#master mustard

is that a challenge?

Heyo anon! I love this prompt so much! X3 I gotcha covered, friend!

“Gotcha!” Leon yelped when you charged at him from behind, jumping onto his back with a giggle. The two of you were outside the Master Dojo, training. At least, that’s what you told Master Mustard when your champion boyfriend dropped in for a surprise visit. It wasn’t often that Leon got time off from champion duties, but when he did, he’d always make seeing you his first prerogative.

“Haha! (Y/N)!” He laughed as you clung to him like a Komala, nuzzling his neck with your nose as he carried you about, breathing in his scent. “Hehe! Hey, careful back there! I’m ticklish!”

“But I missed you!” You sang out, resting your chin against his shoulder, leaning in and kissing him on the cheek. “I miss your smell, your hair, your smile.” You nuzzled him again, making Leon scrunch with a chuckle. “And we of course can’t forget that handsome laugh of yours!” You teased gently, making the purple haired man blush.

“Ahh, young love.” A soft, amused voice said from behind you, making both Leon and you startle. When you looked back, Master Mustard was standing by on the Dojo’s open patio, a warm smile on his wrinkled cheeks. “It warms my heart to see such young couples having fun. Reminds me of my own youth.”

So, Yamamoto posted a couple of preview images for the next SwSh round on Twitter today, including one showing Hop in his gym challenge uniform. It’s identical to the one that he wears in the games, which shows nice attention to detail on Yamamoto’s part - except for one thing. 

In the games, most Gym Challengers have the symbol of a Gym on their challenge uniform, which is presumably the symbol of the Gym Leader who endorsed them. So, if Spe!Hop doesn’t have a symbol on his uniform, then he must’ve been endorsed by someone who wasn’t a Gym Leader. But there are only two non-Gym Leader people who can endorse Trainers that we know of, and the narrative so far doesn’t seem to suggest that either of them endorsed Hop. Let’s look at them in more detail:

Leon: This is the obvious choice for Hop’s endorser, right? He’s Hop’s older brother, he endorsed Hop in the games, he’s already been seen endorsing Trainers...but that’s where the problem lies. Leon endorses Sou and Schilly for the Gym Challenge, and like in the games, this news immediately spreads across the whole region because Leon rarely endorses challengers. But the news that spreads across the region is that “the unbeatable Champion endorsed two Trainers.” Not three. So if he endorsed Hop, he would’ve had to keep it a secret somehow. And even setting aside the question of how Leon would’ve kept this secret, why would Leon have endorsed his brother secretly in the first place? If they’re concerned about Hop about being in his brother’s shadow, Hop shouldn’t be trying to become Champion in the first place. If they’re worried that people will accuse Leon of playing favorites, they can just get someone else to endorse Hop instead. That seems way easier than trying to make sure Chairman Rose, Oleana, and any members of the League Staff that come across the information never say anything about Leon endorsing Hop.

Chairman Rose: Besides the fact that we know he can endorse Trainers, there’s really not much evidence to suggest Chairman Rose would endorse Hop. He supported Bede because Bede reminded him of himself, but coming from a loving family with a supportive older brother, Hop and Rose couldn’t be more different. And Bede’s endorsement came attached with the mission to collect Wishing Stars, which Hop definitely isn’t doing. The only reason Hop would be on Chairman Rose’s radar is through Leon, but Leon could just...endorse Hop himself. The only reasons I can think of why Rose would endorse Hop instead of Leon are that Leon asked him to - presumably to avoid the accusations of favoritism - or that Leon didn’t think Hop was ready for the Gym Challenge while Rose did. Now, if Leon’s worried about the favoritism thing...having his brother be endorsed by someone who’s equally selective about handing out endorsements really isn’t going to help Hop much. And considering how little attention Rose gives to the kid he actually endorsed, it’s hard to imagine Rose knowing enough about Hop to decide he’s ready for the Gym Challenge when his brother doesn’t think he is.

Other options: Beyond those two, it’s hard to make predictions about who Hop’s endorser could be because we don’t know if anyone else can actually give endorsements; when they’re explaining the concept of endorsements Sou and Schilly only mention Gym Leaders, the League Chairman, and the Champion. But since those all seem to be off the table, I’ll just take a look at some other important characters in Galar and determine how likely I think it is they’ll be Hop’s endorser, based on four criteria: what reason they would be able to give endorsements, what reason they would have to endorse Hop (instead of Leon), what I like about the concept of them endorsing Hop, and what problems I have with them endorsing Hop.

Sonia: No reason to be able to give endorsements; would endorse Hop to spite Leon or because she knows Hop well; a fun twist for Leon and the audience, parallels/foreshadows Hop becoming her assistant, adds a new layer to Hop’s line about “the endorser’s title has nothing to to with the Trainer’s ability”; she’s apparently so traumatized by what happened on her Gym Challenge that she can’t even watch Gym battles anymore, she and Leon haven’t seen each other in a long time, no canon confirmation that she knows Hop. Overall likelihood: not a chance

Professor Magnolia: Knows Chairman Rose and worked with him to develop the Dynamax Band; would endorse Hop because she thinks it’ll be a good way for him to grow; she convinces Leon to endorse Hop and the player in the games; no canon confirmation that she knows Hop, she would’ve endorsed Sou and Schilly as well if she could give endorsements. Overall likelihood: not a chance

Mustard: A former Champion; would endorse Hop if he demonstrates his skill as a Trainer; Hop getting an endorsement from Leon’s master is a fun concept, a good way to introduce the DLC characters into the narrative; in the games he’s stated to be retired from the League. Overall likelihood: decent

Peony: A former Champion; no reason to endorse Hop; a good way to introduce the DLC characters into the narrative; unlikely that he knows Hop or that Hop knows him, in the games he doesn’t want anything to do with the League when it’s run by his brother. Overall likelihood: unlikely