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cheesus-doodles · 8 months ago

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Star-Crossed by Choice: Chapter 3

Yandere Raihan & Leon with Champion Darling

Pokemon SwSh and SV Crossover

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<< Chapter 1 | 2

Masterlist

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apologies for the sudden hiatus yall ;-; i've been pulling midnight days almost every day for the past month for work on top of dealing with quite a severe writer block - things has been calming down somewhat so I look forward to ramping up my writing again! thank you for your patience :3

“You ungrateful little whore,” Raihan all but snarled out, the whites of his gritted teeth glinting in the dim street light as he stared you down.

Your body instantly reacted, attempting to stumble back and away despite having collapsed on the ground, your trembling gaze all but locked on Raihan’s icy teals, unable to turn away. If looks could kill, you wouldn’t be dead, no - the fate that awaited you was so much worse than the kind embrace of death. Your Cinderace let out an uncertain trill as it looked back at you, quickly followed by an annoyed one as it shifted to block your view of the gym leader. The astute Pokemon you had the honor to call your partner was more than well aware of the situation, though its efforts did little to stop the shivers that wrecked your body as you tried and failed to force yourself to get up and move.

Raihan was hardly deterred. “After all I’ve done for you, after all you’ve put me through-” The taller man took a step forward, his towering shadow falling over you, eyes almost seeming to glow in the dark and he stared you down. “This is how you repay my love?”

It was as if your Cinderace barely existed between the two of you, those narrowed eyes piercing straight past the Pokemon and into your soul, a shot from a harpoon that hooked into your flesh and froze you in place. There was no right answer to his question, even if you could muster the words to reply, because there wasn’t supposed to be one; you were never right. Only wrong.

The town of Cortando was predictably quiet at this time of the night, with residents and student visitors having long retreated into their beds to prepare for the coming day. You envied them - and you always had - having the freedom that the new dawn would bring to look forward to. And even though you treasured every day you could roam the rolling hills of Paldea, free from the shackled throne you were forced to sit upon in Galar, it wasn’t without needing to constantly look over your back for the monsters that lurked in the shadows.

And now, the freedom you had so carefully constructed for yourself was threatening to shatter before your eyes.

You gulped, pleading eyes sliding to glance at Nemona, who was still staring blankly at the whole ongoing shitshow. What now? Could you simply give all this up? Go back to the safety of what you knew? You had to, your mind screamed at you. Concede now, surrender and return peacefully before it’s too late, and you could maybe still enjoy some semblance of the miniscule comfort you had before your abrupt escape.

But it was your heart and the sinking feeling in the base of your gut that told you the truth. That it was already too late for you: you had forced the Hammerlocke gym leader into giving up all pretense of playing the persona he was so loved for, and like an awakened dragon, the man you faced was now one usually reserved only for you and your transgressions against him. Allowing others to lay eyes on such a private side of him would hardly be kind to you if Raihan got his way.

“Hey! Eyes here while I’m talking to you,” the man snapped, and your gaze immediately jumped back to meet his, the hair on the back of your neck standing as you realized that you had been too obvious in allowing your attention to waver away from Raihan. If Cinderace hadn’t been between the two of you, you were sure around your neck was exactly where the other’s hands would be at this precise point in time. “Do I mean so little to you now, princess? Just trash to be cast aside, huh?”

What now? What else?

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Yet that was hardly the whole sum of your issues at the moment. Allowing your eyes to slide away from Raihan once more as the man continued to vent and rant to himself, and there in the dim yellow light waited another patient pair, Leon looking deceptively relaxed from where he was leaned against an unassuming lamppost lazily scanning his surroundings, just a stone’s throw behind the hoodie-touting gym leader. And as if he could feel your wide-eyed stare, the ex-Champion looked up, catching your eyes lingering on him. Smirking as he dropped whatever it was that he had been tossing from one hand to the other, the purple-haired man leisurely strolled over, clapping one hand over an unusually agitated Raihan’s shoulder. “Calm, Raihan,” Leon smirked, golden eyes having never left yours. “She’s still here.”

Raihan let out an annoyed tsk, shaking Leon off of him, though the gym leader did take a deep breath and calmed down.

I’m still here, you repeated mentally. So close where they could almost grasp you, your eyes flickering between the two as their shadow only seemed to grow longer and longer, swallowing you up and dragging you further from the light, yet so far away. Your chances to get away were only getting slimmer with every passing minute. Having to shake Raihan off was one thing, with the blue-eyed man’s seemingly dragon-like senses and his ability to read you like an open book, but adding Leon into the equation was a whole different ball game.

But you had to try. Giving up and returning to that life that awaited you, it simply wasn’t an option, if not for you, then for your beloved Pokemon friends. You’ve already beaten them once, you tried to reassure yourself. All that time ago, when you had become Galar Champion, and then again and again every Championship. Slowly, painstakingly slowly, you shifted your hand, dipping into your pocket to pull out a small clicker, all the while wrecking your brains to come up with a plan. You just had to beat them again this time. Give up, those nagging voices at the back of your mind urged again.

Far from the rage that Raihan had worked himself into, Leon was still calm and collected, the tanned man with a mob of purple hair reaching out towards you, offering one ungloved hand as if an olive branch. “It’s time to come home, love,” he reassured. “It’s not too late. Everything’ll go back to normal, same way it always was, if you come home with us now. I promise.”

A lie. You know better to fall for those honeyed words - that hadn’t been a question but an order. You closed your eyes, letting out a shuddering breath. It was all too much for you.

Those amber eyes moved to lock onto your Cinderace. “And you. Return to your Pokeball.”

Your partner pokemon bristled, letting out a warning growl.

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Leon had always frightened you, more than Raihan ever did. The Dragon gym leader had always been very obvious, very deliberate with his actions, never bothering to hide his intentions, to the extent of making it public to his leagues of fans the moment you were in his grasp. But you hadn’t even noticed the once-undefeated Champion’s claws wrapping around you until he already had you trapped.

The glimpse of purple hair you kept catching from the corner of your eye had you momentarily thinking of Hop, your oldest and dearest friend that you had left behind in Galar. You wondered how he was doing, whether he still thought of you like you did of him. Whether he had already achieved his goal of researching rare pokemon. Whether he still looked up to his older brother after what Leon had done to him the day you toppled Goliath and became reigning Champion.

You thought about writing to him from time to time, especially during those lonely nights when you camped out in the far corner of some field, stoking a crackling fire under the twinkling stars with your Pokemon fast asleep around you. You remembered when Hop would join you to feast on curry when the two of you were kids, when neither had any worries beyond homework and whether the channels would have the latest episode of your favorite show. But you had always decided against it at the end of the day, worried about being tracked down should Leon get a hold of one - and you could only offer simple wishes up to whatever deity was listening that Hop was doing well.

Fat load of good that did you.

Your hand moved fast, tapping away on the converted morse paddle key hidden to the side of your body: non-verbal instructions to your Cinderace. Not only was it a system that both you and your Pokemon were well accustomed with, having practiced it again and again throughout the course of the Galar Championships and beyond, but it also took advantage of Pokemon’s natural heightened senses and your two self-established “guardians” inability to understand. And you knew your partner heard you loud and clear, the bunny Pokemon’s ear twitching in acknowledgement despite keeping its back turned to you.

Though despite your best attempts, your unspoken communication didn’t go unnoticed. Leon’s face darkened, in step with Raihan snarling. “Not going to use your words?” “What did I say about clicking?”

Fortunately, right on cue, Cinderace took a quick swipe at them, forcing the two men back a few paces to avoid the tip of its feet before your partner retreated back to stand guard in front of you.

The breeze had picked up once more, carrying with it the calls of Hoothoot and the rustle of grass from outside of town, the fields alive with nocturnal Pokemon. You shivered in the warm wind, your mind racing. One step down, countless more to go. Could you pull it off?

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It was far too obvious that you weren’t giving up the fight just yet, Raihan mused, sharp eyes lasering in on you as you kept your gaze downturned and focused on the ground, his grin only seeming to lengthen with the shadows that danced in the night. Sure, you had always been on the timid, shy side, even to the point of being a selective mute, but he could tell this was one of those rare times where your instinct to struggle against the current bubbled to the surface. You had always been a crafty little thing when you needed to.

Yet the scales were still tipped in his favor.

“Fiery,” the Hammerlocke gym leader all but purred out, pulling your attention out from your thoughts. “You sure you wanna do that though?” He reached into his pocket, and you flinched on instinct. Good.

Pulling out an all-too familiar Pokeball, the orb was clutched in one tanned hand held halfway out, just enough for the light to catch its top.

You turned pale, staggering to your feet immediately, your eyes locked on that ball. No doubt you would easily recognise the Pokeball he now held as your own: the once-glossy red surface painstakingly decorated with cute little details that he imagined you carving with the tip of a knife in the light of a campfire once upon a time, far out in the Wild Area and away from prying eyes. “You know who this is, don’t you, lil champ?”

You couldn’t tear your eyes away, tears beginning to well in the corner of your already swollen eyes as you tried to shake your head, attempting to plead silently to spare you the pain.

Ah that helpless, what a sight for sore eyes indeed. If only you could voice that plea.

And with a quick toss, it was clear to the hooded trainer that he had only confirmed your worst nightmares, Lapras bursting forth and manifesting before Cinderace with a cry. Back when he had let his guard down and allowed you to escape from his grasp back in Galar, you had managed to slip away with just six of your Pokemon - your prized Pokemon to say the least, given those six formed the core of your Championship team. But, Raihan smirked, casually sliding both hands into the pockets of his hoodie, it was no secret you cared deeply for all your Pokemon, and those you left behind were still in his and Leon’s possession.

Even your Cinderace seemed uncertain of the evolving situation, breaking its fighting stance to glance between you and its former ally.

Now, what were you going to do next?

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Your world felt like it was on the brink of imploding, the very air just a wrong touch away from collapsing around you. That wretched thick black collar that hung from Lapras’ neck, one you were all too familiar with - you could barely bite back the whimper that you felt threatening to escape from your throat. Whatever you did, one wrong move and you would once again be the sole cause of the world of suffering Lapras would be put through.

You shaking met Lapras’ eyes, to which the Pokemon let out a mournful sigh, and Cinderace returned a sad trill. It wasn’t the first time both had found the other on opposing sides since you had your living arrangement forcibly updated at the end of the Galar Championship, but neither liked the outcome. Maybe Leon and Raihan were right. Maybe you should just give in and end the pain.

“Just leave her alone already!” A sudden interruption that sliced through the silence of the night like a hot knife through butter, and Nemona came stomping over from behind him, an uncharacteristically furious expression painted across the usually cheery girl. “She doesn’t want to go with you!” With a distinct lack of fear in her eyes and a lack of care for who your two pursuers were on the world stage, your friend marched past them without a second glance, putting herself squarely on your side and in your corner.

The Champion-ranked trainer turned to you. “Don’t get me wrong, I most definitely want to have a battle with you once all this blows over,” she declared, pausing for a moment before continuing on. “And I want to know everything. But I’m on your side. Got it?”

You simply nodded.

There was little question that Raihan and Leon would be angry, and you didn’t need to look to know just how downright pissed they were. Instead opting to turn your gaze to Nemona then to the ground, it was as if your mind had connected the dots faster than you could have realized, and you had to take a second look at the uniform-clad girl. Right before it hit you like a charging Rhyhorn, the sudden realization instantly shaking your entire perspective and turning your world upside down.

You were no longer in Galar.

Yes, there was no doubt that Raihan and Leon were still Master Class trainers that have conquered the World Coronation Championships, and were most definitely famous even here in Paldea as the famous Dragon Gym Leader of Hammerlocke and the former Galar Champion. But missing were the leagues of women who would throw their weeks away to comb every inch of grass for signs of you on Raihan’s command. And gone were the nosy trainers who would be more than happy to turn over information on your location just for a word of praise from Leon, or the crowds of your self-declared fans who could recognize you turned inside out from a yard away.

They were as good as nobodies here, and so were you.

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And now all the wheels began to turn. The modified morse paddle key that served as your clicker went into overdrive as you tried to get your thoughts out to Cinderace as fast as your fingers could go.

You could get away. There was still a way out for you.

Raihan seemed to have caught on to the sudden hope that surged in your veins, the toothy grin on his face dropping as he narrowed his eyes. “Lapras, Hydro Pump,” he ordered.

Lapras resisted, letting out a defiant cry as it rebelled against his orders. Your countdown has started.

Two clicks, and your Cinderace leapt forward, foot extended to land a Double Kick.

You didn’t look to see if the attack landed, attempting to turn out all external sounds from your buzzing ears; the butterflies in your chest already made it hard enough to keep breathing. Instead, you cleared your throat, your mouth moving as you tried to force a word, a sound, anything from your vocal chords. “S-St-” You exhaled, shuddering, your efforts going unnoticed amidst the chaos of the moment.

