Note: From here on out, Cassandra and Leon (and Raihan) will eventually have last names used. I recently changed them to have last names. There is some significance to them, which you can read on my twitter!
Also, Leon and Cassandra's Pokemon now have NAMES. I also will retcon their teams all have unique names (except Charizard) while also using species' names, too. Just a heads up.
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"Alright, got everything packed?" Cassandra inquired, zipping up her backpack and slinging it over her shoulders.
Beside her, Leon nodded as he stuffed the last shirt into his own backpack, zipped it up, and slung both arms through. He paused before he spoke, shuffling over to the bedpost on his side to snatch up his snapback and set it snugly onto his head. It was the same one he wore as Champion, and it fit him perfectly as always.
He flashed a wide, bright grin, "Yep! Backpack and hat are secured. Feels weird only taking a few sets of clothes, though; My Gym Challenge Mom made me a pack a week's worth."
"Yes, well, there's no Wild Area in Kalos, so we'll be able to wash our clothes regularly. Perk of a more industrial area," she snickered, tapping his cap down playfully. "We can always buy new ones and send the old back home, too--the subspace transfer systems work wonders."
"That's true, although I hope you keep the one you have now--it suits you," he smirked, eyes glancing down at her sleeveless, form-fitting turtleneck. It was a beautiful shade of blue with a darker "triangle" on the chest that was cutoff on the center back and front with a white strip. She wore dark leggings with decorative lines on the side that matched well with her silver pokéball belt, and black-and-turquoise sneakers.
She laughed, striking a pose so the golden "V" on her brown clothes showed perfectly, "What can I say? I have good taste. I see you stuck with a fun color scheme. Yellow jacket, maroon pants with white decal, white legging again; your own very nice compression turtleneck that make you look undeniably handsome--when are you not--and nothing beats your classic cap and those shoes."
"Stop, you'll make me blush," he cooed, crossing the distance to place a kiss on her lips. "But do go on; I love the flattery."
"Nope, that's all you get. Until you change, anyways," she laughed, patting his chest. "Anyways, c'mon; Mom and Dad wanted to give us lunch to take with us on the flight, and we gotta say good-bye to the others."
"Right, right... Man, it's going to feel weird leaving mine behind. I've had them since I was ten. Thank Arceus I can bring Charizard and my Haxorus."
"Yeah! It's really tough the first time, but Brenda is the best of the best, and my Pokémon fell in love fast. Yours will be in good hands," she snickered as she led the way out into the main house and then to the back porch. The caretaker in question was already out in the pastures, giving plenty of love and attention to their Pokémon. She had a good group growing with all sorts of smiles going all around. It made the redhead feel a little bad as they descended the stairs to the grassy landscape and approached. They were noticed quickly; the keen nose of her Boltund picking up their scent which made his head whip around. With a bark, he sprinted over and leaped into her arms.
"Bolt!" she laughed, hugging him close. Leon's Rillaboom came next, practically tackling his trainer in a hug as he wailed and sobbed, holding his trainer tight. The young man chuckled--a bit nervously--as he stroked and pet the large grass-type's head.
"Percival! C'mon, bud, don't cry! We won't be gone long--I promise! It'll only be like a month or two, okay? I'd bring you if I could, but you're not allowed to legally compete in the region!" he sighed, hugging him back.
"First time leaving?" Brenda inquired as she, too, came up to them, managing to squeeze in between to reach Cassandra's side.
The redhead snickered, rubbing her Luxray and her Zoroark brothers now, "Yeeeeeeeep. They're *very* attached. His only team for the last ten years."
The brunette whistled, "Yowzah. Yeah, they're gonna be so depressed. I'll have to spoil them extra!"
"Please, do; and if they get bratty let me know and I'll give you a good bonus."
"I look forward to it then," she grinned as she, too, rubbed a head, this one an Archeops who chirped sadly.
