Lumiose City was busier than ever as opening day of the Lumiose Conference had finally arrived. Thousands of fans were flocking the stadium to get good seats for the preliminary rounds that were set to take place in a few short hours. The names of all sixty-four contestants were listed for everyone to see. The excitement seemed to only grow in intensity as fans learned that there would be an additional challenge for the victor of the Lumiose Conference to face. Some speculated that it would be the chance to battle Diantha which, to some, was the opportunity of a lifetime.

While more fans continued pouring into the stadium to secure seats, Seth and his friends were enjoying a massive breakfast at Le Yeah, courtesy of his mother who had gotten up early to prepare everything. She had insisted that everyone come to the restaurant as she wanted to show her support in the best way she knew how. Afterwards, everyone headed up to the stadium to prepare for the opening ceremony.

"You know, I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be up on this board, but here we are," Trevor said while looking up at his name among the list of contenders. "I just hope I don't have to face any of you in the first round."

"Awww, don't worry about it Trevs! I don't think that'll happen. The chances of that are completely random seeing as the pairings aren't decided beforehand. They're computer generated so there's a small chance that any of us will fight each other right off the bat," Tierno explained, hoping to ease his friend's concerns.

"That's a relief because I want us all to go as far as we can before that happens," Serena chimed in, her eyes shifting nervously over toward Seth who was staring up at the list. "You alright over there?"

Diverting his gaze from the list, Seth nodded. "Yeah... I'm okay. I guess I'm still preoccupied with everything that's happened this past month. But now that I'm here, I can finally put all that aside and focus on what really matters," Seth replied while adjusting his suit and tie.

All of the contenders participating in Allie's competition were given the choice to wear a suit, an option that all of them took to without hesitation. In Seth's pocket was a ring he'd bought just a week after the Team Flare incident.

According to the last announcement made by Allie, there's a special condition that needs to be met in order to approach Allie at the end of all this. She didn't tell anyone what it was so I guess I'll just have to battle my way to the finals to find out. Judging by the names on this list, I've got my work cut out for me, Seth thought as his eyes focused on the names of his friends as well as the others involved in Allie's competition.

Today was the day she'd been waiting for. After months of preparation, Allie was finally going to see her dream fulfilled. She could hardly contain her excitement. It had been a long time since she'd battled in the Lumiose Conference and she was itching to feel the thrill once again. It was going to be a test of patience to wait for one of the competitors to make it to the main event or at least as close as possible. None of them had to win the League, they just had to make it the farthest in the conference to meet the requirements to battle her. Until then, she would sit and wait in the stands with everyone else.

"This is it Furfrou," she said, reaching down to pet her freshly groomed canine friend. "At the end of today, I will meet the man I'll be spending the rest of my life with, in the arena. Just thinking about it is giving me chills," Allie giggled as she imagined a ring being slid onto her finger.

Furfrou nudged her leg and nodded toward the stairs that led toward the field. Looking up at the time, Allie realized that she needed to be ready to be called out there while the announcer was speaking, so that she could make her own announcement. Motioning for Furfrou to follow her, Allie made haste to get into position so she could be introduced. As she reached the top of the stairs and stood in the archway, she could hear the roar of the crowd as Diantha strode onto middle of the field wearing a microphone headset.

Standing beside her was a man with light brown hair and brown eyes. He was dressed in a burgundy suit with an olive green tie and wore glasses. The man turned on his headset and spread his arms wide as he addressed the crowd.

"Hello, and welcome to the Lumiose Conference, Kalos League Championships!" shouted the announcer, a grin spreading across his face as he heard the cheering of the fans all around him. "I know you are all probably as excited as I am about this year's competition, and you all have good reason to be. As you all know, trainers from all over Kalos gather here to battle it out for the championship title. This year will be no different, however, we have a little something else added into this year's competition to really liven things up a bit. Here to explain what I mean, is her royal highness, the one, the only, Princess Allie!"

