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“A great battle as always, Gloria! I certainly had a champion time!”
“I had a lot of fun too, Leon! I’ll never get tired of battlin’ here!”
Currently, me and Leon are ridin’ the Battle Tower’s elevator back down to the bottom floor after yet another fierce pokémon battle. Which I won, of course. Hah, I’ve got a ten-battle winning streak against the former champ at this point!
“Man, I really thought I had you there when Charizard’s Max Airstream knocked out your Inteleon. But then you baited me into activating Coalossal’s Steam Engine!”
I give him a cheeky smile. “I’ve gotta keep ya on yer toes! Can’t always rely on the same strategies.”
Leon chuckled in response. “I suppose I’ve got to keep adapting too, then! Maybe it’s about time I finally took my ol’ Kubfu to the Tower of Darkness…”
“Leon, I like the idea, but with yer sense of direction, yer gonna somehow end up in Alola instead of the Isle.”
“Hey, I’m not that bad! I can at least make my way to the Fields of Honor! Though I always have trouble finding the dojo afterwards…”
“The dojo-?! It’s one of the first things you see when you leave the station!” I was half-joking before, but that’s actually concernin’!
We’re pulled out of our conversation by the sound of the elevator reaching the bottom. A moment later, the door opened for us. Leon nods to me, and I quietly follow behind him as we exit into the tower’s lobby.
I’m already startin’ to feel nervous as I look around at the people in the lobby. I may not look it, but I’ve been extremely bad at talking to people for as long as I remember. My mum says I’ve got pretty heavy social anxiety. Whenever someone I’m not used to tries to talk to me, I just clam up. My fans think I’m just the silent type, but in reality I’m too busy struggling to calm my nerves to say anything. I can at least feel comfortable talking to Hop and Leon’s folks since I grew up around them, but outside of Postwick, I’ve only been able to muster up the courage to talk to one person.
And that would be my girlfriend of a few months now, Marnie. During the Gym Challenge, she became my closest friend after Hop, and when the first Galarian Star Tournament took place, we decided to team up together for it. Alone with her in the locker room, waiting for our first match, I finally spoke to her for the first time. Ever since, she’s been the best teammate I could ask for, and eventually, our partnership evolved into a romance…
I feel a gentle tap on my shoulder as Leon directs my attention to one of the tower’s receptionists. Ah, I must’ve zoned out while I was thinking about Marnie…
The receptionist holds out a gold bottle cap towards me, and it takes me a moment to realize that must be a prize for my current win count. Despite my anxiety, I smile gratefully and take it from her, putting it in my bag.
“Have a good night, champion!” the receptionist says to me. I waved goodbye to her and turn to leave the Battle Tower. But I stopped when I realized a familiar face was walking up to Leon. And they were angry.
“Tch, ‘bout time you got done in there!” Piers began.
“Piers? What are you doing here at the Battle Tower?” asked Leon.
“I tried to call ya earlier, but you never picked up. So I called a Flying Taxi and came here to the tower, only to end up waiting an hour for you to come down to the lobby!”
“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t know you needed me! Did something happen? I’ve don’t think I’ve ever seen you this ticked off before.”
Piers glanced over to me, seemingly having just noticed that I was here, and sighed.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to blow up at you like that. And sorry ‘bout scarin’ ya, Gloria.” I was only then that I realized I had instinctively hid behind Leon when Piers started yellin’. Dang nerves…
“I’m just…real on edge right now.” Piers took out his phone and held it up to Leon. From a glance, it looked like he had a news article open. “Take a look at this.”
Leon took the phone from Piers and began reading, his expression growing more shocked as he went through the article. I tugged on his shirt to get his attention, and he reluctantly handed the phone to me.
Angry Fans Demand Change to Women’s Master Rankings Following Rumors Surrounding Gym Leader Marnie
Online fans of the Galar League have begun campaigning for this year’s regional Women’s Master Rankings to be revised, wanting Spikemuth Gym Leader Marnie, currently ranked #2, to be removed from the ranking. They argue that they don’t belong in the Women’s rankings, citing recent rumors that Marnie is a cross-dressing boy. These rumors originally began circulating after a presumed photo of Marnie when they were younger was leaked online (pictured below).
