Kunolo Island - Main Hall Banquet

[Sinderella]

He stood. “Where is your trainer, anyway? I hope you’re not…lost…?” Surely not. She didn’t look distressed, in any case…but still. Who left their Pokémon on their own in a place full of strangers? Especially after the madness that happened earlier? He supposed if this was a Cipher event, it wouldn’t have really mattered…but that theory no longer felt quite right. Cipher certainly wouldn’t have bothered to include Pokémon in this event, and certainly wouldn’t be giving them equal treatment like this.

Enora pointed behind her. "She's over there talking to somebody! I'm just finding a table."

But, now she was determined to get some more bacon. She wouldn't dare harass this man anymore for some, but she could bother Odette.

He shook the thoughts from his head. Food first. The boys were now pacing around him, eyes wide with hunger, and Neo was sure to cause a scene if Wes kept his food away a second longer. He gave the frilly blue Pokémon another smile. “Sorry, gotta go. Need to feed these gremlins. But take care of yourself, alright? And be careful around…these other people.”

He made his way to the nearest set of chairs and sat, Neo and Novo hopping up on either side of him and immediately descending on their plates like a pack of starved Mightyena.

She waved excitedly as the man turned to leave. "I appreciate you! You be safe as well!"

Enora turned and bounded back toward Odette. When she was close enough, she grabbed the fabric of her joggers between her teeth and began to tug.

"I take it you're polyamorous?" Wallace smiled to himself. "So am I." He counted a bit in his head. "Éna, dío, tría... at least four lovers. Haven't figured out the specifics of my relationships with a few people yet."

"I am happily polyamorous. Glad to know another." Four partners though...good for him.

"You don't even know! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW! And this was supposed to be a break from all of the things I've been taking in these past few months! And now here we are! Here. We. Are. Where are we? Why are we here? Who am I? Who are you? Who are we? What is real anymore? Why—"

Victoria grabbed the back of Wallace's shirt collar and jerked him a bit. He froze, snapping out of his ramblings."

"You... you don't seemed phased at all, Odette. Like Steven was. Do you... do you know each other? Do you know what's going on?"

She wasn't prepared for his change in demeanor. In fact, it caught her off guard entirely. And here she thought things were going so well.

"Uh..." she stammered.

This was starting to go above her pay grade.

"It's...just a multiverse game. There's nothing to be phased about. We're all from different worlds and timelines, so things don't line up. I don't know any Steven's, but if you met one here that's like one you already know, they're probably just parallel universe copies. It's...really not that big of a deal."

As if some guardian angel (or demon) was watching over her, she felt tugging on her joggers. She looked down in time to see Enora.


"Whoa, whoa, what's the rush? I'm a little busy right now."


"I would like some bacon, please."


This perplexed her. "What? Since when?"


"Since now! I would like to go get some bacon before it all goes away. So let's hurry!"


Enora wasn't one to get this pushy about things, so Odette figured that was her time to bow out. She could at least leave saying that she'd made decent bygones with Wallace...for the most part?

"Um..." she said tentatively, unsure of how to form her parting words. "See you around." She sent him a friendly half salute as a parting gesture.

She wasn't too hungry for the moment, which gave her all the room to pile a plate high with bacon for Enora. She just kept asking for more. In fact, by the time she was done, they had two plates full. Odette was pretty flabbergasted, but she was happy to see Enora was eating. And boy, did she eat.

"Good fucking gods, how are you going to eat all this? Where did this obsession come from?"


"It's okay, we can take some for later!" Enora beamed. "And a lovely man introduced me to it. His name was..."

Oh no.

She hadn't gotten his name.


"Goodness, what the heck is wrong with me? I didn't even get his name. Or his Pokemon partner's names."


"Well, that's an easy fix. Where are they? I'll thank them for feeding you while I was indisposed."

The sound of garbled eating then hit her ears, and she turned her head to see two magical type Eons going to town on...bacon. At the table just down from them. She nodded expectantly.

"I think I found them."


"Oh, good! I'm glad to see they got their share too! We should really give them something in return. The man, at least, was so thoughtful."


That was a breath of fresh air after everything that had happened. She couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, I'll go send our regards. And get names."

In this situation, she didn't mind putting herself out.

She slowly approached the table, but was quick to realize that the guy in question was...well, one of the twins that were fighting. She hadn't seen much of the whole battle, being that she was caught up in her own mess of problems, but she was overcome with a brief sense of wariness. But, Enora was pretty adamant that he'd been very nice to her, and that was good enough for Odette.

"Uh, hi," she greeted with a half wave. "Sorry to bother you guys while you're eating, but I think you're the ones who sent my Sylveon friend on her bacon kick." She laughed ever so slightly as she said that. "So I just wanted to say thanks for slipping her a bite. I owe you. And she's absolutely distraught that she didn't catch your names."

She allowed herself to steal a look at the Umbreon and Espeon, but her curiosity made her turn her head entirely. Gods, they were such beautiful Pokemon.

"Good choice in partners. Magical type Eons are the best. I swear they don't get enough credit over Flareon or Jolteon or Vaporeon though, which is criminal."

