Hi all! Got another chapter here for you, the Idea for this chapter and next just popped into my head while I was laying in bed last night and I couldn't wait to turn them into words on paper! Please enjoy this latest chapter, and if you like it please leave a constructive review! Thanks!

The Champion's attempts to step down, and hand the crown to someone else was less than successful. When asking Leon, he quite literally laughed in her face before realizing she was serious and politely turning her down. Both Bede and Marnie adamantly refused to take the Champion's position unless they won it fair and square in a tournament. Raihan, as it turned out, lost a lot of his drive as competitor for the throne once Leon officially withdrew from the league. Gloria was QUITE LITERALLY the only one qualified and still willing to be the champion.

Hop left for the Kalos region a week from the current date, and she was no closer to figuring things out. Sitting in her office at the League HQ, with her knees pulled to her chest and a dejected look on her face, the 18 year old practically radiated a black and soul crushing aura from her body. Her mahogany desk, littered with paperwork and requests still awaiting her approval or delegation, was a stark contrast from how usually organized and neat she was. She rocked back and forth on her massive black leather rolling chair, finally letting her head fall back to gaze out the four massive panes of glass behind her. Two sets of loud footsteps approached her office and internally she let out an annoyed groan. The two new chairmen of the league were the only ones who could make the scarlet and violet carpet sound like hardwood floor, and their enthusiasm usually overwhelmed her on the best of days.

With a deafening slam, the heavy double doors to her office flew open, revealing two well dressed gentlemen, one adorned in a scarlet suit and the other in violet, both with absurd hair that Gloria always wondered how was always so well maintained. "My fair maiden! Do not distress. I, your ever faithful friend Sordward, am here to render my aid to you."

His brother with equal gusto, extended his hand to her and added to the statement. "And I, Shielbert, am ready to guide you by the hand in your time of need! Speak the word and I shall do whatever is in my power to wipe that sad expression from your face."

Her soulless light blue irises stared at them through squinted lids, and a look of disdain on her face that did not deter them from entering was all she could muster for a greeting. Both closing a door behind them, they proceeded into the spacious room and sat at the two visitor's chairs on the opposite ends of the desk, positively beaming with excitement at a golden opportunity to help her. Gloria sighed softly and decided to just tell them what was going on so they would leave that much quicker. Besides, maybe getting it off her chest would make her feel better, or at the very least give her a new idea to solve this dilemma.

"The thing is…." she started pulling her knees closer to her chest. "Hop is going to Kalos in about a week. For my own reasons, I REALLY want to go with him. But as champion of Galar… I feel like I'm trapped. Like I'm shackled to my responsibilities. I tried to relinquish the throne back to Leon, and I even offered it to my rivals. None of them want it." Her forehead fell onto her kneecaps, feeling tears well. "I don't know how to do what I want without letting everyone down in the process. I didn't know being the Champion would put so many expectations on me. Leon made it look so easy."

The brothers side-eyed each other before looking back to her, and tilting their heads simultaneously in opposite directions. Perfectly in sync with each other, they both suggested "Why not just take some vacation time?" This seemingly simple concept was something that she hadn't even considered as a possibility. Lifting her head from its spot, revealing her tear stricken face and puffy eyes to them she asked with hesitation in her voice.

"That's possible?"

A deafening silence crashed into the room, all of them just staring at each other with deadpan expressions. It started as a series of stifled chuckles, before a thunderous laughter bellowed out of the two gentlemen, clutching their sides. Her protests at this display only made the situation more humorous to them. A full minute and a half of this uproar passed before they began to regain their composure and find the words to explain it to her. The Sword shaped brother spoke first "Being the champion of the region is a very important, and equally demanding job. But at the end of the day, it's still a job."

Shieldhair spoke next, leaning into the table. "Gloria, we've been observing your career over your two year reign. You've been putting in at minimum 12 hours of work a day all 7 days of the week. The fact that you haven't burnt out until now is either a miracle or the result of your incredible stamina." She noted that both of their tones had shifted from overwhelming royal ego, to something akin to a concerned friend

Sordward continued with his brother's point "You have accumulated nearly 6 months of vacation time, and the next gym challenge begins in 8 months. There is PLENTY of time for you to take a break and do whatever your heart desires. That includes taking a trip to Kalos with young master Hop. With your pay, it shouldn't even impact your budget."

A weight lifted from her shoulders. It was possible. She could both start a relationship with her childhood friend, and be the protector of Galar. This was the solace that she was so desperately searching for. "Thank Arceus… I was so worried that…" She paused and looked back up at the two. Her right eye began twitching slightly and her face became sheet white. "I…get paid to do this?"

