It's been a really long day.
From the start, it's been a long day, and Gloria just managed to arrive to Wyndon early this morning with Hop, and already, they had to worry about getting registered for the semi-finals. After that, it was supposed to be two battles tops, maybe just one, and then resting up for the next day, or lazing in her hotel room after accepting her defeat.
Gloria successfully defeated Marnie for the last time, and Hop defeated his first opponent, bringing them together for the decisive match, and once again, she emerged victorious, with rather bittersweet feelings. On the one hand, of course she's happy to be moving forward, but on the other hand, she's always known that she couldn't move forward without crushing Hop's dreams, and the conflicted emotions alone are rather draining.
Hop doesn't let it get him down though, and then Leon is there to greet them, and the dinner plans are made. It should be the end of the long day, but then Leon fails to show, and she and Hop (and several other surprise helpers) are dragged into another string of battles, this one stretching on much longer than the semi-finals, only to have the anti-climactic ending, in which Rose pretends nothing is amiss and Leon insists that they have nothing to worry about, before inviting them to his hotel room with promises of unlimited room service.
Hop seems to be in better spirits just to be back with his brother, and Gloria knows that the stress of trying to get to him probably outweighed any of his lingering negative emotions regarding his defeat. He'll have time to process that later, but for now, he's enjoying a night in with his rival and his brother, refusing to worry about what is to come, or what's already happened.
Gloria wishes that she could say the same thing for herself, but, try as she might, she can't relax and enjoy the meal like Hop is. She's hungry enough to eat as much as she normally would, having hardly eaten anything all day, but if it weren't for that, she's sure she would be too stressed and nervous to actually eat. There's a lot to think about after today, and a lot of uncertainty in her heart.
Completely disregarding the fact that she has to take on the champion- Hop's older brother and the man she's been trying to ignore her rather hopeless crush on- in battle tomorrow, only after winning a tournament with the gym leaders, all coming for their revenge, there are other things to worry about. She doesn't necessarily believe what either Rose or Leon said about their meeting, and doesn't believe anyone would have gone to all that trouble to keep it a secret if it weren't any big deal.
At first, she thought Hop was overreacting. Rose requesting a business meeting with a man who has, essentially, been his client for a decade now shouldn't be that abnormal, and Leon running late enough to the meeting and the meeting being a long winded one, should have been enough explanation for why he couldn't make dinner. However, as soon as they went after Leon, it became very clear that this was something more sinister, but they never got any answers about that, and she doubts Leon will say anything now. Asking him seems pointless, and what's more, she doesn't want to ruin the good mood just because she can't get into it.
Whatever it is, she's probably too young and insignificant to understand or help, and if all she can do to help him is keep his mind off of it for the night, then that's what she should be doing. Unfortunately, because she can't keep her own mind off of it, she isn't much for conversation, and most of the little celebration dinner passes her by, with Hop having to bring her back into conversation, teasing her for spacing out.
When it gets late enough, she makes her excuses to go back to her room, and that should be the end of that. At least, until someone knocks at her door, and she opens it, expecting it to be Hop. Instead, she finds Leon standing at her door, grinning as he asks, "Can I come in?"
She nods, stepping back to let him in, and when the door is closed behind him, he goes to sit on her bed. Patting the spot next to him, he says, "I wanted to talk to you a little bit, if that's alright."
Gloria joins him, waiting for him to speak. Is he here to talk about what she walked in on earlier? She can think of no reason why he would confide in her, but she will listen either way, and offer whatever help she can.
But Leon isn't here to talk about himself; Leon is here to talk about her, asking, "Are you feeling alright?"
"I'm fine, I'm just tired," she replies quickly. It's true that she's absolutely exhausted, but she somehow doesn't feel like she's going to be getting sleep any time soon, not with how her mind is racing. Which means her matches tomorrow will end up all the more difficult, which is yet another thing to worry about.
"Hop said you seemed a little off. He was kind of worried about you after you left and asked if I would check in on you before bed," he says. "Took me a little while to find your room, but I made it just fine!"
She laughs to be polite, before insisting again that she's just tired. Leon shakes his head, saying, "It's more than that, Gloria. What's got you so worried? Are you nervous?"
Nervous is one word for it, she thinks. If she could, she would tell him everything that's on her mind, demand answers about his conversation with the chairman, and hope that he could reassure her that everything would be okay, but as she looks at him right now, she can tell. Leon is smiling for her like he always does, but the look in his eyes is different, and she knows that something is bothering him, just the same as it's bothering her. She doesn't want to add onto any of his concerns, so she decides that, if really wants her to vent, then she'll just vent about one problem, a problem he can understand.