The Dragon Gym Leader had withdrawn a small remote, a promise, not a threat. “Lapras, use Hydro Pump,” he ordered again.

It wasn’t enough. A full word. All you needed was a single full word. If not for yourself, then for the hell that your Pokemon had been through - there was no other choice. You had to do it.

Nemona’s eyebrows were furrowed as she watched the battle go down, the other three trainers paying little attention to you as you carefully tiptoed over to retrieve your backpack off the ground, the clock in your head ticking down slowly but surely. Tick tock, the nagging voices in your head whispered to you. Tick tock.

There was little time to decide what the right move was, whether you did the right thing; you simply rationalized that you should pick whoever you wouldn’t mind being stuck with again should you have to return to Galar. Raihan did treat you like royalty whenever he wasn't angry at some unspoken rule that you unknowingly broke, and would only increase should you pick him, with the downside being the numerous eyes and constant spotlight that followed the popular trainer around. While no doubt that Leon’s treatment of you would improve greatly if you picked him, the man had always been very demanding, holding you to an impossible standard.

Reaching into your backpack right for your Pokemon as Cinderace dodged the jet of water aimed at him, everything that happened next took but a blink of an eye.

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All you could muster the strength to mutter was a single word, yet it was enough. A broken whisper of a single syllabus, mumbled by a hoarse voice that didn’t seem to see much use. “Raihan-”

Both men instantly startled, amber and aqua eyes snapping straight to yours as their jaws dropped. But it was all the distraction you needed.

Click. Your Vileplume manifested, instantly using Stun Spore, with both Vileplume Cinderace being recalled to their respective balls before the yellow dust even touched the ground.

You grabbed Nemona’s arm, yanking her backwards with surprising strength as you clutched your backpack tight to your chest. Another shrill song as Gardevoir manifested, the Psychic pokemon lightly touching its green sleeve-like arms to you, using Teleport.

And in under a minute, your little group was gone, vanishing without a trace from Cortondo.

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“She-she said my name,” Raihan mumbled again and again, sounding very much star-struck. “My name. M-”

“Shut the fuck up,” Leon snapped back, annoyed.

Being left sprawled on the ground waiting for the effects of the paralysis to fade didn’t help much with the former Galar Champion’s mood, even less so when you had been just an arm’s length away. One grab away from going back to how life had been with you. And now, Leon had to live with the fact that after years and years of patience, waiting eagerly for a chance to hear your elusive voice. Soft and gentle, like the trickle of a river, your voice had been everything he ever imagined and more - and it was his rival’s name that left your lips first.

It must be her, the purple-haired man fumed, a soft glow of red as an equally paralyzed Lapras was recalled to its ball by a giddy, giggling Raihan. That stupid Champion-ranked girl with the green highlighted hair. All his time and effort, taming and training you into his love - and she had broken his perfect you the moment his back was turned. All his work for nothing, gone like sand art at high tide.

Letting out a groan as Leon finally felt control of his body return, he could only slam the back of his head into the dust once in frustration before standing.

Raihan had won this fight, but Leon sure as hell was going to make sure he wins the war.

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parasolladyansy · 2 months ago

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hello! i've liked ansy's adventure for a while, and i noticed how you play on japanese names for the pokemon, especially for mizumi's and sasmu's. what do you think of the languages in the pokemon world? i can guess hisuian equals japanese, but does sinnohan/kantonese also translate into japanese? or the four japanese-based regions are adapted into english ( or unovan?) i don't know if i'm explaining myself, but how do you view the pkmn languages and their equivalents in our world?

こんばんは! Good evening! Thank you for following along ^o^/

Class is in session lol! Professor Laventon seems to be most comfortable writing in his native Galarian, though he also has various notes in traditional “Japanese”, written vertically & read right to left.

So, language is a very interesting thing in fiction, & the Pokeverse is no exception! Through the games (& especially the latest ones, Scarlet / Violet) we’ve had a number of characters who spoke in different languages. I remember a couple of NPC’s in BW Unova, there’s Fantina in Sinnoh who peppers her speech with Kalosian (French), & a Hiker on Galar’s Route 6 who spoke what I’m guessing was Paldean (Spanish) rather than Galarian (English). Then in SV, we have Mr. Salvatore who teaches (& uses) many languages (off the top of my head, I remember him teaching how to say “thank you” in Spanish, French, Chinese, & German).

It does get tricky when it comes to the “Japanese” regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh / Hisui, & Kitakami, as those regions otherwise make up one country in our world, but this has yet to have been canonically established (which is why I always put “Japan” / “Japanese” in quotes, as there currently isn’t a name for that one country, same with “America”). I do believe they share the same language - at the very least Hisui & Kitakami have the same written script, & I feel pretty confident that if they were to retcon it, they would have the other “Japanese” regions use it, too (before Legends Arceus, they just used random shapes that didn’t seem to spell anything, which I interpreted to just be placeholder characters).

If there is a common language in their world (& I think is, from characters from different regions being able to talk to each other no problem), I personally would guess it to be “Japanese” - as we look at the other regions, we can see a sort of Japanese flavor that would otherwise not be there (though they clearly did their homework on the various parts of the world these regions reflect!). Of course, Pokémon is from Japan, so it would make sense that they would add some of their own culture to this world they created. For a possible in-universe explanation, the Pokeverse seemed to have started in Japan (specifically in Sinnoh as we learned in Legends Arceus, so I guess their universe actually is geocentric like old astronomers used to think ours was?).

I think that’s about it. In DxP REWRITE, while my own language is American-English (& beginner-level Japanese lol) so I read the characters to be speaking American-English, they are actually speaking “Japanese” while in Sinnoh (which is why I haven’t really been peppering Ansy’s dialogue with Japanese). I have tried to write in the “Japanese” or Galarian scripts for signs & things a couple times:

The sign just says “Gear Station”

Here I (tried to lol) translate Mizumi’s letter to Japanese then wrote it out in in-game characters (in the modern horizontal, as Mizumi is from the modern era writing to someone in the modern era).

Thanks for reading yet another post of me geeking out lol. Feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments! じゃあ、またね! Until next time! ^o^/

—

PS: For funsies, here’s the (non-canonical, as these were made by fans) references I’ve been using when writing in either Galarian or “Japanese” in DxP REWRITE:

I personally was confused by the “Japanese” script also being alphabetical rather than phonetic like hiragana / katakana (two common scripts in Japan, the first being mostly used to spell Japanese words while katakana is used to spell foreign words - the third script, kanji, is used to write whole words). If that is the case (which is how I wrote it in Mizumi’s letter), “Japanese” is written in what’s called “romanji”, where they write out words in the Latin (aka Roman) alphabet rather than phonetically: “ありがとうございます” becomes “arigatō-gozaimasu” (“thank you very much”).

Whether it is actually written out that way in game though…? At a glance of the signs I saw in Hisui & Kitakami, it does look like it’s more like hiragana & kanji instead, but this chart is all I got for now. Any Japanese folks or fluent Japanese-readers who can tell me if there’s anything out there in the Japanese fandom about this, please lemme know so I can do right by it into future - as of writing this, I haven’t seen much else among the English-speaking fandom 8u8;

As for the Galarian script, it’s clearly based on the Latin alphabet that much of the Western world uses for our various languages - we see it in Paldea as well as Galar, & according to the trailer in Pokemon ZA, they retconned it to be used in Kalos as well. In universe, I wonder if they were at all influenced by the Unown, being based on the Latin alphabet themselves. Again, who knows? (though I question the accuracy of this particular font / chart: if it is, the first thing Laventon’s chalkboard says “REXBOQ” lol XD)

#pokemon #lore #DxP Ask #Ask #lots of geeking out #language #the struggle of being someone who likes languages but is TERRIBLE at grammar lol XD

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epicspheal · 3 months ago

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Bring the Storm! A Raihan Analysis

It’s 2019. Gamefreak and TPCi are expecting that their Pants with Directions Galar champion would be the favorite of the fans. And while Leon is certainly a favorite of Galar (even if a tad controversial)…a certain 8th gym leader became a runaway favorite.

Raihan!

Let’s talk about his name first! In Japanese, his name is Kibana which has “kiba” in it which means fang. Which checks out considering he is a dragon type specialist. However his Japanese name also references “kibanafuji” which is the common laburnum. In fact many of his name translations also reference the laburnum. So what is the laburnum? The common laburnum (also known as the golden chain) is a tree in the pea and legume family. The laburnum tree produces legumes that are toxic to some species like humans, goats and horses, but deer and hare can earth them just fine. This duality has given the laburnum magical properties in folklore. The symbolism is most closely related to “beauty” and being “forsaken” This dual nature that we see in Raihan’s main namesake flower I think really represents Raihan in relation to the Galar League and the fan culture surrounding it. He’s a very handsome man and very talented and many admire that of him. Yet we know his fans can be cruel to him online when he loses showing the toxic side of celebrity status. Also he himself has been frustrated with his losses in the past and perhaps parts of him worries about being forsaken by the league and the one he considers his greatest rival.

His English name Raihan comes from Arabic and means Basil. Basil comes from the Greek word basilikon phuton which means “kingly herb”. Very appropriate for someone whose gym is in an ancient castle and is strong enough to be a champion in another region, thus the king of the competitive battle circuit (not to mention his German/Spanish/French/Portuguese name is Roy which is literally “king”). In addition, the basil plant has a lot of symbolism regarding spiritual worship as it was used to help safeguard passage and warding off evil. Again given that Raihan’s gym is located in a castle, a symbol of protection across cultures this definitely shows that Raihan is meant to be seen as a protector

Now let’s take a look at his team. Raihan is unique in that his team switches up throughout the playthrough, something that’s typically only found in rival characters (yes gym leaders and elite four do add members for rematches but Raihan’s team goes through some more significant shake ups). However, since Raihan is the one true rival to Leon (before the player exists) and Leon is in many ways a stand-in for a protagonist it does make sense that his team switches up.

His first team is probably the team he is most famous for. A sandstorm weather team that has given birth to a number of his signature quotes. Despite being a dragon type leader, we see that Raihan does not restrict himself to just dragon type Pokemon. This isn’t exactly odd as Clair in gen 2 has non-dragon types (but draconic Pokemon) due to the limited number of dragon type Pokemon available (which of course is rectified in rematches in HGSS). However, Raihan is working with Galar dex, which though infamously limited, has a large selection of dragon types available. This once again reinforces the idea of him being a Rival to Leon’s Protagonist role as his team composition mimics Blue’s Viridian Gym Team in having a varied selection (with the key differences being Blue does not claim a type speciality, while Raihan is seen as a dragon type specialist).

We can see from his gym-team that it has a knack for dealing chip damage. Be it from the Sandstorm (which he can set up with Flygon or Sandaconda) and also Stealth Rock and Sand Tomb on his Gigalith. If he can get burn damage from Fire Fang on Sandaconda this also contributes to chip damage. His widespread use of chip damage shows Raihan as a person who doesn’t just like to rely on one path to victory and respects that the little things matter.

He also enjoys using attacks that can paralyze (Thunder Fang, Glare), Burn (Fire Fang), Flinch (Crunch, Iron Head), further solidifying the fact that he employs multiple strategies in order to cinch victory. This also provides very needed type coverage allowing him to counter most strategies against him.

And of course we can’t forget the fact that his team is very doubles oriented, a rather unique style among gym leaders showing his willingness to stand out

Now let’s take a look at his team for the championship tournaments. Most notable he switches from his gym specialty of double battles to the single battle format for the tourneys. With this it changes the team composition a bit to include more weather options (sun and rain) which further exemplify his ability to have variety and be unpredictable. He still maintains his ability to do chip damage and having a wide movepool for coverage but it's clear here his main goal is to throw the opponent off with using multiple weather formats.

Now let’s take a look at his league cards

"Raihan is commonly regarded as the most skilled Gym Leader in the Galar region. He has striven for victory in every environment, and as a result, he has adopted a battle style where he utilizes weather effects to their fullest. It is rumored that he could easily become another region's Champion should he choose to move, but it seems that to Raihan, defeating Leon is much more important. His uploaded selfies are quite popular. Occasionally he'll post a photo that only shows a sandstorm." - Normal League Card

We can see with his normal league card the reason why his team line up is so varied with what it can do. He truly wants to be able to have a win condition no matter what. This shows him to be a very thoughtful and intelligent gym leader that has earned his spot as the strongest gym leader of Galar. Furthermore we get confirmation that he is champion level strength, which is a feat that only has been done with three other gym leaders in the past (Blue, Wallace and Iris). That being said you can tell he cares more about just the rank of champion since his goal is Leon. It would be expected that many people of his caliber who were stuck at the rank of eighth gym leader would move to an easier circuit to gain the title. But for him it matters not just that he becomes champion, but who he beats as champion. It shows Raihan to be very principled and not just seeking glory.

