[IC] Pokemon: Ascendancy

[Fabricant451]

As soon as Mika's little surprise made himself known, Holly knew more would flock to take a look for themselves; she couldn't exactly fault them, how often did one of them waltz in with something, or someone, shiny and have it be something other than jewels or the like. Of course, for Holly she didn't care if the Snom was shiny or not. She cared that it was a Snom and just seeing the little eyes and the rounded little mandibles turned Holly from cool as a cucumber to red like a tomato. It was a poorly kept secret among the gym leaders that Holly thought bug types were cute; most of them tended to pretend they didn't know or else gave her a proper hard time about it. She would expect nothing less. Friends or even co-workers as the case may be had a tendency to know how to rag on each other but in a well meaning sort of way. Mika being willing to show off caught or collected bug Pokemon was a perk Holly was incredibly grateful for. It was like someone showing off pictures of their kids or something, that was the sort of response triggered in Holly when face-to-pincers with a bug.

If Macchiato, her Umbreon, were here he would probably hate not being the center of attention over a small little bug and that was one reason he got to stay at home. Tonight wasn't about dealing with the ego of Macchiato; Holly had enough on her plate already. As Ryker gave his little speech, Holly was very blatantly not paying attention. Her attention was with her finger which was teasingly placed near Snom's mouth. She was well aware that she looked as if she were poking Mika's hair and such a harmless gesture would naturally invite speculation but that thought honestly never crossed her mind. How could it, when she was clearly preoccupied with something much more adorable than any of her peers. If Snom was ticklish Holly didn't know but she was acting as if he was teething and her finger was a succulent piece of fruit. Who cared about a rah-rah speech when the alternative was right in front of her. Her non-Snom poking hand held the glass containing dark brown, almost black, liquid with the whipped topping near the rim and she finally took a careful sip. A reckless sip would end with her having a whipped cream moustache and that was unacceptable.

The sweet bitter beverage went down smooth and Holly finally opted to give the big of the hour a break. Plus, it was rude to the others who wanted their time with the Snom, to say nothing of how Mika might feel though in Holly's defense, Mika had to expect that kind of reaction from the actress. "Bianca." Holly nodded to the ice leader who was also one of the ones enamored by the Pokemon that had joined the proceedings. "One of these days I'm going to convince you of the power of heels." Holly gestured with her head to Bianca's flats with the faintest of smiles. It was a crusade Holly was adamant she would win albeit one that had been a lot more challenging than she ever anticipated. Still, she was patient. She had a very defensive strategy as a gym leader, after all.

"Careful with that one, Mika." Holly referred to the Snom. "This much attention is bound to do wonders for his ego. I can attest. And so can Astrid's Raichu, it seems." More and more it was becoming clear that her decision to leave Macchiato at home was the right call. A room full of jealous Pokemon was bound to be more troublesome than it could possibly be worth.

[Yankee]

_{_ _ _______________________________ _ _
mentions: Iris @Serei2477}

The Fairy-type leader was more than happy to let the others take their turns at Sebastien. All Nordrin had wanted was just to welcome him, briefly and informally. He did scoff at the younger man's lofty words though. Nordrin gave Fiona and Isiah another nod as they moved closer and he moved away. He knew firsthand that Fiona could be aggressively charming, or just aggressive, which the new leader would find out as well soon enough.

At the moment Nordrin was content to sit on a vacant bar stool and nurse his drink, not feeling particularly friendly but also not in the mood to head back home yet. When he finished the first glass he ordered another. Eventually the alcohol might loosen him up more, though it was unusual it ever got that far. Tonight would most likely be no different. Around him, the other leaders fawned over the few Pokémon that were currently present. Mika's new find was rare, though Nordrin didn't put much stock in that kind of thing. His own excursions into the wilderness were... actually when had he last gotten out of Hulbury? Maybe he really should try to enjoy this little get together.

Despite that thought, he made no move to engage anyone else in conversation. He was still ruminating. Ryker's earlier speech left no deep impression on him, though he did note that the champion was rather reserved tonight. Only Hestia's challenge seemed to rouse any emotion in him besides resignation. Maybe it was getting too cushy in the champion's seat, or maybe it was something else. Nordrin didn't know, nor did he ask. Speaking of Hestia, she seemed to be deep into her own drinks, as did a few others by now. He'd have to keep an eye out before anyone, as Fiona put it, "got hammered and trashed the place." He remembered being put on probation back in his Minor League days, and how frustrating it was - not to mention embarrassing. Given how quiet the Dahlia was, Nordrin doubted there was any kitchen staff to feed them - which would help offset the alcohol.

Ugh, with food on the brain his thoughts obviously started wandering back to his own business. Well if he was going to be thinking about work anyway, he might as well try to keep it to the gym side given his present company. He thanked the bartender when a third glass was pushed his way. Then he turned to the ghost-loving woman, a leader he was bit closer to than some of the others.

"As far as contenders," he began by way of small talk, bringing up part of what Ryker had mentioned. "Saw on the telly there's challenge-hopefuls started camping outside Wedgehurst. Eager for the season to start? How's that goin'?"

[Solace]

Mentions: Astrid @LuckyBlackCat, Bianca @Majoras End, Holly @Fabricant451

Two quick knocks against the bar brought Mika's attention to a fresh glass of his alcohol-free drink presented by the barkeeper. "Thank you kindly," he took the glass and raised it towards Mason in gratitude, only to flinch from the Snom's sudden recoil as he turned back to Astrid and her attention-seeking Raichu. He was quite familiar with Comet's temperament and the general public's preference of the Pokemon's preceding form, offering her a companion a light smile and giving Snom a reassuring pat. "No problem at all. And I agree, you only ever see Pikachu instead of Raichu on the big screen growing up! Looks like I've got the idea for my next episode, hehe."

Mika had only realized exactly how parched he was after taking a healthy sip of his drink, letting out an embarrassingly loud cheer from the refreshment of mint and lime. With the warmer reception towards Snom, Bianca followed through with Astrid's question on the Pokemon's name, causing him to begin pondering on the possibilities. "Now that you ask, I actually haven't thought of that yet," his other hand rose to stroke his chin, wearing an inquisitive look. The light crystalline sound in Snom's usual cry mellowed into a light purr, his little two black eyes curling up in a happy expression as he received many pets. "I think I'll call him Jewel."