"Don't worry guys; I'll be back with new friends for you soon. I'd take you all if I could, but it's just Chara and Lucas this time. So be. Good. Listen to Brenda and let her spoil you, and when I come back you'll have at least four new friends to get to know. I plan to get some cool Pokémon, that's for sure... Rheya don't you pout--I know you wanna go on an adventure, but don't you cause trouble! I don't want you starting fights, y'hear?" Cassandra barked at her Garchomp, the scowling Pokémon turning her head away and folding her fin-arms. She'd listen, though--until she could get away with something. The redhead shook her head as she stroked her Aggron and Tyranitar as well, the latter nuzzling and nipping affectionately. "Yeah, yeah, I'll miss you both, too. Be good and watch out for everyone, alright? All of you. And do the same for Leon's team--they're new to this."
She got a round of chuffs, barks, chirps, and grunts in agreement, and it made her heart swell.
"Alright, be good everyone," Cassandra chuckled, placing kisses on both Zoroark's heads, Empoleon, Sceptile, Zebstrika, and any others she could reach. On high, Pidgeot and Corviknight cried out, wishing them farewell in their own way. The same could be said of the water types, sounding off as well. It was a harmonious chorus of love and affection--and good luck. Grinning, the redhead looked to her boyfriend, who finally managed to escape the clutches of his Rillaboom and hugged every single one of his Pokémon before he met her gaze.
He held out his hand, "Well? Shall we--before our Pokémon force us to stay?"
"Ha! Yes, we should. Walk a girl back home?" she smirked, wrapping her fingers around his. He squeezed tugging her close as they headed towards the gate.
"Of course. I am a gentleman, after all," he smirked, eyes twinkling, and she could only laugh.
-o-
The walk to her parents down in New Bark Town took about half an hour, but it was worth it; the dirt path was beautiful at any time of the year, and at the height of summer it was warm, but a cool breeze came off the coast to the south. Birds chirped and various echoes of Pokémon cries could be heard. It made for a scenic trip, their fingers entwined as they laughed and joked and talked of anything and everything--namely of what to expect in Kalos. There was so little they knew beyond the tourist information and what Sycamore had described, so they were more than eager to get going. First, though, her mother and father had demanded they stop by to grab lunch and so were all too happy to greet them at the door as they came upon the small abode and welcome them in.
"Cassie-baby!" her mother squealed, wrapping her in a vice-grip that lifted her clean up off the ground while Leon clasped her father's hand.
"Richard," her lover smiled.
Her father nodded, "Leon. I trust you'll take care of my little girl?"
"Of course. I love her--with all my heart."
"Good. I'd hate to have to take off work to track you down," the older, slim man beamed, eyes closed behind his glasses. The younger man paused, brows scrunching slightly.
"H-huh?"
"Oh my Arceus--Dad!!!" Cassandra rasped, wriggling free from her mother to shove him away. "Are you kidding!? I'm twenty-five! I don't need you threatening him!"
"She's right, dear--I'm plenty enough for it. So do take care of her Leon. Or else," her mother added, embracing him, too, in a tight hug--a little too tight. Her poor boyfriend wheezed slightly in the former bodybuilder's grip, managing to squeak out a "yes, ma'am" before she finally set him down and smacked his side warmly. "Atta, boy! I knew you were a good match for her the moment I saw you on the phone! Make sure to not wait too long to propose like her dad did! I was this close to dumping him!"
"Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom!" Cassandra wailed, dragging her face down. "Why--why do you both insist on embarrassing me oh my Arceus! I'm going to disown you. I'm going to disown this family, I swear; Silver can be your only child now."
"Oh, hush, sweetie; you know we just love and worry about you. We love Leon very much, we just like to tease him a little," her father chuckled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to give her a kiss on the cheek. "We're just glad you have someone to join you for once."
