"Did you ever consider getting a, you know…a secretary?" Leon suggested, watching as Gloria flipped through several folders on her desk, looking for that one document she needed to sign.
Most of the letters left on her desk today were from aspiring trainers hoping to receive an endorsement from the champ. When she first started out, she did actually make an effort to write back to these trainers and ask them to show her their potential, but nowadays there were simply so many letters that Gloria couldn't keep up.
"But I'd have to put up a job posting, right? Then I'd need to interview the applicants and everything?" Gloria sighed, digging through another stack of documents. She really ought to clean up her desk. Goomy oozed happily around the room, poking his nose into every nook and cranny, and Leon glanced at her new pokemon, a wondering look on his face.
"Yeah, but it'd be worth it. A secretary is supposed to help keep your schedule in order, arrange your agenda and pass you the exact documents you need at any given moment. Basically, they make your work easier, and you won't have to fumble around looking for things," Leon explained.
Gloria was only half-listening – she had found a recipe printout for decorative curry, which she didn't have registered in her Curry Dex. Why was it here, though? Did she print the recipe and forget about it? Actually, that was probably what happened. "You're not listening to me, are you?" Leon grumbled.
She dropped the printout. "Sorry!" She grinned, clasping her hands together and trying to look as attentive as she could. Leon shook his head, though he didn't look annoyed. Hard for someone as absentminded as Leon to scold her for not listening, anyway.
"You caught that Goomy in the Wild Area?" Leon asked, looking at her new pokemon again. She nodded. A sudden vision of Raihan tossing her the Ultra Ball with that warm smile on his face floated through her mind, but she tried to ignore the memory. It was incredibly distracting. "I didn't think you were particularly interested in dragon types, though." He frowned. "And since when did you use Ultra Balls?"
Gloria's pokemon were mostly housed in normal pokeballs because she got paranoid about running out of pokeballs early on during her journey and ended up buying way too many. She had yet to finish using them. "Just wanted to try a new line-up! And Goomy was being really difficult so I had to use a different ball. Why, is something wrong?"
Oh, if only her mother could see how easily the lie slipped out of her mouth. She would be so disappointed. "Oh, nothing. Just – well, it reminds me a lot of Raihan." Leon paused, then shrugged, oblivious to how the mere mention of the Gym Leader made Gloria panic. Was it really that obvious? Should she be more careful about using Goomy in public?
She knew there was nothing wrong with receiving Goomy as a gift from Raihan, but she didn't want any gossip about their possible relationship. There was no relationship. She was the champion, he was part of the Pokemon League. The end. But the tabloids were nasty things and she absolutely did not want to give them any material to work with.
"Well, I'm going to raise Goomy up so well that he'll destroy Raihan's team during the next tournament," she declared, trying to get her mind back on track. Leon just blinked at her, clearly surprised by her announcement. "That's right! I'm going to beat the dragon Gym Leader using a dragon pokemon. Is that poetic justice or what?"
There was silence for a moment, then Leon suddenly began to laugh. She frowned at him, but it didn't sound like he was mocking her – he just seemed amused. "I'm sorry, I'm not making fun of you or anything. It's just that I've never seen anyone try to challenge Raihan using his own strengths before. That's mighty bold of you, Gloria."
She huffed, spinning Goomy's Ultra Ball around on her desk. "Well, someone has to take his ego down a notch, and if being beaten by a dragon doesn't do it, I don't know what will." She eyed the pokeball, the black and yellow blurring together as it spun around.
"I'm sure Raihan would enjoy that match greatly, no matter the result." Leon grinned. "You know, ever since you became the champion, he's been pretty insistent on battling you again. I think you're his next goal. Though he'd still love to beat me once, I'm sure."
She remembered his invitation for a double battle and sighed. "I don't find that surprising. He's all about defeating the champion, and that's who I am now, so…" she paused. "We'll just have to wait for the next tournament, I guess. Anyway, I wanted to ask – aren't you supposed to be at the Battle Tower? You're sure spending a lot of time here."
"I'll be notified if someone reaches my stage. It's not that common, you know. And I'm here because I'm concerned, Gloria. Just get a secretary already. It's not that tough."
Gloria groaned. "Leon, I thought pokemon training was tough in the beginning, but it's nothing compared to this. I wasn't meant for a desk-bound job. I didn't think being the champion would be a desk-bound job, but it really is!" she exclaimed.
