Time was a blur, and before he knew it, Cassius was sitting up in bed to start his third morning in Galar.

That numb feeling hadn't left him yet. Even now it permeated all throughout his body, refusing to leave. Still, Cassius was acutely aware of how fast his heart was beating, and how numb the tips of his hands and feet felt.

There was still a part of him that felt like this was all one big, nasty nightmare. That if he pinched himself, or slapped himself hard enough, he'd wake back up in Lacunosa, in his old room of eighteen years, living the same boring life he had always led.

But, even in his current state, Cassius knew that was wishful thinking. What had happened yesterday was very real, and very much something that was going to affect him. In the present and future. A perfect storm of insanity and unfortunate circumstances.

The numb feeling spread further, and his heartbeat quickened faster still, but Cassius held himself back. He wouldn't break down, as much as he wanted to. There were things to attend to. People to check on. And hopefully, if things actually went his way, misunderstandings to clear up.

Cassius blinked, and his clothes were changed, his teeth were brushed, and his feet were shuffling their way down the stairs. His parents were already awake, judging by the sound of activity from the living room, and noise from the TV filtered in as he neared the commotion.

"... yesterday, as regional champion Leon Dande announced two of his three endorsed trainers. His younger brother, Hop Dande, and a surprise candidate in Cassius Hargreaves..."

Immediately tuning out the noise, Cassius edged his way into the room. He must not have been as quiet as he hoped, as both of his parents' gazes were on him the second he entered the room.

"Cassius..." his mother spoke worriedly, quickly walking to stand beside him. "Are you feeling better, dear? I know yesterday was... a lot."

Perhaps the understatement of the year. Included in yesterday evening's blur was Cassius forgoing any kind of conversation with his parents in favor of shutting himself down in his room. He felt bad in retrospect, knowing that his parents were only concerned for him, but the time to himself was desperately needed.

He felt in a good enough headspace to actually have a conversation. "Yeah, a little. Sorry for... pretty much all of yesterday."

William was quick to pull a chair for his son, beckoning for him to sit. "Have a seat. I'll make you some breakfast, and we'll talk about what happened."

Despite his mental state, Cassius could acknowledge that his parents were godsends. "Thanks dad, mom. Really."

The three shuffled about the kitchen, until the family eventually sat down at the dining table with their plates before them. None of the three were very inclined to eat, however.

"So," his mother began. "Do you want to start at the beginning?" That seemed like a good idea, and Cassius began to recount the events of yesterday.

He purposefully omitted any description of the mysterious beast that had chased him and Hop. While he did feel bad for lying to his parents, making them privy to the knowledge of some kind of monster living within the woods not even five minutes from their new residence was likely a bad idea. He couldn't scare his parents like that, not after how worried they already were for him.

Cassius had reason to believe Hop would also remain quiet about that particular affair. At least to prevent widespread paranoia among the people of Postwick about some kind of beast that may not have even been real. Even if it had been very real to him and Hop.

There was an attempt on his part to rationalize the entire thing as some kind of mistake, or trick of the eyes, but he simply couldn't buy it. Calling it some stray, overgrown Wooloo felt stupid—especially after everything he had seen the beast do. Despite its lack of aggression, they way it moved, dodged attacks, and watched them... no normal Pokémon could have done something like that.

He'd consult Hop about it later. After he said what needed to be said.

"Wow. That's... insane, for lack of a better term." After he had finished his rendition of yesterday's events, his mother had remained quiet, a deadly serious look upon her face. His father looked like he was struggling with what to say. "That's almost a perfect storm of misfortune."

"You're telling me," Cassius sighed, attempting to release some of his pent up nerves. Venting about it had helped a little, but he was still a bit of a nervous wreck. "Mom, dad, I've never battled before in my life. Hyla's the only Pokémon I've ever actively interacted with more than once. I don't know anything. What am I supposed to do?"

It was silent for a moment, and Cassius couldn't really blame them for their lack of an immediate response. He'd been thinking on the issue since yesterday evening, and he still hadn't come up with an effective solution. Who could have?

"Cassius," his mother eventually spoke up. Her face came across as understanding, but her eyes held a tint of composure that he only ever really saw when she discussed work. "Before we come up with anything, I want you to know that your father and I will support you in anything you do. You can tell anything to the two of us."

It was something he already knew, but he appreciated the gesture regardless. It served to remind him of how much his parents loved him. Who knows how much worse this might have been without them? "I know. Thanks, mom."

"Good. Now, as for your next course of action... I think you should go."

"Lila!" Cassius' father almost immediately jumped to his feet in shock. "Are you serious? Cassius hasn't battled a day in his life!"

"William, please," his wife softly pleaded. "At least hear what I have to say first. If we're going to have an open dialogue about this, we need suggestions about our son's next step, and this might be the only one we have at the moment." William desperately looked like he wanted to speak, but after a moment, he took a breath and returned to his seat. Lila took that as a cue to continue.