With Jewel's name decided, Mika reached into his backpack and took one of the berries in stow, waving it near the Snom to reacquire his attention. He slowly lured the Worm Pokemon onto his wrist, carefully lowering Jewel back into the nest of berries that was his temporary shelter. "Heh, a little love and spoiling never hurt anybody," he raised his glass to Holly, taking another sip. "Besides, I can't bring Jewel into official competition, so he won't break bad from just appearing on my series every now and then. It's not too often a Bug-type gets the spotlight these days."

[LuckyBlackCat]

@Vertigo @PrankFox @Solace @Ambra

Astrid chuckled over at Sawyer. "Sometimes you need that jolt into hyperdrive." She watched him glance at Comet, but before he could pay the sulking Raichu much attention, Fiona got him involved in a friendly ribbing match. With an impish smile, she glanced from them to Isaiah. The guy was likely going to wind up dealing with their hangovers in the morning. "I wonder which one's going to out-drink the other? My money's on Fiona."

Despite Sawyer's distraction, Comet thankfully didn't go unnoticed. As Bianca pet her, Holly warned Mika of making other Pokemon jealous with his Snom, although her adoration of the cute little bug was clear on her face. Mika simply gave Comet a smile as he patted the Snom, voicing an idea for his show. Astrid's eyes widened. "That'd be great! If anyone can make Raichu popular as a species, it's you." Part of what she and Mika connected over was how they put up their respective acts for the public, and she admired his video presence. "Let's show the world Raichus deserve more recognition!" She pet Comet again, who'd turned her back to the newly-named Jewel.

The chatter and chaos paused, all eyes on Ryker as he stood and raised his whiskey before giving his speech. A somewhat cheesy one, but those were the best kinds of speeches. Grinning, Astrid raised her own glass. "I'll drink to that!" She lowered the glass and downed the rest of the drink, hoping it'd calm her nerves at the thought of the upcoming season. Admittedly it brought just as much thrill as fear - so much to lose, but so much to gain. "Everyone, let's give it our all! Full speed ahead!"

[Marlowe]

MENTIONS:

Hestia woke, with a hefty start, to the sound of a screeching alarm. It grated against her ears and made a desperate headache sprout from the back of her skull. Whimpering, she curled up beneath the covers in an attempt to get it to recede. But the alarm wouldn’t stop, not even when she reached towards her night-table as she blindly searched for her phone. It took her the better part of a minute for her fingers to scrape against the corner of her cellphone and send it clattering to the floor, the sound of its impact sending a fresh wave of pain against the side of her head. Cursing, she threw off her dappled russet covers and reached down to grab it. After a few moments of struggle, she finally turned the alarm off– though the flash of the violet numbers on her home screen made her blood run cold. Ten o’clock.

She was late for the opening ceremony.

Something left her lips. Whether it was a muddled screech or a groan of terror, she wasn’t able to tell. All she knew was that her head felt like it had a herd of Tauros rampaging through the middle of it, she was half-undressed, and she was late for the opening ceremony. A string of curses flooded from her cracked lips as she pulled on her pajama top and rushed towards the door in order to open it, but not before she stubbed her toe against it. Another yelp came forth from her mouth in a delayed reaction as she staggered down the hallway and half-stumbled down the stairs to see that Pine was lounging on the couch and watching television like always. Orion slept in a haphazard pile in the corner of the living room, his tail tucked close against his body as the fire at the end of his tail dwindled lazily. Neither of the Pokemon stirred, even when her feet stomped against the grayish wooden floors of the first floor.

”HEY! You two couldn’t wake me up?!” she cried out, her head hurting even more than before. She clenched her teeth as she pointed at her phone. ”Pine! You knew I had to be up earlier than this! Why didn’t you–?!”

Pine gave her a sidelong glance, then turned back to the television. He let out a little chirp as he pointed at the television with a lazy claw. ”Scep.”

In the midst of her desperation, Hestia turned to look at the screen. A newswoman with bright red hair and tired eyes stared tiredly from her desk as her mouth dribbled her report. She didn’t listen to what she said. Instead, Hestia’s gaze rested on the text in bold at the bottom of the screen itself. It read, ”GALAR REGION’S OPENING CEREMONY CANCELED.”

The fire in her chest immediately transformed into ice in her veins as she stared blankly at her television. Canceled?

Hestia turned towards her phone. Her clumsy fingers worked to unlock it and enter her messages, though this took way longer than she would have preferred. The previous night had left her head feeling both light and heavy as a stone, which affected her motor skills and even her vision, which was clouded over by a misty film that she couldn’t get rid of no matter how often she rubbed her eyes. Finally, she was able to focus in on the words that lined the screen. A line of text was in bold at the very top of her list of messages. A new one had come in not even a half-hour before, from Peyton Hyacinth. ”Urgent meeting at Hyacinth Tower. All must be here by 10:30. Don’t be late.”

Shit.

There wasn’t time to shower, eat, or anything else. Hestia had to get on Pokemon-back quickly if she wanted to make it in time. She rushed back up the stairs, threw on sweatpants, shirt, and a pair of sneakers, and tied up her hair into a somewhat crooked ponytail. Both Lazuli and her were in the sky by 10:05. And, while the rush of wind against her face and ears made her head ache even more, she couldn’t help but feel glad when her Salamence’s claws touched down on the street in front of Hyacinth Tower at 10:20. She didn’t even bother to recall Lazuli before she sprinted towards the building. Lazuli was a good boy– he wasn’t going to get in trouble, and Hyacinth would understand why she left him outside the tower if this was truly an urgent meeting. Hell, she wouldn’t even care if he bit her head off later. All she wanted to know was what happened and why they all had to go meet him after he had decided to cancel the opening ceremony.