Leon shook his head. "You know there are people who'd love to be sitting where you are now, right?" he asked. Gloria bit her lip, immediately ashamed. Right. She was the role model of trainers all across Galar, a dream, a goal and an aspiration. And yet here she was, whining about how difficult it was being at the top. When had she become so bratty?
His golden gaze softened a little when he saw the remorse on her face. "Okay, don't look so disappointed. We all forget how far we've come, sometimes." He patted her on the shoulder, and the weight of his hand was comforting. Sometimes, it felt like Leon might be the only person who could understand what she was going through. He probably was. "I'll help you with hiring a secretary, how about that? I know technically this is your first job and you're hopelessly lost, but believe me, with time you will get better at things."
Spoken like someone who had been the champion since he was ten years old. She might have defeated him, but she still had a lot of catching up to do. "Fine. I'll go…put up a job posting or something." She sighed, slumping over and pressing her cheek to her desk. "But first, how does one put up a job posting?" she asked, staring up at the ceiling.
Leon winced. "I guess I'll just have to help you with that too."
For some reason, the media had pounced on the fact that the champion was now looking for a secretary, and the next day that was what all the newspapers were talking about.
Gloria groaned. This was stupid. She was hiring someone to help her. It wasn't like she lost her title, or she averted another crisis or, Arceus forbid, she got a boyfriend or anything. It must be a slow news day. "Marnie, why do tabloids keep stalking everything I do?"
"Because you're the champion?" her friend suggested, licking her ice cream cone. Gloria hid her face underneath her hand as another person with a camera walked past the café. He looked more like a tourist than paparazzi, but she wasn't taking any chances.
"I'm just a person, though. Wish they would spend more time breathing down Hop's neck. His research deserves more attention." She stabbed her spoon into her sundae, annoyed that she couldn't enjoy her day out in peace. It wasn't that easy to schedule a day where they could just come out and enjoy themselves, especially now that Marnie had replaced Piers as Spikemuth's Gym Leader. And seeing her friend at League meetings just wasn't quite the same.
"Hop avoids the paparazzi almost as much as you do. It's been a few months, but they're still asking if he's disappointed that he lost the championship to you, or they ask questions like how you compare to Leon…it's tough on him." Marnie noted. Her face didn't change, but Gloria could hear the sympathy in her voice. "He's lucky the paps are scared of Sonia."
Sonia was definitely a force to be reckoned with. Gloria smiled at the mention of the fiery redhead. "I feel like we should meet up one of these days. Just you, me and Hop. It'd be like our challenger days."
Marnie raised an eyebrow. "Then shouldn't you invite Bede, too? Can't relieve our good old challenger days without having him butting in all the time, making trouble." The two of them met each other's gazes and burst out laughing at the same time. It was really nice to be chatting with Marnie again. She was so straightforward and no-nonsense; Gloria never had to worry about anything she said. Even if she messed up, Marnie would just point it out in a matter-of-fact way, she would rectify her slip up, and they would both move on.
"Speaking of Bede. Did you see the way Opal tore into him the other day when he was being a rude prick on national TV? Hilarious." Marnie was now nibbling at her wafer cone. "You'd think he learnt his lesson by now. But seems like he's still as standoffish as ever."
Gloria shrugged. "To be honest, I can understand why he's mean to reporters." She would be too if she wasn't so afraid of her image being torn apart by the public. People knew where she lived, and they knew who her friends were. She also knew exactly how terrible people could be. She didn't want any of her actions to affect the people she cared about.
Marnie eyed Gloria over her ice cream cone. "Still doesn't excuse his behaviour, though." Gloria nodded, twirling her spoon in her sundae. It was half-melted. She had barely eaten her ice cream – after finding out how much buzz there was surrounding her job listing, she had lost her appetite. "Something on your mind, Gloria?"
"No, nothing. Just thinking about the price of fame." Why would people willingly become famous? It didn't make sense. Sure, being famous and well-liked meant the public loved you, and it opened many doors – but at the same time celebrities lost all sense of privacy. Their worlds were no longer their own. Everything they did was shared with an adoring fanbase, and sometimes those fans behaved like they were entitled to the celebrity's time.
If she continued this way, would she eventually lose all sense of herself? She wanted to come to terms with her new reality, but she was still afraid. She was grateful that Leon and the League were always supporting her though, no matter how young and inexperienced she was. She wanted to do her best for all these people who had become her friends, and make sure that Galar's trainers became the best in the world.
