Chapter VII: Palaces Partitioned

"So, we'll reach Camphrier on Sunday," Calem said as the group walked along Route Five. "What are we thinking about doing while we're there?"

Shauna shrugged. "There's not a performance going on while we'll be there-I checked," she replied. "If we're gonna be spending a couple days there, though, we'll probably want to visit Shabboneau Castle, probably Parfum Palace as well."

Calem nodded. "And we could check out the Battle Chateau on the way out."

Fennekin, Riolu, and Bulbasaur looked up curiously at the mention of the Battle Chateau. Calem, noticing this and also Shauna's curious look, decided to elaborate. "The Battle Chateau is, well, it's a battling facility," he explained. "They have a sort of point and rank system, where the more battles you win, the more points you receive, and when your point total reaches a high enough amount, you can challenge someone of the rank above you in order to rank up."

Shauna nodded, and suddenly had a realization. "Oh! It's the place with the Baron and Duke ranks and stuff, right! I heard about it on the news when it opened. Wasn't it about two years ago?"

"Yep!" Calem excitedly exclaimed. "I've always wanted to go, but haven't had a pokémon before now. Apparently the gym leaders and elite four regularly go there."

"That'd be a treat to see a battle between them," Shauna said. "Come to think of it, I'd like to see a performance from Valerie. Apparently she hosts most of the performances in Laverre."

Calem blinked. "I… didn't know that." He was silent for a moment, then frowned a bit. "Actually, what are the touristy things in Shabboneau? I know Parfum has the extravagance, but you don't hear much about Shabboneau."

"Well, there's the poké flute," Shauna said. "They stopped being produced around fifty years ago, so there aren't that many left in existence. Shabboneau's is the only one in Kalos."

"Really?" Calem asked. "That's...somewhat surprising."

Shauna nodded sadly. "Yeah. You'd think an artifact like that'd be treated as something more precious, but most got caught in fires or the people who owned them lost them."

There was silence for a few seconds, as if to mourn the lost poké flutes. "Anyway, on a brighter note," Calem said suddenly, "what do you think we'll come across on our way to Camphrier?"

"Well, I want to find a furfrou…" Shauna said, though her voice trailed off to the pokémon as they began their own conversation.

"That Battle Chateau thing sounds so cool!" Fennekin exclaimed.

"I agree," Riolu nodded. "It will be a good place to test our skills and see how we have improved."

"Oh! I just came up with an idea!" Fennekin shouted. "What if there's a triple battle!"

Bulbasaur looked interested. "That'd be fun. We've spared against each other, but I don't think we've had a chance to work together."

"I have to say, that castle also sounded interesting," Fennekin said, giving a pointed look to Riolu. "After all, I'm sure there's going to be a lot of old pictures with old fashion!"

Riolu narrowed his eyes. "Are you mocking me?"

The fox pup smiled deviously. "Perhaps."

"Uh, guys?" Bulbasaur said as the group kept walking. "We might get that chance to fight together soon."

Fennekin looked back. "How so?"

Before Bulbasaur could answer, Fennekin was suddenly shocked by a small jolt of electricity, and her fur puffed up. The group came to an abrupt stop, and Riolu and Bulbasaur both assumed battle-ready stances.

She looked around wildly while growling. "Who did that?!" she demanded, air already beginning to heat up.

A giggling sound alerted the group to the likely culprits, as a plusle and minun revealed themselves from the nearby flowers, electricity arcing between them.

Without prompting, Fennekin used an Ember attack on the two, striking the minun, but both rodents charged in with Spark attacks. The fox pup tried to dodge, but found that a Thunder Wave had rendered her immobile. In an attempt to do something, the air in front of her spontaneously combusted, but the plusle and minun charged right through fast enough that there was minimal injury.

Being struck with two Sparks, and then two Nuzzles for good measure, it seemed that Fennekin was out of the fight. The trainers had not been idle while this happened, however, as Shauna had called out Chespin and Toba to help, and Calem immediately retrieved Fennekin once she went down.

