"You made it, Victor!"
Victor blinked at the sight of all active Gym Leaders of Galar gathered within the field of Wyndon Stadium, including Hop, who was the one who called out to him and waved before jogging towards him after finishing a conversation with Milo. Even Piers and Opal were in attendance with their respective successors. Marnie and Bede were present in their Gym Leader uniforms. Leon was not fooling around when he called for him to join whatever he had planned if the Galar region's strongest Trainers have gathered in one place outside of a designated tournament. It was not even time for the next season's official Champion Cup yet.
Victor was still a bit winded making his way to Wyndon after a series of exciting and fittingly legendary adventures in a portion of Galar known as the Crown Tundra. For the most part despite being the current reigning Champion, Victor was doing his own business intermingled with the responsibilities expected of a reigning Champion.
"Cheers, Hop," Victor greeted back once Hop arrived at his spot. "I don't suppose you know what Leon has planned for us and the Gym Leaders, do you?"
"Afraid not, mate," Hop shrugged sheepishly. "All I know is that Lee insisted that I come too. At first, I actually turned him down because of my studies, but you know Lee! He doesn't give us that easily. And part of me was curious on what he had going on. And that's how I ended up here!"
"Must be important to convince the lot of us," Victor nodded, glancing about the field. "Everyone's in uniform too. Perhaps I should go change?"
"Nonsense!" Hop laughed. "I'm not wearing my Gym Challenger uniform either. Nope, just me! And you're the Champion! Doesn't matter to anyone what you're wearing, I think, as long as you're here. What matters is that we're here to see what Lee's got!"
"I thought I heard some adorably familiar voices!" the pseudo-sweet high-pitched tone belonging to Klara echoed as she skipped her way over to the two young boys. The bubblegum pink-haired Poison specialist was apparently invited to participate in Leon's big event as well. "I should've known you'd be here, Victor! You mighty Champion, you!"
"You're… Klara from the Master Dojo, right?" Hop greeted. "I've definitely seen you out and about, training in many areas of the Isle of Armor."
"And training hard is all I've been doing!" Klara beamed. "I'm so glad someone's noticing my hard work, Hoppy-kins!"
"Erhm, right," Hop blinked, finding himself to be blushing a smidge. 'Hoppy-kins'? Well, alright then.
"And guess what, boys!" Klara winked. "Guess who just became an official Gym Leader! That's right! Yours truly!"
"That is an accomplishment!" Hop lauded, shaking off the random cutesy nickname Klara bestowed upon him.
"Congratulations!" Victor nodded along.
"That's right, keep showering me with the praises," Klara motioned with her hands to further bask. "Even though the Poison Gym still technically in the Minor Leagues, that doesn't change how much I had to put in the effort to finally be recognized. Do you even realize how much work it took, Victor? After you've been pounding away on me after every match?"
"E-Excuse me?" Victor was taken aback by the sudden accusatory tone in Klara's voice.
"Don't try to play coy with me, little man," Klara huffed, pointing at him. "You knew how outmatched I was and you kept toying with me while you were hanging around the Master Dojo. You never bothered announcing that you were the new Champion of Galar! And don't try the excuse that we didn't bother asking because it wasn't our fault that Master Mustard hogged the telly the whole time! Admit it! You wouldn't hold back against lil' ol' me! I keep coming out of our sessions super sore and frustrated! But… it does feel good after a while, I'll give you that."
Victor couldn't really tell what was happening now, but he had a feeling that her ongoing choice of words would condemn him if the others around them overhearing their conversation now took them out of context. His eyes went around and some curious Gym Leaders eyed their group with a bit of interest, though a number of their expressions showed more amusement rather than judgment. His brown eyes soon met with a pair of cool green eyes belonging to Marnie from across the field. Though he soon discovered that she wasn't actually looking at him at first, but rather at Klara's back before her eyes connected with his. Her face lit up a bit, managing a small wave before suddenly turning to her brother. Victor had to wonder if she overheard their conversation and would have to resolve any misunderstandings following this.
As for Hop, all he knew was that Victor made another rival outside him, Marnie, and Bede, so it must've been some typical rival banter and didn't think too much of it.
"Blimey, mate!" Hop laughed, slapping Victor on the back. "You gotta tell me more of your crazy adventures around Galar! Didn't you say you went south not too long ago?"
