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Above all else, Leon had prided himself on his willpower. As a small child, he proclaimed to himself and everyone who was listening, willingly or not, that he will become the champion of Galar. No one believed him back then, not that Leon truly blamed his mother for giving him a smile and saying “Of course you will, dear” like every other parent. In his heart, he knew he would make it happen. He would stand out from the crowd. Even as the trainers he faced grew stronger and stronger, Leon remained in a class of his own. Any goal in mind, however trivial they may be, were each fought for and grasped. With a team like his, how could anything be unattainable? It had been a long road getting there, of course, but he snatched that title, molded it, and made it his. The undefeatable Champion, proud icon of Galar.
So, why can’t he bring himself to ask out the cute gym leader who had been his friend nearly his entire life?
“Exhibition or not, Leon, your pristine record is about to end—when I beat you here today!”
Raihan eagerly pumped his fist at him, baring his teeth at the Champion in a draconic smirk (which may or may not have sent shivers down Leon’s spine). The gym leader, being stupidly tall as he his, nearly towered over his Duraludon, who growled in agreement to his trainer’s proclamation. Leon gave a little smile at this. Whether it made it seem the gym leader more threatening or his pokemon puny in comparison was a popular discussion between the two.
Crowd cheering and chanting his name, Leon rose up to meet the challenge. Charizard flapped his wings excitedly, fanning the Champion and gym leader with small gusts of wind and thoroughly annoying the Duraludon in front of him. Giving a metallic grunt, the steel dragon stepped forward and Charizard followed suit. At this moment, the Rotom drone dared to fly in close, capturing both pokemon’s every move and zooming in on the challengers on the field. Raihan’s expression was blown up on a giant screen behind him, and despite the several thousand other people in the stadium, Leon felt right at home.
For all his life, battling meant everything to him.
Sure, the outcome was pretty much the same every time, but Leon definitely admits he’s always had a champion time facing his favorite rival on the battlefield.
“You know I don’t do losing, Raihan.”
Red light flashed from his wishing star as he struck his famous pose and, sensing the eyeroll Raihan sent his way, sent a wink and a smile to his rival. Yeah, that’s probably the furthest he went in terms of flirting. But still Raihan froze up at this, noted Leon, by how his startling(ly beautiful) teal eyes widened a fraction. Oh, a certain crowd would go wild with that expression captured for all the world to see. That’s right, fangirls, Champion Leon knows all about your fan art and “shipping”. It’s really not a secret from any celebrity, at all. But he never minded it and he certainly never went looking for fanart of the dragon gym leader… much.
Leon, deciding to save his rival from any further embarrassment, took out Charizard’s ultra ball. “Charizard, Dynamax!” He cried out.
A purple rotom phone floated above a plate of curry, fresh from the kitchen that he grew up around, as Leon looked on excitedly at the screen. A second set of honey eyes, exactly like his, also watched over his shoulder.
“Lee, how come you’re always rewatching your matches with gym leader Raihan?” Hop was leaning from the edge of his seat, gobbling down his own plate of spicy curry. Leon waved the Rotom phone toward his little brother, who happily accepted it, and gave it some thought.
Because his matches with Raihan were what he looked forward to the most, Leon admitted to himself. Out of the hundreds of matches and trainers he’s fought, only Raihan’s fights found its way on his phone in its own special little folder. They got his blood rushing, his heart pounding (for a variety of reasons) and his thoughts racing. Raihan had come very close to taking the title away from him and it made his chest swell with what was either anxiety or excitement, or probably both. Nearly getting lost in his thoughts, Leon realized Hop was looking at him expectantly and snapped his head up from his plate.
“If you wanna keep getting stronger, you’ve gotta learn from your past battles, both wins and losses.” Leon finally said, mouth still full from shoveling curry with his spoon. Oleana wasn’t here to scold him on his table manners, after all. Back home, he didn’t have to worry about “class” and “table etiquette”. That was the boring part of being a Champion.
“But weren’t you right there anyway?” Hop questioned over a mouthful of curry. Seems like he’s got his brother’s habits. “You really wiped the floor with him this time!”
