Light filtered through the curtains as the red-headed woman paced back and forth, grabbing books off her shelves before returning to her desk. Since the darkest day, she found herself entirely focused on adding to the history, telling the story of Ash and Goh as they battled Eternus alongside Zacian and Zamazenta. She found herself glad they all managed to make it out okay, even though Leon was badly injured. She shook her head, remembering arguing with him as he refused to allow Raihan to help her get him to a center. The rivalry between the two had her laughing sometimes; neither one of the men would admit that they care for each other. They were all friends anyway, nothing wrong with a friendship blossoming from a rivalry. She's beginning to wonder if the two should take lessons from Hop and Gloria, but it would be useless. As long as Raihan keeps flirting with her to try and win her, Leon would always claim he hates the guy.
"As if Raihan has a chance, Leon is the only guy I had ever felt this way about," she thought to herself, causing her cheeks to blush.
Re-focusing herself, she was frightened when her doors suddenly flew open as Ash, Goh, and Hop all ran in. She stared at the three in shock, "Ash? Goh? I thought you two left yesterday."
"We were going to, but Ash met Hop, and the two have been going over battle techniques for hours," Goh responded, giving her an unamused look.
She laughed, "You sound like me when Leon would constantly talk about fixing his own techniques. What brings you three here?"
"Have you seen Leon? Ever since Gloria beat him, he has been reticent. He's even pushing away all of his fans, including me," Hop explained.
"I thought he said he was leaving to find Chairman Rose and Orleana?"
"He was, but he left all of his pokemon here! And Charizard has been losing his mind; I don't know how to keep a Charizard calm!"
She stared at them in stunned silence; he abandoned his pokemon? Despite the anger that bubbled within her at the thought, she couldn't help but feel concerned. Leon wasn't one to leave his pokemon, especially Charizard. The two have been partners for almost twenty years; to up and leave wasn't like Leon at all.
"You mean, he's out there with wild pokemon that could attack him...without his own pokemon?" She asked, her tone reminding her of her grandmother when she was about to be scolded.
Hop nodded, "I...I'm worried, Sonia. What if something happens to him? I'll never be able to apologize!"
"Apologize? For what?"
"They got into an argument," Ash voiced, scratching the back of his head. "Leon told Hop he needs to not get so down in the dumps about losing."
"And?"
"It escalated from there, and I...I yelled at him that I don't need him all the time, that he isn't the champion anymore and can't go around just giving unwanted advice," Hop whispered.
Sonia nodded, "So, it was one of your bigger brother fights you two have on the occasion?"
Hop nodded, "I was just frustrated. I shouldn't have let my emotions get the best of me, and I know he was struggling with losing his title. But I want to be more independent, that's all."
Sonia nodded, "Let's go look for him; he couldn't have gotten too far on foot. That way, you can apologize and have your brother back. And so I can yell at him for being so stupid."
"Can we take a break? I'm starving!" Ash groaned, Pikachu joining in as he collapsed on Ash's shoulder.
Sonia frowned, they only had five more hours of sunlight, and there had been no sign of Leon anywhere. They found a few of the ex-champion's footprints, but they disappeared into the taller grass in the forest. Noticing how all three kids seemed exhausted, she nodded, even feeling a little tired herself.
"I can make my famous curry," she smiled, grabbing her things to set up a small camp.
Hop's eyes brightened a little, "You make the best curry!"
She chuckled, "You sounded like your brother when I burned it last time."
"I won't hold back my criticism if you burn it," Hop immediately retorted. "I don't have a crush on you like my brother."
Her cheeks warmed up again; Leon has a crush on me?
The thought caused butterflies to flutter in her stomach as she focused on getting her ingredients together alongside her yamper's help. She was so immersed in her cooking that she almost screamed when Goh suddenly nudged her, holding up Leon's hat.
"I think we're getting closer," he frowned.
She took the hat from him, noticing some of the holes in it. Swallowing down her worry, she quickly made the plates, serving them to the boys as she reassured Hop they would find his brother. Eating was suddenly difficult for all four, knowing they were possibly growing closer to wherever Leon was.
Sonia couldn't help but suddenly find herself missing his encouragement, knowing he would tell her eating will give her body the energy it needed to complete the journey. Even though his hat was mostly torn up, she knew there was a high chance that Leon was fine. After all, many people travel the forests without pokemon; you just need to be smart about it. But Leon was absolutely hopeless when it came to directions; it wouldn't take him long to become lost in a forest suddenly. Charizard was always there to fly Leon home or wherever his destination was when he found himself going in circles. Without his partner, he was most likely traveling the wrong way.
"How many hours of sunlight do we have?" Ash asked.
Sonia checked the time, "Five. Let's get moving, and the tall grass is beginning to get thin; we may be able to see footprints."
He winced as he pressed his arm against his midsection, quietly himself why he thought running from an angry salazzle was a smart idea. No one can outrun one of those, even if they're in the greatest shape like he is or was. Pulling his hand away, he frowned at the purple that covered some of his fingers.
Of course, it used cross poison on me, just my luck.
He released a sigh, telling himself it could have burned him too if it wanted to. He was lucky he managed to at least catch it. It was the one thing he's glad he learned, if you can't outrun the pokemon, then try catching it. Either it tires them out enough they let you get away, or you end up with a brand new pokemon. He sighed and placed the Pokeball away, telling himself he would only fail it if he tried battling other angry wild pokemon. Ever since his injuries from the darkest day and losing to Gloria, he felt as though he had failed miserably. Not even his little brother needed him anymore, his number one fan was tired of him. No one needed him anymore.