"That's right!" Klara chirped up. "You finally had the gall to leave the Isle of Armor before I could've finally defeat you! What made you want to leave the sunshiny weather for the icky bitter cold of the Crown Tundra?"
"Oh, right, about that," Victor scratched the back of his head, proceeding to think about how to recount his journey through the Crown Tundra.
Meanwhile…
"I really can't wait to hear what shenanigans that bloke has in store now," Piers muttered tiredly. "Seeing all these faces together, I'm kinda feelin' nostalgic."
"Don't sound too excited there, bro," Marnie commented.
"While I'm technically retired from the battlin' scene, that doesn't mean I'm done with battlin' altogether," Piers shook his head. "Don't get me wrong. I am more into my music these days, y'know. It's just that with Leon bein' who he is 'nd all, it's tough to keep up with the insanity."
"Maybe for you, but I'm not gonna stop," Marnie affirmed, sneaking a quick glance back over to where Victor was standing with Hop and Klara. "I maybe settled into this Gym Leader position now, but I've yet begun to grow into my potential."
"And y'know all the folks back in Spikemuth will be cheerin' you on," Piers smiled. "I still remember the last big shindig we held sometime after the big holiday bash in Wyndon."
"Piers, no!" Marnie widened her eyes, realizing where this was heading.
"To be fair, sis, your moments with the new Champion weren't exactly subtle," Piers widened his grin.
"I told ya to keep that to yourself!" Marnie huffed, balling her fists. "And did you really have to call the celebration 'Marnie's now a woman upon finding her fated mate'?! That wasn't subtle at all!"
"Easy there!" Piers held up his hands in defense. "I like to think of it as a big bro privilege that your little 'fun times' with Victor were kept behind all our shut mouths back in Spikemuth. And I personally made sure no one left with your secret in one piece. You're still too young t' handle all the attention if word gets out."
"… I know," Marnie sighed again.
On top of their current responsibilities, both she and Victor were aware of the drawbacks of having a public relationship, given their current stations as significant figures revered throughout the Galar region. And this was after finally helping Victor get a clue shortly after the big holiday celebration the past year.
The Postwick chap was polite to a land-sinking fault and painfully oblivious to a girl's heart at times because of said gentlemanly politeness. Not that there was anything wrong with it, of course. A real woman would appreciate the sincerity of a man's friendship, especially if it would open up paths for something more.
The greatest irony in this was that Marnie did not consider a possible relationship with Victor at all, at least when she first met him. He was nothing more than a powerful rival that would get in the way of her main goal of breathing Spikemuth back to life by becoming the new Galar Champion. He was friendly and respectful, and that was okay. That made keeping their relationship as rivals to be as simple and as professional as possible.
Yet as she slowly saw her own personal growth during her journey from the Trainer she started out as with followers mandated by her older brother, she also noticed how much she changed from every interaction and battle she had with Victor. She came to value her strength more to the point that she did not need her mates from Team Yell to constantly cheer her on and boost her morale.
Besides, she'd like to think that her own cheers have even more power than anyone's, not that she'd readily admit to it to anyone outside of the people she trusts.
In any case with recent events following the second Darkest Day and Champion Cup that allowed Victor to claim the crown, now that she was now sure more than ever on how much she valued the bond she had with Victor currently, even for whatever Leon had planned, she was sure to enjoy the experience as long as it kept her close to him. Though from what it appeared so far from her most recent glance, Klara was getting close to him, probably just to get under her skin since Victor was seemingly immune to the Poison-type specialist's passive-aggressive taunting, just like back at the Isle of Armor. Though as toxic as she knew Klara could be, she was otherwise harmless and not that bad of a person.
"Look, Marnie," Piers awkwardly sighed. "Not sayin' I'm against you bein' with him, but you both got a lot 'a years ahead of you. A lot can happen."
"No, that doesn't matter t' me anymore," Marnie shook her head, looking up to her brother resolutely. "I know the consequences. And I'll do what I havta' do." She glanced at Victor once more. "And if all we're meant t' be is bein' rivals, then I think I can live with it too."
"… Marnie," Piers muttered.
"Everyone!" Leon boomed, showing off his unfaltering charisma despite the fact that he was no longer Champion. "Sorry to have kept you all waiting!" One by one, each waiting Gym Leader turned away from what they were doing and turned to face him. He approached them, clad in his former Champion uniform and cape. "First things first! I want to thank all of you for running here as soon as I called. This idea I have now, I know it's important enough for me to tell you all up close like this. It's the only way for you to understand how great this idea is!"
