Eterna City was pretty far away from Sunyshore City, but Diantha had Hawlucha use Fly to make things quicker. She was in the green, luscious city soon enough, and as soon as she landed, she pulled out her phone to call Cynthia. She wasn't quite sure where she was heading, after all…

Cynthia picked up after a few rings with Diantha able to hear the end of Cynthia's conversation before Cynthia stopped laughing and said something, "Hey, Diantha. We're still on for Eterna City today, right?"

"Yes. In fact, I'm here now…" Diantha looked around, "Where should I meet you?"

"Ah, you're quite punctual. I only just got here myself." Cynthia pulled the phone away from her ear to shout something at the person she was with, but Diantha couldn't make it out, "I'm at the Historical Museum. Tell me what your surroundings are like. I can give you directions."

"Hmm… Well, I'm at a Pokémon Center right now…" Diantha said, drumming her fingers across her chin, "I don't know how quite else to describe it. I'm also near a bike shop too, if that helps?"

"Oh, I know where you are. If you just head east, you'll reach the museum soon enough. Simple as that. I'll see you then!" Cynthia said cheerily before hanging up.

Diantha just pursed her lips and put her phone away. Which way was east…?

Diantha finally reached the Eterna Historical Museum after a few minutes of trying to piece her directions together. Luckily, she spotted Cynthia near the entrance, seated on one of the wide cement balusters and talking to someone. It seemed to be a lively conversation, as Cynthia was laughing and sending the other person playful looks. Diantha didn't want to intrude too much, so she quietly walked up to them and waited for a dip in the conversation to greet Cynthia.

Cynthia spotted Diantha out of the corner of her eye and turned towards her, grinning, "There you are. I was starting to get worried that you got lost."

Diantha just laughed and ducked her head, "No, no. I was fine. I didn't want to intrude."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. This is Gardenia, the Eterna Gym Leader." Cynthia gestured towards the woman with her, "And that's Diantha. She's that big actress I was talking about."

"Wow! An actress in the flesh!" Gardenia beamed before holding out her hand in a handshake, "It's nice to meet you! Cynthia's told me lots about you!"

Diantha raised her eyebrows and looked over at Cynthia, "All good things, I hope!" She shook her head and then took Gardenia's hand, "I'm only teasing. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Wooooow!" Gardenia's eyes shone, "She's even got the accent! You weren't kidding!"

Diantha tilted her head, "I have an accent…?"

"It's barely noticeable, but it does slip out at times." Cynthia stated, pushing herself off of the baluster, "Gardenia's just really excited. You don't have to pay attention to her." She teased, shoving Gardenia's shoulder.

"Wha– hey! Don't ignore me! Ignore her!" Gardenia huffed, pushing Cynthia back.

Diantha laughed at the scene unfolding in front of her, shaking her head fondly, "I'm afraid I can't do that. She's kind of my teacher during my stay here."

Gardenia pouted whereas Cynthia stuck out her tongue.

"Speaking of which…" Diantha looked at the building they were standing in front of, "What is there all to see here?"

"A few artifacts, a pretty nifty statue… Oh, and only the jewel that can summon Dialga into this realm." Cynthia said simply, as if it she wasn't just talking about summoning a legend into their midsts.

"Ah, I see…" Diantha nodded before realization settled in, "…I'm sorry. Did you just say that you can summon Dialga here?!"

"Nah, I can't summon it here." Cynthia shrugged, "You have to do that at Spear Pillar. I'm just saying that the object you have to use to summon Dialga is here."

Diantha looked around uneasily, lowering her voice into a whisper, "Are you sure you should be talking about this so nonchalantly? I mean, you're speaking of summoning a deity of legend…"

"You two are the only others that know." Cynthia replied, tilting her head, "I know you won't try and summon it. You don't even know where Spear Pillar is." Her gaze flickered over to Gardenia, "You're not thinking of taking the orb and using it, are you?"

"You kidding?" Gardenia laughed nervously, scratching the back of her neck, "My team is incredibly weak against Dragon and Steel. I'm not looking to be slaughtered by Dialga anytime soon."

Cynthia grinned and looked back at Diantha, "See? We're fine. Don't worry, I'm careful with this stuff. The museum has the orb under high lock-up too, so it's not going anywhere."

Diantha just nodded, a bit more at ease. Cynthia gestured towards the museum with a tilt of her head and a smile, "Come on. Let's head inside."

Gardenia instantly went to Diantha's side as they walked in, clutching Diantha's arm, "You've got to tell me all about Kalos! Is it pretty?! What kind of plants do they have there?! Is there a Grass-type Gym Leader there too?"

