Prince Zeal

Prince Zeal the Litleo is the child of Lord Zeal, ruler of the Wild Prairie, and destined to be the greatest lord ever! (By: Toooootally not Prince Zeal)

As of Session 19, Prince Zeal also became a member of Team Cheer.

## Story So Far

Prince Zeal is the child of Lord Zeal, ruler of the Wild Prairie.

Zeal first met Team Cheer in the Wild Prairie while they were tasked with locating him by Pangoro. They had found him protecting his friend, Hakamo-o, from a swarm of Combee and Beedrill. After the team helped fend off the insects, they quickly learned that the reason Hakamo-o and Zeal were being pursued by the honey-making Pokémon was due to Zeal suggesting to Hakamo-o that they steal some of their honey and eat it. After being convinced to return home by Team Cheer, as well as Hakamo-o, Zeal and Hakamo-o guided Team Cheer to the Cave of Mirrors in order to sleep, and Zeal returned with the team to Pride's Rock in the morning, where he was promptly scolded.

Zeal next appears in Session 19, having been sent to Savan Town to be forced to work as a Pioneer until he learned humility and responsibility. Pangoro appointed them to work with Team Cheer, much to most of the team's chagrin.

Since then, Zeal had most served as comic relief, either showing up in scenes to provide humour via his energetic antics, or causing havoc due to being forgotten by the team (and Karserus), and having so much energy that it causes problems.

It wasn't until Session 67 that Zeal finally opened up to the team and told them that he wasn't as naïve as he tried to appear, and often acted the way he did either due to how much energy he has, due to his desire of not wanting to be too serious and just have fun, or a mix of both. Since then, while the Litleo still provides a lot of comedy, he has begun to take situations more seriously, particularly during the battle against the fake Articuno in Mount Shiver in Session 77.

## Personality

Zeal initially comes off as an egotistical airhead, who acts like he should get whatever he wants because he is the prince. This initially makes Team Cheer not think highly of the prince. However, as time goes on, the team realise this prince is more than he appears to be. His energetic, big-headed and oblivious nature often makes him be a source of comedy in the series.

Long after the team first meets the prince, they see that he is smarter than he lets on. In Session 67, he admits that he intentionally acts stupid because, for him, that's how he has fun. But, when it's time for him to get serious, like when facing off against Articuno in Mt. Shiver, he takes the situation just as seriously as anyone else, if not more serious.

Zeal takes his role as a prince very seriously, and doesn't see his status as something that puts him above needing to do work, despite how he acts while just trying to have dumb fun. This can be first seen when he offers to hunt for everyone to ensure they have food, and is seen once again when in Mt. Shiver and facing off against Articuno. He is angered when Articuno, a supposed "Guardian" of the mountain is so willing to endanger the residents of the mountain, to the point that he is the one to initiate combat against them. To him, a guardian is meant to protect others and make their lives better, and likely considers himself and his father to be guardians due to their roles as prince and lord of the Wild Prairie.

## Important Connections

* Brooke - Teammate. Prince Zeal playfully jokes about being the real leader of Team Cheer rather than Brooke, which Brooke doesn't seem to mind.
* Riley - Teammate.
* Tucker - Teammate. Prince Zeal is debatably the closest to Tucker out of any of Team Cheer, frequently going on hunts with each other. Tucker was also one of the first members of the team to treat Zeal like a friend, having gotten along well with him during those hunts. Zeal also ends up unintentionally helping Tucker let out his more childish and mischievous side.
* Ralph - Teammate. Prince Zeal considers Ralph to be his "Royal treasurer", though he claims not to really know what the term means. During the time they were both servants at the manor in Session 81, the two had developed a form of rivalry.
* Lizard - Teammate.
* Houndoom - Teammate.
* Lord Zeal - Child. Prince Zeal holds a lot of respect for his father.
* Hakamo-o - Best friend. Stated by Prince Zeal to be one of the first Pokémon to be fine with him just wanting to be himself and have fun, even if Hakamo-o does occasionally have to rein in Zeal's energy when he thinks about doing something too dangerous.
* Pangoro - Commander. Debatably the Pioneer Zeal has interacted the most with, as Pangoro was often stuck keeping an eye on him while he wasn't doing stuff Team Cheer was involved in in Seaspray Town.

## Trivia

* In Session 13, Prince Zeal is stated to supposedly have combat skills on par with the huntresses of the Pyroar Tribe. This was later confirmed by Karserus, who released Zeal's stats as of March 18th 2022, where it shows the Litleo is Level 55.
* In terms of character, Tucker and Prince Zeal share surprising similarities. Both of them are very young, though Tucker often acts more mature than his age, and both have a similar mindset of not wanting to think about things that are unpleasant, although Tucker has a tendency to shut down while experiencing unpleasant thoughts while Zeal, seemingly, is more able to ignore those thoughts.

## Quotes

* 'i am going to turn you into CHICKEN NUGGIES!" - Session 16
* "There's a lot of things I don't like thinking about. So that's why I don't. It's why I like being with Hakamo-o. I don't have to think about hard things. we can just be friends.It's why I like being with all of you. I don't have to think. I'm just the prince, and we can be friends, and we can do things." - Session 67
* "I am the SUN...Eventually!" - Session 76
* "Hey, Team Cheer! I am the prince, and I command you to help me see EVERYTHING this life has to offer. I want to see ALL of it. LIKE THE SUN!" - Session 77