I immediately scrolled down to the photo. In it was a child with short black hair wearing a designer motorcycle jacket. They were sharing a hug with a Morpeko, and on the ground was a Dusk Ball with a gift bow attached to it.
“What I wanna know how in the name of Arceus they got ahold of that photo!” Piers shouted.
“You mean this is actually a photo of her?” Leon asked in surprise.
“Yeah, it’s an old family photo I took when I gave her Morpeko. I never shared it online, yet now it’s featured in an article by one of the biggest news sites in Galar!”
“…The picture in the article is a photo of a photo. Do you think someone might’ve broken into your house and snapped a picture of it?”
“That’s the only way to explain it! I swear, if I find the creep who leaked that photo, I’ll show him what a full power Throat Chop feels like!”
Leon thought to himself for a moment before speaking up again. “Piers, I think it’s best that you contact the authorities to investigate who broke into your home. In the meantime, I’ll see to making a statement to the press about the matter. I might even be able to get this article and similar ones taken down through the Galar League’s legal team.”
“Cheers, mate. I’ll take anything you can do to help,” Piers responded with a sigh of relief. But I was still very worried myself. I tugged on Leon’s shirt again and whispered my own question to him.
Leon turned back to Piers. “…So…Is Marnie doing alright?”
Piers hung his head. “’Bout a few hours into the afternoon, Marnie suddenly came back to the house in tears. I ask her what’s wrong, and she tells me reporters have been houndin’ her all day about those rumors. Team Yell even had to close the shutter to Spikemuth again to get them to leave her alone. She’s been holed up in her room since.”
…So…yer tellin’ me that while I’ve been obliviously wastin’ away my day here in this tower, my girlfriend’s been harassed and pushed to tears, havin’ to run back home just to get any peace? What’s wrong with me?
A thought crosses my mind. I take out my phone and check my call history.
There’s a missed call from 2 hours ago from Marnie.
I bolt out of the tower and look for a private spot outside.
After finding a good spot, I call her number and wait.
Several seconds later, she picked up.
“Marnie! Piers told me what happened, and then I saw the missed call from earlier, I-, I’m so, so sorry, I-”
“P-Please, calm down, Gloria!” she pleaded. Her voice sounds hoarse. “It’s…it’s alright.”
“No way it’s alright! You’ve been sufferin’ all day and I’ve just been ignoring it-”
“I said it’s alright! Look, I…I would’ve liked it if you answered me earlier, but I knew that you’d be busy at the Battle Tower all day. So…I wasn’t really expectin’ an answer then.”
“B-But-!”
“Gloria, I’m glad enough that yer callin’ me now, so can we please just leave it at that?”
“…” I not sure if I can…I just feel too guilty…
“…Do you want to make it up to me, then?”
“O-Of course!”
“Could you come visit me in Spikemuth, then? I…I think I’d really like your company right now..”
“A-Aye! I’ll be over right away!”
“…Thank you. I’ll see you soon then.”
“Yeah! See ya then!”
I hear footsteps behind me as I hang up. I turn to see Piers walking over.
“Heh. Think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard your voice. Stronger accent than I expected.”
I can’t help but blush. How much of my blatherin’ did he overhear?
Piers chuckled. “Sorry, I wasn’t tryin’ to embarrass ya. Me and Marnie obviously got a distinct dialect ourselves, so we can relate in a way.”
He turned to look towards the Battle Tower. “Leon’s already left for Wyndon to talk to the League staff. As for me, I’ve called a cab to take me back to Spikemuth.” Then he turned back towards me with a smile. “I assume yer comin’ with?”
I smile back and nod gratefully.
***
Marnie, or well, the controversy now surrounding her, has been trending all over social media, so I’ve spent most of the ride to Spikemuth doomscrollin’ on my phone. A lot of posts were clamorin’ for Marnie to be banned from not just the Women’s Master Rankings, but also global women’s rankings, and even the Galar League itself. Many were also talking about the rumors themselves, callin’ her a boy in a dress, plus a whole lotta words that I’ve never seen before, but I don’t need an Alakazam’s IQ to know they’re insults. There thankfully are fans defendin’ her, the online Team Yell so to speak, but I can only hope that they’re not in the minority.
