Chapter Text
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Diana said, politely inclining her head as she pulled out Akko’s chair for her. Akko’s polite face slipped for a moment as she stifled a giggle at Diana’s chivalrous antics.
“The pleasure is ours, I assure you,” Maya responded, already lifting the pot of tea to pour into Diana and Akko’s cups, before tending to herself and Claudine. “I must say, it’s not every day that one has the opportunity to meet two Champions.”
“I must be terribly rude and correct you, Akko is the Champion, and I a humble resea—”
Diana’s self-effacing ramble was interrupted by Akko blowing a loud raspberry. “You were Champion! You beat me fair and square!” Akko narrowed her eyes. “No stupid false humility or I’ll smack your head I swear.”
Claudine snickered. “Exactement, Akko. What’s the point of achievements if you can’t rub them in everybody’s faces?” She smirked at Maya.
“Need I remind you of our sparring record for the past year, ma Claudine?” Maya sipped her tea with a small, satisfied smile.
“I won the last one!” Claudine protested, a small drop of tea splashing out.
“And the, ah, five prior to to that?” Maya’s eyebrow raised behind her cup.
“Mechante va!” Claudine fumed, folding her arms and turning her attention away. “Akko. Tell me how you did it.”
“Huh?” Akko hummed through a mouthful of tea, which she swiftly swallowed. “Did what?”
Claudine leaned closer. “Finally defeated your hated rival-turned-girlfriend-but-still-an-infuriating-insufferable—”
“Akko was never my rival,” Diana interrupted calmly.
Akko and Claudine shared a look that spoke of solidarity through a lifetime of agony.
“I, uh, never beat her,” Akko forced out. “She abdicated.”
Claudine deflated.
“I’m sure if I were to formally challenge you now, you would swiftly trounce me,” Diana reassured Akko with a pat on her shoulder. Which had the precise opposite effect. “Our championship bout was extremely narrowly contested, and I had a heavy type advantage. Akko did more than enough to earn her position after I turned my attentions elsewhere, and her spotless record since then proves it.”
“But I have a type advantage!” Claudine despaired, sitting back with a huff as Maya preened next to her.
“Ah yes.” Diana turned to Maya with an appreciative smile. “Might I commend you in your excellent taste in signature Pokemon. Alolan-Ninetales are wonderful creatures, elegant and—”
“Claudine, your Arcanine is so cool!” Akko interrupted, a light burning in her eyes. “Is he here? Can I see him? Can I pet him!?”
Claudine grinned. “After dinner, absolutely! He loves scritches on his shoulders,” she said with a conspiratorial whisper. Akko smiled back, grateful to have found a kindred spirit.
A waiter set down several plates of starters.
Akko opened her mouth to thank him, but was interrupted by the heresy that befell her poor, unprepared ears.
“Ew, umeboshi.” Claudine pushed the small plate away.
Diana gulped next to her.
It was already too late.
“How…” Akko’s bubbly voice stretched down to its lowest depths of gravitas. “Dare you!?”
“…Excuse me?” Claudine raised her disgusted gaze from the pickled plums in front of her, to a face of confusion as she looked at Akko. “You mean to imply you like these salty monstrosities?”
“You would dare speak a word against the miracle food of the motherland!?” Akko shoved a piece into her mouth, chewing it down quickly to prove her point. “It’s the perfect food! It’s delicious, and it cures stomachache, so you can keep eating more of it!”
“A shame it can’t cure the nausea upon my tongue when I even think about eating one of these awful Bidoof droppings.” Claudine scrunched up her nose.
“What is wrong with you!?” Akko demanded, gesticulating at Claudine’s face with the plum in her hand. Which she then ate. “‘Ow shan you naht,” she swallowed, “appreciate the flavour?”
“What’s wrong with you?” Claudine retorted, jabbing her finger back. “If I wanted to taste something so sour, I’d listen to Maya’s parents pretend to be proud of her for upstaging their failed battling careers!”
“Ma cherie, I think you might be getting a little—”
“It’s not my fault your palate’s so unrefined you hate good food!” Akko declared. “At least Diana has the excuse that she’s Galarian and they think good food is like, a bedtime story to trick children into being polite.”
“Akko!”
“Look, Diana, I love you more than anything, but if your aunt gives me one more unseasoned dish that looks and tastes like burnt leather, I’m gonna scream.”
“Darling, people are looking—”
“In shock at the fact this unruly child is actually eating umeboshi, no doubt—”
“Speak ill of my girlfriend again and I will skewer you with this chopstick—”
“You’ll perish before your hand leaves the table—”
Akko slammed her hands down. “Alright,” she said, as the plates stopped rattling and three sets of very dangerous eyes focused on her. “Since you’re so unwilling to accept the truth, there’s only one thing for it.”