To help look after her, that is. She hadn't forgotten the devastated looks on their faces when she--Silver beside her--told her everything that had happened. It was both a blow to their pride as parents, and for not having tried harder to help, even if it wasn't their fault. She had chosen to hide away, and so she'd done what she could to ease their own pain, and so far it had gone well. Months had gone by since then, which helped, but she knew much of their relief was because Leon was here to help her through anything this time. In some ways, it hurt thinking she needed it, but, really, she was glad, too. Leon was her strength, so she took joy in knowing her parents loved Leon for that--and much more, of course.
"I'm just excited to go on another adventure! It's been over ten years, so I'm definitely rusty. I'm countin' on 'Cas to get me through,"
"Don't worry; I'm a pro at this," she snickered, patting his belly. She turned to her dad then and embraced him tightly. He returned it, burying his head into her neck. "I'll miss ya--like I always do. And this time I promise to call."
"Good because I will fly my ass to Kalos just to beat yours! You may be twenty-five, but I will still whoop you like when you were eight and lost my wedding ring!"
"You'll never let that go will you?" the redhead groaned. Her mother just huffed, folding her arms, and a quirked brow that screamed "you're damn right I won't". Her daughter looked to her husband who only stepped back with arms in surrender and a quick "not my fight, I just bought the ring".
Traitor.
"So. I heard you had lunch for us?" Leon coughed, and her mother beamed instantly as she clapped her hands together.
"Yes I did! The airline food is atrocious, and I will not have my baby and future son-in-law leaving the region with bad food in their mouth!" she grinned and trotted off towards the kitchen where her Machamp was making the last touches in fact.
"Son-in-law already, huh?" the purple-haired man snickered, noting there was a distinct red flare to the redhead's cheeks.
Her father chuckled, "What can I say? She's a romantic. She and I were each other's first loves so we figure she'll follow in our footsteps--or go above and beyond, who knows. She did become Champion while we were satisfied with being a powerlifting mother-slash-security officer and an engineer."
"What can I say? I aimed to be the very best like no one ever was," Cassandra purred, hands on her hips as she puffed her chest up proudly.
"And I'd say you did it--multi-region champ and you stole my heart," Leon grinned, wrapping an arm around her waist to bring her close.
She groaned, cheeks turning a deeper shade, "You're so cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesy."
"Ah, young love," her fathered hummed
"Dad, please stop. Go do your work."
"It's the weekend, dear."
"I don't care, go work. Go work on your garden or polish magneton, just goooooooo."
"Oh, I don't know; I'm curious about your work, Richard. You're an engineer you said?"
"Yep. Work for SILPH Co in the energy sector. Have since I graduated from Goldenrod U. I'm one of the Senior engineers who makes sure everything stays running. I have to go the Power Plant more often than not, and thanks to Cas' Pidgeot, I get there in record time."
"That's fantastic. Don't suppose I could interest you in a job back home? Macro Cosmos could use men like you now that they're coming back around."
"Ah, yes. You mentioned they aided the one who caused that disaster we heard on the news. It wasn't given much attention here, though--you called it the Darkest Day, right?"
He nodded, "Yes, sir. It was... bad. And the man behind it was their leader. Since then they've been dramatically reduced in power and it's taken years, but they've been rebuilt and restructured. Still working out the things, and the incident with the two brothers was a big setback, so we're still working on it. Doesn't help there's still no Chairman."
"Really?" Richard inquired, eyes lighting up. "I'm surprised; a League organization or one the size of Macro Cosmos usually has someone put in quick. Was it because of the negative press associated with it?"
Leon nodded again, "You've got it. I see where Cas' brains come from."
"Oh, hush," the redhead snicked, nudging him. He laughed a little with her father before he continued.
"No one really has wanted no still does want to take the spot. It's a lot of responsibility as well, so there's no official Chairman. I've probably honestly been the closest running the Battle Tower and working with Gloria, our reigning Champ. Macro Cosmos has asked for my direction, too, as strange as that is."
