Undying Devotion

[12] The Champion's Rival

I hesitantly shook Raihan's hand, which was almost two times the size of mine. Along with his teeth, his nails were also sharp. He's really leaning into the Dragon-type for his appearance, I guess.

When I didn't return his greeting, he scoffed. "Leon told me you were chatty. That ain't the case? What's your name?"

I blinked, realizing that my fascination with his massive stature had caused me to fall silent. "I am chatty." I snapped. When he went quiet (most likely waiting for more from me) I added "I just wasn't expecting someone to talk to. And- er- Leon. But- call me Leo."

Raihan snickered and leaned back on his heels. "How poetic it is that Leon finds someone with the exact same name as him." Before I could snap at what he meant by that, he said "I s'ppose Leon didn't warn you that I tend to pop by here whenever he's out here, eh?"

"What do you mean, "whenever he's out here"? Doesn't he live out here?" I gestured with my hands at the surrounding Wild Area. "Is this not his house?"

Raihan laughed again. "You really think someone like Leon only has one house? His main place is all the way up in Wyndon. He usually stays here whenever he wants to get away from "city life"." He made sarcastic air quotes around "city life". "When in reality, his digs are in a secluded area of Wyndon."

There was a slight feeling of betrayal, but I couldn't understand why. Of course Leon had two houses, he was a super rich celebrity here. In Paldea, it was quite uncommon for people to have two houses, even online-superstar Iono. Then again, I'm not close with Iono. I only met her once, for my battle against her all those years ago.

Again, I had sunk into my train of thought, and left Raihan hanging. "Oh, wow." I said noncommittally, hoping he'd get bored and go away.

He did not go away. "You got the key to this joint?" he asked, pointing a thumb at the front door. "I lost the key Leon gave me, so I can't get in."

I groaned, putting my face in my hands. "I've been out for at least four hours, and I can't even get back inside?" I muttered angrily. "Lee leaves and doesn't even have the sense to give me a spare key?"

Raihan snorted. "That's Leon for ya. Sometimes I doubt he's got a brain under all that purple hair of his." The note of affection in his voice caught my attention, but I felt I shouldn't ask about it.

"Yeah." I replied simply. "Maybe he's got a spare key hidden somewhere outside? Nestled between the plants or under the doormat?"

Raihan examined the front of Leon's house and nodded slowly. "I like the way you think, Leo." he said in a way that made me wonder if he was patronizing me. He already had to crane his head down to look at me.

We looked through any place a key might be squirreled away. Raihan almost immediately started up a conversation again.

"I saw that you have a Dragonite." He observed, poking through a couple flower pots on a windowsill. "Do you also raise Dragon Types?"

I shook my head. "She was a bit of an exception, I suppose." I shrugged my shoulders casually, even though I felt that my Pokemon deserved more than that. "I kind of fell into the lake where I found her. I met her when she was just a little Dratini."

Raihan made an "aww" noise. "How cute and cliche." he teased, messing with what appeared to be a loose slab of wood in the wall.

I rolled my eyes. "What Pokemon do you have on your team?" I asked, fiddling with the door to see if it'd open without a key.

"The team I use for Gym Challengers is only four Pokemon, but I utilize double battles and weather changing strategies." Raihan explained. "My ace Pokemon is Duraludon, which I Gigantimax. The other three are Flygon, Gigalith, and Sandaconda."