"Cassius, the first thing I need you to do is ask Hop or Leon about any possibility of rescinding the endorsement. I'm not too familiar with the concept, but I have to think there's a way to deny or return one. Even if it's unconventional or frowned upon."

Unknown to his mother, Cassius had already researched that possibility. He'd spent an hour or so looking up instances in which trainers who were intended to participate in the Gym Challenge denied their endorsement, to little success. Specific incidents were few, and normally came as part of a larger beef between the involved parties—an issue between the trainer and leader, or some third party attempting to steal someone's endorsement letter. None of the stories he saw had very happy endings.

There was also the possibility of destroying the endorsement, but that would likely prove to be an even bigger headache. From what he'd read, purposefully destroying a coveted endorsement when so many other trainers across the nation desired one was akin to social suicide. Former trainers had their lives ruined from attempting to discard even lesser endorsements from smaller gym leaders. If he attempted to throw away the champion's endorsement—an item akin to a pile of gold in the region's perception—there was no telling what might have happened to him or his family.

He had never thought Pokémon training was such a serious industry, but he probably should have known better. For how global the sport was, it made sense that actions received as dishonorable or disrespectful would be mercilessly shamed by trainers and fans alike. It was indeed that serious.

"And if that doesn't work?" Cassius prompted, even though he likely already knew the answer. He was proven right when his mother continued. "If that doesn't work, then in all likelihood you're going to have to actively participate. You received an endorsement from the champion of the entire Galarian Pokémon League. That's about as coveted a thing as you can receive, from what I can imagine."

"What if he loses on purpose?" William cut in. "It would be a bad look, probably, but would that not wash us clean of this whole thing?"

Lila sighed. "That's true. But I don't want to wish that on Cassius."

"And why not?"

"If Cassius loses the first gym, then that follows him for the rest of his life. No matter where he goes, or what he does, he'll be known by the public as the champion's endorsed trainer who lost and was eliminated in his first official match. Pokémon battling is the biggest, most popular sport in the world—I've seen how trainers are treated at large, and it isn't as sunny as you might think." Her tone was grave. "I doubt Cassius would want another chance to try and redeem himself in the Gym Challenge. And even if he did, who would think of giving him an endorsement?"

William conceded the point. "That's fair. But what if he loses later on? At a more... respectable, renowned gym? It'd be an upset in the public's eye, but he wouldn't get blasted like he would for losing at the first gym, right?"

"William, I looked up this Leon character's history of endorsements. Cassius and his brother are the first trainers he's ever endorsed." Cassius felt himself shiver slightly. "They're expecting these two to make it to the last gym at the very least. Anything short of that, from what I can tell, is an abject failure."

The last gym? That meant he had to overcome, what, seven or eight gyms before it would be considered somewhat acceptable for him to lose? He was unfamiliar with how this region's league system—or any league's system, for that matter—worked in detail, but from what he had heard he was expected to beat at least seven of the region's strongest trainers to preserve he and his family's dignity.

"So is that what we have to hope for then?" His father sounded resigned. "Hope our son can win long enough not to ruin his reputation?"

His mother nodded. "At the moment, yes. Unless there's a better idea we haven't thought of."

"... can he fake a sickness?"

"The Gym Challenge spans months. Anything short of a coma wouldn't work. Who would even take a bribe like that?"

"Injury?"

"Same thing. It also isn't unheard of for trainers to be granted an exception to prolong their time limit to finish the challenge."

That his mother knew all of this was incredible. She had probably spent as much time researching possible outs as he had. Lila Hargreaves was nothing if not resourceful.

Still, Cassius had been left with what felt like an impossible task, and his only option seemed to be for him to last as long as possible in likely the world's most popular and universal sport. A sport where even the most average competitor spent years researching techniques and strategies to win. He'd be entered as one of the favorites to win the entire circuit, with not even a day of experience.

Essentially, he'd have to convince the entire region—if not the world—that he was a serious trainer that knew what he was doing.

"Cassius?" His father called to him, snapping him out of his stupor. The gravity of the situation was starting to set in, especially after what his mother had said, but he couldn't show how overwhelmed he was. That wouldn't get him anywhere.

"I'm fine," he lied. "So basically, the plan is to ask Hop or Leon about taking back the endorsement. If that doesn't work, find a way to make it to the eighth gym or so, and then lose. Sound about right?"

"In essence."

"I... I won't lie, this sounds impossible. How am I even going to beat the first gym leader? Heck, the first trainer who decides to battle me?"

"I don't know." His mother stated bluntly. "You're going to have to find a way to draw as little attention to yourself as possible. The only people you should be battling are the gym leaders. No one else."

That would probably be as miraculous a feat as winning the entire challenge. He'd seen the trainers who practically lived on Route 12 back in Lacunosa—the one thing they craved more than oxygen was a battle. If that same sentiment held true in Galar, the only way he'd get through the entire Gym Challenge without a single non-leader battle was if he could somehow master invisibility, which he doubted.