It was 10:27 by the time she made it to the meeting room. Her ponytail was nearly blown out of place by the storm of wind she had just flown through, and her cheeks were ruddy with a wild mixture of emotions. Her face was stark white and her eyes were wild, darting towards the people who had made it there before her, towards an empty seat, then back again. Breathing heavily, she sank down into one of the chairs near the front of the room, thankful for the presence of soft cushions. Hestia might have looked like a mess, but she was there on time and with time left to spare. What others thought of her at that moment mattered little.

Hyacinth entered the room at ten-thirty on the dot. An older gentleman of about fifty-something-years old, the Chairman’s age looked much more prominent than before right there and then. It was as if he had turned gray overnight; a fresh flourish of pale color hair bloomed out from behind his left ear and arched towards the side of his head. She didn’t remember that being there, and she had only seen him a few days prior. Nevertheless, the dark-haired man’s head was held high as he made his way to his chair at the head of the table and sat down, his bespectacled features betraying no emotion even as his gray eyes turned to look at everyone. He clasped his hands in front of him, neatly folding them upon each other, before his the bristles about his jaws finally twitched and his first words to them spilled forth from dry lips.

”Thank you all for being here today. I apologize for such short notice, but I couldn’t take any chances,” the Chairman began. ”As some of you have noticed, I’ve chosen to cancel the Opening Ceremony that was supposed to take place at ten this morning.”

Hestia leaned forward. ”Why?” she rasped. When he glanced towards her, she straightened up in her chair and coughed into a fist. ”I-I mean, why did you cancel the Opening Ceremony? Pretty sure the whole of Galar was waiting for us to make our appearances–”

”I wish it hadn’t come down to it, but it was a necessary step I had to take in light of information I received from Wyndon’s police department,” Hyacinth said, gloom hovering over his words. A somber shadow crossed his expression as he rested his chin upon his clasped hands, his eyes whisking over the gym leaders that had gathered before him. ”Mr. Sutherland was supposed to be here at nine this morning. When he didn’t arrive, I became worried, so I sent someone to check in with him. When they arrived, they said that his home had been broken into– and in the midst of a struggle, he was abducted. As of now, we don’t know where he is or if he’s alright.”

[Psyker Landshark]

Fiona MacConnell

Morning had brought a hangover with it, but that wasn't exactly something Fiona was unfamiliar with. Coffee, breakfast, and aspirin helped her feel like a human being again by the time the message to meet at Hyacinth Tower, which she responded to with a groan.

"Och, ye've gotta be fuckin' me..." Fiona planted her head onto her kitchen table in resignation. She already hadn't exactly been looking forward to doing the opening ceremony hung over, but considering that was how she'd done it two years in a row already, that was to be expected at this point. Her phone pinged again at that moment, and she lifted her head slightly to stare at the news alert that said opening ceremony had been cancelled.

Only an idiot wouldn't have been able to connect the dots. Whatever the Chairman wanted now, it was important enough to cancel the entire ceremony for. That was...almost unheard of, really. Great. Just great. That meant she actually had to attend this meeting instead of skipping out. With another irritated groan, Fiona forced herself out of her seat and started trudging across her house towards the addition she affectionately referred to as the Birdcage.

Functionally, it was a large second building she'd had built attached to her existing house to contain all her Pokemon in. As befitting housing for Flying types, there were multiple exits built into the roof for her Pokemon to fly in and out of as they saw fit, allowing them to go out hunting in the nearby woods for food should they wish it. Fortunately, it seemed that whatever hunting any of her Pokemon did had already been finished by the time she walked in, as her entire lineup was gathered around the massive 4k TV installed on the far wall. It seemed that the League opening cancellation had already made the morning news.

"Gooood morning, motherfuckers!" Fiona shouted out, her assorted Flying-types turning to her with cries and greetings. "Well, looks like ye've all seen th' headlines. Bad news is, I'm gettin' called into th' office. Whatever this shite is, it's probably important. So looks like we're gonna go wit' a full team." She fished out six empty Pokeballs, gesturing towards her main team. "Aye, pile in. Except fer..." Fiona looked her squad over, trying to decide who she wanted as her ride to Wyndon today. Well, she only really had three choices that could bear a human, and one of them wasn't on her primary team. "Raptor got two turns last night, so yer up, Felon."

The Salamence nodded and roared as the remaining five members of Fiona's team were sucked into their balls, lowering his body to allow Fiona to clamber on. "Right, we're off. Rest of ya got free reign about tha house." With that, the remainder of Fiona's menagerie started to separate, some staying to watch more television while others flew off themselves. With a pat of Felon's neck, they were off.

___

At the meeting, once the news broke, Fiona leaned back in her admittedly very comfy seat with a groan. What a goddamn shitshow this was.

"Gonna play Darkrai's advocate here fer a sec, bossman. Yer absolutely sure Ryker got his arse kidnapped? He don't just have a messy apartment an' he stepped out fer a bit? Because, every offense intended to 'em, I'm surprised some of yer assistants're able tae dress themselves in th' morning." She popped open a water bottle and took a few swigs before continuing.

"That bein' said, if th' coppers're sure, what's yer plan? Please tell me it doesn't involve us spinnin' our wheels here, dicks in our hands doin' nothing."

[Fabricant451]

By the time Holly had gotten back from her morning jog, the news had broken. Normally Holly would have been done with her run well before the day had officially begun but after last night - helping clean the Dahlia given her one drink maximum leaving her incredibly sober, she allowed herself to sleep in a little later. Not too much later, of course, otherwise she would quickly find herself falling out of the routine she had so comfortably settled into. Of course, Holly didn't get wind of the news of the cancellation until she stepped out of the shower, hair in desperate need of drying and cosmetics in even more dire need of application, and turned the television on for background noise. What she heard from the breaking report almost made her poke her eyes with an eyelash curler. Instead it clattered to the ground and Holly, who had been watching in the reflection of her vanity, turned her head with a confused, blinking stare.

The low rumbling of her phone vibrating away wasn't enough to break her concentration on the news. With how much of the region was built around the gym challenge - socially, economically, and touristically - it was impossible to imagine a scenario where one of the biggest events of the year was cancelled. Short of an apocalyptic event, Holly couldn't think of any reason to not go forward and with it being cancelled that was apocalyptic in its own right. Sure, she might have had her misgivings about the pomp and circumstance but she was, if nothing else, a professional and played her part the same as everyone else.

