Cassius could have predicted a stern talking to, sure. Maybe a hug mixed somewhere throughout, and if things got really emotional, some tears and a kiss (awkward as that would have been to watch). What Cassius had not been expecting upon Gloria finding Hop after his fight concluded, however, was a slap.

The grin on Hop's face was immediately wiped away by shock, and the stinging in his cheek. "Gloria?"

"You fuckin' daft cunt," Gloria snarled, her expression something fierce. "Fuck's yer problem, aye? Go'on down there fer yer first bout, 'nd ye go 'nd embarass yerself front'a millions? 'nd fer what?!"

"Embarrass myself?"

"Don't play fuckin' dumb!" Gloria shouted, Hop and Cassius both flinching as her voice reverberated in the private hallway outside of the media room. "Ye wanna be Lee so fuckin' bad, fine! Grow yer hair out, get a Charmander, whatever! But ye will not embarrass yerself on thae fuckin' pitch again, or so help me there won't be anythin' left of ye to emulate Lee, clear?!"

"Gloria, I—"

"Stuff it! Clear?!"

Hop's frown was confused, and just the tiniest bit hurt. "I don't understand why you're so upset. I won, Gloria! We both did! We get to keep chasing our dream together! Isn't that enough?"

Clearly not, as Gloria's brows narrowed in response. No words left to speak, she stormed off with a huff, not sparing either of them a glance as she promptly left the hallway, both of them helpless to stop her.

That left Cassius in about as awkward as the situation could have been, so much so that he would have preferred if they'd just cried and kissed each other like he'd initially thought. Instead, he was watching Hop process the words Gloria had left him with a conflicted look on his face.

The silence eventually broke him. "Look man, I—"

"Hop!" A voice called in the direction of the other entrance, from the media side. Far too masculine to be Gloria (and far too convenient too), Cassius turned to see the champion of the league walking briskly down the hall, followed more leisurely by their mother.

Leon Dande stopped in front of Hop, his frame towering over him. A second passed, before he extended a hand. "Well done, Hop. Congratulations on your victory."

Hop seemed a bit shocked by his sudden appearance. "Oh. Well, uh, thanks—"

He was cut off as he was engulfed in a hug, Leon letting loose a wide broad smile. "Had me worried for a sec there, little bro. The barrier manoeuvre was good thinking."

Hop eventually returned the hug, patting his elder brother on the back. "Glad you think so. Didn't think I'd be using it this early in the circuit, but whatever works, right?"

"Never mind how you probably gave those poor spectators a heart attack by sending a giant Pokémon flying in their direction," Linda Dande chastised lightly, stepping beside her eldest. "Goodness, such unruly boys I've raised."

"We learned from the best," Hop grinned, any lingering uncertainty from Gloria's outburst gone. Or hidden.

"You certainly did." The Dande matriarch wrapped her youngest into a tight hug. "Oh, I'm so proud of you. My little Hop, all grown up. Winning Pokémon battles on the big stage, just like he said he would."

"I'd be an awful son to lie to my own mum," Hop laughed. "But really, thank you both for coming. I know you're both busy."

"Nonsense," Leon waved his hand. "As if I was going to miss my baby brother's first professional Pokémon battle! Not even my sense of direction would have kept me from watching you win!"

"And I'm sure you didn't tell Milo to take it easy on me?" Hop needled.

Leon raised his hands defensively. "Of course not! Just don't ask him." That drew some mild laughter from the brothers, Linda shaking her head with a smile.

The champion turned toward the other person standing in the hallway. "Cassius! Don't think I forgot about you. How've you been?"

Cassius had been content to let the family catch up, however long that would have taken. Not like he hadn't already been standing around awkwardly before they'd shown up. "Hey Leon," he casually tried to address one of the biggest celebrities in the world. "I'm doing well, thanks for—oof," he felt the air leave him slightly as Leon wrapped him in a hug. Leon was a hugger, apparently.

"Please, we're friends. Call me Lee," he insisted, drawing away. "Thanks for keepin' my little bro company. Apologies for any problems he's caused, or will cause down the road. He tends to do that."

"Oi," Hop warned.

"He's been a big help," Cassius assured Leon. "I've been acclimating much better to the country and to the challenge largely thanks to him. Made things much easier, for sure."

"Well, I'm certainly glad to hear it," Linda smiled, giving Cassius a greeting before wrapping him in a quick hug. A family of huggers, it seemed. "Your parents told me they'll be coming in tonight, yes? Please do take care not to stress them too much during your battle—Arceus knows I've lost years off my life watching these two battle."

"I'll try not to," Cassius nodded. Right, he'd almost managed to forget. Now it was his turn.