Leon laughed and ruffled his brother’s hair, ignoring his protest at the action (“Ewww… You had sauce on your hands!”).
“Yeah, I did. But he’s the only one that really keeps me on my feet. So I study his strategy.”
Hop, although still a bit miffed about his new curry-hair look, gave him a sly look. “So, you are definitely not crushing on him.”
Leon choked on his spoonful as Hop elbowed him.
“Don’t say that outloud!”
“No one else is here, Lee! Besides I’ve always known.” Leon buried his face in his hands. First Sonia, now Hop. He’s quite surprised Raihan hasn’t figured it out. “You’re also pants with keeping secrets.”
“Shut it,” Leon pushed Hop’s chair away with his foot, but it did nothing to stop his little brother from egging him on.
“Leon’s got a crush! Leon’s got a crush! LEON’S GOT A CRU--” Hop didn’t get to finish his chant before receiving a pillow to the face. With muffled laughter, Hop pushed the pillow off and threw it back.
Leon pouted at his brother. Hop was FAR worse than Sonia it seems. Eventually the younger brother stopped giggling and looked toward Leon with a genuine look on his face and eyes still shining from the laughter.
“Lee, you think I’ll have a rival like Raihan?” Hop asked. Leon gave a heavy sigh before a smile graced his expression.
“If you’re going to make it big, then you’ll gain quite a few rivals along the way.” Leon’s eyes were fixed on Hop’s, speaking sincerely and encouragingly. “But the greatest of these rivals is the one you also call your friend, you pull each other up instead of looking down on the other. Sure, you get into arguments about strength and whatnot, but you’ll fight side by side when it really matters.” There were many words to describe Raihan, but Leon found the restraint to keep it a general and concise definition.
Judging by Hop’s surprised expression, he didn’t really expect this piece of wisdom from his silly but spirited older brother. To be honest, neither did Leon. Before Hop unleashed his own whirlwind of excitement about his dreams for his future, the Rotom phone twirled between them.
“BZZT, INCOMING CALL!” It screamed at them. Hop dramatically covered his ears as Leon rushed to grab the phone. Seeing as the name displayed was OLEANA in the most obnoxious bold font, it looked like visiting hours were over.
Hop gave a quick pained expression, but Leon recognized it instantly with how he winced and how his grip on the fork tightened. When one is considered ‘unbeatable’, they’ve definitely seen the many variations of that same expression, when the opponent’s last pokemon had fainted and they were left with no other option but to admit defeat. Being the Champion, he can recognize the look from a mile away. Sometimes he quite enjoyed Raihan's look of defeat and acceptance.
But Leon decided long ago that he hated that look on his little brother.
“Guess you have to leave, huh, Lee?”
That was the worst part of being Champion. But unfortunately for Leon, the list continues.
Once again finding himself in the dreadful confines of a flying taxi (it was rather cramped even for him, how did Raihan deal with this?), Leon sighed and leaned his head against the headrest, a rare moment of lethargy for the Champion. Oleana swooping in, either virtually or in person, to interrupt his free time was a very common occurrence. The Chairman’s numerous meetings with either political leaders, businessmen or both had a higher chance of being a great success when Leon was present, or so they claimed. Alone with the open sky and the beating wings of a Corviknight, Leon closed his eyes for a moment.
But one can never expect a peaceful moment in this world, huh?
Once again his Rotom phone rang out, albeit with a much more pleasant sound and a much more pleasant name on the screen.
Raihan.
Immediately relaxing his face, which had instinctively settled in his camera-worthy “Champion expression”, Leon quickly swiped to answer the call with a much more relaxed but genuine smile. Raihan’s face immediately appeared on the screen.
“You look tired.” Was the first words uttered from the phone’s speakers.
“Thanks, I’m doing great, and you?” He replied sarcastically.
