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Kassiana yawned and stretched a bit in her seat, glancing at the door of the café for a moment before taking a Pokéball out of her bag and placing it on the table in front of her.
“Hopefully he’ll be here soon, Zamazenta, then we can go pick up your new ball. It should be a lot more comfortable than this one.”
It wiggled a bit in response, making her give a small, tired smile.
It had been about a month and a half since Kassiana had become the new champion of the Galar Region, and a month since she and Hop had stopped Sordward and Sheilbert from destroying everything. Leon had been helping her out with adjusting to her new position since the two had been arrested. He had taken care of pretty much all of the paperwork in the time, and today they were finally meeting up so they could start on everything else. After she signed the documents that needed her signature to be completed.
She had been kept quite busy, though; She couldn’t go anywhere without people wanting photos and autographs and to see her Pokémon that had fought and won against Leon. She was being offered gifts and special treatment left and right even though she kept saying it was unnecessary, a few would not take no for an answer. One being the master Pokéball crafter of Galar; She had gone to request a personalized Luxury Ball for Zamazenta, just one made with specific colors, but he had insisted on crafting something even better that he could deem worthy for a legendary Pokémon to reside in and would not let her decline his offer. He did at least agree to let her pay the price anyone else would for a customized regular Pokéball, though, at her insistence.
She had barely had any time to relax and was losing sleep trying to make sure everyone was happy. The Champion had to be a people pleaser, right?
Right as she was dozing off on the table, the door flew open and Leon strode in with the confidence of the leader of a lion pride.
“Ah, Kassi! Sorry for keeping you waiting, a few fans stopped me down the road to ask a few questions!” he said with a laugh and a sheepish grin.
“Oh, it’s alright! It gave me a few minutes of quiet to go over what all is on the agenda for today. And it’s a lot.”
Leon laughed again and sat across from her.
“Shall we get something to eat while we go over the papers?” “I’m fine with just a coffee, thanks.”
He looked a bit puzzled at her refusal of food, knowing she usually had quite the appetite for sweets from the café, but shrugged it off and got up to put in their orders.
Once they had finished the paperwork, the two left the café with their drinks and got a flying taxi to take them to Wyndon, which they took as time for Kassiana to ask any questions she wished.
“So, um, as Champion, do I have the power to start up new Pokémon events and challenges? Like, competitions other than the Champion Cup?”
Leon paused for a moment before nodding.
“Yes, actually, you do. Why?”
She yawned and took a gulp of her coffee.
“Well, I’ve heard of some things other regions do that I like the sound of and would love to experience and bring here. There are Pokémon Contests, which are kind of like pageants that end in battles. I’ve seen a few videos and they look amazing! The human contestants are called Coordinators, and they direct their Pokémon to use moves to create visual displays that I can only call a work of art.”
He smiled.
“I’ve heard of those! I believe I saw one many years ago on a trip.”
Kassiana returned the smile.
“Then there are trainers who aim to be Pokémon Masters. That works similarly to the Champion Cup, except that trainers from any region are allowed to participate and, instead of taking over as Champion if they defeat the reigning champion of the region, they get a special badge to show that they won before moving on to the next region. Apparently, if you collect enough of those badges, you’re considered a professional, and at a specific number, you’re considered a Master. I think doing both of those could be fantastic for Galar, they would bring in a lot of travelers!”
Leon grinned.
“That sounds like a wonderful idea! But it should probably wait until you’re settled in, Kassi. I’m happy to help, of course, but there’s a lot for you to do over the next few months.”
She groaned and slid down in her seat a bit.
“Don’t remind me, I’ve had almost no time to myself in weeks!”
Leon looked a bit concerned at her statement but let it go for the time being as they were landing.
“Alright! I know you have a few errands to run here, so we can discuss everything while we walk. Sound good?” “Mhm. First up is the Pokéball Shop. Zama’s new ball is ready.”
They headed off, with Leon starting on the political side of being the Galar Region Champion as the first subject of the day.
“This is too much, really! I didn’t need something this fancy!”
Kassiana was being presented with an elegant Cherish Ball, one that had quite clearly taken a lot of time and effort to craft; The base color, instead of being a deep red, was a beautiful, shimmering pastel blue with a slight purple tint, some blue hearts, and sparkles scattered around it. The button and inner band were still red, but they appeared to be set with glitter that looked like red-colored diamond dust. The girl was overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of it, Leon in awe behind her.
“It was my pleasure, Miss Kassiana! To craft a special Pokéball on request of the Galar Champion, especially one to house a legendary Pokémon who has helped to save my home twice, is such a high honor that it cannot be put into words. It is not only a gift for you, but for Zamazenta, as well. I have not enjoyed crafting a Pokéball as much as I did this one in many years. Doing this has brought me joy.”
