Finally the day everyone in the entire Galar Region was waiting for had finally arrived. It was time for the battle between the Pokemon League Finalist and Champion Leon, and this time without interruptions or cancelations. The stadium was packed, the Championship Battle sold out as it was every year. Though this time, the energy from the crowd seemed much different. Leon was incredibly anxious to add such an intense battle to his victorious streak.

However… this battle ended much differently than what he was used to.

For the first time in nearly 12 years, Leon had been defeated, which meant Gloria was going to be the newly crowned Champion of Galar. He was completely blown away, not only by her skills, but over the fact that he had lost. He quickly pulled his hat down over his face to cover up his disappointment and quickly put on a smile for the crowd, not wanting them to see that he was actually a little upset. The last thing he wanted was to come across as a sore loser.

He was happy for her! He was proud of everything she had accomplished since the day he handed her that endorsement letter! But losing his title just days after failing to protect the Region he loved so much and feeling betrayed by the very man who endorsed him all those years ago… it hit hard.

But still, he felt that her hard work deserved to be recognized. He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling his bright, Champion smile. "Congratulations, Gloria! You've beat even the unbeatable Champion— making you the new Champion of the region! You've become a first-rate Trainer, all right. I offer you my heartfelt congratulations!"

"And now that you've grown so strong, perhaps it's time I started looking ahead myself," he continued. "It's time we adults started working on improving the here and now, for the sake of all that's to come! And you, Gloria! What you ought to do now is… believe in yourself and your partner Pokémon, and keep on blasting ahead, in order to create that bright future we all hope to see!"

He turned away from her and faced the audience surrounding them. "People of Galar! Here you have it! A new legend born right before your eyes! Your Champion, Gloria! Bet you can't wait to see what kind of future a kid with this kind of strength might bring about! I sure can't! Let's watch and see what she can do!" He then took her hand and held it up high as the stadium filled with cheers and applause.

Once the awards ceremony ended, Hiki made her way down to the locker rooms, knowing that was exactly where she would find her boyfriend. She no longer needed her crutch, but had bandages wrapped around her ankle, as it hadn't fully healed, but it wasn't as hard to maneuver with anymore.

She made it to the door of his private room and stood in the doorway for a few moments in silence. Leon sat on a bench with his back to the door and was hunched over. While he seemed to be in good spirits after the fight while in front of the crowd, Hiki was pretty sure she knew deep down exactly how he was feeling. And seeing him like this now that he was alone, practically confirmed it for her.

She knocked on the open door lightly before letting herself in. "That sure was some fight, huh?" She took a seat next to him. With his head down, his hair covered his face so she couldn't see his expression.

However, he took a deep breath and sat up straight, throwing on that same Champion smile he always wore, even when something was wrong. "She was great! The future of Galar couldn't be in better hands!" His mouth twitched slightly as he said this and Hiki could see right through him.

She reached out and took his hand in hers. "And how are you feeling?"

He kept his facade up in response to her question. "Absolutely fine! I've never felt better!"

"Lee…" she scolded and he sighed, knowing he couldn't lie to her.

"Alright… I feel like I've been punched in the stomach." He shook his head, trying not to let himself get emotional again. The last thing he wanted was for her to see him cry… it was embarrassing. "I just never thought this day would actually come, you know? I can't believe I lost…"

Hiki squeezed his hand, thankful that he was being honest with her. "I was pretty shocked with the results myself, but we already knew she was a great trainer!"

"Mm…" He nodded and stared down at the floor. "I feel like I've let you and all of Galar down."

"Hey, you could never let me down!" She rested her head on his shoulder and traced circles with her thumb on his hand. "You fought your hardest out there and I couldn't be prouder!"

Another sigh… that was the only response he gave.

Hiki sat back up and stared at him with a concerned look on her face. He was really taking this hard wasn't he? Though… with how much he had been through over the past week, she was surprised this hadn't actually broken him.

But what she didn't know, was that it actually had.

He closed his eyes for a moment before standing, his hand slipping out of hers.

"Leon…"

The defeated Champion knew that the best thing for him now was to be somewhere he could get his mind off of everything that had happened over the last few days. The only issue, however, was that he didn't like Hiki seeing him in such a low state, so he decided it may be for the best that he went on his own. He couldn't even look at her as he spoke. Her reaction would only change his mind, and he knew he needed this. "Hiki… I think I need to get away for a little while."

"Oh! Like a vacation?" She stood with him so she could see his face again, but… he turned his head. "Where should we go?"

He flinched, hesitating for a moment before continuing. "No, Love… I need to get away… by myself."