Taking that as her cue, Allie waved the the crowd as the spotlight went up on her position. Cheering and whistling echoed through the stadium as she made her way toward the center of the field. Furfrou followed beside her, the Matron trim she'd gotten on full display as she walked. Allie was sporting a stylish black, waterfall trench that opened to reveal a white top that was tucked beneath a pair of belted purple shorts. She wore a pair of lavender thigh-high stockings and black boots that zipped up on the side. Her bright red tresses flowed over her shoulders and bounced with each step she took.

Adjusting her headset, she stood beside Diantha and cleared her throat and held up her hand to silence the crowd.

"Thank you sir, your introduction was most appreciated," Allie replied before turning to address the fans. "As most of you all are aware, there was a contest held this year by my family and I. This contest, as I'm sure you've heard, would decide who I would marry by the end of it. Now you might be wondering, what does this all have to do with the Lumiose Conference? For those of you that this concerns, listen carefully. This will be the final trial that you will have face. The rules are quite simple really. The one who makes it the farthest in the Lumiose Conference, wins. That's all there is to it," she said, smirking at the small fib she'd told at the end.

"With that, I'll hand things back over to the announcer and wish everyone good luck!" Allie exclaimed, blowing a kiss to the audience with both hands before making her exit.

"Let's give another big round of applause for Princess Allie!" The announcer shouted enthusiastically, drawing more excited cheers from the crowd as Allie walked off the field. "This year is really going to be something special. Now, here with me is our very own, Kalos League Champion, Diantha!" the announcer bellowed, gesturing to the distinguished woman beside him to cue another spotlight to be shone on her. "Diantha, would you be so kind as to explain the rules of this year's conference championships."

"I'd be more than happy to do so!" Diantha said, grinning as she turned to speak to the fans. "Good morning everyone, it is so good to see so many of you here for this year's event! We have sixty-four trainers competing this year and by the end of today one of them will be crowned the champion of this year's Lumiose Conference! Who knows, maybe one of the of you will walk away engaged as well," Diantha said smirking.

Silencing the crowd's cheers, Diantha continued on.

"The first round will be the preliminary rounds. All of you will be matched up at random and will battle whoever the computer decides is your opponent, in a three-on-three battle. These matches will continue until half of you have been eliminated. After that, there will be a brief intercession and then the preliminaries will continue until there are only eight trainers remaining. This will mark the start of the quarterfinals. Like the preliminaries, the quarterfinals will consist of three-on-three battles," Diantha stated, gesturing to the board as it lit up to show the proceedings.

"Once the quarterfinals finish, there will be four trainers remaining for the semifinals. The semifinals will consist of full battles, complete with field changes after three Pokémon on one side are deemed unable to battle. Once two trainers have been eliminated, the finals will begin where the same rules of engagement come into play. The winner of that battle will be declared the champion of the Lumiose Conference and will earn the right to enter the Kalos Champion League where they will have the honor of facing down the Elite Four and, should they make it past them, yours truly for a shot at becoming this region's new champion!"

A thuderous applause, followed by massive amounts of cheering, went up from the crowd at this declaration. Keeping the momentum going, Diantha finished up her speech with one final word of encouragement.

"So trainers, do you have what it takes to rise to the occasion and challenge Kalos's mightiest? If so, then give this everything you've got and show us just how strong you can be. Do your best and battle without regrets, regardless of the outcome! Good luck to everyone, I am excited to see how you all perform!" Diantha proclaimed, allowing the announcer to have the floor again.

"Doesn't that just get you excited folks!? Let's see which one of you will go the distance with our first matchups of the preliminaries!"

All eyes were on the board as the computer began to generate, at random, the pictures of each trainer entered into the championships onto the screen. Allie, who had made her way to her section of the stands, looked up in surprise to see the pairings that had been made. She had expected it to be interesting, but this was beyond what she'd expected this early on in the conference. The two trainers who would start things off were none other than Seth and Thomas.

"Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, let the Lumiose Conference Championships begin!"