Kassiana very carefully accepted it, looking it over as gently as possible, as if afraid it would shatter.
“It’s even more comfortable than your average Luxury Ball, hand-painted, and as durable as a diamond. Please, feel free to try it out and make sure Zamazenta is happy with it!”
Too stunned to speak, Kassiana released the aforementioned Pokémon and held out the new ball for him to examine. He sniffed it and gave a nod, so the girl activated it to bring him into it.
After a few moments, she released him again.
“So? What do you think, Zama?” she asked.
Zamazenta gave her a small smile, giving her a nod before turning to the shopkeeper and bowing in thanks.
“Wonderful! And you’re quite welcome!”
Kassiana couldn’t help but smile.
“Do you happen to have a marker I could borrow for a moment, sir?” “Of course!”
He handed her one and she used it to sign the ball she had originally caught Zamazenta with, handing it to the man along with the marker.
“Since you won’t let me pay you properly for this, I’d like you to keep this as a display for your shop. ‘The ball that caught a Legend’ sounds like a pretty cool display, right?”
Many thanks were exchanged between them before the current and former Champions left with Zamazenta walking beside them. He wanted to stretch his legs a bit.
Their next stop was the tailor responsible for making Leon’s cape (after dropping off the paperwork at city hall on the way), who had insisted on creating a special new uniform for Kassiana instead of her just inheriting the same design as Leon had.
“Really, I am perfectly happy with the replica of Leon’s uniform...”
“Oh hush! I did the same thing for him when he became Champion!” the old woman huffed, checking over another hem on the shirt.
“That she did, and she didn’t let me out of it either! I couldn’t stay still, though.”
Kassiana looked at him, face pleading for help as she stood on the riser. Leon just grinned and shrugged.
“Besides, I’m almost done. I just need to check the buttons and you’ll be off!”
The girl sighed and adjusted her glasses. She swayed slightly as the woman stood up to fret over the buttons on her top, which didn’t go unnoticed by Leon.
They were finally on their way to the gym after escaping the tailor (who had tried to convince Leon to let her make some alterations to his cape), and Kassiana was not looking very well.
“Kassi, are you okay? You don’t look so good.” Leon asked.
“I’m fine! I’m just tired, no big deal.” she replied.
“Okay then...”
They continued on for a bit, but things went south when they were almost to the gym.
“Now, there are a lot of responsibilities at the gym, too, which we’ll be-“
All of a sudden, Kassiana collapsed to the ground, dropping the bag from the tailor shop.
“Kassiana!”
Zamazenta was sniffing her over in worry before Leon could even face them. The man knelt down next to her and checked for a pulse, relaxing a bit when he found one, before gently shaking her.
“Kassi, wake up! Can you hear me? Kassi!”
When she didn’t respond, Leon grabbed her bag and scooped her up.
“Zamazenta, can you get us to the gym quickly? It’s closer than the hospital and there should be a nurse or a doctor there today!”
The Pokémon nodded and crouched down so Leon could hop on, taking off the moment he was settled.
Many people stared at the former Champion holding his successor while riding on the back of her legendary Pokémon, but no one dared to stop them to ask questions. The only ones who thought about it saw his serious expression and decided against it.
Kassiana moaned as she slowly opened her eyes, immediately shutting them when bright light hit them.
“Oh, good, you’re awake. You gave us quite a scare, Miss Kassiana!”
She looked towards the source of the voice, seeing a doctor standing next to her.
“What happened...?” she mumbled.
“You passed out on the way here. You’re very lucky I was here today! Leon and Zamazenta got you here just as I was packing up to head back to my office.”
She rolled her head to the other side, seeing Leon sitting in a chair near the end of the exam table she was laid out on.
“Oh...”
“Mhm. You passed out from exhaustion, if those bags under your eyes are any indication. Your blood sugar is also a bit lower than would be preferred, but a soda or a candy bar should bring it back up to where it should be. Then I would recommend getting home and having a nice, hot meal and a good nights sleep.”
Kassiana nodded.
“How long was I out?” “Around thirty minutes. Just relax here until you get some strength back from whatever you use to get your blood sugar up before you try to head home. Or, if at all possible, I would recommend just staying at the hotel tonight to avoid the stress of travel.”
Leon gave him a nod.
“Thank you, doctor. I’ll keep an eye on her and get her home safely.”
The doctor quickly packed up his bag and let himself out of the small infirmary, leaving the two alone.
“Where’s Zama?” “Right outside the door. He couldn’t fit through the doorway and refused to go back in his Pokéball, so I suggested he just stand guard.”
The girl gave a slight nod and slowly sat up, accepting the granola bar she was offered.
“Thank you...”
Leon waited until she had finished it before speaking up again.