I really wanna defend her too, both as her friend, and her partner. But if I’m bein’ honest, I’ve got no clue what everyone’s even talkin’ about… Piers said that the picture in the article was a real photo of her, but then why are people sayin’ she’s a boy? Marnie’s the kid in the picture, and Marnie’s a girl, so it’s a picture of a girl! So what if she looked like a boy when she was young? I just don’t get it…
Soon enough, the taxi lands down in Route 9, a short distance from Spikemuth. As Piers and I walk up to the town’s entrance, we spot a group of reporters talkin’ with Team Yell members right in front of the shutter. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t seem to be a friendly conversation. Piers tries to guide me over to the side entrance, but before I know it, the reporters are all up in our faces.
“Oh my! Champion Gloria! Did the recent news about Marnie bring you here to Spikemuth? As her close friend and frequent teammate, I’m sure that this has all been quite shocking to learn.”
“Will this affect your partnership with them going forward?”
“Were you already aware that Marnie is a boy?”
“Do you have any comments you’d like to share on the topic of ‘gender non-conforming’ people?”
All of their comments go in one ear and out the other as I completely freeze up. In the handful of formal interviews I’ve done, Leon’s always there to back me up, talkin’ in my place and able to use the PR skills he’s built up over the past decade to mediate my responses, as well as just act as a pillar of support for me. But here, cornered by so many reporters, all bombardin’ me with questions, my mind goes blank, my breath becoming ragged as panic begins to set in.
Suddenly, Piers pulls me closer to him, wrapping his arm around my shoulders, and begins leading me away from the reporters.
“Ex-Gym Leader Piers! Did you ask the champion to come here? And is there any validity to the rumors surrounding your younger sibling?”
“Sod off.” Piers didn’t even bother looking back at them when he responded.
Next thing I know, I’m sittin’ at a table in the Spikemuth pokémon center. I can feel my breathing beginning to return to normal as Piers sets a cup of tea down in front of me and pulls up his own chair.
“I don’t know what drinks you like, so I just got ya tea. It’s Marnie’s favorite.”
Carefully, I pick up the tea and take a sip. It’s very sweet. Sounds like her alright.
“…You feelin’ better?”
I nod.
Piers sighs. “Sis wasn’t lyin’. You’re ‘bout as outgoin’ as a Whismur…”
“…”
“Ah, I don’t mean there’s anythin’ wrong with that. I’m just wonderin’ how you can even handle being champion with those nerves…”
Leon’s a miracle worker, that’s for sure, and my family and friends back home supportin’ me helps a lot. But I probably would have given up by now without Marnie cheerin’ me on…
“Is that dopey smile you got now cause of Marnie?”
My eyes widen. How did he-?!
“Don’t look at me like that. She walks into the house one day with a green Applin and when I ask about it, she blushes and says she got them from you. Wasn’t hard to put two and two together.”
Seein’ me start to worry, Piers clears his throat.
“For the record, I’ve got no problem with it. You’re a bit of a magnet for trouble, but you two are good for each other. That much is clear just from observin’ that friendly rivalry you’ve got goin’ on.”
I let out a breath I didn’t even realize I was holdin’. Thank Arceus he took it well…
We fall into a comfortable silence as I drink the rest of my tea. Once I finish, Piers gets up from his chair. “Ready to get goin’? Don’t wanna keep her waitin’.”
I nod to him and the two of us exit the pokémon center. The walk through Spikemuth is brief, their house not being too far from the town’s entrance. It looks like the other buildings in Spikemuth, being an overall plain rectangular building, though the walls are painted a faded hot pink, and there’s a neon sign of a guitar near the top of the front wall.
The inside’s a bit more cramped than I’m used to, feelin’ more like an apartment than a house. The first floor just consists of a small living room with a telly, as well as a small kitchen area in the back next to the stairs. Posters are hung up around the living room, mainly posters for Piers’ various concerts, as well as some Team Yell posters of Marnie and a couple of Spikemuth Gym posters. But I can’t help but notice the single framed photo mixed in with all the posters. It’s the same photo from the news article, showing Marnie meeting Morpeko for the first time. When I saw it before, I couldn’t really appreciate it because of the article, but seeing it here in their home, the sight of a young Marnie, so happy to have her first pokémon…it’s sooo adorable!
