Date: March 25

Eirwen stalked through the streets of Wedgehurst, anger making her deep blue eyes shine. How dare they, she thought with a snarl. She hated the people here and would find a way to destroy the whole town if she had her way. Every single person in Wedgehurst was guilty in her eyes.

She could hear some of the other kids snickering as she passed, trying to make her way back home as quick as possible. Her clothing was drenched, her hair was soaked, and she was absolutely done with the bullies here. The adults tried to tell her that she took things too seriously, and the other kids were just trying to be funny, but they had gone too far.

She dared anyone to tell her that ganging up on her, (five against one, how brave) and throwing her off of a bridge into the creek was just the kids trying to be funny. She knew her cheeks were burning, whether that was in embarrassment or loathing, she didn't know, but they were probably just as red as her wine colored hair.

It wasn't her fault that they tormented her! It wasn't like she wanted them too. Even her parents tried to shrug off the behavior of the other kids as them just being kids. She loved her parents more than anything in the world, but when it came to the other kids, any of them, they were just as blind as any other adult. Not one person tried to stand up for her, ever.

So, she stood up for herself. Most of the people in Wedgehurst thought she was disrespectful, rude, crass, and hotheaded, but she knew the truth. If they were so insistent on being stupid, then they weren't worth her respect!

Her eyes blazed. When she got her own Pokémon, she would make them regret treating her like dirt. She would have a team strong enough to smash through them and their pathetic Pokémon. She deserved better, and soon enough, she would be able to start her own journey. She would prove that she was better than them, all of them.

The only way to do that, in her eyes, was to beat the Unbeatable Champion. While it would be practically impossible, she was determined to at least face him as soon as the end of the Cup came. This was the year that she would…

Well, as soon as she got her first Pokémon. She didn't turn 10 for another nine more days. It wasn't her fault that she was the youngest in both Wedgehurst and Postwick that was leaving this year! She didn't have a say in her birthday, but that didn't mean that the other kids needed to be such… jerks.

The worst of them was a boy named Dylan. He was big, wide, and had short blonde hair, small blue eyes, and a nose that reminded her of a Spoink. It didn't help that he was the oldest out of his group, and had his Pokémon, a really irritating Cufant, which he called Goliath that seemed to worship its trainer. It didn't help that Dylan's Pokémon was the biggest, and heaviest, out of all of the kids who had gotten theirs.

To make matters worse, Dylan had no problem asking, well demanding, that his Pokémon pick her up and throw her. Usually, it was over the bridge near Route Two, just north of Wedgehurst, but the water didn't make the fall any easier. She was always soaked, annoyed, and bruised because the Pokémon was too rough when it picked her up.

Still, she thought viciously, she would end up with a Pokémon that would do a lot of damage to the Goliath, and hopefully, one that would have no problem standing up for her. It had taken forever for her to convince her parents to get her a Pokémon that was practically unseen in the Galar region, and even longer for her to make them reluctantly, agree to get her what she wanted. She was going to be powerful, and her parents had agreed to get her a Nidoran. While, at first, her Pokémon would be completely neutral against Dylan's, eventually, when it evolved, it would gain a new typing that would give her an advantage. And, it helped that while Nidoran wouldn't do any damage to Cufant, Goliath's steel type moves would be equally ineffective.

One day, she would battle Dylan and prove that she was both more powerful, and a better strategist than the boy could ever hope to be.

Assuming, of course, her parents actually got her the Pokémon she wanted. Which, to be fair, they might not. It wasn't every day that anyone in Galar had the connections to get a Nidoran, and they might decide to get her something else instead. Maybe a Budew or an Oddish, they had the same poison typing as Nidoran, or a Rhyhorn or a Yamask for their ground typing. Either way, she supposed, she would be fine with it, so long as it could beat Goliath.

She would find a way to beat the jerk, and make him feel just as weak as she did when he bullied and overpowered her. Until then, well, she just had to put up with it.

Eirwen huffed to herself, there was no way that she would let the other boy beat her, and when they met across the field from each other, she would make sure he regretted every bit of pain he put her through.

Stupid boys.

A loud laughing sound cut into her thoughts, making her face flush even more. She knew that sound, and knew exactly who it belonged to. Great. Just what she needed. A ginger haired woman came over to her, before she could duck away, and practically dragged her towards a strange, tall man. The woman, Sonia Magnolia, could be nice, sweet, and a little lazy honestly. The woman was in her early twenties, and supposedly wanted to be a researcher, even if personally Eirwen didn't see it. She was always being trailed by an over enthusiastic Yamper, and enjoyed trying to make the not very kind girl into more of a little lady. But, she had one major flaw, she was friends with Howard Ward, aka Hop.

Hop was a trainer, just a month older than her, who had gotten a starter, Wooloo. To most people, he was a happy, if a bit naïve, boy who adored and looked up to his older brother. Which was fine. His brother, Leon, was the Champion after all. The problem was, Hop wasn't…

They hated each other. Hop hated her because he thought she was too hotheaded, coming from him, it wasn't exactly an effective insult. He thought that her ambitions were stupid, that she wouldn't be able to accomplish anything, and wasn't afraid to let her know that he doubted she would make it past her third badge if she could find anyone to sponsor her in the first place.

