their trainer skills and it was fun for the first few weeks. The last time they’d seen Leon smile so brightly was during the League journey; they all knew he was happier before he became champion, no matter how many times he denied it.
That all changed when a transfer student was enrolled. No one knew why but in such a short time the attitude of the kids had changed towards the young champion. They went from being friends to no one really talking to him. For the most part, Leon was treated like an outcast.
After a few days, he was brought to a corner by that tall kid with black and white hair and that was when- Leon hugged the pillow tighter and a new wave of tears and turmoil befell him.
He’d never set foot inside a school ever again.
-
Present day, Leon was 18 years old and admired; young children wanted to be him and Galar adored him. It was unheard of for a champion to be able to defend their title for so long; needless to say Rose was quite proud. He’d spent so much time on growing Leon’s image that he hoped it could last for a few more years.
Yet, his protege was still rather timid in terms of his social life. He learned to dazzle a crowd and handle interview questions, courtesy of his tutors, but it’d be good for him to get acquainted with the new gym leaders in the league.
“What should I do…?” Rose thought aloud. He was in his office working on some documents on his laptop. The words had begun to swirl in his mind and he needed a distraction, a champion distraction. He heard a familiar clatter of heels on the floor approaching him.
“Host another event. There are several new gym leaders around Leon’s age. It’s an opportune time.” Oleana suggested, she was already marking down the perfect date in a few months time where all of their schedules were free from activities in order to have ample time to prepare.
Rose wouldn’t know what he’d do without her.
-
The previous Hammerlocke gym leader lightly tapped on Raihan’s door. Several gym leader trainees were hosted on the floor above the gym for easy accessibility to their duties but also to give a taste of what life would be like if they did become gym leader and permanently took residence in Hammerlocke’s gym.
“Come in!” Raihan shouted. He was hunched over his laptop trying to write a historical essay because if you’re going to be the next Hammerlocke Gym leader, the leader for the biggest archive with all of Galar’s history, you had to at least be acquainted with it.
And Raihan was the next Hammerlocke Gym Leader.
“Look who’s got a letter from the chairman!” She sang sarcastically, entering the room. They both held a distaste for Chairman Rose and for good reason. They would often go head to head when it came to matters about the gym. Like the decision to add a dragon enclosure close to the gym. Galar didn’t have many dragon friendly areas for them to grow stable so the next best thing was a shelter made just for them. Of course, the Chairman didn’t like the expenses it would take but for the sake of a more pokemon friendly Galar, arrangements had been made.
She left the door partly open and the once muffled sound of trainers and pokemon bustling in the halls filled the room. Once Raihan was announced the next Gym Leader (only within the program, they’d have a proper ceremony for the public later), trainers had slowly started to pack their things and move out. Boxes were scattered in the hallways and even Raihan’s room was filled with some. He had to move into the Gym Leader suite soon, but with everything he had to do to finalize things, moving out was slower than expected.
He rolled his eyes, for all of the hype behind gym leaders, he sure didn’t like the chairman. Nevertheless, he sighed and received the letter; it was best just to get it over with.
He opened the wax seal (overdone) and skimmed the copy-pasted text (bland and impersonal).
Huh. A private Galar Gala…
“C’mon what does it say?” His Gym Leade- Ex- Gym Leader (it was going to take a while to get used to this) asked.
“Just a party. Probably to have us get to know one another.” He shrugged and put the letter on his nightdesk, he had an essay to write arceus damn it; he needed to focus.
Where was he? Right.
The Darkest Day had covered Galar in pitch-black cumulonimbus clouds filled with, not evaporated water, but an unknown energy that cau-
“What do you mean ‘just a party’?” She added finger quotations for emphasis.
“Look, I just really want to get all of this paperwork done before I stress out!” Raihan was excited for it, really, but he just had so much to do.
“All I’m hearing is that you’ve just spent months training and studying your ass off to be where you are today. You deserve a break more than anyone one else,” She got up to leave but turned back once she reached the door. “And please don’t give the champion a hard time.”