“I wanted to take that photo down, ya know.”
I look over to Piers, a bit surprised.
“Thought Marnie wouldn’t like having it around, since it was before she…well, I thought she wouldn’t like having such an old photo of her on display. But she told me to keep it up. Said the memory was too important to her.”
I definitely get that. I’ll never forget when Leon gave me and Hop our first pokémon. Introducin’ myself to Sobble, watching it jump up to put its tiny little hands on mine…I can’t describe how much that moment means to me…
“’Course, part of me wishes I did considerin’ the trouble it’s caused her now. But it is what it is.”
Piers began heading upstairs, gesturing for me to follow him. Once we reached the second floor, he pointed to the door closer to the stairs.
“That’s her room right there. Best not to keep her waiting any longer.” He then turned towards the end of the hall. “I’ll be in my own room if you two need me.”
He walked over to his room and was about to enter, but then…
“Piers?”
He looked towards me, quite surprised. I’m a bit surprised myself. Despite my anxiety, I called out to him without thinking.
“……T-Thank you.”
A moment later, he turned his head back towards his room, but I’m sure I saw a small smile on his face. “It was the least I could do. You’re here to help my little sister, after all.” Afterwards, he opened the door and went into his room, leaving me alone in the hall.
it’s now just dawning on me that I’m about to enter Marnie’s room. My girlfriend’s room. And any sense of calm I’d gained when walkin’ here went right back out the window. At least it was excited nervousness and not scared nervousness…well considerin’ the circumstances, a bit of that’s there too. Really, how could I not worry? ‘Specially when I’ve already neglected her once today…
Which is why…! I need to stop dawdlin’ and greet her right now!
Pushing past my nervous, I raise my fist and knock on her door. “Marnie? I-It’s me, Gloria!”
After a bit, I hear some hasty shuffling noises before Marnie emerges from the door. She must’ve just woken up from a nap judging from her pink nightgown and messy hair.
“H-Hey, um-”
I’m immediately interrupted as Marnie pulls into a tight hug.
“Sorry…” Marnie mumbles to me. “It’s just been such a rough day…”
Hearing that, I immediately reciprocate her embrace. “It’s okay…I’m here for ya now…”
I don’t know how long we spent like that, but eventually, we’re interrupted by a pokémon’s cry below us. We look down to see a Hangry Morpeko looking up as us.
“O-Oh! Right! I slept through your evening snack time, didn’t I?”
Marnie broke off the hug and scurried back inside her room, leaving the door open. As she got out her bag of pokémon food, she gestured for me to step inside.
The walls of the room were colored a light purple and seemed to have been painted more recently than the rest of the house, lacking the wear and tear of the other walls’ paint. More photos were hung up here, most of Marnie’s pokémon, along with a photo of her and Piers, with Team Yell in the background. I s’ppose that photo’s from the day she left to register fer the Gym Challenge? There was also one poster hung up here, a poster of me and her made in commemoration of our victory in the first ever Galarian Star Tournament. I’ve got the same poster hung up in my room, so it’s nice to see that she also remembers that tournament fondly.
A guitar stood in the corner of the room closer to the door, colored hot pink and black. Wow. I know she and Piers love music, but Marnie never mentioned having this! I wonder what songs she knows…
Marnie’s bed sat in the far-right corner from the door, with many pink and purple lace pillows as well as a black blanket covering it. At the end of the bed was a little area for Morpeko, with a pokémon bed and a food bowl, which Marnie was currently filling…and Morpeko was quickly emptying.
A gothic black vanity sat across from it in the opposite corner with a whole bunch of bottles and stuff on it, but I don’t really know that much about makeup, so I couldn’t really say much about it.
