The train ride to Wyndon from Hammerlocke was relatively short, especially compared to the trips Gloria and Hop used to take there from Wedgehurst when they were younger. The trainers spent most of the ride gazing out the window, watching as the sunshine of Hammerlocke gave way to cloudier mountain landscapes.

About a half hour out from their destination, Gloria's Rotom phone chimed.

"New Chatter followers for you, Gloria!" Rotom buzzed happily. The Champion retrieved the phone from her bag and turned on the screen.

"No surprise there, miss champion!" Hop teased from his seat opposite Gloria. She rolled her eyes at him with a smile then opened the application with its Chatot icon.

Forgot to turn that setting off when I turned my ringer back on. I'm getting hundreds of followers a day, don't need to be bugged every five minutes! She mindlessly scrolled through the list of new followers, only stopping on one profile that stood out to her.

TheNewFairyKing – Gym Leader Bede followed you!

Since when did he get a Chatter? Gloria curiously clicked on the gym leader's profile, which displayed that he'd joined in October 2019. Today's the 7th… so that must have been recently.

Bede already had about a hundred followers, but in true celebrity fashion was only following about 20 users. Letting her curiosity get the best of her, Gloria checked to see who else the fairy-type user saw fit of a Chatter follow.

Hm… Milo, Nessa, Kabu… I guess he's just following the other league people. Gloria had to stifle a wince when she saw Raihan's new profile picture, a mirror selfie of him t-posing taken in his upstairs bathroom. I wish I didn't know that much about where he lives. The only other user on Bede's following list besides Galar league members was a girl named Klara, whose profile simply read "Ballonlea, GL".

Oh, she's the one he always sits with in lecture. Must be his girlfriend or something. Gloria navigated back to Bede's page, scrolling down only to find he hadn't chattered anything yet. She scrolled back up to his profile; he had no bio text, his birthday was April 24th, and Gloria found herself clicking on his profile photo.

Bede's hair seemed to have gotten longer since the gym challenge. It framed his face a bit differently; Gloria thought it made him look older. In his profile picture, the gym leader was holding a Hatenna over his head in a pose that seemed like he was about to shoot a basketball, the ball in this case being the Pokémon. Gloria giggled out loud and quickly closed the app as Hop looked up at her, breaking the silence.

"What's so funny?" He asked, nosy as ever.

"Oh nothin'. Just something I saw online." Gloria pocketed her phone, going back to staring out the window. Nice to know Bede got a sense of humor since the gym challenge.

"Alright, don't tell me."

"Huh? Mate, it really wasn't anything special."

"…you're lookin' a bit off. Not texting Raihan again, are we?"

Gloria sat up straight, brow furrowing in anger as she glared at Hop.

"Why does everyone keep sayin' that? First Marnie, now you, what's the big idea? He's just one of my training partners, quit teasin' me!"

Hop leaned in towards Gloria, smirking lightly.

"Word around campus is you got home pretty late from the Stadium last night, hm?"

"I was TRAININ'! For this weekend! Get off my case, will ya?" Gloria's mind whirled with worry, hoping that was all her classmates were saying about her and the gym leader. Besides, she knew that even if she wanted to be in a relationship, it wouldn't be with someone like Raihan. Sure, he was handsome… and funny, and endearing, and really damn talented, and really good at a lot of things she wasn't, and reaaally good at…

But Gloria definitely had other priorities in mind. And the dragon tamer wasn't really someone anyone saw settling down, like, ever.

"All right, I'll quit. It's fun to tease the champion once in a while, though."

"Not when it turns into tabloids calling me every degrading name in the book, Hop."

"Aye, you got a point there."

Gloria and Hop sat together in somewhat-awkward silence until the train conductor addressed the passengers over the intercom.

"Next stop, Wyndon Station. This is the end of the line today, folks, so everyone on board must get off at Wyndon."

The rivals met each other's eyes with a shared, sparkling excitement. Although Hop was now on the road to becoming a Pokémon professor rather than a world-renowned trainer, he and Gloria would always share the same passion for battling.

"I can't wait to see Lee, it's been so long!" Hop exclaimed, fixing his hair in the reflection of the train window.

"Yeah, me too. I'm kind of nervous for all the news coverage, though…" Gloria watched the trees outside the window thin out as they neared the capital city. I haven't done my own makeup in over a month!

"Oh, don't worry about that," Hop assured as he turned back towards her. "If my careless brother could deal with the cameras for nearly a decade, you'll be totally fine."

"I guess you're right."

