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“Leon, if you change your clothes one more time, I swear on my own honor as Champion of this region, I will wake Bulbasaur from his well-deserved nap and have him put you straight to sleep with a faceful of Sleep Powder,” Gloria said from her perch on the kitchen island.
She had only gotten back late the night before from training under Mustard on the Isle of Armor and had finally been able to trade her dojo clothes for her Champion uniform again. “Since when do you care what people think about your clothes? You ran around in a damn cape for almost eight years, and now all of a sudden it matters what you wear?”
Startled, Leon—League President and formerly Galar’s long-standing undefeated Champion—froze with his fingers on the last button of his new dark red frock coat. Despite his muscular build and impressive height, he somehow managed to look like a boy who had just been scolded by his mother. His expression, however, quickly hardened into irritation.
“It would be nice if you could take this a little more seriously,” he snapped. “It has to be perfect. People already say I only have this position because I was Rose’s little toyboy. I don’t need to give them any more reasons to hate me. The tower is my chance to prove to the people of Galar that I’m capable of leading them.”
“Madre mía, Leon,” Gloria murmured, genuinely taken aback. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”
“It’s true,” he shot back. “I read the comments on social media. Rose’s toyboy. A kid playing Champion. Macro Cosmos’ shiniest puppet. And then I go around like an idiot with a cape and a snapback and only make it worse.”
With a quiet sigh, Gloria slid off the counter, set her phone aside, and stepped in front of him. She gently pulled his hands away from his jacket and began buttoning it back up with practiced fingers.
“Tío, the people of Galar love you.” She paused, choosing her words carefully. “They -we loved you as our Champion. We didn’t suddenly stop just because you lost one battle.”
Leon dragged a hand through his thick hair, frustration written all over his face.
“Leon,” Gloria said firmly, meeting his eyes. “No one who’s still in their right mind believes that garbage about you. Dios, people even accused me of beating you unfairly because you were injured. They love you. You don’t have to justify yourself or prove them anything.”
She smoothed his collar and motioned for him to turn so she could look him over. Beneath the dark red coat he wore a crisp white shirt, beige trousers, and black leather boots. His hair fell loose around his shoulders.
“You look good,” she said without hesitation. Then, with a grin: “Raihan’s going to have a hard time keeping his eyes off you.”
It never stopped being funny to Gloria how easily a comment like that made Leon go bright red. Laughing, Gloria stepped back just in time to avoid the light swat he aimed at her shoulder.
“¡Casi se me olvida!” she added, already digging through the depths of her absurdly large backpack. She pulled out a small parcel wrapped in christmas-themed Charizard paper from one of Leon’s many merchandise lines, which he noted with an amused huff.
“The paper was Hop’s idea,” she said, pressing it into his hands. “We were going to give it to you after the opening match, but I think you could use it now.”
“Thanks, but you really didn’t have to—”
“Just open it already,” she cut in, rolling her eyes.
“Yes, ma’am,” Leon replied while doing a mock salute.
He carefully peeled away the tape and paper. Inside was a black snapback, strikingly similar to his old one: a gold crown on the brim, with a crown pattern underneath. He looked up at her, brows raised.
“Well,” Gloria said, “your old one didn’t exactly survive the fight with Eternatus. We figured you might want at least part of your uniform back. And after what you said earlier… it feels even more important now that you wear it.”
She took the cap from his hands and settled it on his head.
“There. Now I recognize our Leon again.” She grinned. “Rotom, snap a quick picture and show him how good he looks.”
“Yes, Gloria, bzzzt!” Rotom chirped, zipping into Gloria’s phone.
“You really don’t think I look stupid?” Leon asked after studying the photo for a moment.
“No. You just look like you. Just Leon.” She nudged him lightly. “And trust me- Raihan is going to have to work really hard not to drool like his Goodra when you two open the tower with your first battle.”
“GLORIA!” Leon yelped, his face immediately flaring red again.
Laughing, she dodged the packet of tissues he threw at her, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and headed for the door.
“We’ll be picked up in ten minutes,” she called back. “The only thing you should be worrying about now is your slogan. ‘It’s Champion Time!’ doesn’t exactly fit anymore ¿Es así?”
“Hey, Gloria?” Leon said later, when they were sitting in the Flying Taxi on the way to the Battle Tower. “Thanks. For today.”
Gloria only winked at him.