You're My Inspiration

Enlightening Chats and Flashy Gifts

"I must say, I'm rather surprised to see our latest addition to the line-up of Champions here in Galar," Leon began as they sat at the table, drumming his fingers on a glass of water with an intent look on his face.

Bianca struggled to reply to that, not knowing how to respond to such a statement given that the individual who said it was the World Champion.

Or was it World Monarch?

Ash, as always, didn't seem to have such qualms, and was practically vibrating in his chair as he replied, "And I can't believe I'm meeting the strongest trainer ever !"

Even as she winced at the high-pitched squeal, Bianca couldn't help but think that was a bit of an understatement, given the awe-struck look Ash had been making towards the man the entire trip back to the hotel room.

It was only at the man's swift request upon Ash nearly exploding with excitement that prevented the Alolan Champion from drawing the attention of the crowd, something the Monarch clearly wanted to avoid.

In the room, however, there were no such problems, and Leon laughed jovially as he shook his head and waved him off, replying earnestly, "Only strongest for now! You never know who might come along and claim that title for himself...or themselves."

Bianca almost missed the intent look Leon shot towards Ash as he said that, before it cleared and he continued, "In any case, this is still my home region. You, however, are quite far from Alola. You didn't get deposed that quickly, did you?"

Despite the joking tone, Ash still looked thoughtful and concerned at the table as he murmured, "Man, I didn't think about that. I hope not."

Leon quickly corrected himself, waving his hands as he chuckled, "Sorry, that was meant as a joke. I definitely would have heard about something like that happening. And trust me, so would you."

"Oh," Ash blinked at that, before adopting a pleased look. "That makes sense. I'd have liked to battle before losing championship status."

"I understand completely." The Monarch replied with that same intent look that was now thoroughly confusing Bianca. What was up with this apparent interest in Ash? Was it simply because he was a Champion? Or was there something more to it?

'Considering everything I know about him, probably the latter,' Bianca dryly thought, taking a sip from her own glass as to not betray her thoughts. 'I can't help but wonder if he's heard all of what this guy has done...wait, I can ask him.'

Seeing a pause in the conversation, she cleared her throat and delicately questioned, "So were you following us around because you were interested in finding out why Ash was here or something? What was up with that?"

Despite her mild tone, Leon still ducked his head in embarrassment. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that," he began as he too started fidgeting. "I didn't mean to alarm you, but you would not believe how hard it is to watch someone without being seen by everyone."

There was a beat of silence as Bianca stared at him, the man clearly not recognizing how potentially creepy that sounded. Instead, he sat there and took a drink from his glass, looking impressively oblivious to his wording.

Sighing, Bianca decided to let it go for now, and asked wearily, "But how did you find us? Actually, how did you know we, or rather Ash, was in the region at all?"

"Oh, that's easy," Leon replied as he sat up straight. "When you stepped off that plane, two things happened," he stated matter-of-factly as he raised his arm, forming a loose fist. "First, the hotel ran a background check as soon as you made that reservation to make sure they weren't allowing any thieves or violent criminals in with so many wealthy individuals," he said as he raised a finger, to which Bianca nodded thoughtfully. "The ones who run these background checks also happen to work closely with me and my other League fellows in the case where we might have to intervene with force."