Also looking on and sensing a problem based on Holly's reaction was Doppio, who had been looking forward to having her shell spines sharpened and cleaned for the ceremony. The Toxapex blinked as it swayed inside its shell, toothy mouth wriggling in disappointment as it became clear that Holly wasn't going to give the poison barb equivalent of a mani-pedi today. Doppio closed her shell flap to sigh to herself, the low complaining sighs of her disapproval muffled behind the colorful shell.

"Don't you start." Holly said, barely turning to look towards Doppio before her eyes finally broke free of the television as she saw her phone vibrating enough to move it on the counter. "Shit..." She would be late. There was no getting around that. It was already 10:20. Still, there was an advantage to being late and that was being fashionably late. Holly was certain no one would expect anything less from her.

The meeting had already started by the time Holly walked in. True to her nature, she walked in looking less like someone arriving for a spot of bad news and more like she was stopping in on her way to a photoshoot. Black heeled boots and dark leggings that looked like faux leather but knowing Holly was anything but, a sleeveless tank top; the coat she wore with it was draped on her back like a cape only because it was too cumbersome to carry on her arm and it was too warm inside to wear it normally. In her hands was a coffee cup - she had taken the time to stop for coffee on the way in - and if she didn't seem overly concerned based on appearance and time of arrival than her neutral expression and shrug of the shoulders as she arrived did the trick.

"Good coffee." Holly felt she had to say something as she awkwardly took a sip from her cup, looking around at the others who seemed to not be in much of a state of amusement.

[Serei2477]

Mentions: Nordrin (Sorry for not responding)
Interactions: People

Nordrin was right when he said that Wedgehurst's gym had people in tents waiting to challenge her. Though it was nice to see all the lively young trainers waiting to get their hands on a Ghost badge, it meant Iris had to stock up on more and more on potions, elixirs, and berries just to be able to keep up with all the demand. If it weren't for her sponsorships, she would barely be able to afford all of it. She would have told him as such.

Being the first gym leader was tiring sometimes, but she also worked to scare away anyone who wasn't worth her friends' times, which made it all the more worthwhile in her eyes.

After the lovely evening came to an end, Iris walked around a little more to explore the Wyndon shops before she retired to the hotel room she had booked for the opening ceremony. She took the time to pamper herself so that she would look her absolute best for the ceremony tomorrow. Iris had a coat from a sponsorship deal that she needed to wear, and if the mannequin herself looked disgusting, then the outfit would be sullied in turn.

The next morning, Precious had awoken her with its adorable screaming. It was a little early, but her poor Pokémon had probably grown tired of waiting for her to finish sleeping. The first few times it annoyed her, but now, she was used to her personal alarm clock making sure she was up bright and early every day.

Iris would take her time getting ready for the day, making sure she herself was in order. Shower taken, hair dried and brushed, makeup orderly and set, perfumed also set. She wore one of her usual Victorian-inspired tops and black leggings with high heeled black boots and a decorated purse to go with it. A nice set of ruby earrings and rose gold accessories would bring out the outfit nicely; at least until she dressed into the pre-planned outfit for the ceremony. Until then, Iris decided to explore Wyndon for a while.

However, while she was returning to the hotel to change clothes, she received the alert that made her heart sink. For a second, she almost couldn't believe it.

"Cancelled?"

Was someone sick? In the hospital? Even if it were the former, there were work arounds to not have the person overdoing themselves. Was it the latter? Just how bad was it that the entire ceremony needed to be cancelled? The ideas and concerns were running through her head as Iris rushed to get to the Chairman's office, with Precious floating right next to her. Of course she could only get there so fast thanks to the heels she was wearing, but she managed to make it right after Holly.

She stopped at the door frame, panting for breath. Even though she was used to wearing high heels, running in them was a different story.

"C-Cancelled... Why...?" Once Iris was filled in, she went and took a seat next to Fiona. "Abducted..? But what about Ryker's Pokémon? Couldn't they have protected him? Were they left behind?" She asked the Chairman. If Ryker was kidnapped, would the abductors have forced him to leave his Pokémon behind? If they were taken with him, then what did the abductors want with him and his Pokémon?

[King Cosmos]

Sebastien Tomas

Sebastien felt that he wasn’t properly dressed for a meeting of this severity, but given that none of the others were either it seemed to be okay; at least he wasn’t as hung over as some of them seemed to be. Keeping his drinking light and alternating between alcohol and water had done wonders for that, though it also meant he was one of the few people sober enough at the end of the night to be roped into cleaning up after the rest of them before he could go home himself.

Following up on all of that by then waking up early the following morning to have enough time to get ready for the opening ceremony the next day had him questioning why the drinks had been scheduled the day before the second biggest event of the year for trainers across the region. It couldn’t have been because they had expected people to show some restraint, given how some of the other leaders had immediately gone for the heavy stuff; it felt ill-conceived from the get go.

None of that mattered much now though; the opening ceremony was cancelled and though they didn’t say as much, he had to assume that the gym challenger and Galar Cup were as well. There was much point to hosting it with Ryker missing after all; you couldn’t have a championship with no champion, not to mention that carrying on as normal and holding a tournament to take the crown of someone who’s fate was apparently up in the air would be callous to say the least.

Would the minor gym challenge also be cancelled? The trainers challenging the minor league weren’t fighting for entrance to the Galar Cup, but rather than chance to take part in the gym challenge next season; technically you could beat all of the minor gyms and try to challenge the major league straight after, but doing so put you at a huge disadvantage so most trainers would just let their free ticket roll over to the following year. It could feasibly continue with the champion missing.

It felt rude to ask. The other gym leaders were more concerned with what had happened to Ryker than what was going to happen to them or their roles; rightfully so, since they all knew the kid and were worried for his wellbeing. Stepping in to ask about his job in the middle of all that seemed crass, even if he was frustrated that the whole thing would be cancelled during his first year.

“So what happens next?”