"Raihan started taking selfies so as to never forget the pain of his defeats, but more recently he has been taking photos showing off his training routine, his fashion choices, and the like, causing some fans to leave harsh comments whenever he loses to Leon. It's true that Raihan is on a ten-nil losing streak against Leon, but no other Pokémon Trainer has managed to KO as many of Leon's Pokémon as Raihan has. Raihan no doubt looks forward to taking a selfie after finally defeating Leon." - Rare League Card

I wanted to talk about the selfies Raihan takes here. A lot of people in the fandom have reduced Raihan to just being a selfie hog which isn’t the case. Yes as we’ll see in future quotes he is just a tad vain (and this isn’t inherently bad because it’s not a flaw so big that it becomes a fatal flaw and in the end it makes him more human and thus more endearing), but in reality the selfies are meant to document his life and growth as a trainer. He started taking them so he could remember the moments where he lost, to remember the sting of failure and embarrassment so he can strive to do better. Rather than wallow in his losses and give up he chooses to use the negative feelings spawned in the moment as fuel forward. That’s extremely commendable. However we also see how the selfies ended up turning into a side hobby he can do outside of being on the gym circuit. This of course gives us insight on the rather cruel nature of the Galarian fan circuit because of the harsh comments he gets when he loses.

Alright let's take a look at some of his quotes!

"Exhibition or not, Leon, your pristine record is about to end—when I beat you here today!" - SwSh intro scene

Here we get our first glimpse of Raihan (and for many the start of their crushes on him). This is straightforward pre-game banter but it sets up the competition we see between him and Leon.

"Oh! If it isn't the Trainer endorsed by the Champion! Let's see... What was your name again? Ah, right! <player>!" - first encounter with Raihan

Here is our first chance as the player to meet Raihan and we get to see a third role Raihan plays…being the keeper of the Hammerlock Vault. In classic Pokemon “Rival can’t shut up about their rival” fashion his way of greeting the player is in relation to the fact that they are endorsed by Leon. In game he’s actually scrolling his phone to get your name which plays into the fact that he is a content creator therefore has to keep up with the buzz online

"Gaining a better understanding of Pokémon by studying history certainly isn't a bad idea." - at the Hammerlocke Vault

Even though we don’t get to see him involved much with the uncovering of Galar’s lore we can see he does indeed appreciate history. Even one of his TCG cards shows him with his Flygon pouring over plenty of books showing that he’s very well read and educated. He’s not just a meathead battler as some like to claim.

"The tapestries in the vault depict the heroes of the Galar region's past. I suppose if we've got any modern hero, it'd have to be our Champion, Leon." - Hammerlocke Vault

Raihan, stop bringing up Leon every 5 seconds challenge- impossible. Jokes aside, it’s really nice to see that even though Raihan really wants to bring Leon down, there’s still a level of mutual respect between them both (as also seen in Leon’s words). Raihan acknowledges a heroic quality to Leon.

"The Gym Challenge is meant to be, well... challenging, wouldn't you say? Naturally there aren't too many Gym Challengers who can make it this far. And that's why I provide a format where you can really show off the brilliant combinations you and your Pokémon should be capable of!"

I really like how Raihan wants to challenge those who manage to make it to him not by gym mazes but by being versatile enough to battle in multiple formats. I feel like realistically a good future champion should be competent in both double and single battles and it’s nice to see that acknowledgement here by Raihan who makes sure those who beat him can battle in a double format well.

“Come on, Sebastian! You'll be first! Time to face the second Trainer! Come on, Camilla! You've made it to the third and last Trainer! Your moment to shine, Aria! - During his gym challengeThis is a little bit that I just always love seeing whenever I do my playthroughs of Sword and Shield. It’s really nice that Raihan seems to be a bit closer to his gym trainers than most other leaders in the series as he calls them by name and gives them encouragement right before battle. He really puts the “leader” in the phrase gym leader as he’s not just lording over the gym as the strongest trainer, but that he cares about the personal growth of those who serve under him. As we’ve seen in later installments of the franchise, being an ideal champion is more than just being skilled at battle, but being a role model to others and setting a positive example of leadership. This to me above all shows Raihan’s potential as a future champion. He embodies the skill and ideals a champion is supposed to live up to

"And you aim to defeat Leon... Do you have any idea just how high a hurdle that is? As his greatest rival, I guess that I—Raihan—will have to show you! Gym Leader Raihan doesn't simply control the weather. He also seeks two-on-two battles! You must be prepared for any situation against a foe like him!" -pre gym battle quote

Bringing up Leon unprompted count: 3 Once again we really see how despite his desire for victory, he still holds Leon in high regard. But also circling back to his team composition and normal league card we once again see confirmation of his tactical mindset by not only being a double battler but using weather tactics as well.

After the player used Hail "Ho? Not bad—changing the weather to Hail like that!"

After the player uses Sunny Day: "Pulling out a Sunny Day! Hah! That's not a bad countermeasure!" - during battle if weather changesAnd here we get to see he holds respect for the player too when he compliments them using the weather to their own advantage. He really holds a chivalrous mindset which makes me question how in the world people got “feral” out of him.

"I might have lost, but I still look good. Maybe I should snap a quick selfie...In the aftermath of the furious battle... I feel as pure and refreshed as when the sky clears after a storm. What can I possibly say? Calling myself Leon's rival? Seems I'd grown quite conceited for someone who can't even claim the title of Champion! Overconfident in both myself and my team!" - post loss

One thing I really appreciate about Raihan, is how human he feels with his flaws. He’s a little vain and at times a little conceited. But he acknowledges those flaws within him. It honestly makes him more endearing and real.

"There you are, Leon's little brother! Don't worry—I'll give you a battle that'll make you want to quit the Gym Challenge altogether!" - when Hop comes to challenge

As mentioned above when he meets the player, we see him once again relate the challengers, this time Hop, to Leon. I’ve been saying this since writing up Blue for gen 1, Pokemon is actually a masterclass in environmental storytelling. This quote really actually highlights Hop’s story in that he’s often not seen as his own person, but an accessory to Leon, something that changes over the story as he grows. And that even Raihan unintentionally plays into this by calling him “Leon’s little brother”

"I'm going to win my way through every round, then I'll be the one taking on Leon! If I don't, then I'll have failed to repay Duraludon and the rest of my team for all their hard work!" - in the locker room before the Champion’s CupJust like he holds Leon, his challengers, and his gym trainers in high regard, Raihan also has a lot of respect for his team of Pokemon that work so hard to bring him victory. It shows how good natured Raihan is.

"You're really something else, kid. You've made it all the way here! I guess that's why the Champion himself endorsed you, yeah? Leon's my rival—and he chose you. So I've got to first prove I'm better than you if I'm to beat him! I've reworked my whole team, and now we're all geared up for one-on-one battles!" - pre-match quoteHere we see a slightly more subdued version of Raihan compared to his gym pre-match quote. You can see he acknowledges the strength of the player. But also you can get a hint of self-doubt in this dialogue as perhaps he’s questioning his ability to call himself Leon’s rival (something he already did when the player beats him in Hammerlocke). He’s wondering how he can truly call himself a rival when he hasn’t claimed victory. Yet we know from previous dialogue with Leon that the champion does hold the dragon type gym leader in high regard and considers him a rival despite a 10-0 record.

"My lovely Pokémon and I have become much stronger than we were before... But you just blew right past us! Beyond anything I'd imagined! I'm still pretty young myself, but it just goes to show that there's always someone younger coming up, reaching further than you ever dreamed... And you've got your whole future ahead of you! Keep up the momentum! Prove that Leon's not unbeatable!"

As much as people like to claim SwSh “doesn’t have a story” we can see one of the clear motifs in this line of dialogue about passing the torch to younger generations. We see Raihan can acknowledge that while he’s still young and has room to grow, those younger than him are still brimming with potential.

"The key thing is that no one's been harmed. We Gym Leaders worked together with the city's Pokémon, and we've got everyone evacuated." - Hammerlocke gym during the Darkest Day part 2

A long-standing criticism of the Pokemon games is “why aren’t the gym leaders helping out?” Well we can see here he and the rest of the Galar gym leader’s to help evacuate the citizens.

"Especially you, Piers! The way you battled me in the Champion Cup... You really had my Dynamax Pokémon up against the wall! [...] And Piers! You and I have got to battle again. This time, no Dynamaxing for either of us!" - post-game arc

I really like this moment too. Even though we know Piers lost to Raihan in the champion cup, we can see that he still gave Raihan a run for his money and that Raihan acknowledges this. The writers could’ve easily had Raihan only focus rivalries on trainers who could beat him, but the fact that he now extends his rivalry to Piers shows just how much respect and humility he has as a person. Him finding other rivals besides Leon and the player is a really nice touch. Not to mention his willingness to battle Piers without Dynamaxing reinforces the fact that he wants to be able to achieve victory in many conditions.

"When it comes to putting dragon Pokémon to good use, I'm not picky about their types. There're Pokémon perfect for the job all over the place. Probably even in the tall grass over there."

I really liked this quote as it gives a bit of an explanation as to why you see a rather diverse set of Pokemon on his team. His priority is about making the best use of his dragon types and non-dragon types that can support them are good teammates

"We're the strongest team around!" - To Raihan with Blue on Team-up I had to put this on here because as many have mentioned there are a lot of parallels between the Red-Blue rivalry and the Leon-Raihan rivalry. So seeing that Raihan has special dialogue with Blue outside of the usual suspects (Piers, Leon, Lance) was nice to see an official acknowledgement of the parallels between the two characters.

"I let my guard down 'cause she's just a kid... This isn't looking good! [...]Ah, you probably did. Sorry we didn't pick up on it, Poppy!"

I really enjoyed Poppy's debut and Raihan’s involvement. Sure he lost to show off how strong Poppy is, but you can see that it was mainly due to him not taking Poppy as seriously due to having preconceived notions of who she was supposed to be. It’s really refreshing to see such a powerful trainer like Raihan have moments of letting his guard down and underestimating his opponents

"If I can learn to make proper use of Duraludon's abilities on uneven terrain while a sea breeze is blowing, I'll be unstoppable! You've got to help your partner overcome its weaknesses while working on its strengths. That'll give you more options in battle, you know? [...]To tell you the truth, I once lost a battle to an opponent who had a terrain advantage[…]That was a really painful defeat. But I don't want to make the environment an excuse for any battle I lose."

And here we get some insight into Raihan’s mindset. He wants more options to cover weaknesses while also enhancing strengths. Which as we saw in the team analysis, his teams have a lot of options to deal with various opponents

"After all, Flygon was the reason I adopted a battle style where we utilize weather effects to their fullest! [...]I was looking for a way to win in any environment and was thinking of utilizing these weather effects, right?"And more insight here, with us now knowing it was Flygon where he started his use of weather moves on his team.

"At the time, I was only thinking about becoming the Champion. Nessa and Sonia were also competing with us, and they also only thought of becoming Champion. But Leon was different. He had a clear vision of what he wanted to do after winning. That's why he could beat the previous Champion. Well, now I have a vision of the future–and the others do, too."

I really appreciate the quote here from Raihan’s lodge story as we get some more insight about the gym challenge he went on with Nessa, Sonia and Leon. Leon was the only one of the four that had a clear thought about the “what comes next” after being champion whereas everyone else stopped just at becoming champion. Raihan realized that in order to be a champion he needed to think beyond just winning the title but how he wanted to keep growing after. This gives callbacks to how Alder confronts Cheren in Black and White, and how Blue lost his title so quickly. There’s more to being champion than just winning the title itself. I really appreciated this self reflection and from Raihan showing how introspective he is.

All in all Raihan is just truly a fun character and it’s easy to see how he ended up being the runaway favorite of the Galarian Cast. I’d love to see more of him in Pokemon Masters EX (Sygna Suit Raihan when?) where we can see even more interactions with him among trainers from all regions.

#gym leader raihan #raihan pokemon #pokemon swsh #pokemas #character analysis

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cornfields-and-bad-dreams · 1 year ago

Text

Applin of my Eye

Rating: General

Ship: Leon/Reader

Warnings: None

Tags: Applin Confession, Oblivious Leon, Misunderstanding.

Summary: Since coming to terms with your feelings for Leon, you've tried to confess, but it hasn't gone so well. Now that Valentine's Day is just around the corner a second wave of motivation has hit you, and you think you have the perfect, FOOLPROOF, way of getting the point across. If only it were that simple.

