I stayed in the bathroom longer than I anticipated because by the time I stepped out, Raihan was coming through the door, Piers not too far behind him much to everyone's surprise. I let the men do their talking as I set the table and put the finishing touches on dinner. Once Nessa comes through the door I put out the food before calling everyone to the table. Nessa and Piers take a seat on one side of the table with Nessa sitting closer to me as Leon and Raihan take the other with Leon sitting closest to me. I stand at the head of the table in front of my seat as I start to dish out the food.

"Fair warning." I start pointing my cutting knife at each person, "There will be no talk of politics at the table." I warn. The guests nod their heads in agreement, I smile at them flawlessly before sitting down in my chair. "So if not politics then drama. Leon, Piers, Raihan, did ya know (y/n) used to host the most raging parties to ever hit Kalos?" she giggles, I suck in a harsh breath before sinking down into my chair and using one hand to rest on my forehead while covering my eyes.

"Ya don't say," Raihan purrs, "Planned them all herself too, before she gets plastered and black out drunk." She continues. "Leon, be a dear and hand me that bottle of wine." I mumble, not even bothering to look up at the rest of the table. "How about I just pour you a cup." He chuckles, "And draw out my misery for your pleasure? I didn't know you were a sadist." I scoff bitterly. "I'd like to believe I'm more of an intense lover," He muses as I hear the bottle pop and the trickle of pouring wine.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." I muse, "Hold on! Hold on!" Raihan calls out waving his fork at us. "Leon never talks about his sex life! What makes her so special?" He calls, "You mean other than the fact I called him out for what he is." I snort, "More like the fact I take partial offence because it's the farthest from the truth." Leon butts in. I let out a doubtful hum and made a move to finally dig into my food.

"This is gettin' good." Raihan giggles, I look over the table. "Piers, any commentary?" I sigh out. "None from me, I'm just enjoyin' the show." He chuckles, I mutter a curse on the edge of my cup before I sip on it. "What was that (y/n)?" Leon chuckles, "That Leon nearly walked into the FTEP banquet with his fly open." I chime with nothing short of a flawless show smile. Leon's cheeks flush red as Raihan chokes on whatever he had in his mouth while Nessa and Piers crackle like Nikkits.

"That's dirty," He huffs, I simply shrug with a smirk tugging on my lips. "Tell me about your music Piers, do you travel and perform or are you just trying to stay local?" I question, steering the conversation away from anymore embarrassment. "I'm just tryin' to stay local. Got a baby sister that needs lookin' after." Piers answers, "No kiddin' especially with Rose out in'bout." Raihan grumbles. I clear my throat and shoot Raihan a warning glare, "Then I guess my next trip will be Spikemuth, I'd love to see you live. Maybe after you can show me some local clubs. As I'm sure you've learned, I love a good party." I laugh leaning back in my chair. "Be my Pleasure. My sister will be stoked to meet the Poké Queen of Kalos." He smirks, my eyes widen at the title. "Poké Queen?" Leon questions. "I had no idea you followed such elite competitions." I muse, "Most find it boring." I mumble. "I don't, but my sister loves it." Piers snorts. "How old is she?" I ask, lifting an eyebrow, "Ten, just that age for the gym challenge." He grunts sipping on his wine.

"Why would someone so young be interested in competitions like that?" I scoff, "Says the winner." Nessa butts in with a mouth full of food. "Is anyone going to explain to us what it means to be Poké Queen and why the competition is so bad?" Leon cuts in, "In Kalos competing in Poké Pageants is an alternate for the Gym Challenge. Both extremely popular industries and coming of age ceremonies." I start, "Like the battle tower here, the more competitions you win the higher the rank you earn, if you rank high enough you can compete in more elite competitions which will lead to more opportunities. The Pokémon Royal competition is a very old and very elite competition. It's a region wide event, but only rank gold and above can enter. The whole thing is more or less the equivalent of battling for champion." I explain thoughtlessly as I swirl the wine in my glass.