[LuckyBlackCat]

@Ambra @Psyker Landshark

Techno music blared through the room, growing steadily louder. "Uuuuuugggghhhh..." Astrid winced and rolled over. Every beat made her head pulse in pain. She sat up and fumbled at the snooze button on her phone, which for some reason wouldn't work, the alarm only increasing in volume. A giggle sounded from the device. With bleary vision, she saw a familiar pair of blue eyes appear on the screen as the phone lifted and floated across the room.

"Nnngghhclipse!" The Rotom's name came out as an incoherent grumble. Astrid made to clamber out of bed, only to topple and thud to the floor in an unceremonious tangle of sheets. The hotel room lurched around her. Eclipse, with a taken-aback yelp, hopped out of the now silent phone and left it on the desk, floating over to make sure Astrid was alright.

"Ugh... crash landing damage appears to be minimal..." Astrid put on that over-technical voice, to reassure Eclipse. "Although an urgent refuel is necessary." She took several deep breaths, rubbing her eyes, her knuckles coming away covered in sparkly blue eyeshadow. Looking down, she saw she was still in a rather crumpled party dress. Just how drunk had she been? Once sure she could stand without either collapsing or puking, she staggered upright and slumped into the desk chair, starting up the coffee machine. This was as torturous as it was embarrassing, although it was nothing coffee wouldn't fix. Isaiah would probably roll his eyes at her later during the ceremony, or tell her all that caffeine wasn't good for her, but he should know a cure was a cure...

The ceremony.

"Oh crap!" This was the worst day to have slept through her alarm. She jabbed at her phone, and breathed a huge sigh of relief. Only 9:20 am. "Whew, got to thank you Eclipse. It might take some turbo mode on my part, but we'll get back on our preplanned course..." She frowned at the message that popped up. "Uh, change of plan. We're meeting at the office for some reason?" With clumsy fingers, she checked her other notifications. Her stomach tightened, which this time had nothing to do with the hangover. The ceremony, the news announced, was cancelled.

Her still-foggy mind raced. Had something happened to one of the other gym leaders on the way back? Wyndon could be rough, and although the gym leaders could handle themselves, bad things could happen to anyone. She hurriedly breakfasted, showered and dressed, trying not to assume the worst, which was easier said than done when so much rested on the gym challenge. Whatever had gotten such a monumental event cancelled could be nothing short of dire.

Despite her groggy state, she arrived at the office with time to spare. Plopping herself down in the nearest seat, she sipped at her coffee flask, waiting for Hyacinth to arrive. When he did, Astrid's heart sank even further. She could tell from the chairman's appearance how serious this was. The lines in his face looked deeper, and more grey than before peppered his hair.

She stared as he spoke, the news sinking in like a leaden weight. Ryker was missing. Kidnapped. Even though just yesterday, he'd been chatting and drinking with everyone, sharing his excitement about the upcoming challenge. Fiona broke the silence that followed, asking about a plan. Astrid nodded, leaning forward. "Fiona's right. Is there anything we can do to help? We're gym leaders, we've got to do something!" From what she'd read, Elesa and the other Unova gym leaders didn't just sit around doing nothing when trouble arose. This was the time to take their example.

[Yankee]

_{_ _ _______________________________ _ _
mentions:}

While traveling to Wyndon this time, Nordrin did end up taking a flying taxi. The airways were hectic with civilians, businessmen, reporters, and the like moving back and forth around Galar in the wake of the last minute notice that the league's opening ceremony was cancelled. If he'd known this was going to happen, Nordrin would have gotten a hotel somewhere in the city last night after leaving the bar. He'd ended up leaving a bit earlier than most of the others so he didn't know what happened after the fact, but he couldn't imagine that the people he'd known for years would be so unprofessional that they'd be too hungover to get their arses up, resulting in the cancellation.

...well, okay, he could picture that scenario happening with perfect clarity. But he doubted it was actually the case.

He stepped out of the cab in front of Hyacinth Tower and made his way to the chairman's office. Like last night his hair was loose, though tossed by the wind. He was dressed in his usual uniform, having expected to be here in town for the ceremony, not an urgent meeting. When he made it to the room he found the faces of his fellow gym leaders that had arrived before him, just as confused about the announcement as everyone else in the whole of Galar. Nordrin said nothing, just patiently awaited the rest of the leaders and the chairman himself.

When Hyacinth did arrive, he dropped quite the bombshell on them all.

Almost everyone present immediately dove into questioning the man. What were the details, what were the next steps? Nordrin himself agreed with Fiona and Astrid when they exclaimed that the gym leaders should assist in finding Ryker. For now the Fairy-type leader said nothing, not bothering to add to the rain of questions the chairman was receiving. The scowl on Nordrin's face deepened. More than two years with the kid as reigning champ, and nothing like this had happened before... and that it happened now couldn't have been a coincidence. Troubling indeed, especially for Ryker.

As Hyacinth answered the questions he was posed, Nordrin spoke up.

"Was a bit hasty of you to cancel publicly like that," He commented. "You stirred up the whole bloody region. Can't exactly have a championship without a champion eh, I get it, but you're goin' to be dealing with a lot of damage control. That you can leave me out of."

Any reporter or journalist that tried to stop him for some insight on what was going on with the league was going to get chewed out, that was for damn sure. He'd leave it to the league's publicity staff. As far as the actual plan for finding their missing champion in the mean time? That he wouldn't mind helping out with. It would be better than doing nothing and waiting around with his thumb up his ass anyway.

[PrankFox]

Mentions: All present

It was a mercy that Isaiah was used to waking up early in the morning to go to the clinic. Even if he'd wanted to sleep in later, enjoy the mostly quiet hotel room, before the chaos of the opening ceremony his body clock wouldn't allow it. Despite the late hour he finally got out of the Dahlia after helping Mason clean the place up a bit, and haul the gym leaders that were more drunk than the rest out to their rides or rooms. He still managed to catch a reasonable amount of sleep to his surprise. At the very least he was glad he made the decision not to get drunk so he could actually function for the opening ceremony.

At least, that was the plan. The TV was playing in the background, giving him some noise to help focus, as he worked on the charts for the clinic. Normally he would take the time before the ceremony to prepare for the fact he had to deal with a large number of people, but the distraction worked just as well. At least there hadn't been any urgent calls from the folks he left in charge.