Valentine's Day always made you feel a little bad, at least since you were thirteen or so. Before that, it was just a fun day where you shared cards with your classmates, had a little class party, and got gifts from your parents. Usually consisting of candy, a card, and some sorta stuffie. Now it was just a brutal reminder that you were alone.

Usually, you wouldn’t really care, and if you did you’d try not to let it sting too badly. But recently things had changed, for about a year and a half now you’d slowly been falling in love with one of your best friends, none other than Galar’s reigning champion Leon. Your feelings had come to a head back in October, up until then you’d done well to ignore and suppress them, but throughout the month it just kept getting harder and harder. Then, the party happened. It was a costume party held by Nessa on Halloween night, Leon was going to be there, but you didn’t know what he was going to be. When you finally saw his costume it left you unable to deny your feelings for him any longer. The costume itself did a lot for you, but the fact it was on Leon? The way it hugged his form, and sparked your imagination with fantasies and scenarios? Well, that was just the icing on the cake.

You agonized over your feelings for a bit, having finally admitted to yourself that you were absolutely head over heels for the man, unsure of how to proceed. At first, you were convinced that he wouldn’t return your affection, how could he? In your eyes, he was a god amongst men, and you were a lowly mortal. But, after a short bout of self-deprecation, you were finally able to come to the conclusion that you just needed to tell him how you felt, no matter the cost.

Easier said than done.

You’d tired, really you had. But something always got in the way, whether it be your nerves winning out in the end, someone interrupting you just as you were about to confess, or something happening to pull either of your attention away from the conversation. Eventually, the holiday season rolled around as well, leaving both you and Leon busy. By the time things calmed down you’d honestly lost all the courage you’d once had, and once again your mind raced with negative what-ifs. Your main concern being that if you did confess and he didn’t reciprocate, then your friendship would be ruined. All though, it had also occurred to you that if he didn’t feel the same then you weren’t sure if you would even want to be friends anymore.

Your feelings were all over the place, the thought of not having Leon in your life, whether romantically or platonically, physically pained you. But so did the idea of all the embarrassment and awkwardness that would come in the aftermath of professing your love for Leon just for him to hit you with “I think we should just be friends.” Despite it being unideal, you found a sort of sad comfort in the sort of Schrodinger's Delcatty situation you were in. If you didn’t tell him how you felt, Leon couldn’t reject you nor could he reciprocate, either way, you kept him in your life and things didn’t change. Even if that change could be for the better.

Except, as Valentine’s Day drew nearer, you grew more restless. TV ads, shop displays, and the general talk of the holiday you heard wherever you went were starting to get to you. The thought of happy couples spending the day together hugging and kissing and just being in love? It made you jealous, but more so, self-conscious. So, for the first time in a while, you’d started thinking about confessing again.

And goddamnit, you almost did it. You had gotten so close to just spitting it out, but that Arceus-forsaken lump in your throat reared its ugly fucking head again. And when you were alone in the comfort of your own home, you cried, and it was ugly.

That was yesterday, the 12th, this morning you woke up to a text from Leon asking if you’d want to spend Valentine's Day with him and some others who were without dates this year. Truth be told the idea of spending Valentine’s Day with him platonically hurt a lot more than the idea of spending it alone, but you could never turn down an offer to hang out with him.

‘Sure, what are we doing?’

He responded a moment later saying that you were all going to be hanging at Gordie’s for the day, watching TV/Movies, playing games, and whatever else might be suggested. It sounded nice, and you quite enjoyed hanging out at Gordie’s, he had a bunch of cool stuff. Sometimes the thought had crossed your mind that if you weren’t madly in love with Leon, you could just seduce Gordie to have permanent access to his things. But that was just a joke, mostly.

After confirming a few more details with Leon you readied yourself for the day and headed out. You tried not to think about your love problems too much, desperately attempting to distract yourself with battling and various other tasks. Yet the thought nagged at you in the back of your mind. By three o’clock your stomach started to growl rather prominently and you realized you hadn’t eaten anything in a while. Making your way to one of your favorite restaurants you took a seat at one of the patio tables and waited for the waiter to take your order. As you waited, you happened to tune into the conversation from the next table over. A pair of boys, who you’d assume were somewhere in their late teens, were discussing Valentine’s Day.

“So, you’re planning on asking out Derrick?”

“Yeah, I figure doing it tomorrow would be romantic, right?”

“Definitely, but how are you gonna do it? Any big plans?”

“I’m gonna give him an Applin, you know what they say about giving someone an Applin, right?”

“OH! That’s a great idea man. He’ll say yes for sure.”

You froze for a moment. An Applin, why hadn’t you thought of that? It would be easier to give Leon an Applin than it would to sputter out some nervous confession. You smiled, plan in mind, as soon as you were done eating you’d head straight over to route 5 to catch the perfect little declaration of love. Love, Loveballs? LOVEBALLS! You nearly jumped out of your seat as the thought raced to mind, you had a whole mess of Loveballs back home. Honestly, you had a whole box full of random Pokeballs shoved in your closet, ones you had acquired through various means over time that you saw no real need for, until now. Course, to use a Loveball you’d need to battle with your own Applin, but that was no problem for you and your precious little À la mode. A Loveball would be perfect for this, maybe a bit extra, but it would certainly get the point across. Something that could come in handy with Leon, you loved the man to bits, but he could be kinda dense at times.

Finishing up at the restaurant you hurried home to retrieve your Loveballs, stopped at the nearest Pokecenter to add À la mode to your team, and finally made your way to route 5. Taking a deep breath to steady your nerves, you stepped into the tall grass and began your hunt for an Applin.

It took a bit to find one, and even longer to find a female one. Yes, you knew that you could still catch a male one with the Loveball, hell you didn’t even technically need À la mode himself for the task, it just made the catch rate higher. And seeing as Applin on route 5 were usually between Lvl. 16 and 18 it wouldn’t be too hard to catch with the regular catch rate of a Pokeball. But if it hadn’t already been proven to both yourself and countless others, then this whole situation would be proof enough that your natural instinct in life is to make things way more complicated than they have to be, even if it was just for show or better yet, pride.

After about 2 hours you finally had a brand new Applin in a Loveball, you grinned ear to ear as you made your way home, excitement building in your chest. Yet, by the time you passed through your front door, that excitement had turned to anxiety. Sitting at your dining table you stared at the Loveball in front of you, your heart beat a bit faster than usual and your stomach was tied in knots. Were you really gonna do this? Were you actually gonna confess your feelings to Leon on Valentine’s Day? This could end badly, just oh so badly, there was still time to back out. You could release the Applin and pretend the whole dramatic idea had never crossed your mind.

No.

You were gonna stand your ground, you wouldn’t let your nerves get the better of you again. Not this time. Nodding to yourself you placed the Loveball on the small table next to your front door, ready for you when you left the next day. The rest of the night consisted of you deciding on an outfit for tomorrow, cooking dinner, and relaxing the best you could until you went to bed.

Surprisingly you slept well, at least in the sense that you actually slept, normally your nerves would have kept you up all night. But they did manifest in your dreams, one after another depicting various ways your love confession could go sour. Finally rousing from your own mental torture you rubbed the sleep from your eyes and set to work getting ready. When the time finally rolled around to head off for Gordies you halted a moment at the door, staring down at the Loveball you’d nestled amongst the fake decorative fruit you kept in a bowl. Why you kept decorative fruit was a mystery even to yourself. Groaning faintly you grabbed the Loveball and stuffed it in your bag, finally heading out for the day.

Hanging out with everyone at Gordie's was a blast, though throughout the day you kept trying to figure out when would be a good time to give Leon the Applin, you wanted it to be just the two of you, but couldn’t devise a good enough excuse to get him alone. As the day was winding down, and talk of ending the “party” was brought up Leon commented that he needed to be heading out soon anyway, apparently, he was gonna be spending time with his family tomorrow and had planned on staying the night back home in Postwick. You had a wonderful idea.

“Leon?”

You approached him near the door, where he was getting his shoes and jacket on.

“Yeah?”

He smiled at you, straightening up from slipping on his sneakers.

“I was wondering if you would be willing to join me on the train ride home, it’s on the way to Postwick and I’d love to spend some time together, just you and I.” You flashed him a grin.

“Of course, anything for my biggest fan.”

Leon laughed as he slung his arm around your shoulders, you just groaned. He’d started calling you that a while back as a joke, it had since grown a bit old for your tastes, but it made him smile, and you liked it when he smiled.

Gathering your things you headed out with Leon to the train station. It was a relaxing ride, and for a moment you’d forgotten about the Loveball Applin rolling around in your bag. That is until you’d reached your stop. It was a little after 11:30, and you still had a bit of a walk to your place, as Leon strolled alongside you, your deadline of confessing on Valentine's Day was soon to pass. It was now or never. Fortuitously, the quickest way to your place was a shortcut through a rather beautiful park, the perfect place for a love confession. In the middle of the park was a gazebo, and the city had lit it up with pretty pink and red lights, as well as decorating it with fresh arrangements of roses. Stepping into the gazebo you turned to look at Leon.

“Beautiful isn’t it?”

“Gorgeous.” The lights reflected in his eyes as he looked up at the ones hanging from the beams.

“It looks like it could be the setting for a confession scene in some cheesy romance movie.” You gripped your bag tightly.

“Haha, yeah. I can just imagine it.” Leon smiled, Arceus, that smile could make your heart flutter every time.

Checking your phone it read 11:56, four minutes, it was REALLY now or never. Swallowing the infamous lump in your throat you opened your bag.

“I actually have something for you. I didn’t want to make a big deal back at Gordie’s but now that it’s just us, I want to give it to you.”

“Oh?”

Finding the Loveball you quickly grabbed it and presented it to Leon, holding your breath.

“A Loveball?” Leon blinked a few times before taking it from your hand.

“T-there’s a Pokemon inside. You should, um, let it out.”

11:58

“Oh! Of course.”

The Loveball opened and a small burst of light shot out, fading away to reveal the Applin. Time seemed to freeze as you waited for Leon’s response. He grinned, an excited laugh escaping his lips.

“Ah sweet, you caught me an Applin? I’ve wanted one for a while now.” Reaching down he scooped the Pokemon into his arms. “How’d you know?”

Dense, the man was fucking dense.

“Lucky guess I suppose.”

“Haha, well it paid off, I love her. Now I just got to decide what to evolve her into. You have an Applin too right? Any suggestion?”

“Uh, I’m partial to Appletun, but it’s up to you.”

“True, maybe I should talk to Raihan about it. He is a dragon trainer of course, or maybe Milo? He’d have input on the grass typing.” Leon started to ramble a bit.

Looking down at your phone it now read 12:02.

“Fucking hell.” You mumbled.

“Did you say something?”

Leon cocked his head, shaking your own you stuffed your phone in your pocket.

“Just talking to myself, it’s past midnight though, so we should probably get going. You still need to head for Postwick.”

“Oh right, I nearly forgot.”

Leon returned the Applin to its ball and motioned for you to lead the way. The rest of the walk home was filled with Leon telling you about the plans he had with Hop and the rest of his family later that day. Despite the failure of a confession, it still warmed your heart to hear him talk so lovingly about them.

Making it to your place you stopped out front.

“Thanks for walking me home Leon.”

“It’s no problem, I love spending time with you. Thanks for the Applin again, I’ll make sure to take great care of her.”

“I know you will Lee.”

Smiling, Leon placed his hand on your shoulder.

“You’re an amazing friend, I’m really lucky to have you in my life.”

Schrodingers fucking Delcatty.

“Back at ya.”

Waving goodbye Leon headed off for the train station, in the completely wrong direction. After you quickly reminded him where it was he set off on his second attempt, fading away in the dark of the night.

“Back at ya?” You groaned, heading inside. “Fucking stupid.”

Hop woke up to the smell of coffee wafting upstairs from the kitchen, seeing as his parents were more avid tea drinkers it could only mean one thing.

“Leon!” Hop jumped out of bed, not bothering to change out of his sleepwear.

Hurrying downstairs Hop practically drifted into the kitchen, Leon stood at the counter fixing himself a cup of coffee.

“When did you get home? I waited a long time for you, but you never showed.” Hop mildly scolded as he made his way over to Leon.

Leon chuckled apologetically, giving Hop a wave.

“Morning, I got back kinda late, well past midnight. I was hanging out with friends yesterday, then I ended up accompanying [Y/N] home last night.”

Hop sighed, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

“Well, you’re here now, I guess that’s what really matters.”

“Of course, glad you understand.” Leon patted Hop on the shoulder

“I’d understand a lot more if you made me pancakes.” He grinned mischievously.

“Why didn’t I see that coming?” Leon sighed turning around to gather the needed ingredients and such.

Hop laughed, heading for the kitchen table, huffing as he saw Leon’s backpack lying on it.

“How many times do you need to be told to hang your bag up in the entryway?”