"Can't wait to hear what's about to spill out of your mouth there," Raihan chuckled. "Though if it's anything like that Wyndon holiday blowout last year, I'm all ears! Tell us already your grand idea, Mr. Retired Champion!"
"Ha! Don't start on me now, Raihan," Leon responded, taking the remark in stride. "I really am trying over here." He closed his eyes and took a quiet pensive breath as to figure out how to articulate his statement. "For as long as I remember since I was Champion, I've been battling myself to get stronger and be the greatest Trainer. But it wasn't until understanding how Victor became strong from competing my little brother, Hop, who also grew that I've learned about this form of strength." Both Victor and Hop exchanged grins at this. Leon's eyes went from the aforementioned two to the rest of the Gym Leaders before settling his sight on where Marnie, Piers, Bede, and Opal stood. "The kind of growth you get when battling a proper rival."
"Hmph," Bede snorted at the comment, feeling singled out due to his own association as Victor's rival.
"What am I? A mushed Alcremie?" Raihan muttered under his breath, placing his hands behind his head nonchalantly.
"And since I've taken over running the League from Chairman Rose, I've been thinking on how we can bring more thrilling battles to our wonderful Galar region," Leon continued. "These two reasons are why I've called you here today." His grin widened out of sheer excitement and his voice managed to boom even louder. "From this day forward, I'm declaring the Galarian Star Tournament open!"
The sudden reveal of his grand idea certainly left quite the impact among all the invited participants, most of which were either staring blankly at him or expressed a degree of exasperation, at least with those of more surly personalities or were already familiar with Leon's antics.
"The Galarian Star… what?!" Marnie tried to follow along.
"… Doesn't he ever tire of draggin' others into his madness?" Piers shook his head and sighed.
And there was the minority that did not care about Leon himself and was excited at the prospect of promised thrilling battles, particularly in Victor's group. There was no need for Victor to say or do much as both Hop and Klara had enough enthusiasm for him to last for days if one were to judge by the flames in their eyes.
"I can see you lot are kind of at a loss of words," Leon grinned regardless of everyone else's reactions. "Let me explain. The Galarian Star Tournament will be an elimination tournament in Multi Battle format. I want all of you to pair up with the strongest partner you can think of… and then pool your power and work together to try to win your way through the tourney!"
As grand as the idea was upon execution, it was also rather simple to understand. With all that set, it seemed that even the audience in attendance were thrilled to bits about seeing what battles were to come from this Galarian Star Tournament if the unified cheer echoing from this point was of any indication.
Shortly after…
Everything went by like a blur. One minute Victor had arrived in Wyndon Stadium just to join the other powerful Trainers of Galar that Leon invited on the field. Now the next minute, he found himself back in the lobby with everyone else, standing just in front of the elevator to the locker rooms. What a whirl of events this was.
"Oh, right, I got to find a partner," Victor reminded himself.
His thoughts did turn to Hop at first, considering they were best friends and made quite the powerful battling combination. However, with Hop being out of sight at the moment, possibly trying to find a partner of his own, and the tournament having a variety of participants, this was also an opportunity for Victor to try to see how compatible his fighting style was with the others.
It didn't help that there were also a huge number of spectators intermingling with the Gym Leaders. Apparently each one of them had quite the dedicated following.
With so many people loitering about in the lobby, it would make finding an available partner difficult without holding up the entire tournament schedule. To Victor's relief, there was Ball Guy entertaining a couple of children as usual. Perhaps this loveable mascot knew where the other Gym Leaders were. Or perhaps he was a Ball built for battle? Time to find out.
Unfortunately to Victor's hindrance, before he could reach out to Ball Guy, an expectant little boy nearby immediately called attention to him, claiming he got a hardy handshake from the new young Champion and was bragging about it to all his friends. With that, his own increasing mob of fans began to swarm him, ranging from aspiring kids aiming to become as talented as he was to a variety of young women immediately inquiring if he already a mate, to which he literally was stunned into no additional comment.
"…"
A pair of reserved eyes watched Victor slowly and subtly maneuver through the masses before the League Staff members were forced to step in and allow the participating challengers breathing room. Just as Victor neared the receptionist desk, she acted quickly and pulled him out of his fandom miasma, surprising the people with his sudden disappearance before the League Staff members ushered them back to their seats.
"… I might never get used to that," Victor managed to wheeze out, slightly bending over with hands on his knees to catch his breath.