"Don't worry about that for now. I'd say the first thing you should do is ask about that endorsement. If we can somehow get rid of it, then we won't have to worry about this whole thing ever again." William attempted to reassure him.

"At the end of the day, it's your call to make," Lila added. "Whatever you choose to do, we'll support you no matter what."

They both made it sound so simple. Still, it couldn't hurt to ask. It wasn't like he had very many options otherwise. "Yeah, I'll do that." At this point, it might have been his only option.


To his surprise, it was Hop who had found him first.

He'd been a few steps out the door before he came face-to-face with the young man, who'd been in the process of walking up the porch to knock. A look of brief surprise flashed over his appearance, but he quickly settled into something much more subdued. "Hey, Cassius."

There were a host of emotions swirling within Cassius with regards to Hop. Even so, he managed to keep his cool for the moment. "Hey, Hop."

"Figured you'd want to talk after yesterday. I was just about to come get you, actually." The Postwick native turned, gesturing for him to follow. "There's one more person I want you to meet. I was on my way to introduce you."

Another person? Cassius wondered if this new stranger's reception of him might have changed with yesterday's news. That brought about a troubling thought—would anyone treat him like a normal person ever again? Would normal interactions become a thing of his past?

Thoughts for later, as there were far more pressing matters to attend to. "Alright." Without another word, he followed.

As it turned out, the walk wasn't very far—only to the house directly beside his own, the only neighbors that Cassius technically had. The house was still under attack from plants by the look of it, and from what he could see there wasn't five feet of space that wasn't covered by a pot or plant of some kind. The entire place smelt like mulch and soil.

"You remember that girl I told you about yesterday, Gloria?" Hop spoke as they neared the front door. "As it turns out, she got an endorsement too. News hasn't hit the public yet, but I figured I'd have you meet her before then."

Hop had mentioned her. She must have been another one of Hop or Leon's childhood friends, or something like that. She also must have been an aspiring trainer hoping to become champion, like Hop.

Yet another trainer he would potentially have to contend with. Hopefully, she'd be at least a little understanding.

Hop knocked twice on the door, before taking a step back. No sound of immediate attention came from within the house, so the two boys were left to wait for the door to open.

It was awkward, to say the least. After he had thought of all he had wanted to say to Hop earlier, nothing naturally came to mind at the moment. His mind was too all over the place to even pick a decent place to start.

Thankfully, Hop made the decision for him. "I want you to know that I'm sorry."

That had caught Cassius off-guard. "Huh?"

"I know you're probably upset with me, and you have every right to be." Hop's voice was low. "I'll let you vent at me as much as you want later. For now, just..." he hesitated slightly. "Just hear me out, okay?"

What was there to hear out? Hop had been partially responsible in signing him up for something he wasn't nearly qualified to do, on a scope and magnitude he wasn't nearly qualified to handle. If he already knew he was upset, why was he even attempting to justify what he had done?

Though his thoughts were still jumbled, Cassius was keenly aware of the anger he felt boiling within him. "Listen, do you have any idea how—"

"Cassius, please." Hop cut off. "Just give me a chance to explain myself."

And why on earth should he? Cassius was tired of being cut off, tired of being ignored, and tired of being overlooked. Did anyone ever think to ask him about what he might have wanted? What he might have been feeling? This whole ordeal had become a problem solely because no one had stopped for a moment and considered his opinion!

The more he thought about it, the more infuriating it became. And Hop wanted a chance to explain himself? What was there to explain?

He'd been ready to vocalize his thoughts when, for what felt like the millionth time, he was interrupted. A commotion from within the house sounded, drawing both of their attention. Steps from within became louder, before the lock from within the front door began to unlock.

The door opened, and a woman who looked his mom's age poked her head out. Her hair was brown, and tied into a simple ponytail. Her garb was covered in dirt, which might have explained the abundance of plants. The woman smiled as her visage met Hop.

"Oh, hello Hop. You're awfully early, aren't you?"

"Good morning, ma'am. I hope you're doing well."

"Such a sweet boy. I'm doing wonderful, thank you." Her gaze traveled to Cassius, who was quick to hide any traces of anger left on his face. "Oh, you must be the neighbors' son! We visited your house and said hi a few days ago, but I don't think you were moved in yet." She extended a gloved hand. "Meredith Victoria, but Miss Meredith works just fine."

Thankfully, the gloved hand was better off than the rest of her attire, so Cassius didn't have to worry about washing his hands after politely shaking her hand. "Cassius Hargreaves. Thank you for welcoming my parents and I."

"Oh, it's nothing, dear. Your parents are lovely people. Gloria's been dying for a friend her age, too."

"Speaking of," Hop interjected. "Is she in? I was hoping I could introduce Cassius and hang for a bit."

"Yes, she's in. Why don't I let her know you're here before you come in? I don't even think she's out of her pajamas yet! One moment," closing the door slightly, the woman angled herself back behind the door.

