Champion's Heart: Leon x Reader Pokemon

Chapter Thirty-eight

The next few days went by slowly. Leon busied himself with champion business as instructed, leaving you to your own devices. You were finishing practice with your Pokémon on Route 1 just outside of Postwick.

"Manectric, use Thunderbolt on that tree!" you ordered.

Manectric charged its energy, crackling with energy of the arcane. With a yowl, it released a piercing bolt at the tree, leaving a dark scorch mark on the bark. Perfectly done.

"Awesome job, Manectric!" you exclaimed. "Thievul, chop down that tree with Night Slash!"

Thievul charged at the tree with dark energy, slicing it in half. Perfectly executed.

"Wonderful job!" you complimented.

Manectric and Thievul both looked pleased with themselves. You pulled out some leftover curry that you had made earlier that day and left it out for them to share. They happily munched away.

You then frowned. You were extremely nervous. Your upcoming Gym battle would be your first public appearance since the controversy. While Leon had cleared your name, you suspected not everyone would be believing or happy with it. After all, Diantha has not confirmed Leon's story as of yet. You wondered how she felt about this entire situation.

Something you and Leon both failed to consider is the impact on Diantha. Her pristine image was going to take a damaging hit. Being a movie star, she knows the importance of business deals, and likely knows how damaging they can be if they fail.

You would certainly set up a time with Leon to reach out to her and remedy the situation with her.

Aside from Diantha, you knew you would be under severe scrutiny. If you lose your battle, it will drag you further down with the current controversy. Winning was the only option in order to not drag your name into the mud.

On top of everything, something was still wrong with Hop. As soon as the Gym Challenge resumed, he immediately fell back into the strange mood he exhibited in Ballonlea.

So many issues were piling on at once, and you needed support before you fell a part. But where was your support when Leon is so busy?

—

After Manectric and Thievul finished eating, you called a Flying Taxi to Circhester. You were going to try to get your challenge in as soon as possible. Due to the lower number of challengers, with only around fifteen remaining, challenges were based on a first come first serve basis. Appointments were no longer necessary.

You knew very little about Melony, except she specialized in Ice-Type Pokémon.

The air grew more frigid as you grew closer to Circhester.

You shivered, wishing you had something such as Leon's cape to wrap around you. You haven't heard anything from him since your conversation in Chairman Rose's office. You hoped he wasn't upset that you had agreed with Rose.

Finally, the flying taxi landed.

"Good luck, kiddo," the man said, before flying away.

You needed good luck.

—

Snow crunched under your shoes as you walked through town. A blizzard had recently showered down upon Circhester, although this was not anything new.

You tried to call Hop, who did not pick up. You wondered if he had arrived yet, and you hoped he already had his match. You wondered if he felt under any pressure as he was Leon's brother, who had just ruined his own reputation.

"Hello, have you forgotten about me?" asked a voice from behind you.

You turned and saw Marnie.

"Hey Marnie, it's been awhile," you said quietly.

"Certainly has," she replied. "A lot has happened, hmm?"

You nodded solemnly.

"It'll get better," she assured. "I'm just glad Leon took responsibility and owned up to what happened."

"I just wish there was a way to go about it that wouldn't hurt his reputation," you replied.

"Well, it was his choice," Marnie stated matter of factly. "He chose your reputation over his own, which is pretty amazing for him to do."

You softly smiled to yourself. "Yeah, it really was..."

You then frowned. You took that for granted and chose to allow him to stay away in order to preserve his reputation, which undermined his efforts of boosting yours.

You had to talk to him to fix this.

"It looks like we are getting closer to the final part of the challenge," Marnie said. "Only two more gyms after this."

You nodded.

"Want to walk together to the Gym?" Marnie asked.

"Sure," you replied. "First I have to make a call."

Marnie nodded at you, and you walked away a safe distance so that she couldn't hear. You nudged your Rotom Phone, which flew forward. You instructed it to dial Leon's number.

The phone rang a few times, then went to voice mail. He likely was busy again.

You decided to leave a message.

"Hey Leon, hope you're doing alright. I called because I made a mistake," you sighed. "I don't want to hide our relationship anymore. I only agreed with Rose because I thought I was dragging you down, but now I see it's not my place to make these types of decisions. This is your choice. So, if you would like, I would appreciate it if you would attend my match at Circhester. I'll be competing after Marnie. Hope to see you there."

You then ended the call and walked back over to Marnie, who was messing with Morpeko.

"Let's go," you said.

Marnie grinned, and you both delved into conversation while heading to the Circhester Gym.

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