People only ever visit to Kanto for one reason. And, really, it’s not that bad of one if you don’t weaken.

It’s a land of comfort and reliability, the crown jewel capital that people keep falling back on time after time, region after region, day after day. (Bastardization after bastardization, regional form after regional form.)

It’s not the perfect region, none are, but she’d take all sun over all moon. It lets the vegetables grow just fine if you kept the mind to pull the tarps over at the right time, and she’d never been all that fond of warmer fabrics. It’s nice to be able to see things versus extra stealth, and she’s sure that there’d be a study somewhere about crime reductions if that sort of thing mattered for these arcs.

Pity the poor Umbreon who have to wait for the next cycle, they say. (Bless the Espeon, they wish to say. If only the Psychic-type was smart enough to show up during that first generation. They could use the variety.)

Pity the Sunny Day teams, they say, and complain that it isn’t actually bright enough to do much with sunlight, but they all end up drifting to Unova soon enough anyway.

Still, constant sun is still more than enough to burn, and the ecosystem needs a bit of rest, even if some suggest Kanto gets periods of constant sunlight for a reason. Like it isn’t a chicken and egg scenario until someone figures out who messed up where.

She just thinks that it makes sense that the oldest region needs the extra bit of elbowing to keep up. It comes with the territory.

Gloria laughs when she says that last bit.

This bookend meeting, too, is a part of the proceedings, but it’s hard to complain about Saffron shōchū on the League’s dollar. Likewise, in regards to the meeting arranged with Galar’s champion.

When she speaks with Gloria, morning glory, gentle things like petals and bourbon in the dim, she can’t help but be a little mean when the conversation drifts. “You’re not even given the courtesy of a proper conflict. Even Johto got to deal with more of Rocket than a five minute rogue cell and an elevator ride.”

“Aye,” the girl says, “but comparin’ ta you, at leas’ our giants shown up on th’ news longer. My boy’s got more dev at tha end than yours, tae. Right proper future laid in the immediate, didn’ have to rely on Alola tropicana to boost his arc.”

She huffs out a laugh. “I’ll have you know,” she starts, “I’ll have you know, we got our follow up a bit earlier than Alola. And we did just fine without any sort of aftermath. Didn’t need any sort of assuring of the future that people didn’t want in the first place.

“And what of the girl, hm?” she continues. “Amazing fashion taste, but what’d she do she wasn’t already anticipating? She never had too much angst about kicking her brother out his literal alleyway of a city.”

“Catch yourself on, I won’ have you badmouth Marnie where y’can even think it,” Gloria growls.

“What, you gonna go full Trainspotting on me?” she leers, and Gloria squints a sec longer before she bursts into laughter.

“Wise up, Trainspotting is set in Scots. And I’d go e’en harder, skip Porno and go all tae way to Dead Men’s Trousers, wile dastardly.” The Galarian waves it off. “Annhow, ye dunnae once ‘fore, haven’t ye? They treat ya right last time?”

“Oh, no, I missed the first round. The last time, whatever.” She swirls her glass, thinks of one poem or another. Flower, sun, wind, reach for the moon (immortal smoke. (Fall off the boat.)) “It was a boy’s year, but there wasn’t anything bad to say from what the interviews say. Of course, who knows?”

“Yae wannit to be quiet or yae want that whole fuss?”

“I mean…”

“Violet,” she says. Like the city in Johto, and then like the flower, and never like the color. “You’re just all craic aren’ yea?”

She bats her eyelashes, just in case Gloria has an eye for newbies. Has to have some respect for beginnings if she agreed to this, after all. “I just figure the point is to stop and smell the roses, spice it up a bit. Not like the League doesn’t hype it up.”

Gloria’s nose crinkles all cute. “Can onlae be broke to the bone about roses anymore. Tae cloy. But, yannae, I can get it. Just watch yourself, aye? It’s all fun an’ games ‘til off the path means [i]off the path[/i]. Ya knae, like Kalos.”

“There’s some decent conspiracies about that, actually,” she half-says, because Gloria looks a touch serious and very cute, but maybe she’s not cute enough to match and shouldn’t push her luck too much even if she can’t stop herself completely.

“Actually, aye?”

“Yeah, something like Lysandre takin’ one for the team and taking all the too-rich with him. And that he’s had this whole thing with the regional professor planned out. Hiding out somewhere once they dug him out.”

Gloria hums thoughtfully. She orders another round of something who’s name is lost in the tide of the crowd. “Aye, really?” And then, “Aye, I can see it. Specially with Malva all tangled up. Could’ve smoothed Diantha all up innit so easy. Poor critters, the lot of them. Wee students.”

“With how their arcs were handled, lord, yeah.”

“Shut your bake!” Gloria cries, but she’s still smiling as she salts her hand, then offers the container to her. “Serena’s dead-on.”

“So long as you don’t view her as the rival.”

“Ah course.”

She raises her glass. Tequila isn’t all that fitting your stereotype, she wants to say.

“To all the character arcs,” she says instead.

“Tae all we may see,” the other girl says, and they click their glasses together before they lick their hands, down the shots.

Gloria sighs in wonder and warmth, looks around the bar, to the light peeking behind a curtain. “A land where thae sun don’t drop makes it a wee bit awkward to drink, yannae. It was a wee bit skewed durin’ mine, but not this strict.”

“We weren’t supposed to be here in the first place,” she says, just to be fair. “Although I think this is a bit more fun than the restaurant.”

Gloria tilts her head kindly. Maybe another adjective she can’t think of, too, because there’s something sharp through the buzz, and the feeling of fingers brushing against her thigh before it goes back up to tuck hair behind her ear. “Full craic, so it is. Once more with feelin’.”

“If Hoenn and Johto can do it, so can we,” she wants to say, but she’s already distracted because Gloria takes her wrist and gently kisses the inside, goes further still.