“Easy, little Trapinch, I’m just worried that you’re not getting enough sleep.” Raihan held up his arms in surrender, his Rotom phone moving backwards to provide the view. Now Leon could clearly see that he was out in his stadium, with Goodra and Duraludon facing off in the background. Of course, he zeroed in on that rather than thank Raihan for his concern, not that he wasn't grateful. It was just that he’d rather not delve into why he didn’t sleep in anymore.
“Oh, looks like you’re training. Try as you might, Rai, I’m still miles ahead of you. Although I admit, you probably are further ahead compared to everyone else.” Leon said, much to the other’s chagrin. Were Sonia here, she would’ve given him a good slap to the back of his head and told him that pokemon battling was not a valid way of flirting. What did she know, anyway?
"Can't wait to blow that ego away." Leon nearly blushed at that poor word choice, settling for giving a light pshhh. "Can't escape the sandstorm for long, Lee."
Ignoring the flip that his heart just performed at the sound of his nickname coming from Raihan's mouth, Leon resolved to move further with this banter.
"Maybe you can ask Rayquaza himself to train with you. Maybe you'll stand a chance then." Leon almost let out a giggle at how fired up Raihan had gotten at that.
"I don't need the help of a legendary to beat your arse. You can definitely count on that, mate." Raihan said, baring his teeth at the phone camera. Whether he did that consciously or unconsciously, Leon thought it was pretty adorable. "That would be awesome, though." He heard the dragon trainer mutter.
Leon laughed. “Say, Rai, if you’re free later today..” He started, then paused to consider his next words very carefully. Rose probably packed his schedule with meetings and outings and Oleana was no doubt going to try to drag Leon along with him, berating him for wearing his usual champion’s outfit instead of the suit and tie they had gifted (or rather, forced) onto him. Maybe Rose would have mercy on him and tell Oleana to leave him be for the day.
Or he can make the mute function on his Rotom phone useful for the evening.
“I’m free all day,” Raihan moved to administer a potion on Turtonator’s injuries, hands flowing efficiently and expertly. “Just training and meeting with tourists. Seems like they come flocking to Galar right before the annual gym and championship matches.”
The pokemon met Leon’s gaze on the screen, turning about to lean over the crouching trainer’s shoulder, and grunted a greeting. The Champion grinned and gave a short wave at the spiky dragon, it wasn’t everyday that Raihan’s Turtonator revealed its soft underbelly, even on camera. “Hey there, mate!”
“Let me guess, you want to battle?” Raihan continued with his previous question, twirling the now empty bottle around his finger. “I’m always down for a fight with the Champion, just stop by.”
“Uh,” Leon started. He bit his lip and thought about it for a bit. It was a very tempting offer and it was how they bonded nowadays. Battling was his passion, it was what had gotten him this far, and truth be told he hardly remembered a time where he had a moment to just relax with his friends. Battling was all in good fun, however, a small part of Leon wanted something more out of his limited free time with his favorite gym leader. But, of course, any advice Sonia had given him about ‘courting his best friend’ had gone out the window by this point.
“Looking forward to it!” He finished lamely, and Raihan certainly didn’t miss it, raising an eyebrow at his friend’s unusual behavior. Frowning, he walked toward the floating Rotom phone and brought it closer, holding it steady with a hand.
“If you don’t want to battle...”
“Of course I want to battle, mate.” Leon interrupted him quickly. Then, experiencing a stroke of genius, his grin widened into a smirk. “How about we make a deal? Loser does what the winner wants.” Perhaps the loser should pay for dinner? Leon seriously considered the thought, because he planned to win, obviously.
“You certainly know how to make things interesting, Leon.” Releasing the phone, Raihan crossed his arms behind his head. He was pretty cute when he did that, the way his giant hoodie bunched up behind his head, his eyes glittering with excitement and the easygoing smile ever decorating his expression. Leon tapped the Rotom phone on the back twice, out of sight from the camera, letting it know to take a screenshot.
“I’ll take you up on your offer. On one condition..”
“Oh?” Leon leaned forward with interest. Well, as far as the claustrophobia-inducing taxi allowed.
“One pokemon only.” Raihan lifted a finger up to the camera. ”Anyone from your party. I know bloody damn well about that winning-streak of yours, so I want to change things up a bit.”
