I noticed that we got a few more people on board after the last chapter. Welcome! Here's the next one for you folks.


III

Serena

Garlic.

It just had to be garlic.

As she walked through the doors of the Breloom Diner, Serena was hit by a wave of aroma from that accursed spice. As if the hassle of dropping off her bags at Hotel Anistar for tonight's layover wasn't bad enough already, she had to deal with this too.

The Kalos native shrugged off the stench, mentally reminding herself not to order the copious amounts of breadsticks displayed on top of a nearby waiter's tray. She fiddled with her purse, making sure her Pokeballs remained safe inside. She knew her partners were getting angsty from being in there too long, but there had been little time over the last day or so to get them out. Perhaps she'd have a moment later to do some training or instigate a battle with an unsuspecting citizen in the Sundial District.

Serena navigated the hustle and bustle of the diner in search of Palermo and Dawn, briefly contemplating as to why she had become so clinical with her Pokemon. That sort of thought did not dwell with her often, but it occasionally snaked in whenever she checked the capsules in which her partners rested. Sure, she took them out fairly often, but not nearly as much as in years past. They stayed in their Pokeballs most of the time now, only coming out whenever their presence was requested.

"Hey! Sena!" hollered a familiar-looking bluenette, waving from a booth on the far side of the diner. The Kalos native perked up at the mention of her nickname, eyes alight at recognizing the sight and sound of her friend.

"Dawn!" she responded, shuffling through an array of tables and chattering patrons to get to the source of the outburst. She was rewarded soon enough as Dawn worked her way out of her seat, opening a pair of arms wide for a hug.

"Aw, finally! I missed you."

"I missed you too," Serena admitted, leaning into the embrace for several long seconds. After both parties were sufficiently satisfied, she disengaged herself from the conflagration of limbs and slid in accordance with her friend into the booth. They occupied one side, with none other than President Palermo herself being seated on the other.

The president of Pokemon Showcase Incorporated remained remarkably nonplussed as the exchange occurred, choosing to remain exactly where she was - her usual grace dominated the atmosphere as strongly as it did during the old days of her performances. It was something Serena greatly admired and was one of the major reasons why she decided to work for the woman. Dawn was in the same boat or else she wouldn't be currently grabbing a clipboard she had at her forefront, paying no heed to the president's wayward gaze.

Serena made herself comfortable and slid her purse under the table as Palermo smiled in approval. The woman folded her hands neatly, speaking up for the first time. "So good to finally see you, my dear. Right on schedule, hm?"

The Kalos native coughed. "Er, yeah. I came as fast as I could from Coumarine. The train had to stop a few times and the concierge at Hotel Anistar messed up my bags, so there were a few hiccups. But hey, I made it."

"Oh, are those the only reasons?" Dawn snarked, nudging Serena with her elbow. "Maybe you have more?"

"Only ones that matter," retorted the blonde, returning the gesture in full force. She couldn't help but shoot a glare at Dawn, who was presently trying to hide a snicker with the back of her hand. Even May was better at covering up whatever depravity she could think of in those situations.

Palermo was obviously bemused by the display. "Have anything to share with us, Serena?"

The golden-haired performer shook her head furiously. "No! It's nothing. Trust me, not important. All that matters is that I pulled out a win last night."

"Oh, there was a pullout?" teased the bluenette.

"Dawn, I swear-"

"Well done, my dear," congratulated the president whilst Serena explored her options on how best to murder Dawn, "I had the opportunity to catch some of the highlights this afternoon. You won quite handily, I must admit. Not as clean as you would have liked, though, no?"

"Pretty much. The dance routine I was doing with Delphox seemed to go okay, but we punted a bit at the end there," admitted Serena, picking up and browsing through a menu sprawled on the table. "I don't think the judges noticed at all or I wouldn't have squeaked by Dina to get first."

"Dina... she's the girl from Snowbelle City, right?" Dawn inquired, flipping through a stack of pages on her clipboard. "Saw her reel montage from the Fleurrh Showcase. A lot of potential there, that's for sure."

Serena allowed herself to relax as she continued to explore menu options, reflecting back on her encounter with the young woman. "Not even sure if that's the half of it. She oozes talent. Wouldn't be surprised to see her become Kalos Queen someday."

"You mean after you become Kalos Queen," assured Dawn. It was then that Serena knew if there was ever an award for a suckup comment, that one would take the cake. The gesture was appreciated, however.

