Champion's Heart: Leon x Reader Pokemon

Chapter Seven

You selected your trainer number, 06, and made your way to the bathroom to change into your brand new trainer uniform. It was mostly white, which was standard for uniforms, and had (f/c) stripes down the sides and arms. You truly loved how simple and nice it looked. You knew that the challenging system in Galar was different, including the part with the uniforms.

Back in Kalos, you were able to challenge the Gym leaders whenever you wanted, then the Elite Four, and then the Champion. You had to wait until certain parts of the month, but it was open all year. In Galar, it seemed to be a seasonal occasion.

You headed to an area where you saw multiple people dressed in a similar uniform to yours, including Hop. He looked so excited that he could barely contain himself. You also spotted Marnie, who's face was perfectly emotionless. You decided to head over and talk to her.

"Hey, excited about the Gym Challenge?" you asked.

Marnie gave you a small smile. "Yes, I've been thinkin' about how I'm going to plan my trip."

"Same here," you replied. "I wonder when we'll get the chance to challenge each other."

Marnie's smile changed to solemn. "Soon."

You didn't get to talk to her further, as the doors opened after the Gym leaders were announced. For a second, the bright lights blinded you as you walked through. Once your eyes adjusted, you looked around at the thousands, maybe even millions, surrounding you. Cheers deafened you as the crowd looked at their new forms of entertainment. Strangely enough, you felt confident. The rush of being in front of all these people with the intention of becoming the best was a truly blissful feeling.

You could get used to this.

You took a moment to look at the line of gym leaders. Strangely, there were only seven present. The eighth must've been too busy. All of them looked strong, no matter how young or old they looked. One caught your eye in particular.

You recognized him as Raihan. Even in Kalos you knew who he was. He was Leon's ultimate rival and was the host of the hardest gym in the region. You remembered years ago his gym was so hard that people were not able to get their eighth badge and advance to the league. Because of the downfall of ratings, the board forced Raihan to use his less strong Pokemon against normal trainers and to only use his close-to-unbeatable team against the most exceptional of trainers.

His icy blue eyes locked with yours, leaving you in a trance. The feeling Raihan gave you was unsettling. You ripped your gaze away and turned your attention back to the crowd.

---

Almost as quickly as it started, orientation was over. It was now late in the day, as well as your time to leave Motostoke. The next step of your journey was to go to Turffield.

Unfortunately, you weren't going to be accompanied by anyone as Hop had long since left, but you chose to linger around to talk to Leon again if possible. As you went out the gates, you took one last look at Motostoke and then ventured on to your destination.

Before you could get far, a wild Pokemon jumped in front of you. You recognized it as a Yamper, as Sonia had one when you had met her a few days ago.

"Hello there," you said softly.

The Yamper bared its teeth at you, trying to appear menacing.

"I'm not here to fight you," you replied. "I only want to ask you something."

The Yamper calmed down.

"Would you like to join my team and become a champion?" you asked. You never tried the tactic of asking a Pokemon to join your team.