Leon pat Cassius' shoulder comfortingly. "I'm sure you'll do great. I've total faith in my sponsored trainers, and I've yet to see anything that would lead me to believe otherwise! You all got here for a reason, after all."

Cassius' nods were getting stiffer as Leon kept talking. "Mhm. Yeah. I, uh, appreciate you saying that."

Linda smacked Leon's arm. "Lee, you're making the poor boy nervous." She turned to him apologetically. "You'll have to excuse my son—he tends to believe people process things as easily as he does. Being nervous is completely natural. All we can ask is that you do your best—the rest will follow naturally."

That brought him a little comfort, however marginal. "Thank you, ma'am. I'll keep that in mind."

"In the meantime," Leon spoke up. "If you need any advice, feel free to reach out to me. Probably should have done this earlier, but I forgot! Whoops!" Reaching for his phone, he handed it to Cassius, revealing a blank contact page. "Caroline always gets on me for bein' too loose with my contact information, but I think she'll forgive me for wanting to stay in touch with one of my sponsored trainers, hm?"

Cassius offhandedly wondered how many people would have killed for Leon Dande's phone number. As he put in his number, and received an introductory text to confirm they'd correctly exchanged their contacts, Cassius figured he'd let the realization that he was only a text away from one of the most famous people on the planet hit him much later. Probably when he would attempt to go to sleep tonight.

"Speaking of sponsored trainers," Leon continued. "Where's Gloria? Figured she'd be here."

"She's..." Hop struggled to form an excuse, or was perhaps debating telling his brother and mother the truth. Cassius quickly intervened. "She went back to the hotel to get her camera. One of those instant film ones. She told me that she wanted to have a physical memento of her and Hop both winning after he won."

They thankfully seemed to buy it. "Sounds like her," Leon laughed. "Always the sentimental sort, even if she tries denying it. I suppose we'll see her later, then."

"You all have plans?" Cassius asked, in the interest of keeping the attention off of the conspicuously absent Gloria.

"Of course. Nothing fancy, just a celebratory dinner for the victor," Linda confirmed. "I'd heard that there was a lovely renowned restaurant nearby, but I'm told we're apparently saving that for when you win, Cassius."

Cassius couldn't recall hearing that. "We are?"

"Surf and turf," Hop reminded him. "You promised, remember?"

The conversation he'd had with Hop about what they'd do after they won returned to him, but any mention of him swearing on the surf and turf seemed questionable at best. "I'm not sure I did."

"Regardless," Linda interjected. "We're having dinner tonight. Cassius, you're more than welcome to join us if you'd like. We'd love to have you. Gloria too of course, if you run into her."

Something told him Gloria wouldn't be so eager to accept. "Thank you, but I couldn't," he politely declined. "I want to get some last minute studying in before tomorrow. I appreciate the offer, though."

"Ah, very responsible of you," Leon commended with a nod. "But remember Cassius, don't get too in your head about it. Overthinking can be just as bad as underestimating your opponent. Believe in yourself, process things naturally, and—ow! Mum!"

"What did I tell you about unsolicited advice?" Linda clicked her tongue in disapproval. "Cassius has plenty to think about already, without you filling his head with even more hot air."

"Mum, I'm sponsoring him!" The Champion of Galar protested boyishly. "I'd be a shit sponsor if I didn't give him any advice—ow!"

"Language," Linda firmly reminded him. "And sometimes, support does much more for a person than advice. Simple well-wishes go quite the long way, and are often more sincere."

Leon sighed, relenting to the force of nature that was his mother. Cassius could certainly relate to him there. "Best of luck, Cassius," Leon offered simply. "I'll be rooting for you the whole way. Milo's good, but I know you can beat him."

Hearing that from the champion was almost enough to make Cassius believe that it really would work itself out that easily. "Thanks, Leon—er, Lee," he quickly corrected. "I'll do my best."

"I know you will. And if you ever do decide you need any advice, well, you have my number now. Hit me up whenever, and I'll help you however I can."

Cassius had thought that Leon was a bit too good-hearted initially, and that he was more than a bit of an idiot when they'd first met. He was the reason he'd been roped into this after all, and he hadn't really been in the right headspace to judge the man. Really, if he were of a sounder mind at the time, he probably would have assumed that there was no way someone as famous as Leon was actually as friendly and nice as he portrayed himself to be.

Maybe he still didn't know enough about Hop's older brother personally to push back against that theory, but it was getting harder and harder to dispute that Leon Dande was a genuinely good guy. Taking time out of his busy schedule to ensure he'd be able to watch his brother's first professional fight said a lot to Cassius. And really, could he hate on someone who, unintentionally or not, had given him the chance to pursue the dream he hadn't even known he'd wanted at the time?

