Elise searched for her second table, careful not to bump into any of the other event goers. She walked with a bounce in her step, still in high spirits after her last date. Nibbles mewed at her and ran off to the right, presumably having spotted their table. Elise chuckled at the Skitty's excitement and followed. Upon arriving at the table, she took a seat and glanced around the room. Nibbles hopped into her lap and curled up for a quick cat nap. A blonde-haired boy arrived with an unfamiliar pokemon in tow, taking his seat and giving an enthusiastic introduction.

"Hello! It's nice to meet you." She said, accepting the offered hand cheerfully. He seemed nice. The fact that he was just looking for friends made it easier to keep the nerves out, as well. "I'm Elise Fletcher, I'm from Galar, and I'm here to meet people and eat whatever desserts they've got!" She shot Sigmund a thumbs up from across the table, before leaning to the side and peeking over the edge at his pokemon.

"Sorry if this is weird, but what pokemon is that? I've never seen one of those before..."

Her eyes widened a bit at Sigmund's excitement over her home region, a bright smile growing on her face.

"Yeah! The championships are always so much fun to watch. So many different challengers and team compositions! And then BOOM, they dynamax and things get really interesting!" She said, throwing her hands out to the sides. The sudden movement disturbed Nibbles, who let out a low disgruntled meow. "Oh, Nibs I'm so sorry!" She gently scratched the Skitty behind the ears to soothe him.

She glanced back up at Sigmund as he introduced his Emolga, then turned her gaze back to the pokemon in question. It seemed to notice her watching and stared right back at her. It's face absolutely stuffed, the Emolga smiled at her and tried to... say something? "Bad Idea little guy," Elise thought right before multiple partially eaten poffins wound up on the floor.

"Pfft! Oh my god that's adorable!" Shaking with barely suppressed laughter, she gave the Emolga a wave and turned back to her human companion. She a deep breath to clear up her laughing fit. "Thanks for introducing me, he's great." She then leaned forward with an earnest, wide-eyed look on her face.

"Wait you said you're from Johto, right? Have you ever been to the Ruins of Alph?"

"Oh yeah, that makes sense! Can't have just anyone wandering around and touching everything, after all. Gotta preserve what's left for research and junk! Of course, that means I have to be extra sneaky when I go." She giggled and straightened up, lightly scratching her Skitty's back. "It sounds really cool. I've seen photos and stuff but I have to go myself! After I'm done here in Hoenn, anyway."

At the mention of her pokemon partner, she grinned and nodded. She scooped the Skitty into her arms and held him above the edge of the table for Sigmund to see better. Giving up on his nap, Nibbles squirmed out of her hold and onto the table. The cat walked across the table towards Sigmund, stretching along the way. Nibbles planted himself directly in front of the other trainer and meowed loudly, demanding to be pet.

"Yup, he's a Skitty! Sorry about that, he just loves attention. His name is Mr. Nibbles. He used to belong to my mom, but now he travels with me." Elise leaned forward and crossed her arms on the table, the thought of her mother bringing a soft smile to her face.

She was having a great time exploring the region, but she did miss her mom a lot. She was truly grateful for the Skitty's presence. She knew her journey would be so much harder without Nibbles looking out for her. Realizing she'd just been staring at the cat brought her back to the present, where she was supposed to be on a friend date.

"What brought you to Hoenn, if you don't mind me asking?" Nice save.

"Yeah, we should totally go together! That sounds like a great time." She couldn't help but laugh at Sigmund's excitement over the Skitty. She was glad Sigmund didn't mind the cat's pushy behaviour, grinning as he showered Nibbles with affection. Nibbles leaned into the trainer's touch, purring up a storm and eagerly rubbing his face into the boy's arms.

He had just started to answer her question when he was cut off by the jingle that signified it was time to move to the next date. She was torn between being disappointed this meet was over and excited for the next. Moving to stand, she got distracted when the other trainer's Emolga struggled to climb his leg. She was still giggling over it when Sigmund apologized and slid her his number.

"Right back at you!" She said brightly, sending him off with an energetic wave. "It was nice meeting you, see you again soon!" Once the pair were out of sight, Elise gave Nibbles a pat before starting towards the next table. Two new friends, so far so good!