He leaned back in the mostly uncomfortable hotel chair with a sigh, running his hands down his face in a bid to wake up further. Apollo on the other hand was sprawled on his back on the bed, horned head dangling nearly over the side as he watched the news reels flick by. Isaiah occasionally shot him a glance to make sure that nothing had caught fire, but mostly let the dark Pokémon lounge. The large canine got fidgety if he was left to his own devices too long, but the short woofs and sound of shuffling bedsheets were enough to grab his attention anyway.

"What now Apollo?" He turned a raised eyebrow to where the news was playing at Apollo's insistent stare. He didn't need to hear what the reporter was saying, the headline that the opening ceremony had be cancelled was enough to send him scrambling for his phone. He hadn't been paying attention to it, but the text from the chairman was enough for him to slam his laptop shut, thankful that he was already dressed for the day. He pulled Apollo into his ball before turning off the TV and hastily exiting the hotel to make for Hyacinth Tower.

He was, unsurprisingly, early compared to a number of the others who had gotten hammered the previous night. He sat in one of the chairs in the meeting room, scrolling through the news to see if there was any other information about what had happened. Unfortunately there was nothing that he could see and that sent nervous thoughts wriggling through his brain. The chairman wouldn't cancel the ceremony without good reason, it was just concerning what that reason might be. He sent the occasional wave or greeting to those who came in after him before turning his attention to the chairman as the man walked in at 10:30 sharp.

The news the chairman had was...not what he'd been expecting. Ryker of all people, abducted from his own house? That didn't seem to add all the way up. Everyone else seemed to be expressing the same thoughts and concerns. Where were the champion's Pokémon? What were they going to do? Despite Fiona's crass way of expressing it she did have a point. It seemed a bit hasty to jump to the most dramatic conclusion before they'd heard anything else.

"Have the police said anything concrete?" Usually there was more that went into it than just declaring someone abducted from his understanding. He was a doctor though, not law enforcement, so he didn't know how much had already been done. At the very least they could keep level heads and not go running to something stupid.

[Marlowe]

MENTIONS:

What’s going to happen next? What would be the consequences? These questions, along with a flurry of more, were thrown at the chairman’s direction. Hestia watched as Hyacinth removed his glasses from the ridge of his nose in order to wipe the lenses with a pale-colored rag. It was odd to see the man so calm after such a disaster had happened, but then again, she didn’t remember a time when he showed much emotion– not even when he was fuming. He was the type of person to express himself through words and not through action, and while this made him easy to deal with most of the time, right now it only made her more anxious. She bit the inside of her cheek as Hyacinth’s gray eyes once again swept over their number.

”The details of the abduction are still hazy, although it seems that whoever did take Mr. Sutherland also took his Pokemon along with him. There’s no sign of his Pokemon anywhere in his residence. Not even his Pokeballs.” Hyacinth cleared his throat before continuing. ”Yes, there’ll likely be an uproar in the face of canceling the opening ceremony, but I went along with the safest course of action. Going forth with the opening ceremony might have put many more individuals at risk and I didn’t want to take the chance. Thankfully, we’re prepared to receive whatever backlash that’s aimed at our organization in response, so you needn’t worry about any of that.”

Hestia cupped her hands and stared at the table. Her vision became misty as her mind raced with thoughts.

”Unfortunately, the police have little information on the situation as of now, so I ask that all of you remain in close contact with one another. Reach out to each other often to check in or board with one another if you want, I don’t care as long as you stick together. I can’t afford for this to get any worse,” the man continued. ”As to what happens next… I've decided that the tournament will continue as usual.”

Her rampaging thoughts were cut short. Hestia’s head snapped upwards as she stared at the man with wide eyes. ”Hyacinth, sir, how are we supposed to compete if we don’t even know what’s gonna happen?”

Hyacinth sighed heavily before he finally positioned his glasses back on his nose. ”We can only hope that we can find Mr. Sutherland in time for the championship match.”

”But–!”

”If we cancel the entirety of the competition, then we’ll never recuperate from such a financial travesty. Besides, I’m certain that this is what Mr. Sutherland would want us to do, wherever he may be.” Hyacinth affirmed. For the first time in the whole meeting, his features darkened as he narrowed his eyes at the number before him. ”That leaves the final matter. I don’t want any of you interfering with the investigation. All that I ask is that you lot carry out your duties as proper gym leaders. Is that understood?”

Her cheeks glowed a rosy hue as she ducked her head. She couldn’t believe this. They had to pretend that nothing was wrong until they found Ryker. That was, if they found him. Her hands quivered slightly as her fingers dug into each other.

[LuckyBlackCat]

@Ambra

Astrid didn't want to take in what she was hearing. She'd held on to Fiona's theory that it was nothing, that Ryker had simply left his apartment a mess and taken a walk. She'd been plenty disorganised herself at his age. However, Hyacinth's explanation made the possibility unlikely. She clenched her fists in her lap, fingers digging into the fabric of her bodysuit. Even though she didn't know the champion well, the thought of him being kidnapped was nothing short of surreal.

And to make matters worse, Hyacinth was still treating the competition as the be all and end all. Astrid's mouth dropped open. As hyped as she'd been about competing, didn't Ryker's situation take priority? As well as the safety of the gym leaders? Hyacinth's insistence that they all stay out of it was the point where she had to say something.

"Sir, in some regions, looking into matters like this is part of a gym leader's duty." She probably sounded every bit the idealist who watched too many action movies, but they were all meant to be strong trainers here. What was the point of said strength if they couldn't make good use of it? Shouldn't there be more to the league than mere entertainment? "Plus, if there's no champion, there'll be no league anyway." If she put it in purely pragmatic terms, maybe Hyacinth would understand. Emphasis on maybe. Ok, who was she kidding. Still, Hestia had the right idea, and Astrid would keep backing her up.