"Neither will I, which is prob'ly a good thing we've be'n quiet," a familiar soft voice with that lovely accent commented with slight annoyance.
"Ah, Marnie?" Victor realized, straightening out his posture to look at his saviour. "Cheers, I was wondering where you'd be."
"Same," Marnie nodded, placing a hand on her chest. "Didn't have to look hard as trouble seems t' make its way to you."
"Ah, right," Victor chuckled lightly, prompting a quiet giggle from Marnie.
During the silent and slightly awkward moment following the subdued laughter, Victor gave Marnie a brief onceover, noting how cute and attractive her Dark-type Gym uniform was on her, as well as how well she took care of her body.
"O-Oi, my eyes are here, Victor," Marnie stammered, realizing he was staring off. "You're kinda makin' me feel a bit self-conscious right now."
"Ah, apologies!" Victor bowed a bit.
"N-No, it's fine!" Marnie quickly responded, the blush on her face glowing a tad brighter. "I… If it's you, I don't…"
Considering everything that's happened to them up to this point, from what started out as frequent battles in Spikemuth to maintain their rivalry since ascending to their positions, a visit to Postwick when said visits were declining, a few meetups here and there to nurture their friendship, and the huge holiday celebration they held in Wyndon, it was clear what actions the ought to take next. Though due to external factors, like that insatiable mob earlier for example, prevented anything solid until they were ready for the consequences.
"Sah!" the familiar squeak of Marnie's gifted shiny Sobble broke the two out of their second awkward moment.
"Peko!" Marnie's Morpeko greeted as well, having taken upon herself to entertain her Water-type teammate.
Both Pokémon had managed to sneak behind the receptionist desk and jumped on top of the counter after sensing some conflicted emotions from their Trainer.
"It really warms my heart to see you taking care of her so well," Victor grinned.
"Of course!" Marnie replied proudly. "Aside from Dew bein' a special holiday gift from you and your Inteleon, the rest of the team loves her and has been helpin' me out with her, especially when she starts t' cry. She's not ready for high-level battles like this tourney will have yet, but she's gettin' there fast if she's anythin' like her da."
"Can't remember if I already asked, but did you nickname your Sobble 'Dew' to avoid future confusion if you'd have her evolve into an Inteleon one day?" Victor inquired.
"Part of it, yeah," Marnie nodded. "But I also felt like the name fits, y'know?"
"I get it," Victor said, glancing at Dew and Morpeko before the both of them leapt off the counter and chased each other playfully. "Dew seems really happy under your care, Marnie. Splendid work!"
"Thanks, Victor, it really does mean a lot comin' from you," Marnie couldn't help but look away, still not used to praise or flattery, especially coming from Victor, but she was getting better taking it in stride. Though speaking of preparing Dew for future battles, the topic of the Galarian Star Tournament came back on hand. "Oh, that's right! With all this banterin', I nearly forgot about what's really goin' on right now." She quickly recomposed herself as the reserved and unflappable Spikemuth Gym Leader she always was. "The Galarian Star Tournament, huh? Sounds like my shot to see how good I got."
"Before I was nearly mauled by my own fans, I was working on finding an available partner," Victor added.
"Huh?" Marnie hummed, a bit surprised to hear that from him. She was certain he might've teamed up with Hop already and was just lollygagging, but on the off chance he didn't, well… This was her chance now. "Are you still lookin' for a partner, too?"
"What do you by 'too'?" Victor repeated. "I thought you'd team up with Piers."
"It's easy to assume why, but part of me wants to test my strength against his, and I can't do that if we team up," Marnie explained. "Though before we parted, Piers did say that if I really needed a partner, he'd make himself open. Anyway, I could say the same with you 'bout Hop."
"Can't find him now," Victor shrugged. "He got way too ecstatic over this whole thing and ran off as soon as Leon dismissed us to find partners. Although…"
They both were reaching the same conclusion, or at least Marnie did. Victor was painfully oblivious as he was chivalrous. He would make sure not to toe any fine line or boundary, even when it was made clear that it was okay for him to be closer to her than expected.
"Hey," Marnie steeled her resolve and took the initiative. "If you haven't settled on anyone, why don't we team up, Victor?"
"I actually hoped to ask you when you pulled me out," Victor smiled. "Aside from Ball Guy, I couldn't find anyone else. And you were honestly a top pick on my list. So yes!"
