This poor girl was going to get trampled, was Cassius' first thought. Unlike the rest of the crowd, she was much smaller, and slender to boot. Even with those weird... spike heel things of hers, she couldn't have reached his own nose in height. And here she'd barged in, talking to these hooligans like she knew them.

Though, judging by their expressions of fear, she apparently might have. Was there some context he was missing? He turned to Hop and Gloria, who both shrugged at him—they were clueless too. As it was, they were stuck between the two parties, making them witnesses to the entire thing.

That wasn't lost on the newcomer, who quickly spotted them out of the crowd. Her eyes seem to widen marginally. "Those're..." she quickly turned her attention back on to the crowd, with a bit of urgency in her voice. "What are you lot doin' here?" The Pokémon beside her echoed the sentiment. "Peko!"

A woman of the posse looked positively terrified. "Crap, Marnie's gonna be so pissed...!" Another was similarly panic-stricken. "She wasn't supposed to know we were here!"

Their leader had lost all manner of confidence, almost trembling before the girl. "H-hey, Marnie! N-n-nothin', really... w-we was just..."

"Know what? Save it," this Marnie person put a hand to her forehead in what appeared to be exasperation. "I know you're all terribly curious about the other gym challengers, but you gotta show a bit of restraint."

She put her hands on her hips. "Come on, you lot! Back home with you now."

"But Marnie—"

"Now."

There was no room for argument, it seemed. The group trudged their way out of the building, not bothering to apologize to anyone. There looked to be the faint traces of a flush upon Marnie's face. "Fookin' embarrassin'..."

Once they had cleared out, a line of very annoyed gym challengers began their process of checking in. Cassius, Hop and Gloria, meanwhile, watched as Marnie and the rodent Pokémon approached them. "Sorry 'bout them. They're a bunch of my... fans, I suppose you could call 'em." The fact didn't seem to please her any, judging by her growing frown. "Call themselves Team Yell and follow me around, cheerin' for me. I think they've let it all go to their heads a tad..."

"S'all good," Hop reassured. Odd as they were, he wasn't much up for a fight. He very much doubted the hotel staff would have been inclined to allow any brawls within the premises, either. All's well that ended well, he supposed.

"Appreciate you bein' a good sport about it," Marnie bowed slightly in thanks. "Guess they're just so caught up with supportin' me and all that they tend to get a bit shirty with the other gym challengers. Sorry again for any trouble they caused."

"Take that to mean you're a gym challenger yourself?"

"You'd be right." Her hands folded nearly before her. "Marnie Rosemary. Pleasure an' all that. This here's my Pokémon, Morpeko." The small Pokémon saluted in greeting. "No need for introductions—I'm well aware of who you all are."

"Oh?" Gloria raised a brow. Cassius didn't know if she took that as disrespect or not. Marnie continued regardless. "You're no secret 'round the league, I'd reckon. I watch the news, seen you all before."

Then, her gaze landed on Cassius. "Though, haven't put a face to your name yet. Hargreaves, was it?"

"Cassius," he corrected, though her icy gaze didn't leave once he answered. She remained stoic, her eyes conveying a sense of purpose and intrigue. As if she were appraising him.

He didn't quite know what to make of the stranger. This Marnie individual was such a wild contrast—her face and skin was almost porcelain in tone, her eyes a striking green and hair jet black. Cassius thought she resembled a doll, with her tiny mouth and blemish-less skin.

That was until he eyed the rest of her. A striking black leather jacket covered a modest pink dress, another odd contrast. A similarly black choker lined her neck, with what looked like a metal chain hanging from the leather and traveling down her neck. Perhaps her most distinctive feature was her hairstyle, almost completely shaved in an odd pattern near the front, with her locks tied in twintails with pink ribbon near the back.

What was the look she was going for? A brand of gothic... something or other. Cassius personally didn't get the appeal, but he'd met stranger folks. She seemed amicable enough, in any case.

