The Knight In Shining Armor// Pokemon Sword and Shield Fanfic

7

I flew back to Ballonlea to get some stuff ready for the gym challenge. I guess it was traditional to train and camp every night or stay in hotels rather than go home every night. That was fine by me because I'd always wanted an adventure. I had all sorts of ingredients for various curries, a tent, plenty of extra clothes and medicines for my pokemon, as well as some pokeballs. I hugged my mother and grandmother goodbye, them promising to watch all my matches and rooting for me the whole time. I flew back to Motostoke to spend the night there, as the hotel was free for all gym challengers. As soon as I got to my room, my phone buzzed.
Raihan- still in Motostoke?
Me- yep I went home to grab some stuff and now I'm at the hotel
Raihan- wanna grab some dinner? Just got w gym leader stuff and I'm starving, Leon said to invite you
Me- sounds good, where's the restaurant
Raihan- few blocks away from the hotel, I'm still at the stadium so we can meet you outside the hotel in a few
Me- okay
I put on some light blue ripped jeans and a tshirt with a leather Letterman jacket my mom bought for me the previous day, it was red with white sleeves. I put my phone and wallet with my league card and money into the pocket of the jacket. I put my two pokeballs on my waist, covered by the jacket before heading down to the lobby. There stood the two kids that were in front of me at the stadium. Leon's brother was showing his friend how he throws a pokeball when he accidentally punched me in the stomach. I bent over in pain before he and his friend rushed over to me.
"Sorry! I didn't know there was someone behind me," Leon's brother said, offering a hand up.
"Its fine," I said, standing up and attempting to head outside.
"Hey wait, you're the girl arguing with Raihan," the other kid said.
"Yep," I said, annoyed that's what I was known for.
"And you met my brother! I saw you talking to him after that, he's the coolest isn't he! He'll never know what hit him when I become the next champion!" He said, mimicking the pose I saw of Leon doing in a match online.
"Haha, yeah. That'd be cool, brothers as back to back champions. Well, good luck with that!" I called as I tried to quickly get out of the hotel. Outside, I saw Raihan waiting. He looked up, knowing was there.
"Took ya long enough, we have to Leon now,"
"Why, where's he at?"
"Who knows, he's not picking up, and he has absolutely no sense of direction, the man could get lost in his own house,"
"Well, where did he last say he was?"
"The stadium. The gym leaders meeting ended a while back and I went to go do some training with Nessa and I'm not sure where he went off to,"
"Who's Nessa?"
"Second gym leader, she's got long black hair, water specialist,"
I felt a ping of jealousy knowing Raihan spent the afternoon with another girl, despite us not even being a thing.
"Oh," I said blandly, looking at the ground as we continued walking. I suddenly felt my phone vibrating in my pocket, so I quickly pulled it out. The number wasn't saved as a contact, but I answered anyway.
"Hello?"
"Sylvia! Its Leon. I found the restaurant that is apparently good, not that I'd know. Where are you and Raihan?"
"Looking for you actually. Raihan said you probably got lost,"
"I actually found it after a bit of help, so I'll see you guys soon?"
"Mhm, yep. See ya," I said, hanging up.
"Leon. He said he's already at the restaurant,"
"Alright, it's like 2 more blocks from here," he said, continuing to walk. I noticed the temperature dropped a good bit. Early fall was like that everywhere, warm days and cold nights. Raihan looked over and noticed my arms crossed over my chest and me shaking a bit.
"You Alright?"
"A bit cold,"
"Well, we'll be there soon,"
And soon enough, we arrived at the restaurant and met Leon at a booth. Raihan sat next to Leon and I sat across.
"Ah, it's so warm in here," I said, rubbing my hands together.
"Say champ, how'd you manage to find your way here?"
"Well, you see, I figured out that if you type in where you want to go in your phone, it can lead you there. It's like they invented it just for me!" He said, too excitedly. I laughed. Raihan rolled his eyes with a smile.
"You never thought of that before- Oh never mind,"
"So, you two have been friends a while?" I said.