A large black dresser was next to the vanity. It was fairly plain overall but had some decorations on top of it. Some league cards were on display, being Pier’s card, her own rare card, and… oh, it’s mine! Aww… Our shared Galarian Star Tournament trophies were also there. I had let her keep them, seein’ as I already had plenty of trophies from the Champion Cups. A black rose was sitting in glass vase on the dresser. ‘Course Marnie would decorate with a flower like that. And the last thing on there was…a flag? It had light blue and pink stripes, with a white stripe in the middle. It looks a bit out of place compared to the other decorations in the room. I wonder why she has somethin’ like this?
“Gloria?”
I snap my attention back to Marnie, who’s sat down on the bed. She pats the spot next to her. I sit down and- O-Oh, she’s leanin’ on my shoulder now…
“Sorry again…I went to lay down after you called me, wantin’ to rest my head a bit before you got here…but I ended up fallin’ asleep. I woke up to ya knockin’ on the door, so I’m still a bit knackered…”
“Oh, it’s fine! I d-don’t mind you leanin’ on me…” ‘Specially when it’s givin’ me such an adorable sight! I mean, I’ve gone campin’ with her before, so it’s not like I haven’t seen her in sleepwear before, but between her cute nightgown, the freckles on her face normally obscured by her makeup, and being able to see her long hair down…ah, if only could see this everyday…
“Hmm? Why are you blushin’, Gloria?”
“N-Nothin’!” I only realized what I’d just thought and freaked out a bit, that’s all… “*Ahem* So…you play guitar?”
“Oh, yeah…I wanted to learn it, since my bro’s a singer an’ all. I remember when I was younger, I dreamed of performin’ on stage with him. But then I got Morpeko, and I found I had a real passion for battles.”
“Do ya still play?”
Marnie smiled. “’Course I do. I never stopped lovin’ music. Maybe I could play for ya, but…*yawn*…probably not now.”
I leaned my head against Marnie’s. “Yeah, I’m fine like this for now. Would love to hear it sometime though.”
We sat in a comfortable silence for a while after that. I wanted to give her a chance to rest more after such a bad day.
“…So, how was the tower?”
“Hehe, I’ve still got my win streak if that’s what yer askin’. Think I’m at around 70 battles at this point.”
“Nice. Anyone give ya tough time today?”
“Well, I’ll admit, Leon had me sweatin’ a bit. Charizard was startin’ to run away with the game after a Max Airstream, but my Coaloassal took a G-Max Wildfire and KO’d it in turn, and in the end it came down to Urshifu vs. Dragapult, where Urshifu withstood a Dragon Darts and manage to KO the battered dragon with Surging Strikes through the resistance.”
Marnie smirked. “I see. Was wonderin’ if you’d get taken down by some kid again.”
“Listen, that was one time! He surprised me by using Ditto to transform into Calyrex, and I just wasn’t ready for it!”
“Good to know all I have to do is surprise ya to win the next Champion Cup.”
I let out a sigh, a bit annoyed, but honestly also a bit amused. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up now, but I’m still undefeated under Champion Cup AND Star Tournament rules!”
“And I’m sure I’ll be the one to change that.”
“Hope you’re patient then, cause I’m not lettin’ go of my title ‘til I’ve at least outdone Leon’s ten-year reign.”
By the end of that, we’re both chucklin’ together. Then, I spotted that flag on the dresser again.
“Say, what’s up with the flag?” I ask.
“The flag? …Oh, THAT flag…” She looks…unprepared for the question, and she seems to be hesitant to answer.
“I-It’s okay if it’s somethin’ ya don’t want to tell me, it’s fine! I was just curious since ya don’t got anythin’ else like it.”
“Well…i-it’s a pride flag.”
“Oh…it is? I honestly don’t know that many of them. Sorry…” I learned about a few when I realized I liked girls, but I’m a bit clueless otherwise. I remember Bede being baffled I knew the lesbian flag but not the bi flag. S’ppose I should ask him more about them sometime.
“…Well then…b-basically this one means…” S-She’s tremblin’…
“Y-You REALLY don’t have to tell me about it if yer uncomfortable-!”
Marnie shakes her head. “No…you’re my girlfriend…y-you deserve to know this about me…”
Not knowin’ what else to do, I wrap my arms around her, tryin’ to comfort her a bit.
Marnie takes a deep breath before speakin’ again. “It means…it means that I’m a girl…but I didn’t know it at first.”
“What do you…?”