"You're lookin' a bit gobsmacked by all this," Marnie continued, apparently still focused on him. "Heard bits an' pieces 'bout you. You're from Unova, yeah? Some small town, if memory serves."

He had no idea what inspired her to strike up a conversation with him, but he didn't have the guts to deny her. "Yeah, Lacunosa's more of a retirement town than anything. Tough to..." Feed the lie, he reminded himself. "Get a lot of training done, but I managed."

"I get it. I'm quite the same myself. I'm from Spikemuth—up northeast, if you're not familiar. Not much renown there either, but I made do." She cocked a hip. "Reckon that makes us two peas in a pod, yeah?"

Cassius was almost embarrassed by how fake his laugh sounded. "Haha, yeah..." This was quickly approaching unbearable amounts of awkward for him. For whatever reason, she'd still yet to take her deadpan eyes off of him.

Hop was keen on noticing, and quickly regained control of the conversation. "Rather impressive to have a fan club already. Team Yell, were they? You must be pretty good, for them to be following you around like that."

"Yeah, well, I'm gettin' there." Her Pokémon preened under the praise, unlike its owner. "I've kept you all long enough. Nice meetin' you proper. Suppose we'll be seein' plenty of each other in the next few months." She smiled good-naturedly, though it was so tiny the three almost didn't notice it. "I'd wish you luck, but afraid I'm goin' to be the one to win." She turned her heel and left, finally leaving the three alone.

Only once she was gone did Cassius speak up. "I'm not sure about her."

"Why's that?" Hop questioned. "She seems friendly enough. Bit odd, sure, and the fan club's creepy, but she probably ain't so bad."

"I don't know. She's unnerving, I guess?"

"Poor virgin's never seen a pretty girl before," Gloria smirked. "Well, excluding me, of course."

"Ha ha," Cassius rolled his eyes. Just because Gloria wasn't actively against him apparently didn't mean that he was free of her verbal jostling.

"Well, she was right about one thing. We'll probably be seein' more of her in the future." Hop angled his phone for the two of them to see. "Thought she looked a bit familiar, and I was on the money. You know Piers, the Dark-type gym leader? She's his little sister. And from what I'm reading, talent for Pokémon battling runs in the family."

Great. She was super talented, and related to someone he would probably have to beat later. A smarter, more confident man might have tried to leverage that information into better odds, but Cassius wasn't very keen on approaching the odd girl again of his own volition. Between her and Bede, he was quite alright with avoiding the stronger contenders altogether.

In any case, those were thoughts for later—he needed that shower like he needed oxygen. "I've had enough encounters for one day. Can we get checked in now?"

"Thought you'd never ask," Hop slumped, energy low. "I'm about ready to crash for a nap after gettin' cleaned up and grubbin'." The three approached the reception desk, finally relieved for a rare break. Heavens knew they could use one.

"We're really sorry, Marnie..." the head grunt almost whimpered outside of the inn. Marnie wasn't furious, but one could never tell with her limited expression. "For goodness' sake, you all. You're gonna make it look like I'm sabotagin' the entire challenge! Whaddya think happens if the league finds out a fan club of mine is messin' with other trainers?"

"We didn't mean it, honest!" Another grunt spoke up. "We just wanted to help you out! You gotta go far!"

"I'm well aware, and I'd like to do so on my own terms. That means no schemin' outta you lot, got it?" A series of scared nods, followed by a sigh. "Honestly, I'm gonna need to have a chat with Piers soon..."

"Anythin' we can do to make it up to you?"

"No, there ain't—" Marine froze suddenly. Her mouth set itself in a line as she fell into thought. The ringleader nervously chimed in. "Ma'am...?"

"Quiet." She folded her arms. An idea had come to mind. It was a bit of a nasty plot, but she didn't mean for any ill intent behind it. Well, if all went well. Which was iffy, knowing who was involved.

It wasn't sabotaging, she convinced herself. She merely wanted to get a closer look at her peers. Where was the harm in that? No one got hurt, and she got what she wanted.