"Thanks," Cassius nodded, managing a surprisingly genuine smile of gratitude. "I will."

With that squared away, Cassius noticed Hop nudge him subtly. "Well, I'm gonna head back to the hotel, shower and change and all that. I'll meet you both in thirty minutes or so for dinner?" He gave Cassius a quick glance, which probably meant he wanted him to come with him.

"Sounds good," Leon nodded, Linda doing the same. "See you in a bit, Hop. Congratulations again—tonight, we feast!" He gave Cassius' shoulder one last pat. "And again, good luck to you, Cassius. I can't wait to see how you'll dazzle us all in your battle tomorrow."

Neither could he, in all honesty. "Thanks, Lee." He'd try not to think about the negative outcomes tomorrow would possibly bring. And hey, even if they did come to pass—at least he'd gotten a major celebrity's phone number. That counted for something, right?

The streets were going to be naturally flooded with people, what with the dinner rush and all, but it was also flooded with people hoping to catch one Hop Dande in the street immediately after his victory against Milo. Some to congratulate him and ask for an autograph or picture together, sure, but many more probably looking to insult and harass him (or worse) for beating their local gym leader and coming off as a complete duplicate of Leon, in their eyes. With that in mind, Hop opted for a private car to transport him to their hotel, Cassius joining him in the backseat as the driver took off in that direction, closing the divider between him and his two new passengers to ensure their privacy.

Not that it mattered much at the moment. Hop had been silent the entire ride so far. Cassius certainly wasn't going to bring anything up, meaning that they were both currently thoroughly enjoying the view of Turffield's scenic hillsides as they pointedly stared out of the car's windows.

It was a weird stalemate, Cassius thought. Why did Hop even invite him if they were just going to ignore each other the entire time? The ride home was nice, but he'd followed him under the assumption that Hop had wanted to continue their conversation from earlier. He very much doubted Hop brought him with him for casual conversation.

The thing with Gloria, standing around with his family, and now this. All this awkward silence was finally breaking him. Which said a lot, really.

"Alright," he spoke with resignation, turning in Hop's direction. "What's up?"

Hop turned toward him. "Huh?"

"You brought me here for a reason, didn't you? What is it?"

Hop's brows knit in confusion. "Uh, yeah. I was waiting for you to continue what you were talking about."

Now Cassius was confused. "What?"

"Earlier, right after Gloria left. You were saying something right before my family cut you off. I was waiting for you to say what you were going to say before we got interrupted."

There had been some serious miscommunication leading up to this. "I wasn't going to say anything."

"Then why did you say something?" Hop asked, voice raising slightly.

"Because it was awkward! I watched Gloria slap the shit out of you! What am I supposed to say? 'Hey man, I know your best friend is pissed at you right now, but let me give you some really smart advice I've been sitting on that's perfect for the situation you're in right now.' What did you think I was gonna say?"

"Something! Anything!" Hop floundered, arms extended. "You were sitting next to Gloria the entire fight! You would know what she was thinking more than I would!"

"Dude, I've known her for like, maybe two months," Cassius pushed back. "You've known her since before you could walk. Why would I have any more insight on how she feels about anything compared to you?"

Any retort Hop might have had died, the Postwick native leaning back into his seat with a resigned sigh. The tension from their little spat evaporated as Hop seemed to accept the reality of what had happened. "How bad was it?"

Cassius could guess what he was alluding to. "Gloria?"

"Mhm."

"You want me to be honest?"

"Yes, please."

"I've never seen her more pissed since I've met her."

Hop sighed again. "That checks out."

It was a moment longer before Cassius found it within him to prod a little further. "Can I ask why?"

"Respectfully, no."

"Then I won't ask." Hop thought that was the end of it until he saw Cassius had fully turned toward him. "Instead, I'll bargain. Tell me why you did what you did, and I'll try and see if I can't get Gloria to at least hear you out."

Hop hadn't been expecting that from the usually soft-spoken Unovan. "Can I ask why the sudden insistence?"

"Because I wanna know," he answered simply. "I mean, yeah, Gloria was worked up, but in my eyes, as someone who's trying to understand battling more, your decision directly affected how it was you fought down there. If what you were doing was so important that you wanted to do it in your first professional fight, the thing you'd been building up to for forever... then I just wanna know why."

He turned a little sheepish, gaze suddenly aimed at the roof of the car. "And I mean... we're friends, aren't we? Can I not ask my friend something that's maybe a little personal?"