"Hey, what gives?" Toba shouted at the two rodents. "You can't just do that!"

"You invaded our territory," the minun, a female, responded. "We're just defending."

"What she said," the plusle, a male, followed up. "And, uh, we just did, so obviously we can."

Toba opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by Riolu launching ahead with a Quick Attack, slamming into the minun at high speeds. The minun, however, was having none of it, charging a Nuzzle and shocking Riolu, forcing the jackal to back off.

Bulbasaur contributed with a vine whip to try to prevent the minun from having any breathing room, but the plusle charged in with his own Quick Attack, supplementing it with a Spark in order to bat Bulbasaur's vines away.

"Chespin, use Rollout on Plusle!" Shauna called. "Toba, use the performance idea we practiced back in Lumiose!"

Chespin rolled into a ball, Rock Type energy coating his body, and Toba hopped on top of him, backpedaling as fast as she could as Chespin sprang forward at high speeds.

Minun, who had had a constant Nuzzle up to deter Riolu from approaching, dodged another one of Bulbasaur's vines and shouted, "Helping Hand!"

Plusle's Spark surged with power as soon as the Chespin and Toba duo reached him, and he jumped, aiming to take Toba out before she could use Headbutt. The Spark did succeed in stopping Toba's Headbutt and pushing her off of her already unstable perch, but blasted himself backwards in the process, directly into the path of Chespin's Rollout.

Plusle's eyes widened as Chespin approached rapidly, and though Minun was able to push Chespin's Bite attack away from Plusle with a Spark, she took a hit from Bulbasaur's Vine Whip in the process.

Riolu attempted to make an opening with a Quick Attack into Bite combo with Minun's Nuzzle down for a moment, but she quickly used Spark to deter him once she saw what he was doing, and Riolu backed off.

Calem narrowed his eyes, noticing that the two rodents were panting and seemed to be a bit low on power. "We should get them to use the rest of their energy, then attack them all at once," he said to Shauna.

The Kalosian girl nodded. "Chespin, use Vine Whip! Toba, start charging Work Up!"

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip as well!" Calem called to his pokémon. "Riolu, keep wearing them down."

"What does he think I've been doing," Bulbasaur mumbled to himself as he kept maneuvering vines towards Plusle and Minun.

Riolu declined to speak, instead launching himself forward in an attempt to capitalize on the opening all the dodging the two rodents were doing was creating, but they both started using Nuzzle again as a repellent.

Riolu narrowed his eyes, launching himself forward again with another Quick Attack, but not stopping at the Nuzzle the two created. The rodents then switched to Spark in response, but Riolu was still undeterred. Minun's eyes widened as she realized his strategy was just to tough it out, and quickly said to Plusle, "I need you to use the most powerful Helping Hand you can on me."

Plusle looked somewhat unsure. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Minun simply nodded in response, not wasting energy on speaking as Riolu drew ever closer.

Plusle used Helping Hand, donating his remaining stores of electrical energy to Minun, and she launched herself forward using both Quick Attack and Spark to try to knock out Riolu in a single hit.

Under normal circumstances, it would have.

Unfortunately for Plusle and Minun, Riolu had more up his sleeve than simply toughing the hit out. Instead, he Endured the Spark and Quick Attack, and hit back hard with Counter.

Minun was launched backwards into her comrade, and the two were pushed into the base off a tree. The blinked their eyes open, which soon widened in surprise as they tried to use Nuzzle to repel the two pairs of vines quickly approaching, to no avail. Their electrical stores had been almost completely depleted, and neither had the energy to produce electricity.

The double Vine Whip wrapped the two up, and deposited them on the ground. At first Minun thought they might be letting them go-rather stupidly, she thought-and prepared to use a Quick Attack as a last ditch effort, but she soon found that the two Grass Types had withdrawn their vines very deliberately. A somewhat weakened Riolu fired a Hidden Power at them, but his weakened state was made up for by the Worked Up Toba using Ember.