“What’s going on? You’ve been off all day, then you up and pass out on me in the middle of the street. You refused to eat anything at the café which isn’t like you at all, you drank a huge cup of straight coffee which I have never once seen you do before today, and the doctor said you have bags under your eyes.”
She looked down at her lap.
“I’ve just been really busy, I guess I overdid it a little bit.”
He quirked an eyebrow.
“Uh-huh. Come on, I want the whole truth.”
Kassiana bit her lip nervously and refused to look at him.
“I haven't been getting much sleep...I’m constantly with fans talking and taking photos and signing autographs if I’m out of the house. I try to get away but I don’t want to be rude and I end up being out for three hours when I’m running an errand that shouldn’t have taken more than a half hour. And, well, I probably haven’t been eating enough since all that causes me to miss lunch almost every day...But I have to let my Pokémon out for fresh air and exercise! I can’t just keep them cooped up in their balls all the time!”
His expression was unreadable.
“How long has this been going on?” “About a month...People respected that I needed some time for the first two weeks, but then they just started coming at me like rabid dogs! I couldn’t disappoint them!”
Leon sighed.
“Are you feeling better from that granola bar?”
Kassiana nodded.
“Good.”
He stood up and locked the door, then turned and fixed her with a stern look, arms crossed. She gulped.
“Kassiana Reed! You’re supposed to take care of yourself, that’s more important than anything as the Champion! If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t present your best self to the public! You shouldn’t put satisfying your fans above your well-being!”
Kassiana cringed at his words. She knew he was mad the second he used her full name, as he only ever did that to her and Hop if they had been really acting up and refusing to listen, though that was rare.
“I-I’m sorry...” she murmured.
“I’m afraid that’s not good enough, I need to make sure you won’t do this again and you’ll take care of yourself properly!”
She looked up at him, confused, as he came back over to her and helped her to her feet.
“I don't want to do this, but I don’t feel I have a choice.”
Before she could ask what he was talking about, Leon grabbed the chair he had just been using, sat down, crossed his legs, and pulled her over them. He wrapped his arm tightly around her waist and flipped up her skirt before bringing his hand down a bit hard.
“EEK! LEON! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Kassiana squealed.
“I’m giving you a spanking, Kassiana. You can be as thick-headed as my baby brother, and this is what I have to do to get through to him when he just won’t listen to reason. I can’t let you risk your well-being for your position as Champion!”
He set a fast pace, effortlessly keeping her in place despite her kicking and squirming to get away from the onslaught.
“Why did I have to wear a skirt today?! The one day this fall I don’t wear jeans-!” she thought.
Kassiana whined and tried to pry his arm off of her waist to no avail. She couldn’t even move one finger the slightest bit!
“There’s no use fighting this, I have years of experience doing this to an athlete bigger than you.”
She just groaned and hung her head, her struggling eventually dying down. She could feel her face burning so hot in embarrassment she thought it would burst into flames at any given moment.
“I understand what it’s like for you right now, I went through it my entire time as Champion, especially for the first few months. The only difference is that I knew how to say ‘no’ and tell people when I needed space! You need to learn to do the same! Set boundaries! Your health and safety come first in day-to-day interactions, Kassiana!”
The girl whimpered loudly, her eyes starting to water.
“L-Leon, please, stop! It-It hurts!” “It’s supposed to.”
She whined desperately and started squirming again. After a few more moments, tears started rolling down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry! I-I’m sorry! Please! I-I promise I’ll do be-etter!” she cried.
Leon gave her one last hard swat, much harder than the rest, before stopping. He got her back on her feet and fixed her skirt before pulling her into a hug and lightly rubbing her back.
“It’s alright, it’s over now. You handled that well, Kassi, I’m proud of you. Just let it out.”
They stayed like that for a few minutes while Kassiana calmed down. She eventually pulled away and accepted the handkerchief Leon handed her, drying her eyes.
“That really hurt, Leon...”
He chuckled and stood up, patting her head.
“I know it did, that was the point. If it doesn’t hurt, you don’t learn.”
He tilted her head up to look at him, a firm expression on his face.
“Now, if I have to do this again, I won’t be using my hand, young lady. Do I make myself clear?”
Kassiana nodded quickly, eyes wide in fear.
“Good. I’m going to take you back to Postwick, we’re going to have dinner at my house, then you can hang out with Hop for a bit before heading home to go to bed unless you’d rather stay the night.” “Yes, sir.”
Leon smiled and took her hand.
“Let’s get going, then. We can catch a flying taxi outside.”
She gave a nod and let him lead her out. She recalled Zamazenta after assuring him that she was fine, and she winced when she sat down in the taxi.
“That was delicious! Thank you for the meal, Mrs. Blackwell!”
The woman smiled as she gathered up the dishes.