Hop reached for the bag, pulling it from the table, as he did so the pink Loveball rolled out from the open top.

“What the?”

Hop was certain he’d seen all of Leon’s Pokemon, and he was even more certain that none of them were in Loveballs.

“What’s the matter?”

Leon turned to him, a bowl cradled in his arm as he whisked a batch of batter.

“Since when do you use Loveballs?” Hop asked, holding up the pink ball.

“Oh, [Y/N] gave it to me last night, it’s an Applin. I guess they noticed I’d wanted one and got it for me.”

Hop blinked.

“What?” Leon stopped whisking.

“[Y/N] gave you an Applin in a Loveball, on Valentine’s Day?”

“Yeah, why?”

Hop knew his brother could be a little oblivious at times, but this was a level of stupidity that he’d never seen Leon reach before, and he prayed to Arceus he’d never reach again.

“Lee, I’m gonna need you to think about that statement very carefully, and focus on what all those aspects could mean together.”

Leon scrunched his face up in confusion, setting the bowl of batter down he crossed his arms in thought. Hop could almost see the wheels turning in Leon’s head as he thought hard. And as if he were the human lead in that silly little kids show from both their childhoods, with that funny little shiny Rockruff, and her perfectly placed blue pawprint clues, Leon connected the pieces of the mystery together masterfully. A look of realization, and a bit of horror, took over his face as he finally came to the conclusion.

“Was [Y/N] trying to confess their feelings to me!?” He hollered.

“Keep your voice down, Mom and Dad are still asleep.” Hop hushed. “And I don’t know for sure, but I’d assume they were.”

“That would make so much sense, especially with the Gazebo.” Leon gripped the edge of the counter tightly, staring down into the bowl of batter without actually looking at it.

“Gazebo?” Hop questioned lightly.

“Doesn’t matter.” Leon shook his head lightly, pushing himself back from the counter. “I gotta go talk to [Y/N]”

Leon rushed for the entryway, grabbing his jacket and starting to put his shoes on.

“Woah there, slow down Lee. What are you doing?”

Hop followed behind, placing himself between Leon and the front door.

“I have to clear things up with [Y/N].”

Hop sighed, shaking his head.

“Lee, we have plans today, besides, you’re still in your pajamas.”

Leon looked down, noting that he was, in fact, still wearing his ratty old tank top and loose sleep pants.

“You have a point there, but I feel terrible, they did something so romantic and I went and ruined it by letting it all soar right over my head.”

Leon rubbed at his face, hiding behind his hands.

“Lee, it’s gonna be fine.” Hop placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. “You’ll clear things up with them later, after you’ve gotten dressed and we spend the day together, besides, it’ll give you time to think about what exactly you’ll say right?”

Leon lowered his hands, giving Hop a tired smile.

“Yeah, you’re right. Maybe I can ask Mom and Dad for some advice.”

“That’s the spirit. Now, can you finish making my pancakes?”

Leon huffed, breaking out into a grin, ruffling Hop’s hair he slung his arm around his shoulder and dragged him back into the kitchen.

“Is that all you care about?”

It had been about two days since ‘The Incident’, you hadn’t tried talking to Leon yet and he hadn’t messaged you either, which had you feeling conflicted. On the one hand, you weren’t particularly ready to talk to him, on the other, the thought kept running through you’re mind that he’d finally realized what the loveball Applin meant and was now actively ignoring/avoiding you. It was definitely paranoia, you understood that, but understanding it didn’t make it go away. Regardless, you laid back on the couch, looking through the videos YouTube suggested for you, you desperately scanned over the thumbnails looking for something to distract yourself with, unfortunately, nothing caught your eye. Suddenly your phone buzzed.

‘Are you home?’

It was from Leon, your blood ran cold.

‘Yeah, why?’

You felt you knew why but needed some confirmation.

‘Can I come over? I need to talk to you, it’s important.’

You felt your stomach tie into knots. You, REALLY, didn’t want to see Leon right now. You weren’t mad of course, but after the other night's failed confession? You were feeling less than stellar. You hadn’t even left your apartment since then.

‘Are you sure? It’s getting kinda late, isn’t it?’

It wasn't that terribly late, but it was worth a shot.

‘That doesn’t matter, we need to talk, and it can’t be done over text. Please?’

You wanted to say no, Arceus you wanted to say no, yet despite everything that had happened Leon was still your number one weakness.

‘Okay, you can come over.’

Leon thanked you, saying he’d be over in a few. Taking a deep breath, you calmed your growing nerves and waited.

Leon must have been nearby already, seeing as it only took about ten minutes for him to knock on your door.

"Hey, Leon."

Opening the door you greeted him with the happiest and calmest tone you could muster.

"Hey, thanks for letting me come over." He smiled nervously as he stepped inside.

“Well, you did say it was important.”

You gave a forced chuckle, your heart pounding in your chest as you shut the door. Leon nodded without a word, though his eyes spoke plenty enough for him. You could tell he was just as anxious as you, yet it didn’t make you feel any better. You stood in silence a moment, the two of you just staring, you’d expected him to say something.

“Sooo, what did you want to talk about?” You finally decided to break the silence.

Leon swallowed heavily, blinking a few times before seemingly mustering up the nerve to speak.

“It, uh, has to do with the Applin you gave me.” Slinging his bag off from his shoulders Leon rummaged in it a moment before pulling out a loveball. “I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but it took Hop pointing out the significance of everything for me to realize what you were trying to say. Or, at least, what I think you were trying to say.”

Leon stared down at the ball in his hand, running his thumb back and forth across it.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get it at first, I certainly feel like an idiot, it’s so obvious in hindsight.” He gave a soft nervous laugh.

Clearing his throat he looked up at you.

“Regardless, I um, I keep finding it hard to, uh, find my words. So, here.” He held out the loveball.

Your heart skipped a beat and your breath caught in your throat, was he returning the Applin? Tears welled in your eyes, threatening to spill over as you slowly reached out to take the loveball from him. You felt weak and shaky, half expecting your legs to give out on you at any moment. Holding the loveball in your hand just made it worse, quickly, you moved past Leon to set it on the counter separating your kitchen from your living room.

“T-thanks.”

Wiping the tears from your eyes you wondered why thanking him was your immediate response, though to be honest, you weren’t sure how one would normally respond to a situation like this.

“Oh, uh.” Leon seemed confused, looking back and forth between you and the loveball. “Aren’t you gonna let it out?”

Oh, that felt like adding an insult to injury.

“No.” The word came out a bit angrier than you’d intended, you adjusted your tone going forward. “I get it, Leon, you don’t feel the same way about me as I do you so you’re returning the Applin. I don’t need to see it.”

You’d taken to squeezing your hands, your gaze drifting away from Leon. If you were looking at him though, you would have seen his eyes widen and his complexion pale a bit. Suddenly he was waving his hands.

“NO! No no no, you misunderstand, that’s my fault, I’m sorry. I should have been clearer.”

You looked back in time to see Leon grab the ball off the counter and place it in your hand, his one hand holding your wrist his other keeping the Loveball in your palm.

“Just open it, I promise. Trust me.”

You blinked a few times in shock, but seeing Leon's soft hopeful smile filled you with comfort. You nodded your head and went to send out whatever was in the ball.

“Wait, wait.” Leon stopped you suddenly.

Looking around, Leon proceeded to move your dining table and chairs over to the side, as well as push some other furniture and stuff around. Once he seemed pleased with the space he’d made he came back over to your side.

“Okay, you can continue now.”

Giving a small laugh you smiled and called out the Pokemon.

A flash of light shot out from the loveball, and even before the Pokemon had fully appeared you could tell it was bigger than an Applin. Once it was fully present it took you a second to register what you were looking at, but once you had, you gasped.

“A Ponyta?”

You grinned and squealed in joy as you approached the adorable little pastel Pokemon. It whinnied and danced around a moment before coming over to where you’d settled on your knees near it. You ran your hands through its mane and over its coat of fur.

“I know how much you’ve wanted one, and how unlucky you’ve been with finding one for yourself. So, I spent the majority of today and last evening looking for this little guy. I actually got lost in Glimwood Tangle for a bit, Madame Opal had to help me find my way back to the main path. I’m not sure how she knew I was lost but thank Arceus she did.”

You laughed along with Leon, combing your fingers through the Ponyta’s mane some more. Giving it a final scratch behind its ear you returned it to the loveball and stood up. Holding the ball with both hands you smiled looking down at the heart on the front of it.

“You didn’t have to do all that.” You said softly.

Leon stepped closer, gently taking hold of your wrists.

“I wanted to.”

Looking up at him you smiled, moving your right hand up to cup his cheek.

“Oh, Lee.”

Moving your hand to the back of his head you pulled him towards you as you leaned in closer, connecting your lips. Leon wrapped an arm around your waist, the other coming up to cradle the back of your head as well. The two of you stayed like that for a moment, enjoying your first kiss, after breaking away Leon spoke.

“I’m sorry I caused you so much stress.”

“Well, if I’d been able to gather enough courage to confess properly in the first place there wouldn’t have been any confusion.”

Leon laughed a bit.

“Why don’t we say we’re both at fault and call it even?”

“Deal.”

#pokemon leon x reader #leon pokemon x reader #leon pokemon #leon swsh #pokemon reader insert #my writing

201 notes · View notes

tsuutarr · 7 months ago

Text

Pairing: Hop x GN! reader

Word count: 8.5K

Content: fluff, growing up, a Hop character study, kind of a fix it fic (basically I feel bad for constantly beating Hop in the game and had to write this LOL)

Summary: From a young age, Hop knew that he wanted to be the next Champion, just like his older brother. But as he goes on his journey, he's not sure what he really wants. Despite all that, though, he's grateful you're by his side.

From a young age, Hop was introduced to a path paved of gold, lying in front of him with a polished glimmer. His older brother was the Champion of Galar! It was only right that Hop would take on that mantle, too. In fact, Hop knew he’d be even greater than his brother– he’d make sure of it. After all, that was what everyone expected of him, right?

When asked what he wanted to be when he was older, Hop confidently proclaimed that he’d be the next Champion. His statement wasn’t met with scorn because people were aware of who his brother was. Since his brother was the Champion, Hop would obviously be an excellent trainer, too. That was what everyone said, so it had to be true, right?

“So, what do you want to be when you’re older?” Hop asked you as you made flower crowns. You were his new neighbor that moved to Postwick about a year or two ago, but with how often you played with each other, Hop felt like he has known you for years and years.

“I dunno. I think I’d like to go on a journey, though. See the world, you know?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Hop responded, watching as the wind tousled your hair. “If you wanna go on a journey, maybe you should go on a Pokémon journey! A rival would be good for me, just like Sonia and Lee.”

You blinked at him curiously. “Sonia and Lee?”

“Yeah, I guess you haven’t met them yet, huh? Lee’s – or Leon, I guess – my older brother and Sonia’s his childhood friend.”

“Wow, they are like us, then,” you laughed, placing a flower crown on Hop’s Wooloo. Seeing Wooloo bleat at you made Hop’s heart warm. There was a sense of peace whenever he was with you. Unlike the rest of Galar, you didn’t place much stock in him being the Champion’s brother. You just saw him as Hop.

Hop’s eyebrows furrowed.

When did being known as Leon’s brother bother him? He was proud to be Leon’s little brother! The Champion’s brother! But… maybe it did sting a little when that was what he was referred to as constantly. Sometimes, he felt like he didn’t have an identity outside of his brother–

“Hop?” you called, making Hop turn to you in surprise. Wooloo bleated at you, ordering you to continue brushing its fur. You laughed, but obliged anyway. “You looked lost in thought. What’s on your mind?”

“I got that Wooloo from Lee,” Hop responded, making you hum in acknowledgement.

“Wow, how lucky!”

“Yeah, lucky.” Hop knew that he was lucky. Not a lot of people had a brother like him, he knew that. But sometimes he wondered if he’d be able to reach the throne his brother sat on and live up to his brother's name. Everyone said Hop would be good, just like his brother. So he had to be. He had to–

“Hop?” you called out again, and this time, when Hop snapped out of his thoughts, he came face to face with yours, looking at him with concern.

He gulped. “Yeah, mate?”

Gently, you placed a hand on his forehead, checking his temperature. “You’re no warmer than you should be…”

“I’m fine,” he huffed, though he didn’t make any moves to remove your hand from his forehead. “I was just… thinking.”

“Be careful there,” you teased. “Don’t want to blow a fuse, eh?”

“Oi, stop that,” he grumbled without any bite. “...Are you leaving today?”

“Ah, yeah,” you nodded, finally pulling your hand away from his forehead. He kind of missed it.

“Shame, you could’ve met Lee.”

“Oh, he’s coming back today?”