"Ha! If there was ever a conflict of interest, that'd be one. I'm good for now. Just having my fun."

"Nobody doubts your ability to keep different aspects of your work separate," Palermo stressed. "If you still want to go for Kalos Queen, then by all means."

Serena frowned as she reveled in the title she wanted to hold so badly. Being Kalos Queen was a long-sought-after goal, but something didn't feel quite right about going for it now. The Rookie Class Showcases whetted enough of her appetite for the time being, but they were almost proverbial holding patterns as she pondered on what to do next.

"I'll have a crack at it when the time is right. I promise."

"If you say so," muttered the president, clearly not convinced by her protege's reassurances. Too bad for her - the Showcase Performer would do it when she was ready.

As a lull settled in the conversation and Dawn resumed her analysis of company information on her clipboard, Serena noticed the conspicuous absence of a certain someone from their little gathering. It baffled her, so she moved to ask as to why.

"Oh, hey, Palermo. Where's that guest you mentioned in your email? I thought there'd be someone here to join us."

Her boss hummed, a chin turned upwards in thought. "He's running a little... late. All in due time, my dears."

Dawn huffed in response, clearly having had enough. She waved over one of the idling waiters as Serena made her decision on what to order from the menu. "He better be worth the wait. We have a lot to cover."

Palermo chuckled, clapping her hands together daintily. "We're dealing with special circumstances, my dears. Trust me, it'll be well worth your time."

For everyone's sake, Serena dearly hoped this person was what the president was hyping him or her up to be. Very few guests were invited to their pow-wow sessions without good reason.

A silver-haired server found his way to the booth in a jiffy, pulling out a notepad and a pen. "Good evening ladies, and welcome to Breloom Diner. On behalf of the owners, we'd like to thank you for your patronage. What can I get for you folks today? Drinks?"

Five bucks on what they're going to order, Serena thought.

"I'll have a cherry soda," Dawn began.

"One lemonade for me," Palermo continued. "But with no ice, and a dash of sugar or two. Thank you, dearie."

"Water's fine," Serena finished, mentally doing a victory lap. Dozens of meetings spent over food had made her associates extremely predictable.

"Thank you all. I'll be back shortly to take your full orders," responded the waiter, hurrying off to fulfill the initial drink requests. His midnight-black apron billowed under the fans rotating overhead, but it did nothing to lessen the stench of garlic radiating through the establishment.

"Anyways, where were we?" pressed Serena, fishing out a notepad and pencil set of her own from her purse. If she couldn't order her meal now, then she'd be damned if she wasn't going to do anything productive. "You wanted us to get the ball rolling on the location of our Johto Showcase, right? Might as well if we're going to keep waiting."

Palermo nodded, sighing deeply. It was almost as if she regretted pushing forward, but she soldiered on all the same. "Very well. Let us proceed."

"Er, I have a quick followup on that," interjected Dawn, stealing Serena's pencil over her protests and scribbling something on her clipboard, "Cherrygrove City and Azalea Town are no-gos. I already spoke to their respective comptrollers and we can't get the permits. Olivine is a good option, though."

Yeah, if being molested by Pidgey droppings was our goal, Serena thought. The image was amusing enough to make her drop her animosity over Dawn for taking her writing utensil.

"It has a port, no?" asked the president, drawling her words out carefully. "If we make a pitch there, it could be good for the local economy. Play it as a boost on tourism, maybe."

The Kalos native rubbed the sides of her cheeks, snatching back her pencil at the earliest possible opportunity. The suggestion wasn't a completely terrible one, but there was another option. "What about Blackthorn?"

Dawn and Palermo looked at her in surprise, though the former obviously did so in mock disbelief. That was what she got for taking away a perfectly good pencil, after all.

"Okay, okay, hear me out. Yeah, everyone knows it's dead land over there. Tourism is practically nonexistent, but what if we made a case for bringing it there? It'd be kinda painful to begin with, but I like to think of it as a high-risk high-reward case. We have the financials to build wherever we want, anyway."

Palermo tut-tutted, furrowing her eyebrows thoughtfully. "Not the worst idea, but this is still a new thing for us. Johto is untested waters as it is and I'm simply not sure if that kind of risk is worth it."

Serena bit her tongue as she worked to keep her frustrations in check. If she had learned one thing from her illustrious performing career, it would be the art of taking a risk. Wasn't that what Ash had done when he never came back?

Damn it. He still lingered in the dark corners of her mind.

