#Right now he's very deeply rooted in Galar

[emile-hides]

Pokemon trainer Norman (Sword vers) is a cowardly Normal type trainer with abnormally bad luck. He tends to be a bit of a cry baby when it comes to most situations, and allows his Pokemon to lead themselves in battle.

Key points of Norman’s journey:

Upon entering the Wild Area, Norman proceeded to get lost. Chased by strong Pokemon, he somehow ended up in Hammerlocke. Hop, called by League staff, came in a flying taxi to pick him up

Norman lost every battle to his rival, Hop, until Stow-on-side, where the loss to Bede threw Hop off his game. Hop continued to loose to Norman until Circhster

Norman also lost every battle to challenger Bede, until the fight in Stow-on-side. Norman cares strongly about Hop, and took this fight very personally

Norman also also lost every battle to challenger Marnie. She relentlessly bullied him, called him a baby, and playfully picked on him. They became like siblings traveling together.

Norman actually spent a great deal of time with Ms. Opal, she was probably his favorite gym leader

Norman’s passion is cooking, he adores making curry for his Pokemon and camping quietly just outside of major towns

The Team:

King - Eevee - lvl 79 - Male - Pay Day, Attract, Last Resort, Dig - Norman’s first Pokemon was a gift from his father, a flirtatious Eevee named King. King is determined to win every battle and does not take well to loosing. Without this feisty partner, Norman would have never become a trainer.

Hop - Dubwool - lvl 72 - Male - Headbutt, Cotton Guard, Double-Edge, Body Press - Norman’s second Pokemon was the Wooloo that broke the fence to get into the Slumbering Weald. The Pokemon was named Hop, after it’s headstrong nature reminding Norman of a certain someone. Over time, much like the trainer he was named after, Hop came to be a rock for Norman, a friend he deeply relied on when face with a challenge he doesn’t think he could handle.

Hazel - Greedent - lvl 71 - Female - Body Slam, Super Fang, Bullet Seed, Fire Fang - Attracted by Norman’s Charizard class curry, Hazel was the third Pokemon to join Norman’s group. Hazel has very little care for battling, rather spending her time eating whatever goodies she can dig from Norman’s bag.

Ryouta - Unfezant - lvl 71 - Male - Facade, Sky Attack, Steel Wing, Tailwind - Ryouta, much like Hazel, was attracted to Norman’s team for food. After stealing from Hazel the Skwovet, Norman and the team had no choice but to track down the thief Pidove. Upon finding the thief starving and without a warm place to stay, Norman offered for Ryouta to come with them. Ryouta may be one of two of Norman’s Pokemon who actually listen to him.

Stardust - Obstagoon - lvl 70 - Female - Double-Edge, Night Slash, X-Scissor, Giga Impact - Stardust was a gift from Marnie. She said it was because she the Zigzagoon had just followed her, but truthfully, Marnie went out of her way to catch Stardust for Norman. Stardust, much like King, cared only for winning. Tough and tumble, Stardust took every challenge head on and never backed down. She loves picking up shiny things and using them as projectiles in battle. She’s thrown a Gold Nugget at Bede’s head on every encounter.

Eos - Heliolisk - lvl 71 - Female - Thunderbolt, Thunderwave, Thunder, Swift - Eos hatched from an egg Norman bought at the market place in Stow-on-Side. Raised around King and Stardust, Eos grew up with a thirst for battle, and took on challenges she was not up to the task for. She has a strong Goddess complex, and takes full credit for victorious battles, even if she didn’t participate. King considers himself Eos’ father.

Bonus:

Queen - Zacian - lvl 70 - When Norman was 4 years old, he got lost deep in the Slumbering Weald. He gave up trying to leave and found himself at the Royal Gravesite. There, he sat and cried until he passed out. When he woke up, he was being placed on the other side of the gate by the Legendary Pokemon, Zacian. 

(Zacian is named Queen because King the Eevee was the only one of the team to survive her attacks, and was the last Pokemon standing when she was caught. They are married.)

[passionbooties]

title: and flowers can still bloom within the cracks  rating: t  pairing: raihan/leon 

summary:  raihan always assumed one day, he'd be the one to beat leon. and that the victory would be honey golden sweet. then he sees leon lose, in real time, to a newcomer, and the honey sweet gold turns utterly sour.

also can be read on ao3 !

more under the cut 

There’s a crater taking form in Raihan’s stomach. It’s deep, grotesque, with sharp debris that stabs- hard , with every titled breath he takes. 

The locker room is drenched with silence. Which is laughable considering the roar of the crowd featured on the television screen. All of Galar is in an uproar from the very foundations of their world shattering from a single battle.

Leon lost.

Galar has a new champion. 

Raihan remains rooted to the bench while the rest of the leaders break, one by one, from their shock. But Raihan-he’s consumed by the crater continuing to grow and swallow him whole. Leon lost. The TV screen pans to the trainer who had beat Leon. They looked worn but glowing, excited to have beaten the unbeatable. And who wouldn’t be excited to destroy ten years of glory in a single turn of the tides? 

Raihan is being swallowed. By this weird, hollow ache that stings and makes his eyes see green. His throat burns and he wants to move but he can’t because all he’s thinking about is how Leon lost and it’s not because of him. 

He feels heat rise and fall and ashes stain his tongue as the heat boils. How can someone so fresh and so young make the impossible, possible? How could some kid come in and take the crown that Raihan had been gunning after for years?

How could someone beat his rival?

How could someone beat him ?

It seems unreal, and at some level, it’s not. Because he knew this would happen. He had a feeling in his gut, wiggling into like roots of a tree, when he first met the young trainer Hop called his rival. They had an air of change around them that blew, furiously, like a whirlwind. Like they could topple the very foundations of the world if they tried. All they’d have to do was act. 

And act, they did. 

They won. They won and Raihan can’t help but feel so feeble in this moment because who was he to call himself Leon’s greatest rival if he’d never even won . And then some new competitor rolls in and-

“Raihan.”

Raihan looks up but doesn’t respond as Piers and Nessa walk over to him. Concern is written across both their faces and his first instinct is to tell them to give him some space when the camera cuts to Leon. 

Leon’s smiling at the camera, talking about the battle and how refreshing it was to get such a formidable challenger. But he doesn’t look right. His eyes are bright and his smile isn’t reaching the way it normally does. It’s tight and his shoulders are too square-he’s normally more relaxed, more strong and confident. 

“Fuck,” Raihan goes to stand and forces down the weird heat in his stomach to worry about later. 