Hop seemed to consider the point. Cassius was left to shift uncomfortably in his seat as Hop stewed over his words. Then, "Not friends, technically. Brothers, remember?"

Cassius groaned. He'd been stupid to worry. "Unfortunately, yes. I'm not saying that dumb rhyme you came up with."

"Then I won't ask—I'll bargain," Hop smirked, Cassius sinking further into his seat. "Come on, you know you want to. What happens to me, happens to you..."

"It's not happening, Hop."

"Brothers forever..."

"Hop."

"Alright, alright. Next time." Hop seemed so sure, like Cassius wouldn't do everything in his power to ensure there wouldn't ever be a next time.

Hop hummed, content with their banter. Cassius almost felt prompted to remind him of what they'd been talking about before they'd gotten off-track before Hop spoke again. "You wanna know the most consequential moment of my life?"

Cassius was a bit caught on his back foot by the question, but did his best to answer regardless. "Um... Receiving your Wooloo?"

"Nope," Hop shook his head.

"Okay... your first Pokémon battle?"

"No. I'll give you a hint; it has nothing to do with me, personally."

That was a very specific hint, probably on purpose. "Nothing to do with you..." Cassius tried to formulate something plausible. "Watching Leon become champion?"

"Not quite, but you're getting warmer."

Cassius had done enough guessing. "I give up."

"Points for trying. You were close, so I'll give it to you." Hop commended, before smiling. "It was Leon's first battle."

He'd been right in guessing it had something to do with Lee, but he'd been maybe five or so guesses away from thinking about Leon's first battle. "I'd heard that he pretty much dominated his first fight."

"To put it simply, yes," Hop confirmed. "One of the most convincing first career wins in league history, I remembered the press saying. Lee had been thoroughly scouted as an up-and-coming prospect, sure, but before that fight, most of the pundits had thought his ceiling was maybe a gym leader. After that fight, they were calling him on track to be one of the greatest trainers ever."

"You're sure that wasn't the press being a little caught up in the moment?" Cassius threw out. "Sports media tends to do that."

"Oh, I'm sure they were. But younger me certainly didn't care any," Hop chuckled. "You gotta understand, Cassius, no one has ever entered the professional scene as strong as Lee did. To me, that was my brother, kicking butt in a way no one before him ever had. Making it look easy, and fun. Even all these years later, I can vividly remember the booth we were watching in, every move Leon executed, every move his opponent executed. Even down to the clothes I was wearing that day. That's how much that fight meant to me."

His expression turned wistful. "I'd watched every step of Lee's journey into getting where he was. It's true that Lee's undefeated, yeah, but that's only as a professional. As an amateur and semi-pro, Lee lost plenty. And it ate him up inside. He was obsessive about how he lost, where he'd messed up, and how it was he could improve. He'd spend entire days training, agonizing over even the smallest things he thought he'd missed." Hop shook his head. "They say it's easy, but that's 'coz they never saw the effort Lee put in literally every single day."

His smile returned. "I guess, put simply, seeing my brother's hard work pay off was inspiring to me. It really ingrained in me that a constant belief in yourself, and the drive to succeed, really did count for something, even beyond innate talent. The stuff you read about in books, and see in TV shows and movies... it was real. And it was being conveyed through someone I loved deeply, who deserved every bit of praise he received."

Cassius was starting to put the pieces together. "So... you want to have that same effect on people, I'm assuming?"

"If I can," Hop nodded. "Lee inspired me to be better. Taught me that any dream can be achieved if you work hard. I wanna be that kind of role model to someone who might be as old as I was then, struggling toward a dream that might seem far away right now."

"But why copy Lee exactly?" Cassius argued. "Surely there's a better way to get that across than having to sacrifice your own battling style for the sake of emulating him."

"I did fight in my own style," Hop countered. "Lee said it himself earlier—not even he had thought of using the barrier in all his time battling. That manoeuvre was completely original on my part."

Cassius would choose to believe him, seeing as Gloria hadn't angrily commented on how he'd ripped such a move from his brother at the time. "That doesn't explain earlier in the fight. 'Standing around issuing no commands is the very worst thing you could be doing during a battle.' Remember that? Ignoring your own advice for the sake of proving a point doesn't seem very justified to me."

A shrug. "That's different."

"How?" Cassius pressed, incredulous. "I thought that was a universal rule! And the little pose you did at the end. That was Leon's, wasn't it?

Hop seemed to concede the first point. "I'll admit, kinda overthought myself in the heat of the moment. It won't happen again. But to your thing with the pose, what's wrong with a little homage? Everybody already knows I'm Lee's brother. Why not lean into it a bit? Drive up the buzz around me while I'm out there winnin'?"