[Solace]

Mentions: Chairman Hyacinth @Ambra, Everybody Else

The thrill and excitement that was originally meant to be the morning of the Galar League's Opening Ceremony had turned into a rude awakening for Mika and the inner circle. He had awoken hours prior to the event for an arrange with his media manager in Motostoke, overseeing the final editing process after finalizing all of the footage for a special program of Earth Power to debut alongside the day's peak of social media activity. Afterwards, he'd shown up to the venue early in order to prepare his surprise to the onlookers-- it was in the midst of creating his camouflage on the turf that the news suddenly broke out all over that the Opening Ceremony was cancelled. On his phone, beyond the outrage across the networks, a familiar face in the Chairman beckoned in a lone notification. Half-past ten o'clock, Hyacinth Tower.

Mika had arrived in Wyndon on the back of Ariete, who needed a reassuring prate after sensing the distress in her trainer. Through the pacing in the hallway to the silence of the meeting room, he'd twiddled his thumbs and listened quietly to the tic of an imaginary clock hand, the stress in his brow not ceasing as the meeting proceeded. The cancellation of the Opening Ceremony roused too many questions-- what would become of the Gym Challenge proper? What was so unprecedented that it warranted such a state of emergency? At the very least, the revelation would quickly put the latter to rest.

A case of kidnapping where Ryker was nowhere to be found.

It all just didn't seem real to Mika, who was fairly acquainted with the Champion. Surely, he wouldn't have gone without protest! With the signs of a human struggle, it was entirely possible that Ryker had been caught unawares and ill afforded the opportunity to resist. The Champion's assailants even had the forethought to take their victim's Pokemon, making it an obvious premeditated crime.

Having remained silent for the delivery of the minute details, the Chairman's intention to proceed with the overall Gym Challenge caused Mika to jump from his seat and angrily crumple the crown of his safari hat on the table. "That's utterly ridiculous and you know it. Cover it up and put on a smile for Galar?" the shorter leader quipped in uncharacteristic fury, turning towards Chairman Hyacinth. "What happens if we're next? You want us to wait, but the ones who took Ryker won't. Fuck the finances, we need to find him and deal with this."

[Majoraa]

Mentions: All in Attendance. Again.

Bianca managed to wake up early in preparations for the opening ceremony. Since she wasn't pissed out drunk like a select few of their group, she was one of the ones that dragged said few back to their homes. Or rides, at the very least. Gratually waking herself up as she and Rose worked together to get ready to go, she decided to wear something lighter than her previous outfit and just change to her gym challenge uniform when it's almost time. Bianca folded the uniform up and stored it in a satchel. As for her pokemon?

"B-Bumble! Hecate, Momo, F-Flurry! You're with us, come on!" She called the ones not yet in their pokeballs to her at the front door, all excited to join her and their friends at the ceremony. Though Bumble did have to catch Flurry before he accidentally ran into the wall. Bianca stiffled a chuckle at that. "A-Alright, alright. Save that f-fire for the challenge!" She grinned. She opened the door-

Before the group could step outside though, Bianca's phone vibrated. "Hm?" She stopped to check who texted her. The Chairman's urgent message had reached her before the news about the ceremony being canceled. Her eyes widened as she read it, then she looked back to her pokemon. "C-Change of plans. You three, hold down the fort w-while we're gone. Rose, you're w-with us. I've a b-bad feeling about this..." Hecate, Flurry, and Momo scampered back to the couch while Bianca called her Darmanitan into his pokeball, and her Gardevoir quietly walked up to her side. The two hurried out as quick as they could.

...

..

Bianca and Rose were the first ones there. The two remained quiet as the rest of the gym leaders gradually arrived. Bianca gave them an empathic frown. She had finally saw the news that the opening ceremony was canceled, and was just as lost as the rest of them. Then once Hyacinth finally arrived to explain everything, her eyes widened in dread.

Ryker has been kidnapped. His Pokemon were taken too.

And Hyacinth expected them to continue on like nothing's happened? To not get involved, yet stick together in case one of them were next?? In the midst of concerned questions and understandable outrage, Bianca remained quiet. She wanted to say something. Anything. If anyone looked her direction they could see her open her mouth as if she was, then quickly shut it back up. There was nothing she could say that the others hadn't already. Rose, sensing the dismay in the room, did her best to calm the gym leaders down.

"I-I..." Bianca didn't know what to do. She passed a worried glance to everyone, especially Hestia, then stood up from her seat. "I-I need to step out f-for a m-moment..." She nodded to her gardevoir, knowing she would keep an eye on them, then stepped out of the room. She took a deep breath and leaned against the wall next to the door.

_{"G-Goddamnit..."}

[King Cosmos]

Sebastien Tomas

Well, there was his answer. The gym challenge would continue on as normal, at least up until the tournament itself, and they would just hope that Ryker turned up safe and sound. They weren’t to get involved, leave the investigation to the police and perform their roles as gym leaders either until everything was resolved or they had no choice but to cancel.

That was all fine with him; Sebastien had no intention of interfering in whatever investigation was currently active. Some of the other leader didn’t agree of course and making their position vocally known; they wanted to cancel the whole thing, or they wanted to go out and look for Ryker themselves, take out whoever did it if it was actually a kidnapping and not something else. He got that, he really did, but unfortunately he couldn’t share their sentiment. They all knew the kid, Sebastien didn’t; he’d only met the guy last night and while he liked the champion well enough he wasn’t about to go charging off looking for trouble for someone he barely knew. And as heartless as it might sound, he wasn’t so torn up about this that he couldn’t just get on with his job like he was being asked to. The fact that they were being asked to keep an eye on each other just in case was worrying, but that was just more reason not to become a part of this.

Ryker seemed like a good guy, Sebastien hoped he was safe, but if he was being asked to just do his job as normal and let the police handle then that’s what he’d do.

The situation in the room was tense though and would likely continue to be so until someone stormed out or was kicked out. Rather than stick around for that Sebastien decided it was best to make an early exit and prepare to receive the challengers who would expect the gym challenge to still be running.

“If that’s all, I’ll be heading back to my gym now. I still have to get things ready.”

