As we walked through Viridian City, where Blue's gym was, I spotted someone and let out a high pitched squeak, ducking behind Red. " Let's just walk on and pretend I'm not here."

Leaf gave me a deadpan look. " Okay. Why?"

" Because the person who bullied me is up there and I don't want to face her. So can we PLEASE just go?"

Pikachu nodded

Blue, who had been walking a few steps ahead, stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Wait, what? Someone bullied you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Who would even dare?"

"Blue, not now!" I hissed, clutching Red’s arm tightly as I peeked out from behind him. "Just keep walking!"

But of course, Blue wasn’t going to just let it slide. "Oh, come on," he said, cracking his knuckles. "Point them out. I’ll handle it."

"Blue, no!" I whispered fiercely, my cheeks turning red. "That’s exactly why I didn’t want to say anything! Just leave it alone!"

Leaf crossed her arms and tilted her head. "Mia, if this person bullied you, shouldn’t you stand up to them? You’re the Champion now. You’ve proven how strong you are. Why are you hiding?"

"It’s not about strength!" I shot back. "It’s… it’s just embarrassing, okay? I don’t want to deal with it. Can’t we just avoid her?"

Red gave me a reassuring look and placed a hand on my shoulder. He didn’t say a word, but the message was clear: You’ve got this.

Before I could muster a response, Blue’s eyes narrowed as he spotted someone up ahead. "Is that her?" he asked, pointing toward a girl standing by the Pokémon Center.

"Blue, no!" I squeaked, pulling on his jacket to stop him. "Don’t make a scene!"

But it was too late. Blue, being Blue, was already striding forward, Leaf following close behind with a determined expression. I groaned, burying my face in my hands as Red gave me a gentle nudge forward.

"Come on," he said quietly. "You don’t have to hide."

Reluctantly, I stepped out from behind him, my heart pounding as we approached the girl. She hadn’t noticed us yet, but as soon as she saw Blue and Leaf, her eyes widened—and when her gaze landed on me, her jaw dropped.

"Well, well," she said, crossing her arms and smirking. "If it isn’t little Mia. Still crying over every loss?"

I froze, the words hitting harder than I wanted to admit. But before I could respond, Blue stepped in front of me, glaring at her.

"Funny," he said coolly. "Because last I checked, ‘little Mia’ is the Champion now. So if anyone should be crying, it’s you."

The girl’s smirk faltered for a moment before she scoffed. "Champion? Yeah, right. She probably just got lucky."

Leaf raised an eyebrow. "Lucky? Beating the Elite Four and the previous Champion isn’t exactly something you can do with luck."

"Exactly," Blue added, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "But hey, if you’re so confident, why don’t you battle her yourself? Unless you’re scared."

I felt a surge of panic. "Blue, don’t—"

"Fine," the girl snapped, cutting me off. "Let’s battle. Right here, right now."

I stared at her, my heart racing. This wasn’t what I wanted—but as I glanced at Red, Leaf, and Blue, all of whom were watching me expectantly, I realized I couldn’t back down now.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward. "Alright," I said, my voice trembling slightly but growing steadier with each word. "Let’s do this."

As soon as Jynx appeared on the battlefield, I locked eyes with my opponent—then promptly turned on my heel and bolted down the street.

"HEY!" Blue shouted after me, his voice tinged with equal parts disbelief and annoyance. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET BACK HERE!"

"NOPE! NOT TODAY!" I yelled over my shoulder, Jynx trailing behind me with an apologetic shrug to the others.

Leaf facepalmed, and Red stood there, blinking in confusion. The bully, meanwhile, just stared, completely dumbfounded. "Did she just… run away?"

Blue groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Unbelievable," he muttered. "She’s the Champion, for crying out loud!"

As I rounded the corner, panting but determined to get as far away as possible, I heard Leaf yell after me, "You can’t keep running forever, Mia!"

"WATCH ME!" I shouted back, refusing to slow down.

Jynx gave an exasperated sigh and pointed at my Poké Ball, clearly asking if she could just go back inside. "No way, Jynx," I huffed. "If I have to suffer, so do you."

When I finally stopped running, catching my breath behind a tree on Route 22, Jynx crossed her arms and gave me a withering look. "Don’t start," I said, leaning against the tree. "I panicked, okay?"

Back at the Pokémon Center, Blue was pacing in circles. "She seriously just ran off," he muttered. "What kind of Champion does that?"

"One who’s apparently very good at avoiding conflict," Leaf said dryly.

Red, as usual, said nothing, but his expression was somewhere between amused and concerned.

The bully laughed, flipping her hair. "Guess I was right—she really is a coward."

That was the last straw for Blue. "Oh, you want a battle?" he snapped, stepping forward. "Fine. You’re getting one. And when I win, you’re apologizing to Mia."

Leaf smirked. "I’m in, too. Let’s make this a double battle."

As they prepared to teach her a lesson, I sat in my hiding spot, feeling a mix of shame and relief. "Maybe I should just stay Champion of running away," I muttered to Jynx, who nodded emphatically.