Champion's Heart: Leon x Reader Pokemon

Chapter Fifteen

There were a few flashes as passerby took photos of yours and Leon's embrace. Even though this was an innocent hug, the media would twist it into anything to make the headlines. You decided to ignore them and continued to cling onto Leon. You didn't care about Diantha, you didn't care about Hop, you didn't care about the crushing feeling in your chest knowing this isn't right.

Leon was the one to pull away, of course. He didn't know how you felt. You smiled warmly at him, still happy despite knowing the facts.

"That was one of the best battles I've ever watched!" Leon exclaimed.

"Thanks, my partners and I have been working very hard," you replied bashfully.

Leon looked around and noticed the people watching in envy, curiosity, and shock. He turned to you with a nervous grin.

"I'm sorry about that," Leon said. "How does it feel since you're over a third of the way done with your Gym Challenge?"

"I'm so excited," you replied. "I hope I get the chance to defeat you soon."

Leon laughed, amused by your threat. "I'll look forward to it."

You appreciated that he didn't shoot down your challenge and took it seriously. You stared into Leon's eyes for a second, before snapping back to reality. You smiled nervously and rubbed the back of your neck.

"I suppose this is when I should start my journey to the next city," you said.

Leon looked heavily disappointed. "Your next stop is Stow-on-Side to go against Allister, the Ghost-type Gym Leader."

So, you couldn't use Eevee, since most of its moves were Normal type. You were okay with that, however, you were still going to train Eevee on the way.

"Do you want to come with me?" you asked. "Like on the way to Hulbury?"

Leon looked conflicted. "I don't know..."

"Please?" you pleaded. Leon stared at you for a second, deep in thought.

"How about I meet you in the next city? I'm afraid I have a lot of business to attend to, now that the first stage of the Challenge is complete," Leon replied. "And I have an important meeting with Chairman Rose."

You nodded, satisfied with the compromise. You were going to miss him during your journey and were going to be lonely, but at least you were going to see him in the next city.

"Sounds like a date," you replied without thinking.

Instantly, both of your faces turned red after realizing what you had just said.

"I-I-I didn't mean to say that!" you sputtered. "It's not a date!"

"Er, it's okay," Leon said slowly.

"I know, with Diantha and that you're so incredibly busy..." you rambled.

"Yeah, Diantha..." Leon trailed off, frowning. "This is completely unrelated, but when we get the chance to be away from people who could potentially hear us, I have something important to tell you."

You tilted your head, wondering what he could mean. What was so important that he couldn't say it out in public? You would have your answer next time you saw him.

Leon said his goodbyes and left you to decide what to do next. You had two options, stay another night in Motostoke, offered by Leon, but he wouldn't be staying with you as he had to go out of the city. Or, you could get a head start on your journey to the next city.

You decided to go with the latter decision, not really wanting to spend the night at the Inn without Leon. Before you could even get out of the city, Hop ran over to you.

"Hey, (y/n)! I thought maybe we could travel together this time around," Hop announced.

You grinned. "That's a great idea!"

You selfishly admitted to yourself you liked the idea of hanging with Leon's brother since Hop looked so much like Leon. His yellow eyes held the same passion and determination, along with the striking golden hue that made you shudder. He had the same purple hair, though not as long.

You knew you should not be finding Leon so appealing in your situation. Plus, Hop was a great friend you liked to spend time with, anyway.

"The gym leaders from the last three gyms saw me off, and they were looking for you!" Hop exclaimed. "You were busy flirting with Lee, so they told me that they wish you luck on the rest of your journey."

Your face turned bright red again. "Sh-Shut up! I wasn't flirting."

Hop laughed. "There's nothing wrong about having a crush on my brother! I won't be mad."

"I do NOT have a crush on Leon," you snapped.

"Sure you do," Hop replied. "You're totally falling for him!"

"He has a GIRLFRIEND!" you pointed out.

"It's not serious," Hop said dismissively.

You stopped in your tracks. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you'll figure it out," Hop sighed. "Anyway, want to set up camp soon? I want to get some training done before the sun sets."

"Sure thing," you replied.

You were about to be week four into the Gym Challenge. That was exciting, yet terrifying. A whole month. And you were getting ever closer to the Pokemon League.

"Don't tell me you two losers believe you're anything special," a voice snarled from behind.

You turned around to come face to face with Bede. "Who do you think you are? The Champion?" you asked, nose scrunched.

"Speaking of the Champion, the old fool must be off his rocker if he endorsed you lot," Bede huffed. "One of these days, I'm going to prove that you two are useless trainers."

"Good luck," Hop said dismissively, not really taking Bede that seriously.

You, however, were livid. "Yeah, sure, your one-type Pokemon team is stellar. You couldn't even beat me outside of Hulbury."

Bede's eyes flared with rage. "Careful what you say."

You walked up to Bede, getting in his face. "What are you going to do about it?"

Bede scowled. "I will destroy you and all of your chances at becoming something."

"(y/n), let's just go," Hop said, a small smile on his face. "He's a little too competitive for his own good."

You rolled your eyes and turned away from Bede and started walking off with Hop.

"Watch your back," Bede warned.

For whatever reason, those three words caused your stomach to drop. Whatever Bede was going to plan, it wasn't going to end well for you.

1025 words. A bit on the shorter side, but I'll never post a chapter with less than 1000 words.

I didn't forget to post today! I was just struggling because the last week has been so busy, and I didn't know what route I wanted to take with the story. I had three different directions I could take this story, one with Bea as the Gym Leader instead, also different interactions with Leon, Bede, and Hop. I decided this route would be the most interesting.

We are in phase II of the story!

Thank you for the read and don't forget to vote!