Letting out a laugh, Diantha scratched her cheek, "Let's see… Marvelously so… I wouldn't be able to name them off the top of my head… and yes, there is!"

"Ahhh!" Gardenia's eyes had sparkles in them again, "You're so cool! Tell me more! Tell me everything!"

Cynthia only shook her head fondly, "You two are going to miss all the cool stuff in here at this rate…"

Diantha shot Cynthia an apologetic smile, whereas Gardenia didn't care. She just wanted to know all about Kalos.

"Do you have pictures of Kalos?" Gardenia beamed, "I'd love to see them!"

"I do, actually." Diantha pulled out her phone and brought up the photo albums she had of the region, showing them to Gardenia, "This of Route 4, right outside of Lumoise City… This is of Santalune Forest, and this one is right outside the Battle Chateau. They're the places with the best flowers."

"Wooooow! It's so pretty!"

Cynthia had stopped walking and turned around, staring at the other two with her arms crossed. She tapped her foot, waiting for them to finish up. Clearing her throat, Cynthia pointed at the display case with a giant, jagged cut diamond inside. "I'd hate to intrude on your little fun, ladies, but this is what we came for. This is the Adamant Orb."

"Who knew the object used to summon Dialga could be so gorgeous…" Diantha placed her hands on her hips, taking in the sight of the large diamond orb.

"You should see the Lustrous Orb." Cynthia said proudly, "It's a beautiful pearl."

Gardenia yawned, patting her mouth, "Oh, I've seen this thing a thousand times…"

Cynthia narrowed her eyes, "Why did I even bring you along?"

"Ouchies. My ego." Gardenia couldn't fake being offended for long, and she ended up just letting out a laugh.

Crossing her arms and looking aside, Cynthia let out an irritated huff, "This is going nowhere. I was going to visit the statue next, but you two are far too excitable right now for sightseeing. Looks like I'm going to have to jump ahead in our plans… Alright. Let's head to the Pokémon Center."

"So, it's finally time, huh?" Gardenia grinned playfully, excitement bubbling inside, "Alright, alright… I'm ready for it."

"Ready for what?" Diantha looked between Gardenia and Cynthia. Obviously she was out of the loop, "What's going on?"

"You'll see." Cynthia had a smug look on her face, "I'm sure you'll enjoy what I've got in store for you."

Diantha pressed her fingertips together, pursing her lips, "I hope you two realize how creepy you're acting… If I didn't know you so well at this point, I'd be utterly terrified by you right about now, Cynthia…"

"You worry too much." Cynthia laughed, "Come on, daylight is wasting away. Let's hurry. I can barely contain myself anymore!"

Even though Diantha was hesitant, she followed behind Cynthia and Gardenia while they walked through Eterna City towards the Pokémon Center.

Once they reached the Pokémon Center, Cynthia didn't go inside- instead, she led Diantha around to the back, where there was a wide, earthy terrain. It wasn't just any patch of soil, though. Upon closer inspection, there were white lines painted across the ground and there was a raised platform right off of the center line. This was a battlefield!

Cynthia turned to Diantha, gesturing to the battlegrounds, "I didn't bring Gardenia along just so she could stand around and look pretty, because that's obviously not her forté as you must've noticed by now-"

"HEY!"

"-She's going to be the officiator for our battle. That's more so up her alley, anyways." Cynthia winked.

Gardenia was growling loudly at that point. Diantha was simply too taken aback to even notice.

"Our battle will happen so soon, huh?" Diantha eventually joked, grinning and placing a hand over her necklace, "Well, you won't see me complaining. I would love the honor of seeing Sinnoh's Champion at her best."

"I'll be holding nothing back." Cynthia leaned forward, hands on her hips and a smirk on her lips, "Don't fault me if this battle is over in the blink of an eye, though."

"My, my…" Diantha mirrored Cynthia's smug grin, "Someone's confident. I can guarantee you that me and my team will show no holds barred as well."

"Enough chatter." Cynthia walked towards the far end of the field, stepping into the trainer's box and pulling out a Premier Ball. "I, Cynthia, accept your challenge! Let the battle begin!"

Gardenia stepped up onto the platform at that point, and she glared at Cynthia from up there, "Hey! That's my job! Automatic penalty!"

"What?!" Cynthia growled back, "You can't do that! This is an egregious misuse of your power!"

"You're an egregious misuse of human existence!"

