Authoress' Note: Never really thought I'd write for this fandom, but I was given a nice little challenge that I thought I'd try my hand with. Since I am more familiar with American English over British English (or I should say Midwestern English 'cause of where I live), I had to do some research to at least make this story more believable. I'll be honest: the research did kind of help shape the story a bit, though I truly wish I was a bit more knowledgeable about if I used it correctly.

I would like to warn all Brits that I might have butchered how to use the words in proper sentences and really should stick with writing in the English I'm used to writing in.

Or maybe, just maybe, I should practice more with a pair of royal princes, considering it is more my cup of tea. Oh, my muse might explode with colorful insults those two would throw at each other, and for once, I wouldn't mind writing a very interesting scenario about those two in a VERY heated discussion or argument of sorts. Not to mention the kinds of things I found during said research that I could see them using to hurl insults at one another.

Sadly, it'll have to do as another weekend one-shot I suppose. My inner muse will NOT be defeated so easily!

Anyway, Pokémon Sword and Shield sadly does not belong to me as anything else related to fanfic writing. If I owned it, I wouldn't be working an hourly job, and I might probably spend a lot more time enjoying vacations and other little luxuries. That along with playing the game more competitively so I could truly write an epic battle worthy of a reader's notice.

With that said, I am writing this from a former champion's perspective mainly because I wanted to have a lovely challenge with Leon.

End of a Reign

One-Shot

The roars of the crowd that he was used to hearing have long gone silent in the locker room just outside of the pitch. It was late at night now, and the fans had long departed, celebrating the rise of a new champion after the defeat that Leon had faced in front of the throng of fans there to see him battle yet another rival.

Not just any rival either. It was the friend of his brother's that Leon had personally sponsored this year. The one he had sponsored and had managed to defeat him and his unstoppable team.

Usually, Leon would feel as though he had lost his sense of direction when it came to traveling. Now, this word, lost, seemed to be clearly directed at how he had finally taken his first defeat from a challenger that he had clearly underestimated back when they first met.

The former champion could still feel the rush he felt from the battle hours earlier. Even now, the deafening roars of his fans cheering his name loudly from the stands were still burning in his ears. It was as though his Charizard ignited their passionate cries after he grew to tower over his head in his usual battle pose. The beastly dragon's roar always seemed to make Leon feel as though he was an unstoppable force when it came to fighting against anyone who challenges him. Whether it is Raihan or someone who wanted to attempt to dethrone him, he welcome all challengers to meet him on the pitch.

Fighting against the trainer that he had sponsored though was completely different from having to fight against his rival Raihan. His friend had always tried his best to take down Leon, but the former champion was always one step ahead of him, knowing what kind of tactics he would use, what kind of motives he would try to attempt and strip the title of champion from him. He knew of Raihan's strategies before he could even utter a single word.

The challenger he endorsed however...

How was it that Leon had no idea what kind of team he would be facing off against? The moment he saw the promise of the one he had endorsed what felt like yesterday, he knew that this time, things would be different. That there would be a new difficulty level that the challenger would have to overcome in order to take down even his Charizard after he Dynamaxed to his full power.

Sitting on the bench in the quiet locker room, his head heavy, Leon tried to suppress these new, wild feelings of anger that coursed through his veins.

Yet, he could not help but smile at the irony of what happened. Leon had, since his first ever loss, replayed the strategies that were used by the trainer in the heat of battle. How the challenger had easily countered his moveset, managed to overcome any setbacks that Leon would send to drive the trainer into a corner.

Never in his wildest years though, Leon had no idea that he would have been defeated by a child as young as his own brother. He thought he would have been a champion much longer, but instead, he found himself dethroned by someone with the battle prowess that rivaled his own.

"Come on Leon... yeah, you blotched the match, but you should be chuffed that there's a new champion, ya?" Leon muttered to himself, berating himself. Thankfully, he was alone, or someone would have thought he was mad. "Your team was gutted by that challenger, but you've always seen the others lose all the time..."

The pep talk did little to lift Leon's spirits though. He looked up at the mirror and saw the scowl on his face, one weighed with frustration and emotions he rarely felt outside of excitement. When was the last time he felt as though he was going to cry out in anger, sorrow, or perhaps even a mixture of the two?