“Well,” Hop huffed out a laugh. “If he doesn’t get lost, then yeah.”

“Aw, that’s a shame. I wanted to meet him.” You scratched behind Wooloo’s ear with a pout on your lips. “Send him my regards?”

“Of course I will,” Hop agreed. “And you’ll see him eventually.”

“Eventually,” you nodded, before standing up at your name being called by your mother. “Well, that's my cue.”

“See you. Have a good spring break!”

“You too, Hop!”

He didn’t know why, but he kind of wished you could’ve stayed for the spring break.

Hop’s meals with his family were always boisterous, even when his older brother wasn’t there. His family would always turn on the TV to watch Leon’s matches. Hop always loved watching Leon’s matches, but having his brother there, right beside him, was even better.

“Leon, your match was fantastic!” Hop’s mother beamed, clasping her hands together in glee. “You’re such a talented trainer.”

“Charizard and the rest of my team are the ones that deserve all the praise,” Leon said, modestly, eyeing his Pokémon lingering outside his house. His house was too small to fit his large Pokémon inside – sometimes, he envied how small Sonia’s Yamper was!

“One day I’ll have a team as awesome as yours!” Hop grinned, his Wooloo bleating next to him. “Watch out, Lee!”

Leon laughed loudly at his little brother’s eagerness. “You don’t understand how excited I am for that, Hop. I can’t wait to battle you!”

“I’m sure you’ll be as good as Lee,” Hop’s mom agreed. “After all, Leon’s already done it himself, so he can help you.”

There was a weird pang of bitterness that stung Hop at the insinuation that he couldn’t be a brilliant Pokémon trainer by himself, but he crushed it down. “I wanna earn my place,” Hop said, patting Wooloo’s head. “I’ll get to the top where Lee is without his help. That way, we can truly be equals!”

“There’s nothing wrong about asking for help, Hop,” Leon said, gently. “And besides, you don’t want the Pokémon I’ve been reserving for you?”

Hop’s eyes grew wide as Wooloo bleated in protest.

“I’m not trying to get rid of you, Wooloo!” Leon laughed, tossing the sheep Pokémon a piece of lettuce. “Just, when it’s time for you to take on the Gym Challenge, I’ve got a Pokémon for you.”

“Wow, thanks, Lee!” Hop said, eyes wide with excitement, “But I can't do the Gym Challenge for another few years.”

“Hah, I know,” Leon responded with a laugh. “It’ll come soon enough.”

Anticipation thrummed through Hop’s veins. It couldn’t come fast enough.

Now, four years later, at age sixteen, he’s sitting in a train that is leaving Postwick. It all still feels so surreal to him. He has waited for this moment – the moment he’d get to go on his own Pokémon journey – for years. Changes seem to be happening so quickly, and despite his confident demeanor, he’s still nervous. But when he sees you, he feels better, like there’s still something consistent in his life. His eyes linger away from the window, instead opting to look at you. You sit in front of him, idly watching the scenery pass by.

“Exciting, isn’t it?” you ask, suddenly turning to him. It makes him jolt in surprise, before his face eases into a grin.

“Exciting,” he agrees, feeling nervous at how your knees brush against each other. “You know, I wonder what that Pokémon was – the one we saw at Slumbering Weald.”

You hum thoughtfully, your fingers tapping against the wooden table between you two. “Whatever it is, it must be powerful. I’m glad you were there with me.”

“I couldn’t do anything, though,” Hop says, but you only shrug in response.

“Neither could I. But your presence was good enough to keep me grounded.”

“Heh.” Talking to you always eases Hop’s nerves. He wonders if you’re aware of that, but decides you probably aren’t as you shove a cookie in your mouth.

“Want one?” you offer, making Hop nod.

“Thanks, mate.”

You nod, eyes going back to the scenery outside. Hop’s eyes stay on you, though, because he wants to burn you into his memory. After all, he won’t be able to see you in a while and you’re kinda like… his good luck charm. He thinks he’ll be able to do better when he thinks of you.

With all the excitement thrumming in his veins, the events prior to arriving at Budew Drop Inn feels like a blur. Still, you both managed to sign up for the Gym Challenge, so he thinks of that as a win. He’s ready to kick back and relax, but when he sees Sonia staring at the statue in Budew Drop Inn, Hop is surprised.

As Sonia explains her reason for being here, Hop can’t help but be intrigued. He’s still set on being Champion, but… Sonia’s research is just fascinating. Not to mention the events that had occurred in Slumbering Weald – a part of Hop is curious if the Hero in the legends wielded a Pokémon like that.

Maybe it’s Hop’s curiosity that prompts him to say, “If we hear anything about the hero or whatnot, we’ll tell you!”

“You will? That’d be fantastic!” Sonia responds, clapping her hands together.

“Sure, I’d be happy to,” you agree, eying Hop out of the corner of your eye. Hop looks at you curiously.

“What is it?”

“You just seem really excited,” you give him an easy grin, “it’s a good thing we left for our journey, after all.”

“Well, I’ll be the new Champion, you know,” he responds, easily, but inside his heart is running laps in his chest. The implication that his happiness is why you’re so excited to be on a journey makes him feel oddly warm. He doesn’t dwell on it, though, because Sonia is shooting the two of you a cheeky look. “You better do your best to keep up, mate! A good Champion always needs a good rival.”

You nod with a laugh, “You’ll see, Hop. I’ll be the best rival the world’s ever seen.”

And a good rival you are – Hop still hasn’t been able to beat you. There’s a lingering frustration that rattles him as he withdraws his fallen Pokémon, but there’s also this sense of… freedom. Sure, losing sucked, but it was exhilarating thinking about how Pokémon can use their moves and abilities to fight.

“Good match, Hop,” you say, approaching him.

“Good match,” he agrees. “Looks like I better keep my guard up! You’re excellent at using type match ups to your advantage, you know. I didn’t realize your Pokémon had that ability, either – that was awesome to see in battle.” Hop continues his little tangent about your battle, before shifting to the Pokédex you two had obtained from Professor Magnolia. “And not to mention – did you know that Wooloo’s wool is so strong that it could roll down a cliff and not get injured? Maybe that’s why our Wooloo are so rambunctious! They don’t think they can ever get hurt.”

“Wow, no wonder that one Wooloo rolled into Slumbering Weald, then. It probably should’ve been protecting us,” you laugh, making Hop grin.

“Probably!” he crosses his arms, letting out a hum. “I’ve had Wooloo for years and I’ve never known this – I’d have probably never known if I didn’t go on this journey. It’s fascinating to know how broad our world is. Now I’m curious about how dynamaxing fits into all of this, you know? It’s such an interesting concept.”

“Yeah, it really is!”

“Isn’t it?” Hop continues talking about his findings, spurred on by your attention. You’ve always been the sort to look at him and only him when he talks, so it's easy for Hop to talk about his newest fixation. You always listen to him when no one else does, which he appreciates. Especially since Hop isn’t really sure why, but he’s been very into researching Pokémon lately. Sure, in part it’s because researching leads to understanding Pokémon better, which leads to being a better Pokémon trainer, which then leads to helping him become a Pokémon Champion… But sometimes he’ll sit down and read pages and pages of Pokémon facts just because he finds it interesting.

“You’ll be a fine Champion with all that knowledge,” you say, and Hop feels kind of off when he hears that statement. He’s not sure why, but he just nods.

“Yeah, I will be.”

Going on a journey is a lot more fun than Hop anticipated. It helps that he runs into you frequently and that he’s won all his gym battles so far (the grass, water, and fire badges he’s spent hours shining proving that). But what really makes him love traveling is learning. He’s found out so much and he continues to find out even more. The world is so much more vast than he ever imagined and it's all fascinating. Not to mention the fact that he’s picked up bits and pieces of knowledge to help Sonia and well…

Hop sometimes wonders if being a Champion is what he really wants. Sometimes, he’ll be so entrenched in his research that he won’t notice time slipping by. Of course, he still trains and battles and enjoys it, but there’s another form of enjoyment that comes with research.

But he’s set out to be the Champion – it’s what he’s always wanted. It’s what he thought he’d always want. It’s what everyone else expects of him as the Champion’s brother…

“The Champion really must have been off his rocker to endorse the likes of you,” Bede says, looking awfully smug as he always does. Hop has never really liked the guy.

“Rubbish. More like you don't know enough to recognize greatness when you see it. My throws are the greatest, and my bro is the finest Champion the world has ever seen! I'm not gonna listen to you insulting him!” Hop yells, readying his Poké Ball.

“How tiresome... Fine. I'll battle you over there. Maybe that will help you finally understand just how weak you are.”

The corners of Hop’s lips dip down further, displeased. “You’re on then!” Hop turns to you and motions for you to go. “Let's meet up in Hammerlocke when I'm through with him!”

You look hesitant to leave, but say, “Good luck, I’ll see you in Hammerlocke,” to Hop, before leaving.

Bede watches Hop, chin held high and pose nonchalant. “All this prattle about your friend and the Champion and whatnot... Do you not have anything of your own to show?”

Hop’s lips purse. He’ll show Bede.

The fire flickers, lighting up Hop’s face with shades of gold and amber. His Pokémon lay around him, sleeping soundly by the campfire after the battle with Bede.

There isn’t a lot to say, really. Hop lost – he lost badly.

“You’re just dragging the Champion’s name through the mud,” Bede had said, haughtily, and Hop couldn’t come up with any response because Bede was right.

“What am I supposed to do now?” he murmurs, eyes trained to the flickering fire in front of him. Leon’s always been Hop’s role model – Hop has always wanted to be Champion because that’s what Leon is. But did Hop actually want to become Champion, or was it all just because of Leon’s inspiration? Does Hop’s dream really belong to him? But even if his dream doesn’t belong to him, what else can he do…?

Is he having doubts because he has other avenues he wants to explore or is he having doubts because he lost? Is someone like him, who is dragging his brother’s name through the mud even able to become Champion?

Hop thinks and thinks, unsure of what to do. He kind of wishes he could see you – you’d be able to talk him through some things, to encourage him. But you’ve always been strong, Hop realizes. Unlike him, your dream is your own – it’s something that you’ve crafted and you’re certain of. Hop envies that.

A bleat to his side draws his attention, his Dubwool nudging him. Hop looks over, noticing the book in his Dubwool’s mouth.

“Ah, thanks…” he says, and Dubwool nudges him. “What, you want me to read this? To you?”

Dubwool bleats again, looking at Hop with its big eyes. Despite evolving, Dubwool’s eyes are the same as they were when it was a Wooloo.

Hop wants to say, “Not now,” but seeing his partner Pokémon’s curious look, Hop decides to oblige, settling into his warm jacket. He flips open the book, reading the various mythologies he’d been reading up on. Initially, he’d read this book to help find some information for Sonia, but the book itself fascinated Hop. While his bitter defeat still lingered in his mind, somehow, reading the book with Dubwool’s head in his lap helped make the fire in front of him feel cozier.

When he sees you again, your reunion is interrupted by some Team Yell grunts that you ceremoniously destroy in a Pokémon battle. Hop would’ve joined in, but he can’t seem to get himself to battle just yet, Poké Balls feeling heavy in his pockets.

You turn to him, “Hop–”

“Wow, you and your Pokémon were brilliant together!” he interrupts, making you blink in surprise.

“Ah, yeah, thank you…” you chew your bottom lip. “But that aside, are you okay?”

“Ah? Yeah, I’m fine as always.”

You give him a flat look, knowing his tells and when he’s lying. To be fair, Hop has always been pretty bad at lying.

“...See, Bede really wiped the floor with me the last time we battled… And don't get me wrong—I can take a loss! Battling means you've got to lose sometimes,” Hop says, though he doubts you’ve ever lost. Or that Leon has ever lost. He’s just not… good enough. “...But he said that I was dragging Lee’s good name through the mud, being so rubbish like I was… And I just can’t get those words out of my head!”

There’s a conflict in Hop – his desire to not mar Leon’s name, his doubts of who he is and what he wants, his envy towards you… It all muddles inside of him in some incomprehensible ball of self-loathing. Hop just isn’t sure what to do. He feels lost.

“...Hop,” you say, gently, “Can we… hang out for a bit?”

“Huh?”

“Just. I feel like when we’re on this journey, we’re so busy battling and trying to get stronger that we haven’t really had time to hang out, y’know. I want to catch up, if you’re okay with it.”

At first, Hop wants to say he’s not in the mood, self-loathing clutching him like a vice, but he realizes that you’re asking to hang out because of him. You’re worried, and it’s because you care about him. The thought makes Hop’s self-loathing deteriorate slightly. “Okay, I’d like that.”

You sleep soundly beside him, cozied up in your sleeping bag. Hop can’t really seem to sleep, though. Talking to you had abated some of his worries, especially with how patient you were. You also listened to him ramble about Pokémon research again, which made him feel a lot better.