"Rockin'!" Marnie exclaimed, her face heating up again upon hearing she was a top priority. "It's decided then!" Aside from getting a chance to be in Multi Battles by his side, this was Marnie's chance to rise to the top once more. The only catch was obtaining the crown would be by her own power, not by relying on the Champion. After all the training she's been doing since the past official Champion Cup, this was the time to show the fruits of her Pokémon training. She was going to make it clear. "I've got eyes for only first place, you hear? Nothin' else is gonna cut it!"
"I hear you loud and clear, Marnie," Victor pumped a fist. "As loud as your former Team Yell cheer squad, that is."
That certainly warranted a playful slap on the arm from Marnie, with her shaking her head, but having a wry smile all the same.
"Oh, you," Marnie shrugged.
"I'll go sign us up then, yeah?" Victor gestured to the League receptionist, who just finished business with another person, freeing up the queue. Marnie waited in her spot and watched. "Pardon, good sir? I'm here to sign me and my partner up for the Galarian Star Tournament."
"I've been expecting your entry, Champion Victor," the League Staff member greeted. "And I see you've chosen your partner just now. And just to confirm and finalize the entry, your partner is the Spikemuth Gym Leader, number nine-sixty, Marnie?"
"Correct," Victor nodded.
"Very well then," the League Staff member inputted into the system. "I'll process your entry. You, Victor, number two-twenty-seven, and Marnie, number nine-sixty…" A series of computer noises that usually indicate good news went off. "… There we are! All teams have been successfully registered." He looked up from his interface to face Victor. "We have registered you and Marnie as partners. Are you both ready to proceed?"
"We are," Marnie announced, strolling up next to Victor before he could answer with Morpeko and Dew tailing her at her heels.
"In that case, please head into the locker room," the League Staff member gestured over to the elevator, which was now guarded by a pair of additional League Staff members to prevent unauthorized access by overzealous fans.
"Thank you very much," Victor responded before nodding to Marnie to follow.
She walked side-by-side with him, seeing herself as his equal and disregarding all pretenses of titles. Though with the close proximity she was next to him, she could feel the flowing air from his swaying arm as they walked.
N-No! Not a good time! Marnie reminded herself mentally as to stave off the temptation.
As the newly formed tournament partnership of Victor and Marnie approached the elevator, Piers closed his eyes and sighed to relax from a distance. This was the layout of their paths now.
"Oi, Piers, you ready to head down to the locker rooms and see who's on deck?" Raihan, his partner for the tournament, asked. "I honestly don't mind waiting a little longer if you need to. I'm just looking forward to take down Leon."
"Nah, it's good," Piers shook his head, managing a small smile. "Just… gotta do what a big brother's gotta do."
As mentioned in the summary, this will be a brief novelization of my first run of the Galarian Star Tournament with Marnie as the chosen partner instead of the expected Hop. Nothing against him, of course, but the prospect of actually and finally teaming up with her was too good to pass up. And I'm sure I'm not the only one here that didn't take the traditional choice. And the latest Twilight Wings episode released in Japan about the Galarian Star Tournament finally pushed me to put this on paper with what free time I have.
I don't know if I will include the Shield NPCs since I'm based on Sword, featuring Bea, Gordie, and Klara. If anything, the likes of Allister, Melony, and Avery would be for fanservice since this story is focused on Victor and Marnie and the battles they'll have.
And as you may have noticed, I made some references to the Isle of Armor. There was going to be a prequel to this, which would be the sequel to the 2019 holiday story I made, Reuniting, United, but of course, 2020 happened. So many thing delayed and so many life obstacles, but fortunately, my family and I are still clean and healthy and doing what we can to survive. So for context for some additional personalized details added to the standard script upon starting the GST event, you'd have to read my past Pokémon Sword/Shield stories, including why I have Victor start with Sobble instead of the more popular Scorbunny (My team basically).
The nickname for Marnie's Sobble from Reuniting, United is Dew, based off the Latin name of rosemary, where Marnie's name came from: ros marinus, meaning "dew of the sea".
I don't know when I can get up an IoA fic up since I'm going out of order here, but we'll see, considering everything that's happened in 2020. And like I said, I'll be putting my personal touches of my walkthrough without it being completely copied and pasted from the game's script.
Please review!
Fun fact: Official artwork depicting the default number of Victor/Gloria, 227, not only signifies the initial release date of Pokémon Red and Green in Japan, but also means "safely".