Because it pissed Gloria off, for one thing. "Because you're you, Hop. Don't you want to be yourself when you fight? Do your own thing, instead of having to make everything a callback to Leon?"

"What's the harm?" Hop genuinely didn't seem to see any problem with what he'd done. "It's not like I'm paying respect to some controversial figure—it's Lee, for goodness sake. The champion! The greatest trainer this region's ever seen!"

"You can't act like you don't hear what they say about you," Cassius persisted. He felt like he had to, until Hop got the point. "They're only going to keep calling you those things as long as you keep doing what you're doing. I see that you're trying to be a positive role model, really. But you can do that in a way that doesn't involve half of the audience calling you a talentless hack and nepo trash."

"They can say whatever they want—most of them probably don't even mean what they say. They're just caught up in supporting Milo. I know what I am, and I know what I can bring to people." Hop seemed entirely unconcerned. "If I get one hundred people cursing my name, but even one person feels inspired by me, then I'd say that's pretty worth it, yeah?"

Cassius felt like he was talking in circles. "But it doesn't have to be that way, Hop."

"It doesn't, but it is," Hop responded plainly. "And I wouldn't change it, because I know who I am. I'm comfortable with what I do, even if people don't like it. That's kinda the nature of being a celebrity. There aren't any that are universally loved, and the longer you're exposed to the fame, the more people turn against you. I've literally seen that happen with Lee—there are plenty of people who don't like him just because they think he wins too much."

There was a certainty in his tone that made it feel like there was nothing Cassius could do to persuade him otherwise. Like he'd committed himself to this mindset long, long before they'd had this conversation. Maybe there was something to admire in that, but Cassius couldn't really convince himself that being so set in a certain way was healthy. Especially when it concerned Hop's career at large.

"I just... I don't want you to get hurt by what you're doing, I guess." Cassius gave it one last attempt. "I know that if it were me on the receiving end of what I heard some of those people in the crowd say, I'm not sure I'd be able to handle it. Maybe you're different, I don't know. I just want to make absolutely sure you're good with this."

"I am," Hop answered. He seemed appreciative. "Thanks for caring. I know it might sound like I'm just flying by the seat of my pants on this, but I know what I'm doing. Trust me."

Then there wasn't really anything he could do at this point. Even if Cassius didn't truly believe Hop, despite how much he wanted to. "Alright. I won't bug you about it then."

"Nah, you weren't bugging me," Hop grinned, nudging his shoulder. "You were just checking in on me. That's what friends do. You're a better person than you give yourself credit for, Cash."

"Sure," Cassius agreed halfheartedly, not particularly moved by Hop's flattery, or the use of that dumb nickname. "You'll have to do a better job of convincing Gloria, though. She probably won't be as forgiving."

"I'm sure she will be. You just need to butter her up like you said you would," Hop said knowingly.

"I said I'd try," Cassius reiterated. "That's not a guarantee. Just because we're not at each other's throats all the time doesn't mean she'll readily listen to whatever I have to say."

"Won't know until you try," Hop offered.

"That's the part I'm scared of," Cassius grumbled. Hop took apparent pleasure in his plight, laughing at Cassius' downcast expression. At least one of them was feeling better.

Their hotel was coming into view. Cassius made sure he had all of his essentials on him as Hop spoke once more. "Let's not let my situation distract us from what's next—your battle."

"Really? I'd completely forgotten," Cassius drawled sarcastically. Which was still a bit foreign to him—he'd had virtually zero interactions with people he felt comfortable enough to be sarcastic around prior to coming to Galar.

"I'm not gonna bore you with any meaningless advice on my end, so I'll just say this—you're gonna win." Hop spoke with an abundance of conviction. "Absolutely zero doubt in my mind. You've got tomorrow in the bag."

"Are you trying to jinx me?" Cassius asked, shooting Hop a glare. He wasn't the most superstitious person around, but even he felt like Hop was laying it on a little thick.

Hop shook his head. "Just calling it like I see it. I have a knack for knowin' these kinda things. If I had money to gamble, I'd bet it all on you winning tomorrow."

"Okay, stop, I get it," Cassius cut Hop off before he could tempt fate any more than he already had. "You're gonna be cheering me on. Thanks, really."

"Just gettin' it all outta my system in case I don't see you tomorrow," Hop threw up his hands in defense. "I think it helps to know you have people supporting you. Worked for me, so I'm sure it'll work for you too."

Cassius rolled his eyes. "Maybe you should bet your life savings on me, if you're so confident."

"Would if I could, mate. Be a bad look for an endorsed trainer to get caught throwin' money around."

"I'm sure," Cassius deadpanned. "And if I lose tomorrow?"