[Yankee]

_{_ _ _______________________________ _ _
mentions:}

Financial travesty, he'd said. Nordrin snorted, shaking his head at the chairman's words. Poor man was just riling up the group further with statements like that. Not that Nordrin felt particularly bad for him. Now, after incensing some of the most powerful trainers in Galar, Hyacinth wanted them to pretend nothing had even happened. It was laughable.

"Fat chance that any of them will follow that order," Nordrin scoffed, lifting a hand from where they were folded across his chest. It was at that point that the Water-type leader left the room, and after a moment of silence Nordrin amended, "Except for that one."

As the league's fifth gym leader, Nordrin saw barely half of the participants that signed up to compete anyway - Iris, Isiah, Bianca, and Holly made sure to weed out the weakest trainers. But if those four disobeyed Hyacinth, he wouldn't be seeing any. A championship couldn't be held without it's champion, that was true, but it also couldn't realistically be held without it's gym leaders. If those in the Major league didn't participate, it didn't even leave Nordrin a chose as to if he was going to follow their lead or not. Like hell he was going to entertain a challenger that didn't have the right number of badges - was wasn't a fucking babysitter. He doubted that Hyacinth would promote Minor leaguers up to replace the disobedient gym leaders right now anyway, seeing as at the moment the Minor leaguers that already knew of Ryker's disappearance were split on whether they'd be acting like nothing happened or actually doing something about it.

The whole situation was beginning to give Nordrin a headache. Naturally that was putting him in an even worse mood. He glanced down to check his watch, noting that the entire affair hadn't taken that long. Nordrin was no investigator or detective, but he was sure as fuck a better battler than one. With that thought, Nordrin sighed heavily through his nose before speaking up, his voice taking on a bitter tone.

"I don't think you'll be winnin' this one, Chairman. The police and your goons are going to need all the held they can get, they got bigger fuckin' blockheads than an Eiscue. The sooner somebody finds Ryker, the sooner we can actually get back to doing our duties as proper gym leaders."

The Fairy-type leader gathered himself to depart at that point. "You'll be happy to know, chairman, that I'm not doing shite except running my bloody business, at least until someone gets a lead. Feel free to call me then and I'll beat the disrupting fucker myself and we can get back on track."

Nordrin had been against one of the room's walls, so he pushed through the small crowd to the door. There was no real use arguing with Hyacinth nor the other leaders. If the situation changed one way or another, he was sure he would hear about it anyway. Opening the door, he noted that Bianca was still gathering herself right outside, but seeing as he had nothing to say to the woman he brushed by her. It was barely passed eleven, technically still plenty of time before High Steaks was due to open, but he considered catching a taxi straight back to Hulbury all the same.

[PrankFox]

Mentions: All present, Bianca @Majoras End

Well, the fact that Ryker's pokemon were missing as well was as good an indication as any that something was wrong. Or Ryker had decided he was sick of the limelight and up and left, but given how fired up he'd been the night before that seemed unlikely. The backlash that Hyacinth got from some of the other gym leaders was fully expected though. He highly doubted that a number of them would listen to the fact that he wanted them to keep their noses out of the police's investigation. It was like he'd never met most of them. He had no intention of jumping into the thick of things unless he absolutely had to, if only to keep the others from doing something too stupid.

Instead he let his eyes flick lazily from person to person as they all leapt to refute what the chairman said. Hestia and Astrid were no surprise, but Mika's usually friendly demeanor being upended by the situation was certainly something. Sure they could all go running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to figure out where Ryker was, or they could sit around with their thumbs up their asses. Neither option was particularly appealing.

When some of the other gym leaders started to step out he figured that was the cue that the meeting was as over as it was going to get. If the others wanted to continue to fight with Hyacinth that was their prerogative. Nordrin was on the right track, he had his own business to run and the gears would keep turning with or without Ryker there. For now at least. He gave Hyacinth a nod, "I'll be headed back to the clinic then should someone need something of me."

He pushed out the door and noted Bianca leaned up against the wall. He stepped out of the way of the door to lean against the wall next to her. "You alright?" He kept his eyes fixed on the wall across from him, but there was some genuine concern trapped somewhere in his voice.

[Marlowe]

MENTIONS:

In a matter of moments, the meeting had lost most of its diplomatic backbone. Most of their number were outraged that they couldn't do anything. Others remained silent for the most part, sweltering in their chairs as they mulled over the words spoken at them. Some of them had even left the room entirely, Bianca, Isaiah, and Nordrin included. Hestia simply sat there, her knuckles burning with furor as she glowered at Hyacinth. The chairman remained ever stalwart in the face of a storm of mixed reactions, his features never betraying a wrinkle of anger or irritation. Instead, he turned his gaze back towards the people that remained.

"I would like to remind you that there will be severe punishment slated for those who do get in the way of the investigation. I can't allow any of you to get in the way of the police's work. Arceus forbid that we're dealing with a particularly malignant adversary. Who knows what could happen?" Hyacinth said. Then, with a slight huff, he brushed off his sleeve from imaginary dust before he clasped his hands behind his back. "Relay this information back to the ones who've left. It's important that they know this. Other than that, you may leave."

Hestia still couldn't believe it. To be a sitting Psyduck in the middle of this whole mess... her skin already prickled with apprehension. All she had to do was sit and wait. That was easy enough. It had to be easy enough. She had to do this not only for Ryker, but for the rest of the gym leaders. Chairman Hyacinth cleared his throat at the head of the room, adjusted his glasses, then made his way around the table with a simple: "Farewell, and stay safe."

That was the queue for them to leave. Hestia stood, her bones stiff with muffled fury. Her eyes avoided the glances from the other leaders, if they even bothered to look at her. She couldn't bear to meet their gazes. She was the mere shadow of Ryker, and yet she was all that was left of him at the moment. Yes, she was a mere shade of the one who overcame her. But now, she was something different. She was meant to be more, especially when she was currently the highest rank among them. After a long moment of thought, she lifted her head and swung her gaze around the room at the rest of the leaders. "I'll be taking my leave. If you need me, I'll be a call away."

Hestia was upon Lazuli's back within the minute. The winds of travel wiped her hair back into the vicious current that swirled among the skies, and from behind her blurry vision she could see the faintest hint of Hammerlocke.