"Oh yeah. We've been friends and rivals for like 10 years now," Leon said. Raihan nodded.
"Wow, does Raihan ever give you a run for your money while battling?"
"Nope, I've had him and his battling style figured out for years, he's not dethroning me anytime soon," Leon said with a laugh. Raihan shot him an offended look.
"Hey, I've cut it close a few times, and I'm the toughest competitor you've got around here,"
"That's true, unless a gym challenger is really something special this year,"
"Do you see anyone that has the potential to give you some trouble this year?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"My brother and his friend, surprisingly. I saw something in their battle that I haven't witnessed in a while, not quite sure what, though,"
After a bit more talking we ordered our food. At one point, Raihan had me laughing so hard my stomach hurt from where I was puncher earlier. I tried to stop laughing and held my stomach. Leon and Raihan's expressions immediately turned from happy to worried.
"Are you okay?" Leon asked.
"You're holding your stomach," Raihan followed.
"Yeah, I'm alright, Leon's brother just assaulted me earlier," I said.
"Hop couldn't hurt someone if he tried, how'd he hurt you though," Leon asked.
"Well, he was practicing his pokeball throw and his arm caught my stomach,"
"Trying to be just like his big bro," Raihan said with a laugh before checking his phone. "I hate to end this, but I have to get back to Hammerlocke. Gym trainer camp begins tommorow, gotta whip them into shape, so I'll catch you guys later, he said as he left some money on the table for his meal.
"Well, I'm finished with my food so whenever you're ready," Leon said.
"I'm staying at the hotel by the stadium," I said.
"Really? I am too, you can help me find it again," he said sheepishly. We paid for our food then left the restaurant. It was even colder and pitch black outside, street lights being the only thing lighting the way.
"So, why'd you guys freak out when I was holding my stomach?" I asked, not liking the silence.
"We did not freak out," he said with a laugh.
"Whatever,"
"Well, I guess I did because of my younger brother, anytime he shows any sort of pain or discomfort, it's big brother to the rescue. And for Raihan, he may not seem like it sometimes, but he's actually very caring and compassionate. He kinda puts up a rough exterior, but he's really got a heart of gold,"
Of course, Leon would he protective of his younger brother. Isn't that what older siblings are for? And with Raihan, I could definitely understand his sides, though I've only known him a couple weeks. Especially with my arm and father situation.
"Yeah, I totally get that. The best trainers of Galar are both big sweethearts," I said jokingly. Leon let out a lighthearted laugh.
"Until you see us battle, then you'd think we're cold-hearted monsters,"
"I don't think so, a lot of times, people aren't what they seem to be in the light of things, y'know?"
"I get that. So, why did you move to Galar again? Something about being a gym leader?" Leon said, trying to remember what Raihan had told him.
"My grandmother needs a successor for the gym, and my mother is too old to take over, so it'll be me,"
"Ahh, okay. Your battles against Raihan won't be hard then, with the type advantage. Do you want to be a gym leader?"
"What? I don't know, I was just kinda told I was doing it, felt I kinda owed it to my family, with my father and all.." I trailed off.
"What's up with your father, if you don't mind my asking,"
"Oh, um, he kinda left a few years back," I said, not wanting to reveal to my father is. I felt it would keep people more genuine if they didn't know about my dad's position of power.
"I'm sorry, I had no idea. My father left when I was young, he was upset my mom was letting me become a trainer at such a young age. I never saw him again,"
"Oh wow, I'm so sorry about that," I said. "But I guess it's nice to know someone else who understands," I said quietly.
"Yeah, it helps. What room are you in?"
"225,"
"Hey I'm in 208, so we're pretty close," he said as we walked into the hotel. The lobby was empty aside from the man at the front desk. We got on the elevator and made our way to the second floor before splitting.
"Hey, I had a great time getting to know you this evening. Let's do it again some time, text me whenever you'd like," Leon said happily before we parted ways.
I went to my room and smiled as I shut the door. How did I happen to make the two hottest, strongest trainers in the whole region like me?
I quickly realized how tired I was and changed before going to bed.