Akko glanced between Claudine and Maya. “We battle. Two-versus-two. Next week. The losers must accept that the winners are right about umeboshi being a gift from Arceus himself upon this good Earth.”
“Deal.”
“D’accord.”
All of their eyes swivelled to Diana, who took a deep breath.
“I would usually take this opportunity to chide you for taking such a petty argument so seriously, however,” she grabbed Akko’s hand, “this clown called you a child. So I will do everything within my power to obliterate her on the field of battle.”
Maya set down her tea, placing her hand on Claudine’s. “You are certainly welcome to try.”
Akko stirred, an unnatural glare assaulting her as she cracked her eyes open.
“Hurhh.” She shielded her eyes, turning her face away with a groan. “Diana?”
“Ah, my apologies, I didn’t mean to wake you.” The glare reduced as Diana lowered the brightness on her laptop, but didn’t close the video she was watching.
“Jet lag?” Akko commiserated, squinting as her sleep-addled eyes made out that it was… nearly two in the morning.
Diana coughed. “Let’s call it jet lag, yes.”
Akko’s eyes finally came into focus, seeing that Diana was intently watching a PokeTube video of Maya’s last match.
“Ah. Research.”
Diana nodded, her mouth in a grim line. “Unfortunately, she’s extremely skilled.”
“Oh.” The fog slowly cleared as Akko watched Maya conducting her Pokemon like—no, that wasn’t it. Diana fought like an elegant conductor, each move precise and perfect. Maya was no less precise, but there was something else too. A certain level of forcefulness, of brutality.
Akko winced as Maya’s on-screen opponent, a Decidueye under the command of a scared looking girl with purple hair and glasses, buckled under the unrelenting pressure of Maya’s Swanna. Strike after strike, always pressing forwards, the constant attacks never giving her opponent a moment to breathe.
Decidueye launched a desperate maneuver for space, slicing with a Leaf Blade and darting to the edge of the arena to attempt to buy time to bring its ranged arsenal to bear.
“Brave Bird!”
Akko’s eyes widened as Swanna flew unflinchingly through Decidueye’s hastily launched leaf arrow, barely noticing the attack as it smashed into Decidueye at full force.
“Holy shi—”
“She still had three Pokemon in reserve,” Diana commented as the announcer declared Maya the victor.
“Wow. She uh, likes to win dramatically, huh?” Akko said.
“I get the impression that Maya derives a certain level of satisfaction from her opponents knowing they’ve been beaten,” Diana said.
“…That’s kinda hot though, you gotta admit.” Akko grinned.
Diana flicked her on the nose.
“Oh come on we were both thinking it.” Akko curled up closer to Diana, smiling cherubically up at her. “Wonder if Claudine knows everyone can tell she’s a bottom.”
“Akko!”
“What? I’m just saying, you don’t fight someone like that,” Akko gestured at the screen, where Maya’s victorious smirk was slowly returning to her schooled, composed look, “and lose all the time if you’re not at least a little into it.”
Diana glared at her.
“You know your glasses only make that look hotter.”
Diana took them off.
Akko clutched a hand to her heart. “O cruel fate, to have punished me so for the simple crime of being the person I am!”
Diana snorted. “You’re lucky you’re adorable.” She closed the video and tabbed over to a different page. “Speaking of Claudine, her style is a little more, hm, unrestrained? Free-flowing?” Not quite the word, it’s difficult to describe.”
Diana gestured at the screen, where Claudine’s Arcanine was dodging impeccably between jets of water, weaving in a couple of long range fire attacks of its own as it closed the distance, the movements lightning quick despite the danger of instant knockout for a single slip.
“It’s like they’re dancing on a tightrope,” Akko breathed in awe.
Diana nodded. “Both Claudine and Maya are heavily focused on the momentum of a fight, but where Maya tries to control that momentum and overwhelm her opponent on her own terms, Claudine moves with it, riding the wave, reacting with an instinctual brilliance. Fitting for a former child prodigy, I suppose.”
“Oh yeah didn’t she win the Junior Kalos Championship like, eleventy bajillion times in a row or something?” Akko said.
“She was beating teenagers when she was seven.”
“Huh.”
“Akko, darling, I don’t mean to say that we might have bitten off more than we can chew…”
“But?”
“But we may have to resort to some… unconventional strategies in order to secure victory.”
Akko’s grin widened. “Oh now you’re talking my language.”
“Wakey wakey, sleepy Diana,” Akko chirped, setting a cup of tea down on the bedside table. “You missed the buffet breakfast, but I saved you a couple pieces of toast. Wasn’t too bad for hotel food, actually.”