The brothers stiffened at this question, eyes wide with both shock and barely contained amusement. Their mouths wiggled quickly, desperately attempting to contain another bout of hysterics.

00–0-000–00—0-0-

"Thank you for your purchase! Please come again soon!" The shopkeep said bowing her head at the girl leaving the clothing store, bags of new wardrobe dangling from her arms. She found a bench to sit on before setting the bags at her side, and pulled out her wallet and slipped the little black card into its spot. "All this time… I thought you only activated the elevator to my office and opened the door." The balance on the card was quite substantial. All the bones, stardust, and nuggets that she painstakingly searched for while solving issues around the region could have been skipped altogether.

If it wasn't so painful to think about, it would be as hilarious as the royal brothers made it out to be. At least she could laugh at the newly formed goose-eggs on their heads. "Okay so… Nessa is going to take care of Neptune, convinced Raihan to train with Flubbers, Bea was eager to learn from Kuma, Twisted Bede's arm for Sage… Right. Things are going smoothly."

The rivals had discussed that it was probably best to only bring a single Pokemon with them on their journey, and it was only fitting that they bring their partners with them. Zacian and Zamazenta both agreed to return to the Slumbering Weald while they were away on the promise of their return. Despite them being centuries old, they had grown attached to these trainers. That only left the question of what to bring on their travels.

Her thoughts turned once again to her friend. "Hop…" She whispered, bringing her finger tips to her lips as the kiss once again replayed in her head. Despite that, it's like nothing had changed between them. Not even a mention of what happened between them in her bedroom had taken place since they began their planning sessions. She wondered if she had only imagined the whole thing or, perhaps he wasn't interested in her like that? But he wouldn't have kissed her a second time willingly if he wasn't right?

Romance was confusing, is what she ultimately decided.

Without her even noticing, a small murmuring crowd had gathered around her, a few flashes of a RotomPhone camera brought her out of her stupor. This was becoming increasingly more common, gaining popularity that rivaled even Leon's. The facade she showed the public spread on her face again, giving them a wave which was responded with cries of excitement, and an onslaught of innocent enough questions, but in such rapidity that there was no way she could answer them all.

"Alright alright cool your jets all. I'll answer a few questions but I got to head out here in a few moments." Since the incident in Postwick, she had asked the former champions she knew for advice on how to deal with these crowds. Mustard advised a firm tone for people to understand that she had her own life, while Leon advised a gentler approach to gain the people's trust, and oddly enough to make a pose that rivaled his own. She combined these strategies into what she called "Firm but Fair"

They asked mostly generic questions about how she got so strong, what it was like to be the champion, what her plans were for the next Gym challenge and of course deflecting the more personal questions with vague answers. By the time she left with her new clothes on the Corviknight taxi, the people were very much satisfied and all waved her a hearty goodbye. She still wasn't used to the fact that she was now officially on vacation, and she didn't have to worry about paperwork, calming the less and less common random rampaging Dynamax Pokemon, meetings with Gym leaders, or sponsorships with the brands that supported the Gym Challenge.

She admired the passing landscape below her as the taxi carried her to Postwick, and didn't even realize that the lack of stress allowed her to relax to a point where she fell asleep in the cab. It was a short while later when she was nudged awake by a soft and delicate hand. "Oi, up and at em Gloria." The teen's eyes fluttered open to see a familiar pink dress and black jacket combo.

"Oh… hey Marnie… how are you flying through the air?" a still half asleep champion asked, groggily reaching out her hands to pull her friend towards her. The Gym Leader's warmth was comforting and threatened to put her back to sleep. Spikemuth's favorite stroked the legend from Postwick's white locks.

"I aint flyin you knackered cow." Her voice was soothing despite the chuckle at the sleeping Champion's expense. Another, much more annoyed voice cut through the air as footsteps approached.

"To think that I, the Elite gym leader of Ballonlea came all the way out here to see you off only to be treated to this display? Honestly I would be appalled if it weren't so… you." A swift strike to the back of the head jolted Gloria awake, head snapping up and eyes flying open to see her friends standing in front of her. Bede's hand was curled into a fist and Marnie looked like she was about to tell him off. Apparently she was asleep for the entire ride back to Postwick.

"Hey guys, it's really nice to see you, but… why are you both here?" She released her grip on the Dark-Type gym leader and opened the door to the cab, and crawled before reaching for her bags.

"Hop told us that you two were leaving for Kalos soon. Of course as your number one Rival it would be shameful for me not to come to see you off. You may thank me any time you wish." Bede's aura, and signature look of superiority had not changed since the day they had met. He has at least mellowed out a bit and didn't use as harsh of a tone as he did in the past. He had even started to develop a fanbase.