Humming, Dawn chimed in with an alternative suggestion. "What if we invoked the extension clause found in the final version of the Expanding Economic Opportunity Bill? It'd be enough to get us an extra building in Johto. Maybe Goldenrod if we're lucky."

The waiter from earlier chose that exact moment to come by with drinks, setting the table alight with thank yous as he unloaded each cup. Serena took a sip from the cool iciness of her water, allowing it to trickle down her throat. The journey to Anistar had left her famished, so this was a welcome respite. Both of her boothmates did the same, replenishing themselves as their server prepared to take their meal orders. He whipped out his notepad and pen, waiting expectantly for someone to begin.

Dawn bit into one of her fingernails, taking a brief glance at the menu Serena had on hand and making her decision in a split second. "I'll take the risotto and a double order of Chansey eggs, please."

"Certainly, miss. And you, madame?" asked the waiter, gesturing to Palermo.

"Alfredo, easy cheese. Garlic breadsticks on the side, and just a dab of Pecha oil if you have some. Thank you, dearie."

"Fuck," Serena muttered under her breath.

"I beg your pardon?" inquired the silver-haired man, not quite catching the outburst. Frankly, it was a miracle he didn't and was something Serena was thankful for. She didn't particularly relish having more garlic shoved in her face in short order.

"Oh, uh," she began, recovering deftly, "I'll... uh, take your seared Magikarp on a bed of seaweed," whilst handing over the lone menu she had in her possession. She was in the mood to eat healthy today, not to mention the overall deliciousness of that particular dish.

"Excellent choices, ladies," the waiter complimented, his silver name tag jangling as he moved. It was only now that Serena took note of the name scrawled across it - Gregory.

Gregory continued his spiel. "Your food should take no more than a half-hour. Keep yourselves comfortable in the meantime - I'll come by to check on you folks in a bit, mmkay?"

A chorus of more thank yous and nods echoed from the booth, though Serena found those gestures increasingly exhausting. It was a constant uphill battle to maintain her niceties to other people, compounded by the fact that she was expected to maintain a certain public profile as both a performer and a member of Palermo's company. Her desire to let loose roared to life, firmly cementing her decision to find someone to battle later. She had to let off some steam.

"I suppose I shall have to give a stellar review on their website later," Palermo admitted as Gregory left the booth. "Certainly one of the finer establishments I've had the pleasure of dining in."

"All the customers are minding their own business too. It's practically a miracle," whispered Dawn, drumming her clipboard in excitement. Serena found herself agreeing with that sentiment since very few people in the diner were paying them any attention despite their relative fame across Kalos.

The bluenette wasn't done yet. "That said, I think we've been distracted long enough. Let's continue."

Thank you, Serena sighed. She would be lying if she said she wasn't veering off-topic too, but they were here in this Arceusforsaken diner in the middle of Kalos for a reason.

"Ever the stringent taskmaster, I see," complimented Palermo. "But yes, that is true. I'm guilty of tasting in dalliant extravagances, though I suppose the same can be said for us all. We left off on a possible Goldenrod expansion for the Showcase, no?"

"Right," Dawn replied. "I think we can get a best of both worlds situation going on here. Serena, why don't we open a smaller building in Blackthorn and use Goldenrod as our primary facility? We can put you in charge of the former and you can have at it the way you want. How does that sound?"

"Works for me. At least Blackthorn's getting a shot."

The compromise satisfied Serena. She would get her wish of a Showcase building in Blackthorn City with a second safer option being in Goldenrod, though her heart pounded at the opportunity to run her own little corner of the business. If she were to have her way, then Blackthorn would turn out to surprise many people in more ways than one. There was one small hitch, however - a definite conflict with her performing career too would be brewing if she went through with this. Other contestants would see it as an unfair advantage.

Palermo moved to interrupt before the Kalos native could voice her newfound revelations. "That is if we can secure the extension the E.E.O. Bill gives us. Naturally, it shouldn't be a problem for a company of our esteem, but I do urge caution."

"We weren't under any illusions that we were going to be the only ones using this bill, right?" Serena stated, brushing aside her concerns for a second and jotting down a reminder on her notepad. "I mean, half the reason the thing got passed in the first place was how it'd help other businesses too."

"So... let's shoot for a reasonable requisition from the United Regions Legislature, then. Ten million Pokedollars, give or take?" suggested the bluenette, adjusting the fringes of her skirt.

