Lance despised galas. Ever since he'd become champion, they'd been one of the few things he hated. A whole lot of showboating and swanning about, designed to show off that you had money. They were slightly less insufferable in Johto, because at least then his family could be there as a buffer, but in Kanto, all he had was the Elite Four.

The new Champion of Kalos, Diantha Guillaume, was in Kanto for three reasons. First, to officially and publicly introduce her to the Kantonian Champion and his Elite Four, and secondly, to partake in an exhibition match against him. He was excited, but he was also scared shitless; there'd been some recent discoveries in Kalos about…something that boosted the power of Pokémon during battles. He hadn't looked into it, but it terrified him. The third reason was for a press tour for her new movie, but that was less important.

Lorelei jabbed him in the ribs as they exited the limousine to enter the venue; the Celadon City Game Corner. It was a luxurious venue, which fit the event they were at. Solely for the rich and famous, he could tell. Once they made it past the paps (without, he might add, causing a riot), the room opened up to a glittering spectacle of elaborate dresses and tuxedos, and he very quickly lost sight of the rest of the Elite Four.

Slipping over to one of the tables practically bowing down with hors d'oeuvres, he silently surveyed the room. He recognised a fair amount of the people there. Oh, that way was where the Beaumonts were, and over there was where Professor Oak would be, probably talking with the other few Pokémon Professors who were there. There were too many people, if you asked him. He could spot a few Gym Leaders amongst the crowd; there was Koga, and he must've brought Janine with him…and then over that way was Giovanni, talking to Odette Wattle. If he remembered correctly, her husband worked at a company in which Giovanni owned shares. Something about international branches? It wasn't particularly important, and he had just resigned himself to standing alone until his speech when his eyes fell on someone far closer than Giovanni.

Cecilia was bored already. Maman had totted off to talk to some of her society friends, and Cecilia's friends were all off chatting to…whoever. So there she was, gracelessly eating a piece of bread that had been lathered with butter and herbs. She had one hand cupped under her mouth to catch any crumbs, as getting crumbs or butter on her dress would horrify Maman and she was looking around as she ate.

It was no more than two minutes after she had decided to stick by the table that was simply loaded with decadent foods that she made eye contact with someone. Someone who she had…barely spoken to. Ah. The Kanto-Johto Champion, Lance Blackthorn. She couldn't remember much about him, but she did know that the Champion trained dragon types. And that he wore a cape. And, would you look at that, he was wearing a cape, even in full formal attire. What she did know was that she had made a fool of herself in front of him barely a day ago, and here he was, making eye contact with her. If she were anywhere else, she might've challenged him to a battle (and lost, unless he had a younger pokemon he was training), but alas. Here she was, sitting in the lap of luxury in Celadon City instead.

"...Hi."

He startled as she spoke, before responding. "Hi. Erm, Cecilia, was it? Funny seeing you here…"

She nodded, before tapping her chin. "Yes, I'm Cecilia. I suppose I should've expected to see you here, as Champion. Maman did say that the Elite Four would be here…"

He shrugged, and she made a decision. She'd seen that there wasn't much of the delicious bread left, so she held up her plate and offered it to him. "Want some? It's pain à l'ail, it's from Southern Kalos. It's quite good, if a bit crumbly. I've been eating it all night."

He accepted it and took a small bite. His eyes widened and he quickly finished the rest. "That was very good, thanks for offering it. Erm…so, you're here with your mother?"

She nodded. "My brother and Father would've come, but Hugo is busy with his work and Father is sleeping off his jetlag. So it's just me and Maman tonight. How about you?"

"Ah, I'm here with the Elite Four. I think some of the Gym Leaders are here, but I'm not sure who. Lorelei is talking to one of the professors, but I'm not sure which one. Bruno is probably just staying around for Goodshow's speech and then he'll dip, this isn't his scene. And I think Agatha is talking to Blaine or Oak, but I haven't seen her. The Johto Elites are all over the place, so I've barely seen them. As far as I'm aware, the only gym leaders here are Erika, Blaine, Koga and Giovanni. I think Erika is just out of obligation, but I'm not sure about the rest."

She nodded. That made sense; the rest were…well, she wasn't sure about Brock Ishida, but the Waterflowers were likely busy in Cerulean, and Sabrina never attended events like this. She wasn't sure about the good Lieutenant, but…well, they were probably better off avoiding that particular discussion, lest it become overly political. "Well, I can tell you that my friends are probably all interrogating Henry Barnett, and Maman is probably talking to her society friends. I think some of them were talking about using psychic types for sleep remedies or something, but you'd have to ask her. It's the kind of thing Maman isn't particularly interested in, but she does know her stuff."