"This is all blah... even Raihan never really made this much of a fuss over a loss like this... I should probably be thrilled... it means now, there's a new challenge I need to overcome..."

Leon looked away from the mirror, somewhat bothered by the look on his face that did not reflect the joyous man he tended to be upon finishing a hard fought battle. At the end of the day, he would often be signing autographs for those who had come from near and far to see him battle against other trainers. After losing though, he had stayed within the gym, not wanting to know the reaction of the die-hard fans that he felt as if he had let down right there under those blazing lights.

Still, the former champion knew that he had dwelled far too long in this place to continue beating himself up over the loss. He had seen other trainers in the past rise and fall, mostly not discouraged by a single setback that kept them from trying again.

Yet, can Leon truly overcome such a thing? He finally rises to his feet, grabbing the duffle bag on the ground that he had not carried in a long time. Maybe he needed to rediscover himself. Rediscover where he truly stood in this world if not on the champion's throne.

Walking outside, he heard a voice calling out to him from behind.

"Lee!" Only one person other than his mother called him by that name. He turned and saw Hop running towards him.

"I thought you went back to Postwick with your mate hours ago," Leon was a bit surprised to see his younger brother run up to him.

"I didn't feel like going back until I saw you again," Hop answered. "You took that loss with dignity... I wish I could have done the same..."

"Well, I am cheesed off that I finally was defeated, but it was bound to happen eventually," Leon admitted as he stretched. Maybe that time he spent down in the locker room did help him calm down quite a bit, but he was still displeased.

"It was just some hard lines, Lee," Hop noted. "I wasn't expecting my mate to come up with that strategy to be honest. Sometimes, I wish I could measure up to that kind of teamwork..."

"It's a bloody shame, I would have liked it if we had met at the finals instead, out on the pitch," Leon chuckled.

"Hey Lee, you think we could have a battle really fast? I mean we don't need a crowd cheering our names or anything like that," Hop suggested.

"Maybe tomorrow... I'm feeling knackered right now," Leon sighed.

"Ah, right," Hop had to agree. It was late. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

Leon watched Hop run off. The former champion stood there for a bit, almost though he was in a daze of some sort. He looked up at the tower where he had met with Rose almost a week ago, wondering what the citizens of Wyndon were planning to do to it now. It was still an important landmark of sorts to the people, and it would be a shame if it was torn down.

Walking by a bulletin board, Leon saw something that suddenly caught his attention and made him pause for a moment.

Rank Up and Fight to Your Heart's Content

Singles and Double Matches

Battle Tower-Opening Soon

"Battle Tower..." For some reason, while losing to Hop's friend was devastating, the idea of fighting against more trainers made him feel excited.

It was almost though he had found a new reason to battle once more, and that alone excited him.

"All right, I'll give it a go!" Leon grins. He starts making his way to Battle Tower when he caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection of the window of the clothing shop, mostly due to his lack of direction. "Wait... maybe I should change my appearance before I go. It's only fair..."

Going inside, he knew that he would need something impressive to wear when battling his new foes. He might no longer be the champion, but he still needed to look classy.

After all, he does have quite an impressive amount of money to splurge on something to make his debut fighting in a new place and a new goal to rule Battle Tower with an iron fist.

Considering if Leon could get to the Battle Tower after buying his clothes.

Well, he is bound to run into it eventually.

Fin

Y'all must be wondering, that's it? Well, I knew I couldn't really write as much as I wanted considering that I am being vague as to Hop's friend and the team that battled against Leon. I want the readers to make their own interpretation of your own character fighting against the champion with their best Pokémon team you managed to bring to challenge him.

Besides, if I wrote a battle, it would take ages to get it posted. Plus, everyone has their preferred starter and ultimate when fighting against Leon, so I left the battle up to everyone's interpretation.

And no, please don't talk about the craziest battle scenarios that you can only see on YouTube.

This is probably close to the length of a short sniplet, but since I don't yet have a book about this, I might have to start one eventually if I get challenged again and again to write this kind of thing. If so, next time, I WILL make a character instead of leaving the challenger as a vague shadow. Flaws included!