"You could wear a hat and sunglasses when you're out in public," Marnie suggested, and her face was so dead serious that Gloria couldn't tell if she was joking or not.
"I already tried that, but it didn't work, so I gave up. I appreciate the advice though." The two girls entered a comfortable silence, and Gloria decided to at least try and force down the ice cream. She had already paid for it and she was brought up to never waste food.
She felt her phone buzz and saw a message from Leon, telling her to go and check the job portal. Wrinkling her nose, she did as he said, logging in to the online platform where they had posted the job opening. She guessed that there would be loads of applications since everyone was talking about the role, but when she saw the number, she gasped – how were they supposed to sort through this many applicants?
"What's wrong?" Marnie asked. Her cone was almost entirely gone by now, and the Gym Leader was sipping delicately at her cup of tea.
"Marnie, I have over a thousand people applying for the secretary role," Gloria leant in and whispered. "I have absolutely no idea how we're going to screen all these people!"
"Oh." Marnie's eyes widened. "Well, good luck with that. But there would probably be League staff who can help you with this, right? They're not doing anything much at the moment since it isn't championship season."
"Yeah, that's true. I guess I'll ask and see if any of them can help me." She squinted at the number of entries, wondering if she had misread things – nope, that was definitely a four-digit number. As she watched, the count increased by three.
They'd probably have to close the application window soon. She and Leon had agreed to leave the listing up for a week, but neither of them had anticipated so many sign-ups. She didn't want to think about how many people would apply if they left the listing active for more than a day. She was about to text Leon and ask if they should take down the listing when her phone buzzed – another notification. This one was from Rotogram.
Instinctively her thumb reached for the notification, about to swipe it away, but she quickly read what it said and her eyes widened.
ROTOGRAM: raihan tagged you in a post.
Raihan tagged her? Curious, she opened the app, looking for the post. It was a photo of him with his Goodra, both of them smiling for the camera. Her gaze lingered just a second too long on his easy smile and his little tooth, and she tore her eyes away, looking for the caption instead. It read, "looking forward to ur challenge, champ gloria227".
She couldn't help but smile. It was tempting to respond to his post, but she was mindful of everything she did in public. Given how much attention the media vultures were paying her, they would no doubt find a way to paint their exchange as some kind of illicit affair or something, and Gloria refused to fall into that trap. Maybe she'd text Raihan later…
No, no. What was she thinking? She should just ignore him. She didn't want to associate with him, after all. He was a bad influence! "Did Raihan just tag you on Rotogram?" Marnie was staring at her phone too, scrolling through the app so quickly that Gloria wondered if she was actually looking at anything. "Didn't know you two were friends."
"No, we're not. He wanted another battle with me, that's all." It was a half-truth. She didn't want to talk about the Goomy he gave her or the condition he set, at least not in public. "Maybe he thinks I'll get around to it quicker if he called me out on Rotogram."
"You barely use Rotogram. It's not exactly the best platform to get your attention." Marnie glanced up from her screen. "Your face is kind of red, you know?"
"Oh, it's just – it's just hot in here, that's all!" Gloria quickly scooped some melting ice cream into her mouth. Marnie frowned, clearly not quite believing her, but Gloria gave her a smile so wide that her cheeks hurt, and Marnie relented. "Maybe we can go check out the boutique, get some new clothes. You know, pamper ourselves a bit," she babbled.
"That does sound like a good idea." Marnie stood up, having finished the remnants of her tea. "Let's go then. You're clearly not going to finish that ice cream," she commented, and Gloria looked down at the creamy mess that was formerly her sundae.
"Okay, let's go." She rose from the chair, looking carefully at her surroundings before they exited the café – Marnie was familiar with the back alleys and streets of Motostoke, and they managed to take a relatively secluded route to the boutique.
They spent some time trying on different outfits and deciding what to get. At the end of the visit, both of them had one bag in each hand, their wallets considerably lighter. Gloria beamed, feeling better – somehow, buying cute clothes never failed to cheer her up. "Is there anywhere else you want to go?" she asked Marnie, who was still looking at the boutique window, staring up at the dummies in the glass display.
"I was thinking of getting some new supplies. I'm running out of balls and potions, so might as well get them now since we're already out shopping. Saves me another trip to the pokemon centre later." Marnie tore her eyes away from the boutique.