“…T-The photo…the one hung up downstairs…”
The photo from the article…!
“…I…was a boy back then. Or at least…everyone, includin’ me, thought I was…but I had this naggin’ feelin’ somethin’ was wrong…and eventually I realized that it was my body…”
The pieces started to click in my mind. Marnie was…born a boy?
“One day, I told my bro what I was feelin’, and he did some research and decided to try buying me a dress. It felt…perfect. Pretty soon, I started tellin’ everyone in Spikemuth that I was a girl. I started wearin’ more girly clothes, I grew out my hair, learned how to apply makeup… I did stuff like that so everyone who saw me knew I was a girl.”
Marnie looked to the flag again. “It’s called the Transgender flag. A-and that’s what I am…a transgender girl.”
The room falls silent as I try to process it all. Some things are startin’ to make sense now. What Piers was sayin’ about taking down that photo, and what all the news was talkin’ about.
“Umm…if you don’t mind me askin’, do ya…still have a boy’s body?”
Marnie nodded.
“Does that bother you still?”
“Yeah…it feels better since then, but the feelin’ hasn’t fully gone away yet.” My heart aches. I can’t imagine what it’s like to hate your own body… “My bro says that in the future, we’ll be able to see doctors that can help, but I’m too young for that right now.”
“Oh! That’s great! I’m glad you won’t have to put up with it forever!”
“…You’re not mad?”
“What?! Why would I be mad? If anything, I just want to know if you’re okay!”
Marnie hung her head. “I mean…I don’t have a girl’s body…”
“…Marnie, could you look at me?”
After a moment, she looked up, and I took the opportunity to plant a kiss on her forehead.
“The most beautiful girl I’ve ever known is the one starin’ back at me right now. Learnin’ all this about you hasn’t changed how I feel in the slightest.”
Marnie blushed in surprise. Yes! Flirt successful!
“Y-You’re really not upset? Not at all?”
“Why are you still worried I am?”
“’Cause…some people really don’t like people like me…”
I thought back to those comments I saw online. Suddenly I realize what those insults probably meant.
I put a hand on Marnie’s shoulder. “Marnie…let’s go on a vacation!”
“W-Wha-?”
“Look, right now, people on the web are raisin’ a big stink, and so if ya appear in public, yer gonna get harassed and bullied again, and I absolutely don’t want that to happen to you! So, we take some time off to let Leon and the Galar League handle things and wait for it all to calm down. Do ya get it?” I give her a wide grin at the end.
“…Where would we go?”
“Hmm…you ever been to the Crown Tundra?”
“No…didn’t seem like a great place compared to the Isle of Armor. I mean, tundra’s in the name.”
“Well I can vouch for it! A lot of it is tundra wilderness, sure, but there’s a small town near the station called Freezington. I stayed there with ol’ Peony during my visit to the Tundra, and it’s a cozy little place.”
“Hmm…”
“Plus, if ya really wanna train instead of relaxin’, the pokémon there are stronger than the Isle. And there’s also the Max Lair…”
“The what…?”
“It’s a massive cave flooded with so much Galar Particles that all the wild pokémon in there are Dynamaxed. It’s too dangerous to bring yer own pokémon in there because of that, but if you can make it deep enough inside usin’ rental pokémon, you can find some very powerful pokémon to catch. I’m talkin’ pokémon spoken of in legends!”
“Legends?”
“If ya don’t believe me, I can show ya the Suicune I caught.”
Marnie’s eyes go wide, but then she smirks. “Fine then, we’ll go. But you’ll regret tellin’ me about the Max Lair when I find Yveltal and beat ya in the next Champion Cup!”
“You can bring all the legends ya want, you ain’t beatin’ me!”
We were laughin’ again, the tension from before now gone. Good job, me!
“Right then…” Marnie begins. “Shall we get ready for bed now?”
“W-We-?! B-Bed-?! W-What?!”
“Gloria, it’s nearly ten o’clock now. You should sleepover for the night.”
“W-Where do I sleep?”
“The bed, where else?”
“W-With you?! Right now?!” Why are things jumpin’ from visiting my girlfriend’s place for the first time straight to sleepin’ in the same bed as her?!