Neither Plusle nor Minun remained conscious afterward.

Shauna and Calem shared a look as their pokémon backed up, all of which were panting heavily. "Should we capture them?" Calem asked.

Shauna shrugged. "I mean, we can release them afterward if they don't want to come along."

Calem looked at the two unconscious electric rodents. "I'll take Minun, you have Plusle?"

"Sure, why not?" Shauna responded.

The two humans threw their pokéballs at the two rodents they had agreed to catch, and their being unconscious made the captures go off without a hitch. Afterward, the whole group sat down as they waited for Fennekin to wake up, Calem grabbing a few potions out of his backpack for the injured pokémon. Eventually, the fox pup returned to consciousness, and the group filled her in on what had happened.

"It was so cool!" Bulbasaur exclaimed. "We had to make them run out of electricity first because we couldn't get close, and then Riolu decided to speed it up and-"

"He jumped straight into a Spark to use Counter," Chespin finished for his fellow Grass Type starter flatly.

Fennekin was suddenly glaring at Riolu. "You what?"

"I'm completely fine!" Riolu retorted. "It only took a potion to heal!"

"No, not that," Fennekin said. "I'm angry that you did something so epic without me being awake to witness it!"

"Anyway," Toba redirected the conversation, "Shauna and Calem caught the Plusle and Minun, respectively."

Fennekin blinked and, much to everyone's sudden surprised that they had not realized it was increasing, the air temperature dropped. "Oh cool," the fox pup replied. "So we've got two Electric Types with us."

Suddenly, Calem and Shauna released Plusle and Minun from their pokéballs, as while their pokémon were talking, they had decided to see if the two rodents were awake.

As it turned out, they were. And they were quite confused about their situation.

Minun stumbled forward. "That...felt really weird." She looked up at the gathered pokémon. "You're not going to attack us again...right?"

Toba chuckled and shook her head.

"Well, that depends," Riolu stated in response. "That was a valiant effort you two put up, and I would love to spar sometime."

Minun winced and Plusle rubbed his head where it had impacted a tree. "I'm…going to have to pass on that one."

Fennekin laughed. "So, as I understand it, you're on the team now?" she asked Minun.

She shrugged. "I suppose so…"

"It'll make you a heck of a lot stronger over time," Bulbasaur inputted.

Minun's eyes widened. "It will?"

The three pokémon traveling with Calem nodded.

Minun almost squealed. "You hear that, Plusle!?" she shouted, grabbing her partner and jumping up and down. "We're going to get so much stronger!"

"Erm… that's great…" Plusle said, unsure. "But…" He trailed off.

Minun stopped bouncing. "But what?"

Plusle rubbed the back of his head. "I'm...not sure I like battling that much."

Minun gasped. "What?!" she screamed. "But...but...I thought we were gonna be the dynamic duo!"

Chespin started cackling.

Toba sighed. "Please don't mind him," she said. "He just likes the dramatic irony the whole situation."

Plusle and Minun blinked. "Huh?" they asked simultaneously.

"Shauna wants to be a pokémon performer!" Chespin explained while recovering from his laughing fit. "So Plusle, you'll fit right in on her team."

"Oh," he responded. "So...Minun and I don't have to split up?"

"Of course not!" Fennekin exclaimed, abashed. "We wouldn't split you up if you didn't want to come!"

Minun sighed, relieved. "Oh thank goodness."

Calem and Shauna, based on the reactions Plusle and Minun had to what their pokémon were saying to them, decided that it would be a good idea to scan the two with their pokédexes. Minun suddenly tensed up as she felt, without warning, a small amount of energy reflecting off of her.

Bulbasaur snickered. "And that'd be Calem's pokédex scanning you. Don't worry, it does that."

Minun shook a bit at the surprise while Calem read the pokédex.