"Woah." Diantha just blinked, watching the two of them bicker like that. "Uh, ladies? I do hate to interrupt your...bonding, but should we be getting back to the battle?"

Gardenia looked at Diantha once and nodded, "Yes, forgive me. It seems the Champion is trying to derail these proceedings." She said with a snide at Cynthia.

Cynthia opened her mouth to say something, but Diantha cut her off, "Darling, please. Don't make her penalize you further."

Cynthia huffed and shook her head.

"Alright, trainers!" Gardenia lifted one hand into with the other holding onto a whistle, "This will be a six-on-six battle! The battle is over when one person's party is completely exhausted and there are no Pokémon left to fight! Call out your first combatants, if you'd please!"

Cynthia spoke up at that point, gesturing to Diantha, "I'll send out mine first. As you are the challenger, you may adjust your first Pokémon to match up against mine however you see fit."

Diantha just nodded. Cynthia looked different, and even sounded different now that she was in battle. There was a whole new grace to her, an extravagance and flair added to every word and every action. This must've been some sort of persona Cynthia put on every time the Champion made her appearance. Hopefully this meant that Cynthia was taking this battle seriously.

Cynthia enlarged the Premier Ball in her hand and threw it onto the field, "Togekiss, battle dance!" She shouted once Togekiss appeared in a bright flash of light.

Diantha clenched her jaw, thinking over a strategy in her head, "A Fairy type, huh… Well, I guess I'll just have to go with-"

"Wait, wait. Hold up." Cynthia held up her hands, trying to get Diantha to stop, "Togekiss isn't a Fairy type. He's a Normal and Flying mix. There's no such thing as Fairy types."

Diantha froze, furrowing her eyebrows, "Now, that's strange… You don't have Fairy types in Sinnoh?"

"...No." Cynthia looked confused, "They're myths."

"...Huh. Kalos has them. In fact, the Togekiss line over in Kalos is Fairy/Flying." Diantha explained, "It seems as if there are differences in types by region."

Cynthia pinched the bridge of her nose, "Let me guess… You have these elusive Fairy Types, don't you?"

"I only have one, so don't worry." Diantha said, "When I send her out, I'll make sure you know the strengths and weaknesses of the type. I want this to be fair."

Cynthia let out a sigh and nodded, "Alright, fair enough. We're waiting on your selection, then."

Pulling out a Pokéball, Diantha threw it out onto the field with a flourish, "Hawlucha, the spotlight's on you!"

Cynthia watched as the Wrestling Pokémon appeared in a puff of smoke- caused by a Seal. She narrowed her eyes, studying the foreign Pokémon before reaching into her coat pocket. She pulled out her old, black Pokédex, something which she hadn't used in forever ever since she filled up all the pages. Cracking it open and inching away from the dust that poured out from disuse, she aimed it at Hawlucha to see what it said on the Pokémon.

"Creature unidentified. No data available." The Pokédex said in a robotic voice.

"What the-" Cynthia growled, "I didn't even know you could do that! Then again, you're centuries old at this point…"

She pointed the Pokédex at her own Togekiss, just to check.

"Wailord, the Float Whale Pokémon-"

Cynthia shut the Dex with a sigh, shoving it back into her pocket. Well, that thing was busted.

"She's a Hawlucha, a Fighting/Flying type Pokémon." Diantha explained in the Pokédex's stead, "Native to Kalos."

"God, I feel like a clueless rookie…" Cynthia groaned, a hand over her face, "Alright, Gardenia… I think we're good…"

Gardenia nodded, lifting her arm up again and holding her whistle close to her lips, "Diantha- as challenger, you receive the first move! Let the six-on-six Championship exhibition begin!" She threw her arm down as she blew on the whistle, signifying the start of the match.

"I wish you good luck, Diantha." Cynthia said, that embarrassment from before now faded and the confident Champion persona back in full display, "I must warn you, though… There are very few individuals in this region that can battle toe-to-toe with me. I fought hard for my title. There is a reason I have it."

"Oh, I'm sure of it. I admire you for it, too. Going nearly three years undefeated is no easy task." Diantha sported a confident grin of her own, "However, I endeavor to add my name to the list of those trainers who can at least fight on par with you. I don't tend to fail when I set my mind to something."

"Then let's see how your determination fares against my strength..." Cynthia snapped her fingers, "Your move, challenger! Show me you have what it takes to fight on the same level as the Champion of Sinnoh!"

Diantha smirked and lowered her voice into a whisper so that only she could hear, "And let's see how the Champion of Sinnoh League fares against la Maître de la Ligue de Kalos…"