More Than Rivals Pokémon SWSH Hop x reader

|Part 15: What's worthy.|

You arrived at the gym, it was ran by the ice type gym leader, Melany.

Do I seriously have to wear my challenger uniform in a cold gym?

You sighed, walking in the gym. It was a cold gym alright, you felt yourself sneezing every now and then and shivering from the cold, it was too much.

You arrived to the gym leader after falling into traps, battling trainers, and shivering from the cold. You fought against the gym leader and earned your badge at last. It was time for you to earn your badge at Spikemunth but there was also something important you needed to attend to.

Hop.

You thought of Hop, your face slightly turned pink as you thought of him. You ran out of the gym, changed back into your usual clothes and ran out with your stuff.

You waited for Hop somewhere around Cirechester, you felt your heart race a little. Were you finally going to confess?? Who knows, maybe it'll finally be time to talk things out after breaking the silence for days.

You played around with your starter Pokémon and a couple of others you had through your adventures too. You nervous upon meeting Hop, you kind of wanted to back out but.... That would suck.

"(y/n)......!"
A familiar voice shouted out to you.

You looked over to see Hop, heavily breathing. He had a serious look on his face, and he seemed like he had been running.

"Hey (y/n).... It's good to see you."
Hop slightly smiled.

"You too."
You nodded.

Hop sat down, he played with your starter Pokémon.

"Hey (starter Pokémon), been a while hasn't it??? I bet ya missed me."
Hop smiled.

Your starter Pokémon laughed along and played with Hop back.

"Hey so.... I heard what you did back then... You really did scare Bede didn't you?"
Hop laughed a little.

"Oh.... Did he apologize??"
You questioned.

"Yeah, guess even some people with a black heart can change."
Hop shrugged.

"Hey (y/n), you better listen closely because I'm not about to repeat myself after I do today.... Ever since we were kids, the first time I met you I was uncomfortable with you. You were a different face to me, hence the feeling of being uncomfortable but after getting to know you all these years I realized something...."

"That you weren't all that bad, you were amazing. You were my friend, and so I believed that for a very long time up until someone asked me a question that weirded me out. Do you like her? Of course I liked you, you were my friend and it was obvious I'd like you but after they had told me in a romantic way I froze up. I thought to myself, why would I ever like my best friend that way? They're only my friend right....? That's what I thought, but I began to see this other side to you, something that I thought I'd never feel. You always stood out to me and felt so different, you were that person I liked, and I wanted to be a lot stronger to you so I could be some sort of role mode or person you'd highly regard but.... I'm not good enough I.... I lost to Bede, you probably already know that and it sucked so much to do so. I felt loss and less superior compared to myself."
Hop sighed.
(Bet you weren't expecting that long paragraph weren't ya?)

"I felt I was someone who wasn't at your level anymore. I felt my confidence had been destroyed and I couldn't do anything anymore but someone convinced me that I wasn't all that. And that no matter what I was still worthy so I.... (y/n), I'm not perfect and I don't think I will be but... I really like... No... I really love you and I want to do my best for you."
Hop turned to you, his face looked completely flushed.

Your face flushed as well, you stood up and grabbed Hop's hands. They were cold, while your hands were warm.

"I'll do my best for you too."
You nodded.

You saw Hop's surprised look on his face, he hugged you.

"D-Do you really mean it.....??!"
Hop asked.

You nodded.

"I love you too."
You smiled.

You saw tears run down Hop's face, he seemed happy.

"I can't believe this I.... I..."
Hop stuttered with his words, the tears overflowing his eyes.

You pat him gently on the back, assuring him everything was going to be fine. You wiped his tears a little with your fingers and smiled.

Hop had his moment shortly after calming down and stopping the tears from flowing.

"Hey (y/n), I'm gonna go ahead of you to the next gym. I'll meet you back in Hammerlocke."
Hop said.

"Already?? You work quickly."
You nodded.

Hop put his jacket around you.

"It's gonna be cold from here, make sure you brace yourself from here on out."
Hop smiled softly, shortly before leaving.

Your face flushed, you wrapped yourself around his coat.

"It really did happen huh... After many years of remaining friends.... We finally did it huh??"
You smiled a little.

You decided to continue your journey, you would meet Hop soon for the next gym and your last gym before you'd take on the championship.

"Maybe I should rest for the day, I am pretty tired."
You booked a room to the hotel in Circhester.

You were quick to throw yourself on the comfortable bed, you also passed out on the bed after fighting a battle at the gym.

Everything that happened felt like a dream, but it wasn't a dream.

—Hop's pov—

I went on ahead of my journey, I managed to spot Marnie and talked to her for a bit. She seems a lot happier ever since she met (y/n) and I and claimed us as her rivals now.

I battled with Marnie for a little but ended up getting another loss.

"Man, not again."
I sighed.

"You've gotten a lot stronger Marnie, that was a great match."
I held out my hand to shake hers.

"You too."
Marnie shook my hand.

We smiled at each other before Marnie looked at me and asked.

"How come your girlfriend isn't with you right now? (y/n) was it?"
Marnie questioned.

"G-Girlfriend....?!!"
I questioned.

Wait a minute, I don't have to deny this anymore. She IS my girlfriend now.

I smiled proudly.

"She's probably resting somewhere, she'll catch up to me I just know it. Be careful though."
I smirked.

That's right, our journey's coming to an end soon. I still wonder if my dream of wanting to become champion is even there now....