“There he goes, overprotective dragon mum Raihan ready to pick up their baby from the masses,” Piers drawls. 

Nessa snorts, “Are you on your way to grab your man and whisk him away from all the reporters? You’re gonna cause a scene.”

“I don’t give a shit.”

“We know,” Piers and Nessa say at the same time and if Raihan wasn’t already being tugged in there different emotional directions he would have started a brawl. He’s out and storming for the pitch. The crowd is still roaring, and the cameramen are still talking to Leon and the trainer who wasn’t Raihan that beat him. 

Leon catches Raihan coming for him, eyes wide in question before the realization hits. And Raihan knows Leon gets exactly why he’s here. The camera people cut their attention towards Raihan who’s storming for his target. 

“And here we have the master of dragons, the tamer of weather, Raihan entering the field! No doubt the self-proclaimed greatest rival of former champion Leon has something to say for everyone watching!”

The microphone gets pushed into Raihan’s face. He frowns and slips out a, “Absolutely no comment ,” because he goes for Leon. 

“Raihan,” the way Leon says his name is incredibly intimate. And vulnerable. And if it gets caught by the camera and microphones then the entirety of Galar would put the pieces together that Raihan and Leon have… never really tried to hide. 

“Come on,” Raihan takes Leon’s hand in his and leads him towards the locker room. “Interview is over! I’m taking him home! Good day!” 

As they’re leaving (read: running out of the stadium) the press behind them go into an uproar. But Raihan doesn’t care, and neither does Leon, who squeezes Raihan’s hand particularly tight as they exit the stadium. 

They manage to escape the crowd thanks to Nessa and Piers intercepting the camera crew. Raihan makes a mental note to treat them to drinks and food later. Much later, after him and Leon are able to be alone for a few hours-or hell, maybe even a day. Because Raihan can feel it, through their hands, and the deep shadow that crushes over them, that Leon isn’t okay . 

“Thank you,” he catches Leon saying as Raihan waves down a Flying Taxi.

Raihan looks back, eyes searching and face tight. Leon’s face looks dark, shadowed. His hat is still on his head and he’s biting down on his lip, hard. Raihan can only nod, his heart twisting as the taxi pulls up. Fuck. He hasn’t seen Leon like this in a while.

And he hates it. 

“Where to?” the Flying Taxi driver asks as they board.

Raihan slides in and Leon follows suit. They haven’t let go of their hands. And Raihan peeks as Leon pulls the brim of his hat down a little further, sinking into the seat. “Hammerlocke,” and he rattles off his address and throws a couple of extra Pokedollars with the instructions to make it fast. 

For the ride, neither men talk. But Raihan squeezes Leon’s hand every so often and Leon’s shuddering breaths become less and less heavy as the ride goes on. 

  /

  Raihan’s flat is pretty spacious, considering all the money he’s poured into it to make his home the ultimate bachelor pad. Though, “bachelor pad” wouldn’t really be the right terminology for it anymore. 

Once home Raihan takes Leon to his bedroom and rests on the bed. They sit together, side by side and the silence is still heavy. Enough that Raihan feels the cracks forming, splintering again in the crater he tried very hard to ignore ever since the loss. They haven’t let go of each other yet. Hands still tied and connected and tethered. 

Leon’s face is still shadowed, but it’s not so guarded anymore. The Champion Mask fading away now that he’s safe, and sound, and it’s only Raihan. Raihan who has seen Leon at low points, and breaking points, and near tears. 

“I,” Leon works, slowly. And Raihan presses his nose to Leon’s cheek, nuzzling. “I don’t know-I don’t know where to start.”

“That’s fair.”

“I was so sure I’d win. Even after,” another pause. Leon inhales, and exhales deeply. “After not being able to catch Eternatus and seeing them pull it off. Even then, I never-I was so sure I’d still be called Champion even at the end of the day.” 

And then Leon keeps going in circles and down tangents. Through winding alleyways of confusion and hurt, but also bursting through the doors of acknowledgement and excitement that Galar is entering into a new world where someone else is Champion. Someone else can carry the crown. Someone else can lead a new generation into believing that they, too, can conquer it all.

He does this all through tears. They start running down his face at some point (Raihan knows, because he was watching Leon carefully but he won’t say when) and Raihan pulls Leon closer. Has his head rest on his chest as he talks it out through the sobbing. Every shuddering breath, and shaking shoulder, Raihan holds on tighter and kisses the top of Leon’s head still covered by his cap. 

They sit like that for who knows how long. Until the sun starts to set and orange beams start to filter through Raihan’s bedroom window. 

Leon pulls back, one hand cupping Raihan’s face. Raihan turns to kiss his palm, holding his gaze. Leon smiles. “Are you alright?”

Little flowers begin to bloom in the crater Raihan had ignored in favor of Leon’s own ache. For a minute, Raihan doesn’t know how to respond. And really, the only words that come out at first are, “I love you.” which Leon chuckles and responds with a, “I know. I love you too.”

Of course Leon, sweet and scarily perceptive when Raihan least expects it, could tell. Raihan offers him a crooked smile, and goes to steal a kiss before he really responds. “No. I’m jealous as all hell but…”

Leon’s face on the giant television screen after his defeat crosses his mind. He wonders if he could stomach knowing he made Leon feel that way. With emotions surging forward he wouldn’t be able to properly acknowledge because the time and setting were off. Because the Champion needed to keep going in times of sudden loss, and continue putting on a brave face because the people don’t want to see their Champion feel . 

And then he thinks, would Leon have even made that face at all if it were Raihan and not the trainer who defeated him? 

Leon looks at him expectantly, waiting for Raihan to finish. Raihan instead, shakes his head. “Nah, it’s cool. I’ll be ok. I was more worried for you, though. I knew you were gonna bawl like crazy if I didn’t get you outta there.”

“I would have held it in!” 

“Yeah yeah of course you would. I saw that little teardrop trying to escape,” Raihan teases. 

Leon pouts, which Raihan can’t help but devour. A simple kiss that slips into something more intimate. As Leon’s hand cups the back of Raihan’s head, and Raihan slides his tongue into Leon’s mouth. They know each other well, in the way their mouths move in memorized fashion. The way Raihan bites Leon’s bottom lip just right in the way Leon enjoys. That makes him gasp, and his eyes flutter. 

Raihan sighs, gently, as they part. And presses his lips to Leon’s cheek. Enjoying the soft chuckle that vibrates from Leon. “You hungry?”

“Starving.”

“Bet. Let’s go make food.”

