That Summer | Raihan x Piers [Pokémon]

Chapter 2 ❀ Grand Opening Ceremony

Raihan and many other Trainers were all gathered in the tunnel that connected the open part of the stadium to the closed one, everyone fidgeting around in anticipation. Meanwhile thousands of people cheered on the bleachers, the flashes of cameras that were snapping pictures creating a somewhat blinding effect as Chairman Rose waved at the crowd.

He leisurely made his way to the center of the court where his assistant Oleana already waited for him. Once the chairman's steps came to a halt, the man wearing a sharp gray business suit extended both of his arms in the air, as if he were welcoming the spectators physically. "Ladies and gentlemen!"

"I am Rose, chairman of the Pokémon League! I know that everyone gathered here and everyone watching from home have all been waiting for this big moment!" The tan-skinned man spoke with passion, the viewers fully able to agree with his words. And it wasn't just them, Raihan and the others had waited for this day just as eagerly as anyone else had. "It is my pleasure to announce that finally — the Galar region Gym Challenge will now begin!"

"Yes, the Gym Challenge! Participants must defeat the eight Gym Leaders and gather the eight Gym Badges to prove their skills as a Trainer!"

"Now, I would like to invite the Gym Leaders to show themselves!" Rose continued and — as if on cue — turned his head towards the other tunnel that was installed across the one in which all of the young Trainers waited. Gym Leader after Gym Leader began strolling to the middle of the grass field, and despite Raihan being quite tall for his age, he still had to get on his toes and stare at one of the huge screens in order to actually see the individuals who were receiving fancy introductions. "The ever-burning man of fire! Here comes the fire-type veteran, Kabu!"

"The master of a fantastic theatre! It's the charming fairy-type user, Opal! The ice-cold professional! Please welcome the ice-type master, Melony." Two women waved at the crowd in synchronization with the chairman's descriptions, one appearing to be a tad older than the other. It didn't take long for the eight individuals to reach the center of the stadium where they all lined up with fulfillment. "These are the Gym Leaders that we in the Galar region are proud to call our own."

The crowd had already been very loud in the first place, but when the Gym Challengers were asked to show themselves next, the volume of their cheers had exceeded all expectations. Boys and girls marched out of the tunnel, some in groups and others alone. Raihan walked out in the spotlight with a wide, bright grin adorning his facial features, on his own at first.

He stopped in his tracks for a bit, turning his head from left to right and taking in the indescribable sight. A mass of emotions invaded him, extremely proud ones as soon as he realized that his family must have been seeing him on national telly right about now. He was snapped out of his daydreams as soon as a familiar presence passed by him, the light brown-skinned boy catching a glimpse of a tuft of black and white, slightly spiky hair.

It was the boy from the restroom! Raihan was relieved to see that he was doing well enough to be walking on the same court as him with the identical smile plastered on his face. Instinctively wanting to stick close to someone more familiar, the male wearing an orange hairband picked up his pace and followed the slim boy who in this crowd looked so tiny and defenseless.

No one had been formally asked or explicitly told to, but all Gym Challengers proceeded to stand in lines and rows, similarly to how the Gym Leaders had exemplarily demonstrated. They as well had been given short introductions to the public, even if their descriptions weren't as cool-sounding as the Gym Leaders' — though that was to be expected.

As Chairman Rose read all the numbers and the names of the Trainers that had chosen them from the chart Oleana held in front of him, Piers' eyes couldn't help but get caught by the tall figure that stood right next to him. The nice aura the person emitted already had the small boy figuring who it was, but he couldn't help but smile shyly when he stole a quick peek of Raihan's jolly face.

As grand as the world made the opening ceremony sound, it was over quicker than many Trainers had thought. They and the Gym Leaders slowly made their way back to where they had come from as soon as Rose wished everyone much success on their journey. Raihan would have followed suit, but he really wanted to take in this memorable sight one last time.

When he did take his first step to get back to the tunnel though, his eyes were instantly drawn to something he had almost stepped on. It was a somewhat shiny, rectangular object that clearly didn't belong on the field of grass. Perhaps one of the Trainers had decided to be extremely friendly to the ecosystem and dropped their trash on the ground, but even so, the boy picked it up.

It didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary, but when he turned the thin object over, it became as clear as day. What Raihan was holding wasn't an intensely flat bubblegum wrap but a League Card, and the boy whose picture had been taken only facilitated the discovery of its owner.

Surrounded by a blue-pink-white background while wearing the same uniform as Raihan stood a boy somewhat tensely, his lips parted the slightest bit as he looked to the side shyly. The captivating cyan eyes and the signature spiky, black and white hair were features the tall boy had only ever seen on Piers. Though he had to admit that Piers' hairstyle did kind of remind him of something else.

In any case, Raihan wasn't just about to act like nothing had happened and either drop the card again while pretending to have never picked it up or keep it for himself without permission, so he raced back to the reception hall of the stadium in hopes of finding the League Card's truthful owner. His turquoise orbs darted from person to person in the room, eventually having even bypassed Leon again — and again, without exchanging a greeting.

The automatic doors leading outside opening caused Raihan to look in that direction for a split second, and he was genuinely glad that was the case. Piers seemed to be exiting this place already, and the caramel-skinned boy had to remind himself that despite the other's shy nature, he was a Pokémon Trainer as well, and probably couldn't wait to set out on his journey either.

Raihan sprinted outside, getting greeted by a refreshing breeze that hit him right in the face. Piers was no longer alone when his eyes locked on his form next. Waddling right beside him was a small furball with a zigzag-patterned coat that in contrast to its Trainer behaved much more energetically. Not wanting for the slim boy to get any further, Raihan called out his name despite them never having officially introduced themselves.

"Piers, hold on!"

----------------------------------------------------

My note to you:
This chapter was even shorter than the last, but mainly because this one and the next one were supposed to be one big chapter of 2700 words, so I decided to split them — hope you don't mind. xD

Thank You for Reading!