Diana rubbed her eyes, yawning as she sat up. Akko suddenly felt extremely privileged to be the only person in the world who got to see Diana in such an unguarded, human state.
And it helped that her bedhead was adorable.
“Morning,” Diana groaned, blinking the sleep away and reaching for the tea. It was almost miraculous, the way just having the tea in her hand transformed her, her back straightening as she raised the first sip to her lips. “Passable tea, but excellently brewed. Thank you, Akko.”
Akko squeed, pressing a kiss to Diana’s cheek. “Love youuu.”
Diana smiled, taking another sip and setting the tea down to pull Akko in for a hug. Akko happily sank into Diana’s arms, curling against her and melting into the sensation of soft fingers trailing through her hair. “Oh, I discovered a few more things last night.”
“Mmm.” Akko hummed under Diana’s gentle touch. “Good news or bad?”
“A little of both, mostly good,” Diana said.
“Yeah?”
Diana took a quick breath. “Did you know that Maya and Claudine are not Doubles Champions of the Hoenn region?”
“And this photo is from when Hikari ran off into the mountains and I went and tracked her down to get her to keep following her dream with me!” Karen explained animatedly, gesturing to one of many (many) photos plastered around the heavily decorated apartment they were being given an impromptu whirlwind tour of.
“Hey, that one sounds pretty familiar, huh?” Akko said, grinning insufferably at Diana, who had the decency to at least roll her eyes back.
“I don’t seem to recall our incident involving quite so many enraged Aggrons, however.” Diana pointed back at the photo with a raised eyebrow.
“They were big softies really!” Karen smiled. “Right Hikari?”
“They tried to trample us to death.”
“And they failed!”
“Because I stopped them.”
“Because we stopped them!”
“Right after you finished taking that photo, yes.”
“It was an important photo, Hikari.”
Diana and Hikari shared a look that spoke of solidarity through a lifetime of agony.
“Lunch is ready!” called a soft, almost motherly voice from the kitchen. “I made enough for our guests, don’t worry.”
“Coming, Mahiruuu!” Karen called, dragging Hikari behind her.
“Oh, I was unaware the two of you had a… maid?” Diana asked tentatively.
Hikari snorted. “Not quite. No maid would ever accept the level of bullshit Mahiru goes through keeping our dumb asses in line.”
Akko giggled. “No one tell Anna, or she’ll start demanding higher pay.”
“I believe she did give some consideration to early retirement when you moved in,” Diana teased.
Akko stuck her tongue out.
The four of them trooped into the main room, where Karen and her Jigglypuff were helping Mahiru serve lunch (with umeboshi as a side, Akko was pleased to note). As the last dish went down, Karen gave Mahiru a quick kiss on the cheek, giggling as she sat down next to Hikari and clutched onto her arm.
Diana did a double take, looking back and forth between Mahiru, Hikari, and the still giggling Karen before—
“Ohhh.” She swiftly regained her composure. “Right, that makes a lot more sense.”
Akko laughed. “Wow Diana, for someone so attentive, you didn’t notice all the pictures of the three of them on dates?”
“Akko, my best friends used to regularly shower together and go on ‘double-dates’ that were just the two of them with one partner, and it took until their twenties for both myself and them to realise that wasn’t entirely platonic,” Diana said drily. “Forgive me for not putting two and two together when Karen, clearly a very hands-on type of person, showed us several pictures of herself holding hands with one girl while already holding hands with her girlfriend. Or I suppose I should say, one of her girlfriends.”
Akko waved her off, leaning in to whisper conspiratorially to Mahiru. “It’s fine, she gets wordy when she’s embarrassed.”
Mahiru laughed easily, handing out the sets of chopsticks. “Nothing to be embarrassed about. No offense taken, I assure you.”
Diana nodded, a little unsure. “If it’s not too personal, how do you make it work? My aforementioned friends are, hm, how to phrase it—”
“What she means to say,” Akko explained, “is that we had to ask Hannah to give us weekly updates on her relationship status with Barbara and Amanda so we didn’t accidentally trigger a huge rant about how she’s ‘never seeing either of them again!’ and then we had to ask her to stop when she spent that whole time bickering about how much she hated them and then went all, ‘anyway I’m meeting up with Babs again tomorrow and we’re gonna invite Amanda and see how it goe—’”
“I’m not sure they needed quite so much detail, darling,” Diana interrupted, pinching her nose.
Karen laughed again. “Making it all work is really easy.” She lifted a dumpling with her chopsticks and held it towards Mahiru. “We just spoil her rotten.”