“Sounds good to me,” Leon gets up with a stretch that Raihan watches, lazily. Then Leon scrunches up his nose as he sniffs his jersey. “I’m gonna change first, yeah? I can meet you downstairs.” 

Leon makes a go for Raihan’s closet and Raihan may or may not lightly tap his bum as he goes-lightly! Leon shoots him a look that Raihan simply smiles back at, fang peeking out at the corners. 

“That was a tap for good luck so ya don’t get lost!”

“Stop!” Leon’s face slightly flushes, “I won’t get lost. It’s literally right down the hall.”

“Mhm, mhm. That’s what you said last time,” Raihan walks up to hug Leon from behind, kissing the back of his neck once before letting go. “I’ll see you downstairs.” he murmurs. Leon twists around so they can kiss, once more, before Raihan detaches himself and heads downstairs to start making dinner. 

When Leon comes down he’s wearing a pair of Raihan’s sweats and a hoodie. Raihan can’t help the small heat that pools in his stomach seeing Leon in his clothes. Raihan’s got a few inches on Leon, so his clothes are a little baggy, but Leon still looks tall and carries himself with the pride of a Charizard, still Champion-like. Still holding onto some semblance of regality.

Rotom flies out to take photos as they cook. Well, it’s mostly Raihan cooking and Leon handing him the necessary cooking ware but they’re still a team about it. And if Rotom happens to snap photos of Leon sneaking in kisses then! So be it! Raihan will make sure to post at least one photo on his social media sometime this week. But not tonight, because tonight-Leon is his. 

They retire to the living room, where they’re curled up eating dinner and watching the cheesiest Pokemon movies that Leon and Raihan can act out word for word. In the middle of it all are stolen kisses and touches and the flowers still blooming where the cracks in the craters formed. 

Leon cries a little bit later, again, before they go to bed. And Raihan holds him tightly, fiercely, as the sobs crash like tidal waves. Tonight, is raw. Losing is never easy, especially for someone like Leon who hasn’t tasted defeat in so long. 

But Raihan, rather ironically, knows a thing or two about losing. That it’s horrible dealing with it alone, but a little more bearable when you have someone else to lean in through the loss.

“You’re still as strong and brilliant now as you were before today.” Raihan reminds him, over and over. 

They fall asleep like that, with Raihan’s lips pressed to Leon’s temple and their legs all tangled. 

Raihan had no idea what tomorrow was going to look like for Leon, but he did know that Leon wouldn’t be facing it on his own. 

[imjeralee]

Comfort in Despair: Chapter 7 - Galar’s National Treasure

Leon x F!Reader

Disclaimer: Do not own Pokemon

Summary:

Galar is rich in folklore and tales of the supernatural.

As a Pokemon Researcher who specialises in ghost types, this is a great opportunity for you to investigate and learn more about the paranormal.

Along the way, you meet Leon (in the most awkward way possible) who becomes embroiled in your adventures.

^ Basically this story is about ghosts :/

Rating: General/Teen

Galar’s National Treasure

(aka 'Like A Normal Person')

...

...

[Snippet about Leon from Galar Daily Times: Selfless, humble and kind, Leon has swiftly become Galar’s National Treasure in a short period of time.

He has captured the hearts of all the women of Galar. As one fan states, "It's impossible to look at him without smiling."]

...

...

The ring of your alarm forces you to wake up and you are in a questionable mood following yesterday’s events.

It’s the afternoon and usually you wouldn’t wake up so early but you have to try and visit Leon before the end of the day and so you push yourself off the mattress, groaning loudly.

You perform several mild stretches in bed before you slide off to stand. You’ve woken at an unnatural hour. You are unused to this. You like light but hell, this light is blinding…you can’t help but hiss with distaste under your breath.

And downstairs, you can hear the muffled sounds of the TV.

You get dressed, head to the bathroom to wash up, remembering that you are also supposed to return Leon's snapback if possible.

Visiting hours officially ends at seven pm which you think is generous so when you return to the room, you pack your bag with his hat and some other essentials should you decide to pull another all-nighter in the Wild Area. You highly doubt you will considering how exhausted you are and you head downstairs with bag in tow where you see Magnolia, Sonia, Cutiefly and Polteageist in the lounge watching the news.

Once they hear you come down, they rise from their seats and embrace you. As usual, Cutiefly dives for your hair and Poltea wraps his arms around your head.

“Are you alright, dear?” Magnolia asks, glancing up at you from behind her half-moon specs as your pokemon greet you affectionately.

“Yeah,” you murmur, rubbing your arm, before you notice a cheque on the table. Lifting it up, you see it’s addressed to you and it’s a large amount. Your eyes grow wide and you croak out, “What’s this??”

“Inspector Graves came by this morning and told us everything. That’s your reward for finding the missing gym challengers,” she murmurs as she lets go of you.

“I don’t need this. I didn’t do it for the money.”

“Oooh, can I have it then? I can go shopping with Nessa!” Sonia exclaims as she reaches for it, but Magnolia whacks her hand with the tip of her cane none too gently. “Ow…Gran!”

“Sonia.” Magnolia says sternly, shaking her head. Sonia pouts and cradles her hand to herself. Turning to you, Magnolia says, “I don’t want you to work on such dangerous cases from now on. Just leave it to the police, that’s why they’re here. Your mother wouldn’t want any harm to befall you and I promised to her I would keep you safe.”

“…Understood.”

“Good.”

Sonia glances between you and Magnolia and decides to return to sit on the couch silently, hugging Yamper to herself.

“Anyway, did you sleep well, dear?”

“Yes, professor.”

“We’re having roast today, I do hope you will join us.”

“Yeah, I will,” you reply, and Magnolia pats you on the shoulder; you will be joining them for lunch on this occasion, which is very rare.

She shoves her feet into her slippers and slowly leaves the lounge whilst you join Sonia on the couch with Yamper squashed between you and he scrambles into your lap.

“Gran can be scary, huh?” she whispers.

“She’s just worried,” you mutter, "How's your hand?"

"My hand is fine. How's your hand?"

"Still sore," you murmur as you glance at your bandaged palm, before you look at the cheque again. The money would be good to stock up on some supplies... “Sonnie, if you need anything, just let me know.”

“Hmm, well, I did see a very nice dress in the boutique the other day,” she mutters, “It’s okay, I don’t need it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright."

You avert your attention to the news, using your finger to stroke Cutiefly’s fuzzy body whilst Polteageist pours some tea for you into a cup he fished from the kitchen for you. Chairman Rose is on screen and standing in front of many microphones shoved in his face, providing a speech on the Giant’s Seat incidence. Despite the pressure he should be facing, he seems undisturbed.