"Mhm. So Henry Barnett is…he's the heir to the Barnett fortune, yes? Why would your friends be interrogating him?"

She let out a laugh, and grinned as she spoke. "He's engaged to Charlise, so they're giving him the shovel talk. That and, of course, determining whether he's actually able to provide for our darling Charlise. Honestly, I don't understand it, but they've always been like that."

He hummed in understanding, as he thought about it. He couldn't say it was totally unreasonable, seeing as he'd probably do the same for Clair, if he was in that position. He did, after all, care about his cousin and wanted to see her happy. He still didn't fully understand it, but well…whatever floats their boat, or whatever. Their Lapras? Hm, that was something to think about…

"Uh, Mister Champion? You still there?" A hand was waved in front of his face, and he jolted out of his thoughts. He looked around, before his eyes landed on a clock.

"Oh, I've got to go…speeches and all. Bye, I guess."

Cecilia blinked and waved slightly, shrugging as she watched him leave. Well, she probably wouldn't have to see him again for some time, so perhaps they'd both forget the awkwardness of that interaction in time, though she supposed they'd have to see.

"So, Father, how was Alola? Did you have a nice time there? You were meeting with…Lusamine, correct?" Hugo poured himself a cup of tea as the family sat around the table in the dining room for breakfast; a full breakfast, with pancakes, hashbrowns, beans and plenty of toast.

"Alola was lovely, and the meeting went well. If we play our cards right, we'll have a deal fully laid out by the end of the year!"

"Well, Father, did you meet anyone interesting? I've been meaning to look into some Alolan fashion for work, but I've been so busy with work that there's barely been time!"

He nodded, before taking a bite of his toast. He swallowed before answering. "I met the Kahuna of Melemele Island, Hala. And their soon-to-be Professor. I believe he's just finishing up his dissertation. Something about 'Z-moves', I believe he said. Smart young man, I must say. If you ever head out there, I feel he could be a smart match for you, Cecilia. It's about time you stop dithering and think about settling down. Hugo, don't you agree?"

Hugo and Cecilia both groaned, and Maman stayed silent. They all knew that an argument was inevitable, as it always was when Father brought up the topic.

"Father, please not at breakfast? I have a bus to catch soon, and then I have a fitting when I get back to Viridian. We can talk about this tonight, after I'm home. Unless you're off on another trip?"

He sighed, but accepted defeat. "Very well. But we will be discussing this further soon. You really do need to start thinking about marriage; your friend Charlise has already gotten engaged, and they're trying to find the Beaumont boy to set up his wedding to Miss Jessebelle. Now, I did keep my promise to get you two souvenirs. If we're nearly done with breakfast, I believe it may be a good time to give them to you."

The siblings nodded in agreement, and their father left the dining room to fetch the gifts. Once he returned, he handed them two boxes; one small rectangular box for Hugo, and one tall cylindrical box for Cecilia. She gestured for Hugo to open his first, and he grinned as he did so.

Inside his gift box was a pair of opal cufflinks, next to a pair of opal earrings. He blushed, and quietly thanked Father for the gifts.

"They're custom, you know? And the earrings are so you can match with your wife, when you get married. The opals were especially hard to get hold of; I had to contact one of my associates in Unova to get them even shipped to Alola, but the artisan who made them was very talented, wouldn't you say?"

Cecilia stayed silent, but everything he was saying was making her nervous about the gift he'd given her. Would it be a hat, or something? She shuddered at the thought. Her father's taste wasn't…the best. Especially when it came to anything fashion related.

"Cecilia, wouldn't you like to open yours? I got the help of some of the locals to choose your gift, you know!"

She nervously opened the box, and gasped as she realised what was inside. It was an incubator, with an egg inside! An egg she didn't recognise, though she could likely take it to a Professor to see if they recognised it. Perhaps she could call Augustine about it?

"Father, I'm not sure what to say…this is wonderful! But what is it? What Pokémon is it?" She held it up in the incubator and peered closer at it from all sides. It was white, with a pattern of small blue flowers.

"You'll have to see, I suppose. I got it from a daycare there, they said it's owner hadn't wanted it, so they were giving it away. I thought you could raise it, and maybe it'll be something cute!"

Cecilia nodded, before she hummed and checked her phone. Her eyes bulged as she saw the time, and she stood up quickly. "Sorry to cut this short, Father, but my bus leaves in an hour! I'll see you next time! Hugo, can you drive me to the terminal?"