Mahiru flushed, accepting the dumpling almost resignedly. Hikari chuckled. “Honestly, it’s the least we can do since she’s like, ninety-nine percent of our impulse control.”
Diana took a single look at Akko. “I believe that is, what is it the kids call it? A big mood.”
Laughter rang out across the table once more.
They returned to the hotel room with light, easy smiles.
“I admit, I’d hoped for a little more to work with than just the fact that Hikari and Karen make an excellent team, but that was pleasant,” Diana said. “They seem lovely people.”
Akko nodded in agreement, kicking off her shoes. “Hey I think we got a little more than that. When Karen was talking about the fight and being all—” Akko started waving her arms, “—’and then Pikachu dodged and then Maya’s Frosmoth chased her down but she kept her on her toes and then Hikari’s Bisharp landed a Smart Strike and’—” Akko coughed. “Anyway, point is, it feels like Karen was really good at getting Maya to overextend, trying to exert her will on the fight.”
“Hmm.” Diana tapped her chin. “I suppose a more disruptive approach might help in moving the fight away from Maya’s comfort zone. I trust that I can count on you to take the lead in such endeavours?”
“Course,” Akko said, pulling their guest yukatas from the closet. “I bring the chaos, you bring the stability and keep me covered, right?”
Diana nodded again, a small smile finding her face. “I think I can handle that, darling.”
Akko paused, reaching out to rub Diana’s shoulder. “Hey…” There was so much to say, and only so many words that Akko knew would help. It had been a while since Diana had battled, and even back during her championship run, she’d always liked having control. Minimising the variables. Akko wasn’t an idiot, she knew that Diana’s “research” was as much about soothing her own worries about being underprepared as anything else.
Akko just didn’t know how to say that without forcing Diana into an uncomfortable conversation about her nerves and insecurities.
So she didn’t.
“Thanks,” was all Akko said, leaning in for a tender kiss.
Diana hissed air through her nose, staring with disbelief at the sleeping woman sitting across from her.
Futaba winced apologetically, gesturing helplessly at Kaoruko, who was snuggling more onto her shoulder. “She does this,” she explained.
“And she’s a member of the Elite Four, you say?” Diana commented.
“Wait, lemme guess, her ace is a Snorlax?” Akko quipped.
Futaba nodded slowly. “She uh, specifically asked to be third so that she’d have to fight less opponents.”
“I see,” Diana said icily.
“Would’ve been fourth but Claudine kicked her ass halfway across Ever Grande for even suggesting taking her spot as Elite Four Leader.” Futaba rolled her eyes without malice.
“I respect that.” Akko grinned.
A couple of nods affirmed the point.
The silence returned.
“…So, Futaba, what is it that you d—”
Diana was interrupted by a loud snort as Kaoruko sat up suddenly, looking around wild-eyed.
“Hey, did you guys know Maya’s really afraid of ghosts??”
Stunned silence met her declaration. Diana steepled her fingers.
“…Interesting.”
Ninetales let out a small yip as she sank into the ice bath, licking Maya’s nose with tired affection as Maya wrapped the towels around her aching shoulder muscles.
“Hey Maya,” Claudine called from where she was helping Arcanine stretch out his own tired legs, “do you think that we might have, I don’t know, allowed the argument to escalate a little too much?”
Maya sniffed. “Of course not. That boor was insulting your honour and taste. Such an act cannot be allowed to stand, for as we know, you have the most perfect taste imaginable.”
“Why does that sound like you’re complimenting yourself?” Claudine narrowed her eyes.
“Because I am.” Maya smirked.
“Truly infuriating,” Claudine said drily.
Maya raised an eyebrow. “As if you don’t love it.”
Claudine grit her teeth, but decided not to rise to it. She really must be tired.
Claudine finished stretching Arcanine, recalling him to his Poke Ball as she stood with a stretch of her own.
“You actually quite like umeboshi yourself, don’t you.” Claudine didn’t ask.
Maya turned back to rubbing Ninetales’ shoulders thoroughly. “And?”
Claudine stomped over, glaring down at her with an intensity that would be frightening if she wasn’t Tendou Maya.
“You just wanted an excuse to fight them.”
Ninetales hopped out of the bath, shaking her glistening coat once before being recalled. Maya rose, meeting Claudine’s eyes with a smirk.
“Obviously.”
“What do you mean undefeated?” Akko protested, flapping her arms.
“Not quite, she lost once. Ever. She hasn’t battled since then,” Diana explained as they waited for the doorbell to be answered.
“Wait, so Maya beat her and she just… gave up entirely?” Akko asked, confused. “Surely if she was that good, she could’ve ended up as an Elite Four member pretty easily, right?”