“I’ll be there this evening to collect my reward then.” Leon responded smoothly, though out of sight his legs bounced excitedly. Other than the prospect of rising to meet this challenge, Lee was genuinely excited to see his friend once more. It had to have been at least a few days since he’s seen him last, and it’s about bloody time he’s standing face to face against the gym leader’s fiery passion on the battlefield again.
Battling was his calling, but witnessing the force of nature that was Raihan the tamer of dragons fueled a different kind of fire in his heart.
Raihan once again flashed his fang. “We’ll see about that, Champion.”
Trying to keep himself from smiling like an idiot, Leon ended the call. The schedule of a champion hardly allowed him peace, but for the first time in a week Leon felt his tension fade and his body relax. When it comes to his favorite rival, Leon couldn’t keep the smile off his face for long. Thumbing an ultra ball thoughtfully, he rested his forehead against the glass. Rose wouldn’t mind if he zoned out all throughout the convention at Wyndon, right?
Charizard rounded the corner of the Hammerlocke castle, spinning his head back to make sure his trainer was right behind him, and sure enough Leon was moving his legs as fast as they could carry him. Even while running after the flying flaming lizard, Leon put on the usual charming smile for the crowd as they parted to let Charizard through.
“I’ll be back for autographs soon!” Promising to the fans reaching for him, Leon sharply exhaled to himself. “I’m running late.” Charizard really didn’t stop for anyone, but Leon supposed it made for great exercise. He’d drag Raihan out to run with him, but the gym leader claimed he looked ridiculous running on the streets like an overgrown chicken. Leon himself thought Raihan looked like a charging Haxorus.
Charizard swiftly steered into the entrance of Hammerlocke castle, tucking his wings behind him as his trainer rushed into the lobby. Panting a bit, Leon pushed away Charizard’s snout. “Wipe that smirk off your face. You won ‘cause you can fly.”
“Without him in the lead, you would’ve gotten lost anyway.” Leon quickly picked his head up, meeting a familiar teal gaze.
Raihan strolled forward and tossed an arm around his friend, taking full advantage of his height over the man. “There’s my favorite champion.”
Leon laughed at this (although Sonia would say he giggled like a schoolgirl), contemplating whether to throw an arm around the gym leader’s waist. Would that be weird? Would Raihan separate himself from him if he tried? “Well I better be your favorite, I don’t know of any other champion here, mate.”
“There’s a future champ right of you.” Raihan flicked his hat off his head (“Hey!”). But before Leon could get revenge for that in the form of pulling his headband off, Raihan caught his hand midair and pulled him along toward the stadium. “And I’m gonna back up that bark with some bite.”
Good thing Raihan was facing forward, otherwise he would have witnessed Leon’s face light up like a Charizard’s tail.
“Can’t believe you did that! Did Oleana get mad?” Rahain exclaimed. The two had slowed down from their eager jog to a peaceful walk toward the pitch.
“I don’t think she knew it was me, and Rose didn’t tell her either!” Leon grinned, recounting his misadventures at the Wyndon Energy Convention. Two hours of standing around to look important and listen to lectures was an actual snoozefest, so Leon had to keep himself awake somehow. Constantly swapping her water cup for vinegar was surprisingly entertaining for the first hour, but lost its novelty after the 4th or 5th time.
“Who in the bloody hell carries vinegar with them anyway?”
“It was a gift, actually.” Leon explained. “Guess someone looked at the old antique jar and thought you know who would appreciate this? The chap with the cape and shorts!”
Joking around and busting out the horribly done accents truly brought Leon back to a time where he and Raihan weren’t ‘Champion’ and ‘Gym Leader’, or even rivals, but just two young friends enjoying each other’s company. As soon as Raihan’s boisterous laughter filled the air, Leon felt a little bit lighter, just like when he and Charizard first took to the skies together with Raihan running after them. It was simpler back then, when he had the time and freedom to hang around his favorite rival and sort out the new emotions blossoming in his chest. Emotions can get pretty weird when one realizes they would rather kiss their rival silly rather than simply hang out.