"Dawn, that's nuts. You think we can just waltz up to a worldwide organization and ask for ten million in funding for our fantasy project?"

"I don't see why not," she replied coolly as she nudged her cherry coke aside. "It's not like we're taking all the money. Besides..."

Dawn's ruminations were interrupted as Palermo immediately stood upright from where she was sitting, her posture reflecting that of respectful submission. The action was so sudden that Serena did the same, dropping everything on hand whilst Dawn followed her lead. Quite frankly, she wasn't quite sure why she was doing it, but the president's example compelled her to do so. Besides, there was a clear reason as to the unexpected movement - a man was making his way to the booth.

At first glance, he could've been mistaken for nothing more than a regular citizen in a large crowd, but as he approached closer, Serena realized there was nothing at all ordinary about this individual. His trimmed brown hair was decent enough to look at, but the sheer fact of the matter was that he radiated power. From the black and red trimmings of his suit all the way down to his boots, he walked with a distinct aura about him. What tipped Serena off more was how Palermo seemed to completely submit to him - the president never did that, not even for her superiors nor anyone who held a position of authority. How could this man be so... absolute?

"Who is this guy?" Dawn whispered, taken aback by the gravity of which he was approaching. Even fellow diner patrons were noticing as the background chatter simmered down to a low rumble, all eyes intent on following the man's every movement.

"No idea," Serena responded, her voice trailing to a halt as the source of the power came to a halt in front of the booth.

There was something... familiar about this person. Maybe he had been on some of the news channels recently? His image was too vague to connect to anything meaningful yet floated around in the corners of recognizability.

"Sir," Palermo began, nodding her head respectfully, "it's good to see you here with us. Please, take a seat."

The man nodded, smoothing the wrinkles in his suit and taking his place in the booth's last remaining spot. Palermo followed the same motion, gesturing for Serena and Dawn to do the same. Serena wasn't about to argue, and neither was her friend. She was thankful for her boss's guidance on proper protocols for a situation like this, even as the chatter of the diner resumed its usual hum. Its patrons had already forgotten the man's presence, chalking him up as a low-tier celebrity.

The stranger folded his hands readily, scanning over both girls with intense vigor. The Kalos native felt his eyes pierce through her whole being, studiously sizing her up to whatever remote expectations he supposedly had. It was almost frightening to her in a way, yet outweighed by the sheer amount of questions she had about his arrival.

"My girls, this is... er, how did you want to be addressed?" asked the president, moving her attention to the man.

"Josh is fine," he replied, a small smile making its way across his lips.

Serena tilted her head in curiosity, intrigued as to what this guy's deal was. It was pretty clear he was hiding something, but his body language indicated nothing malicious. She had way too many personal encounters with shady people on her journey with Ash to the point where she could make the distinction between good and bad pretty well. It was one of the positive things to come out of knowing him, she supposed. If anything, it made her a far better judge of character than ever before.

"So, uh, Josh, impressive entrance. What.. what, uh, er, brings you here with us?" Dawn stammered, completely discarding her clipboard of company sheets in favor of the new arrival. "I've never seen you around these parts before. Are you new?"

Josh barked in brief laughter, Serena feeling the extent of his mirth at full-force. "I'm not what you would call new, Dawn. Consider me an... acquaintance."

"You know my name?"

"I make it my business to know everyone's name."

Serena exchanged a sideways glance with Dawn, both of them not quite knowing what to make of that explanation. Either way, it didn't seem to faze the man.

"You have him to thank for our expansion into Johto," Palermo explained, taking a sip of her lemonade. "His efforts were spent pushing U.R. members to pass the bill allowing us this wonderful opportunity."

"That was you?" began a curious Serena. "Dawn and I talked up the Johto Assembly, but we weren't sure where support from the United Regions Legislature was coming from. You have that kind of pull?"

Josh snorted, tapping the top of the table. "In a manner of speaking, yes. You'll find that many of our less inclined members can be... persuaded to vote for the public interest if applied enough pressure."

Dawn took a swig of her cherry coke. "You know, I think I have seen you before. You've definitely been on TV."

"It may be possible that I was a background actor at some point, yes."

"Nah. You're bullshitting me."

"Dawn!" scolded the president. "Sir, I'm terribly sorry for my assistant's rudeness. Apologies are in order."

"It's fine. Quite refreshing, actually. I'm afraid not many people have the capacity to put me in my place," Josh responded, clearly reveling in a certain degree of amusement.