"Well, I've something you might be able to do." Her eyes narrowed. "But you have to promise me not to take things too far. Nobody gets hurt, emotionally or physically. Am I understood?"

Affirmative nods. She allowed herself a smile. "Good. Then listen up."

After checking into their respective rooms, showering, eating and napping, the three had agreed to meet up to discuss the gameplan for tomorrow in Hop's room later that evening. It had been an undertaking to leave his extremely accommodating bed, but Cassius had managed to trudge over to the room next door.

He was the last to show up, it seemed. Hop welcomed him in with a smile, guiding him inside. Gloria looked as carefree as ever, wrapped in a modest fluffy bathrobe while nibbling at a slice of cake. "Where'd you get that?"

"Dessert menu." She brought her plate closer to her person. "I'm not sharing."

"I wasn't even asking," Cassius grumbled, taking a seat on the ground. With all relevant parties assembled, Hop ordered the meeting in session. "Okay! Opening ceremony tomorrow. How're we feelin', gang?"

"Okay," Cassius answered. "Fine," Gloria followed. Hop was expecting a bit more excitement from his companions. "Yikes. Not even a little amped up? What's with you two?"

"I've already told you I don't care for the spectacle," Gloria reminded, polishing off her slice. "Not really doin' much of substance. Just standin' around listenin' to people drone on about this and that. Borin', really."

Hop couldn't argue that they'd be doing a lot of standing. He turned to hear Cassius' explanation. "I mean, I get what Gloria's saying, but I'm just a little nervous. This is my first time introducing myself to the public. People're gonna know my face... it'll be the moment where I abandon my normal life for good."

"And does that scare you?" Hop asked. Cassius looked unsure. "Yes and no? I mean, I knew what I was getting myself into when I said I wanted to do this. Being a high-profile trainer means being under the public eye all the time." He sighed. "It's just... thinking about it in theory and then actually committing to it are two completely different things."

That they were. Still, it was good he knew as much. And Hop found his worries valid. "Well, think of it like this. You get to start fresh, in the eyes of the public. You can endear yourself to them as much as you want!"

"I was gonna ask about that, actually," Cassius continued. "So, regarding our public perception... what's the plan for that?"

Hop was lost. "What do you mean?" Cassius leaned forward. "I mean, we're the champion's endorsed trainers, right? That probably comes with some expectations. The league probably doesn't want average, boring people as the main draw of their challenge. So... do we ham it up?"

Hop looked at Cassius like he had lost his mind. Which he very well might have. "Cassius, what the bloody heck are you even talking about?"

"You know, like, we play up our personalities? Be exciting, be entertaining, that kind of thing. If we're the faces of the challenge, we have to be marketable, right?"

That train of thinking was... unexpected. From Cassius, of all people! He sounded like a league PR person. Suggesting that they come off as heels, for the sake of drawing viewership and attention? To benefit the league?

"What're you wafflin' about? Marketable?" Gloria stepped in with a timely intervention. "You forget that you're a know-nothin' sham? Drawin' attention should be the last thing you wanna do."

"But the league—"

"Fuck what the league wants. You become the villain, it only makes your downfall that much more public if you fail. You think people'll laugh at you when they find out you're a fraud? They'll laugh even harder when you're a fraud that they love to hate."

Cassius couldn't deny that. It was harsh, but it was the truth. "I guess you're right. Sorry, I got too in my head. I was reading some stuff last night and... I suppose I wanted to live up to the expectations of what people expected from top-tier trainers." It hadn't even been a day, and yet he was already falling back into doing what he thought was prompted of him by others. Old habits died hard.

"Start usin' your head, dope," Gloria admonished. Hop could tell she was taking it a little easier on him, even if it was marginal. "You ask me, we should all be keepin' our heads down. With our spotlight, any misstep could lead to controversy." She folded her arms. "I dun' wanna be focusin' on anythin' else but battlin'."

First Cassius, and now Gloria? Those two were apparently really shaken up about their public perception. The challenge hadn't even started, and it had already gotten to them slightly, it seemed.