“I am deeply saddened by the news and my heart goes out to the families and loved ones of the deceased,” he says, “However, the gym challenge will not be cancelled this year. The Pokemon League has roots dating back to the sixth century and is a beloved tradition of Galar….”

Rose goes mute following those words but his mouth keeps moving, indicating that he is still speaking and the news had decided to blot out his voice for some reason.

The clip abruptly ends and returns to the news reporter who briefly talks about the dead gym challengers being found in an unregistered pokemon den in the mountains of the Giant’s Seat then it shows their mourning family members and friends. Finally, an update on Leon’s status is provided; he is in stable condition and will make a full recovery.

The news then switches to a small group outside Rose Tower carrying posters and picket signs, protesting against the gym challenge. The group consists of middle-aged women and men. Mothers and fathers, you assume.

“We have Evan at the scene right now. Evan, how does it look?” says the reporter, and the screen changes to a skinny tall man holding a microphone in hand standing in front of the crowd.

“Thank you, Sarah, I’m standing in front of Rose Tower and as you can see behind me, there is a massive crowd of frustrated parents who want their voices to be heard. After Rose issued his statement earlier this morning…”

As the reporter drones on and on, Sonia sighs. “This is awful, I’ve never seen anything like this. I don’t think this has ever happened in the history of the Pokemon League.”

The reporter is now walking towards the crowd with the camera focused on him. He goes over to a random protestor and inches the microphone towards her, asking her to share some words.

The woman is livid. “Yeah, I got some words for you, Chairman Rose! You won’t call off the gym challenge? Then I’m gonna pull my son out! You’re not gonna get a single pokedollar from me!” bellows the woman. She is holding a sign that says ‘No to the Gym Challenge!’ and ‘Boycott Macro Cosmos!’. “We want safer measures introduced into the Wild Area! I’m not going to send my child to his death!”

“Oh dear,” Sonia adds as Yamper buries himself into her arms, “I wonder what this means for the future of the gym challenge.”

“Rose is pretty clear that the gym challenge isn’t going to be called off,” you reply. “It’s tradition.”

“Poor Leon, I hope he’s okay,” Sonia replies, hugging Yamper to herself tightly, “I mean, he is the Champion of Galar. He endorses the League more than anyone else.”

This is really negative press for the League, the worst, in fact. Cripes, you feel responsible for this. You hope Leon doesn’t lose his job or lose popularity or anything because of this incident…

“Sonnie, I’m going to visit him later, do you want to come with me?”

“No, it’s fine, I already went this morning. He was asking about you. He was asking me so many questions," she turns to you with a wide smile, "...Is there something going on between you two? He seemed awfully interested in you all of a sudden."

"No," you're quick to quip and Poltea pulls on your wrist, gesturing you to drink the tea he’s made for you which is growing cold.

It's a good way to get out of this conversation but Sonia doesn't look satisfied with your answer. Nevertheless, you lift the cup and down a sip. It’s perfect as expected and you smile at Polteageist, patting him on the head. He lets out a warble of affection and spins around in his teapot, before he lifts the teapot lid off the top of his head and begins dancing in mid-air with it. You and Sonia giggle at his actions.

You had once studied Polteageist, but nothing entirely fruitful really came from the investigation.

He was just...haunted tea.

The news moves onto an unenlightened article and you change to a channel showing a documentary about conspiracy theorists who believe the pokearth is actually flat until Magnolia calls you both for lunch and you leave the lounge to sit at the dining table to enjoy the meal. The three of you chat amiably though you do find your thoughts drifting to Leon often.

Once you finish, you help Magnolia wash up and Sonia scurries upstairs to the bedroom.

You check Rotom for any messages you received when you were asleep; Jace has messaged asking if you were alright and you reply, telling him you are fine and that you will return his belongings to him.

Graves has left a voicemail for you, informing you that he knows you have Froslass and you are to hand her over to the authorities when you have the time. You can feel your head hurting and you look at some other messages you have received. Some of the mothers of the dead gym challengers have also attempted to call and have left messages, thanking you for your work.

Next, you see that you have received a message from Leon and your heart skips a beat when you open it. It says:

Leon: Hi, this is Leon.

“Yes, I know it’s you, Leon,” you say aloud before you can stop yourself. You wonder if he’s going to say this each time he sends a message to you. There are also no smiley faces, no emojis in his messages. This must be Leon’s way of messaging. He must be keeping it professional at all times though you can’t help but think that he texts like an old man.

Leon: Will you be visiting me today?

You inhale the gasp that’s threatening to escape and type a reply.

You: hi leon! i was going to head over right now if ur free!

Wait a second, you sound too enthusiastic. Deciding to keep it neutral, you delete the exclamation marks and tidy the message up.

You: Hi Leon, I was going to head over right now if you are free.

You hit send and you’re stunned to see Leon is typing a reply, the top of the screen indicating that he has immediately gone online the moment you fired the response. However, Leon suddenly stops typing and then a few seconds later, your phone screen changes, indicating Leon is calling you.

"Holy Combee," you utter as you swipe the screen and put it to your ear, "...H-hello?"

"Hi, this is Leon."

"Hi, what's up?"

"Not much, I....I wanted to hear your voice."

"Oh," your face goes ten shades of red and you gulp. "H-how are you feeling?"

"I'm much better now. And yeah, I'm free."

"Great, I'll pop over now."

"Okay," he replies. You can hear him smiling.

"Bye, see you soon."

"Bye."

You both hang up. That was rather tense. Nevertheless, you will go visit Leon right now.

As you grab your bag, your phone goes off once more and you thought it’d be Leon again but it’s your haunted house client. He’s asking if he can speak to you earlier as he’s currently in Wedgehurst and you sigh. You haven’t said no to a client before and therefore you ask if he can come now despite the short notice and he says indeed he can.

You message Leon, telling him you will be at the hospital in an hour and he messages back with a simple ‘okay’.

“Oh my Arceus, are you and Leon text buddies?”

At the sound of Sonia’s voice, you emit a squeak of surprise and turn round to see Sonia standing behind you with a wide smile on her face. “EEP!! Sonnie! What are you doing???”

She giggles, leaning away from your shoulder and twirling her hair in her hands.

“Were you looking over my shoulder the entire time???”

“No. Well, yes, kind of. Sorry, I couldn’t resist! There is something going on between you!"

"No, there isn't..." you wail and as she giggles, your cheeks grow pink and you march away from her. “A-anyway, I don't have time for this; my client’s arriving in five minutes. I need to get ready.”

