“Thanks, but I already am an idol.
And I don’t do endorsements.” That was Marnie’s answer the next morning when Jun stepped out of his room and immediately ran into her in the hallway.
She’d dressed warmer than the day before: a light knit sweater, a dark blue skirt, brown boots, and a gray coat over everything.
The outfit was softer and more casual than what she’d worn during the tournament, though her expression remained as composed as ever.
Morpeko stood beside her and raised one tiny hand.
“Moru~” Jun crouched and solemnly shook it before straightening.
“League registration first?” Marnie looked him over from head to toe, tapped one finger against her chin, then walked past him.
“Clothes first.” Jun glanced down at himself.
His outfit wasn’t terrible, exactly.
It had simply survived Dappled Grove, an avalanche, several days of travel, and one attempted kidnapping without being replaced.
He caught up with her.
“I’d rather spend whatever money you’re about to waste on me on Pokéblocks for Ralts and the little one.” “You need a photo for your League Card.” Marnie kept walking.
“And you’re registering with a recommendation from Spikemuth Gym.
If you’re going to represent us, you should at least look presentable.” So she was buying him clothes.
Jun considered that for about half a second before smiling.
“Marnie, if you ever moved to Kalos, Audrey Hepburn would’ve had serious competition.” Marnie looked over.
“Who’s Audrey Hepburn?” Jun nearly stumbled.
They stepped outside into the morning cold, where light snow drifted over Frostleaf Town and the streets had already been packed smooth by foot traffic.
Morpeko followed close beside Marnie, leaving tiny prints behind them.
Jun cleared his throat with theatrical seriousness.
“Someone famous from my hometown.
We had plenty of famous writers too.” Marnie gave him a suspicious look.
Jun ignored it and continued in the most dramatic voice he could manage.
“‘If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart, absent thee from felicity awhile, and in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain to tell my story.'” Marnie stared at him.
Morpeko stared at him too.
Jun nodded solemnly.
“Shakespeare.” Neither of them looked impressed.
Marnie finally asked, “Why do you know things like that?” “Because I contain multitudes.” That earned him an even flatter look.
Morpeko, apparently deciding that Jun had stopped making sense several sentences ago, pulled a pale seed from its pouch, roasted it with a quick crackle of electricity, and popped it into its mouth.
By the time they reached the commercial district, Jun had wisely stopped trying to explain literature.
The streets looked almost exactly as they had when he first arrived in Frostleaf Town.
Aside from the enormous Kangaskhan footprints still visible in patches of snow, there was little sign that yesterday’s festival had ever happened.
Marnie chose a clothing store that looked expensive enough to make Jun nervous before he even stepped inside.
His concerns were justified.
By the time he came back out, he was carrying several bags and wearing an entirely new outfit: a clean white shirt beneath a burgundy jacket, fitted black trousers that didn’t restrict movement, and an Umbreon-themed watch around his wrist.
A pale red plaid scarf patterned after Gardevoir was wrapped around his neck.
Jun had been given very little influence over any of this.
Apparently Marnie had opinions.
He had learned two things during the process.
First, Marnie genuinely enjoyed shopping far more than her usual expression suggested.
Second, her preference for Dark-type Pokémon extended well beyond Morpeko.
If Jun hadn’t objected repeatedly, she’d apparently been prepared to replace the Gardevoir scarf with something themed after Hydreigon or Grimmsnarl.
While Marnie continued shopping for herself, Jun escaped outside with Morpeko and collapsed onto a bench beneath an awning.
They looked at each other.
Morpeko sighed.
Jun sighed too.
A group of students passing through the shopping district glanced his way several times, paying considerably more attention to him than to the stores around them.
Jun decided Marnie’s choices had probably worked.
She eventually emerged carrying several more bags and wearing a black-and-purple beret decorated with Zorua.
The hat suited her far too well for Jun to make fun of it.
Together, they continued toward Frostleaf Town’s League Hall.
The building stood beyond a broad plaza, its marble exterior grand enough to look several centuries older than most of the town around it.
Tall lamps lined the entrance, casting warm yellow light through the falling snow.
Most of the people crossing the plaza were young Trainers with backpacks and Poké Balls at their belts.
Jun even recognized a few faces from yesterday’s tournament.
Several recognized him too.
Marnie attracted even more attention.
Whether that was because she was already known as Piers’s younger sister or because yesterday’s Multi Battle had made her locally famous, Jun couldn’t tell.
Neither of them paid much attention to the staring.
Inside, they climbed to the second floor and entered a large registration room lined with counters.
Marnie chose the shortest queue, and a few minutes later they reached the front.
“He needs to register,” she told the clerk.
The woman behind the counter looked at Jun, then blinked in recognition.
“You won yesterday’s tournament, didn’t you?” Jun nodded.
Her surprise deepened slightly when she realized he wasn’t already a registered Trainer.
Marnie took out her phone.
“He has a recommendation from the Spikemuth Gym Leader.” The clerk scanned the digital recommendation with a small device, checked something on her computer, then began asking Jun a series of standard questions.
Once that was finished, she had him stand in front of a camera for his League Card photo.
Marnie had clearly planned the shopping trip around this exact moment.
A few minutes later, the clerk handed him a black League Card with a Dark-type motif and his photograph printed across the front.
“Congratulations, Jun.
You’re now registered with the Galar League.” Jun turned the card over in his hand while she continued explaining the benefits.
“As a registered Trainer, you can use participating Pokémon Centers and League libraries without charge.
You’ll also receive discounts through certain League-affiliated businesses, and you can accept paid assignments through the League website.” That alone made registration worth it.
The clerk continued, “If you’re interested in next April’s Champion Cup, your League Card also allows you to begin the application process.” Jun looked up at that.
Galar’s Champion Cup filled roughly the same role as the League Conferences he’d known from other regions, but the structure was different.
Gym Leaders participated directly, and whoever made it through the tournament could eventually earn the right to challenge the reigning Champion.
At the moment, that meant Leon.
A Trainer who had entered the circuit at ten years old and still hadn’t lost an official battle.
Jun slipped the League Card into his wallet.
That problem could wait.
For now, the fact that he could stop paying every time Nurse Joy had to patch something up was enough reason to celebrate.
The registration itself had been suspiciously painless, though Jun knew exactly why.
Piers’s recommendation had bypassed most of the usual obstacles.
Apparently spending ten thousand Pokédollars on Marnie’s connections had been money well spent.
They didn’t stay at the League Hall much longer.
Afterward, they returned to their respective hotels to collect the belongings they’d left behind, then stopped by Frostleaf Stadium to pick up everything from yesterday’s tournament.
That included Marnie’s prize money.
Jun’s first month’s bodyguard payment.
And the Pokémon Egg Marnie had somehow hired him to raise for her.
By the time they finished, Jun had officially become a registered Trainer, acquired a second Pokémon, taken responsibility for someone else’s Egg, and hired the younger sister of a Gym Leader to keep him alive.
His journey had barely started and it was already becoming expensive.
[End of chapter]