"Then I promise to swear off gambling for the both of us," Hop crossed his heart with his finger.

Cassius sighed. "You're so full of shit." Hop only laughed again, notably not denying his claim.

The trip back to his room was uneventful. He'd stopped for a private dinner inside the hotel after separating from Hop after the drive, and after he'd had his fill, meandered his way back to his room. No one bothered him, thankfully.

He eyed Gloria's room as he opened the door to his own, briefly debating whether or not it would have been worth it to check up on her before thinking better of it. Gloria probably would have preferred to be left alone, and even if she didn't, he wouldn't bank on the (likely slim) chance that he was wrong and risk exposing himself to her temper.

Or at least, that was the explanation he gave himself. In reality, he just wasn't particularly eager to spend his time fixing Hop's mess when he could instead prepare for the biggest day of his life tomorrow. 'Sorry, Hop.' Maybe a little slimy of him to go back on his promise, but Cassius had gotten quite good at lying in recent months.

The door shut itself behind him, he flickered the lights on and dimmed them, and plopped himself down beside his desk. "What a day," he muttered. That was enough drama to last him a lifetime. For all he was training and learning on the Pokémon front, his social battery was still as limited as it had ever been. Talking to the waitress at the hotel restaurant for his dinner order had seemed like a chore after today.

On the subject of dinner... "Should probably feed you guys, huh?" Clicking three capsules, three separate Pokémon materialized into the hotel room, in varying states of emotion. Hyla looked a little tired, Korvis looked annoyed, and Sizzlipede looked hungry. His wonderful, sterling team.

Retrieving his bag, he dug around for his Pokémon food. "Alright... dried Wurmple for Sizzlipede... fruits and nuts for Korvis... and some meat with veggies for Hyla." Spreading out his haul, his three Pokémon took to their food with gusto, Cassius watching over them as they ate.

Some were more enthusiastic than others. Cassius wasn't sure what Sizzlipede's diet had consisted of before he'd caught her, because she took to every meal like it was her last, devouring everything he gave her happily. Hyla had impeccable manners and enjoyed eating in general, hardly ever complaining about what Cassius served up for her. It helped that he'd had years to acclimate to her specific tastes. Both of them were both a breeze to feed—it was the other one that was giving him headaches.

Korvis was, for whatever reason, his pickiest eater. Which didn't make much sense in his eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be some alpha predator or whatever?" He asked her as she picked selectively at her assortment of nuts and fruit. "I thought being picky wasn't a thing out in the wild."

She didn't take too kindly to that, trilling angrily in response. Cassius quickly put a finger to his lips. "Shh! It's nighttime! People are sleeping!" Korvis didn't care and kept warbling, puffing her chest and flapping her wings for effect.

What was her problem? Things hadn't been the smoothest between them since their tentative agreement, but they'd gotten along decently well. He searched for a quick solution, landing on the first one that popped into his head. "Alright, fine! You can have some of Hyla's meat!"

That got Korvis' attention. Immediately stopping, the Rookidee hopped over to Hyla's plate and snatched a piece of cooked meat with her beak, wolfing it down. Hyla barked in indignation, balancing angry looks between Korvis and Cassius both. "She was making a scene!" Cassius defended himself, before being forced to turn his attention to more pressing matters—like that Sizzlipede was now attempting to secure a cut of Hyla's food as well.

In the end, he'd had to virtually double all three of their dinners. Cassius groaned. He'd been running a little low on food supply already, with three growing mouths to feed and all of them constantly hungry from training, but he'd been hoping to put off buying more food until a few days after their fight. At the rate they were going, he'd have to re-up the day after tomorrow, if not immediately after his fight was over. He'd burned through practically all the money his parents had given him to start, even with the sponsored trainer discount they gave him at Poké Marts—how did normal trainers ever afford this?

The three constant drains on his wallets didn't seem very concerned at all, content to lounge around after the veritable feast of meat, fruits and treats they'd collectively devoured. Cassius would need to win tomorrow if only to earn enough money to last them to their next stop. "I'm gonna go bankrupt because of you three," he directed pointedly at the three of them, receiving a guilty expression only from Hyla. Sizzlipede was ticking happily, while Korvis stuck her beak up at him.

Tomorrow, tomorrow. The thought of having to win tomorrow invaded his head again, as he went to lie down on his bed. Hyla jumped after him, Sizzlipede not far behind. Korvis, never okay with being looked down upon, hopped up to the top of the bed frame and stared down at him.

