The Heart of a Champion

Chapter 2- The Champions Meet

I woke up the next morning to the sound of the alarm on my rotom phone. I turned it off and started to groggily prepare myself for the day ahead. I fllcked on the TV downstairs in the living room across from the kitchen. The news report began "...And as a reminder the champions of the 7 major regions will be meeting today to discuss and finalize plans for the World Championship in a couple months...". This reminded me that I had to speak with the other champions today, not that I would have forgotten usually, it's just that Alola is not one of the 7 major regions. That meant that I was just calling in on a video call to discuss a proposal with them.

At about 11 I set out to meet Hau at his favorite malasada shop. When I got there he was already waiting outside. "Ah there you are Sun, I've been waiting for you!" Hau said happily. "Hau, you've probably been camping outside of this place since you told me to come." I told him jokingly but slightly concerned that I could be right. We went inside and ordered everything we wanted and then sat down together in a corner of the shop. We talked about various things before the TV in the shop once again reached the subject of what would be discussed in the champions meeting. "Sun, you're doing something in that right?" Hau asked me in-between malasadas, "Yeah I am, Kukui and I are going to see if they'll let an Alolan champion into the World Championship this year." I replied. Hau looked stunned, "Really!? The World Championship? You don't really think you could beat those guys do you?" I shrugged. The World Championship consisted of a single elimination tournament of usually 7 champions. One from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, and Galar. "Hau the worst part about it is I really have no idea, none of them have ever accepted an invitation for an exhibition match or anything." At that point a kid around 15 years old walked up to our table. "E-excuse me Mr.Hau and Mr.Champion, do you mind signing this shirt I got?" I looked at him and my face lit up when I saw his shirt. The shirt had an image of the poster for the first match at Manalo stadium 2 years ago, the rematch between myself and Hau. "Woah! thats really cool!" Hau exclaimed as he signed it. "If I remember correctly you could only get this shirt by attending the match, what did you think?" I asked him. the boy told me that it was his favorite match of all time, I agreed, that was probably the closest I had ever come to losing my title. Some time after the boy left and Hau and I were finishing our meal, I made the mistake of asking Hau, "So how's Mallow doing?". I sort of kicked myself mentally for asking the question, probably not for the reason you'd think though. "She's doing great! We watched your match together yesterday, speaking of which...". Here we go. "Hau I know what you're going to say and no I'm not interested in a girlfriend". He looked exasperated, he's been trying to convince me for years now, I always tell him that I was only really ever interested in Lillie, not that she even felt the same after all this time though. Hau always told me that since I was such a lovable champion, I could pretty much be with anyone, I'm just not interested though.

After talking for a bit more I went back home to Ula' Ula' and prepared my living room for the video conference, Kukui should be-. "HEY cousin!". "There you are Kukui, here sit on the couch with me so we're in place when the meeting starts". Kukui and I sat down, he didn't even bother to wear anything besides his usual lab coat and no-shirt combination. I wore my usual White and blue striped shirt and hat, I figured that I didn't need to look sharp to command their respect, I'm probably one of the longest standing champions in the world at this point.

About 15 minutes passed before we were let into the call. Many people interested in pokemon battling and maybe even politics tuned in to watch the event live on TV, Kukui and I were the first to be called in to the meeting. On the screen sat the 7 Major champions in their homes. From left to right it was Red, the stoic Champion of Kanto, Lance, the proud champion of Johto, Steven, the Champion of Hoenn with all of his usual flair, Cynthia, the two time reigning and defending world champion from Sinnoh, Iris, the young new Champion who dethroned Alder in Unova, Diantha, the always busy champion of Kalos, and Leon, the excitable and crowd-friendly champion of Galar. Cynthia began, "Right, so you guys are Champion Sun of Alola, and the Move-Professor Kukui who founded the Alola League, correct?" I answered, "Yep that's us! Thanks for having us". Cynthia then looked down at our proposal that we had sent in. "So it says here that you two are requesting that Alola be allowed a spot in the world championship...". I replied, "Yes, after having a competitive league here for 4 years, I believe that Alola is ready to showcase it's talent on the world stage". Cynthia then nodded and asked the other champions "Alright then, do any of my colleagues wish to speak in favor or against this?" Leon stood up and pumped his fist, "ABSOLUTELY, It's not really a world championship if some of the world can't compete right?" Iris, Red, and Steven nodded in agreement. Lance also stood though, "They're too inexperienced, I believe it would bring nothing but embarrassment to the champions title in Alola. There just is not any good competition there, and the trainers I've seen Sun battle still manage to give him deep trouble". I glared at Lance, he didn't know the half of it, I'll keep that in mind for later...

"Alright then," Cynthia began, "Those in favor of th-". Diantha interrupted her, "Wait, I have an idea for this, what if we had a qualification battle between the champion of Alola and the Orre region's Champion who also wanted to compete." Most of the champions found this agreeable and they all voted in favor. "Alright then," Cynthia smiled "The champions of Alola and Orre will meet for a battle in one month, and the winner will get to be seeded into the World Championship later this year". I smiled back, "That sounds perfect, thank you all!".

After disconnecting, Kukui jumped up and hugged me, "WOOOOOO, we finally get to show the world what we're made of!". I decided to turn on the TV again to watch the rest of the meeting after Kukui left for his house. It was decided that the Quarter and Semifinal rounds would be held in Kanto's Pokemon Stadium, while the final would be held in Wyndon Stadium in Galar. I even saw that my match with the champion of Orre would be held in Manalo Stadium since I had asked first.

After settling down for a little bit the clock showed 8 PM. I then received a call on my Rotom Phone from Gladion. Gladion got one almost immediately after Lusamine left. "What's up Gladion?", Gladion replied in his usual flat tone, "I saw what happened in the meeting today.", I responded excitably, "Yeah! I'm really happy with how it went." Gladion obviously did not feel the same. "They disrespected our entire region by saying there was no competition. I can't believe they can just say that!". I remembered what he was talking about and then asked, "Yeah, what can I do about it though? that's just their opinion."
Gladion replied simply, "Beat this guy from Orre, then make sure you pay them back personally at the World Championship." I laughed "I don't plan on losing Gladion, I wouldn't have asked to compete if I didn't think I could win. Trust me though, I'll work as hard as I can to make good on what you said." Gladion chuckled, "Thanks, I trust you." Before he hung up I asked him, "Heard anything from your sister or mother?" he sighed. "No, I haven't, Miss Wicke is in charge of everything at the Aether Foundation so she may have, but I haven't." I was a little disappointed but that quickly changed when I heard what he had to say next. "...That being said the Quarter and Semifinals are being held in Kanto, so you can go see if you can find them yourself if you make it there.". I can't believe I hadn't put that together for myself yet, if I make it to Kanto, maybe I'll be able to see them again, I should probably write a letter or something... "Thanks Gladion, see ya around." I hung up the call.

I walked upstairs to my bedroom and sat down at the desk I had in the corner of my room. Mainly for signing and reading and returning fan mail but I also used it to write letters. I began to write one addressed for the hospital that Lillie was (maybe?) still at. Eventually I got tired though and decided to go to bed midway through writing it. My mind echoed back to that night on Exeggutor Island, it was the closest I had ever felt to someone... I'd like to have that feeling back. I had a long month of preparation for my match with Orre's Champion, who was known as Pyrite. As I once again drifted off to sleep, my mind was set on two different things, but all roads lead to Kanto...

Author's Note

I thought I'd post this one too, I guess it might help you guys get a better feel for where the story is going and what not. So yeah I hope you guys are enjoying this so far, as always I appreciate feedback and comments. Thanks!