 

[Hanafuda]

Seb saw Odette leave Wallace’s table. “Oh, he’s free now,” he muttered. After swallowing some more of the spaghetti, he took a napkin and cleaned his mouth. “Gotta make a good first impression.” He turned his gaze towards his Farfetch’d, smirking. “You ready, Jack?”

Jack turned back at Seb with a bit of confidence. He nodded.

"Yes?"

Seb jolted back a bit when he heard Wallace address him. Today was the day. He was going to meet a celebrity! He sighed and tried to relax, thinking carefully about his words. What would a stranger say to a recognized and esteemed Gym Leader? Would he try to be casual? But he wasn’t the best at being formal either. Yes, he had manners, but what if he talked to Wallace as if he was an acquaintance or a friend from school? He shook his hands close to his face as he started becoming nervous.

Jack poked his Trainer’s leg after seeing him get too worked up. He waved a wing up and down as if to say "Calm down".

“Yeah, yeah, we’re just gonna chat,” Seb replied. He massaged his head a bit. “But this is such a big deal to me. I mean, I’m gonna chat with friggin’ Wallace!” He breathed out and braced himself. “Okay, no more preambles—let’s just go for it.”

Seb had a friendly smile on his face as he turned towards Wallace. “Good evening, mister Wallace!”

 

[Seren]

What an embarrassing display.

She wished she could see her invitation again - she didn't recall if this "friendship festival" had specified the strength of the invitees, but it certainly seemed like most of them were either skilled, intelligent, or both. And what did she do when trouble arose to prove that?

Cowered behind someone else's pokemon and fought with herself just to stay calm, nevermind help anyone. All because she'd seen one fucking ghost.

She knew that one guy's comments were directed at Blue, not her, but if Blue was offended in the slightest at it, she'd sell Olivia. She was positive it had more of an effect on her than it ever would on a former champion. And it wasn't like Blue didn't act, either; eventually, both his pokemon were there taking control of the chaos. Sure, she was here on vacation, but that didn't mean she shouldn't just let people get hurt. She'd have to step up her game and show these other trainers that she belonged her... whether she believed it herself or not.

After the exhausting day, a group meal wasn't really the thing Kimiko thought they all needed, but so be it. She wasn't about to go hungry; besides, it did seem like the staff had been keeping tabs on the boat battle all along, so... what were the odds something else would happen now, anyway?

After ditching the swimsuit and changing back in her cabin, she followed the crowd to the main building. She paused in the doorway briefly, Olivia at her heels. She kind of wanted to go pull over one of the bean bag chairs and sit alone, since she hadn't gotten the peace and quiet she'd been hoping for at the pool. But this was a social event, after all, so maybe she could find Blue again and continue their discussion. She also wanted to find that black haired girl (or, the twins, now??) and maybe that would uncover an answer to the vague memories shed had floating around.

She spotted one of the twins talking to... one of the other sets of twins, the boy with the blue trenchcoat, his eevees at his feet. And... wait, that was a shiny sylveon?

Olivia apparently got tired of waiting, because as soon as she spotted the eeveelution-party, she trilled and darted over. With a sigh, Kimiko followed suit.

"Espiiiii!!" Olivia purred at Neo. Hi again! Miss us?!

Kimiko wished she had pockets, or just something to do with her hands. Why did she feel like a third wheel here? She settled for clasping her hands together behind her back as she addressed the strangers.

"Um, excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt... Olivia here wanted to say hello. And honestly, so did I." She knelt down next to Olivia, her attention on the other espeon and umbreon, but her comments directed at their trainer. "These two are cute! Are they brothers? Oh, and by the way... I'm sorry for back there on the boat, I just.. are you sure you're okay?"

Then, as she turned to the sylveon, she continued, "and aren't you just adorable! May I pet you?" She looked up at the sylveon's trainer, and yet again, strange memories surfaced. She shook her head; now wasn't the time. She'd have to get the girl alone somehow. She wasn't sure why, but it felt like something she'd probably want to keep on the down low. "She's got a beautiful coat."

 

[Hanafuda]

"I see you're a Flying type user," he said, forcing a smile into his voice.

“Uh, yeah, I love birds,” Seb replied, trying to hide his excitement. It felt like the best evening ever, talking with Wallace. “And I see your Milotic over there. Your favorite, right?” He turned to look at his Farfetch’d. “Say hi, Jack.”

“S’up?” Jack waved a wing at the other table.

 

[Sinderella]

Then, as she turned to the sylveon, she continued, "and aren't you just adorable! May I pet you?" She looked up at the sylveon's trainer, and yet again, strange memories surfaced. She shook her head; now wasn't the time. She'd have to get the girl alone somehow. She wasn't sure why, but it felt like something she'd probably want to keep on the down low. "She's got a beautiful coat."

Well, Enora didn't want to be impolite and leave Odette to do her bidding for her. She figured her bacon was safe on it's own for a bit, so she hopped off her chair and pranced over.


And boy was she glad she did. Now there was another very nice woman showering her with compliments. This was so much better than the boat already! Perhaps their vacation was indeed saved.

"Of course! Thank you for asking!" she beamed. "And yes. We have a very specific brushing routine for it!"