He sighed, attempting to distract himself from the nerves. "Maybe Milo'll get sick tomorrow and forfeit," he suggested. That wasn't popular with Korvis or Sizzlipede, who squawked and hissed respectively. "Or maybe someone will just nuke the stadium and save us the trouble." Even louder cries, and even Hyla had chastised him for that one. "Alright, alright, I get it. Just trying to lighten the mood."

Any more awful jokes were interrupted by the ringing of his phone. His mom's caller ID flashed across the screen, and Cassius quickly answered. "Mom?"

"Hey, sweetie!" She sounded cheery. "Just wanted to call and say we pulled into Turffield safely! Heading to our hotel now!"

That was good. They hadn't been able to get a room in the same hotel, but there was a nice one relatively close by that had discounted days and nights for Macro Cosmos employees. Said employee's voice announced itself through the phone. "Hey, Cassius," his dad greeted. "Everything alright? Feeling good?"

"As well as I can be," Cassius answered honestly. "Glad you guys got in okay. How was the train?"

"Better than the ones in Unova, that's for sure," Lila Hargreaves scoffed. "Those things are crap on wheels compared to the ones here. That alone might make the move worth it."

"Your mom's been a little spoiled by the luxury compartments," Will Hargreaves admitted. "Helps that I'm technically one of their bosses. And to think, she'd been so insistent on flying to Turffield."

"I'm woman enough to admit when I'm wrong. If we're taking those trains to get around everywhere, I might not ever step onto a plane again. But enough about us," his mother changed the subject. "How's Hyla? And the rest of your team? Will you show them to me?"

Cassius had been drip-feeding his parents information about his newest companions over the last few weeks, and they'd naturally been curious to know more. Granted, he'd withheld a majority of the truth of how he'd met his two new additions, seeing as they'd probably freak his parents out—"I met Korvis after she tried to kill me, and Sizzlipede after she tried frying my arm off!"—but he supposed now was as good a time as any to virtually introduce them. They'd be seeing them tomorrow on the pitch anyway. "Sure. Lemme turn the camera on..."

Turning the voice call into a video call, he was greeted with the smiling faces of his parents, who had found a bench to sit on. Flipping his camera around, he waved before panning the camera to his team. "You already know this one. Say hi, Hyla." Recognizing their voices and getting close enough to the phone to see their faces, Hyla sniffed the phone before panting excitedly, tail wagging.

"Ooh, there she is! Hi Hyla! I miss you so much!" His mother cooed gently, waving at the screen. "You look like you've lost some weight! Cassius must have you training hard." Nodding proudly, Hyla barked as she stood a little straighter beneath the praise. Cassius laughed at the gesture, before shifting his phone in Sizzlipede's direction.

"This one's Sizzlipede." The dual Fire and Bug-type lifted her upper body, staring curiously into the phone with wide eyes. "Don't mind her glare—that's just how she always looks."

He hadn't been necessarily looking for any approval from his parents, but their content nods gave him a bit of relief. "Hi, Sizzlipede," his mom introduced herself. "I'm Cassius' mother. It's very nice to meet you—Cassius has told us a lot! I've heard you're good friends with Hyla." As if to demonstrate her answer, Sizzlipede skittered over to Hyla and mounted herself on top of her, wriggling happily. Hyla, more than used to the gesture, allowed her the honor of doing so without a fuss. Lila laughed. "Okay, very good friends then. I'm glad that Hyla found someone outside of Cassius she can get along with. Have you picked a name for her yet?"

He shook his head. "Not yet. Been hard to think of one, with everything that's been happening. I'll pick one eventually."

"I hope so. Sizzlipede sounds too impersonal." She thought for a second. "You should give her something tough, and strong. Maybe... Lock Jaws? Fire Fangs? Crusher?"

"She's a Pokémon, not a wrestler," Cassius quickly shot down. Never mind how two of those suggestions were already the names of a medical condition and an established Pokémon move respectively, and the third sounded like something an eight-year-old would come up with. "I'll think one up later."

That brought them to the last member, and the one Cassius was most hesitant to show them. "And here's Korvis..." Almost immediately after the camera landed on her, Korvis hopped from the bed frame with a scoff, making herself scarce elsewhere in the room. Cassius grimaced slightly. At least she hadn't charged the camera and tried to maul his parents through the phone. "She's a little... shy. Sorry, I'm working on it."

"That's alright," his dad reassured him. "Some wild Pokémon take a little longer to settle in than others. I'm just happy we could meet your team, even if it's over the phone."

Cassius was sure they'd all meet in person soon, regardless of how tomorrow went. His mother moved on. "How're Hop and Gloria? Everything good with them?"

Absolutely not, but he wouldn't regale his parents with the details of their drama this late at night. "They're fine. Both were pretty tired after their fights, but they're doing good. Hop's out celebrating with his family, and Gloria's probably passed out."