Serena raised herself to eye level with the man. "Who are you? I simply must know."

The question wasn't just metaphorical at this point. The man was an enigma, shifting from one topic to another with remarkable clarity. The fact that Palermo was apologizing on Dawn's behalf was bizarre enough to witness as it was already, let alone the million other nuances swirling around this fateful meeting. How did Josh manage to convince a worldwide body to pass the E.E.O Bill? How did he radiate such power? There was something about him that more than met the eye, of which Serena had considerable difficulty pinpointing.

"Direct and to the point," he replied, easing back against the booth backboard to relax his shoulders. "For now, I'm nobody important. Trust me, you don't need to get wrapped up in that kind of stuff."

You're not slipping away from me that easily, you fucker, Serena thought. An idea began roiling around in her head like the tidal waves of Kyogre's storms - if he was going to make this hard for her, then she was going to do the same.

"So!" Palermo continued, "Introductions aside, I invited our guest here today so he could hear what you two had to say in person. He's particularly interested in meeting others who have personal involvement in this opportunity. Aren't you, sir?"

"That I am, Madame President. I've been told great things about Pokemon Showcases. What better way to get my news than from some of the best folks in the business?"

Dawn blushed, the shade of her cheeks matching that of her skirt. "Oh, I don't perform in those types of shows. I'm a Coordinator from the Hoenn Circuit, actually. Serena here participates in a Showcase or two once in a while, though. She was this close to becoming Kalos Queen at one point."

"Oh, really? I might know a little something about working your way to the top," Josh laughed. "Good for you, Serena. Might I inquire as to what happened?"

Aha! If he doesn't perform in shows, then... that leaves me with a possible option, mused the Kalos native. She proceeded to launch a counter-response with one goal in mind.

"Oh, you know... I lost the first time to a girl named Aria - she was very good, no regrets there. The second time was more of my fault than whoever I was facing. Can't remember her name, but she was good too. And the third... well, I haven't taken the chance yet. I want to get it just right this time. It's sorta like battling, in a way. You're probably no stranger to that kind of thing, right?"

"Mmm... I have known to be familiar with battling," responded Josh, tracing the red-and-white checker pattern of the table as Palermo and Dawn looked on, both curious as to where this was going.

"Yeah, it's great. Takes my mind off of things when I'm not performing," Serena explained. "Nothing better than getting a workout with Pokemon. I assume yours feel the same way?"

"Ha! That's a bit of an understatement. If my Pokemon had the good sense to pursue interests other than battling, then the world would explode."

So he's a Pokemon trainer; a professional one at that. Well-connected enough to deal with the United Regions too, Serena concluded. It wasn't even remotely close to the full picture, but it was at least a start.

"Does your Pokemon-"

"How y'all folks doing? Your food is well on its way and... er-er-er... uhhhhhh..."

Gregory skidded to a halt as he returned to the booth, interrupting Serena's line of questioning. His face turned as white as the hair on his head as he took note of the newcomer, bowing his head respectfully.

"I..., er, er... sir? What uh.. are... I, uh..."

"Hey! You're... Greg, right?" Josh exclaimed, reaching out to shake the man's hand. "I remember you from your visit a few months back. You're doing well, I hope?"

"W-what... I mean, yeah! My honor! Absolutely. I, uh... what brings you here, sir?" asked the waiter, returning the gesture.

Serena shared in a what the fuck look with Dawn. She was absolutely certain her friend bore the exact same reaction to the unfolding situation. Palermo looked on in half part amusement and half part mortal horror as she too witnessed the exchange, though tinged with the all-too-familiar face of knowing more than she would let up.

Josh pressed on. "Oh, just some business. And while I'm here Greg, can you do a favor for me?"

"Oh, absolutely sir. Anything."

"Keep my visit on the down-low, would you? I don't think anyone in this place recognizes me, but I'd like to keep it that way for as long as I can. That okay with ya?"

"Of course! You know I'd do anything you ask."

"You're the best. Oh, and I'll have whatever this young lady here is having if it's not too late," Josh said, waving two fingers at Dawn.

With the way the bluenette was being lavished, Serena was half-convinced the woman would drop her panties if Josh even so much as continued to shower her with praise. He didn't seem to strike her as the playboy type, though. His warmth was too genuine for that.

"Certainly, sir. It's... well, it's good to have you here," Greg finished, bowing deeply. "And uh, like I was saying earlier, the food's not too far off from being finished for you ladies. Hang tight and we'll get it out to y'all in short order."

