Chapter Text
“And done,” Sonia said before she started gathering the dying strips. Apparently, Sonia knew how to dye hair solely because of Nessa, so she dyed my hair brown again. She only stayed in Sinnoh to do some extra research, but she also got Hop and me new clothes to not look out of place in Paldea. She got me a loose white top with a square-looking collar that had flowers on the bottom of the collar, jean shorts, and a black backpack. As for Hop, she got him a loose light blue tee shirt and black shorts, knowing how bad he is in warmer weather. He’s still bringing Leon’s old jacket. Just in case.
“Thank you. Blue hair was fun, but I like having this color back,” I replied, running my fingers through my hair.
“Of course. It suits you,” Sonia replied before handing me a hair tie. “Leon says it's pretty warm over there, so you may want to tie it back.” I smiled and took the hair tie. I decided to tie my hair in a braid.
Once Sonia finished cleaning up, we left the bathroom and went downstairs to the living room, where Leon and Hop were waiting on the couch. Hop was holding a tablet as Leon pointed to something on screen. Based on how they were talking, I think Leon was teaching Hop some basic Spanish. Or at least how to read it. He shouldn’t be me and be confused by local language terms. Like I was in Kalos.
“Alright kiddos. Before you leave, I have news,” Sonia began, making the two brothers look at her. Sonia crossed her arms. “There’s no regional professor in Paldea.”
I gave her a confused look. “What?”
Sonia nodded. “There’s several professors over there who work at a school that’s part of the league. Much like us in Galar, trainers need a quote unquote endorsement to challenge the Gyms. You get it from that school.”
I blinked. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“That’s not all,” Sonia began. “I called the headmaster of this school to get more information on it and tell them about you guys. Like us, Paldea has a yearly event where students 15 and older can go out in the region and do whatever, including the Gym Challenge. After some… persuasion, the headmaster will let you two join and attend the school until this yearly event.”
“Sonia,” Hop began.
She gave him a worried smile. “Yeah?”
“What did you tell them?”
“... That you’re the Dual Heroes.”
“Sonia!” Leon, Hop, and I yelled.
“He wouldn’t let you attend any other way! I said you were pupils of other professors, I told him Hop was our Chairman’s brother, I even told him Rayne was aiming to take over for The President and was Champion of seven regions! He didn’t care! The rules state that students have to attend for a full year to even take part in this yearly event! While I know Hop wouldn’t care, I knew Rayne wouldn’t attend a school for a whole year just to beat a Champion, so… I told him you were Dual Heroes since Paldea adores you guys!”
“Yeah. Especially my dad’s family!” Hop reminded.
“The headmaster will tell our family and they’ll hunt us down!” Leon barked.
“Look, I know it’s bad, but Hop’s psychic brain is telling him there’s trouble in Paldea, so you have to go there anyway. Rayne’s whole system is doing both the Dual Hero missions and the league in one go, so… I did what I had to do!”
As Leon sighed and ran his hands over his face, my expression softened. “Ok. Do you… know how long we’ll be at this school?”
“At most a week. But, before I got here this morning, he called me again. It was mainly to tell me that you were enrolled, that he emailed me your schedules, and that you start tomorrow. Since he put you in classes that had open seats, your schedules are very random, so he warned me that you two would be apart for a few classes. One of those classes you have apart is Dual History, which is a class about the lore of the Dual Heroes,” Sonia explained.
“Shut up!” Hop exclaimed as my jaw dropped.
A smile rose to Sonia’s lips before she nodded. “I know. He told me about it and I wanted to take it. Anyway, it’s taught by two different professors. Professor Sada and Turo. Hop was thrown in Sada’s class, Ray is in Turo’s class. When they saw you were added to their roaster, they told the headmaster that they would give you your starters.”
“Ok, I’m willing to attend this school now,” I replied, making Sonia’s smile widened.
“Yeah. Based on the website, some of their classes seem really interesting. I’m kinda jealous. Plus, a bunch of strong trainers graduated from there. The Gym Leaders, Chairwoman-”
“There’s a Chairwoman?” Leon asked, lowering his hands.
“Yeah. She’s also Champion,” Sonia replied.
Leon blinked. “Geeta’s the chairwoman?”
“I guess,” Sonia replied.
“Should we be suspicious?” I asked, looking at Hop.
“Not until we meet her,” Hop replied.
I nodded as Sonia’s expression softened, her gaze on Leon. “Look, I know you wanted to avoid your family, but with their roles as Dual Heroes and your family’s role as lorekeepers, meeting them is inevitable. You know I’m right. That’s why you’re going.”
Hop and I looked at Leon, making him take a deep breath and look down. “Yeah. The second Steven said our family is related to the second generation… I knew they’d eventually find Hop. I just…” He lifted his gaze. “I’ve met them. I’ve heard the stories about that family. I’ve seen what they do. Yeah, it’s been ten years, and dad died, but…. I don’t trust them with Hop.”
I looked between everyone before taking a deep breath. “Ok.” I turned to Leon. “I know you’re worried, but look at what we’re getting into. These people preserve the legend of our seniors. They practically worship us because we are, in theory, children of Arceus. Children who are soulmates. Yeah, our relationship is complicated as hell, but he is still my soulmate. So look at this logically. Would Julian tolerate anyone speaking badly about Eleanor’s loving mother just because she wasn’t her birth mother?”
“I’d like to see anyone try to insult anything relating to Eleanor in front of Julian,” Leon replied.
I smiled and leaned closer to him. “And I’d love to see your family insult your dad, who was a very loving father who technically saved both Hop and me, in front of us.”
Leon’s eyes widened before he smiled. “I knew I liked you.” My smile widened before I straightened up.
“As amusing as this is, you guys have a plane to catch, so you should probably head out of here,” Aunt Johanna offered.
“Right,” I began before I went over to her and hugged her. “Thank you, auntie.”
“Anytime, kiddo. Be careful, ok?” she asked as she hugged me back.
I smiled as I pulled away. “I always am.” I turned to Leon and Hop. “Grab your stuff and let’s go.”
The two of them nodded before picking up their messenger bags. As Leon put his tablet away, Hop wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into a side hug. He kissed the side of my head, making me smile as he leaned toward my ear. “Thank you for reassuring him. Knowing Lee… he’ll be in a mood the entire trip because of this.”
“Of course,” I whispered back.
Hop smiled before he leaned away and looked at Leon. “At least try to look forward to something. You can get new Pokemon to train. Or train against.” Leon just stayed quiet, making Hop sigh before he looked at Aunt Johanna. “Seriously though. Thank you.”
“Of course. Have fun, and don’t punch your relatives,” she warned.
“We’ll try,” Leon replied before he looked at Hop and me. “Come on, troublemakers.”
We nodded before I waved to my aunt. “Bye auntie! See you later!”
“Bye kiddo!” Aunt Johanna called before we left her house.
As we passed through Sandgem, Hop and I said one last goodbye to Barry and Lucas. The two of them definitely have become friends, especially after the Team Galactic stand down. I’m glad they’ve made peace. And I’m glad Lucas’ dad is safe. Even if his cover’s blown.
Once we arrived in Jubilife city, we went to the airport. After getting our tickets and going through security, the four of us started making our way to our gates. Sonia told us she’d text Leon more information when we landed before we said our goodbyes.
“Does your mom know you two are going to Paldea, by the way?” I asked as we sat down at our gate.
“No,” the two brothers replied.
I blinked before I sighed. Ok. Paldea will be… very tense whenever we meet the family. My eyes widened as realization dawned on me. Holy Arceus. I’m meeting Hop’s family.