"I am nervous," she admits. "Tomorrow is a really big day."
"Aw, are you that scared of me?" he teases, and for a moment, his eyes are as bright as ever.
"It's not just that! The other gym leaders will be there, and it's not going to be the same as their challenges. They'll have stronger teams, different Pokemon, and new strategies to use against me...all of them probably want to see if they can take me down after I made it this far, and some are really gunning for a match with you," she says, looking down at her lap. "And even if me and my team manage to make it through all of that, well...yeah, there's you at the end. A pretty tall order."
"That's the fun of the game," he replies. "The nerves are a part of it, yeah, but the challenge is the real fun. I have to admit, I'm excited to have a challenger like you. It gets kind of boring, waiting around for someone new and strong to come along, and I've been looking forward to seeing who made it through. I'll be honest...I'm very glad it's you."
Again, his eyes look a little brighter, and she knows she made the right decision. Encouraging her is taking his mind off his own problems, and on top of that, Pokemon battling is one of his favorite topics to discuss. Looking up at him, she asks, "Why me?"
"I would have been equally excited for you or Hop. Both of you have come a long way, and it's kind of poetic, being able to face one of my endorsed trainers in battle," says Leon. "It makes sense, wanting to see my brother go far, but if you want to know why you...I saw something in you that day. I've told you that before, haven't I? I saw something in you, and it's been exciting, seeing where all of that has lead to."
"But what if I just let you down at the last minute? I'm just some nobody from a small town who-"
"Hey, you know, I used to be a nobody from a small town too," he says, stopping her and grinning. "But you've made it this far, and there are people all across the region chanting your name, cheering you through all your matches. By now, you've probably got a lot of fans, and there are plenty of people who want to see what would happen if I lost! So I don't think you're nobody now, Gloria."
"Still, I…"
"You can't let me down either. At this point...well, just making it this far is a huge challenge. Even getting all your badges is a challenge, and you managed that, and made it all the way to the finals! No matter what happens, you've more than impressed me, and I know it was worth it to endorse you. But, for what it's worth, I think you'll give those gym leaders a run for their money, and be up there against me in no time at all."
"And you'll show me no mercy, I'm assuming?" she jokes.
"I'd love to say I'll go easy on you, but we both know I don't play like that, and even if I wanted to, that wouldn't be fair to all the work you've put in up until now. I'm giving it my all tomorrow, so you're going to have to bring your all too, if you want a shot at beating me!" He places an encouraging hand on her shoulder and says, "Either way, I think it'll be a real champion time, don't you?"
Though talking to him hasn't changed anything, she feels better anyway. There are a lot of things on her mind right now, things that the two of them can't even discuss, and getting a pep talk from the same man who will be determined to crush her tomorrow doesn't influence her chances of winning, but the hints of stress are gone from Leon's face for the time being,and that alone is enough to cheer Gloria up quite a bit. She's helped him by letting him help her, and that is enough for now, at least enough to ease her mind, and perhaps allow her to sleep.
"Thank you for that," she finally says in a quiet voice, smiling at him. "It really means a lot, you coming to check on me, and...I will give it my all tomorrow. I won't let anyone stop me from meeting you on the pitch, so wait for me, alright?"
"Atta girl!" he cheers. "Now, make sure you get some sleep, and...well, I probably shouldn't even...agh!" He groans suddenly, startling her, and he shakes his head. "Just don't worry about it, alright?"
"What are you talking about?" she asks. "What shouldn't you do?"
"It's nothing, we'll worry about that later, alright? Hop would probably kill me if I…" But he trails off again, leaving her wondering just what he's getting at. He insists that he needs to get back to his room so they can both sleep, and Gloria is suddenly exhausted, feeling as though she could fall asleep as it all hits her at once. Still, she walks Leon to the door, and he hesitates there for a moment.
"If you want to know what I was going to say before...come talk to me after you win tomorrow, alright? If you win tomorrow, cos I'm still not going easy on you. Just think of it as a little extra motivation!" he says rather mysteriously, and she stares at him in disbelief. "Alright, I'll give you one little hint, but if you lose to me tomorrow, this is all your getting!"
With that, he leans down to kiss her on the forehead, murmuring, "Goodnight, Gloria. See you at the stadium tomorrow," before straightening up and turning around, the door falling shut behind him.
She's lucky that she's able to sleep at all after that, but the exhaustion soon wins out over the excited confusion.