Extra 20: C.A.O.S. (31)
Extra 20: C.A.O.S. (31)
The Uzumaki continent, also known as the special region, had already started its work as a region within the Pokémon league, and was already being challenged by the different trainers of the other regions, even the Paldea region, which had been blocking its borders because of the incidents of the other regions, had sent a group of qualified trainers so that they could "stream" their battles.
The other thing that happened was that the special region was going to have a small opening event before starting the Pokémon league, a battle of champions, in which everyone would participate except the champion of Paldea because she was busy with the last arrangements of her league.
* * * * *
"This place is interesting" - said a man with brown skin, long purple hair, golden eyes, and who was wearing a soccer uniform along with a wine red cape - "Don't you think so, Sonia?"
"True, Lionel, this place seems full of life, and the Pokémon live in harmony with the humans, just like in our hometown" - smiled a pretty young woman with orange hair, combed in a side ponytail. She had beautiful green eyes and was wearing a light brown trench coat over a green blouse and light blue jeans - "Thank you for inviting me."
"It's the least I can do for my childhood friend, besides, if I didn't, that old hag was going to pester me for the rest of the year" - Leon replied as he let out a laugh, only to let out a groan of pain after receiving a punch in the arm from his friend - "Ouch"
"Stop talking about my grandmother like that, and I'm going to tell her that you called her an old hag" - Sonia snorted while noticing how her friend's face paled.
"No, please" - said Leon as he knelt down in front of the orange-haired girl.
From a third party point of view, they looked like a couple, the thing is that they were just good friends because even though there was attraction in the beginning, it started to fade over time because of the two of them focusing too much on their dreams. Yes, they cared for each other as if they were family, but that was as far as their feelings went.
"Anyway, where are we staying?" asked Sonia as she rolled her eyes at her friend and gave her hand to stand up.
"At the hotel next to the stadium" - Leon answered normally, as if his conversation with Sonia hadn't happened.
"Oh? I didn't expect to see you here so soon, Leon" - said a male voice.
"Lance, my friend!" - exclaimed Leon with a smile - "I haven't seen you since the Tournament of Champions!"
"I know, too bad it had to be cancelled because of the dimensional merger" - replied Lance, who hadn't changed much, except that he was now wearing civilian clothes instead of his champion outfit - "Your cape isn't bad at all!"
"Same to you" - smiled Leon as he shook his friend's hand.
"Seriously, you should think before wearing that thing" - said Sonia while looking at the Kanto champion - "Don't you realize that wearing a cape with that outfit makes you look like an idiot?"
"Oh, tough as ever, Sonia" - said Lance while shaking his head - "Or was it "brutally honest"?"
"I'm just telling the truth" - Sonia replied as she folded her arms - "Seriously, you should really wear your champion outfit if you're going to wear the cape anyway."
"I took it to the laundry and wore this one while my new outfit is being tailored" - Lance replied as he shook his head - "By the way, I'm surprised Roy isn't with you guys"
"Oh, it's because someone had to stay in Galar to defend it in case of accidents, and who better choice than the second-strongest trainer in the region" - replied Leon while shaking his head.
"Yes, although he was upset for not being able to be the center of attention" - said Sonia sarcastically - "Other than that, he accepted the situation after yelling at him for about two days..."
"It's a pity, I wanted to face him again" - said Lance while shaking his head, though his expression changed when he saw a duo walking in their direction - "Look who we have here."
"Huh? Oh, it's you, Lance" - said a beautiful gray-haired woman. She was wearing a white blouse along with a skirt of the same color - "It's been a while."
"Same here, champion Diantha" - replied Leon as he looked curiously at the person accompanying her - "Hello, Steven".
"Hello, Leon" - smiled Steven, a handsome man with light blue hair. He was wearing a black gala suit along with a red scarf covering his chest.
"Are you on a date?" - Sonia asked excitedly, after all, as a girl, she was interested in this kind of gossip, besides, these two champions made a cute couple.
"Oh no, we met when we got off our respective planes and started talking" - answered Steven while shaking his head - "In fact, the champion Diantha was asking me if she could use some of the stones from my collection as props for her next movie."
"This man is a tough nut to crack, he still won't accept" - snorted Diantha while the others shook their heads because it was worldwide known how protective Steven was with his rocks.
"By the way, Steven... Is it true what I heard?" - Lance asked seriously.
The champions became serious and looked at the Hoenn champion as they waited for his answer.
"If you mean the rumor about me retiring as champion, then yes, I'm going to do it, in fact, I already have my replacement ready" - answered Steven while shaking his head - "This will be my last official event, because I have to take care of my company now that my father fell ill..."
The champions sighed even though they understood Steven's motives.
"Besides, with this I will have more free time to investigate the new minerals that are buried in this world and in the other" - Steven answered excitedly.
The champions gave him a blank look because it was obvious that this was the most important motive. Yes, they didn't deny that Steven's concern for his father was true, but at the same time they knew that he couldn't handle all three things, more so when digging and searching for new rocks consumed so much of his time, that's why he decided on the two most important things for him, the family business and his hobby.
"So what about you guys, have you thought about retiring?" - Steven asked as he looked at the trainers present.
"I haven't really thought about it, although I have to admit that being in charge of the security of two regions is exhausting..." - Lance sighed as he shook his head.
"I understand you, there are times when the responsibilities are too much, to the point that I can't rest..." - said Diantha as she shook her head - "Seriously, there are even times when I have to leave my half-finished shootings because an accident happened, I guess my choice of jobs isn't as good as I thought..."
"Huh? I see everyone is gathered here" - Cynthia said as she walked next to a brown-skinned, purple-haired girl who was wearing a princess dress.
"Cynthia-san, Iris-chan" - said Leon with a huge smile - "It's good to see that you arrived so soon."
"Alder-san is covering me, that's why I didn't have so much work to do before coming" - Iris replied while shaking her head.
The other champions let out a sigh because if they were honest, they were a bit jealous because the girl had the support of a champion with many years of experiences that could save their asses in situations like this, after all, they were so busy that there were times they barely had time for their families.
"All that's missing is Professor Kukui, I mean, Royal Mask..." - Leon said with a small smile over his lips.
"I guess now that Alola's situation is much better with Kurama-san's return, he can work as regional champion" - added Diantha while shaking her head - "At least until they manage to get a champion capable enough to defend the title of that new league."
"I think I heard the rumor that Kukui wants Ash, Kurama-san's son, to be the one to take his place as champion, that's why he's been training with him during his trip around Alola" - said Cynthia as she pondered.
"Interesting..." - murmured the other champions while Iris gained some interest because Ash had traveled together with her through Unova before Alder chose her as the new champion, in fact, she missed fighting with that idiot during her training as the new champion.