From The Ground Up (A Heart Of A Champion Prequel)

Chapter 18- A Friendly Rivalry

I sat next to Leon and talked to him while the match between Cynthia and Steven was going on. I looked over to Gold, "Hey Gold, ready for your first match?" He nodded, "Sure. I'm pretty experienced for my age. I can't lie though it's pretty nerve wracking." I shrugged as Leon said, "Yeah that never goes away." Gold laughed, "I trust you on that one? Any tips?" I shook my head, "Best you can do is embrace it, have fun, and be sure to give it everything you've got. Even if you lose after going all out, you can leave satisfied." The crowd erupted after Cynthia completed a 6-4 Victory over Steven. She looks good, I might be in trouble if I don't stay on my toes. I looked over to Leon, "She looks dangerous. You think she got better somehow?" Leon shrugged, "Yeah. Thing is, we all got better so, yeah." I nodded as Gold exited, "Best of luck Gold." He turned back, "Thanks Sun."

Cynthia walked back in with a joyful smile on her face, "What a fun crowd you have here Sun." I smiled, "Yeah they're the best." She sat down next to Leon, "What do you guys think, Calem or Gold?" I shrugged, "I don't know Calem all that well. I can't say. I think this first point is gonna go a long way though." Leon nodded, "Yeah. If Calem pushes the pressure like I've heard then Gold will certainly have some problems." And have some problems he did. Calem won 6-4 in absolutely dominant fashion. Gold wasn't mad though, so at least he took my advice. I stood up and dusted my knees off, "Urk, sorry about the sand guys, ready to go to the presser?" Leon and Cynthia both stood up and Cynthia nodded, "Alright. Let's go." Leon scratched his head, "You know Sun I actually quite like the sand here." I patted Leon on the back, "I appreciate it."

We sat at the press conference, I sat at the end by Leon who was next to Cynthia, and Calem was on the end. First up came the question from Kanto. "Sun, Red announced his retirement just a little bit ago, so you were his last opponent, do you have anything to say about that?" I leaned in to the microphone, "Well it was an honor sharing the field with him. He's a legend that's for sure. He's leaving behind a great legacy, I do feel a little bad that it had to end like that, but I promise what happened today won't take anything away from his legacy." Next up was the Johto crew who asked Calem about his battle with Gold, Calem answered plainly about how it went and then Hoenn asked Cynthia about her battle. Sinnoh then asked Cynthia about her chances of reclaiming the title and she answered confidently that she thinks she has a good shot. Leon was asked by Unova about how good Iris was, Leon thought pretty highly of her. Kalos asked Calem if he thinks he has what it takes to be the first Kalosian Champion, which he answered in the obvious way, (yes). Alola then asked me, "Champion Sun, what would mean more to you, a win tomorrow or a win in the final?" I shrugged, "They're equally important. Though I gotta admit, cementing a 5th straight World Championship win in front of a hometown crowd would be extra sweet." Next Galar finished the conference by asking Leon how he thought our match would go, he answered, "That's the exciting part isn't it, no one knows! I think I've got a solid plan in place to pull the upset though." The person conducting the interviews nodded, "Alright thank you Champions. I'll see you all tomorrow, best of luck." We all nodded and thanked the person before heading back to where we came from. I walked outside the arena and hugged Lillie as soon as I saw her, "Lil... I'm sorry I pointed you out, I know you don't-" She shook her head on my shoulder, "Sun, I thought that was sweet of you! Little Elio got his introduction to the World, and he was fascinated by it!" I shook my head, "I'm glad, but seriously I need to be more considerate of you." Lillie broke the hug and giggled, "You can't be more than you already are. If something bothered me I'd tell you." I nodded, "I appreciate that. You ready to go to bed?" She nodded and sighed, "Yeah. I'll put Elio to bed and then I'll join ya." I thanked her and then we flew back together.

I laid down in bed staring at the ceiling. What a day. I can't wait to tackle tomorrow! Just as I was lost in thought, my wife jumped in to bed next to me and cuddled me tightly. I laughed, "Lil, I was just thinking about how excited I am for tomorrow, but now you're making me not want today to end." She giggled, "Awww, for such a fierce competitor, you really are a softie." I put my arm around her, "You deserve nothing but the best Lil. I know I can't give you that, but I do what I can." Lillie giggled, "You're a World Champion, you are quite literally the best. Plus you're my favorite person in the world, so that has to count for something." I planted a kiss on her forehead, "Well that's nice of you, I'm so glad you married me." Lillie looked cutely up at me and responded, "I'm glad too! Every day!" I smiled and then we drifted off to sleep, Lillie fell asleep first and I fell asleep to the sound of her steady heartbeat, and peaceful breathing.