She, on the other hand, thought he was a hypocrite. He said all the time that he would stand up to anyone who was doing the wrong thing, that he wanted to be a hero, a legend of his own right, and have a story that would be passed though their generation and into the next. The problem was, he was too stupid to actually work towards anything. His partner was weak, he hadn't gotten a second Pokémon yet, and he hadn't exactly gotten a sponsor yet either. Hop was delusional and seemed to think he was better than everyone else, just because his brother was. To top that, Hop told everyone that he would take Leon's throne. He made himself out to be some super trainer, but he wasn't willing to put in the work to actually make it.

Her goals, while ambitious, were something that she worked on every day. She memorized type matchups, watched official battles, not just Leon's matches, and worked on her physical strength every single day. She knew that if she was going to have a strong team, then she would need to be strong enough to lead them.

Still, as she examined the man that Sonia dragged her towards, she couldn't help but hope he was nothing like his younger brother.

There was no questioning who the man was, it was obvious with his long purple hair and golden eyes, even if she hadn't seen the Charizard that stood behind him. Unlike Hop, Leon was an impressive trainer. His golden eyes always burned, and he gave his all in every single fight he had. Even the way he was watching her was intimidating.

She had absolutely no doubt that he was a powerful trainer, and was one that was used to being respected. That, of course, made her face burn even brighter.

It was just her luck that the first time she got to meet the Champion of the Galar region, her clothing was soaking wet, her hair was a mess, and she was shivering, despite it being fairly warm. Her clothing, a pair of light blue jeans, and a short sleeved purple shirt was drenched, and her hair, which was usually braided into a neat bun was matted and gross from the river water.

Sonia appeared not to notice, but there was no doubt that the Champion did.

"Decided to go for a swim?" He asked, voice carefully light.

Eirwen didn't dare look up at the man as she answered with a light shrug. Clearly, it wasn't something she wanted to do. No one who went swimming wore the heavy waterlogged clothing that she had on. Then again, telling the truth to an adult just wasn't worth the effort. She had tried, several dozen times, before she gave up and just bided her time until she could fight back.

"I see." That made her look up, well, peek through her bangs really. Sonia and Leon seemed to be having a silent conversation, and it wasn't making the man anything other than angry. "Why didn't you have your Pokémon help you?"

Eirwen shrugged again.

That, apparently, didn't stop Sonia from answering for her. "She doesn't turn ten for another week or so.

Purple eyes burned in understanding. "Let me guess, everyone says the kid will grow out of it?"

"There's five, six if you count your brother." Eirwen took a deep breath and forced herself to look into his eyes. "I'm fast, but I can't stop them from ganging up on me, especially if they all have Pokémon and I don't." True, Hop didn't join in very often, but if the two of them got into a fight, and the other boys just so happened to come across them, Hop had all the backup he needed, though he wasn't the type to physically hurt or deeply humiliate her. He preferred to badmouth her, making sure that she knew no one liked her.

"Hop is bullying you?" Leon's voice was deadly, calm, and it was clear that he was less than a minute from blowing up.

Eirwen mentally cursed her stupidity. She shouldn't have said that, shouldn't have admitted it, even if it was true. Hop practically worshiped his brother, and she knew that he would be devastated if he found out his brother was mad at him. Besides, it wasn't that bad, and Hop wasn't as mean as some of the other boys. He had never used his Pokémon to hurt her, even if he could have. "Its not…" Her mind worked as quickly as it could, trying to find a way to undo the damage she had done. "He's not that bad."

Leon's eyes blazed in anger, making her cringe slightly. He was scary when he was mad, and apparently, he wasn't okay with his brother being a bully to anyone. "I'll take care of Hop, I promise. In the meantime," He pulled three Pokéballs off of his belt, "Pick one."

She blinked. "I can't do that. I'm not- "

He cut her off by passing of them over to her. "I was planning on giving you one anyways. As a way to be a motivator to Hop, a rival if you will. Sonia told me that you two fight all the time, and keep trying to best each other, so I had already planned on you having one. You need a way to defend yourself, and honestly, that means you need a Pokémon."

Eirwen grit her teeth. "I'm not weak." She snarled viciously, getting a surprised look from both of the older trainers. "I don't need to be protected, or pitied, or whatever this is. I'll get strong on my own, and I don't need anyone trying to play knight in shining armor! I'll beat Hop, and Dylan, and anyone else who gets in my way!"

She tried to pass the Pokéball that he had dumped in her hands back, but he shook his head and took a step towards his Charizard.

"You will be strong but being strong doesn't mean not accepting help when you need it. It means being able to take help when its offered and offer help when someone else needs it. I'm giving you that Pokémon not because of Hop, but because I want to, and I'm strong enough that I can afford to help. If you seriously don't want it, that's one thing, but if you're rejecting help just because your pride wont let you take it, then suck it up princess and get strong enough that you can help whoever comes after you and needs it."

They glared at each other for a minute, blue eyes locked on gold, before she had to look away. She wasn't strong enough to beat him, not yet, but she would eventually be. "Fine." She bit out, still annoyed that he seemed to think that she needed saving. "Thank you."

With the Pokéball gripped tightly in her left hand, she turned on her heels and walked away, heading towards Postwick. He was right in saying that she needed help, but the way he went about it was enough to make her annoyed. He was just as frustrating as his brother.

She would never admit it, but she felt better with the Pokéball in her hand, more confident, and less anxious about the boys deciding that she hadn't had enough for the day. She had no idea what kind of Pokémon the Champion had given her, but she did know that she would use it to become strong. And one day, when she was strong enough, she would be coming for Leon's spot as Champion.

It would happen.

She and her Pokémon would make sure of it.