You hurry up the stairs to get dressed and your client arrives in a few minutes; you escort him to the conservatory where you recount your experience of the haunted house which seems to be such a long time ago, and he seems satisfied with the result.

He’s already paid you the initial consulting fee which was three thousand pokedollars and then you charge an hourly rate of five thousand dollars due to the nature of your work. You investigated for roughly five hours so he owes you a total of twenty five thousand.

When you see him pulling out his beaten-up wallet from his equally beaten-up bag and you see there's a Popplio along with faded, discoloured initials stitched on the cheap leather, you realise you're basically charging a thirteen year old kid a rather extortionate amount, the same price as ten Max Potions.

And so you feel bad for taking all his money when you remember that he had told you no-one believed him and that none of his friends or parents had pooled in for funds to ask for your help so your empathetic nature kicks in and you give him a discount of fifteen per cent.

The look on his face makes you smile as he leaves in high spirits to return to his gym challenger journey.

You also give him a good luck charm and tell him to stay away from abandoned houses from now on. He agrees and waves and you wave back.

It’s time to visit Leon so you leave the house shortly and take a Corviknight taxi to the hospital. During the ride, you read more signs on how to identify if a guy likes you ranging from playful teasing, talking about a future with you, opening up, putting his phone away when you’re around and then there are some that sound bizarre such as his pupils dilating in your presence.

You close the page, unsure what to think about these tips and you’re certainly trying not to overthink yet as the hospital looms into view, you find yourself growing rather anxious.

You enter the hospital and it’s a lot different during daylight. All the Lampents are gone and you hurriedly register your name down on the visitor’s sign-in book before the nurse allows you passage into the ward. You thank her and rush down the corridor, arriving at Leon’s designated room.

You take a deep breath as you stop at his door, adjust your clothing and ensure your hair is neat and tidy, then you nervously rap your knuckles over the surface and hear a jovial “Come in!” from inside.

At the invitation, you push down on the handle, open the door and peer inside.

You wonder if he would look injured or gravely ill but you’re pleasantly surprised to see Leon sitting in bed with the duvet pulled over his lap, grinning widely from ear to ear; he’s dressed in a white hospital gown with his long purple hair cascading freely down his shoulders and over his back and if it’s true, then he’s naked underneath.

…But that’s not something you should concern yourself with so you quickly brush away those thoughts and make your way towards him.

He’s holding a pink box of chocolates in hands and he’s surrounded by a bunch of ‘Get Well Soon’ cards, fruit baskets, metallic balloons and all sorts of other outlandish gifts. Interesting, so this must be how it feels to be popular and well-liked. You gape at the huge amount of boxes and once Leon’s gaze lands on your form, his eyes widen briefly before he hastily puts the box down, smooths his large hand over his untamed hair and turns to you with a somewhat awkward grin.

“H-hey, you’re here.”

He sounds nervous.

“Hi Leon,” you say as you enter the room, trying not to step on anything, “How are you?”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“Are you sure?”

He nods rigorously to convince you.

You’re not convinced though and as you walk closer to him, it’s then you notice his cheeks are a little pink. You don’t say anything to his demeanor and instead, glance at the stacks of gifts in his room.

“Oh, uh…these are presents from fans,” he replies, and Charizard, who is sitting in one corner of the room immediately rises from his spot and bounds towards you, huffing excitedly.

"Hey Charizard," you greet him happily as the flame Pokemon lunges at you and begins nuzzling your palms and rubbing his snout over you. Charizard buries his head underneath your hand and you have no choice but to pet him, then he begins licking your cheek and you start laughing whilst Leon stares with widened eyes. You've heard of puppy kisses so you guess this is Charizard kisses.

"I heard someone like belly rubs," you say when he stops licking you, before you begin raking your fingers over his yellow tummy. Charizard thumps his tail over the ground energetically and folds his wings properly before he sprawls over the floor, growling loudly as you continue rubbing his stomach. Looking up at Leon, you say, "He's like a big pupper, isn't he?"

"Yeah..." Leon replies, flashing you a smile.

Charizard rolls back upright and you give him an affectionate pat on his head before he nudges you closer to Leon. "Alright, alright..." you mutter as you're finally nudged all the way in front of the Champion and Charizard lets out a wheezy snort of content and returns to the corner, settling down to rest.

You give Leon an awkward smile and as you look around, you realise there are no chairs in the room and you’re not sure why but Leon says, “You can sit on the bed with me.”

“Okay."

With Leon’s permission, you carefully climb onto the bed and sit cross-legged in front of him over the blanket.

"You should've seen him, Leon. He was really worried for you but he was so brave," you say, glancing at Charizard as he curls up on his paws with his tail in the air.

Leon nods, grinning. "He did great."

"He did."

You both turn to each other with a smile and Charizard emits a huffing snort of glee, looking at you two with a toothy, all-knowing grin. Throwing your glance down, you see that Leon has a box of chocolates in hands and he lifts it up to you.

“Try one,” Leon says, and you choose a cute little heart-shaped chocolate before promptly popping it into your mouth. He watches you carefully as you eat. “What do you think?”

“It’s good.”

He grabs a chocolate and munches on it before he beams. Overall, you’re relieved to see that he is well despite the incident. “Have another one.”

With a nod, you pluck another chocolate out of the box and he does the same. You both eat the chocolates at the same time, looking at each other as you chew before you exchange a smile. Leon is sharing food with you…it’s identical to when you were camping with him…

“Let’s see here,” Leon gulps down the confectionary and scoops up the card that came with it, “This is a homemade recipe by… Leigh from Circhester. Thank you, Leigh from Circhester.”

Your grin widens as Leon puts the box down and turns to a pile of unopened letters in another corner. Love letters, most likely.

“I don’t think I have enough time to go through these,” he muses, “There’s so many.”

“Are these from your fangirls?”

His cheeks flush brilliantly. “Y-yeah, I guess….which is…which is really nice of them,” he remarks, stuttering slightly as he throws his gaze to the side.

You’re quite entertained if the reason he is so nervous could possibly be you but you’re not sure. You cannot see his eyes dilating that’s for sure, but he seems to be unable to look at you in the eye.

“Well, here’s my gift,” you say, before you pull out a small wooden carving with a red string looped around it from your bag. It has a weird shape, a bit on the oblong side and it’s carved with a grotesque-looking face but when you give it to Leon, he is fascinated as he balances it in his hands. “I made it myself. It will protect you from being spirited away. I also brought your hat,” you add as you open your bag and pull out his snapback.