He turns, looking at your sleeping face. You’ve always been someone he treasured, but nowadays, you’re more than that. You’re someone he admires, too. Someone he envies. Someone he wants to be closer to.

Hop closes his eyes, remembering how you looked by the campfire, how your eyes lit up when you two ate your curries together. He remembers you affectionately cuddling his Dubwool as if it were still a Wooloo. He remembers you making flower crowns for all his Pokémon and even him.

“A crown looks good on you, I think,” you said, making him huff a laugh. You bow, saying, “Your wish is my command.”

“Then I command you to eat your dinner,” he responded, grinning. You’d always find a way to make him laugh.

“Ah, is it done?”

Of course, food was something that always drew you in, making you drop your role immediately.

“It is, now c’mon, it’ll get cold,” Hop said, “Or I’ll eat it, if you don’t want it!”

You gasped in mock horror. “Don’t you dare!”

Hop snickers at the memory, before he remembers another memory with you. Different memories of you play inside his head like a movie, lulling him to sleep, shoulders lighter than before.

After talking with you, Hop feels a little better, though his doubts still linger. When you part ways, it’s hard not to let him sink back into his negative thoughts. Still… Hop decides that he’s not going to lay there without doing anything – sure, he may not know what he wants to do exactly, but he’ll figure it out. He’ll get stronger.

So he battles and he researches and repeats the same thing over and over again. He switches out his Pokémon and experiments with different team compositions. It’s tough having to train so many Pokémon, but researching different strategies is fun. He likes learning about more Pokémon. Besides, battling… It’s fun, too. Slowly, as the wins stack up, he’s gaining a bit of confidence in himself again. He’s not sure if his strategies are working fully, but at least it seems like he’s winning consistently… Until he battles you. When he battles you, he can see that chasm that forms between your skills and it’s hard to crush the doubts that arise again.

“Good match, Hop,” you say, approaching him with an extended hand. He gives your hand a firm shake.

“Yeah, good match, mate.” He hesitates, before he inhales deeply. He’s still a mess of emotions, but you’ve always been willing to listen. Talking to you has helped him a lot before. “Before we ever started out on this journey... I remember watching Lee on the telly. He was like a bright star, so strong I could hardly bear to look right at him. But now, I can tell just how strong he really is... And what he's got that I haven't…” He looks at you, not sure what to expect – disappointment, maybe.

But instead, you look at him kindly, encouraging him to continue.

“But I’m getting stronger, too. Maybe not as fast as you, but fine. Whatever! Thanks for letting me battle you again. And here. I'll heal up your team for you, too!”

“...Yeah, thanks, Hop.”

Hop waves off your thanks, instead focusing on your Pokémon. While healing them, he says, “...I still don’t know what I want fully. It’s like I’m torn between different sides of me. I like battling because it's fun, but I also want to win. I like research, but I also want to battle. It’s odd because I thought being Champion was what mattered to me, but now I don’t know.” Hop inhales. “But what I do know is that I want to battle Leon – I want to take on my bro. But not just that; I want to beat him! And I'm going to! My mind's made up! You and me are going to have another battle once I get my Gym Badge in Circhester!”

You grin at him. “I’m looking forward to it, Hop.”

There’s still a heaviness that lingers on Hop’s shoulders, but he feels a little better now that he’s more intune with what he plans to do and wants to do. He wants to battle, he wants to improve. He wants to beat Leon and he wants to beat you. He wants to research and learn about Pokémon. He wants to do it all and while he may not be able to do it all at once, he’ll take things step by step.

When Hop sees you again, he tries to battle by following Leon’s strategies, but somehow, that still doesn’t help him win against you. He just doesn’t know what he’s doing wrong. It’s frustrating, but he’s made up his mind to research as much as he can and train as much as he can, so he’ll just have to see what works best for him. It won’t be a quick process, but Hop is motivated enough to keep going. Step by step, he’ll surely get to where he wants to be.

“I know you probably don’t want to hear this from me,” you say, softly, snapping Hop out of his thoughts. There’s a frown on your face and for the first time, Hop sees the guilt that lingers in your eyes. “But I… don’t think you should be battling like Leon. That is, I think it’s best to find out how you work best, Hop. And most importantly… You’ve ought to stop doubting yourself.”

“Huh?”

“I saw that last move, you know. If you had just went through with your plan, you could’ve knocked my Pokémon out, but you were too focused on what you thought I might do that you doubted at the last second.” You shake your head. “Sorry, I know I’m overstepping. I’ll see you later, Hop.”

“Wait–”

But you’ve run off before he can get a word out. Hop can’t help but stare at your retreating figure, stunned at what you’d just said to him.

Oh…

He was so focused on himself that he had never realized what you might’ve been going through. Now that he thinks about it… What is your dream, anyway?

When he sees you again, he expects stiffness, but you greet him kindly and warmly. You’ve always been supportive and friendly to him, he’s realized, regardless of his flaws. But he's also very acutely aware about how worn out you look. The best thing he can do right now is to talk to you like he always would – that somehow seems to pep you back up. It makes him smile at how much kindness you hold for him, patiently waiting for him to reach out when needed.

He wonders if he needs to wait for you to reach out when you need him, or if he can take the first step and offer you his hand first. He’s not even really sure if he can support himself, but he wants to be there for you. After all, your words from before helped puzzle pieces snap in place for him. His self doubt, his hesitation – those were holding him back.

He realizes now that he needs a proper balance in his life of battling, researching, and having fun, but he was so focused on winning that he’d forgotten why he wanted to win in the first place. Winning to him isn’t just a sign of his competence as a battler – winning also signaled how much effort he had put into training and research.

That effort is why he liked battling so much – he would put in the work and get rewarded. And he believes he’ll continue to get rewarded if he continues to try hard.

Of course, that doesn’t mean he can’t sit down and relax for a bit, chattering with you and Sonia about the Legendary Heroes. It’s all so interesting, and Sonia seems to agree. For the first time, seeing Sonia’s passion for her work, Hop thinks that being a professor might not be a bad idea at all.

Of course, battling is still his number one priority, so he challenges you to a battle at the Hero's Bath. You, again, wipe the floor with him, but this time, he doesn’t feel as heavy as he did before. This time, he battled like he would, not how Leon would. His strategy and battle style aren't perfect yet, but he feels like he's getting there.

“I still can’t even beat you, my true rival… But I think I’m starting to see the light!” he says and this time, he means it.

The smile you give him at his words is brighter than any light. It draws him in and makes him want to burn that smile in his memories forever.

“I’m glad.”

Finally, as he watches Raihan’s last Pokémon go down for the count, there’s a feeling of ease that settles inside him. Hop still doesn’t have all the answers, but he feels like he’s closer than he’s ever been. As he does his best to catch up with you, he realizes that you’ve always been patiently waiting for him.

As you two ride the train to Wyndon, both of you with eight shiny badges, Hop realizes that the journey’s changed you a lot. You’re more assured, more confident. But you’ve always remained just the way you are in some ways, too. You’re kind, you’re wonderful.

“We’re finally headed for Wyndon, huh?” he says, making you look up from your book.

“Yeah.” You place a bookmark between the pages of your book, and Hop recognizes it as the Wooloo shaped one he gifted you years ago. “It’s kinda unbelievable, huh?”

“You think?” Hop says, earnestly.

You huff out a laugh. “You’re right, I guess it might not be for you. I always did think you’d make it this far.”

At your words, Hop’s heart throbs with affection. He wonders if he knows what you mean to him, what you’ve meant to him throughout this journey.

“I knew you’d get this far too, y’know,” he grins. “Sure, I reckon I’m still the favorite to win, but… You’re my true rival, mate.”

You snort. “I’m glad because I won't let someone else have that spot, y’know.”

“No one else can take it,” he says, watching as you give him a smile he’s never seen more. It’s… more bashful, a little more soft. It’s not a smile you give to your Pokémon nor is it one you give to your mom. Heck, it’s not even one you’ve given to him yet. It’s hard to explain, but the way your lips flit upwards slightly, the way your eyes crinkle – it makes him feel like time is stopping.

“Hop?” you call out, your smile turning into a look of concern.

Hop inwardly curses, embarrassed that he was caught staring. “There’s a lot I want to check out at Wyndon, actually. There’s that big tower… and the monorail… And Wyndon Stadium– it’s where the whole world’s gonna be watching us!”

You exhale softly, fingers lightly tapping against the hardcover of your book. “Nerve wracking, honestly.”

“You’ll do great!” Hop encourages. He wonders if his words will mean anything to you like your words mean to him. “You and me are gonna make our match the greatest match that ever was!”

You blink at him, before a small smile curls at your lips. “Yeah, you’re right,” you give him a grin. “You and I… We’re gonna show the entirety of Galar!”

Hop beams back at you, knowing in his gut that you two will surely make history.

Hop’s heart thuds in his chest as he watches you on the television, commanding your Pokémon with so much power that he can’t look away. You blaze so brilliantly that Hop doesn’t know how you haven’t consumed everything whole. But there’s something else he notices – something he knows no one else but him sees. The way your hand trembles, the way you close your eyes and breathe to calm yourself. Whenever you’re on the battlefield, it’s not just your Pokémon that you command, it’s your emotions.

Hop realizes that you have your own doubts, your own fears – it’s just that, unlike him, your dream is crafted by you. It wasn’t crafted like his where he wanted to be Champion because it was all he knew. It wasn’t crafted like his where it felt like his dreams were being crushed by his doubts. Instead, your dream is crafted like his new one – built slowly and lovingly over the course of his adventure. As he finds himself, his dream shifts and molds into something that grows with him. He no longer wants to be Champion because it was all he knew or because he wanted to be like his brother – no, it’s because he wants to win and prove himself. It’s because he wants to showcase that his strategies, that his research, is meaningful.

More than anything, he wants to battle you. He wants to battle you so you can see that he finally knows what he wants – so that you can finally see that he’s no longer doubting who he is.

“After seeing the way you battled, I can’t accept any outcome besides winning this match,” Hop says, meeting you in the locker room. You grin at him, offering him a hand to shake, which he does gladly. Your warmth alights adrenaline in his blood but it also comforts him.

“I’m not going to take defeat laying down, you know,” you say, making him laugh.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

You both stare at each other, a mutual understanding passing through you two. As the intercom calls for you two, you two smile at each other, before getting to your spots to battle. As you two meet on the field with millions of eyes on the two of you, Hop is suddenly hit with the realization of just how far the two of you had come.

“I just had this sort of flashback, you know. Remember? Back when we were still in Postwick,” he says, making you huff out a laugh.

“I’d never forget.”

He smiles, before inhaling deeply. “When we got our Pokémon from Lee that day, I never would’ve dreamed that I’d end up standing here… facing you. But I’m glad it’s you.” Before you can respond, he smacks his cheeks lightly to get himself into the proper mindset. “But it’s time I finish what I started that day… Got it? The one who’ll win is me!”

The one that wins is you. After the intense battle, the one that claims victory is you. Somehow, Hop knew this would happen. You had something about you that was similar to Leon. Yeah, he knew you’d win…

But that didn’t mean it didn’t sting when he lost.

Still… Hop watches your shoulders heave in exertion. He watches as your Pokémon runs to you, proud. He watches as the crowd cheers madly, the match you two held having a lasting impact on all that watched.

He watches and he sees the unshed tears in your eyes as yours meet his. He watches as you open your mouth to speak, but close it, teeth clenching in uncertainty of what to say. You don’t pity him – that’s not the type of person you are – but he knows you feel guilty. He knows that his dreams weigh heavy on your own shoulders. He knows, and he wishes you knew that he’ll be okay.

He wishes you could know that somehow, despite losing, he doesn’t mind. He tried his best, his Pokémon tried their best, and that’s what matters to him now. He’s not going to take this loss as him losing an opportunity to become Champion. Instead, he’ll take it as a new start where he can dedicate himself to combining his love for battling and research. He wants you to know all of this and more – so, so much more.

“Thanks, mate,” he says, approaching you. He gives your Pokémon a sitrus berry, earning a delighted purr from it. He smiles at it, before he grins at you. “I’m really glad you were the one here with me.”

“Hop… I–” you swallow the lump in your throat, your voice wobbling. He sees himself reflected in your eyes so clearly that he wonders if you see your reflection reflected in his. “I’m… glad I could battle you. You’ll always be my greatest rival, for the end of time.”

“Good,” he says. “I’m not letting anyone take that from me.” With a grin, he offers his hand for a handshake, which you just look at.

Hesitantly, you reach out. Hop shakes your hand firmly, trying to emphasize everything he wants to say with his actions. But he knows he can’t so he decides to say everything instead.