Then, arguably the loudest noise he had ever heard rang through his skull. "Gloria, Hop an' th' neighbor's here! Get off yer lazy arse an' get dressed!"

"Fuck off, slag! Ah'was gettin' dressed anyway, pruny old bitch!"

"Call me a bitch agin an' ah'll kick the shit outta ye, ungrateful brat!"

"Ah'said fuck OFF!"

Just as quickly as the altercation had started, it was over, and the opened door revealed the same smiling woman he had met not more than a minute ago. "Sorry about that, she'll be ready in a bit. Feel free to wait in the living room for her in the meanwhile. I have snacks if anyone's hungry, too!"

"Thank you ma'am." Hop nodded in appreciation, following the woman into her home. Cassius moved on instinct alone, praying that Miss Meredith couldn't see the probably disturbed look on his face. 'Are we just not going to acknowledge that entire thing? No?' The woman who he had felt like was in the running for sweetest mom in the world had veritably cursed out her own daughter to Sunday and back. He couldn't even begin to imagine the consequences if he even thought of speaking to his own mother in that kind of way.

Screaming match aside, the inside of his neighbors' house was much more organized than the outside. Though the smell of greenery was still slightly prevalent, the decor seemed much more homely and welcoming. Or that was what his mom would have said, anyway.

After removing his shoes, Hop led him to a modern-looking living room. The TV was on—thankfully on a channel that wasn't the news—and Hop took a seat on the sectional. Cassius seated himself a distance away wordlessly.

"Snacks are in the kitchen," Miss Meredith chimed from the hallway they had just entered. "I'm off for some errands, so I'll be gone for a bit! And Cassius," the young man turned to the woman's soft smile. "Again, welcome to Galar, sweetie. You'll love it here, I'm sure of it."

'At least one of us thinks so,' Cassius kept to himself. He shakily returned her smile, and the woman was off, leaving him alone in the foreign living room with Hop.

Cassius was content to sit in silence. His experience in going over to other people his age's house was limited at best. His attention landed on the TV, some rerun of a soap he didn't know the name of.

"You did all this, without telling me a single thing! How could you betray me like that, Héctor?"

"I'm sorry, Maria! I was doing it for your own good, my love!"

"You could not possibly know what is for my own good!"

Cassius sighed. 'Me and you both, Maria.'

A door opened to Cassius' left, and he immediately snapped to attention. It was a good thing he did, too, considering who it was that walked out.

It was a girl, as he was suddenly keenly aware of. Shoulder-length brown hair, similarly colored eyes, and pale skin composed a face free of blemishes. What looked to be a slender figure was clothed by a baggy gray hoodie draped over what looked to be a pink dress with a collar. A dress that left what felt like an illegal amount of leg exposed.

"Gloria, good morning." Hop welcomed cordially. "Doin' good?" He received a non-committal hum from the girl, Gloria, as her eyes were locked on to him. Cassius felt about ten times smaller under the admittedly pretty girl's sharp gaze.

Hop seemed to finally get that she was waiting for an explanation of the stranger in her house. "Oh, right! Gloria, this is Cassius Hargreaves, the one who moved in a few days ago. I think you might have met his parents already?" In a quieter voice, he added. "He's the guy that got involved in all that stuff from yesterday."

Gloria took another step forward, still wordless. Eyeing him like he was some kind of zoo exhibit. Cassius figured he should have probably offered at least a word of introduction. "Uh... hi?"

Gloria was silent for a moment longer, before she addressed him for the first time. "Scrawny thing, aren't ya?"

"Gloria, be nice! He just moved here."

"Who said I was bein' rude?" Gloria shot a stank eye toward Hop. "Can't even make a simple observation about a guest in my own home? Seems to me you're the rude one, prick."

Her accent was thick, and the words that came with it were not ones he would typically expect from a girl with her particular set of looks. That outburst from before had him thinking she was a part-time sailor.

"So you're the one who put a stop to that commotion yesterday," Gloria continued. "You don't look the type to get all violent. Tell me, did you actually settle that, or did you take the credit from Hop or Lee?"

Now she was accusing him of lying? She hadn't known him for more than a minute! If anything, Cassius would have liked nothing more than for yesterday to have been one gigantic lie that he could apologize for.

"I said be nice, Gloria." Hop sighed, shooting an apologetic look to Cassius. "Sorry about her. She really does mean well, she just has a tendency to say whatever's on her mind, better or worse." He wasn't the best at getting a read on people, but Cassius found it pretty hard to miss the girl's rising temper.

"Well excuse me for bein' concerned. If all you came here to do was insult my character, then I'd suggest you leave before I get angry, twat."

This girl was supposed to mean well? Attitude notwithstanding, the scowl on her face could probably make the most outgoing of people think twice. If this was her meaning well, he shuddered to think of this Gloria person when she was actually mad.

