Mentions: Zeke@Prints Avoid Fiona@Psyker Landshark

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The commotion had been broken up by none other than the chairman's assistant, Cereus. Joseph had always felt the slightest bit of resentment from him. There could only be so many blondies. But either way, it was time for the ceremony to start. The main gym leaders would be out on the field, while the minor league leaders would be on the sidelines. Joseph was perfectly fine being on the sidelines, what with the enormous influx of trainers he just finished fighting, he was kinda tired, all things considered.

The ceremony itself was about what you'd expect, the chairman introducing the leaders, the crowd cheering, and deafening noise. So much noise. Though there was one discrepancy. Where was Elijah? Or the champion for that matter? Maybe they both coincidentally hot sick? How odd. He noticed a few of his fellow leaders let out their pokemon, so why not join them? Ares or Athena would probably be his best bet, but with how much fighting Ares had been doing, he probably just wanted to rest. Athena it was then. Joseph tapped the button on his pokeball, letting Athena the Aggron out next to him. As she appeared, her metal armor glistened in the various lights. "Hope you like the celebration, Athena. We wouldn't be here if bot for you guys. Everyone else is either too big, or too tired to come out right now, but have fun and hang out for a while why don't you?"

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The ceremony was over at last, and everyone had started to filter out, and the gym leaders reconvened. From what he could overhear, apparently the champion had gone missing quite suddenly. Either something terrible had happened, or she was planning a really big surprise party. But apparently, that wasn't important, because who cares about two missing people who are important to one of the biggest events, if not the biggest, in Galar?

As he thought, there were suggestions of what and where to eat. The first thought to cross his mind was Nordin's restaurant, but he didn't exactly seem like the kind of guy who'd treat them for free. Especially with Athena's appetite. Fiona suggested somewhere Johtonian. "Actually, if you're looking for somewhere Johtonian, there's a place in Hammerlocke that's been around since I was a kid. The folks who run it are a little old now, but they still make good food when I go there on occasion. The place is called 'Surfing Charizard'. It's even got a surfing charizard on the front of the building. I know the owners pretty well, so I could probably call and get us the restaurant reserved if you guys wanted."

Malik was happy to see that his arrival was mostly well received by the other collective gym leaders that preceded and followed after him, returning the gestures like Liam's hug and Nordin's nod. It wasn't long after that there would be another handful of dynamic entrances, finding himself particularly impressed with Moira's Dragon Dance and the exhibition from Fiona's Flying-types and clapping quietly with the performances. A gathering of stars such as theirs only occurred every so often, and while they were each their own rivals in that regard, it was the feeling of unity from the ceremony that he always loved. Nothing could have possibly spoiled the night for him; that is, until his mind drifted to the rather haughty greeting that he'd received from one Hestia Quintell. 'Of course,' he thought to himself, internally rolling his eyes. 'Somethin's always up with her.'

The Espeon that was perched on his shoulder, however, did not seem to share any of his previous compliments, as Lady was also not the greatest admirer of Moira's dragons. His hand rose to stroke the feline's head, a light chuckle passing his lips. "Heheh, don't worry, we'll get 'em this time," he reassured his little friend.

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Cereus Rothschild had been hard pressed to quickly usher the gym leaders into their respective preparations, and it was only a matter of time until the ceremony truly began in earnest. Though he would not be taking the pitch as one of the main attractions, Malik didn't have a problem with staying outside of the spotlight in the last few years. He watched on as the familiar stature of the Chairman announced the commencement of the Gym Challenge and began to introduce each gym leader one by one, only counting seven out of the total eight. 'Teach?' It came off as a shock to him that Elijah of all people was absent, but the magnitude of the situation only seemed to worsen when it was apparent to everyone that Victoria was also missing from the ceremony.

It was an awkward predicament for everyone to be in as the stadium was clearing out; he could even hear the theories begin to chatter up among the attendees, and it was an entirely different landscape on social media. Malik was leaning against the wall in the corner of the lobby as he dialed Elijah's phone number, frowning when it took him straight to the voicemail. He was even more disappointed to receive the same outcome when he tried to call Victoria, sighing heavily. "Hey V, what's goin' on? Gimme a call when you can," he was in the process of leaving a voicemail for Victoria when he was cut short by the arrival of a familiar face, cutting the message short and stuffing the phone back into his pocket.

"I knew I'd see you out there, Malicia," Malik smiled towards the person who approached him, crossing his arms together. The purple-haired girl mirrored the same motion, her lilac eyes brimming with confidence. A distinctly patterned Dreepy circled around her average stature before stopping between them, its curious eyes studying him closely. He looked at the Dynamax Band on her wrist that he'd given to her along with his endorsement, nodding towards it. "Hope you're ready to put that to some good use, you're gonna need it. Not many other challengers have one."

"That's because there aren't any other challengers like me," Malicia whipped her hair to the side with a conceited gait forward, calling the Dreepy back to her presence. The small dragon twirled around her hands before climbing onto her shoulder, letting out a small cry. "Make sure the Champion comes back by the cup so I can take the title and make it actually mean something."

Malik simply laughed at the girl's elevated faith in herself. "Get through the eight gyms and I'll consider it."

"Well, I beat you, so I don't see myself having any sorta problem," Malicia never seemed amused with any answer that she received, even if it was in jest. She turned around, looking over her shoulder as she showed off the number '1' on the back of her uniform. "So when I make it to the Cup, I'll just beat you again."

Before he had the chance to respond, the purple-haired girl had already walked off, disappearing beyond the masses. Scoffing, Malik opted to join up with the rest of the gym leaders that were situated at a different part of the lobby, feeling the familiar rumbling at the side of his belt again. 'I don't like her.' "I know, I know," he brushed off the words of concern as he reunited with the others, catching onto their ongoing discussion about finding a place to dine. "Mmm, sushi," Malik added to the rumbling, feeling the pangs of hunger clip at his stomach. "Haven't gotten 'round to tryin' out that place yet. No objections from me."