With that, she closed the door to leave Raihan with his thoughts. In other words, she left Raihan a blushing mess.
You mention that you think the champion’s hair is pretty one time during a meeting… It was supposed to be a preview of what he’d expect when he officially became Gym Leader but… one thing led to another and he complimented the champion, and then the whole staff chuckled…
He didn’t miss how the champion averted his gaze and seemed to laugh just because everyone else was. Leon then excused himself from the room and it left Raihan at a loss.
He needed a chance to talk to him. And the gala was the perfect chance.
-
The night of the gala came sooner than expected. It was sent a week in advance so Raihan had plenty of time to get as much done as he could.
He wore a navy blue suit and an orange tie; Hammerlocke’s colors, his hair was braided and set to one side, his deep sea blue oxfords were more comfortable than he expected, and honestly, he thought he was overdressing for a small get-to-know-each-other party.
He flew over to the venue on his Flygon, Nougat. She cooed at Raihan like a mother fussing over her son getting all dressed up. It was adorable even if embarrassing. He took a quick selfie with her in midair before they landed and he returned her to her ultra ball.
The venue was pretty fancy so maybe he actually dressed appropriately. It seemed like a majority of the leaders were there already along with their heirs.
Raihan reviewed what he studied in his head: Hulbury’s Leader is Nessa and she specialized in water, Turrfield’s Leader is Milo and he specialized in grass, Stow-on-Side’s Gym Leader had another unsuccessful round of trainers so no one would be replacing them this year (it was on the ‘ DO NOT mention under any circumstances’ section of the index card he made with Hammerlocke’s Ex-Leader) , and Ballonlea’s Leader, Opal, was also having a hard time finding a successor but rather liked how she was still a leader at her age.
Wait, he was missing one…- and just Raihan’s luck! The one he couldn’t quite remember stood in front of him before he could take out his index card.
The black and white haired guy (emphasis on hair) stood with a slouch that made him much shorter than he probably was- not tall enough to reach Raihan, of course, but tall nonetheless. He wore heavy eyeliner and a dark eyeshadow that contrasted against his pale skin. If Raihan had to choose one word to describe him, it would be honest.
Then, he walked away without a single word.
He felt strangely drawn to- he took out the neatly folded index card from his pocket just to find a smudged name.
-
Leon stuck close to Chairman Rose for as long as he could until there were too many adults gathered around him and engaged in small talk. He then fell back towards Oleana who barely noticed his presence- that or she opted not to acknowledge him.
He knew everyone’s names and battle styles by heart, having watched their matches countless times for fun when he was younger and watched them even now as it was part of his job. He even kept up with leagues outside of Galar’s and dreamed to battle Red, Kanto’s Champion.
Who is he kidding, he’s just trying to make conversation in his own head rather than talk with any of the kids his age. He’s kind of, totally nervous and doesn’t know what to expect… He’s afraid of repeating what happened to him in school all those years ago.
So, he decided that sticking close to Rose and Oleana were his safest bets. That is, until Rose makes eye contact with him and tilts his head slightly towards the other kids.
One look is enough for Leon to understand but his nerves have him glued to where he stands and he can’t handle eye contact from people he doesn’t know.
Rose, guessing that Leon wasn’t up to making the first moves himself, suggested having friendly battles to help lighten up the mood and really celebrate the new Gym Leaders.
Leon has a friendly match with Milo and Nessa and defeats them easily (which he was afraid of, he doesn’t want to win and make them loathe him from the get-go).
He knew Milo liked to switch out his Eldegoss for his Gogoat during either the third or fifth rounds to take advantage of more damage heavy moves. Finding out the perfect sequence of attacks came naturally to him and his Dragapult (Daisy) was always able to pull through. He’d use his Charizard (Sunny) but he didn’t want to demolish Milo’s pokemon. These were supposed to be friendly battles, after all.