Thankfully, Hop defused any argument before her temper boiled over. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry, Gloria. I actually do have something I came here to talk about. Regarding all three of us." Cassius didn't miss the quick look Hop shot him as he said that. "You're free to yell at me all you want after I'm done. Fair?" Gloria's glare seemed hardly accommodating, but after a brief moment she sat down beside Hop with a huff. "S'pose gettin' too angry this early wouldn't be worth the trouble." Hop nodded, appreciative, before clearing his throat.

"Very well then, on to business." Putting on a serious face, Hop shuffled around his bag and procured a piece of folded paper, which Cassius quickly recognized as his letter of endorsement from Leon. "First, I wanna make sure we all have one of these. Cassius?"

He had indeed brought his. Quickly searching his pocket, Cassius pulled out his own endorsement. Hop nodded, before turning to Gloria. "And you?" Seconds later, and she presented her own letter with an indifferent look. Seems she hadn't been as surprised as he or Hop were. That basically confirmed in Cassius' head that this girl was a trainer, and likely a serious one at that.

"Good," Hop continued. "Well, seems we're all in the same boat then. That's great!"

"Somethin' tells me the new guy doesn't think so," Gloria quickly cut in. Cassius imagined the displeased look on his face supported her claim.

Hop sighed. "Guess there's no avoiding this, huh?"

There was a lot that pissed Cassius off about this whole thing. He liked to think the entire absurdity of it all would have driven anyone mad. But perhaps what angered him the most about this whole thing was how nonchalant and trivial Hop seemed to be making this out to be. As if he were only throwing a tantrum as opposed to having his whole life thrown upside down. He didn't know what it was, but something about Hop's tone absolutely infuriated Cassius.

"Look, Cassius. I'll say it again—I'm sorry about this whole thing. Really, I am. I didn't mean for the misunderstanding to get this far."

Cassius didn't like to think of himself as a particularly confrontational person. His upbringing and nature lent itself against those kinds of outbursts. Under normal circumstances, he might have even tried to understand where Hop was coming from.

That didn't apply now. He had been holding this in for roughly an entire day. He would be heard, consequences be damned.

"Oh, you're sorry?" Cassius started. Sarcasm felt weird coming from him, but he hardly cared about that now. "Well, I guess that makes this all better then! No worries that you completely uprooted my life—you're sorry, and that's all that really matters."

"Cassius, you have to believe that I—"

"No, you let me talk." He wouldn't stand for any interruptions, especially now. "Did you even consider taking a moment to consider how I might have felt? What could have possibly indicated that I had ever wanted to accept any kind of endorsement?"

"Wait," Gloria beat Hop to speak. "You don't want the endorsement?"

"No."

"Have you lost the plot?" Gloria's brow was raised. "Do you know how many people actually receive an endorsement? Much less from the champion of the damn region? People would kill for that kind of chance—and you don't want it?"

"No, I don't."

"Cassius, what are you talking about?" Hop quickly jumped back in, apparently confused. "I thought you were upset at Hyla being described by Lee as some looney wild Pokémon?"

"That's not what I'm upset about. You'd know that if you bothered hearing what I had to say."

"Then why're you mad? Being angry is no reason to deny an endorseme—"

"Hop, I'm not a trainer."

The room went dead silent. Hop was suddenly left speechless, and even Gloria seemed surprised. The former made to speak first. "You're... huh?" Cassius fully obliged.

"Hop, I'm not a Pokémon trainer. I have never participated in a single battle a day in my life. I know nothing about battling."

Gloria's eyes narrowed. "You're bluffin'." Even with that look of hers, Cassius didn't back down. "Try me." Another moment before Gloria seemed to back off, the surprise returning to her face.

"You... you aren't kidding?" Hop's voice seemed a lot tinier. There was a part of Cassius that took great pleasure in his shock. Maybe now he knew what it felt like.

"Unlike some people, I actually make it a point to tell the truth the first time around," Cassius retorted. "Trust me, I may as well have picked up a Poké Ball for the first time. There is not one thing I know about competitive battling."

Hop still seemed to be having trouble wrapping his head around what it was he was saying. "But... what you did back in the weald..."

"Complete dumb luck." Which it ultimately was. There wasn't any point in pretending otherwise. "I just did the first thing that came to mind. If I were being completely honest, we probably shouldn't have made it out of that mess as okay as we did." A bit nihilistic, but so long as it got his point across, it would do.

Silence reigned once more. Gloria's gaze never faltered, while Hop repeatedly looked like he had something to say, only to close his mouth at the last moment.

If neither of them had anything to say, he would simply get to the point he was trying to make. "What's done is done, and as frustrated as I am that it's come to this, I'm willing to work out a compromise." He slid his endorsement across the living room table. "Tell your brother to take this back. I won't be needing it, and I won't be going on your little trip."

This time, Hop didn't struggle with a reply. "I'm sorry, Cassius, but I can't do that."

