Summary: Being Champion just wasn't his thing. That was why he left Alola. He'd always been an adventurer at heart, and now he was taking his first few steps in what felt like a completely different world. But he wasn't alone. He had his team with him.
Link: https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/alola-galar-pokemon.808010/#post-63169592
Word count:44k
Chapters:19
Prologue
He wondered if Hau had forgiven him yet.
He never intended to hurt him.
He thought Hau would be happy being Champion.
But even now, months since he'd last seen his best friend—and he was reluctantly forced to wonder if that still held true—the look of betrayal on Hau's face continued to haunt him.
The smile melts. Thick eyebrows scrunch together, like Caterpies worming on his forehead, and Hau's lips twist into a frown.
Hau's face, which has always been tan, darkens several shades, and he can't help but take a step back when the new Champion of Alola glares at him.
"You…you lost on purpose, didn't you?"
He gulps.
The six Pokeballs on his belt, holding his fainted team, feel like they suddenly weigh a ton each. He's tempted to lie. But he has a feeling that things will only become worse if he does.
"Being Champion was always your dream, Hau," he says. "It's your turn."
Hau's hands ball into tight fists.
Incineroar, Hau's partner, looks nervously at his trainer. He still remembers the day when he received Primarina—back then, she was still a Popplio—and Hau, clueless about the type advantages, had proudly proclaimed that Litten, being Fire-type, was the strongest.
His lips twitch when he recalls his first victorious Pokemon battle. It was also Hau's first loss.
"Forty-two times," Hau says with a trembling voice. "That's the number of times we've battled before today. FORTY-TWO TIMES!"
That's a lot, he realizes. But he hasn't been keeping count.
"I've lost every single one of them."
"You won this one," he says softly.
"Did I?" Hau sneers.
He's taken aback by the venom in his rival-slash-friend's voice.
"Do you honestly think that I have no chance of ever beating you in a fair fight? Is that why you let me win? Because you PITY me?"
It isn't pity. It's acknowledgement. Hau's been training hard. He knows about the late nights in the gyms, the hours spent in the libraries, the heated sessions with the Kahunas and the Elite Four. Hau deserves to be Champion.
He tries to tell this to him, but what comes out of his mouth is something completely different.
"I let you win because I don't want to be Champion anymore."
Hau looks as if he's been slapped.
He doesn't know why he said it. But it's true, anyway. The experiences with Necrozma and the Ultra Beasts made him realize something. He doesn't like being Champion. Not with all the expectations and responsibilities that come with the title of being The Strongest.
He just wants a fresh start.
He wanted to explore again. To see new Pokemon and meet new people. To venture into the unknown. To go on another adventure. The Champion's throne had only chained him down, shackled him, and every time he saw reports and infographics about the other regions, a sense of longing to break free from Alola would always emerge.
"You're the only one I trust to take my place, Hau," he says. "While I'm gone."
He sees Hau bite his lips.
That's one reason why he's always liked him; Hau always wore his emotions openly.
He could see the inner conflict in his rival as clear as day.
"I'm not as strong as a Trainer as you, though," Hau says, looking down.
He has a strong feeling that the anger he hears isn't directed at him.
He smiles. "You don't have to be the strongest Trainer to be Champion. You just need to be strong enough."
"Am I though?"
"Yes."
"It sounds as if you're just trying to comfort me."
"That's because I am," he says, "but that doesn't make it any less true."
Hau sighs. What little anger that remained leaves his body with that small exhalation. That's another reason why he likes Hau. He never stays angry for long.
"You're really leaving?" Hau asks.
He nods.
"Where are you going?"
He pauses. "I haven't decided yet. Somewhere far away, probably."
"Will you come back?"
"Of course."
That seems to raise Hau's spirits.
His friend straightens. "Then it's not over yet." Hau levels a finger at him. "I refuse to accept this win."
He expected this.
"But you accept the role of Champion?" he asks.
"Just until you come back," Hau says, grudgingly. "We'll have a rematch. And next time, I'll show you that I don't need your pity."
"Thank you, Hau."
"You better come back, Elio."
He knew he'd chosen correctly when he stepped off the boat and nobody paid a second glance to him. Here, he wasn't Elio, Champion of the Alola Region.
In Galar, he was just an ordinary Pokemon Trainer.
And he was ready to start his new adventure.