As for Nessa’s battle, she had a way of discreetly giving her pokemon commands without saying a word. Sure, Leon was able to do it too but the bond between pokemon and trainer never ceased to amaze him. Nessa had a tendency to strike strong but she lacked speed which gave Leon more openings than he could choose from.
For what they were, the battles were refreshing. Having battles with nothing on the line felt so liberating; he had more space to be himself rather than the champion everyone expected him to be.
He used his cap to prevent him from seeing them glare at him in frustration for losing but before he could, he saw something different than he’d expected. There was a fire in their eyes that he couldn’t quite decipher but if one thing’s for certain, they wanted to battle him again. They wanted to battle him as many times as it took for them to defeat him.
It was rather overwhelming, actually. It made butterflies form in Leon’s stomach, and, with his face hidden by his cap, he sheepishly smiled at his victories. It’d be nice to have some more friendly battles with them after the gala if Rose thought so too.
-
Raihan never understood what these galar events were for. Publicity? To boost public relations? To showcase the untouchable champion?
To be fair, if Raihan were Chairman, he’d host events for the champion too. Not just because Leon was the strongest and undefeated trainer in Galar (Raihan was going to beat him one of these days, he knows it) but also because he was rather… lonely.
Sure, they’ve interacted a few times but nothing more than superficial exchanges. Sometimes the champion would slip and Raihan would catch a glimpse of his true self but the moment it started happening (Leon adorably nerding out over pokemon, their latest battle, and the techniques he’d used) it would leave as fast as it came; in the blink of an eye Leon would compose himself and let himself be led away to whatever interview or meeting the chairman had planned.
With moments like that, Raihan couldn’t help but think there was more to the champion than meets the eye. So, he decided that he wanted to learn more about him.
He was about to approach said champion, that is, until a lanky figure, who honestly looked to be suffering from malnutrition than the aesthetic he was going for, drew close to him (if four ft apart could be considered as such) and started trash talking the chairman and the whole event.
Despite how crude he was, Raihan rather liked it. Honest, not crude. He reminded himself. He indulged him and they started having an invigorating discussion on the political matters of the nation. So much so, that he forgot about his plans to talk to Leon.
“Hate being invited to these things. Ain’t nothing more than playdate between the leaders and the champion.”
“Yea, really wish I could talk to the guy without Rose looming over his shoulder.” A shudder ran through Raihan’s spine. The way the Chairman kept Leon on such a short leash was so creepy.
Mr. Lanky chuckled, “You’d think he’d be someone you’d want to talk to. Being so close to the Chairman makes you think he’d have some leverage on decisions.” He glared at the champion as he made his way from Rose to Oleana. Even with his bright lavender hair, he looked so out of place.
“Leverage?”
“You know, convincing the Chairman to add a few more zeros into the paychecks of people who actually need it instead of whatever else he’s got going on the side,” He growled. “Anyway, I’m Piers.”
“Raihan.”
There was something feral behind Piers’s eyes, it was rebellious and demanded action. It reminded Raihan of his dragons, in a way. Something about him was familiar; their mutual feeling of anger towards the Chairman was something he knew well. Piers was pending his time, Raihan could tell, for the perfect moment to strike and destroy the League from the inside. Whether Raihan was more scared for Rose or champion, he didn’t know.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Rose address everyone and he proposed that they have a few private battles with, none other than, the champion himself. That’s when he noticed a shift in Leon’s demeanor. He could’ve sworn he saw a look of fear from the guy until it was swiftly replaced with another toothy non-genuine magazine smile.
The lanky guy- Piers- disappeared, probably not wanting anything to do with this, Raihan surmised.
The first few matches were pretty uneventful, Leon defeated Milo and Nessa in a brutally short amount of time. He distantly remembers a time where he would’ve felt bad for them but if they were anything like him, they’d be training hard until they had another opportunity to battle with him again.
Raihan decided this was as good a time as any to get closer to the champion. Ever since he was young, his grandmother always told him that the way to truly understand someone was through how they battled; they were always the way to a trainer’s soul.