Minun, the cheering pokémon. Minun is often more concerned for its partners' safety than its own. Exposure to both a minun's and a plusle's electricity can act as a defibrillator in an emergency. This minun is female. Active Ability: Minus. Hidden Ability: Volt Absorb (locked). Known Moves: Growl, Nuzzle, Play Nice, Quick Attack, Thunder Wave, Helping Hand, Spark, and Encore. Egg Move(s): Discharge (locked).

Calem whistled. "That's a nice moveset, especially for double battles," he commented. He knelt down to meet Minun's gaze as Shauna was doing the same with Plusle. "So, do you want to come with us?"

Minun nodded, and then gestured no before Calem could even finish the word nickname.

Calem chuckled. "Well, I guess that settles that." He stood back up and looked at Shauna.

"Shall we head out?" she asked. "I don't think my pokémon are going to want to go back into their 'balls for a while."

Calem checked the time on his phone. "We'll probably be stopping for lunch in about an hour, we can cover a few more kilometers in that time."

Shauna smiled. "Let's go, then!"

Calem nodded, and the nonet continued down Route Five.

Tapu Lele sighed as she floated over another mountain. The disturbance had gone as soon as it came, and had not repeated itself since, leading to the Akala guardian's current predicament: she was completely and utterly lost.

Under normal circumstances, she would not have minded. This place-which she had learned through skimming over Fennekin's mind was called Kalos-was quite nice after all, and the terrain she had seen so far was far more varied than that of Akala Island. However, she was not there for sightseeing.

Suddenly, Tapu Lele detected an area full of energy, and decided to investigate. Upon nearing, she realized that the energy she was sensing was emanating from many stone pillars in a treeless area. To say that Tapu Lele was confused would be an understatement.

To her, the energy the pillars were giving off was similar to the energy z-crystals gave off, but not quite the same. It was wilder, less focused, than what she was used to on the Alolan Islands. Smiling, she got to work on trying to figure out what exactly was going on.

It was not until that night, when she connected to Fennekin's mind, that Tapu Lele realized something, and as a guardian of life, she was disappointed in herself for not noticing it earlier. This was a graveyard that had been imbued with power, and the energy she had been feeling was the life force of everything that had died in this area.

Well, now that just prompts more questions than it answers, Tapu Lele thought, connecting her mind with Fennekin's sleeping one. I suppose I can investigate it later, though.

Fennekin opened her eyes, expecting another nightmare, but instead, it was the simple darkness of a psychic lesson.

"Tapu Lele," the fox pup called out.

Hello, Fennekin, Tapu Lele telepathically stated in response, a shimmering, dream-like image of her appearing before the Fire Type. How have you been?

Fennekin shrugged. "Awake? I've been doing great. Asleep? Not so much. Is there really no way for you to stop my nightmares?"

Tapu Lele mentally sighed. Not without breaking through the mental barriers your power puts up when you are locked in a night terror, and doing that could seriously damage your psyche.

Fennekin cringed at the thought.

Also, Tapu Lele continued, I am not entirely sure what it causing your nightmares, and trying to stop them permanently without that knowledge is futile.

Fennekin looked down and shifted her paws a bit. "I know that, but…is there some way to make them less scary. I can't remember the individual details of my nightmares, but there's a feeling of helplessness that's in all of them."

Tapu Lele sighed again, and sent feelings of peace and tranquility over their psychic link. There may be a way to calm yourself better afterward.

The fox pup looked up excitedly. "Really?" she asked.

Yes, and I believe you are ready to begin your true mental training.

Fennekin could feel her mouth fall open in surprise.

But, I must warn you. Communicating mentally is a difficult skill to learn, and even harder to master. You will likely not be able to fully communicate until you have evolved, possibly even twice.

"I'll do it," Fennekin said assuredly.

Well then, we shall begin with teaching you how to meditate, and I predict that this alone may take close to a month.

"How so?" Fennekin asked. "Meditation can't be that hard."

