The Heart of a Champion

Chapter 5- Touch down in Vermillion

2 Weeks Later

I woke up before my alarm this morning. Didn't mean I felt any less buzzed this morning but at least I had a lot of motivation to get out of bed. I had a flight to catch, usually if I had to go to another region, which I never have besides when I moved here, I had always thought I would need to do it by ferry. Luckily the Champions got planes to fly them to the event. All things considered I definitely don't mind that, a trip that might have taken a day or two on a boat should only take a few hours on this plane. Mom, Hau, and Gladion decided to stay home, not that I expected them to come. Kukui and Burnet accepted my invitation to come to the battles with me though. I flew over to the airstrip where we would get picked up, the Alolan sun bright as ever. I spotted Kukui and his wife sitting on the benches a good distance from the actual runway. I greeted them as I walked over and sat on the other bench directly to the side of them. "Good morning Sun! Ready for the flight this morning?" Burnet asked cheerily. "Yeah, I've been looking forward to this for awhile now, I haven't been on a plane since I left Kanto about 5 years ago though." I replied also in a cheery way. Kukui looked more nervous than I had ever seen him, I didn't even notice he hadn't greeted me. "Is-Is Kukui alright?" He sighed, "Yeah Im ok, I haven't flown in a long time though.". I laughed, it was unusual to see him like this though so I had to ask, "Are you sure that's it, nothing else that could be bothering you? Not much ever seems to get to you." He looked back at me, "Well to be honest I'm kind of worried about you Sun. It's always been my dream to have an Alolan representative always in the World Championship. I know you've got a lot of pressure on you but I hope you've been working your hardest for all of our sakes." I was a bit taken aback by how serious he was. To be honest I sort of pushed the stakes to the back of my mind. There sure was a lot of people counting on me. None more than myself though, I had a legacy to write. Being the Champion of Alola is great sure. But regional champions might not be remembered. World Champions live in history forever, and I want to be someone the future generations of Alola look up to.

The plane arrived about 15 minutes later. It was much smaller than the commercial planes I was used to. Me and the professors boarded the plane from the stair case and took our seats. They were very comfy leather seats and the plane had a very cozy white interior. "Wow, they sure do treat the champions right!" Burnet said. I nodded in agreement. For most of the flight I was watching the Kantonian News Network. They were doing special coverage of the Championship for these few days leading up to it. The anchor asked the other experts, "...So of these first round matchups, which are you most intrigued by?" The first of the three answered, "Well certainly Red vs Leon. I know Red is our champion so I might be a little biased, but how can you not be excited for a high level battle like that. I honestly can't tell you who is going to win." The second expert then began, "I'd have to agree, the oddsmakers do too. Currently the odds on that one are completely even." The third expert then began to say his piece, "Id have to agree, but for the sake of being different, the matchup between Steven and that newcomer Sun also intrigues me. Not so much because I think it will be close, mostly I want to see just how far behind Alola really is from the real top level battlers..." The desk of anchors all laughed at that. Thanks a lot guys. I sort of zoned out for the rest of the report, though I caught the odds of my match, I was a 14-1 Underdog to win. 8-1 to even score 4 against him. Every expert thinks I'm going to be absolutely outclassed. I have more faith in myself than that though. After all this hard work and preparation I've put in for this match, there's no way I'm not giving Steven a run for his money.

After a few more hours of coverage and a few showings of the event's trailer to the tune of "Paint It Black", we finally landed in Vermillion City. Home of the Pokemon Stadium. Not to mention Vermillion Hospital. That part would have to wait though. We exited the plane at Kanto International Airport in Vermillion. As we went down the steps there were a lot of fans with signs welcoming the Champions arriving today. A few fans cheered for me as Kukui, Burnet and I walked in to the airport to head to our hotel. I smiled at all the fans and waved at the ones cheering for me. I even signed a few hats and posters and the like. It was cool to see that not everyone in Kanto was against me. I made small talk with the professors on the way (Well mostly Burnet).
By that time though it was about 9 PM Kanto time. I was tired anyway so I decided to just check in to my room and head straight to bed. I got Kukui and Burnet their own room so I wouldn't bother them or anything.