“Great, I was wondering where it went,” he thanks you again as he accepts it from you and settles it neatly over the bedside table, “Thanks for the gift and thanks for coming to visit me. I was really hoping for you to come.”

“Of course. I had to see if you were okay.”

His face visibly flushes again and he clears his throat, finally swerving his glance up to you. He holds the gaze and you’re both staring at each other. Your heart thumps harder the moment your eyes meet.

You look away to pick up one of his letters; it’s pink and covered in love hearts. “Not subtle at all," you utter and you can feel his gaze on you but you are too nervous to look up.

“You can read one if you like,” he says.

“Nah, that would be an invasion of privacy,” you reply and you put it back down. You force yourself to look up and indeed, he’s been staring at you the entire time. Your cheeks feel hot now, the heat spreading uncontrollably to your ears and the back of your neck. “I-I guess you’re, uh…used to receiving so many gifts?”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t make it easier for me to accept them…It’s a bit too much sometimes. If I could send some back, I would.”

“Ohh, don’t be so modest. Everyone loves you, Leon. You’re Galar’s National Treasure.”

Your compliment takes him off guard and his cheeks grow pink again.

An awkward silence settles between you two until he asks, “Do you want to go through these together?”

You want this tense silence to go away so you nod and he picks up the next gift which is wrapped in pink wrapping paper with a matching ribbon and bow.

He brings the box to his ears and shakes it and there is no sound but when he opens it, he sees it is a set consisting of a mini pink hairbrush, a fake pink tiara, giant plastic pink hairclip, fake pink scissors and finally, a matching princess handheld mirror with fake jewels that is also a bright shade of neon pink.

“Ah….interesting,” he mutters, whilst you giggle in response. He pulls the brush out, revealing a little piece of folded paper underneath. Picking it up, he unfolds it and there are messy words written all over the place in pink crayon and he reads aloud, “To Leon, from Princess Natasha, aged five. I brush my dolls with these so you should brush your hair with them too. They’re very special to me so I want you to have them. PS. Please be my Prince.”

“That is so cute!” you can’t help but squeal and he chuckles as he places the box down. “May I?”

“Go ahead.”

You scoop the tiny brush, sit up properly in your spot and lean forwards. It could be the trick of the eye but you swear you see him stiffening slightly when he realizes you’re inching closer to him.

With brush in hand, Leon blinks blankly as you rake the bristles over his thick bangs until they become tame and Leon stares at you wide-eyed as you swipe the brush over the frames of his face and over the back of his head and his face flushes in response.

You finish the look by grabbing the hideous pink clip and brush some of his thick purple hair to the left and slide the clip over, pressing down until you hear it snapping shut. To your utmost surprise, it stays on.

Next, you grab the scissors and pretend you’re trimming his beard, humming cheerfully under your breath, but it does look like he has more stubble than usual. When you realise Leon is staring at you intently, you quickly put the toys back into the box and clear your throat. You got carried away…

You quickly pick up the mirror and show him his reflection. “There. Don’t you look ravishing?”

Leon stares at himself before he chuckles and you join in, laughing lightly until he removes the clip, looks at your direction and as he reaches forwards, you stiffen as he gently brushes fingers against the side of your cheek and over the side of your head, pushing a few strands and tucking them behind your ear.

Your cheeks grow warm as he clips the plastic atrocity in place and grins. “I think it suits you better.”

Your heart beats like crazy but you force yourself to laugh in response though it sounds like you were doing an impression of a honking Ducklett.

“About last night….thanks for saving me,” Leon says, and he’s staring rather intensely. "Chairman Rose knows what you did and he wants to thank you."

“I-it was nothing, but uh…did you watch the news?”

“Yeah, and I’ve to issue a statement in a few days but…” Leon leaves his sentence trailing, sighs and his gaze softens as he gives you a thin smile, “The Wild Area and the League will introduce safer measures. It’s a good thing and it will be a difficult time ahead, but I know we’ll be able to pull through. Even though Chairman Rose is having a tough time right now….and what happened to those gym challengers…As Champion of Galar, I can’t help but feel responsible for this but I want people to continue to believe in the gym challenge and be the best trainer they can possibly be.”

“Leon, it’s not your fault at all.”

He throws his glance to the side however, "I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to go on like that."

"It's okay. Remember I told you before? Whatever it is you're feeling, feel free to get it out of your system. I'm all ears."

Leon pauses, blinking at you in surprise before he utters, "Thanks."

"No problem."

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about last night?"

"Not at all, ask away."

"How exactly did you find me?"

"Well, I was doing my research on the case with the missing people from the Giant's Seat."

"I remember you telling me that. We deliberately stayed away."

You don't say anything to that because he still ended up there anyway and so you continue, "I was at the Research lab, looking at all the missing folk and trying to suss out a pattern...and figured it was a Froslass. Went home with Jace to talk about-"

"Who's Jace?"

"Just a friend," you reply and Leon suddenly has a rather undecipherable expression on his face, "Anyway, suddenly Charizard arrived outside my house in Wedgehurst and I got on his back and he flew all the way to the Giant's Seat where he lost you. I used a...um...well," you show him your bandaged palm, "I used an advanced divination technique to find you. You can ask Charizard for further details if you want."

Leon nods, a little perplexed. He's listening though, completely hooked in.

"I followed the trail all the way to this mountain, to this summit, and dropped into a Pokemon den and..." you leave your sentence trailing, inhaling a shaky breath, "....They were there. All the missing people. And then I found you."

A brief silence spawns following your response.

"If you're wondering what the stone is, it's an Odd Keystone."

He nods, hand under his chin, "I read about those."

"My mentor let me borrow it."

"Ezra, right?"

You look at him surprise. "You remembered...?"

"Yeah." Leon replies with a grin.

Your cheeks feel warm. "W-well...Ezra and I have collected about eighty or something spirits over the past few years, so we're almost there," you're wondering why you are sharing so much with Leon but he is such a great listener and he genuinely looks interested. "He taught me how to use it to trap evil spirits. In fact, he's taught me pretty much everything I know."

After your long revelation, Leon offers you a smile when you exhale loudly, seemingly exhausted. "Thanks for telling me."

"Of course. You have a right to know."

"Do you want to go for a walk? I haven’t left the room since lunchtime. It would be nice to get some fresh air.”

“Sure,” you remove the pink clip and you’re quick to stand, immediately knocking over several giftboxes with your leg and causing a domino effect as they topple against other boxes one by one and they collapse over the floor loudly. You turn round to Leon with a wince. “Sorry.”

