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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. [b][color=6114D3]"Bianca."[/color][/b] Holly nodded to the ice leader who was also one of the ones enamored by the Pokemon that had joined the proceedings. [b][color=6114D3]"One of these days I'm going to convince you of the power of heels."[/color][/b] 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. 

[b][color=6114D3]"Careful with that one, Mika."[/color][/b] Holly referred to the Snom. [b][color=6114D3]"This much attention is bound to do wonders for his ego. I can attest. And so can Astrid's Raichu, it seems."[/color][/b] 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.[/center]