Though, Hop wasn't exactly surprised. The challenge represented more than a leisurely stroll throughout Galar—it was a chance for trainers on the verge or the come-up to cement a lifelong career, and earn generational wealth. To that end, it wasn't unusual to juggle financial ventures, appearances, and the like in tandem with training and battling.

His brother hadn't done much of that until after his challenge, but he was a rare case. A trainer as talented as him didn't need to actively search for opportunities. By the time his challenge was finished, he'd had sponsors and partners lined up out the door. The money he generated from his battles alone could sustain him and the family comfortably throughout the rest of his life—the rest was just the cherry on top.

Leon had only ever been himself. No gimmicks, no PR strategy, nothing. What you saw was what you got. And quite frankly, Lee seemed all the better for it.

"I think we're overthinking this," Hop spoke up. "Look, we can only ever be ourselves, right? Think about how exhausting it would be to have to maintain a facade for the entire challenge."

"I'm kinda already doing that," Cassius meekly raised a hand. Hop conceded the point. "Okay, imagine how exhausting it would be to have to maintain two facades for the entire challenge. It's good that you've thought so far ahead, Cassius, but we don't need to brainstorm our way into the ground. You owe it to yourself to be yourself. Let people enjoy the real Cassius!"

Cassius wasn't sure if people would enjoy what was essentially an everyday person, but the sentiment was nice. "Thanks."

"And as for you," Hop turned to Gloria. "It is important to focus on our main objective, yes, but who's to say we can't have a little fun along the way? Is battling really all you wanna do while we explore the entire region?"

"Yes."

"That's a lie," Hop determined. "And I'll prove it as we go along. So, you two, let's stop with the craziness and enjoy the ride! The people'll love us, trust me."

"Is that your plan for the media session tomorrow?" Gloria quirked a brow. "You do realize none of us are media trained, right?"

Hop's smile never once wavered. "The best plans are no plans, as they say." Gloria threw up her hands in exasperation. "Fine. Whatever. Guess we're wingin' it."

That didn't inspire much confidence in Cassius. Hop quickly picked up on it. "Chin up, Cash. Most of what we'll be doin' tomorrow is standing around and looking handsome. If they try to ask you any weird questions, you don't have to answer."

He gave a comforting shrug. "Besides, they hardly ever throw anything but meatball questions after the ceremony. I remember that from Leon's run! So no need to fret." That brought the Unovan some degree of comfort. Hop considered that a win.

The Postwick native stretched his body. "Right, recommend we all get to bed early tonight. Big day tomorrow!" His grin grew. "Oh, this is so exciting! Attending the opening ceremony with my best mates—what a dream!"

As Gloria and Cassius filed out of his room, he called out one last thing. "Meet in the lobby at quarter 'till eleven? Wouldn't hurt to get there early." Two nods of agreement, and the matter was settled. "Awesome. See you two tomorrow!" His door closed, and Hop fell back into his bed.

This was it. His second official step into becoming a trainer, after getting an endorsement. One step closer to becoming champion, surpassing Leon, and putting Galar on the map for good.

The thought brought a smile to his face. Sleep would be hard to come by—he simply couldn't wait for tomorrow.

Cassius wished it wasn't tomorrow.

His eyes were heavy, and he probably looked even more off-putting than he normally did. A result of a poor night's sleep, he'd wager. The nerves had gotten the better of him, and it'd been a great undertaking to finally get himself to shut his eyes for good. Even then, he'd only managed a fitful five hours.

Though his mind was groggy, his body was alert. His legs shook slightly, and his fingers were antsy. He tried desperately to level his breathing, to no avail. He was a nervous wreck, through and through.

It wasn't that he wanted to run away from the prospect of the ceremony entirely. Hop had been right last night in saying that it was a fresh start. A start on his path to bettering himself. To that end, he was hopeful, and perhaps even a tiny bit excited.