He laughs as he hops off the bed and grabs his white hoodie from his bedside table which he pulls over his head, slotting his arms in. “It’s alright. Let’s go.” Turning to Charizard, he says, "You wanna come along, bud?"

Charizard shakes his head, possibly because he knows he'll be a third wheel, so you and Leon head to the door and he opens it for you; still a gentleman, no matter what. You thank him, leave the room and he closes the door behind him.

“Let’s go this way.” Leon says, guiding you towards a corridor to your left.

He walks close beside you and your shoulders occasionally nudge together. The corridor’s wide enough and there’s no-one in your way but you both seem to be stepping in line together, gravitating towards each other and staying close.

Eventually, the corridor leads you to a large area where you see a number of patients sitting at tables playing chess, reading the newspaper, watching TV or walking around aimlessly.

As you walk with Leon, everyone greets him and waves.

You can only watch in silence as Leon greets them politely. Even though he’s only been in the hospital for a few hours or so he’s already made friends with everyone…. It’s a skill you wish you had for people usually look at you with disdain the moment they lay eyes on you and avoid you like the plague.

You pass an old man in a nightrobe, seated in a comfy-looking armchair who pipes up, “Hello Leon, is this your girlfriend?”

The two of you abruptly stop in your tracks, your jaws hanging open with shock. Leon’s face grows bright red before he splutters, “N-no, we’re just friends!”

And you don’t know what’s worse: how quick Leon had responded to the assumption or his words. Maybe both.

The old man merely chuckles and winks at him. “That’s what they always say at the beginning! I’ll be keeping my eye on you two, mark my words!”

You cringe like crazy, leaving the ward as quickly as possible and Leon heads towards a door that seems to lead to the exit. It’s a short trip but Leon does not make eye contact with you nor does he say anything until you have left the ward.

Leon has brought you to a large yard with a fountain in the middle. There’s also nobody here.

“Oh wow, this is nice,” you mutter, before you rush over to the fountain and peer over the ledge, gazing into the pool. A few Goldeen and Seaking are inside, swimming around gracefully.

Yep,” he agrees as he joins your side, grinning.

You see some Swanna swimming in a small group so you pull out some snacks from your bag and break it into smaller chunks, throwing tidbits into the water; the pokemon gather round the morsels and gobble them greedily.

Leon watches as you feed the pokemon happily before he rubs the back of his neck. “Hey, uh…I have something to tell you.”

“Yes?”

"Would you like to have dinner?"

Your eyes grow wide as you stop feeding the Swanna to stand up, facing him with your jaw hanging open. "D-dinner?!"

"Yeah. My family would like to meet you.”

"Oh. Right. Gotcha. Family with the dinner. Uh, I mean dinner with family."

"My mum wants to thank you for saving me and Hop really wants to meet you too,” Leon says whilst you mentally kick yourself, “I’m getting discharged first thing in the morning and Chairman Rose has given me a few days off so…it would be great if you could come over to my house for a barbecue tomorrow. It would mean a lot to them… and it would mean a lot to me as well.”

You’re stunned; his words have stolen your breath away but you manage to choke out a meek, “Really?”

“Yeah,” he replies, and as you gawk in silence, Leon’s cheeks grow pink and he slides his gaze to the side. “T-that is, if you’re free.”

You snap yourself out of your stupor and nod, “O-of course! Sure, I’d love to. That sounds great. Thank you, Leon.”

"Have you been to a barbecue before?"

"No."

"You're gonna love it," he replies with a wide smile on his face, causing your heart to thump harder than usual. “I’ll give you the time and send you my address later…I live in Postwick and my house is the biggest one on the right, you can’t miss it.”

You can’t help but giggle and soon it grows silent as you stand together, staring at each other again.

“...You’re really…different," Leon suddenly says.

"Different?"

"Yeah."

"Uh, you mean that in a good way or a bad way?"

"Good way, of course!" he exclaims quickly to shake off any misunderstandings, "I find it relaxing to be around with you."

"Oh, well, I've been told I have an old soul," you reply with a hum under your breath, and you wonder if that had anything to do with what he just said.

"And I saw what you did back in the cave with Froslass," Leon continues, "You’re an amazing person….it’s people like you who really help Galar during times of need. I want everyone to know that you saved my life if…if that’s okay with you.”

Your face grows hot at his compliment. “That’s very kind of you, Leon, but you don’t need to do anything for me and I’m not looking for any kind of reward. I-it’s my work, you know? Well, maybe not just work but…” As you struggle to explain yourself, fighting for words, he chuckles. You add, “Remember I told you that my line of work revolves around dead things?”

“Yeah.”

"People around me get hurt, Leon. And I don’t want you or anyone to get hurt because of me. People don’t understand.”

“I understand.”

“I know I have my blog but what I’m trying to say is – oh,” you pause at once, and he chuckles.

Following that, a nurse steps inside the yard and says, “Excuse me, Mr Champion? You have another visitor.”

You both throw your glance to the nurse as Leon acknowledges her and she departs. "I'll take my leave," you say, a tad reluctantly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

“Dinner tomorrow?”

You nod.

“Any allergies we should be aware of?”

You shake your head.

He plants his palm on your shoulder, giving you a firm squeeze. “Great! See you then. I’m looking forward to it,” he says, before he gives you a wink and your stomach does a backflip.

When you leave the hospital, you pass the gym leader of Hammerlocke in the corridor and he's with a rather timid-looking girl whom you believe is his girlfriend. You throw a quick glance at them but they don't seem to notice you, and you look at their hands which are entwined tightly together. You hear the girl talking about something or someone called 'Driffie'.

They must be visiting Leon. He knows so many people compared to you. Off the top of your head, you can only count Jace, Graves and Ezra. That's about it. You want some boy advice, but it's not a good idea to ask Graves or Ezra, so you might ask Jace later.

You’re confused and inwardly hating yourself for once again, mistaking Leon’s friendliness for perhaps flirting and hints of romantic feelings, the usual. It dawns to you that you had spent the entire time with Leon as a blushing mess and also, your heart wouldn’t stop thrashing against your ribs.

And when you arrive home, Magnolia’s asleep and Sonia’s lounging upstairs in the bedroom. You immediately rush up the stairs, opening the door wide.

“Sonnie,” you exclaim, and she looks up from her magazine, “I have been invited to a dinner tomorrow. Like a normal person.”

”That’s fantastic! With who?”