"No; it makes sense. You were a leader figure for a decade as Champion, right? And you lead an organization similar to your Gym Challenge in that Battle Tower. Energy might be a bit different, but you're an authoritative figure beloved by the public. You're about as close to a leader figure as they have right now, so it's naturally they'd look to you."
"I--ah... thank-you? Sir. I think?" Leon stammered, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Richard laughed as he clapped his shoulder.
"Yes, it's a compliment. It's hard to have good men like yourself in such positions of leadership. You should take pride in your accomplishments," he beamed before stepping back to allow his wife and her Machamp through, the former of which held out two large lunch boxes wrapped in a tied cloth.
"Lunch is served--or will be!" she smiled brightly as the two of them took the boxes, which were much heavier than expected.
"Oh my Arceus, Mom. How much did you and Champa make!?" she guffawed. "The plane ride is only ten hours!"
"So you'll need dinner, too," she winked and behind her the multi-armed Pokémon winked, too.
Leon grinned, "Thank-you, Ma'am. I can't wait to eat it. Your cooking is always incredible."
"Oh, you!" she giggled, smacking his arm hard enough to make him stagger. "You're so sweet! If I were thirty years younger I'd eat you up!"
"And if you weren't married," her husband coughed, and she smacked at him playfully, too.
"Hush, hush; you know you're the love of my life, dear! You had my heart the moment you fell into my arms!"
"He--what--?" Leon blinked.
"Dad tripped in front of Mom when they met, and she caught him in her arms no problem--like even had his feet off the ground no problem. According to them, he was smitten," Cassandra explained, watching as her parents began to coo and gush over one another, professing their undying love and adoration.
"Oh," he replied, brows raising. He hid his grin behind a couch to clear his throat, "Well, I guess we should get going then, huh?"
"Yeah, our flight isn't for a while, but I had a feeling my folks would tie us up. Anyways..." she mused, pulling her pack around to properly store the box. Leon did the same as she clapped her hands, pulling her parents' attention away, "Okay! We really do need to get going, so time for good-bye hugs, and you get one kiss mom. Just one. For both of us."
The shorter woman clicked her tongue, "Fine, fine. C'mere Cassy girl!"
The redhead giggled as she crossed the distance and embraced her mother tight, burying her face into her shoulder while the older woman kissed her hair, squeezed back, whispering a soft "good luck" and "to call or else". She whispered back her promise. Her father was next, and their embrace was gentler as he spoke softly of how proud he was of her and hoped she had a good time. She just beamed in kind and waited as Leon, too, was embraced with a kiss on the cheek and received a final handshake from her father.
"You two have fun, alright? You don't have to call every night but keep us updated on your progress."
"Sure thing. I plan to blog the entire trip for my followers, too, so you can find it on my Pokégram and Chattoter."
"Oh, right... We'll ask Silver to help with that. Anyways, go on, you two."
"Bye! We'll text you when we land!" Cassandra grinned, waving as she took Leon's hands and headed out the door. She had a feeling her mother was probably sobbing already, always so emotional any time she went on a journey--the worst had been on her first one, though; setting out to be an Indigo League Champ. She could still remember it fondly.
"You really have great parents," Leon spoke softly as they stepped off to the side, away from the main road and closer to the channel that separated Johto from Kanto, the Silver Mountains between. He slipped his Charizard's ball from his belt and released the fire lizard, who yawned and shook himself to work out the kinks before nuzzling his trainer affectionately.
"Yeah, I do. I'm just glad they... well, forgave me after I told them everything that happened," she chuckled back, though the smile didn't reach her eyes as she, too, brought out her own Charizard. The smaller female growled happily, stretching her wings to full length before booping her trainer with her snout and then proceeded to playfully nip and chirp at Leon's. It was reciprocated of course, and the two danced about with one another as their trainers watched.
"Those two," the young man snickered before taking Cassandra's hand to squeeze. "It's 'cause they love you, y'know, and want you to be happy. I learned that with my mom pretty quick as Champion. She struggled with seeing me when I was unhappy and stressed. She never blamed me for not talking about it, but she was grateful when I finally did."
