"Hop, calm down!" Ellie cried out behind the boy as he sprinted, practically dragging Ellie along with him towards Wedgehurst Station.
"Have to...make sure...Lee's home!" Hop panted as he carried onwards, Ellie finally yanking her arm away from Hop.
"Hop, I don't think he could get lost on a train with a preset destination!" Ellie finally shouted at her neighbor, frustration boiling over as Eevee cuddled up in her arms.
"He's fully capable of taking care of himself!" She growled with a fire in her eyes, causing Hop to throw his hands up in defense.
"Ellie, I-I'm sorry, alright? I-I shouldn't have yanked you around like that…my bad..." He mumbled softly, backing away from the annoyed girl before turning back around to run off towards the station.
Ellie simply sighed in agitation before she felt Eevee's head gently push against her arm, Ellie looking down towards a stern look on the face of her best buddy as the fire in the silver-haired girl began to fade.
"I know I shouldn't have yelled at him like that...but you know me and people don't really get along...even if Hop's my friend." She grumbled as Eevee grew a concerned look for his favorite human.
"I'm trying to be better about that, Eevee...I promise." She mumbled as she walked forwards, finally reaching Wedgehurst Station just in time for the mob of fans to surround their returning Champion.
"Oh, Arceus...too many people, Eevee…" Ellie mumbled, the normally confident teen starting to shiver. Hugging her buddy a bit tighter to her chest, the girl took a deep breath before approaching the mob of people, just in time for Hop to yank her through the crowd and directly in front of the Champion.
"Well, if it isn't Hop! And Ellie as well! And I see you're still bringing Eevee around with you! The two of you are most definitely attached at the hip, huh Ellie?" Leon chuckled softly, Charizard placing a claw on his trainer's shoulder, free hand pointing to the Pokeball in Ellie's free hand.
"Oh? Did you finally get a Pokeball for Eevee?" The Champion asked with a raised brow, only for Hop to interject.
"Not quite, Lee…" The younger boy trailed off with a beaming grin, tossing his Pokeball to reveal Grookey as Ellie did the same, revealing her Scorbunny.
"Ellie chose Scorbunny as well. Well...actually, She let Eevee choose and Eevee chose Scorbunny." Hop chuckled, watching as Ellie scratched the shaven side of her head.
"You trusted Eevee enough to choose your first partner Pokemon, Ellie?" The champion asked, causing Ellie to retort with a soft smile as she shook her head.
"Eevee's my first partner Pokemon. And he always will be my partner." The silver-haired teen beamed, letting Eevee scamper up onto her shoulder before kneeling down, collecting Scorbunny in her arms as well before gazing into Leon's eyes.
"Scorbunny, Eevee...this is the Champion, Leon. And that? That's his most powerful Pokemon, Charizard. I want you to see them now...because one day, we're going to beat them..." Ellie remarked with that trademark fire in her eyes. The crowd let out surprised shocks and some laughter at the boldness of the rookie trainer as she didn't back down. Spotting the grin on her face, Leon arched an eyebrow, enjoying the confidence of his little brother's friend.
"Well, you know as well as I do that I'm more than happy to take on all challengers once they're ready, Ellie. But for now...Hop, let's head back home. I need to drop some things off in my room and I'm sure Mom's already cooking dinner. Ellie, you and your team are most welcome to join us!" Leon grinned, making sure to sign some autographs and take some pictures with the crowd before darting off, Hop following behind him as Charizard stopped Ellie in her tracks.
"Guess you took my challenge to heart, huh, Charizard?" Ellie smiled, gently placing a hand on the fiery beast's stomach as it let out a triumphant roar in response.
"Good...because you and Leon are going to make for incredible opponents for me and Eevee someday." The silver-haired flame smiled up at the beast, watching as Charizard let smoke burst from its nostrils before stomping off to follow Leon and Hop, Ellie making sure to follow behind the winged fire/flying-type.
In the distance, a small hamster-like Pokemon gobbled on a berry as a pale girl and an equally pale, taller male stood by from a hillside, watching the altercation.
"That gal's got some spunk to challenge Leon to his face like that, huh kiddo? She still probably ain't gonna stand a chance against you and Morpeko, though." The male asked with a bewildered expression. The smaller of the two pale individuals let a very rare, but still small smile cross over her face as she spoke, something that wasn't lost on the one beside her.
"That gal...there's somethin' 'bout her...she seems like she could be somethin' special." She murmured softly, watching as Morpeko climbed up onto her shoulder. "I hope she is part of the gym challenge...I wanna' get to know her." The pigtail-donning girl was deep in thought as she fumbled with a Dusk Ball in her palms.
"Ya' think she's cute, kiddo?" The male asked with a cheeky smirk. "The two of ya' would make for a right cute couple, Marnie…" He finally got cut off by a hard elbow into his lanky torso, the girl tilting her head down to hide a heavy pink blush that began forming on her face.
"Shut up, Piers…"