“Maya didn’t beat her. She has a 2-0 record against her, actually.” Diana’s mouth was a line.
“What? Just how many hidden bosses does this one region have?” Akko asked.
“Akko, she lost to Karen.”
“What.”
“I’ve given up trying to make sense of the relative strength of battlers here,” Diana said, hoping that her voice didn’t sound as despairing as she felt.
“OK sure but I’m just excited to see what this legendary secret boss who never lost to Maya is like.” Akko grinned as the door opened.
“Bananice!”
Diana blinked. Twice. Daiba Nana, a woman fully two inches taller than her, struck a cutesy pose as Akko explained their impromptu challenge against the region’s two strongest battlers (supposedly).
Diana didn’t buy it for a second.
There were a lot of consistencies to Daiba Nana. Diana had scoured through every record of Nana’s scant few matches. Her ace was a Tropius, but she used her team in a balanced fashion, all five of her regular Pokemon receiving roughly equal use. But despite the consistency, some things didn’t sit quite right. Little holes, something missing every time. Common threads between everyone who’d described what fighting Nana was like.
“It felt like… when I first left my small town, and discovered how terrifyingly skilled battlers in the rest of the world were. How terrifyingly out of my depth I felt.”
“It felt like… remembering the pressure on me and Kaoruko when we were younger. Seeing all the work in front of me and just… feeling so overwhelmed that I could barely breathe.”
“It felt like being a kid and watching the Starlight Grand Finals with Hikari all over again! Reminded me of my promise to be the best with her!”
No one, apparently, had anything to say about the fight itself. But they all spoke of memories. Memories that scared them, excited them, that mattered to them.
Something missing every time.
Just what was Nana’s sixth Pokemon?
“Junna, Akko,” Diana addressed to each of them, “would either of you mind if I had a moment to speak with Nana? Alone.”
“Uh, sure?” Akko shrugged, following Junna into the main room of the small flat.
Leaving Diana alone with Nana in the kitchen.
“Didn’t you say your surname was Cavendish?” Nana asked, a warm smile on her face. “I guess that makes us both bananas!”
Diana forced a thin smile. If Nana noticed, she didn’t say anything. “Nana, I wanted to ask you a question or two about your League challenge.”
Nana nodded. “Sure. It was some time ago though, and I couldn’t make it to the end.”
Diana nodded, steeling herself with a quick breath. “Nana, do you have… any memories that you treasure? Memories that have a lot of meaning to you—”
“Everyone has important memories, don’t they, Diana?” Nana replied, automatically.
“Of course,” Diana said. “There are memories that matter so much to me that I feel like I would give anything to experience them again. Hours, days where I lose myself in reminiscence.” She stared straight at Nana. “I wonder how many times I would relive those days if I could.”
Nana’s face hardened. “It wasn’t for myself. Do you know how many timelines had my friends tear themselves apart over the challenge? How many where—where they never spoke to each other again? Where that bastard with the Girafarig set them against one another, over and over, until there was nothing left but bitterness?”
Diana smiled, for real this time. Tenderly. “And all this time, no one ever figured out what you did for them?”
Nana shook her head, furiously. “I never let them. Karen getting involved changed everything. I had to,” she heaved a breath, “had to trust in people.”
Diana strode closer, standing next to Nana. Was that too much? “Is that why you didn’t use Celebi in your battle against her?”
Nana nodded. Once. Tightly. “It was the only timeline. The only time we ever battled. She and Hikari, the way they built one another up… It convinced me that was the one. The one time we had a chance for happiness.”
Diana tentatively reached out for Nana’s shoulder. “To have gone through so much for their sake… I’m sorry I misjudged you, Daiba Nana.”
Nana shook her head, but didn’t push Diana’s hand away. “Just don’t tell anyone. I dunno how you worked it out, but please.”
“I won’t,” Diana promised. “You deserve that much.”
Nana nodded, her composure returning as relief flooded her. “Thank you, Diana.”
Finally, the day arrived.
The four of them stood across the field. Handshakes had been given. Pleasantries had been exchanged. Akko fit in some last minute trash talk because of course she did.
Her Poke Ball rested snug in her hand. She remembered the plans. All of them. They’d gone over them over and over until Akko had finally drifted to sleep against her shoulder.
Now there was only one thing left to do. Diana would defend her beloved’s honour upon the field of noble combat.
Daiba Nana, acting as judge, lifted her hand. “Contestants, ready?”
Four affirming nods. Claudine and Maya smiled confidently from across the field.
Diana’s hand tightened, looking once to Akko. They could do this.
“Let the battle… commence!”