Pokémon Rings of Destruction

Ch 3. Welcome to the Galar Region

The mighty Kanto fully evolved starter, Charizard, accompanied the stranger. The flame on its tail burned healthy and brighter than anything Isaiah had seen before.

Isaiah saw the utter shock on Peonia's face. She was starstruck by the man's presence alone.

"I hope this is the right place," the man said with doubt in his voice.

"L-Leeonn?!" Peonia screamed while fanning herself with her hand.

Leon smiled in her direction and Peonia let out another scream. Peony flinched and covered his ears immediately. Leon surveyed the train station until he made eye contact with Isaiah.

"Ah, you must be Isaiah," Leon said as he approached him. The champion of Galar towered over Isaiah, "Iris's description of you was spot on."

Isaiah was suddenly tongue-tied, "t-that's me."

"Dad! It's Leon, the unbeatable champion of Galar!" She shouted. The workers quickly pulled out their cellphones to capture the moment.

Leon turned around swiftly, his cape nearly hitting Isaiah in the face. He gave all three of them a huge smile before tweaking his body into a pose. Leon put three fingers into the air and even Charizard joined in and cried out with a few harmless flames.

"Let's have a champion time!" Leon soaked in the attention from the small group of people inside the train station.

"Well, I'll be... That is Leon isn't it," Peony chuckled.

Isaiah was quickly growing uncomfortable while standing next to the champion, he could tell Leon grabs lots of attention everywhere he goes and he embraces it all. Isaiah cleared his throat loudly for Leon to notice.

"I don't mean to interrupt but we need to talk about...stuff," Isaiah said in a low tone.

Leon looked back out the corner of his eye and nodded his head, "right you are Isaiah, we have somewhere to be."

After a few more seconds of smiling and waving at the people, Isaiah followed Leon toward the exit.

"Thanks for all your help Peony and Peonia," Isaiah said with gratitude.

"Don't mention it, anytime you're in the Crown Tundra. You're welcome to stay with us if need be," Peony said with a fist pump and Peonia nodded in agreement with her father

Isaiah nodded and met up with the champion outside in the blistering cold. Leon was stroking Charizard's snout when the fire-type nudged his cheek. Leon's hat nearly fell off of his head, prompting the man to slam his hand down on his head to catch it. Charizard displayed a cheeky grin and Leon couldn't help but snicker. Isaiah saw the incredible bond they shared and it brought up the memory of his Pokémon.

Leon looked over at Isaiah, "Iris didn't tell me everything, but she said you would fill me in on what happened."

Isaiah shuddered from the cold, "yeah."

Leon patted Charizard's belly and mounted the winged fire-lizard, "alright, hop on and you can tell me all about it once we arrive."

Isaiah was skeptical but didn't protest as he climbed on Charizard's back. If Iris trusts him, then he had no other choice but to do the same. Once in the air, Isaiah was flooded with memories from his journey in Sinnoh. He hasn't talked to any of the friends he made in months. Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum texted Alisha every other week asking about him for the past few months. She would lie for him, telling the trio that he was busy. Half the time he really was busy with tasks from the Unova Pokémon League or personal tasks directly from Iris. For the other half, he stayed inside, wondering what was next for him.