Odette eyed the newcomer and her Espeon. It was so nice seeing all these magical-type Eons in one setting. She felt the most at ease she'd felt since she walked into that stupid bar. This was really nice.

Nevertheless, this woman's subtle head shake wasn't lost on her. The more she stared, the more...familiar she became. Did they meet somewhere before? Or was the tequila still wearing off? She decided not to press on that. Not when everything felt so calm.

"As long as she's alright with it, sure." She did avert her eyes bashfully at the compliment, though. "Thanks. Her shiny fur is her pride and joy, so we have to maintain that upkeep, you know?"

 

[Seren]

"Of course! Thank you for asking!" she beamed. "And yes. We have a very specific brushing routine for it!"

"As long as she's alright with it, sure." She did avert her eyes bashfully at the compliment, though. "Thanks. Her shiny fur is her pride and joy, so we have to maintain that upkeep, you know?"

Kimiko didn't need to understand the sylveon to recognize a yes. She happily reached out to scratch Enora behind the ear. "So cute and so soft! Aren't you well cared for! You're one lucky pokemon!"

"Spii!" Olivia cried, butting her head into her trainer's other hand.

With a grin and a playful roll of her eyes, Kimiko scratched her espeon, too. "Yes, you're very pretty too, but you have all night to get pampered. Let's share the spotlight for now, shall we?"

She then looked back up at the trainer. "Naturally! I mean, I've seen a shiny once before, but yours sparkles in such unique fashion! It's obvious how much you care for her. How do you keep it so soft? She's like a pillow! I could fall asleep right here. ...Not that I would, of course."

 

[AbraPunk]

Nico remained near Wes, watching him, or more specifically the wisp, making sure it didn't flare up again. Every so often, he would steal glances over at Merian's jaunt through the room. He supposed nothing bad could happen from it--

--

Merian was so caught up in the sheer thrill of being able to run around everywhere and trying to not get caught that he lost focus for just a moment and crashed headfirst into a chair. Dazed, he quickly shook himself to regain his bearings.

"Oof... sorry about tha--" He had looked up to the person sitting in the chair to apologize, but paled when he realized he had crashed right into the impostor. Merian made an odd sort of squawking noise and scrambled away.

--

Wes saw Merian rushing back over, and quickly knelt to check on him. "Hey, hey, woah, calm down. What happened?" When Merian simply turned his head in the direction he'd come from, Wes followed his gaze and saw the knife-stealing bastard sitting there.

"Oh. That son of a bitch." He drew back his lips, exposing his teeth, the way his partners sometimes did... come to think of it, he had adopted a few 'feral' tendencies, as some assholes had been so kind to tell him a few years back.

Thankfully, his bandana hid his snarling, otherwise he definitely would have gotten some strange looks right about now. Not that he cared what 'people' thought about him.

He shook his head slowly and sighed, muttering to his partners, "Don't worry. We'll make him pay."

 

[Hanafuda]

Wallace smiled. Gosh, if only Winona was here. She loved birds, and if she could see two talking birds, she would be over the moon. Maybe there were other birds around.

...Would Winona be handling this situation better?

View attachment 3018
"My wife is a Flying type user, and she considers herself one with the bird Pokémon. Perhaps that's given me a certain affinity for them."

He gave a dramatic, perfect bow.

View attachment 3017
("Am I your favorite?")

View attachment 3019
"Oh come now, Victoria! I don't have favorites! You all mean so much to me. Though you were my first Pokémon, and we've seen many trials and tribulations together."

View attachment 3020
("Yes, we sure have...")

Victoria shook her head.

View attachment 3021
("But come on, I am your favorite.")

View attachment 3022
"Not again, Victoria..."

“Wife?” Seb looked confused. “I never knew you were married, mister Wallace.” He looked down, lost in thought. Did the media even mention Wallace being married? Wait, ‘one with the birds’? He heard something like that from one of the Gym Leaders in Hoenn. Maybe he was mixing it up with ‘one with the sky’? “Winona, right?” Wait, he missed something. He looked back up, still confused. “Uh, I don’t know if I was hallucinating, mister Wallace, but were you actually talking with your Milotic? Victoria, was it?”

 

[IFBench]

A Tropius trotted in, a small Oshawott on her back, holding tightly onto one of her wings. The Tropius talked to the Oshawott as she walked, "It's ok, Gen, it's ok. We're back together again, you're not alone anymore!"

"Th-thanks, Coleane," the Oshawott said, smiling a bit, before his eyes widened as he saw the banquet before him. So many different kinds of cuisine, both from his home region of Johto and across the world, all spread across a giant table. It was enough to make his mouth water.

He only wished he could have had a hand in preparing it all.

"FRUIT!" Coleane exclaimed, rushing right past all the exquisitely prepared meals, and sticking her snout into a bowl of fruit. Gen giggled from atop her back, before scanning the table for something to eat. He might as well have something exotic while he was here. Maybe he'd have one of those "hamburgers" he heard Unovans love.