"I can imagine. I watched Gloria's on TV—or telly, as the locals say," she seemed real proud of that one. "That was a real ass-whooping. Poor guy didn't look like he knew what hit him."

Cassius rolled his eyes. "Don't tell her that. Her ego's already big enough as is."

"And feisty? I like her even more now," Lila decided. She might have said more before a yawn from Hyla interrupted her, the Pokémon cozying into the bed with a Pokémon-powered blanket on top of her. Sizzlipede looked to be dozing off a little too. His mother noticed. "Guess we should let you go. You've got a big day tomorrow."

That he did. "Sorry. I'll find you guys after the fight. We're still on for dinner?"

"Of course." Her face turned stern. "Cassius, I'm sure you already know this, but we love you. No matter how tomorrow goes, we'll be together for what's next. You know we'll have your back."

"I know." He'd never doubted that for a second. "Win or lose, I love you both."

She nodded her head. "Good. That being said... go kick ass tomorrow, Cassius. We know how hard you've been working. And you've got trainer blood in you—I'm sure grandma will be looking over you and Hyla both. She'd be so happy to see you know, in her exact place when she was your age."

He was sure she would be. Years after Grandma Millie, her descendant would take to the field to prove himself to the world just as she did. With a Deino as a partner to boot. He only wished she could be here to see him.

His parents stood from the bench. "Well, we're gonna go find our hotel. Maybe they'll mark it down a little after we tell them we're a trainer's parents." She snickered jokingly, but Cassius wondered if that would actually work. "Get some sleep Cassius, I mean it. No staying up late. You're just gonna make it harder on yourself if you're forced to battle a trainer and your own drowsiness."

Easier said than done, but he'd certainly try. "I will. Goodnight mom, dad. I'll see you both tomorrow. I love you."

"Goodnight," his father said simply. His mom wasn't done. "And I do mean sleep, young man. I know Gloria's cute and all, but I better not hear about you sneaking into her room before your big fight. Or any other girl's room."

The chances of that happening were about the same as his notion of The Turf being nuked before his fight. "You keep telling me to go out and meet girls, but then you tell me not to go out and meet girls. Which one is it?"

"I wanted you to branch out before, but now that you're famous, I don't want just any random girl honey-trapping you, but I still want you to find a nice girl for you to settle down with, just as long as she's not after your status and money," she explained in one long breath. "It's pretty simple, really."

"Yeah well, I don't think you'll need to worry about that in the short-term." Even if he had developed a thing for Gloria (which would have been very concerning after how much she'd verbally tormented him before they'd made peace), she was already very much off-limits in his eyes. He briefly wondered if her spat with Hop would change how she felt. Probably not.

"Mhm," his mother seemed unconvinced. "Hyla, keep an eye on him. I trust your judgment." Even though she was nodding off, Hyla still managed an affirmative yip. Narc.

"Alright, I'm going for real now. To sleep. Love you guys."

"Love you too," his parents answered, before the call ended. Even though he said he'd sleep, he wasn't so sure he'd just manage to shut his eyes and whisk himself away to the land of eight-or-more-hours. He'd read somewhere that light stretches before bed helped relax the body before bed—maybe he'd try them out for himself.

Rookidee, either tired physically or tired of interacting with them all or both, hopped over to her capsule and let herself be absorbed into it. Sizzlipede was already passed out, with Hyla not far behind. He technically wasn't supposed to have a Pokémon that constituted a fire hazard out of its ball inside the premises, but Gloria's Scorbunny had essentially free reign in her room and had yet to be reprimanded for it, so he wasn't sure that rule was enforced all that strictly for anything that wasn't literally made of fire. Carefully relocating them both onto the floor, Cassius changed into his evening attire, brushed his teeth and washed his face, did a few cursory stretches for five minutes, and hopped into bed. He'd shower in the morning, to make him fresh and presentable and awake.

If he managed any sleep tonight, a traitorous part of his mind whispered to him. He was just being paranoid. He'd turned off all the lights, silenced his phone outside of his morning alarm, and hadn't eaten any food or drank any water since dinner. He'd even stretched! Everything the internet had said would help for a great night of sleep.

The bundle of nerves in his gut would fade, especially as he got sleepier. Even as he shut his eyes, and felt the tension and worry and fear continue to course through him, he just convinced himself that he wasn't sleepy enough. He would fall asleep, wake up refreshed, and he'd go out and beat Milo for his first official victory. With everybody he loved and cared about watching and cheering him on.

He took a deep breath, and his fist clenched. Yeah. He just had to fall asleep. Easy.