With that, Raihan walked up to the pitch and noticed how Leon started fidgeting with his glove. Nervous. He hoped Leon didn’t remember when he inadvertently complimented him. He could do so much better than that, if only he were given a chance.
“You better not hold back!” Raihan yelled.
“I wouldn’t dream of it!” Leon replied, hand on his Charizard’s ultra ball.
He released Nougat (Flygon) and told her to use Thunder Punch. Charizard took the hit and seemed to have taken a substantial amount of damage. Leon then commanded Charizard to take to the skies and dive down, close enough for a powerful Dragon Pulse.
Before even telling her, Flygon was already on the retreat, not wanting to face the full brunt of the attack. The force of it sends Nougat flying back but Raihan sees it as an opportunity and tells her to use it as momentum for a Brutal Swing. The attack hits but it’s not enough to bring Charizard down.
But before Flygon could get away, Charizard grabbed onto her tail! She desperately tried to pull away to no avail. They both lowered themselves to the ground because a faint drop at the height wouldn’t be ideal (that and they were sort of best friends by the many times they’d battle; they didn’t want to see the other get hurt too badly).
“Perfect, Sunny! Use Air Slash!” Leon commanded.
“Nougat, use Crunch!” Raihan roared at the same time.
After a moment, everything was silent. Neither pokemon moved so it was hard to tell who was the victor. That is, until Charizard laid Flygon on the ground, and Charizard returned to her ultra ball.
So, they battled and Leon won and it’s like a tale as old as time. Leon started to walk up to him and the Chairman pretends he isn’t watching them, Raihan pretends not to notice, and Leon pretends he isn’t nervous until he’s face to face with him.
He says the battle was unlike anything he’s ever experienced and Raihan replies with a noncommittal sure; he says he really likes how Flygon can handle his Sunny’s heat and Raihan nods along; it’s a summary of their battle, things Raihan already knew but he couldn’t tell if this was Leon or if this was the Champion.
“So, uh,” Leon began, twiddling his thumbs. Raihan knew where this was going and he dreaded it. “Did you, uh, really think my hair was pretty?” He asked and mew bless this man for still being able to be open and vulnerable despite what Rose puts him through.
So, in the spur of the moment, he took his hand and he led him away from the gala and Rose’s disturbing gaze.
“Um, yeah, I hope you didn’t remember that…” Raihan responded lamely.
“How could I forget the best thing I’ve heard in years?” Best thing huh? Raihan could change that.
“Leon, you don’t know that half of it. You’re stunning from the way you battle to the way you geek out over every moment from our battles,” Oh my mew, shut up, Raihan! He thought to himself. “After we battle, I’m always training from dawn until dusk in order to reach your level. You’re my rival, in skills and in…um, looks.” His cheeks were flushed and, wouldn’t you know it, Leon’s cheeks matched his with a rosy red. Cute.
“I didn’t know you liked my rambling. I’ll be sure to do it more often, then. But if we're talking about l-looks, you’ve got me beat!” He smiled genuinely, he now held onto the hem of his shirt. The poor guy was as awkward as he was!
In their own bubble of comfortable chatter, they made their way to a balcony far from the event and anyone else.
Yet, the moment they arrived, Piers was already there, leaning against the balcony railing, and staring at the city of Wyndon in disdain. Their comfortable bubble popped in an instant as Raihan felt Leon shrink back.
“Took you long enough to get away. I was beginning to think you…” Piers began until he turned around and saw the champion hiding- cowering behind Raihan. His gaze turned foul and a smirk before it spoke for itself.
“If it isn’t the champion! Finally done putting the new leaders in their place? Or were you just looking for me in order to beat me too?” He remarked before Leon let go of Raihan’s hand and scurried off before Raihan could even process what was said.
Raihan didn’t realize his hand could get so cold so quickly.
Of course, he interrogates: “What was that?” and Piers simply turned back to face Wyndon’s sights.