Marnie waved him off "Ignore that daft nit. We all know I'm yer number one rival after all." Gloria laughed awkwardly as she pulled her bags out and waved the very courteously patient Corvinight a goodbye. They were always like this, pointlessly bickering with each other over the smallest things. Always a competition. If she didn't know any better, she'd say that they actually LIKED each other and just were too proud to admit it.

"Look if ya two stop arguin' for a minute, I'll invite ya both for some curry." This shifted their attention from fighting each other, to her. Her secret weapon of course as always worked. Bede might try to deny it, and Marnie may try to hide it, but she knew that they were both nuts about her cooking.

"Well if you INSIST on feeding us, I guess I've got no choice but to oblige your desires." He brushed his fingers through his hair indignantly and smirked in his usual fashion when a sudden voice from behind him caused him to jump out of his skin.

"Oh man! I could really go for some of yer curry! Oh, and thanks for coming by you two! Always glad to see you both." Hop's hands were placed behind his head, sporting his signature smile as Bede turned and started telling him off, which completely unfazed the Professor's Assistant. If anything it broadened that brilliant smile of his.

Gloria couldn't pry her eyes from him, especially since the kiss, and it had become increasingly more noticeable to her friends and family. Marnie smirked knowingly at the look of adoration coming from the Champion and grabbed her hand. It was time to squeeze an admittance from the love struck girl since she'd be gone for so long "Come on. Let's leave those two to bicker endlessly. I'll help ya get supper started." With a nod, the two girls left as Hop began to laugh and tease the pink boy.

—-

Setting up the pot and campfire was as easy as it had been in the past, though it had been some time before Gloria had worked with the old pot from the camping set she used during her Gym challenge. Deciding on a potato base, and leaving the berry selection to her friend, she got to work chopping the root. "This is nice…" She admitted, missing this feeling of belonging, eyes glancing over to the boys who decided to engage in a 1 on 1 battle between Cinderace and Hatterene.

"Aye, since ye became the champ an all. Chinwags like this have been few and far between. A shame yer going to Kalos so soon, but it canne be helped I suppose." She chose some mildly spicy berries and prepped them for the pot. "After all… You'd follow him just about anywhere wouldn't ya?" She didn't even need to mention his name for Gloria's face to turn red, a billow of smoke puffing out the top causing her beanie to pop off for a minute before falling back into place. To Marnie, this kind of reaction was exactly what made teasing her so fun, and now the time had come for her to strike.

"Why don't ye just tell him yer in love with him already?"

Gloria's hand stopped mid chop, body tensing up. She hadn't told anyone about her feelings for him. "Is… please tell me it's not that obvious?" Marnie's heart throbbed at the cute display from her friend.

"It wouldnne shock me if half of the continent knew since yer face makes it so obvious" This prompted a squeak and a pair of hands covering the bright red blush on her pale skin. "So spill the beans, how long are ye gonna keep him in the dark?" Gloria's hands fell and a dejected look crossed her face that made the Gym leader worry slightly. The chopping resumed at a slower pace now and a sad smile began to crawl up the cook's face.

"I… thought I made it obvious when I kissed him, but it's like it didn't happen at all. He hasn't even brought it up." Marnie dropped the berry she was currently working with onto the ground in pure shock, mouth falling open before shouting in shock "EHHHHHH?!"

The sudden outburst made Gloria slip with her knife, and accidentally brought it down onto her knuckle. She yelped out in pain, retracting her hand and investigated the damage. It was already bleeding pretty bad, but as far as she could tell it didn't cut too deeply. "What's wrong?!" Bede asked, rushing over and spotting the lacerations on her knuckles. "How did you cut yourself that badly?" He gingerly took her hand and pulled out a handkerchief, wrapping it snugly around the wound to staunch the bleeding. "That should help a bit but we should get it properly cleaned."

A different hand grasped her non-injured hand. The girl looked up to see Hop with a stern expression directed at Bede. She had never seen him make a face like that before. Her eyes followed his, until her gaze fell upon the hand the Fairy-Type gym leader was holding. He said in a soft, thankful tone with vague sprinkles of jealousy mixed in, "I appreciate your help Bede, but please let go of my Girlfriend's hand. I can handle it from here."

Everyone's head snapped towards the trainer, Pokemon included, and all of them, in perfect sync, let out the same noise Marnie had made just a few moments earlier.

Hop Finally acknowledges their relationship! But what will this mean for their journey to Kalos? What changes to their relationship will be made in a land where the legal drinking age is 18? Tune in next time to find out! :)