Normal meditation is easy, yes. You simply only have to be in your natural mental state for that. However, psychic meditation is a form of an unnatural mental state, but is opposite to most unnatural states of mind.

Fennekin looked faintly confused. "What do you mean by 'opposite'?"

Most unnatural states of mind are where many thoughts are constantly flowing through someone's head without pause. On the opposite side of the spectrum, having no thought, no emotion for a time is perfect psychic meditation, and is also unnatural.

"So, you'll need me to be able to completely erase my thoughts and emotions while meditating?" Fennekin asked.

Of course not, Tapu Lele clarified. Perfect psychic meditation is nigh impossible, even for the most powerful of psychics, including myself. Instead, I will be teaching you how to clear your mind of all but one emotion. Near perfect psychic meditation.

"Ah," Fennekin responded. "When do we start?"

Now.

Saturday and Sunday passed without much fanfare, other than training and a few encounters with other trainers, and the group arrived in Camphrier Town on Sunday evening.

Shauna yawned as they walked into town. "That was a tiring las leg of the route."

Calem shrugged. "It was just a few hills."

"If repeated 200 meter ascents and descents and be considered 'hills,' then sure," Shauna replied. "Just where did you hike in Kanto?"

"Mount Moon," Calem responded. "It's quite a hike, especially since we'd start in Pewter City and hike our way to the mountain, but I think it's worth it."

Shauna blinked at him incredulously.

Calem coughed. "Anyway, we should probably check in to the pokémon center."

"I'll say," Bulbasaur said to his fellow pokémon. "I'm starving!"

"Bulbasaur, we ate dinner two hours ago, how are you hungry already?" Riolu asked.

"The sunlight's fading. I'm hungry compared to how I normally feel," replied the plant dinosaur.

Riolu shrugged, deciding to just let it go, for once.

The next morning, the group had eaten breakfast and were about to exit the pokémon center when a trainer stomped his way in, grumbling to himself. "Stupid Snorlax, blocking up the route." He noticed Calem and Shauna looking at him curiously as he walked passed, and decided to make himself helpful. "Don't try to head out by Route Seven for the next week. You won't make it very far."

Calem turned to Shauna. "Well, we were planning on heading to Shabboneau Castle today, didn't you say they have a pokéflute?"

Shauna nodded. "I have to wonder why they haven't used it yet."

The two shrugged, and exited the pokémon center.

Camphrier Town was large enough that many considered it to be a city, and with a population of close to forty thousand, one could see why. After all, with ten thousand more residents than Santalune City, the reasoning behind the moniker "Town"-that being the historical value of Camphrier, once being the seat of the Kalosian government for a time in the fifteenth century, along with its more rustic feel-was shaky at best. But still, Camphrier remains known as a town, and Shabboneau Castle remains on the northern side of it.

Shabboneau Castle itself, from the outside, looked unassuming. The building was old-that much was clear from the clear age of the stone making up most of the walls-but still held an air of welcome.

Upon entering and reading some of the historical stories about the place, Calem and Shauna soon realized that the castle had more to offer than what appeared at first glance. In 854, the castle had been attacked, and several landowners from the surrounding areas banded together to rebuild it, and Louis I, Duke of Camphrier, purchased it in 1391. His son Charles inherited it, and after a twenty-five year imprisonment in Galar, returned to the city that, at that time, was named Shabboneau. The castle then went to his son, Louis XII, King of Kalos, who added several wings to the castle.

The castle then went through the hands of several different Kalosian kings, until Louis XIII gifted it to his brother, Gaston, in 1626 as a wedding gift after he moved into Parfum Palace to use as a hunting manor. Despite owning the castle, Gaston was unable to fund it after his nephew, Louis XIV, was born, and Shabboneau Castle faded into disrepair. The city was renamed to Camphrier as the nearby town spread to engulf it, and by the time the Kalosian Revolution rolled around, all of the castle's statues and artwork had been moved to Parfum, and it was set to be demolished, but was delayed to be used as a military barracks. In 1840, the government of Kalos determined Shabboneau Castle to be a historical site, and began funding its repair. The museum itself, however, was privately funded.