But he would have liked some more time to prepare, in all honesty. He hardly looked like a man intent on winning the region's most prestigious battling honor. He hadn't thought of what he'd do when he walked onto the field, or what he'd say during the media session. Hop might have called it authentic, but Cassius was of the mind that he was unprepared.

His wishes to postpone the event were meaningless in the present, however. Their group was already walking over to Motostoke Stadium, right on schedule. In a little less than an hour, he'd be presented in front of millions of people, in Galar and beyond. The prospect was as daunting as it was life-changing.

Random passersby stopped and stared, pointing and whispering. They knew who they were now. It would probably be like this for the rest of his life. Cassius kept his head down, careful not to make eye contact with anyone.

It was disheartening. He wanted to change, but he was still as scared as he'd ever been. He didn't want to be, but the feeling was all-encompassing. He couldn't help it.

Before he knew it, they'd arrived, walking through the massive sliding glass doors. An attendant approached them. "Challengers?" Hop and Gloria flashed their Challenger Bands, Cassius quickly following suit. "Ah, welcome. Ladies' changing room is to the left, gentlemen's to the right. If you've any issues regarding your uniforms or otherwise, feel free to talk to myself or any of the other league representatives. Best of luck!"

Cassius and Hop were quickly led to the changing room, entering a smaller door hidden near the back. Cassius was blasted by the sudden close quarters he found himself in. Dozens of men, most of them older, flittered about, changing and exchanging pleasantries. Some were completely naked—Cassius quickly averted his eyes.

"Ah, wouldya look at that? We're locker neighbors," Hop noticed, dragging Cassius along to the left side of the room. He noticed some of the other challengers shooting looks at him. As if he wasn't nervous enough.

He parked himself in front of his locker. Despite its size, it was fairly accommodating, sporting a bevy of sports gear. Along with his uniform and cleats, he'd been provided hand towels, headbands, sleeves, and more. A flashy water bottle had also been provided—a league sponsor, no doubt. It had even been fully refilled.

Hop started changing. "No peeking, yeah?" He winked. Cassius rolled his eyes, beginning his slow process of changing. "Shut up."

The uniform was actually a better fit than he thought. He'd been right to request the XL—even a size up, the long-sleeve jersey was tight. His last name was emblazoned squarely on the back, right above his number, 713. He tucked it into his shorts, which barely reached the top of his knees. All in all, a decently comfortable fit for sportswear, if not a bit conspicuous.

Hop had also finished. "Not lookin' too shabby there, mate. A champion look, I'd say." Cassius tugged a bit at the neck. "Is the collar really necessary?" Hop laughed. "Standard protocol for the Galar League kit, I'm afraid."

That was unfortunate. Cassius sat down at his locker's bench, hunching over. Hop took a seat beside him. "Nervous?"

"Geez, what gave it away?"

"I'm a solid judge of emotion," Hop smiled. "Look, we'll be fine. Just remember what I told you last night."

"I'm trying," the Unovan pursed his lips. The sounds in the locker room weren't even that loud, but it felt like they were drowning out his own thoughts. And his attempts to calm himself down.

He thought it was strange that no one had tried talking to them yet. They probably had an idea of who they were, right? Rather than speaking to them, the other contenders seemed fine with just looking at them from afar. Stealing glances when they thought he didn't notice. For some reason, that put him even more on edge.

A sudden voice chimed in from an intercom. "All challengers, please make your way to the tunnel. I repeat, all challengers, please make your way to the tunnel. Directions are on the walls. The opening ceremony will commence shortly." The crowd in the locker room began migrating, and Cassius felt his heart rate spike. No way was it already time—they'd had an hour to go once they'd left the inn!

"Looks like it's time," Hop stood up, offering a hand. Cassius shakily took it. "Time to shine, Cassius. Today's the day we etch our names in the history books."

Cassius took a steadying breath. He only hoped he'd go down in history for good reasons. Following Hop, he took his first steps toward the rest of his life.

Will be spending the week away, so next week's chapter may be delayed. Apologies.