"You can't? Then I'll go return it myself."

"No, Cassius. I can't let you return that endorsement."

Cassius' eyes narrowed. "And why not?"

"You wouldn't quite like the reason why," Hop's voice was lower than Cassius had ever heard. "I'll be the first to tell you that it's selfish."

"I won't know until I hear it." Cassius deserved some transparency after all this. His decision, as well as his expression, was unwavering. Eventually, Hop sighed, leaning back into his seat. Gloria looked concerned as Hop opened his mouth.

"My brother's the champion, as you probably already know. He won the circuit years ago, and in the present, is hailed as one of the strongest trainers the region's ever known." It was hard to miss the pride in his voice, despite the bittersweet look on his face, as he continued. "He's never lost, not once. He's strong, friendly to the public, and more than willing to lend a helping hand. I daresay there's no one better suited to the role of champion than Lee."

A trainer who had never lost? A small part of Cassius could admit that was impressive, if it was true. Even Unova's best trainers, like Alder and Iris, had lost a few times. It was always national news when they did. For someone to have not lost even once sounded like a fairy tale.

"Despite Lee's record and personality, however, we still don't get a lot of positive press from beyond Galar," The pride in his voice was gone. "Our region is by far the youngest, and we catch plenty of flack for the difference in system we use to determine who our strongest trainers are. Cassius, how does your Pokémon League work back home?"

His knowledge of it was basic at best, but he knew the overall premise. "You go around the region and fight the gym leaders. Once you beat them all, you get the right to challenge the Elite Four, and if you beat them, you get to challenge the champion."

"Half-right," Gloria interjected. "You're forgettin' about the League Tournament."

"The what?"

"You really don't know anythin', do you?" Gloria rolled her eyes. "The tournament's a competition between every trainer who's won all available badges. Those trainers fight in single-elimination battles 'til there's only one left. The last trainer standin' then gets to fight the Elite Four and champion." Cassius didn't know that. Or maybe he did, and he just never bothered to remember.

"We use a similar system here, with a few wrinkles," Hop added. "Lose once to a leader here, and you're out. No rematches. Additionally, there's only a select number of trainers allowed to participate in the Champion Cup. Sixteen is the maximum—any more and there are play-in battles. Win that tournament, and you gain entry into the Finals. But instead of the Elite Four, the Finals tournament includes all major gym leaders. Win that one, and you get to fight the champion."

"That's nice and all, but that still doesn't explain why I can't return my endorsement."

"The point I'm making is that for as different as our Pokémon League works, it isn't as... respected as it perhaps should be by international entities. It doesn't help that Lee's been our only consistent champion."

"Buncha whiny traditionalists is what it is," Gloria grunted. "Can't even bother to battle Lee to see how good he is. They just automatically assume he's rubbish."

"Lee's a stand-up guy, to a fault. There's little doubt that he'd accept your endorsement back if you told him, despite the ramifications." Hop's expression hardened. "That's why I can't let you return it, Cassius."

Hop sounded paranoid. "There's no way your brother would face any kind of trouble if he just honestly admitted a mistake, Hop."

"Cassius, with all due respect, you know nothing about how the world of battling works. Imagine if you heard that a champion of an entire region gave his endorsement to someone who had never battled before in his life." Hop's hands clenched. "The ridicule would be ruthless."

"So then just tell him not to tell anyone that it was a mistake. Make it sound like I can't participate due to illness or whatever."

"I would have done that already if that avenue were open to me," Hop shook his head. "Like I said, Lee's honest to a fault. He wouldn't dare tell a lie, especially one that he thinks would end up negatively impacting someone else long-term. And imagine how much worse it would be if he did hide the fact, and it was somehow leaked anyway."

Another sigh. "That idiot would shoulder all the responsibility and blame in the world if he could. It's just how he is."

Hop turned to him once more. "International media has been praying for a slip-up like this. A good reason to call Lee an idiot who lucked his way into the role of champion, and our country a pool of low-tier trainers who let him get there. He already has trouble making a good name for himself outside of Galar—this mistake going public would effectively ruin any chance he has of bettering his standing, outside of beating a champion from another league. Even if he admitted that it was a genuine accident in endorsing you."

"So then let him do that," Cassius offered. There wasn't any real sympathy in his voice, and he knew it. "If your brother is as strong as he says he is, then he should have no problem—"

"It's not that simple, Cassius!" Hop actually raised his voice at him. "I wish it was, but it simply isn't! I wanted to go on the journey I'd been waiting on for years now, and instead I have to run damage control for my brother to make sure that he doesn't have his public image ruined!"

Again, Cassius found it hard to sympathize. "Well, maybe your brother should have been more focused on better maintaining that image instead of handing out endorsements like candy to the first person he sees."

Gloria stood up, her expression furious. "The fuck'd you say about Lee, cunt?"

"Gloria, please," Hop attempted to calm the girl down, suddenly appearing weary. "Fighting isn't gonna solve anything."

"So you're just gonna let him badmouth Lee, Hop? You're okay with that?"

"He can do whatever he wants as long as he agrees to work with us."

"You're doing a great job of convincing me," Cassius snarked. Gloria looked primed to retort, but a hand on her shoulder from Hop conveyed otherwise. Her anger was still clearly visible, but she settled for returning to her seat. Hop looked appreciative, having calmed down slightly. He ignored Cassius' look and made to explain.

"To answer your question, Cassius, battles between champions are tricky. Champions are already plenty busy as it is, so a match during the circuit is impossible. That's not considering all the other work they have to do around their respective regions when the season isn't in full swing."

"And then there's the particulars," Hop continued. "Which region's rules will be utilized? Will the match be official or unofficial? Most leagues have their own regional television carrier and sponsorship roles—who gets the exclusive rights to air the match? Finding a day both champions are free, scheduling beforehand, signing contracts, and plenty more. Some regions' leagues don't even allow battles between champions. There's a great deal that goes into a bout between champions, which is why it's rare to see a battle between them."

Thorough, and perhaps even interesting were this any other setting, but Cassius wasn't hearing any method in which he could get himself out of this mess. "So, there's no way I can give my endorsement back? None?"

"Cassius, I've explored every option that would have allowed you to do so without the greater battling community finding out. I'm sure you did too." Hop was resigned to whatever reaction this would prompt from Cassius. Likely a bad one. "That we're both here without any firm solution probably tells you that we're out of options."

"No, Hop, you're out of options." Cassius quickly clarified. "To me, it's as simple as walking up to Leon and explaining that he made a mistake. The only reason that it's a problem for you is because me doing so makes him look bad."

"I told you that my reasons were selfish, Cassius."

"And what's so wrong with me being selfish, then? You just automatically assume that I'm going to go along with whatever plan you have for making sure your brother's mistake doesn't go public?" Hop admitting that his reasoning was selfish didn't absolve him from the fact that it was still selfish. That nonchalance Cassius hated had pushed itself forward once again. "I have things I want to do, Hop. This isn't one of them."

Hop looked to be getting desperate. "Cassius, have you even considered what it would be like to be a trainer? Traveling the region, meeting people, potentially becoming one of the best trainers of all time? You're backed by the champion! You have every tool at your disposal to become great!"

"Don't try to sell me on your dream," Cassius wasn't stupid. Even if he didn't battle, he knew how cutthroat and rigorous battling was from the few hours he spent looking for a way out. In a way, all sports were like that—Pokemon battling just happened to be the most mainstream. "How many people do you think have the same idea? Hundreds of thousands of people think they can be the next champion. There are plenty of people older, smarter, and flat-out better than me at battling. Believing that I can do it doesn't make it a reality."

"You won't know until you try, Cassius."

"I don't want to try!" Cassius full-on yelled. "I don't want any of this! I didn't even want to come to this stupid damn country in the first place!" He leapt to his feet and started pacing around the room in hysterics. "But no, I had to uproot my entire life and start all over, and got myself stuck in this mess you helped to make! I'm stuck having to fix someone else's problem while risking my own reputation after two days of being here!"

Hop and Gloria were silent as his rant grew louder. "You know, there was a part of me that thought that I could actually make a better life for myself. Make friends my age, go out more, find a purpose in life. Something that could have given me something to work towards. To strive to." He turned to Hop. "When I first met you, Hop, I thought that we could have actually become friends. It wasn't much in the way of finding a goal, but it was a start."

His eyes narrowed. "But it's clear that I was wrong. I don't think friends would use each other to keep their own secrets. I don't even think that you know that what you did was wrong."

"I do know it's wrong, Cassius! How many bloody times do I have to repeat that I'm sorry?" Hop finally joined in on the screaming match. "I never would have wanted this for you! Even with all of this, I still think that we can be friends! When we first connected in the weald—that was genuine!"

"It was until you signed me up for all of this," Cassius growled.

"What is it that you want, then?" Hop stepped forward despite the look on Cassius' face. "Money? Respect? What is it that will make you believe that what I'm saying is the honest truth?"

Cassius met the challenge. "I told you already. I want my life back, Hop."

Hop took a breath. "I can't do that for you."

"Then give me a reason. Give me a reason why doing all of this—risking me and my family's reputation, and helping you and your brother—is worth it."

Hop sat down, looking thoroughly exhausted. He looked so unlike the excited young man he had met yesterday. His posture slouched, and his eyes betrayed his age.

"More than anything in life, I've wanted to become a Pokémon trainer." His voice was low. "That's never changed for me, since I was a kid. A normal job bored me—the freedom, the autonomy of it all, it was always appealing. I enjoy where I am now, but I'm really only me when I'm out battling."

"When my older brother left for his journey, I only became that much more obsessed. I taped all his battles, picked his brain after every match when I could, and stayed up to date on everything he did. What stood out to me most was how much fun he looked like he was having—like, no matter what happened, Leon would enjoy whatever happened as an experience, good or bad."

He allowed himself a small smile. "Though, I guess that's kinda given when you never lose. That'll be rather tough to replicate, I suppose. Point is, if I wasn't sold before, after watching Lee do what he did, I was dead set on becoming just like him."

His eyes reached Cassius. "I know that it isn't gonna be all good times. I'm gonna fail, I'm gonna struggle, and there will likely be a time where I think about quittin' it all and giving up. But I've seen how good this game has been to Leon. He made so many friends and memories during his challenge, even outside of battling. I want that same kind of experience—and deep down, I think you do too, Cassius."

Cassius didn't bother getting upset at Hop's assumption of what he wanted. That might have been because of how on the mark it was. Not that he would ever give Hop the satisfaction of admitting that to him.

Lacunosa Town, for as prevalent and dear to Cassius as it had been during his childhood, was an empty place. Not in a literal sense—more so emotionally. Each day, Cassius went through the motions of his day to day life in his dreary retirement town, with the bare minimum of interaction and connection outside his immediate family. This mindless routine of his, continued every day without fail, was what kept him going.

He had been content with that, for a long while. Not everything was about adventuring and battling. Unlike so many of his peers, Cassius was more than alright with a calm, mundane life that brought him small bits of tranquil happiness every now and again. It wasn't too much to ask for, and it never hurt him. Overtly, anyway.

Every now and then, however, he would chance a look to the westward route beside his home, and watch the local trainers battle. He saw their exertion, he saw their spirit, but most prevalently, he saw their emotion. The joy of winning a battle, and the tight-lipped dissatisfaction in losing. Such a wide range of character and expression, over what was a silly game between people and their Pokémon.

It never made sense to him, that people could enjoy essentially setting themselves up for disappointment. There was only ever one trainer who became champion, and everyone else was left to be a loser in the end. That constant struggle seemed fruitless, and Cassius simply couldn't understand struggling and working so hard for what was sure to be an unhappy, unceremonious end. It was foolish. Stupid, even.

But every time he thought that, his mind would flash to his grandmother, and that near eternal smile she wore, even in old age. A life she had spent battling and traveling, and for as far as he remembered, not once had she even come close to becoming champion. Yet still, she seemed fulfilled—happy to have done what she did, and grateful for the experience.

"You seek to do a great many things too, don't you? To do more than simply exist here, in this small town." Even now, her words echoed in his mind.

"Cassius, please," Hop pleaded once more. His desperation was full-on now, evident in his tone alone. "Just give it a chance. It's selfish, and unfair, and a whole heap of words I can't even think of right now, but it's all I can do." The Postwick native briefly eyed Gloria, who had kept to her silence for a majority of the discussion. "I—we'll support you in any way we can. You have my unaltered word on that. Just please—don't ruin everything Lee's worked to build, I beg you."

The cynical part of Cassius' mind reminded him that Hop wasn't doing this out of a genuine desire to improve Cassius' life, and that he was only doing this to ensure Cassius didn't broadcast his brother's idiocy to the world. To keep it from making it look like Galar wasn't full of idealistic idiots that were apparently the bottom rung of trainers worldwide. Hop wasn't even trying to be subtle about it. He was just that desperate, and that stupid.

Really, everyone in this foreign place was an idiot. Hop was an idiot, Leon was an idiot, his parents were idiots. This comical series of misfortunes that had led to this specific moment in time was just one big cosmic joke that delighted in Cassius' life being as miserable and complicated as possible.

Friends. Memories. A purpose. Lip-service from a person who was at the end of their rope, attempting to save their loved one from the humiliation of the consequences of their own actions.

But, in the end, he was an idiot too. A dumb, lonely idiot who had probably doomed his future by falling for the biggest lie anyone had ever told him.

Cassius sighed, hands covering his face. His seat on the couch felt heavier. Though, perhaps not as heavy as his voice felt once he finally decided to speak. "... fine."

Hop's head shot up. "Cassius... are you...?"

"I said fine," Cassius spoke marginally louder. He couldn't even stomach himself to look at Hop. The growing pit of dread that permeated throughout every inch of his stomach threatened to reveal itself on his face. "I'll... I'll go. I'll take the challenge."

In contrast, Hop didn't bother hiding the relief on his face. An audible sigh escaped his lips. "Thank you, Cassius. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You've no idea how happy I am to hear you say that."

"This has all the makings of a right and proper nightmare," Gloria muttered with a scowl. "We're so fucked."

Cassius couldn't have put it better himself. What he had just gotten himself into was beyond dangerous. At the very least, he or his family's lives weren't in danger, but there were plenty of fates worse than death. A potential lifetime of ridicule for being a fraud and a hack certainly counted among them.

Among the sounds of joy and relief from Hop, and the quiet judgement from Gloria, only one thought rang throughout his mind. 'What have I done?'