As he searched for a Wott-sized burger, he saw just how diverse the crowd was. There was Blue, one of the Kanto gym leaders, Steven Stone, champion of Hoenn, Wallace, his friend, a Weavile in a lab coat, the doppelgangers who were fighting earlier, and...was that Odette? Another person here he recognized?

As Coleane stuffed her maw with fruit, Gen waved over at one of the nearby humans, and said, "Um, h-hi!"

 

[Hanafuda]

"We haven't been for very long, about a few months or so." He laughed softly. "She's a wonderful lady, and now... she's mine."



View attachment 3024
"Doesn't the name just ring like music? Doesn't her face bring angels to mind? Isn't she the kindest, most wonderful woman you've ever known?" He held up his hand, the hand where he wore his wedding ring. "I'm the luckiest person alive."




"...she's so kind, to strangers and loved ones alike. She has wisdom beyond..."

View attachment 3025
("I don't think Wallace would have social skills if he didn't ever talk to me.")

Seb stared in confusion as Wallace talked. He did not expect to be overwhelmed by his non-stop chattering, much less the fact that he could understand Poké-speak. Was Wallace always like this?

“He’s certainly extravagant,” Jack told Victoria. There was a bit of worry in his face as he witnessed the conversation between the humans.

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven was towards the back of the group when they disembarked from the ship. Wearily, he eyed the setting sun. It was well into the afternoon when he had left Hoenn, only to arrive at this mysterious location at dawn. It made for a long day. He had to hide a yawn as the concierge took his suitcase at the dock.

Which was why when their hostess pointed the way toward the extravagant manor, Steven hung back, pausing to take in the island from the beach.

A moment of peace was what he needed.

They had only made it a few paces down the beach when Aggron's snout went skyward, and he began to sniff the air.

Steven followed his partner's gaze toward the nearby forest just as his own stomach rumbled.

"Ah, berry trees."

Aggron hesitated just a moment before Steven tipped his head toward the trees.

"I'm sure our host won't mind," he said. "Especially if he isn't bothered after what we did to his boat," he muttered once his partner had happily bounded out of earshot.

It didn't take long for Aggron to pick his fill, and together they walked up the path to the manor, arms laden with their berry haul.

Inside, the splendor was about what Steven had expected given the extravagance of the boat and the invite itself. There was a buzz of quiet conversation as the main hall was already filling up with hungry trainers and their pokemon.

Steven's stomach rumbled again as he caught a whiff of the buffet, and Aggron gave him a sidelong glance.

"Ah, yes, well," Steven began sheepishly, "why don't you find us a table and I'll grab a plate and join you."

Aggron huffed an affirmative and shuffled towards the tables near the edge of the room, but not before sending one meaningful look back over his shoulder.

"I know, I know. If there's curry I'll bring you a dish."

Steven shook his head with a smile as he headed down the buffet line. Ever since their last trip to Galar, Aggron had been obsessed with the stuff. It was probably his penchant for spicy things.

With a plate of food (and a side bowl of curry), Steven made his way over to where Aggron had curled up at the side of an empty table. Steven hated to admit it, but he was grateful. He was too tied to entertain much conversation tonight. As soon as he sat down, his overtiredness turned to exhaustion. Aggron had deposited his armful of berries and was already happily munching away, but Steven hardly had the energy to do more than pick at his food.

He would need to turn in as soon as dinner was over if he had any hope of waking up early for a morning hike. (He'd seen that mountain peeking up overtop the island.)

Absentmindedly he placed a hand on one of Aggron's horns as he chowed down. He could feel his partner's satisfied rumble vibrate up through the metal. He couldn't stop his own smile from forming.

This was what he needed. A nice quiet dinner and a good night's rest.

 

[ShiniGojira]

He let out a low whistle, glancing around and taking in the view. The sight of so many people all of which looked rather important, made him feel like he was way out of his league.

He could see some familiar faces here and there, the Tropius, the Weavile and the girl (which he just realised he never got the name of), and a few others he recognised, the champion from Hoenn Steven... Steel? A vaguely familiar green-haired guy and–

"Woah," he murmured, his eyes widening. "That's Blue."

"Blue?"

"Red's rival. Bloody cool guy. Blue mothertruckin' Oak. He was a champion for a whopping ten seconds... depending on how long it would take to beat the game."

"Okay..." She spoke, slowly. She knew where this was going. "... you gonna bug him for an autograph or something?"

"Naked? Hell no!" He shook his head. "I'm gonna see if I can find something to cover myself and if not... Pixels probably wouldn't mind if I use one of her scarfs."

And with that, the teen sprinted away, leaving her alone.

She stood there for a moment, the mindless chatter sounding around her as she stared at the retreating figure of the Charmander. She blinked before turning towards the banquet. Welp, if her idiot of a trainer was gonna embarrass himself then she was gonna have a splendid time watching it.

She could go for a good salad and maybe whatever those fruits that Coleane was chomping down on too.

Yeah, things felt pretty fine as she took the closest seat nearby, next to a silver-haired man patting an Aggron and began munching on her meal.

 

[kyeugh]

Steven was towards the back of the group when they disembarked from the ship. Wearily, he eyed the setting sun. It was well into the afternoon when he had left Hoenn, only to arrive at this mysterious location at dawn. It made for a long day. He had to hide a yawn as the concierge took his suitcase at the dock.