Being Champion truly does have its downsides sometimes, Leon realized. He really never got the chance to explore these feelings further.
“Before you’re once again kidnapped by Oleana the slave driver, let’s have our battle.” Raihan’s arm over his shoulders snapped Leon out of his thoughts. “I recall agreeing on a little bet between us.”
Leon’s eyes snapped onto Rai’s as he grinned. Emotions were complicated, but battling he could do. “Looking forward to adding another tally to my winning streak.”
“I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I keep our busy champion waiting.” Raihan said sweetly, sticking a hand in the pocket of his (adorably) poofy sweater and picking out an ultra ball.
If Leon knew Raihan well enough, he’d always jump at the chance to show off Duraludon’s power. The steel dragon was his pride and joy, inseparable ever since the moment young Leon had shown up at Raihan’s front door with a smile on his face and an ultra ball containing a special pokemon. Never before had Leon witnessed such an exhilarated expression as Raihan first released Duraludon from the gifted ultra ball, even after he’d become champion and Galar’s icon. And it was definitely the first time his heart raced and his face lit up in a blush as Raihan tackled him into a hug. As his closest friend, Leon was ecstatic that he brought the duo together.
As his best rival, he had to show them who’s boss.
Duralodon is weak to ground and dragon moves.
Leon’s hand landed on a particular ultra ball, maintaining a straight face, his classic battle persona. Predictability was a terrible trait to have in a battle, after all.
“Go, Haxorus!” The tusked dragon appeared in a flash of light, roaring a challenge at the gym leader.
To Raihan’s credit, he didn’t seem fazed at this. “You’re such a Charizard fanboy I forgot you had other pokemon.” He jabbed.
“That’s a load of crap! I give attention to all my pokemon.”
Haxorus gave an affected jealous snort and crossed her arms.
“She seems a bit miffed, Lee.” Raihan laughed as Leon gasped in betrayal (“Haxorus, I even gave you all of my sweet curry this morning!”).
“Let the sandstorm rage, Flygon!” The green dragon flowed out of the ultra ball in a stream of white light. Leon already felt the sand pelting him in the face and groaned in frustration as it tangled into his purple hair. Not the pokemon he was expecting, so it seems like Raihan was learning for once.
“Take it down with Outrage!” Leon called to his pokemon, squinting through the rushing sand. Even when the world turned dark within the cloud of the sand, Raihan’s figure stood strong among the chaos, eyes narrowed and crazed smile bearing teeth. Haxorus growled in frustration as she struggled to find the insectoid dragon within the storm, lashing out at any shadow that crosses her path.
“Focus, Hax, it’s okay.” Leon had to pull his eyes off the other man staring excitedly into the storm. “Listen for wingbeats!”
Finding her target, Haxorus slammed into Flygon, then barely had time to dodge a lashing tail aimed at the ground. “Bring the pain with earthquake, mate!”
Usually, Leon remained calm on the stadium pitch. Both the act of studying his opponents and standing firmly in place had the effect of intimidating challengers. Cool confidence was a weapon as strong as a Draco Meteor, but obviously Raihan was immune to it. Yelling at the top of his lungs, Raihan trapped Leon in his fiery gaze as he swiftly commanded his partner to go on the offensive. Powerful and relentless, Raihan was exactly like the sandstorms he unleashed.
And Leon found himself completely enraptured by him.
Melting away the cool confidence, the champion stepped forward to face Raihan more clearly and matched his passionate fire.
“Iron tail!”
“Dragon claw!”
“Poison jab!”
“Keep your distance, Flygon!”
“Keep wailing on him, Hax!”
Sometime between the fearsome exchange of brutal strikes and blows, Leon’s eyes glued on his rival’s face. Raihan’s face scrunched weirdly at the sandstorm’s onslaught, but that did not diminish his energy in the slightest. Drinking in the features of the other’s expression, Leon’s eyes settled on his lips.
Do it.
A little voice cried.