"Hey, Calem!" Shauna practically shouted to him, who was reading about a room in the castled called the "Chamber of Secrets." "Come look at this!"

"What is it?" Calem asked, walking over to the empty glass case with a plaque next to it.

"I think I found out why Shabboneau hasn't used their pokéflute," Shauna replied.

"In 1952, the awakening was invented by the Unovan scientist William Colress," the sign read. "Afterward, production of the pokéflute worldwide began slowing down. The last pokéflute produced was in 1964, and since then, their numbers have steadily been declining. Many have been lost to fires or are unaccounted for, and currently, there is only one in Kalos. In 1997, Shabboneau Castle Museum outbid the Lumiose Art Museum for it, and it remained here for over fifteen years. However, on August 3, 2013, Parfum Palace purchased the pokéflute from Shabboneau for just over ten million pokédollars."

Calem blinked. "Do you think someone's gone to Parfum to ask them to use the pokéflute on the snorlax?"

"Probably not," said a voice approaching from behind the two. "Route Seven isn't often traveled because of its length. Most people just take the road."

The pair of teens turned around. "Really?" Shauna asked, turning around. "I would've thought people would care about it."

The old man shrugged. "I guess they're just willing to wait the week it might take for Snorlax to wake up." He looked down. "I don't think anyone would be able to convince Parfum to part with the pokéflute, even for a short amount of time. They tend to be pretty stingy."

Shauna tilted her head. "You sound like you have personal experience with them."

The man chuckled. "Considering that I own Shabboneau Museum, yeah, I have personal experience with them. Lord Shabboneau, at your business." He bowed.

Calem and Shauna stepped back a bit upon realizing they were talking to the owner. "Why'd you sell the pokéflute, out of curiosity?" Calem asked.

Lord Shabboneau sighed. "For the record, I voted against it. But, we're pretty in debt to the city, and we needed the money." He looked around. "Really, I suspect we'll be going bankrupt soon. We've sold pretty much everything to Parfum, and we're losing tourism by the day." He smiled at the two teens. "You two shouldn't worry about it. Though, if you do stop by Parfum, could you at least try to track down the owner and tell him about Snorlax? I doubt it'll do anything, but personally, I've been wanting to head down to the Battle Chateau for a while now." He nodded at Calem and Shauna. "Most people don't listen to me ramble for that long. Goodbye for now." He walked off.

Calem and Shauna looked at each other. "Parfum?" Shauna asked.

Calem nodded, and checked the time on his phone. "It's only eleven. If we hurry, we should be able to get there before evening if we only stop for lunch. You up for it?"

"Of course," Shauna said. She narrowed her eyes. "Where are your pokémon?"

Calem blinked and looked around. "I think I last saw them around that corner," he stated, pointing back to where they had come from to look at the pokéflute's empty case.

Luckily, the group of four pokémon had not moved much, as Riolu had insisted on analyzing some of the paintings.

"Honestly, it's kinda disappointing," Bulbasaur said. "You'd think there'd be more here, considering it's a castle and all."

"I think they had to sell everything," Fennekin mentioned. "Or at least, that's what I heard some people saying."

Calem and Shauna took that moment to round the corner. "Alright guys," Calem said to his pokémon, "we're heading to Parfum."

Riolu frowned. "We have just arrived," he stated. "Why are we leaving so soon?"

Despite not exactly understanding him, Shauna seemed to get the basics of what the jackal was trying to convey. "There isn't really much else here," she explained.

"Plus, the owner of this place kind of asked us to basically head up to Parfum and get the pokéflute to wake up the snorlax blocking Route Seven, so we're doing that now."

Minun perked up. "So more traveling?"