Which was why when their hostess pointed the way toward the extravagant manor, Steven hung back, pausing to take in the island from the beach.

A moment of peace was what he needed.

They had only made it a few paces down the beach when Aggron's snout went skyward, and he began to sniff the air.

Steven followed his partner's gaze toward the nearby forest just as his own stomach rumbled.

"Ah, berry trees."

Aggron hesitated just a moment before Steven tipped his head toward the trees.

"I'm sure our host won't mind," he said. "Especially if he isn't bothered after what we did to his boat," he muttered once his partner had happily bounded out of earshot.

It didn't take long for Aggron to pick his fill, and together they walked up the path to the manor, arms laden with their berry haul.

Inside, the splendor was about what Steven had expected given the extravagance of the boat and the invite itself. There was a buzz of quiet conversation as the main hall was already filling up with hungry trainers and their pokemon.

Steven's stomach rumbled again as he caught a whiff of the buffet, and Aggron gave him a sidelong glance.

"Ah, yes, well," Steven began sheepishly, "why don't you find us a table and I'll grab a plate and join you."

Aggron huffed an affirmative and shuffled towards the tables near the edge of the room, but not before sending one meaningful look back over his shoulder.

"I know, I know. If there's curry I'll bring you a dish."

Steven shook his head with a smile as he headed down the buffet line. Ever since their last trip to Galar, Aggron had been obsessed with the stuff. It was probably his penchant for spicy things.

With a plate of food (and a side bowl of curry), Steven made his way over to where Aggron had curled up at the side of an empty table. Steven hated to admit it, but he was grateful. He was too tied to entertain much conversation tonight. As soon as he sat down, his overtiredness turned to exhaustion. Aggron had deposited his armful of berries and was already happily munching away, but Steven hardly had the energy to do more than pick at his food.

He would need to turn in as soon as dinner was over if he had any hope of waking up early for a morning hike. (He'd seen that mountain peeking up overtop the island.)

Absentmindedly he placed a hand on one of Aggron's horns as he chowed down. He could feel his partner's satisfied rumble vibrate up through the metal. He couldn't stop his own smile from forming.

This was what he needed. A nice quiet dinner and a good night's rest.

Prim shoves open the front door of the grand hall, her eyes widening in shock as she's immediately accosted by powerful scents of masterfully prepared food. The room is a lot to take in at once. All varieties of humans and their pokémon, including many that boggled Prim's imagination, are milling about so many finely-covered tables, flanked on either side by seemingly endless stretches of buffets of covered in silver dishes of steaming, aromatic food. She scarcely believes even the king of Kalos himself could have prepared such an extravagant banquet. Certainly she's never witnessed such opulence.

Her first thought is that, as she'd suspected based on the luxurious trip here, there is no way this is a "vacation" or a "celebration of their special bonds" or any similar sort of sentimental bullshit. No one would feed a group of humans and their ravenous pokémon like emperors out of the goodness of their heart. No, they were on the hook for something big. Now it was just a matter of finding out what. Maybe it wasn't too late to find a way out of here.

Her second thought is that she was very wise indeed to have left Princess behind at their lodging. It was hard to imagine the depths of debauchery and barbarism that would no doubt result from bringing her along to this room full of lovely food and exciting pokémon.

"I don't trust this," Ferry says, but his tail is wagging low to the ground.

"Me either," Prim says. "Let's be careful. Watch the auras and let me know if you spot anything that bothers you."

Ferry nods but remains at her side, standing dutifully with his arms behind his back. Prim sighs and rolls her eyes. "You can go get food."

His ears perk up and he takes off, leaving Prim alone in the massive doorway. Felt nice not to have to duck past it. She rolls her shoulders and moves on, looking for a good place to sit—she'd get her food once Ferry returned and they'd secured their spots. Her eyes zigzag across the room in search of someone who doesn't look like they'll cause any fucking problems. She'd learned her lesson well enough at the bar yesterday. These "pokémon trainer" sorts could be frightening, volatile, even supernatural people. Best to stick to the fringes and avoid getting caught up in any more stupid drama. The way Amara had squinted at her earlier when warning against conflict had not gone unnoticed.

A massive silver dragon catches her eye. He's towering over the table, chowing happily on a bowl of curry as if it's the only thing in the world. She wonders who could have possibly tamed such a fearsome creature and finds her answer sitting next to it; a slight man with white hair and a gentle expression, his gaze distant as he prods uselessly at his food with his fork.

Seriously? That guy tamed that thing? She has to be twice his size and close to double his age and she had trouble keeping her damn lucario in line. Intrigued, she makes her way toward him. Perhaps she can learn a thing or two.

The silverware on the table clatters a little as she dumps herself into a chair across from Steven. "I'm Prim," she says. She smooths the tablecloth a little, then picks up a fork and gestures at the aggron with it. "Is this dragon yours? I have to hear this story."

 

[HelloYellow17]

She slowly approached the table, but was quick to realize that the guy in question was...well, one of the twins that were fighting. She hadn't seen much of the whole battle, being that she was caught up in her own mess of problems, but she was overcome with a brief sense of wariness. But, Enora was pretty adamant that he'd been very nice to her, and that was good enough for Odette.