The view outside the train became the familiar Wyndon skyline within a few moments, skyscrapers gleaming and reflecting the partly-cloudy sky in the distance. It tended to be a bit chillier up north, so Gloria retrieved her knit scarf from her backpack and wrapped it around her neck a few times before pulling her sweater back on.

Hop suddenly jumped to his feet, eyes wide as he stared out the window.

"Glor, look!"

The Champion followed her friend's gaze, astonished by what she saw. The train was pulling into Wyndon station, which was crowded to the brim with people holding banners, signs, and even their own Pokémon in the air. The signs read, Welcome, Champion!, Good Luck, Trainers!, Hi, Hop!, and the like.

"Oh goodness, I wasn't prepared for this!" Gloria hurriedly fixed her bangs and leapt up beside Hop, joining him in waving at the crowd. The trainers had to brace their legs as the train screeched to a halt, then gave a few final smiles to their fans as they gathered their belongings from the compartment.

"Do I look okay? Fix my collar, would you?" Hop asked as the trainers headed down the aisles and towards the closest exit doors.

"You look fine. And you don't have a collar fix, you're wearing a hoodie." Gloria led the way out of the train, bidding thanks to the crew as they waved goodbye to the passengers.

An escort from the station met Gloria, Hop, and a few other well-known trainers as they got off, clearly there to help the challengers make it out of the station without having to deal with a rabid crowd.

"Aw, I wanted to sign some autographs," Hop complained as he followed Gloria and their escorts off the platform through a back exit.

"There will be plenty of time for that this weekend, mate. Let's hurry and check into our hotel so we can spiffy up before the ceremony." Gloria rolled up the right sleeve of her sweater and checked her watch. 3:30… we've got three hours 'til Leon wants us at the tower.

Once they were well away from the crowd surrounding Wyndon station, Gloria and Hop thanked and tipped their escorts and immediately called a Corviknight Taxi. Luckily for them, the pilot didn't pester them too much with questions and was intent on doing his job. It was the nicest flight Gloria had in a long time.


"The Bluebelleon Inn… I really can't believe they renamed the Rose of the Rondelands!" Hop exclaimed as he and Gloria waited for an elevator in the lobby of their hotel.

"Well, a lot of things in Wyndon have been pretty awkward since what went down with Chairman Rose," Gloria muttered, distracted by a Rookidee fluttering in a young tree outside the window. It reminded her of home. "The Tower, this place… sometimes things gotta change."

"Wait a sec, Glor… Bluebells, like the lil' flowers we have back in Postwick… Bluebelleon… Bluebell LEON…"

"You don't think…?" Gloria and Hop exchanged an incredulous, bug-eyed glance.

The elevator arrived on the first floor and the two friends stepped back to let the passengers out before they got on. They were mostly businesspeople, but there was one family of three with a small child around nine or ten years old.

"Mommy, Daddy! It's Champion Gloria and Hop!"

The trainers mentioned looked at each other in surprise and waved at the boy, smiling warmly.

"Hey bud, nice to see you!" Hop replied as if addressing an old friend.

He and Gloria hastily got into the elevator as the family waved at him, the elevator doors closing as the boy said, "I can't wait to hear about your battles this weekend!"

"That was sweet," Gloria sighed as she hit the button for the fourth floor. "I'm still not used to being recognized yet."

"You're not used to it? I'm not even the champion and I have fans, it's so bonkers to me." Hop laughed in response, seemingly much more positive about things than he was at the end of the gym challenge. It was as if he was finally happy with his place in the world.

"Fair. But I don't think I'll ever be used to it."


"I don't look ridiculous?" Gloria smoothed down the tailcoat of her Battle Tower boss outfit before sitting down in the Corviknight taxi, feeling extremely self-conscious next to the more casually-dressed Hop.

"You're a STUNNER in that getup, mate! Leon'll be so surprised when he sees you, I bet it'll scare 'im!"

Gloria didn't want to admit it, but that was what she was going for.

When the two of them landed at the Battle Tower, an even bigger crowd than earlier had formed outside, clearly waiting for Galar's most famous challengers.

"IT'S HOP!"

"AND THE CHAMPION, TOO!"

The aforementioned trainers tipped their pilot and bade him farewell, then waved at the crowd as they exited the flying taxi. Before Gloria had a chance to think, a familiar figure appeared beside her and Hop.

"'Ello, you two. I'm here to 'elp ye avoid the mob out here and hook ya up with Leon."

"Oh, hey, Piers!" Gloria exclaimed, throwing herself at her best friend's older brother in a familial hug.

"I didn't know you were gonna be here!" Hop added, going in for his secret handshake with the dark-type trainer.

