Sonia sighed as she gazed wistfully upon her former rival. It was late into the evening, and she had finished organizing the day’s selection of rare curry specimens about an hour before when Leon loudly barged into the lab, Charizard in tow. Now, as she gazed upon her undefeated companion before her, she felt a feeling of longing that was all too familiar to her by now.

She watched as he hunched over, violet locks cascading down his champion shoulders as he attempted to reattach the seventeen stickers that had fallen from his cape when he executed his famous “Charizard Pose”. Charizard – Leon’s loyal companion – softly illuminated the room with his Charizard Tail Fire™, exposing the soft features of his master’s undefeated face. Shadows danced across his visage like playful Charizards in the night. She flicked her Charizard-coloured hair to the side, exposing a discerning eye that was the colour that Charizard would be if Charizard was green.

“Leon…” she began, nervously searching for the right words to address the undefeated champion before her, “What are you doing here? It’s so late…”

“Hey, I’m Leon!” he replied matter-of-factly, “This is my buddy Charizard! We’ve never been defeated in a battle before, but if you train hard maybe one day you can challenge us in the Pokemon League!”

Sonia floundered for a moment as she watched his undefeated hands struggle to affix the first of seventeen stickers back onto his cape using a piece of scotch tape. “Oh…” she said as a small frown began to manifest on her lips, “I see…”

Leon’s Charizard – the one that Leon had owned for some time in the past and would continue to own into the foreseeable future – yawned sleepily, the rumble of his voice reminiscent of the deep bass of a Charizard’s yawn, because he was a Charizard. He appeared, upon closer inspection, to be having a champion time.

Leon looked up for a moment at his undefeated companion, Charizard, and a bright smile formed on his face, which was also undefeated. “Wow! Looks like Charizard is having a champion ti-“

“Leon, there’s something I need to tell you!” Sonia interrupted, her face the colour of a slightly oversaturated Charizard. “I, u-um… was thinking about what you said the other day after Charizard training… how you never bothered with love or intimacy because Charizard was “the only buddy you ever needed”.” Leon gave a brief nod of approval to his Pokemon, which was a Charizard.

Sonia continued, her face beginning to sweat. “I just wanted to let you know that I… c-can’t help but… lose myself in your eyes… d-do you… feel the same…?”

Leon stood up abruptly, the force of the motion sending the stickers flying across the room with a gust resembling the Air Slash of an angry Charizard. Noticing his master’s sudden change in disposition, Charizard quickly turned and smashed his head through the wall of the laboratory, opening the room to the cool night air beyond. “No!” Leon said, still smiling.

“W-what…?” Sonia cried, her hair resembling a burning hot Charizard Tail Fire™ as it moved in the wind, “But why?!”

Leon appeared not to be listening as he climbed atop his trusted Charizard friend and steed, gaze pointed skyward as he scanned the horizon. He blinked slowly, so as to keep the moisture of his champion eyes undefeated by the dry air sweeping across his face. The flap of Charizard’s wings had stirred up a mighty gale in the room, and Charizard began to shift his weight forward as he prepared for takeoff. With a contented nod to his partner, Leon turned to his long-time friend and former rival.

“I never lose!” he said. And with a mighty crash, the undefeated champion and Pokemon took off into the night.