"Uh, hi," she greeted with a half wave. "Sorry to bother you guys while you're eating, but I think you're the ones who sent my Sylveon friend on her bacon kick." She laughed ever so slightly as she said that. "So I just wanted to say thanks for slipping her a bite. I owe you. And she's absolutely distraught that she didn't catch your names."

She allowed herself to steal a look at the Umbreon and Espeon, but her curiosity made her turn her head entirely. Gods, they were such beautiful Pokemon.

"Good choice in partners. Magical type Eons are the best. I swear they don't get enough credit over Flareon or Jolteon or Vaporeon though, which is criminal."

It took a moment for Wes to realize this girl was talking to him. It wasn’t often that people just walked up to start a conversation with him—not that he was complaining. He rather preferred it that way, and the fact that someone was interrupting the first moment of peace he’d had all day gave him a prickle of irritation—until he saw the frilly blue Pokémon trotting alongside the girl.

Oh.

He sighed. Figures. He should have known that befriending a Pokémon could lead to them dragging over their trainer. Well, fine, he supposed he could humor her for a little while.

“Ah, thanks,” he said stiffly at her compliment. “Yours is a…Sylveon? It’s my first time seeing one. She’s very cute. Probably better behaved than these guys.” He nudged Novo, who sat to his right, with a small, playful grin. Novo looked up from his plate just long enough to snort at him, sporting a completely grease-smeared muzzle, before burying his face back into his food.

On his other side, Neo burped loudly.

Point proven.

“This is Neo, and this is Novo,” he said. “And, uh. You can call me Wes.” It always felt so odd to share his name with people, as if he had given away too much information about himself. He shifted in his seat and cleared his throat before glancing back up at her, and—wow, damn. He didn’t need to look up very much at all. Just how short was this kid? He would have guessed she was a child, but height aside, she didn’t really look like one. Her height could even give Rui a run for her money—

The thought made his chest tighten. No, no, no. Don’t go there. Don’t think about that. Don’t think about her.

The girl sat down at a seat across from him, and Wes realized he hadn’t asked her name. “Right…yeah, um. Your name?”

Gods. Small talk never got easier.

"Um, excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt... Olivia here wanted to say hello. And honestly, so did I." She knelt down next to Olivia, her attention on the other espeon and umbreon, but her comments directed at their trainer. "These two are cute! Are they brothers? Oh, and by the way... I'm sorry for back there on the boat, I just.. are you sure you're okay?"

Someone else was approaching them now—approaching him. Why the hell was this table getting so crowded already? Had he somehow picked the best seating spot without realizing it?

Wes then realized it was the girl from the boat—the one who had checked on him in the aftermath of the chaos. Part of him felt a little guilty for snapping at her earlier, yet there still remained a feeling of annoyance. Though maybe the latter was just from having his dinner interrupted a second time.

“I’m fine. I guess. You know, as fine as I can be after being chased by a homicidal maniac.” Dammit, he really should have tried harder to keep the snark out of his voice. In a feeble attempt at recovery, he nodded at her Espeon, who was already chattering at Neo. “Got a good Pokémon there. I think Neo was excited to meet her earlier.”

"Espiiiii!!" Olivia purred at Neo. Hi again! Miss us?!

Hmm? Was someone talking to him?

Neo raised his head from his plate and—oh! The other Espeon from earlier! He hadn’t gotten to interact with her much. He purred and flicked his tail by way of greeting. Hello!

Novo, meanwhile, had his attention…elsewhere. After finally slowing down a bit in his quest to decimate the food in front of him, he realized that dainty little Eevee was back, this time with her trainer, and she was sitting directly across from him. Now that he wasn’t so occupied with hunger, he could get a better look at her.

He couldn’t help but admire the sheen of her blue coat. Even her movements were poised and graceful, not like any Pokémon he’d ever seen before. Novo absentmindedly licked the grease from his muzzle and continued to stare, utterly mesmerized.

 

[Hanafuda]

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("They certainly are.") There wasn't malice in her voice, just genuine love. ("I wouldn't trade them for anything.")

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"...She's the most supportive woman I've ever met. She's been there for my highs and lows, my triumphs and defeats, my—"

("Hey Wallace, is that Steven?")

Wallace stopped and looked over at where Victoria was pointing. Sure enough, Steven was sitting at a table, along with a tall, muscular woman.

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"You must think I'm stupid if you want me to go up and talk to them," he whispered. "Besides, he's talking to someone."

He turned back to his audience of three, who looked mixed parts confused and worries. "Ah, láthos mou. Don't worry about me. I'm just talking to myself."

Once Wallace calmed down from his ramblings, Seb spoke again. “No problem. But…” He looked down for a moment in thought. Wallace, married to Winona? And he didn’t remember Sootopolis’ Gym Leader being prone to go on tangents. He usually talked about beauty. Even so, Seb was sure he was talking with Wallace, and that fact didn’t make his excitement die down that much. “Could you be a different Wallace?”