"Oh…" Her heart sank. She did not see that coming. "Right… um, I understand. If that's what you need to do to make yourself happy right now, then I'm not going to stop you." She bit her lip, wanting to hold back her tears, though unlike him she wasn't very good at hiding her emotions. Hiki knew it wouldn't be fair to hold him back. After all, she went away for a whole 6 years.

"...Sorry," he tells her before turning around and leaving the locker room. He couldn't look back at her… He knew if he saw her tears, he would give in and take her in his arms, forgetting all about his plans.

But he just… couldn't do that. All of the recent events were starting to overwhelm him. What went on with Rose… fighting and failing to catch Eternatus… not being able to protect anyone from it… losing his Champion title… it was all too much. It was something he didn't want to burden her with. He needed to go somewhere that he could get rid of all of this stress, so he could just go back to feeling like himself again.

Hiki just stared at the ground, the tears just rolling down her face at this point. What else could she do? At this point, she felt so useless… She knew he was really hurting and she couldn't do anything about it.

She sunk to the floor, holding her face in her hands. She felt so selfish, crying like this over him needing space. Their whole life was about to change, she knew that for sure. But what did it mean for their future? They had discussed their plans many times for what they would do once he wasn't Champion anymore, but she didn't expect him to want to be away from her. They always talked about taking some time to go visit her mother in Johto, or taking a break and visiting his mum for a while, spending some time with Hop… Family related things. Maybe open some kind of battle facility like the ones she told him about from her travels. It all seemed like they would just settle into a normal life after his days as Champion were over.

But all of that seemed so far out of reach… In an instant, it all seemed to shatter. Maybe it was the tone in his voice, or his choice of words… Or just the simple fact that she felt like he was pushing her away. It scared her.

A small thud broke her train of thought as her Rotom phone slipped out of her pocket and fell to the floor. She opened her eyes and stared down at the device, where a picture of the two of them was showing on her background. She sniffled and took it in her hands. Feeling hesitant, she unlocked it and went to her messaging app, then tapped Raihan's contact.

[ Hiki ]: Rai? Are you busy right now?

[ Raihan ]: Nah, what's up?

[ Hiki ]: Would you please come to Lee's locker room? It's urgent…

[ Raihan ]: What? Is our Champ crying over his loss or somethin? Lol

[ Hiki ]: ...just get over here, please.

Raihan shoved his phone back into the pocket of his hoodie. Luckily he hadn't yet left the stadium, so he wasn't that far away. Within a matter of minutes, he was at the door of the locker room, ready to joke with Leon and try to cheer him up. However, when he walked in, he felt his stomach turn. Leon was nowhere to be seen and Hiki was sitting on the floor… her face resting against her knees. It looked like she was crying, too… What the hell happened?

He walked over to where she was sitting and slid his back down the wall until he was sitting next to her. At first, he wasn't sure what to say. He had no idea what went down in there before he arrived, but he understood why she had claimed it was urgent.

"Okay… I'm here. What's going on, Hiki?" he asked her, his voice calmer than usual. He hated seeing her cry. They had always been close, almost like siblings, so seeing her hurting always upset him.

Hiki wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "It's… Leon."

The dragon trainer tilted his head slightly. "He okay? Knowing him, I'm sure he took that loss to heart."

"I don't know…" She sniffled, feeling more tears welling up. "I came down here to try to cheer him up and… he just told me he needed to get away for a while, but… he wanted to be alone." She shook her head before burying it in her arms. "And then he just left. I know I need to be supportive, but… I'm scared. He's never acted like this before… What if he chooses not to come back?"

He just… left? "Did he say where he would be going?"

Hiki shook her head, not lifting it from her arms.

Raihan wore an angry scowl on his face after seeing her response. What in the world was that guy thinking? He understood his friend probably had a lot on his mind, but to run off and leave behind the one who cared about him the most, who always had his best interest in mind… It didn't make any sense. He looked down at his phone, thinking about how he would have to give him a piece of his mind once he was away from Hiki.

He stood up from the ground and held out his hand to her. "Listen… I'm sure he will be back by morning. Why don't I walk you to your apartment?" She nodded silently and took his hand while he pulled her up to her feet.

As she stood, one of her Pokeballs popped open, releasing her Ninetales. The Pokemon understood what was going on and wanted to be able to support her trainer. She stood on the side opposite of Raihan, just in case her ankle gave her any trouble during the walk.

The Gym Leader smiled down at his friend's Pokemon. "Thanks, Ninetales. Let's get her home."