“Were you really not expectin’ this? It was already evenin’ when I asked you to come over.”
“I mean, I was a bit too busy worryin’ about ya to question the timeframe!”
“…Do you, not want to?” Marnie gave me the best pleading face she could muster and by Arceus, I can’t handle it!
“J-Just give me a bit to mentally prepare myself alright!”
“’Course. Ya gotta change into your pajamas anyways, so that’s kinda a given.”
“O-Oh, right!”
As I step out of the room to change, I feel everythin’ that happened today flashin’ through my mind!
Getting’ to spend some time relaxin’ with Marnie, her confiding her past to me, plannin’ a vacation, and banterin’ and flirtin’ all the while! Man, I wish I could spend every night with her like this!
…
Okay, I really gotta stop havin’ thoughts like that before I actually propose to her on the spot.
***
“People of Galar! I’m proud to announce that the Galarian Star Tournament is open once again!”
The crowd cheered as Leon began his opening speech, excited for the tournament to begin. The star tournaments have always been known to draw the largest crowds, but this tournament was a bit special.
A few days after those news articles about Marnie were published, an official statement was released by the Galar League on the matter. In it, they condemn the harassment of Marnie by both online fans and the news and declared that the sharin’ of Marnie’s childhood photo was a grave breach of privacy that could be subject to legal action, which prompted news outlets to preemptively take down their articles the same day. In the same statement, it was announced that Marnie along with me would be taking a month-long hiatus to work on our mental health and that no tournaments would be held in the absence of the champion.
The Galarian Star Tournament being held today was the first tournament following our return, so our fans were very excited, especially since me and Marnie had chosen to partner up again. Of course, though, Marnie’s return had the bigots from before crawlin’ back out of the woodwork, once again causin’ an uproar in protest of her supposed lies. So goin’ into it, a lot of eyes were on this tournament.
“It’s been some time since the last proper tournament, hasn’t it? I’m sure everyone’s excited to be back here! But before we kick things off, the champion has an important message she’d like to share with you all.”
A murmur went through the crowd, and most of the competitors of the tournament looked at me in surprise. About the reaction I expected. I’ve never spoken a word in public before, and aside from Leon, the only people I had told about this in advance were Marnie and Piers.
Leon nods to me, signaling that the floor is mine. I can feel everyone’s eyes on me now. I take a deep breath. I can do this. I can do this. I just need to calm down and say it…
Just…calm…down…!
I feel someone grab my hand. It’s Marnie. She gives me a smile and squeezes my hand. I smile back, and I finally feel ready to address the crowd.
“I just have one thing I want to say to all of you…”
The stadium was silent, everyone waiting with bated breath.
Then, I raise Marnie’s arm into the air.
“Marnie here is my girlfriend. Not my boyfriend, my GIRLFRIEND! And I don’t wanna hear anyone tryin’ to say otherwise!”
The crowd gasps and begins talkin’ amongst themselves. A good half of them, likely fans of both me and Marnie, sound excited at the news, but others seemed more so just surprised at my sudden announcement.
“Everyone!” The crowd falls silent again as Leon speaks up. “I’m sure you all remember the incident which forced these two to step away from competition for the past month. An overblown scandal that was fueled by discrimination against an innocent girl. To me, the Galar region should be a place where Trainers from all walks of life can come together and push each other to grow stronger. And so, I believe the competitions hosted by the Galar League should be open to anyone! Who here’s with me?”
A roar of cheers ring out, Leon’s speech striking a chord with them the crowd. The other competitors were with them, with some like Hop even joinin’ in on the cheerin’. If there were any dissenters, they were completely drowned out. It was clear now that despite how loud those bigots seemed online, they were in the minority.
Marnie and I looked at each other and smiled again. To both of us, these were some of the greatest cheers we’ve ever heard. After all, they weren’t just cheerin’ for Leon. They were cheerin’ for us, and all the people who have suffered at the hands of discrimination.
Despite us standin’ in the middle of a packed stadium, I pulled Marnie into a celebratory hug.
“Hahaha! Then with all that being said, let’s all have a champion time together!”
And it was a nice cherry on top that me and Marnie took home another trophy that day.