“Oh, get ready, Victoria,” Jack told the Milotic. “This is one of Seb’s favorite topics.”

Seb looked back up at Wallace. “I’ve always believed in the existence of a multiverse. Are you familiar with that, mister Wallace?”

 

[Sinderella]

“Ah, thanks,” he said stiffly at her compliment. “Yours is a…Sylveon? It’s my first time seeing one. She’s very cute. Probably better behaved than these guys.” He nudged Novo, who sat to his right, with a small, playful grin. Novo looked up from his plate just long enough to snort at him, sporting a completely grease-smeared muzzle, before burying his face back into his food.

On his other side, Neo burped loudly.

Point proven.

“This is Neo, and this is Novo,” he said. “And, uh. You can call me Wes.” It always felt so odd to share his name with people, as if he had given away too much information about himself. He shifted in his seat and cleared his throat before glancing back up at her, and—wow, damn. He didn’t need to look up very much at all. Just how short was this kid? He would have guessed she was a child, but height aside, she didn’t really look like one. Her height could even give Rui a run for her money—

The thought made his chest tighten. No, no, no. Don’t go there. Don’t think about that. Don’t think about her.

The girl sat down at a seat across from him, and Wes realized he hadn’t asked her name. “Right…yeah, um. Your name?”

She could plainly see that he was slightly irked by being interrupted, and she supposed she understood. Perhaps it could have waited, but she also didn't want to see Enora so mopey because she acted out of line (at least, for herself). So, she'd put up with raining on this guy's dinner for a few minutes for Enora's sake.

"Yeah, she's a Sylveon. They're native to Kalos, so I'm not necessarily surprised that you've never seen one."

She did snicker some at the Umbreon and Espeon's responses.


"They should really say excuse me."


"Enora's a bit of a priss, so she prides herself on her manners. Been like that since I was kid. But your partners seem like they would get along swimmingly with my Mimikyu, though."

Ah, and then she got names. Neo and Novo, how absolutely adorable. Very fitting. And the man's name was Wes. Huh.

The more the looked at him, beholding his light hair and trench coat (that the weather obviously did not call for), the more Guzma vibes she got.

Yeah. Maybe this guy was a delinquent at some point. He gave off that same kind of energy. Weirdly enough, the familiarity of it was soothing.

"Oh, ah, I apologize," she said when he asked for her name. "I'm Odette. And, I suppose you already met, but this is Enora."


"Hello again!"

She then looked back up at the trainer. "Naturally! I mean, I've seen a shiny once before, but yours sparkles in such unique fashion! It's obvious how much you care for her. How do you keep it so soft? She's like a pillow! I could fall asleep right here. ...Not that I would, of course."

Thank gods. Truly, thank gods. She could really just sit here and have a meaningful conversation about Eons and their coats and not about anything demonic. Some warm fuzz began to take hold in her heart as this woman gushed about Enora's coat. While she deserved no reward, because it was common decency, it WAS pretty nice to be reminded by an unbiased party that she really took care of her Pokemon. Because she did. It was one of her top priorities. And surely Enora was drinking this up like sweet ambrosia of the damn gods.

"I really appreciate that," she said. "I have a really intensive skincare routine myself, and Enora decided to copy me when she was an Eevee."


She pursed her lips in thought. "She usually bathes once a day, but she only uses shampoo about three times a week. It's some strong Kee Berry based crap that really brings out the shine, but using too much can have an opposite effect. But on the off days, we do a Spelon fur and skin treatment, because good fur care actually starts at the skin, not the actual fur itself. And Spelon is good for lifting impurities off of furry 'mon and really bringing out that natural glow. She also uses some of my under eye pads because you wouldn't believe how badly eye bags show under fur. It's crazy."


She looked down at Enora. "Then...how many times do you brush?"


"Twice down my tendrils, five times on each ear, and twenty on the rest of my body. With a rubber brush. Wire doesn't work on short hair varieties."


"Right."

As Coleane stuffed her maw with fruit, Gen waved over at one of the nearby humans, and said, "Um, h-hi!"

She stiffened at the sound of yet another familiar-ish voice. Blinking a few times, she turned to look over her shoulder, and was minutely surprised to see Gen. Right, that was his name right? With a Tropius no less.

Wild. But, this was a multiverse game. She'd seen giant worms that tried to eat her and met different versions of her own friends. This was nothing.

She returned his greeting with a lazy yet friendly salute, pairing it with her signature half smile.

 

[Hanafuda]

Jack, heeding Victoria’s advice, poked Seb on his leg to get his attention. He moved a wing up and down.

“Yeah, you’re right, maybe I was shoving my likes at him,” Seb said, a bit downcast. “Guess I just tried to hear what I wanted…” He adjusted his glasses and turned back to Wallace. “Okay, some history about your universe would be nice.”

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Gladion skulked into the banquet hall once everyone else had settled. He almost went straight for his room, since he had already eaten in the evening back home, but he had an idea. He found some unattended pastries, wrapped them in a napkin so they wouldn’t make a mess, and put them in his bag before turning towards his room.

Why not take the chance to give Hazel a treat, after all?