“See, see all of this?” Piers gestured to the skyscrapers and the bustling city nightlife sans of crime. Raihan knew what Piers was alluding towards but left it at that; he had no time for Piers’s angsty frustration over how run down Spikemuth was becoming because they were low on funding. He had to find Leon before he could get himself lost and worry everyone.
-
Voices that weren’t his echoed everything Piers had told him years ago.
“Worthless dog of the Chairman. Only there for show, do you have anything to say for yourself? Anything other than what they brainwash you to say? You poor thing, never getting to be a kid. Shouldn’t have become champion if you’re only worrying about yourself, huh?”
Leon couldn’t remember anything much after that, he’d blanked out after he heard, “Worthless”.
His feelings of helplessness had only grown since then. He’d see the boundaries the Chairman made between him and any executive decision for Galar. It was at that point when he realized just how much he was a public figure; donned by the Chairman as a flag to be waved rather than a model for change.
His breaths quickened as his sense of direction took him this way and that- trying to pace the tumultuous storm of his mind. Some days were bearable and his thoughts were pushed out. For a while, he was able to convince himself that he was helping, that achieving his dream was worth something.
Other days, he was reminded of his place when he saw the cracks that Rose forgot to cover.
He couldn’t organize his thoughts with the memory moving in like a thick fog in the Slumbering Weald, “Worthless… Useless…” The venue’s halls were dark as he closed in on himself; a mental breakdown only a few steps away. He found himself seconds from releasing Sunny so they could fly home- gala be damned- before he bumped into a figure about his height.
Piers.
Upon realizing who it was, he turned to run away again- run far, far away- take to the skies and answer to Rose’s disappointment later, when Piers grabbed his wrist.
“Hold on. Don’t run away again, you’ll just get lost again.” His voice was slow and softer than what Leon remembered. It was disconcerting but he followed instruction and stayed put against his better judgement.
“Good lad,” Leon felt strangely better after the praise. Piers drew his eyes to the ground before he continued. “, Look, I know what I said a few years back and while I still stand by it, I shouldn’t have expected so much from someone who didn’t understand. Rose has so much on your plate… While Spikemuth suffers from a deficit of attention, your burden is too much of it, constantly too much. I don’t know how you do it.”
Leon… didn’t know how to react to that. “It’s oka-”
Piers shot him a glare. “Now, I don’t want any of that. I know how it made you feel. Tell me what you’re thinking. What you’re really thinking.”
Leon looked away, he really shouldn’t but with Piers’s permission, it was oh-so tempting.
“I-” Before Leon could decline, Piers grabbed his arms and got close to his face; so close that Leon could see Piers’s other eye from behind the hair that covered it. Bright icy blues bore into his golden pair and they seemingly glowed in contrast with the darkened tone of the halls. Leon wondered if his own eyes could ever glow like that too.
“Tell me,” He growled, fiercely holding onto Leon as if this moment were tethered to what the future held in store for them.
With a deep breath, Leon let the floodgates tear open and they were drowned in the storm that was Leon.
Eventually, Leon calmed down and his voice softened to a whisper. Neither of them knew when they started to hug each other in comfort. Piers danced his thumb on Leon’s cheek, drying them from his tears.
“Let’s go find Raihan.” His words soft. He led Leon, hand in hand, across the venue. Leon wiped the tears that remained from his eyes and guessed his face was about as red and puffy as he could feel.
When they did find Raihan, they briefly explained what had happened between the two; a past out in the open between strangers, they told it all, and they saw what was unseen.
In the end, Raihan had learned more about Leon and, despite not part of his plans, Piers.
How unexpectedly they’d balanced each other. From Leon’s careful obscurity, to Piers’s brash attentiveness, and Raihan’s curiosity.
Though none of them could explain it, the three of them being together felt right; more than words could describe.
They found themselves back at the balcony, no doubt being missed at the event but who cares, and they spent the rest of the night watching Wyndon’s bright lights dance across one another’s skin.