"I decided to come an' 'elp out last minute. I figured Marnie'd be home in Spikemuth this weekend, so I won't hafta worry about tha' ol' mess. And, woah there, you're lookin' sharp today, ain't ye?"

Gloria smiled as she and Hop followed the former gym leader to an area gated off from the crowd, waving and winking at her fans before the three of them disappeared through a side door into the newly-revamped Battle Tower.

The two challengers couldn't believe their eyes as what Leon had done with the place. The once-cold atmosphered Macro Cosmos headquarters was now adorned with flowers, bluebells the most plentiful amongst them, and gilded furniture, almost like a royalty-encrusted, indoor replica of Postwick.

"Leon, I got 'em here for ya." Piers called into the seemingly empty lobby. An instant later, Leon himself appeared out of a side door opposite the room of where the others had entered, a cheesy grin plastered on his face.

"Hey! So glad you're finally here!" The former champion strode over to them, stopping suddenly as he took in the sight before him. "Woah… Glor, you look…"

"Amazin'?" Hop interjected, smile fading as Gloria elbowed him in the stomach.

"…Scary." Leon finished, continuing towards his friends and family to exchange hugs. "I'm only sorta kidding, you definitely look great. But also like you could kick some serious ass."

Hop recoiled somewhat hypocritically at the sound of his brother cursing. "Where'd you get that mouth, Lee?"

"After losing the champion title I decided to lighten up a bit. Did you know I haven't said the F-word in eight years?"

"Not even when ya forget ta ask for hot sauce at Taco Bell?" Piers asked, trying not to laugh at Leon's straightedge attitude.

"Not even when I forget to ask for hot sauce at Taco Bell!" Leon affirmed, laughing. Gloria couldn't help but smile, she hadn't seen her predecessor in person in over a month. He certainly seemed much happier than he did back then.

"Anywho, Leon… when should I expect to put on my 'Champion Mouth' for the cameras?" Gloria asked, looking around the lobby.

"Oh, oops!" The tower boss looked down at the golden watch he was wearing, having obviously lost track of time. "I had them stall a bit 'til you all got here. The news crew is waiting outside!"

"Get on with it then, you lot!" Piers almost forcibly shoved his friends towards the double doors that gated the Battle Tower, triggering the sensor that caused them to open automatically. "I ain't bein' on no newscast, so I'll just be waitin' here til ya get back."

"Thanks again, mate!" Hop called over his shoulder, not realizing that cameras were already rolling on the three trainers as they passed through the double doors.

"And here we have the mastermind behind the Battle Tower, Galar's own Leon, with his younger brother and well-known trainer Hop as well as our Champion, Gloria!"

The Champion froze up at the reporter's introduction, not knowing whether to focus on him or any one of the ten cameras currently zooming in on her face.

"Hello, Galar! The Battle Tower is just about to open to all of YOU!" Leon exclaimed into a very specific camera in the middle of the crowd. He seemed to know what he was doing, so Gloria followed his gaze and smiled at the cameraman.

"I'd like to let my brother have a few words before we hand it over to the Champion," Leon continued with enthusiasm. "Hop?"

Hop seemed to break out of a trance when he was mentioned, suddenly throwing himself into a speech.

"Oh, man, it's so great to be here today! I've always been so enamored with Pokémon battling, and even though I've altered my path a bit recently towards becoming a Professor-" The crowd interrupted Hop with a tremendous cheer, which he beamed at until it died down, "- I think the Battle Tower is going to be a great place to further develop my skills as a trainer."

"That sounds wonderful, Hop!" the reporter exclaimed, his teeth shining a little too white for Gloria's comfort. "And who else do we have up here with us this evening?" Before Gloria could address the cameras, Leon interjected without a second thought.

"I made sure to bring our Champion into this fair city tonight, not just because she's my wonderful successor, but…"

Gloria quickly turned toward Leon, her heart dropping as she realized she couldn't stop his words from flowing out, being broadcast to the entire region.

"Gloria here was the one who so graciously helped me out with this whole project!"

Hop glanced at Leon in confusion. Gloria was sure she could hear her Rotom phone buzzing endlessly from behind the Battle Tower doors where she'd left her purse before stepping outside. The cheering from the crowd seemed to be drowned out by Gloria imagining Raihan throwing a temper tantrum all the way back in Hammerlocke Stadium.

"Er… yeah! It's been an honor, Leon." Gloria's words had little excitement behind them. The flames of her desire to beat him and his team into the ground that weekend had instantaneously escalated into a wildfire.