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

A massive silver dragon catches her eye. He's towering over the table, chowing happily on a bowl of curry as if it's the only thing in the world. She wonders who could have possibly tamed such a fearsome creature and finds her answer sitting next to it; a slight man with white hair and a gentle expression, his gaze distant as he prods uselessly at his food with his fork.

Seriously? That guy tamed that thing? She has to be twice his size and close to double his age and she had trouble keeping her damn lucario in line. Intrigued, she makes her way toward him. Perhaps she can learn a thing or two.

The silverware on the table clatters a little as she dumps herself into a chair across from Steven. "I'm Prim," she says. She smooths the tablecloth a little, then picks up a fork and gestures at the aggron with it. "Is this dragon yours? I have to hear this story."

Steven jumps as someone makes their presence known at the table, and he realizes he's been spacing out into his salad. He blinks several times to find himself staring across the table at a woman who would put Bruno's stature to shame. He's so startled he only catches part of what she says.

"Oh, dragon? No, you might be thinking of Lance. Aggron here is a steel type." He fondly patted the armor at Aggron's neck to emphasize the point. But when she only stared back at him in reply, Steven drew his hand back, adjusting his cravat to fill the silence. "You know, like Steelix, Bastiodon, Metagross..." He trailed off awkwardly.

Feeling Steven's touch disappear, Aggron downed the rest of his curry and sat upright, now aware that he was the topic of conversation for some reason. First he spotted the woman who was much closer to his eye level than any human Aggron had met before. Then he noticed another pair of eyes peeking at him from across the table, but these ones belonged to a fluffy pokemon that sort of looked like the Mightyena he met earlier, but was brown instead. Aggron rumbled quietly and pulled his berry stash a bit closer.

Steven coughed into his napkin, trying to figure out why this woman was still just staring at him, and not in the usual way he attracted stares when he went out in public. "Uh, Prim, was it? You wanted to know about how Aggron and I met?"

More silence, but the way she leaned in in her seat every so slightly told Steven he was on the right track. Inwardly, he sighed in relief.

Beside him, Aggron was paying rapt attention to the conversation now, the glint of a smirk in his eye as if to say, "Oh yes, Steven, go on. Tell her how we met." Steven wished his partner didn't look so smug.

"Yes, well, Aggron and I have been together a long time; nearly eleven years now. We met when, ah, let's just say I might not be here to tell the tale if it weren't for him. He found me when I had fallen in a cave and guided me back to the surface, and he's been with me ever since."

Aggron continued to look incredibly smug, nodding along to corroborate the story.

Suddenly, Steven looked a bit solemn, as if remembering something he'd rather have forgotten. "There's a little more to the story than that..." but that's the basic gist of it." But the mood was gone in an instant, and Steven's expression brightened back up with a warm smile. "So you could say I was rather lucky to have met my partner. Or unlucky, depending on how you look at it."

 

[Seren]

Wes then realized it was the girl from the boat—the one who had checked on him in the aftermath of the chaos. Part of him felt a little guilty for snapping at her earlier, yet there still remained a feeling of annoyance. Though maybe the latter was just from having his dinner interrupted a second time.

“I’m fine. I guess. You know, as fine as I can be after being chased by a homicidal maniac.” Dammit, he really should have tried harder to keep the snark out of his voice. In a feeble attempt at recovery, he nodded at her Espeon, who was already chattering at Neo. “Got a good Pokémon there. I think Neo was excited to meet her earlier.”
Neo raised his head from his plate and—oh! The other Espeon from earlier! He hadn’t gotten to interact with her much. He purred and flicked his tail by way of greeting. Hello!

Huh. He seemed a little irritated. Maybe she shouldn’t have reminded him of that. She kicked idly at the ground, unsure whether to continue. Well, she’d already barged in on them... maybe she should just let it drop and focus on a different topic. “Oh, that’s Olivia! Yes, she was very excited to meet - Neo, was it? - back at the pool.” Then, with sudden realization, “Oh, and I’m Kimiko. It’s not often we’ve met another espeon. And both of yours seem very well trained! They handled themselves well in that chaos, almost like they’ve done it before.” She smiled down at them, only to realize Olivia was sniffing at Neo’s bacon plate. She should probably get her own food…

View attachment 3030
Thank gods. Truly, thank gods. She could really just sit here and have a meaningful conversation about Eons and their coats and not about anything demonic. Some warm fuzz began to take hold in her heart as this woman gushed about Enora's coat. While she deserved no reward, because it was common decency, it WAS pretty nice to be reminded by an unbiased party that she really took care of her Pokemon. Because she did. It was one of her top priorities. And surely Enora was drinking this up like sweet ambrosia of the damn gods.

"I really appreciate that," she said. "I have a really intensive skincare routine myself, and Enora decided to copy me when she was an Eevee."

Kimiko listened intently as Odette -she’d overheard her telling the other boy her name - described Enora’s routine in great detail. “I’m gonna need you to write that down for me at some point,” she laughed. And then, “actually, believe it or not, this is all far outside my area of expertise. Would something similar work for an espeon?”

With another quick glance down at Olivia and Neo, she asked, “Um… would either of you mind if I joined you? You know, for dinner, I mean.”