Z smiled, "I think it will make for a good challenge and an interesting show. also, I'd like you to meet my new friend, Kit." Z's Sylveon walked up and rubbed itself against Eira's leg like a cat would to a person it likes a lot, "I got her recently along with another friend, but he's a bit big to fit in this arena, so he's in his pokeball right now. Have you gotten any new partners that I haven't heard about yet?"
"Not so recently, no. I believe you met everyone at my last festival," Eira chuckled, kneeling so she could gently pet the Sylveon. Meta did not like that her attention had shifted away from him and transformed into a shiny Sylveon in order to rub himself against her like Z's was doing. Eira pursed her lips at him, but indulged him anyway by petting both of the Pokemon at the same time. Eira looked up at Z with a look that said clearly that she had no idea what to do in this situation. "Will you be using her in this contest? Or will you be using another?"
Astina looked confused for a moment before she grew a tad anxious, a light blush coming to her cheeks at the mistake that she had made. When another girl joined them, Astina was worried about whether or not she was Nicole, but didn't want to make that mistake again around such experienced trainers. Looking away from the newcomer, Astina fiddled with the little wings on the back of Quartz to give herself something to do instead of interacting with the two ladies.
Z shrugged, "since we get extra points for ghost types, I figured I could use Tsurara again. She has a flair for contests and knows a few spooky moves that could help. What about you? Who will you be using for this contest?"
Kit glanced curiously at Meta, wondering why he was acting the way he was. Kit wasn't infatuated with this human, she was just generally affectionate to people, even if she had just met them.
"I was thinking about using Meta, since Akane seemed to like him the last time that I used him, but I am not too sure," Eira replied with a slight frown as she thought over her options. "Shimmer would also do well, but it doesn't really like to participate in contests like Meta does."
Meta made a gruff, though quiet, growl at Kit before he transformed into a Glaceon, knowing that the Ice typing he now had would gain more attention from his trainer than the Fairy typing Kit had. He was stunned when she didn't seem to notice the change as she continued to talk to Z.
Kit snickered at Meta's predicament and walked over to Alloy, hopping on the metal pokemon's back and curling up and taking a nap. "That sound like a good idea," said Z, "Meta can transform his type to be whatever we need, and that could give us an edge in this contest. So how have things been at the frozen city? I enjoyed the festival and Tsurara loved getting some lessons in icecrafting and sculpting. She is looking forward to using them in another contest."
"Things are going quite well, even if they are a tad busy for me to have any time to myself," Eira said, standing straight when Kit decided that she no longer wanted to be pet. Meta looked at Eira with pleading eyes, but decided that her affection was no longer wanted since she was so preoccupied with the other human. "You should see how quickly Mistleaf is developing. Soon enough, it will be a full blown city ready to have people flow through it between Celosia and Eirlys."
"Starfort might be making attempts to open trade between your kingdom and the town soon," said Z, "the miners have hit a deposit of evolutionary stones and will be selling them to neighboring countries and towns to bring in money to fund the town. I heard the vein was especially rich this time and I had to send my stronger pokemon to help in hauling the carts from the mines to be processed in the town."
"That'll be wonderful trade for us, since we only have Water Stones readily available and need more Fire Stones for the Fire types that we have in the area," Eira said with a mental note to check into their supply of stones when she returned to see if they had a good amount to trade with. If not, she would have to get Shimmer to clear the lake so they could work on getting some more to trade with. "I'm glad that Starfort is growing so well. Maybe you could talk to Zandrophin some time to see if he could help you set up trading posts in others towns? I know most people can't even get trade started without his help."
"That sounds like a good idea," said Z, "Do you know how I can get ahold of him? And the merchants always offer a good price and a wide variety. One year they even hit a vein of everstones. That was a good year, so I've heard. We might even get the money to open a few more mine shafts in the area. Our main exports come from within the earth itself, so the more mines the better."
"From what I know, he is normally at his office, but sometimes you can catch him when he travels around for Akane," Eira informed him with a slight shrug, not one hundred percent sure herself of how to get a hold of the business man. "I just sent him a letter requesting an audience with him and we ended up meeting to discuss things after a while. Well, not me personally, but a representative of mine went and got to meet with him for me."
"I think I can do that," said Z, "I'll send a message as soon as I can get back home." Z smiled as he looked over at the other trainers. He was glad he and Eira were paired together, as they were familiar with each other's pokemon and battling styles, meaning it would be easier for them to plan out an elaborate contest act for this special pokemon contest. He was also looking forward to helping his town grow through trade lines.
"I haven't heard too much from him myself, but my messenger said that discussions were going well between the two of them," Eira told Z with a bit of a laugh at the thought of her representative actually getting Zandrophin to like him. Then again, if anyone, Publius would be the one to get Zandrophin to actually crack a smile and become friends. "I'm sure he would be more willing to discuss things directly with you though, especially since you are in such a mineral rich area."
"Indeed," said Z, "but enough talk about business. we should enjoy ourselves here while we have the chance. I haven't been to this hall since before I became a gym leader and am looking for another chance to show my team's skills here."
Sparky crossed her arms and nodded confidently while Haxorus chuckled, remembering the good times they had last time they were here and the amazing act they had put together that had its own soundtrack to go with it.
"You're right, you're right," Eira agreed as she looked over at Meta as he watched her quietly. "It has been a while since we got to perform, let alone perform on the same stage, so we should enjoy this while we can. I am a bit worried about how Akane is going to run this, though. By pairing us up, she is going to make it all that much harder for one of us to win without something very amazing happening during the second round. I'm confident that it will be the two of us at the lead with how much experience we have together, but I am not sure how we will be able to beat each other if our scores are the same."