"All right, let's go!" Gloria headed towards the pokemon centre with Marnie in tow. Once they got there, Marnie made a beeline for the poke mart, and Gloria sat to wait for her, stretching out her legs. She looked around the pokemon centre – it was relatively quiet today, save for one kid using the Rotom PC. She hummed to herself, pleased with how peaceful everything was. Sure, she'd have to get back to Wyndon and sort through all those job applications later, but the keyword was later. She was going to relax and enjoy herself as much as she could in Motostoke.
The pokemon centre's doors slid open, and Gloria looked at the entrance, observing the newcomer – the first thing she noticed was blue and orange, followed by the fact that this person was very tall and he had his hands tucked in his hoodie, a familiar fang obvious whenever he smiled – she gasped. What was Raihan doing in Motostoke?
She noticed that Raihan was talking to Kabu and guessed that the dragon Gym Leader was here for a social visit. Gloria looked nervously around her, wondering if she could hide somewhere. Maybe behind that potted plant. She didn't feel quite ready to face Raihan, not after he tagged her – nope, interacting with Raihan required a level of nerve that she was presently lacking. Luckily for her, Kabu was taking up most of Raihan's attention.
Gloria got off her chair and snuck behind said potted plant, hoping that the pot would be big enough to hide her from view. She was vaguely aware of how ridiculous she must look, but she didn't have many options and she would take whatever she could get. Curling up with her arms around her knees, she tried to make herself as tiny as possible and prayed that she would somehow learn how to use minimise.
"Uh…Gloria? Is that you?" She heard Raihan's voice and cursed quietly to herself, forcing a smile on her face as she looked up. Raihan and Kabu were both staring down at her. Raihan had a bemused look on his face, but Kabu, to his credit, managed to look entirely unsurprised. "What are you doing behind the plant?"
"Hi, Raihan!" She managed to clamber up from her hiding spot without stumbling or falling over. Thankfully. "And hi Kabu. Great to see you! Are you two discussing something? You don't need to say hi to me, you know. I'm sure you're both very busy!"
"No, we were just having a friendly chat. Raihan wanted to clarify something Nessa has apparently been saying about him." Gloria couldn't be absolutely sure, but she thought she saw Kabu's mouth twitch. "Of course, I fully believe whatever he tells me."
Was Kabu being sarcastic? She couldn't tell, but what he said did remind her of the fact that Raihan and Nessa were currently not on the best of terms. "You never did mention what that argument was about, Raihan." She was glad that Kabu had steered the topic away from what Gloria was doing, hiding behind a potted plant. She had to treat that man to lunch one day. Raihan sighed, rolling his teal eyes.
"She's just being oversensitive. She told me she needed someone to model with her for her latest shoot and she asked if I wanted to go for it, and I said sure but who's the female model and she said it was her, and I said, wow I didn't know shrews were considered fashionable nowadays and I swear it was a joke, but she's telling everyone that I'm a total asshole who demeans women and I really don't know what she's going on about."
Raihan said all this in pretty much one breath and Gloria blinked, taking a while to process the information. "So…you called her a shrew?" she asked, just to be sure. He nodded.
"And I emphasise again – it was a joke. Nessa's too serious about everything. She needs to lighten up!" He threw his hands in the air. "And the last thing I need is all the other Gym Leaders siding with her. I am not a women-demeaning asshole." Raihan pouted.
Oh, that pout did weird things to her chest. She wondered if these were early symptoms of a heart attack – maybe she should go see a doctor? "Yes, I'm absolutely sure you are not, Raihan," Kabu deadpanned. Gloria snickered, and Raihan shot her a look of betrayal.
"I thought you would be on my side, Gloria," he groaned.
Gloria shrugged. "I don't take any sides. Why don't you just go and say sorry to Nessa? You know how seriously she takes her modelling career. You probably hurt her feelings."
"But it was just a joke," Raihan muttered underneath his breath. Gloria and Kabu stared silently at him and finally, the dragon tamer relented. "Fine, fine. I'll go say sorry to her. I'll even bring her a bunch of stupid flowers or whatever while I'm at it," he grumbled.
"See, that wasn't so hard!" Gloria grinned. Raihan made a face but he didn't complain any further. One thing she had to agree with him on, though – it was a pretty silly argument.
"Oh hey, Kabu, Raihan. Good to see you." She heard Marnie's voice and saw the girl coming over from the poke mart counter. When she reached them, she inserted herself between Gloria and Raihan, and Gloria realised with a start exactly how close she had been to the other Gym Leader. She'd have to be more careful next time. "So, what did I miss?"