The silver-haired waiter hurried away, a dash of red still splayed across his face. The commotion attracted little attention, which was fortunately mitigated by how spread out the place was.

Josh sighed. "I hate it when they bow. It's fucking annoying."

"With all due respect sir, we have bigger problems at the moment," Palermo scolded, scanning the diner briefly. "I'm not so sure it was a good idea to eat in public. We're lucky enough Dawn and Serena and I haven't been mobbed, but I worry for you."

Serena didn't know what was weirder - the fact that her boss was calling that man sir repeatedly or that she was right in her assessment. It did, however, help that there seemed to be older patrons eating this evening instead of the younger crowd.

And what was up with the bowing? Who bowed for people anymore?

"I'll take my chances while I still can. I'm afraid my time spent in the shadows of anonymity will be expiring in short order soon. I'd like to enjoy it in the meantime," Josh admitted.

Okay, this guy has to be at least Elite Four tier with those kinds of concerns, contemplated Serena. If he was truly as good as she thought he was, then the only way to prove it would be through a battle.

Palermo seemed to accept the man's explanation with her usual sympathy, tasting her lemonade in synchronization with Dawn and her cherry coke. Dawn, however, was sipping away simply because she had nothing else to say. One couldn't blame her, though - she rarely strayed beyond the points she wanted to make these days. It was usually Iris or Misty who steamrolled over entire conversations whenever the whole gang got together.

Serena seized on the moment before Josh could carry on with another topic. "Obviously, you're a Pokemon trainer, right?"

"In a... manner of speaking."

"What a coincidence, huh? I've got a roster of three Pokemon of my own right under the table. What say we do a battle after dinner?"

"There's sorta some proper protocols you have to follow," stressed the man. "I don't do battles willy-nilly. You have to earn it."

"Earn it? You're the one who walked in out of practically thin air and almost made that poor waiter pass out. Then you say weird things that none of us - okay, almost none of us have any idea or context of what they are. You won't follow up on those comments, then you continuously move our conversations elsewhere. I don't think some real answers would be unreasonable, given that Dawn looks about ready to jump you."

The girl in question snorted a stream of cherry coke out of her nostrils, coughing violently in a fit as Palermo moved to hand her a napkin.

Payback's a bitch, Serena thought. Maybe next time Dawn would think twice about pulling out, both metaphorically and literally.

"You're frank. I like that in a person," Josh granted. "It's true. Please don't mistake my evasiveness for a willingness to lie, Serena. You'll find out in due time, but your request isn't unreasonable. I suppose I've been a little too stringent with battling lately."

"Then we have a deal. I challenge you to a battle! Standard rules with a single format - three on three."

"Serena, that isn't-" Palermo began.

Josh cut her off. "Out of curiosity, what do you think you have to gain from this?"

The Kalos native recalled one of her conversations with Ash from the old days. It was a quiet night somewhere on a route between two cities - she couldn't remember which ones - but his words were clear nonetheless.

It's why I love to battle, ya know? I feel like I can tell who people really are when they put it all on the line. It's a language, Serena. Swear to Arceus, I've never felt anything else like it.

Channeling the fiery heart of her lost love, Serena continued. "Let's just say that I think I can find out more about people if I battle them. Kinda like a language, sort of."

Josh clicked his tongue. "It's... not often I come across others who share that sentiment. Very well. I will grant your wish."

Serena wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she could practically feel the outburst of energy radiating from her partners, even deep within their capsules. It was almost as if they were raring to go at the earliest possible opportunity.

"You're on, mysterious stranger."

"It's your funeral."

"Uh," Dawn chimed in, wiping away the last of her wayward cherry coke, "that sounds great and all, but can we eat first? And uh... get back to our Showcase discussion?"

"Fuck," Josh muttered. "I forgot. Thanks, Dawn. You've all given me a lot to think about."

"Yeah. Thanks," Serena agreed.

She had gotten so suckered into the back-and-forth that she forgot the reason why they were all there in the first place. Whoever Josh was, he had an unnaturally scary way of redirecting thoughts. A force of nature, almost.

For now, it was chow time. A highly-anticipated plate of freshly seared Magikarp was coming right up if the smells coming from the kitchen were anything to go by.

~ Chapter End ~


Author notes: A bit of a slow one, admittedly, but the plot will start kicking into gear soon. Soak in the world-building, my babies. Soak it in!