He got in a few battles with them when they wouldn’t leave him be, and honestly, he was thankful for the momentary lapse in boredom.
Of course, watching over his brother wasn’t the most exciting thing he could be doing with his time, and he found his attention constantly being dragged away as random Pokémon roamed around him. Leon followed along at a distance behind them, taking care not to be seen. The challenge hadn’t officially started yet, but Hop and his friend were already out in the Wilds training up their teams and adding new Pokémon to their dexes. It helped ease his worries to keep an eye on his brother as much as possible. He knew firsthand how challenging this was, and though he supported Hop wholeheartedly, he wasn’t sure Hop would be able to recover so easily if he lost. It didn’t stop him from worrying, though. He was sure Hop would be fine – after all, he had his rival to look out for him, just as Leon had had Raihan all those years ago and every year since. This year was especially taxing for Leon, as Hop was entering. Being the Champion came with its fair share of responsibilities, and if he was being honest, he didn’t have much time to think on anything else, especially once the Champion Cup came around again. It’s many years before Leon actually made good on that promise, even though Raihan didn’t know about it to begin with. “By our next battle, Charmander and I are gonna beat you easy!” He didn’t say it then, but Leon also decided that one day he’d find the perfect Pokémon to give Raihan to thank him. This one’s Charmander, but if you take good care of him, he can become a really strong Charizard!” Raihan smiled brightly when he said that, and Leon swore to himself right then and there he’d make Raihan proud. “Well, if you’re gonna be a real rival for me, you’ve gotta have a good Pokémon! So I figured you could just have one of mine. “Rai, he’s amazing!” He stopped a moment, a bit of confusion coming over him. Leon couldn’t help the huge smile spreading across his face as he picked the Charmander up. It seemed to instantly take a liking to him, as it climbed into his lap with its arms raised as if it were asking to be picked up. “Char char!” cried the Charmander materializing in front of Leon. Leon pressed the button on the Pokéball’s front, releasing the Pokémon inside. “What is it?” Leon asked as he turned the ball over in his hand. “I brought you something! I wanna make sure to give it to you before we start the challenge though, so I guess I’ll do it now so I don’t forget in the morning.” He took out a Pokéball and tossed it toward Leon. “Oh!” Raihan jumped up and reached for his bag. They made curry for their Pokémon to share, and settled in for the night together. At nightfall, they decided to set up camp for the night. He tried not to let it discourage him, though he was certain he just had to find the right Pokémon and he’d be undefeatable. Try as he might, Leon couldn’t seem to beat Raihan, no matter which Pokémon he used. Periodically, they’d face each other off with their new catches just to try them out in battle. The two spent the day battling wild Pokémon and capturing as many as they could as they made their way toward Motostoke. It’ll give us a chance to train up our teams and catch more Pokémon before everything gets started tomorrow! Now, come on!” “Wait, wait! Isn’t the train station the other way?” Come on, let’s go!” Raihan grabbed Leon’s hand and pulled him along excitedly toward the Wild Area. “I’m ready, I’m ready! I had to get some stuff, sorry. Suddenly, the door burst open as Raihan ran through it.
He’d hardly slept the night before, unable to stop thinking about all the exciting battles that lay ahead of him.
Now that the day was finally here, Leon was full to bursting with energy. She’d been a bit iffy about sending him off on his own when he’s still so young, but he and Raihan had promised both they’d stay together to keep safe. It had taken a while, but he’d convinced his mum to let him join in the Gym Challenge with Raihan. “Rai, are you up? Today’s the big day! We gotta get going!” He could hardly contain his excitement. Leon ran up to Raihan’s door excitedly, banging on it loudly. Link: Leave kudos/comments on the Archive! Many years later, he finds an Applin while out camping, and he figures now’s as good a time as any to lay his cards on the table. Leon never forgot about it, and always swore he’d repay it someday. Summary: A long time ago, Raihan gave Leon a Charmander before their Gym Challenge. Title: Applin means “I love you” in Pokémon