“Leon and his family. It's gonna be a barbecue. They want to thank me for finding him,” you reply, and Sonia’s eyes widens abruptly before she sits up. “Wait, no, why am I doing this? I...I shouldn't be associated with Leon. He might get hurt because of me. Oh wait, it's sort of happened already..."

"No, no! You should go. Come on, don't be like that..."

"O-okay, but I’m really nervous about this. Help me.”

“What do you mean? You’ll be fine! Just be yourself.”

“Be myself?” you utter, before your eyes bulge, “That’s the worst possible me I could be.”

Sonia shakes her head wildly. “Don’t be silly! Arceus, this is exciting!” she exclaims as she slides out of bed. “Do you have anything to wear?”

“No…but I do want to wear something nice though.”

She giggles. “Leave it to me! This is like those movies where the girl gets a makeover!”

“You don’t say,” is your reply as she hurries over to you, circling you and checking your hair and nails and your complexion. You add, “I need your help, Sonnie, but I want this to be as painless as possible.”

“Of course,” she utters as she continues to inspect you. Placing a hand under her chin, she snaps her fingers and smiles widely. “I know what to do!”

...

[winnerloser]

HC No.004 ; The Darkest Day II and everything afterwards.

It all just adds up to this legacy that Victor doesn’t know how to possibly live up to.

Victor captured Eternatus in Leon’s stead, with the help of Hop and Zaci/Zama. He also was admitted to the hospital for the expected physical trauma one would experience when being faced against an eldritch dragon god on the roof of a building in open air. He was likely bruised and battered, perhaps even a bone or two snapped from the sheer force of getting blasted by such high winds and trying with all his might not to get flung off the roof into the great & beautiful Galarian expanse below ;

He just barely scraped by without any physical war scars, however. No neat stitches for him to pull up his shirt and show off to his friends and family. 

Bruising and hemorrhages aside, he was presentable enough to show up to the final without having to delay the entire showing past what Leon himself needed to recover. What Galar needed was a pick-me-up after the sudden disruption and hysteria that Chairman Rose had caused. His nervousness to preform (& win, even he got that bug in his system by then-) overpowered any immediate pain he could’ve been experiencing, and that was elevated immensely by the sheer adrenaline being pumped through his veins during the battle. It was like amidst all the chaos and abnormal occurrences, despite the fact that the soon-to-be champion was standing there with a sling and crutch on the pitch ; screaming and cheering still blared in his ears like every single civilian in the booths and at home were trying to pretend that, just for a moment, everything was alright. The only important thing was the present- the battle.

Victor is left-handed, but Leon lifts his right arm after his victory considering the boy’s left was in a cast. The cast was signed by the ex-Champion afterwards. Gold sharpie. Snapped a good pic before the cast got tossed.

Victor’s C-PTSD didn’t necessarily manifest because of the Darkest Day hysteria, despite how traumatizing that day and the days leading up to and following were. It was the entire Darkest Day deal plus his sudden trampling up into the spotlight combined, wrapped up into a neat little bow. Needless to say, his debut was a disaster. The region was reeling from the damage the failed DD had done, and collectively had to deal with psychological recovery. Yet despite that, since Victor was the hero of that story, eyes were on him. Not everyone was willing to subscribe to a pristine influencer backed by the very foundation that nearly nuked the entire region- everyone did have their eyes (and hopes) on the savior who stopped the region from meeting its certain doom.

No one behind the scenes knew what they wanted out of Victor, but it was certain that whatever he tried to do wasn’t right; completely ignoring the fact that he was still mentally wounded from the occurrence himself and was one of the only ones to experience it first-hand and feel the ramifications of having done so. And yet he couldn’t even run away because he had his duty to show up for this cause. He had to. And the troubled feelings of helplessness began to take root and meld with other deep-seated issues that were mutating and flaring up with new (unfortunate) regular occurrences that came with being not only Champion, but a first-hand source of a historical event. Not doing things right, even when being directed. Less people holding his hand through it and more people wondering why he can’t get a damn clue himself. Having to choose between two options of equally wrong things to say. Not getting a choice in his sponsors even though he was supposed to embody their very mission in his image. Trying not to get tricked or coerced into saying something objectionable. Not being able to have time for himself. His time belonged to anyone who needed it. Having to report to people at the drop of a hat. 

When the flames from the DD quickly die down, phase two comes and hits Victor in a different way. He’s not a political mouthpiece anymore, he’s an idol- but most importantly, hes a kid again. A teen celebrity. That’s the selling point, his youth. Suddenly, his clothes were brought into question. His love life, or lack thereof. The intimate aspects of his life belonged to Galar now too. Hell, he doesn’t even really battle pokemon that often in this period, because he’s busy being pulled between being a savior and a dreamboat. He was so used to a kind and genuine environment that he’s not equipped to recognize and combat gaslighting and other manipulation used in the industry; and seeing how deeply he internalizes things- it corrodes him, all his mistakes. 

You have to understand that at his core he’s a shy young man who came from a sleepy town of, like, 10 households or less- far off from Hammerlocke, let alone the wild area. He had no sense of normalcy prior to Postwick, because his environment was ever changing and void of consistency and familiar faces. He knows his own mum, Hop’s family, the Magnolia family, and that’s that. It’s not that his condition manifests itself solely because of external reasons, but he did not have the tools or coping mechanisms to handle being Champion. Especially when he was a special case, with being a Hero as a double whammy. The two titles went hand-in-hand and amplified one another and came with so much responsibility and so many expectations.

When his PR team begins to have troubles marketing him and Victor starts to self-isolate, its not just because he feels compelled to run away for rebellious reasons or even sensible fear. There’s also an element of his C-PTSD starting to latch onto him; kickstarted by the messy tangle of his interpersonal relationships by the time the DD reboot attempt happens-- amplified by the shitty people and terrible experiences he has in the first handful of months as Champ. He’s so ashamed of himself that he can’t leave the wilds, but the longer he stays, the more everyone will make do without him yet come to loathe him if he came back (in his mind). But he is too afraid to go back, because his abilities are beginning to be chipped at by his dysfunction. 

It’s only this potent in his head. All his disorders are not diagnosed and he internalizes them deeply. It stews and stews and stews and the very fact that he’s holding onto all these hangups without letting anyone know the actual extent of his distress actually inflicts more damage on him. But he really just... doesn’t know how to explain to someone these very specific... feelings or thought patterns he gets. It ultimately just gets chalked up to stress or fussiness or some other feeling that could be a symptom of the real issue but, again, not the root of the cause.

He’s still in the very early stages, but he’ll start self-sabotaging if he doesn’t... do something.