Fennekin looked at her strangely. "I'm sorry, did you just say that you want to walk for the rest of the day?"

As it turned out, they did, in fact, walk for the remainder of their day, excluding a lunch break, along with a bit of a break to check out the snorlax problem. Apparently, this particular snorlax had chosen the Route Seven Bridge as a spot to nap many times in the past, and had become resistant to awakenings, full heals, and full restores. As they walked, Shauna decided to bring up some interesting tidbits about Parfum Palace on her phone.

"Apparently nobody knows where the palace came from," she said. "People kind of just noticed it being there in the sixteenth century and Louis XIII decided it was a great place to hunt."

"There's no record of its construction?" Calem asked, curious.

Shauna shook her head. "Not that I can find." She checked the time and frowned. "It's just about six. Do you know how close we are to the palace?"

Calem looked up, and narrowed his eyes. "I think I can see the Route Six entrance in the distance. We'll probably be there in less than half an hour."

As the group neared, they marveled at the grandeur of what was just the entrance archway. Though, "archway" was putting it lightly. It was a one hundred meter long, rooved, though lacking walls besides some supporting columns, structure encased in gold foil, surrounded on both sides by some of the most beautiful gardens the group had seen, and most of them had been through Route Four.

"Just how much money do these people have?" Calem asked, astounded.

"Considering that the owners are literally nobility and profit off of the tourism, a lot," Shauna responded.

Calem gulped, suddenly realizing that they had decided to try to convince nobility to share the pokéflute. "So, what's the plan?"

Shauna shrugged. "Honestly, right now, I just want to get dinner. The hotel built into the palace has a restaurant in it."

More and more people filled the group's field of vision as they approached the palace gates and joined the line waiting for admissions. "Five hundred poké per person," said the clerk in a tired voice, probably nearing the end of her shift. "Pokémon are free."

The two paid, and entered the gate. Even just the opening courtyard, a magnificent area filled with all kinds of flowers and walkways, along with a large fountain in the center, was breathtaking. It paled in comparison, however, to Parfum Palace itself. The building had been designed in such a way that it reflected a golden sheen no matter the angle of the sun, and was clearly based in Renaissance-era architecture. There were also several balconies, all of which were supported by ten-meter columns from ground to balcony.

Despite having read about Parfum Palace and having seen pictures, the grandeur of seeing it in person took Calem and Shauna by surprise. Calem cleared his throat. "So, dinner first?"

Shauna nodded. "There's a restaurant in the back courtyard."

The group, humans and pokémon alike, wasted no time in making their way through the building. As much as they would have liked to read about the history of the palace, or marvel at the art pieces, they wanted food. Unfortunately, they would not be eating for a bit longer, as a very furry furfrou charged into Calem's legs and out the door before they had even exited the building, knocking him over.

"Sorry about that!" a somewhat overweight man apologized as he ran over while Shauna helped Calem back to his feet. "She doesn't like the groomers very much."

Calem shrugged. "It's fine, I just wasn't expecting it."

The man chuckled, and noticed Calem's pokémon. "Say, would you mind helping to calm her down?" he asked. "Furfrou is normally a bit skittish after she's been spooked, so I'd appreciate the help."

"Sure!" Shauna replied, sending out Chespin, Toba, and Plusle. "We'd love to help!"

"Great!" the man exclaimed. "She'll probably be hanging around one of the hedge decorations outside, so if you could herd her into the center of one of them, I should be able to walk in and calm her down."

"Fennekin knows Hypnosis, if that's any help," Calem supplied.

"That's actually a great help," the man said, nodding. "We'll be able to get her into a comfortable environment before I wake her up." He gestured for the others to follow him as he walked out the door. "My name's Elliot, by the way."

Calem took the moment to introduce himself. "I'm Calem," he said.

"And I'm Shauna!" Shauna exclaimed.

"So, what's the plan?" Calem asked as they walked outside. "Do Shauna, our pokémon, and I just get Furfrou to the center of a hedge and have Fennekin use Hypnosis?"