"When did you?" she asked, eyes watching the two fire types wrestling.
"To be honest? Not long after you left. I was... a bit inspired--by you going and facing your past. I felt it was high time I did the same and finally sat down and talked with her about... well... everything. About all the stress I felt as a kid... why I stuck with it. How some nights I'd break down. How I was depressed after I lost--how angry I was, too... I... We had a good cry, too, and she just told me how proud she was. It was... a bigger relief than I thought, and she's been doing everything to keep supporting me--and Hop, of course. She's an amazing mom."
"Looks like we both got lucky then," she snickered, and brought up her fingers to her lips to let a short whistle. "Charizard! Chara! C'mon back now. Time to take those wings for a spin!"
Both Pokémon immediately stopped and scrambled over. Leon laughed as his fire-type lowered down and let him slip on. Cassandra motioned for her female to do the same, which she was pretty good at doing without being a little troublemaker. Today, she was obedient, and the redhead just about hoisted herself up when she paused and furrowed her brow.
Ah.
Yes.
There it was--a tug.
On the bond.
Her gaze turned to the waters to the east of New Bark Town and there, in plain view, was a familiar sight and an old friend. Its purple mane flowed brilliantly in the breeze, sunlight glimmering off its blue-crystal crown and sky-colored fur. Its white markings were like clouds and snow, it's wisping tails curving and curling around it. Most striking of all, though; it's glowing, red eyes which held its gaze upon her. She felt its call and obeyed, turning from her Pokémon and lover. He called to her, but then saw where she walked to and quieted himself. After all, it was Suicune, one of the legendary beasts of Johto--and her beloved partner.
Cassandra smiled gently as she approached the shore, watching as her long-time friend also came forward, their paws leaving naught but ripples upon the water surface. Not even their toe pads dipped beneath, and the air around them smelled like the rain. Their presence was cool like a mountain spring, soothing and calming all in one. Their touch, too, was gentle; its snout pressing into her chest, giving her permission to embrace its face and press her own brow into its crown.
"Come to see me off?" she laughed softly.
Suicune's voice was as serene as its presence, Yes. I wished to see you before you left.
"Aww, gonna miss me?" she snickered, leaning back to rub along it's chin and cheek. It leaned into her touch, a soft, pleased growl coming from its throat.
I always miss you, my Chosen. You are my friend. And I come to wish you luck. Your journey is still great.
"Well, any new run to be Champion is, as you and I both know. Thank-you, Suicune. You've always been a good friend to me."
And you to me. You must go now, but know I am always with you, and if you should need help, call to me--I will come.
"I... thank-you, Suicune. That's... it means a lot," she chuckled and placed a kiss upon its crown. "Take care of Johto and keep a little bit of an eye on the others, okay?"
Always. Fly safe, Chosen, and stay true to yourself.
"Same you, my friend," she replied, rubbing its snout one last time, and then turned around and walked back to Chara, who regarded the legendary beast reverently. Leon and his Charizard, too, were silent as the great beast turned and flew across the water like a swift wind, body still glimmering in the sunlight.
"I know I have Zamazenta... but... wow. The legendaries here feel like something else," he breathed.
"Yeah; Zacian always feels different from Reshiram and Suicune. I think because of their roles they play. Really, I'm just honored they chose to stand by my side," Cassandra replied as she settled in place.
"They chose well," her lover beamed, squeezing her shoulder. "Well, you ready?"
She smirked, "First one to Goldenrod Airport wins?"
"Winner gets to be on top," he winked back, making her laugh and blush at the same time.
"You're terrible. But you're on," the redhead barked and, squeezing her legs, Chara shot off into the air at record speed. Leon and Charizard both squawked in surprise, and wasted no time in shooting off after, following their companions' laughter all the way to the golden city.