4
Home
Soon after that highly troubling sentence, Bede left, promising that he would show my trainers what it meant to battle a true Pokemon Champion.
He reiterated that, had it not been for his admittedly impetuous attempt to get the stardust behind a priceless artifact, he might have been able to wrest the title of Champion of Galar from me.
I didn't bother reminding him we had battled numerous times since he was disavowed by Chairman Rose and he hadn't beaten me once.
It's not like he would have listened to me anyways.
He never listens to anyone.
Still, if my trainers can take on Bede's highly skilled style and survive, it was all the better for them. Adversity under fire or something like that.
Sara came in a few minutes after Bede left and hustled me out to the train station, promising that she'd make sure Gym Leader Bede didn't abuse our trainers.
"Much, in any case," she said with a quick smile. "It's impossible to completely dull his fangs, I'm afraid."
"I'm sorry," I replied, still somewhat in a daze from Bede's sensationalistic news. "I really shouldn't be leaving the gym in this kind of situation."
The kind of situation where Pokemon are supposedly infected with a virus that could cause unpredictable mutations...
It was on the tip of my tongue to say as much.
Maybe I had messed up by not telling Sara what Bede had told me. But if I told her, and it turned out to be false, then...wouldn't it have been equally irresponsible on my end to relay such an unverifiable piece of news?
No, not just news.
Something this big was potentially world-altering.
Bede hadn't been wrong when he'd proclaimed in his usual pompous manner that something like this would change life, as we knew it.
Still...
Could I trust him?
Sara slipped the ticket into my hand as the train noiselessly slid into the station.
Maglev technology, courtesy of Chairman Rose, who was currently halfway through his twenty-year sentence at the Chirchester Penitentiary.
"I've gotten you the best seat on the train, Champion," she crowed as she wrested the suitcase from my hands and led the way to the very front of the train.
"Sara, you know I really don't care for that kind of thing," I protested, but aware that my words were falling on deaf ears. For whatever reason, she enjoyed treating me like I was royalty, no matter how many times I've told her to desist.
I guess that was one of the reasons why I was looking forward to going back home to Postwick.
No one treated me like I was better than them in my hometown.
To them, I was just Rin, daughter of Miranda Talbot, the little girl who ran around the village, engaging in all sorts of mischief with her best friend, Hop.
I didn't know just how much I missed that until I stepped off the train a few hours later and straight into the waiting arms of my mother.
"Welcome back, sweetie."
I closed my eyes for a moment, savoring in the smell of her lemon verbena shampoo and just the faintest scent of shortbread cookies that she must have baked especially for me. "I'm home."
Our house was just a few blocks away from the station and on the walk home, I could see that the entire town had decked itself out for Hop's wedding.
Bright red and blue streamers hung from the lampposts, secured by beautiful, intricate bundles of flowers that surely must have been my mother's handiwork.
Little children dressed in their Sunday best, ran around, shouting and laughing at the top of their lungs, as our neighbors waved and called out to us.
None of them treated me any different. I loved every second of it.
"So, what can you tell me about Hop's bride-to-be?"
My mother glanced at me, her brows furrowed. "Have you never met her?"
I laughed, somewhat nervously. "Hah, I'm kind of embarrassed to admit I haven't."
Her frown deepened. "And Hop never told you about her?"
"I..." I looked down, unable to meet her inquiring gaze. "Well, I mean...we've both been busy."
I'm sorry, Hop. I'm really sorry, but I just can't...
Is there someone else?
What could I possible say?
Yes. Actually, I've been stupidly in love with your brother since I was thirteen.
Hop had turned away from me then and walked away.
He never looked back.
"Dear?" Mom's hand on my shoulder shocked me back to the present. "What's wrong? Did something happen between you and Hop?"
I was sure she could see through my wobbly smile, see the truth that we were no longer friends, hardly even acquaintances anymore, but I wasn't ready to admit I'd lost my best friend almost seven years ago. "No, we've just been really busy, you know? And it's not like Sonia lets Hop take any time away from researching Pokemon. She sends him all over Galar and even to Kalos when she's feeling he might be getting a little too big for his britches."
"Oh? Am I right in assuming you're talking more with Sonia than Hop, then?"
"Well, it can't really be helped, can it? After all, she's the one who's stationary, not her assistant whom she sends all over the globe."
I wished I didn't feel so damn defensive.
"Uh huh..." My mother nodded hello to one of our neighbors passing by, who called out to me by name and said how glad they were to see me at home and that they'd seen me on that recent television interview about the upcoming champion challenges.
We made small-talk for a few minutes before they bustled away again, leaving my mother to stare at me, her head cocked to one side.
"Dear, why are you here?" She bit the corner of her lip. "That's not to say I don't want you here. But I'm not a fool. I've heard the rumors from Sonia. She knows something happened between you and Hop. Matters of the heart and all that. Are you sure you want to be here, at his wedding of all places?"
Crap. "Mom, it's really not that big of a deal. I mean, we were kids. I'm sure Hop's already forgotten about everything."
"Of course, dear."
Yeah, she sounded about as skeptical as I felt about this entire affair.
To be honest, I was surprised to receive the invitation.
Then again...now that I thought about it, it was addressed to the Champion of Galar, not Rin Talbot.
I shook my head and gave Mom a smile so wide it almost hurt. "Anyways, tell me about your gardening experiments."
"Oh, let me tell you about these lilies I'm working on crossbreeding..."
And thusly, we arrived at home, with Mom deep in her explanation of how her tiger lilies absolutely refused to impart their colors into her special stargazer lilies with their lush scent, and I was able to say, with not a little relief, that I needed some rest before the event.
She checked her watch. "Rest? Do you think we have enough time? The guests are expected in half an hour. That hardly gives you enough time to take a shower, and get dressed, no?"
"Five minutes, Mom. Just five minutes."
"Well...if you're sure."
I gave our elderly Munchlax a fond rub on the head as I walked past him to my room.
It had been a few months since I'd been home, but it was here that I felt like Rin Talbot.
Not the Champion.
Just Rin.
The bedsheets smelled fresh and clean and I buried my face into the pillows, taking a deep breath of the crisp, homely scent.
It was the common laundry detergent that my mom had been using for as long as I could remember, but I don't know why I missed it so much. I even used the same back in Wyndon, but there was something about smelling it here, surrounded by all of my childhood things...
I sniffed and rolled over to my side.
My gaze was drawn to a huge poster, fraying and curling slightly at the corners, a little faded from the sun.
It was that of Leon, in his old scarlet cape, throwing his sign in the air, his famous Charizard in stark relief behind him.
Leon.
I could still remember the night I beat him and took his title.
The night I fell absolutely, hopelessly in love with him.
I groaned and buried my face into the pillows.
Last I heard from Sonia, he was affianced to an heiress from some region called Unova.
No doubt I'd see him soon and his fiancé.
And I'd have to smile, shake their hands, wish them well.
It was enough to make me feel ill.
For a moment, just one moment, I considered faking a sudden illness and missing the entire affair altogether.
Don't be an idiot.
You owe it to Hop to show up on his biggest day.
You used to be best friends.
The least you can do is wish him a happy future with his new bride.
Don't be a coward!
Taking a deep breath, I levered myself out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom.