Chapter 4

The next few months were a blur.

Everyday, Leaf had something to do. Initially, a lot of time was spent on, as Tasha called it, the beautification process. She got her nails and eyebrows done, hair cut (the style wasn't very different from her old one, just had more volume), body waxed, and pores cleared (a strict skincare routine was implemented afterwards). She even had her ears pierced, surprising Mom who'd tried to convince Leaf to pierce her ears before to no avail.

Tasha took Leaf on several shopping trips. After consulting with stylists and trying on millions of clothes, a complete wardrobe was finally assembled. Since Tasha didn't want Leaf to appear too girly, they went for high-end athleisure, an essentially more expensive version of Leaf's old style.

Overall, Leaf didn't look too different from before, which she was incredibly grateful for. In Tasha's words, she was much more polished than before, a smoothed out stone. Leaf could accept that, but it astounded her how much work went into it.

She regularly met with her life coaches. Each session was long and they always assigned a lot of homework. Her public speaking coach, Eric Lansing, was a flamboyant man who loved the sound of his voice. It got on Leaf's nerves how often he'd go on a tangent, therefore extending their time together, but she had to admit, he wasn't bad at his job. He taught Leaf how to be more intentional with her tone, body language, and words. He taught her how to read a crowd, how to interpret questions ("They're rarely as straightforward as they seem."), and reveal just enough to satisfy, but not so much that the mystery disappeared. Leaf wasn't sure how much she enjoyed the latter lesson, but Eric pointed out that at the very least, not talking too much would prevent her words from getting twisted.

Her other coach was her personal trainer, Ryan Broderick, who looked and spoke like a fraternity brother. She appreciated how he didn't go easy on her simply because she was a girl, but there were constant aches in muscles she didn't even know existed. The worst change to her life was definitely her new diet. She pretty much had to completely cut out carbohydrates, which unfortunately meant she couldn't eat a lot of her favorite foods. Over time, however, her diet and workouts grew a bit easier, and Leaf did seem more toned in the mirror.

And of course, there were interviews upon interviews, photoshoots upon photoshoots. It was surreal sitting across TV show hosts that she watched growing up, appearing on the covers of magazines that were sold everywhere. Leaf was a celebrity now. It fully hit her when, on a late night show, she had to sing with one of the biggest pop artists in the world.

Leaf hadn't decided yet if she liked it. On one hand, it was cool meeting all these celebrities and hearing praise. On the other, she could never seem to catch a break. Wherever she went, she was surrounded by paparazzi, and she was pretty much always going somewhere. It didn't take long for her to be happy with her new apartment. Though she hadn't spent many nights in it, she liked the total privacy it offered. It was the only place where she could truly breathe.

Thanks to Tasha and her coaches, Leaf's public image so far was mostly positive. But that didn't mean she never faced criticism. Some people weren't impressed with her battle against Blue, insisting that she'd simply gotten lucky. There was even a theory that Blue let her win on purpose, either because he was tired of being Champion, or he had a secret relationship with Leaf. Whenever Leaf heard about such theories, she'd remember how Red refused to battle with her and feel sick.

News of the riot at Violet City also spread, though people didn't really blame Leaf for it. Instead, it seemed to increase the disdain Kantonians felt towards Johtoans. So uncivilized. They're too sensitive. Did they have to be so violent? On some level, Leaf agreed that the riot was unnecessary, but some of the comments made her very uncomfortable.

It was also the first time President Ken reached out since the Victory Tour. Well, June reached out for him. She called Leaf to firmly suggest releasing a statement. Some Kantonians wouldn't approve, but appeasing the Johtoans was the current priority. The Johto portion of her tour had been rocky, but Leaf didn't know until that call how bad it'd really been. With Tasha's help, Leaf wrote up an apology for her insensitivity which, after receiving President Ken's approval, was posted on her social media accounts. Things seemed calmer after that, though Leaf wouldn't know since news channels tended to focus on Kanto affairs. The little she heard about Johto was through Tasha, which was strange to think about.

So many activities and events, and not a single one was a battle. There'd been several challengers, but none defeated the Elite Four. As much as Leaf craved battles, a part of her was relieved. Tasha had lied when she said Leaf would have plenty of time to train. Leaf would have a productive training session once or twice a week at best. Her Pokemon were still strong, of course, but Leaf worried about them becoming out of shape.

Above all, she felt bad for them. Except for Gengar and Ninetales, her Pokemon quickly grew bored of posing for photos, showing off for audiences. All of them missed training and battling; Leaf could tell because whenever there was time to train, they acted in a way a starving man would when given food.

"I'm sorry how hectic everything's been," Leaf said to them one night. "It's just because I'm the new Champion. Once the hype dies down, things will be back to normal."

Venusaur put a vine on Leaf's shoulder and smiled. Strangely, it felt as if he was comforting her.

One day, Leaf went to the Indigo Stadium to watch a battle between Lance and the newest league challenger, Harris Wilkes. Harris was the first challenger to make it that far since Leaf became Champion. After a very close match, the referee declared Harris the winner.

Leaf held her breath in.

In a week, she was going to have her first battle as Champion.

Fortunately, other than her sessions with Eric and Ryan, Leaf didn't have any commitments. She spent a lot of the week training, preparing for the upcoming match. Her Pokemon couldn't have been more excited, but Leaf was anxious. What if, somehow, she lost to Harris? There was no way Leaf could recover from losing to her first challenger. She'd have to disappear, just like Red.

"Try again, Fearow!"

Fearow flew around a Hitmonchan dummy, so fast that wind whipped up around it. The dummy shook, but did not fall over.

They were working on a new move, inspired by Dragonite's Twister. If the dragon had a wind attack, why not the bird? Leaf wasn't sure if they'd perfect it in time for the battle, but there was definitely potential. The name was also a work in progress. She didn't want to call it Twister: maybe Tornado?

Leaf glanced at her other Pokemon. They were at the Indigo Training Center. Leaf generally liked to train outside, but the facility definitely had its perks. Venusaur was lifting weights with his vines. Dragonite was floating with a weight attached to his tail. Ninetales and Gengar were dodging mock cannonballs. Golduck was freezing the battlefield with Ice Beam so that he could move around quickly.

Leaf felt calmer.

Even though they hadn't trained consistently for a few months, everyone was still strong. They could handle whoever challenged them. Soon, the whole region would see that they didn't get to the top by chance. They deserved it.

The October air was crisp. It nipped at the tip of Leaf's nose, but it was so sunny that she didn't mind. It was a beautiful day to have her debut battle.

As Scott Morey gave the usual introduction speech, Leaf studied her opponent. Harris looked to be in his thirties. He had a stocky build, square jaw, and neatly combed brown hair. When she noticed his cross dangle earrings, Leaf realized that she'd seen Harris before. He'd challenged the Indigo League in the past, losing to both Red and Blue. The way he was smirking indicated that he didn't expect to lose to a third Champion.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. Our challenger, Harris Wilkes of Pewter City, will face our new Champion, Leaf Green!"

This was far from being the first time Leaf was introduced as Champion, but hearing Scott say it over the loudspeaker felt like a dream.

"Will our challenger come out victorious? Or will our Champion prove once again that she's the greatest trainer in the world?"

Leaf was determined to give everyone an epic battle.

"Trainers may send out their Pokemon now. May the best one win!"

Harris sent out his first Pokemon and Leaf instantly knew she was going to win.

He'd sent out a Primeape, the evolution of Mankey. It looked like its pre-evolution, but angrier and had black bands around its wrists and ankles. Leaf had battled Primeapes before and knew they relied on their speed. But Harris' Primeape was leaning on its left leg. Whatever injury it sustained from the Elite Four hadn't fully healed. It wouldn't be able to leverage its greatest strength.

Leaf sent out Ninetales. Since Primeape was a fighting-type, Fearow would've been the obvious choice, but Leaf didn't need a type advantage for this battle. Ninetales had the advantage in speed anyway.

Harris pointed at Ninetales. "Primeape, use Screech!"

"Ninetales, Dig!"

As the Primeape let out an ear-splitting cry, Ninetales swiftly dug herself under the battlefield.

"Bulk Up!" Harris commanded.

The Primeape puffed its chest out, flexed its arms, and let in a deep breath. It seemed to stand stronger than before, but it was tense. Its eyes flitted around as it tried to detect Ninetales.

Most Pokemon in the Primeape's position wouldn't just stand still. They would skip around the battlefield or try to use an attack that would throw off their underground opponent. To instead use a move that increased its defense reinforced to Leaf that the Primeape wasn't in perfect health.

Ninetales burst from the ground beneath the Primeape, throwing it in the air. With a shriek, the Primeape swung at Ninetales, who ducked just in time.

"Flamethrower!"

The Primeape shrieked again as a stream of fire slammed into it.

"Screech!"

The fire vanished when the Primeape screeched harshly, making Ninetales wince.

"Cross Chop!"

The Primeape rushed at Ninetales, arms raised. For a split second, Leaf thought she'd underestimated the Primeape's strength, that the leg injury wasn't so severe and the monkey would be a formidable opponent after all.

A couple steps later, the Primeape stumbled and fell forward. Leaf's intuition had been correct.

She didn't waste any time. "Flamethrower!"

Once again, the Primeape was hit with fire. Harris was yelling for it to use Screech again, but for a Pokemon that had just increased its defense, it wasn't taking the second Flamethrower well. When Ninetales finished, the Primeape was lying on the ground, fur singed.

The referee raised a flag. "Primeape is unable to battle!"

The next Pokemon Harris sent out was a boulder. Its spherical body was composed of plated rocks with a tortoise-like head at the center. Clawed hands and feet stuck out around the head. Golem, the final evolution of Geodude. Being a rock-type, it had the advantage over Ninetales, but Leaf didn't feel any concern.

"Earthquake!"

The ground shook as the Golem slammed a foot down, but not as violently as Bruno's Steelix had made it. Using Quick Attack, Ninetales kept herself on her feet and avoided any flying debris.

"Iron Tail!"

Ninetales had learned the move at Sevii Islands. Leaf didn't normally have Ninetales use it. She found that although Iron Tail was a strong attack, Ninetales inflicted way more damage with Flamethrower. It made sense, but that didn't mean it was pointless for Ninetales to know Iron Tail. Leaf knew it could be useful one day, especially against Pokemon weak against steel attacks.

Ninetales' tails glinted under the sun. She leaped over the Golem and spun to bring her tails down on it.

"Protect!"

A green dome materialized around the Golem. Ninetales bounced off it.

"Rock Blast!"

The dome disappeared and the Golem spat a rock at Ninetales, who was still in the air. She groaned when the rock slammed into her stomach and sent her across the battlefield.

"Earthquake!"

The ground shook before Ninetales could regain her balance. She flailed, trying to get back on her feet as the ground tossed her around.

Leaf knew how to handle this. "Flamethrower the ground!"

The force of the fire sent Ninetales back in the air. Before she could hit the ground again, Ninetales launched another Flamethrower, propelling herself closer to the Golem.

"Rock Blast!"

"Iron Tail!"

Ninetales sliced the rock with her tails and used Flamethrower again.

"Iron Tail!"

"Protect!"

Ninetales bounced off the dome. The Golem fired another Rock Blast, but both Leaf and Ninetales saw it coming. Without Leaf needing to command it, Ninetales sliced the rock and charged at the Golem again.

"Pro––"

Too slow. The Golem howled when Ninetales swung her steel tails at its face. The boulder fell backwards, kicking its arms and legs up.

"Rollout!"

The Golem tucked its limbs in and rolled forward so quickly, Ninetales couldn't react. It ran over her and began to loop around the torn battlefield.

"Iron Tail!"

Ninetales swung at the rolling boulder when it approached her, stopping it in its place. The Golem withdrew and to Leaf's surprise, it didn't look as hurt as she'd expected.

Leaf bit her lip. Why couldn't Ninetales do much with Iron Tail? She'd seen other non-steel Pokemon use it with great results. What was Ninetales missing?

The fox looked to be breathing hard. She was leaning towards the left. Stifling a sigh, Leaf returned her. It would've been nice for Ninetales to win despite the type disadvantage, but she didn't see a point in having the fox use Iron Tail a hundred times. And that was assuming the Golem didn't take her out first.

Weirdly though, Leaf didn't mind needing to switch. She already knew she was going to win. It didn't matter if she needed to use more than one Pokemon.

Leaf saw Harris' face darken when Golduck came out. She wondered if he'd expected this.

"Earthquake!"

"Psychic!"

The Golem froze with its foot still above the ground.

"Surf!"

"Protect!" There was panic in Harris' voice.

There was a reason why Leaf started with Psychic. She wasn't sure if the Golem could still use Protect under Psychic's control, but it was worth a shot. And it totally was. The Golem didn't move as water rushed into the stadium.

At a certain point, Golduck wouldn't be able to keep the Golem still. He was still working on using Psychic and another move simultaneously. But he could hold the Golem long enough for Surf to wreak havoc.

The water drained. At first, Leaf couldn't see the Golem. It was when the referee raised a flag and said, "Golem is unable to battle!" that she saw it lying face down at the center. It had blended in with the torn up battlefield.

Harris sent out his third and final Pokemon: a Pidgeot. Somehow, it didn't look as majestic as Blue's.

"Aerial Ace!"

With a screech, the Pidgeot dived at Golduck. Leaf waited a second before yelling, "Ice Beam!"

The eagle was right in front of Golduck when he fired the freezing beam. The Pidgeot screeched again, this time in pain. It fell to the ground, its feathers weighed down by ice.

"Sand Attack!" Harris shouted.

With a wing, the Pidgeot swiped dirt into Golduck's face. Golduck immediately stopped using Ice Beam and stepped back, rubbing his eyes.

"Feather Dance!"

A cloud of feathers swept off the Pidgeot's body. Leaf noticed many of the feathers were the frozen ones. As the Pidgeot took off again, Leaf couldn't help but smile a little. Using Feather Dance to shed off the frozen feathers was a clever move.

"Agility!"

The Pidgeot darted around the stadium. By then, Golduck had wiped the dirt out of his eyes and was carefully watching the bird.

"Aerial Ace!"

"Psychic!"

The Pidgeot appeared behind Golduck. As it brought its talons down, Golduck looked back, eyes glowing. The Pidgeot stiffened and hovered in front of Golduck.

"Ice Beam!"

"Mirror Move!"

The Pidgeot must've broken free from Psychic, because it veered to the side. But it didn't escape soon enough. It careened when its lower torso was struck. Golduck took the opportunity to turn and aim the Ice Beam at its wing. Once again, the Pidgeot collapsed.

"Sand Attack!"

Golduck jerked his head to protect his eyes from the flying dirt. In doing so, the Ice Beam was redirected from the Pidgeot's wing to its face. It let out a muffled shriek. When the Pidgeot could no longer be heard, Golduck stopped.

The Pidgeot's face was encased in ice. Its frozen expression of pain sent a chill down Leaf's spine.

The referee raised a flag. "Pidgeot is unable to battle! The winner of this match is our Champion, Leaf Green!"

Leaf and Golduck smiled at each other before she returned him. She straightened herself, standing in silence as Harris returned his Pokemon, face white, and Scott Morey launched into some spiel on how she proved her win against Blue hadn't been a fluke.

She did it. She won her first battle as Champion. She closed her eyes and waited for the pride to swell in her chest.

After a moment, Leaf opened her eyes.

She felt nothing.

Sorry for the slow update! I've been really busy. Don't worry, I won't be giving up on this fic.

Champion life is tough. The diet Leaf is on is the keto diet, which a couple friends tried a while back and struggled mad hard. Carbs are too yummy to give up. She had her first battle as Champion too, though it was a little anticlimactic.

Thanks for reading!