A few days have passed and you haven't seen Leon around. Hop came by a couple times to have training sessions, where he beat you, though barely. He was shocked at how much you developed as a trainer from one battle with his brother, but he took it as evidence that Leon was the best teacher in Galar.
Today, you have decided that it's time to take the next step on your journey. You want to go for your first gym badge. Apparently, Hop also wanted to get his first badge, so the both of you decided on going to the gym together. Unfortunately, you had to go through a few towns before you could reach the Turffield Gym.
Currently, you and Hop were on your way to Monostoke after a long day of travelling. Along the way, you had to battle wild Pokemon, even though you didn't want to. Some were just too aggressive and dangerous.
Finally, the city came into view.
"Race you! Last one there is going to lose their gym battle!" Hop shouted, sprinting forward.
"No fair! Cheater!" you cried, sprinting after him. Obviously, he won since he's quick.
In front of the gates of the town stood a woman with fair skin and beautiful, ginger hair. Hop skidded to a halt, staring at the woman in shock.
"Sonia, is that you?!" Hop exclaimed. The woman in question looked up from her notebook, her eyes widening as she saw Hop.
"Hop, it's been a long time," 'Sonia' said cheerfully.
"(y/n), Sonia is a good friend of Leon's!" Hop explained.
"I used to be his rival back when we were kids, but I dropped out of the Gym Challenge," Sonia said.
"That's cool, what was he like back then?" you asked, curious.
"He was much like how he is now, but he was more childish back then," Sonia replied. She looked at both you and Hop up and down. "Goodness, you two look exhausted! There's an inn in the city. Leon and Diantha are staying in the inn, maybe he can hook you both up with a room. Here, I'll text him."
She pulled out her phone and presumably texted Leon. Almost instantly, she got a reply.
"He says he took care of it," Sonia said. She explained the directions to the inn. "Leon will meet you inside."
You and Hop followed Sonia's directions and came across a cute inn. You and Hop rushed inside, excited to finally get some rest. But instead, you were greeted by a girl both you and Hop's age.
"What's the hurry?" she asked, her voice carrying a sassy city twang.
"Oh, sorry if we almost crashed into you, we're excited to get some rest," you explained.
"Just be careful, you don't wanna bump into someone, love," she replied. "My name's Marnie."
"I'm (y/n)," you replied.
"And I'm Hop!" Hop exclaimed, outstretching his hand. "I'm the champion's brother, and I'm the next champion!"
"We'll see about that," Marnie replied simply, causing Hop's face to fall as he frowned. "I, too, am going for the champion title."
"A third rival?" you questioned.
"THIRD?! Are you going for the title too, (y/n)?!" Hop practically screamed. He was getting very worked up over this situation.
Your conversation with your new and old rival is cut off by a familiar, purple-haired champion. Leon walked up to your group, staring at Hop.
"Hop, we're in public. No need to scream," Leon said, smiling at Hop.
Hop's face turned red. You turned back to Marnie and Hop, only to notice that Marnie had disappeared. She must've decided to leave before Leon made an appearance.
"I have your rooms sorted out," Leon said.
"Rooms?" you questioned, wondering how much money Leon just spent on you.
"Yes, 'rooms'. I don't want you to sleep with my little brother," Leon said calmly, not realizing how that sentence sounded.
Your face turned bright red, and Hop's face turned brighter. He was almost a tomato at this point.
"I- never... WHA?!" you stammered, taken aback.
Leon gasped as he realized what he had just implied. "I'm so sorry! That's not what I meant at all. I meant sharing the same bed would be a little awkward, y'know?"
His explanation did nothing to help.
"W-Where's the room I'm staying in?" you stuttered in an attempt to change the conversation.
Leon told you your room number and gave you the key. You started to head to your room, but Leon grabbed your arm before you could walk away.
He gave you a warm smile. "Hey, I was wondering if you'd like to come with Diantha and I into town tomorrow to explore and hang out. Diantha is excited to meet you."
"R-Really?! She was my hero back in Kalos," you replied.
"Yes really, it would be a lot of fun to show two people around one of the big cities of Galar," Leon admitted. "Plus, who doesn't want to hang out with me?"
You didn't know if that was a joke or not. You instantly frowned, your mood killed. This one sentence reminded you of why you used to dislike Leon. In person, he was the same as he was portrayed on television. Self-centered and arrogant. However, you weren't going to let your personal feelings get in the way of meeting your hero.
"Sure thing," you replied shortly, hoping to get to your room before Leon said anything else infuriating.
"Great! I'll come find you when we're ready tomorrow morning," Leon said enthusiastically.
He let go of your arm and you walked to your room peacefully. There was one large bed and a dresser. You set your bag and three Poke-balls on top of the dresser. You looked at the balls and picked them up to let out your Pokemon.
All three of your Pokemon looked exhausted. Nickit was practically falling over after you let it out. Eevee didn't bother waking up and Electrike's legs wobbled as it tried to stay standing.
"Come here, there's plenty of room," you gestured to your Pokemon as you got comfortable under the covers.
After everyone got comfortable, you drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
989 words. Significantly shorter than last chapter, but I didn't want to cram in too much more of the plot into this chapter. I won't be posting two chapters in one day anymore :( but I will be doing daily uploads for awhile until I get to 10-15 chapters.
Thank you for the read and don't forget to vote!