“You’re quite welcome, Kassi! But, please, just call me Heather. Calling me Mrs. Blackwell makes me feel like an old lady!” she replied with a laugh.
Leon laughed with her.
“You’re not an old lady, mom. Not until you’re seventy!”
Heather playfully smacked the back of his head as she walked by to put the dishes in the sink.
“Just for that, you’re helping with the dishes tonight, mister!”
Hop snickered and got up.
“May Kass and I be excused, mom? We wanna go play that game I just got!” “Sure thing, Hop! You two go have fun!”
Hop grinned and grabbed Kassiana’s wrist, tugging her up.
“Come on, before they get done! I wanna show it to you before Lee comes and crashes the party!”
The girl smiled and let herself be dragged up the stairs to his room, shutting the door behind them. Hop rushed to start setting up the console and Kassiana grabbed the cushions he kept in his room specifically to sit on while gaming, plus a really soft throw pillow for herself.
“Um, hey, Hop? Can I ask you something kinda personal?” she asked.
“Kass, we’re best friends, almost nothing can be considered too personal between us.”
She smiled nervously and tossed the cushions down in front of the TV.
“Well, you see, Leon said something to me earlier during a, uh, an incident we had today, and I wanted to get some more information. Just not from him.”
Hop looked concerned.
“An incident? Are you two okay?”
“We’re fine! Well, he is, the incident was about me not exactly being okay...But that’s not the point.”
She took a deep breath as she situated the pillow on top of her cushion.
“Does he ever, uh, spank you? Like with something other than his hand?”
His face almost instantly turned bright red.
“W-What did he tell you?! Why would he bring something like that up?!”
Kassiana refused to make eye contact.
“Because I passed out while we were heading to the gym due to not taking very good care of myself lately and he spanked me for it. He said he does it to you when you won’t listen and that if he has to do it to me again, he won’t be using his hand...”
Hop hid his face in his hands and groaned.
“You do not want that to happen, Kassiana, trust me. His hand is bad enough as it is. I’ve felt a hairbrush, a switch, a belt, and even a section of the track for my Turbo Motors once, all by him. He doesn’t kid around when he decides to punish you.”
She shuddered at the thought, very carefully sitting down with a slight grimace.
“Noted.” “Good. Because if it’s a second offense, you’re lucky to keep your underwear on and you’ll be bawling before it’s over. Whatever exactly it is you did, don’t do it again.”
The girl had paled a bit, silently accepting the controller she was offered.
“I think I’ll accept the invitation to stay over for the night...That way he’ll know for sure that he made his point and I’m keeping my promise...”
They both worked on selecting their characters in the game.
“What did you do, anyway? I know you said you weren’t taking care of yourself, but that’s pretty vague.” “I haven’t been sleeping or eating enough and have basically been letting fans walk all over me. I pose for photos and sign stuff and talk constantly when I’m out and exhaust myself because I don’t want to be rude or let anyone down...”
Hop flinched.
“Ouch. Yeah, that’s not good. I’d say you’re lucky he did only use his hand on you for that one.”
With that, they dropped the conversation and focused on the game, which was a racing game with fun cartoon characters and crazy carts.
About a half-hour later, Leon popped his head into the room.
“Hey, kiddos! Got room for one more?” he asked.
“Right after I kick Kassi’s butt in this race!” “Fat chance, Hop, I’ve got the best racer in the fastest cart!”
The man laughed and moved to sit behind them and watch the match.
“Oh, by the way, Leon, I decided to accept your offer to sleep over tonight, I need a night to just chill with a friend. I already texted my mom and she said it’s fine, she’s gonna bring over some of my pajamas in a bit.” Kassiana told him.
“Great! Should probably get to bed soon after she does that, though, we had a long day!”
She resisted the urge to pout, nodding instead.
“Okay! But I get your bed if I beat you three times!” “Deal.”
The three played the game together for about an hour, having taken a short break about halfway through to get ready for bed when Kassiana’s mother brought over her sleepwear, before deciding to turn in for the night. Kassiana had only managed to beat Leon twice, tying with him in one race when she had almost beat him, and he had suggested they all just camp out in the living room for the night like they did when the two teens were little.
They ended up chatting quietly about their new lives for a few minutes before Leon ended up dozing off.
Once they were sure he was asleep, Kassiana scooted a little closer to Hop and laid on her side to face him.
“Hey, Hop?” she whispered.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for talking to me about that earlier. I know it had to be at least a little uncomfortable for you, and I really appreciate that you did it anyway.”
He smiled at her and took her hand in his.
“Like I said, we’re best friends and practically nothing is too personal to talk about with each other.”
She returned the smile and closed her eyes.
“Goodnight, Hop.” “Night, Kass.”
Leon, facing away from them, smiled warmly.
“I’m glad they have such a tight bond, they’re going to need it for the next few years.”