He can handle a loss and he knew someone would eventually come along and become the new champion, but he wasn't prepared to deal with so many fails within a few days. Granted, he hadn't allowed himself to heal and was barely able to keep himself upright during the battle. If he had been in top shape, he knew he could have pulled off a win, but barely. Gloria was one of the strongest trainers he met, alongside his rival, Raihan.
Looking around, he frowned at all the familiar trees. He couldn't tell if he was going in circles, the wrong direction, or the right one. He was beginning to regret leaving Charizard home, but he needed to do this alone. He needed to figure himself out and shake off the negative emotions before he allows Charizard to trust him again. Gloria's Milotic did a number on him when she used max geyser, Charizard was in the center for an entire afterward. He winced at the memory, his heart aching at the thought of his buddy getting badly injured. He hadn't given Charizard the time off either, he had suffered injuries during the battle with Eternus as well. Yet, he convinced himself they were ready when they weren't. Charizard barely listened to him that day, it was as if he was daydreaming.
I failed you, my friend.
He winced as the burning in his stomach got worse and his vision blurred, taking a deep breath, he pushed himself forward. He thought of how Chairman Rose got him into this mess, how he was ready to sacrifice everything just to keep Eternus free. The anger did little though, barely gave him the push it has been since he began this journey. Stumbling a little, he finally gave in and collapsed, wishing he hadn't forgotten his cape as chills ran through him.
"Any footprints?" Hop called out, desperately searching for a sign of his brother.
Sonia shook her head, frowning as the sunset's light gave the ground a soft pink glow. Sighing, she leaned against a tree and took a sip of water, telling herself they needed to keep going. The boys were growing tired though, even if they tried arguing against it, she could see it in their eyes. She had brought along gear in case they needed to camp out overnight, but she didn't want Leon to be alone during the night. The worst possible outcomes were running through her mind, causing the anxiety to build.
"Hey, over here!" Ash suddenly called out, causing them all to sprint towards him.
Sonia gasped when she saw him, curled up at the bottom of a cliff. He was underneath a tree, his body shaking and his eyebrows knitted together. The cliff wasn't entirely big, it was more of a rocky hillside but it was difficult to climb down. Looking further down the path, she could barely see where it split and went in the direction that Leon was in. They didn't have enough time to travel all the way down without risking someone falling in the dark. Turning towards Hop, she spoke.
"Did you bring Charizard?" She asked.
He nodded, holding out a Pokeball, "I thought he'd want to come along. He's not exactly happy though."
"He can fly down there and grab Leon for us while we get camp set up. We won't be able to make it home tonight, but we can at least get Leon and start healing his wounds."
"What if he doesn't listen? He tried using flamethrower on me!"
"He'll behave if he knows Leon needs him."
Hop gave her a nervous glance but nodded, handing the Pokeball to her as she threw it in the air. As soon as Charizard was out, he began flying around, growling and swinging his tail back and forth. Sighing, Sonia whistled, earning his attention.
"Leon is down there and we need your help to grab him," she told him, causing the fire pokemon to look down. Almost immediately he flew down as she yelled out for him to be careful, wondering if Charizard even fully understood what she was saying.
She could hear Leon let out a yelp as Charizard picked him up, bringing him to Sonia to get a closer look. He barely opened his eyes as they hurried, laying him down on a sleeping bag. Using a small flashlight, she frowned at the purple surrounding a nasty cut on his stomach.
"Leon?" She called out, gently shaking him.
He coughed a little, his eyes barely peeking open as he looked at her. He didn't say anything, he only stared, as if trying to figure out if it was a dream or not. She smiled softly at him, encouraging him to tell her what happened, that it was real. Hop was quick to be beside her, smiling with tears running down his face he hugged his brother.
"H-Hop?" Leon croaked, staring at him in shock.
Hop nodded, "Why did you leave!? You left Charizard! You were unprotected! You're...you're hurt!"
"S-sorry, buddy."
He gave Hop a partial smile, his own eyes filled with tears as his little brother hugged him again. Sonia gently wiped his wound, earning a hiss of pain from him. Looking up, she frowned, "What happened?"
"A-angry Salazzle...c-cross poison."
Gulping her fear, she quickly searched her bag for an antidote, hoping it works well on humans as it does Pokemon. She had never used potions or antidotes on humans before, though she knows many have done it before her. He let out a few groans as she sprayed and cleaned the wound. Removing his torn shirt, she could feel her face heating up as she tried ignoring his muscled body. Gently, she wrapped his stomach before putting everything away and smiling at him.
"You're an idiot," she stated.
He chuckled before coughing, "I know."
"Get some rest, we have a bit of traveling to do tomorrow. If you're able to."
Dark spots began covering his vision as he looked at her, "Th-thank you, Nia."
Her heart melted as he used his old nickname for her, his golden eyes holding an odd emotion in them as she gently pulled the blanket up and tucked him in. She kissed him on the cheek, whispering you're welcome before pulling away. She smiled as he fell asleep, snoring softly.
"Charizard, you're going to watch him, right?" She asked.
The pokemon nodded, his eyes staying on his trainer. She patted the pokemon on his arm, adoring how he cared so much for Leon. The only other strong bond like this that she had seen before was Ash and Pikachu, a type of close bond that sometimes she wished she had with a pokemon.
"Goodnight, Leon," she whispered.
A/N: Characters may be a little out of character, but couldn't really figure out their personalities quite yet lol. Might have to do a Raihan X Leon fanfic after this lol.