“You know, even when Sonia was saying that you and me looked like we could become heroes, I never really felt like one…” he says, “But you, mate! I think maybe you really could do all sorts of great things! Good on you and all the rest of your team!”

“I think you can do all sorts of great things, too, Hop,” you say with so much passion that it blows Hop away. Your lip wobbles as you hold his hand with both of yours. “Hop – you don’t see what I see, that much I can tell, but I want you to know that you’re amazing. Your passion, your knowledge, all of it. I’m so grateful that you’re the one that’s my rival. I could have never asked for anyone better.”

Hop is stunned into silence, unsure of what to say. But what he does know is that your words are close to bringing him to tears. He’s already decided not to doubt himself, he already knows what his real dream is, but hearing words of encouragement just makes everything in the world shine differently.

Hop wishes that he could see how you look at him. He wishes that you could see how he looks at you.

“...Thanks, mate,” he says, voice cracking in the middle. “I– just, thanks.”

“Yeah,” your murmur softly, the guilt in your eyes clearing away slowly. You squeeze his hand and Hop wonders if you’d be willing to hold his hand forever and ever. He wonders if you’d be willing to talk to him on lazy mornings and listen to his ramblings. He wonders if you’d travel with him, camping and having Pokémon battles together. He wonders if you’d be willing to–

Oh.

Arceus.

He thinks he’s in love with you.

Hop has little time to revel in the realization that he loves you, what with Director Rose acting odd as well as your final battle with Leon coming up. You’re the one that’s fighting, but for some reason, he’s the one that’s more nervous. Still, he decides to greet you brightly.

“All right? The big moment’s here, eh? I came just to cheer you on, you know!”

When the nervousness eases from your face, Hop doesn’t know why that makes his heart soar. “Hop,” you say, softly. “You came.”

“Yeah, ‘course I did,” he says, sitting next to you. “Mate, you feeling all right?”

“Not really,” you admit, sheepish. “It’s just… So much.”

“Yeah, it is,” Hop agrees easily, placing a kind hand on your back. He rubs soothing circles, feeling the tenseness in your back. “I’m cheering for you, you know.”

“Thank you,” you say, and Hop grins.

“Still, it’s not easy picking sides… After all, it’s the showdown between my big brother and my rival… Who should I really want to win more?”

“Hey!”

“I’m joshing you!” he laughs. “I’ll be cheering for you, promise. After all, we did start this thing out together, way back in Postwick.”

“Yeah.” You breathe in deeply, before nodding. “Yeah, we did.”

“Yup, so you better beat Lee, you hear? If anyone can beat him, it’s you.”

“...Hop, can I ask you for something?”

“Hm?” he looks at you, feeling the nervousness roll off your shoulders.

“Can you hug me?”

Hop almost chokes in surprise, but opens his arms silently, not trusting himself to speak. He hopes you can’t hear the way his heart thuds so strongly against his chest. Oh Arceus, did he smell okay? Maybe he shouldn’t have agreed to his hug – he’s not sure what to do with himself and the nerves are about to kill him. Still, as he feels you squeeze him tightly, his embarrassment ebbs away slowly. He hugs you back, cradling you close to him.

There’s not much he can do for you, but he hopes that, at the very least, you’re aware that he’ll always stand by you. That he’ll always be there to support you.

Hop’s head is a mess. He was supposed to watch you and his brother’s battle, but Director Rose had interrupted the fight, going on about the Darkest Day or some other baloney that Hop could care less about. Currently, Hop’s more worried about his brother who has run off to stop Rose.

“I want to help my brother,” he mutters, watching Leon leave on his Charizard. He’s feeling so useless that he’s not sure what to do. All the doubts from months ago come crashing back into him, Bede’s words ringing harshly in his ears. “I’ve got to!”

“You can help!” you encourage, tugging at his sleeve. “Let’s go, Hop!”

“That’s easy for you to say,” he snaps, frustrated. “ I can’t even manage to beat you, so what sort of help could I ever be…?”

As soon as the words leave Hop’s mouth, he freezes, knowing that he messed up.

“I mean–”

“You’re right,” you say, face perfectly neutral. “With that attitude, you can’t do anything!” Your tone is heated, “But– Leon needs you, Hop. I need you. We need to help Leon and I won’t be able to do it on my own. You might think you’re not good enough or that I can do everything on my own, but I can’t!” Your shoulders heave as you try to catch your breath, your tears wetting your cheeks. “Arceus, Hop… Can’t you see? I need you. I–”

“You’re right,” Hop says quickly, guilt settling into his brain. He tries to think back to his epiphany. He thinks back to what his real dream and goal are. He thinks back to why he wanted to battle, to why he wanted to beat you. He thinks about how you mean the world to him and that he wants you to know that he has your back like you have his. He wants you to know that he’ll always support you.

Shame overwhelms him as his head gets clearer, his worry for his older brother being replaced with determination to help him. “You're right, I was saying rubbish. I’m sorry.”

“You were saying rubbish,” you snip, sniffling.

Hop wipes off your tears with his thumb, saying, “Sorry.”

“If you are, you better help me.”

Hop nods at you, determined to make things right. “Let’s first start with how we can help Lee. Director Rose said something about the Darkest Day, didn’t he…?” The gears in Hop’s head turn, making him gasp as you come to the same realization.

The statue of the hero, the tapestries, Slumbering Weald…

You and Hop nod at each other, determination settling in both of your bones.

As you two enter Slumbering Weald, Hop can’t help but remember the first time you visited the place together. Thick fog hung over the place like a shield, trying to block out any intruders that may dare to step into the holy ground. Back then, Hop was terrified. Now, though, Hop is surprised with how safe he feels with his Pokémon and you by his side.

“Ready for this?” he asks you, and you nod.

“I’ve got you and my Pokémon by my side. I’m not scared of anything.”

Your words make Hop’s heart flutter in his chest and he wants to wheeze physically at how you knock the breath out of him with your words. Instead, he says, “Going into the forest after Wooloo that day... That was the start of everything, wasn't it? A legendary beginning, really…”

“That’s true,” you nod, “and I’m glad we had such a legendary beginning.”

“I reckon whatever we're about to see will be pretty legendary itself!” he beams, “Well, let’s head in and add another page to our tale!”

His heart almost stops when you grab his hand, but he doesn’t say anything in fear that you’ll pull away. Instead, he squeezes your hand back.

Hop feels like he’s going to die. Everything before this moment, finding the rusted sword and shield, going up the Energy Plant, reaching the Tower summit… all of it feels like a blur, hazy in his mind as he stares at the beast in front of him. Leon does his best to hold his own, but the new Pokémon – Eternatus – is too strong.

But he can’t give up here. He wants to protect Galar, his mom, Leon, and you. He’s put in so much effort to be strong. He’s put in so much effort to find out what he really wants. You’ve put in so much effort to get this far. You’ve put in so much effort to pull him out of his own doubts.

Yeah. He’s not going to let the Darkest Day come. There’s no way.

With a deep breath, he stands up, extending a hand to you. “All right. Let’s take it on together!”

“Gladly!” you say, grasping his hand to stand up yourself. You two stand side by side, rusted sword and shield in your hands, looking like the heroes from the tales of old.

After all that excitement, Hop’s not really sure how things will return to normalcy, but they do. After dinner with his family, he’s reading in his bedroom, Dubwool resting its head on his lap. There’s a knock at his door, causing Hop to look up in curiosity.

“Come in,” he says, and the door opens to reveal his older brother.

“Hey, Hop,” Leon says, closing the door behind him. “Got your nose in a book, eh?”

“Yeah,” Hop says, putting his book down as Leon makes his way over. “...How are you feeling, Lee?”

“Ah?” Leon looks surprised, before he laughs. “Fair question. I’m not entirely sure. I’m kind of frustrated, I think, but… I also feel exhilarated. Your friend truly battles like no other.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Hop says, feeling a sense of happiness at Leon acknowledging you. Yeah, you are strong.

“...How about you, Hop? Feeling all right?”

“Yeah!” Hop responds, genuinely feeling lighter than before, like another pathway has opened up for him. “It’s kind of like a new path has opened up for me, you know?”

“Hah, I get that!” Leon claps his hand on Hop’s back, bellowing out a loud laugh. When Hop looks into Leon’s eyes, he can see the pride his older brother carries for him. “Look at my brother – strong and smart. I’d have expected nothing less.” With a grin, Leon musses up Hop’s hair, making Hop laugh as he tries to get out of his older brother’s headlock.

“You messed up my hair, Lee!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Leon says, letting Hop go. “...But seriously. I’m glad you seem to know what you want to do. I have things I want to do that I’m no longer Champion, too. Looks like we’ll both be busy.”

“Yup, sounds like it!”

Leon grins, before stretching and falling back on Hop’s bed. “Man! Time sure flies quickly, huh? I feel like it was only yesterday that I was losing battles and getting helped as a child.”

Hop blinks, looking at Leon curiously. “You… Lost battles before?”

“Yeah, when I was starting out.” Leon lets out a small hum in thought. “I also refused to get help because I was kind of overconfident, too. Once I started getting help from people like Master Mustard, though, well… I guess I kind of unlocked a hidden potential in me and I stopped losing. Well, until now, that is.”

“Oh,” Hop says, looking surprised. His older brother, who he thought was the pinnacle of strength, had struggled too. His brother needed help, too. His brother is human, too. “...Thanks, Lee,” Hop decides to say, finally.

Leon lays on Hop’s bed for a few more beats, before he tackles Hop into another headlock, making Hop’s hair even messier than before.

“Hey!” Hop laughs, pushing Leon off of him.

“I’m proud of you, Hop,” Leon says, once Hop escapes the headlock. “I hope you know that.”

Without missing a beat, Hop responds with, “Yeah, I know.”

The next day, Hop finds himself back in Slumbering Weald, taking in the mystical atmosphere. He looks at how the trees reflect against the lake, clear and bright.

“Hop?” At your voice, Hop turns around, looking at you curiously.

“Huh? What’re you doing out here in the woods?”

“Well… I just felt like something was calling me here, I guess?” you say. “And it’s quiet.”

“Hah, yeah, I guess it must be loud around you, huh?” Hop pauses, looking at the lake that’s as clear as his heart. “Congrats on the Championship, by the way! You’re amazing, I hope you know that.”

“Thank you,” you say, eyes trained on the lake before you. You watch as leaves leave ripples on the surface of the water.

“I should be thanking you,” Hop responds, making you turn to him curiously. “I… Have something to confess.”

“What is it?”

“I actually stopped wanting to be Champion a while ago.” Hop put up a hand. “Wait, let me rephrase – it was more like… I found out that becoming Champion wasn’t my end goal. Sure, it’d have been nice to be Champion, but more than that, I wanted to win and be strong. Being Champion would just signify my strength.” Hop skips a flat stone across the lake, causing ripples to form. “I also realized that while I loved battling, I loved research, too. The stuff Sonia’s doing? It fascinates me.”

He looks at you, and you look at him, patiently waiting for him to continue.

“...The reason I was able to find myself and stop doubting myself so much is because of you.” His voice is so quiet that he doubts you heard him. But the softness in your eyes tell him otherwise. “So, yeah, thank you.”

“You’re so silly, Hop,” you laugh. “You’re the one that’s done that, you know? Sure, maybe I gave you a push here and there, but you’re the one who discovered all of this. You’re the one who decided to take the steps to meet your goals. You’re– you’re amazing, you know that?”

Hop wonders briefly how you can make him love you even more than he already does. He wonders briefly if he’s loved you long before he even realized it because how could he not? He briefly wonders, but then he realizes he doesn’t care because he loves you now and that’s what matters to him.

“I have one more confession,” he says. He can feel his heart about to jump out of his throat but he feels like his heart will stop entirely if he doesn’t tell you his feelings. “I like you. I’ve liked you for a while now, actually. I know I can be a pain sometimes, and I’m not trying to force my feelings on you, but if you’re okay with it, can you give me a chance?” Hop’s eyes are closed during his confession, scared of what expression you’ll have on your face.

When you’re silent, he feels himself sweat, unsure of what to do with himself. Taking a chance, he cracks an eye open to at least assess what expression you might have on your face. What Hop sees takes his breath away – you, underneath the dappled sunlight, the wind in your hair. You, with a bright smile, all the affection you can muster in your eyes. You, who is looking at him with so much emotion that he’s not sure what to do with it all.

“I’ll give you as many chances as you want,” you say, reaching out to grab his hands. “So, will you give me a chance?”

“Arceus, yes,” he laughs, relief flooding the adrenaline out of his veins. Arceus, he loves you. He really, really loves you. And with the way you look at him he can tell you love him too.

#hop x reader #pokemon x reader #x reader #reader insert #trainer hop #fix it fic #idk i just had to get this idea out of my head LOL

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