No no no no no no no nope-
When did he get so close? Now only steps away from Raihan, Leon froze in his tracks. It was at this moment that Leon could see his friend far too clearly and wait, when did the sandstorm stop?
Raihan’s eyes were still gazing intently at the epicenter of the dying sandstorm as Leon's thoughts began to race.
Did he notice me getting close- what’s going on?
Leon spun around, and as the dust cleared from the field, realized that Haxorus had collapsed before a panting Flygon. Horror seeped into his bones as his brain caught up to him.
Shit. Did Leon just lose a bet because he was distracted by this stupidly tall and stupidly attractive man?
WOOOO!” Raihan had called out in front of him. Flygon chittered excitedly, flying over to his trainer and giving him a high five. Leon rushed over to his pokemon, flustered.
“Arceus, Hax, I’m so sorry. I just got, uh,” Leon lowered his voice, “got distracted.”
Lifting her head up, she fixed Leon in a look that couldn’t have meant anything other than 'seriously, mate?'
“Listen it won’t happen again, Hax, believe me.” Leon rubbed underneath the axe-jaw, much to the dragon’s feigned annoyance. “Don’ be maaad. You’ll beat him next time.”
Who’re you talking to exactly?
Haxorus snorted and lightly headbutted Leon’s leg.
Leon hadn’t exactly lost a fight before, but it's not like none of his pokemon had ever been KO’d before. With Raihan, it was guaranteed that Leon would be backed in a corner sometime during the fight. Besides, it was just a bet. Not a real fight. Just don’t think about it too much, Leon.
Leon pulled the hat off his head and lightly smacked himself in the face with it. He really had to be an idiot about this whole thing, hadn’t he? He laughed silently.
Raihan must have finished celebrating at this point, and Leon noticed he started walking this way. Obviously pleased with himself, Raihan paraded his way towards the two. His eyes had softened the way Leon liked them before the sandstorm assaulted them, lips stretched in a grin and ready for a picture.
“Shame it wasn’t an official match Leon,” Raihan squatted down beside him. “Would’ve loved to hear the crowd roar for that.”
“Guess you want your reward now. What’ll it be, Rai? Running around Hammerlocke with my shirt and pants backwards? Forcing me to dance on the Corviknight statue again?” Leon joked, hoping that Raihan would not actually take him up those offers. Bets used to get pretty crazy when Raihan was involved. Chances are, Leon won’t survive with his dignity intact.
But Raihan said nothing. He stood up, pulling Leon along with him. With a finger, he tapped his lips twice.
Leon stared, already feeling his brain escaping him again. “What?”
“I thought you would’ve jumped at the chance, Lee,” Raihan said in a sultry tone and leaned forward. “Seeing as you were eyeing them like a hungry Deino a few minutes ago.”
Leon froze. He had noticed that, of course, he noticed Leon inching closer. But wait, Raihan wanted a kiss?
The gym leader sighed as his friend continued to gape at him. Placing a finger under Leon’s chin, Raihan brought his gaze upwards. “Need a written invitation?--”
Leon smashed his lips against his rival’s, silencing whatever teasing taunt the other had planned. It was a bit rough, but it was perfect. Swinging his arms around Raihan’s shoulders, Leon trapped them both in the moment. Raihan gave a surprised sound but leaned into the kiss, resting his hands on the other’s waist and grinning against Leon’s lips as he pressed their bodies closer together.
Suddenly, Leon broke the kiss and started chuckling. “There goes my plans of making you pay for dinner, Rai.”
“I see a perfectly fine dinner right here.” Raihan’s eyes lit up in amusement as he pointed a thumb at himself. “Shut it.” Leon laughed despite his own words, and pushed Raihan to the ground. “This went better than planned anyway.” He said, before straddling his rival and capturing Raihan’s mouth with his own again.
Haxorus gave a draconic laugh at Flygon, who was awkwardly and shyly looking away from the scene, which did not go unheard by Leon or Raihan. Flicking her tail in amusement, Haxorus stood up and met the teal and golden gazes that were aimed at her.
“Hax, I thought you had fainted after that battle?”