"If you win, you're crowned Poké Queen or King of that region and awarded Diamond Rank, you continue to hold that title until you are dethroned. Unlike the Gym Challenge, if the Poké Queen or King can hold their title for six years or more they have the opportunity to 'retire' with their title intact." I scoff using quotation marks around my stressed words. "There's only one other competition higher than the Pokémon Royal and it's the Poké Universe. You have to be Diamond rank to enter. " Nessa pipes up.

"Okay, so you managed to win the Pokémon Royal in Kalos?" Leon questions, "I was the fiftieth Poké Queen of Kalos, and the fifth to retire. I was sixteen when I won, the youngest ever, and reigned six years exactly before I retired. Meaning that in the industry they'd still address me by Poké Queen (y/n)." I sigh, "What if you were dethroned?" Raihan questions. "I'd still have my diamond rank but I'd be referred to as Archduchess." I answer before taking a bite of my food. "I'm pretty sure I was succeeded by a Poké King. Not sure who though." I mumble in thought before chewing on some of my food.

"What makes this competition so bad?" Raihan scoffs, "It's a ten stage competition. Everything from interviews to performances. The hardest stage for me was the ballroom dancing because your partner affects your score." I recall. "I remember that! You called in a favor for that didn't you!" Nessa calls, "Yes," I nod. "Who was it again?" She grins like a Meowth, "Steven Stone." I hiss. "You did ballroom dancing with Steven Stone?" Raihan gaps, "I wanted to win." I shrug. "But the only thing I got out of it was a one up on Diantha." I snort, "The Champion Diantha?" Piers questions, "That one. Yeah." I grumble. "Woah. I sense tension." Raihan grins viciously, "Her and (y/n) had a bit of a rivalry." Nessa comments.

"Champion Diantha and I were often pitted against each other. I represented Poké Pageants and Diantha represented the Gym Challenge. The two were often tied in popularity so we were used to prove which was better. We knit picked every little thing about each other. So when I found out Diantha was Grand Duchess at the Battle Chateau, I wanted to win the Pokémon Royal and gain a higher title." I laugh recalling how angry she was when I rubbed it in her face.

"What Happened? Sounds like you had it pretty good back in Kalos?" Piers questions. The table went quiet but a small smile remained on my face, "I got tired. I was tired of being someone I didn't enjoy being and the life I had to maintain. So I decided I would leave and be the person I wanted to be." I smile before sipping on my wine. "And do you enjoy being that person?" Leon questions, "I do very much." I smile brightly.

"Did you know (y/n) had a catch phrase?" Nessa chimes in, attempting to clear the air. "Really?" Leon brightens, "But it's nothing like yours." I snort, "What's wrong with mine?" He questions lifting his eyebrow, "Nothing. It's cute." I shrug. "Okay then, what's yours?" He challenges, I pause on the edge of my glass, "Let me show you the stars." I answer before drinking what's left of my glass.

"That's pretty," Raihan hums, "I mean it's nothing like 'Let's have a Champion Time' but It's something. Mega evolution kinda requires it." I muse, "You can mega evolve!" Leon yelps standing from his chair. "Easy Champion," I laugh, "Easy? Did you go easy on me when we battled!" Leon demands. "Uh oh." Raihan mutters, "No. I didn't have my mega stone, and in case you didn't know you can't mega evolve without mega stones and I left mine in Kalos. You can't bring foreign energy sources like Mega stones into other regions without special permission and I was looking for a clean start. Mega Stones would only be one more string linking me back to Kalos." I grunt.

Leon stood there quietly before sitting back down in his chair, "If you ever decide to get them back, I demand a battle." He grumbles, crossing his arms. "Hopeful wishing dearest Champion, Hopeful wishing." I muse with a smirk at his pouting expression. "Well, I don't know about you guys but I gotta' baby sister that needs lookin' after so I'll be headin' out." Piers chimes standing from his seat, "Thanks for dinner and I'll be seein' you soon hopefully." He smirks before heading to the door.

I wave as he leaves, however Piers starts the wave of goodbyes after that. Raihan drags a reluctant Leon through the door saying he needs some help getting home. Nessa stays and helps clean up dinner. I offer her to stay the night but says she has a busy day tomorrow. So with everything clean, I get ready for bed knowing I had lots to do as well.

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