Elliot blinked. "That's actually a lot better than what I had in mind." He shook his head. "I'm sorry if I seem a bit absent-minded, but I forgot your other pokémon exist."

"It's okay," Shauna said. "Your pokémon ran off, so you must have a lot on your mind."

Elliot sighed. "Honestly, I wish I could say that this is the first time this has happened. This particular furfrou just really does not like groomers."

They continued onward, over the bridge connecting the palace to the back courtyard, and were able to see Furfrou run into the northwestern hedge.

"Here's the plan," Elliot said. "There's four entrances, so we'll need teams to cover each of them. Calem, you're with Bulbasaur and Litleo-"

"She's nicknamed Toba," Shuana interrupted.

"Toba, then," Elliot corrected. "Shauna, you'll be with Chespin. Riolu, Plusle, and Minun will be a team, and I'll work with Fennekin. Got it?"

The assembled humans and pokémon either nodded or said "yes" in their own language, and got to work.

Despite the relatively small size of the hedge decoration, it had several twists and turns within it, and it was surprisingly difficult to get furfrou to a position where she could not run. Riolu and his group managed to chase her into Calem's group, but she ran right passed where Shauna and Chespin would have herded her more towards the center. With some regrouping and rethinking their strategy, they were eventually able to corner Furfrou, and Fennekin used Hypnosis to put her to sleep.

"Thanks for the help," Elliot said as he picked Furfrou up.

"I don't mean to be rude," Shauna began, "but why didn't you just return her to her pokéball?"

Elliot shook his head. "I wish I had her 'ball on me, but it's being cleaned right now." He looked up. "Anyway, I have to do something to thank the two of you. It's almost seven, and I doubt you're going to want to walk to Camphrier in the middle of the night. I can offer you two a stay in the hotel and two meals at the restaurant free of charge, if you would like."

Calem blinked. "Isn't that really expensive?"

Elliot chuckled. "Considering that I own the place, consider it 'on the house.'"

Shauna sputtered a bit at realizing they were talking to the owner, though she quickly composed herself. "That's really nice of you to offer, thank you." She considered something else for a moment. "Actually, we wanted to ask you a question, since you're the owner," she said. "There's a snorlax blocking the Route Seven bridge. Could you take care of that with the pokéflute?"

"Awakenings aren't working?" Elliot asked.

"This snorlax's immune," Calem supplied.

Elliot sighed. "Yeah, I can get someone down there tomorrow morning. Oh, and if you're staying the night, make sure to watch the fireworks show we're having tonight. The second floor Hall of Mirrors Balcony is a good place to watch from."

"Is there some event tonight?" Shauna asked curiously.

"Nah, I just felt like fireworks." He handed the two a card each with his signature on it. "And show this to the restaurant and hotel staff. They'll know it's from me." He then walked off, carrying his furfrou in his arms.

"Do rich people do this normally, or is he just eccentric?" Shauna asked, staring at where Elliot had been.

"I think he's probably just eccentric," Calem replied.

As it turned out, the restaurant had served some very delicious food, though looking at the prices, Calem and Shauna were quite glad it was free for them. While they were waiting for the fireworks to start at eight thirty, Calem noticed two statues that he hadn't earlier, one depicting a stunningly white pokémon, the other a jet black one.

"Hey, Shauna?" he asked. "Did you read anything about the Reshiram and Zekrom statues in the courtyard?"

Shauna looked up at the two statues and narrowed her eyes. "I think I've seen them mentioned before," she said, beginning to open up the Parfum Palace site on her phone. "Hold on, let me check."

A few moments later, she had located the information. "Ah! Apparently they were a gift from Unova to Kalos for Kalos's help in fighting Galar. There were actually almost destroyed in the Kalosian Revolution, but managed to survive when Pafum Palace was sacked."

"Interesting," Calem replied. He looked like he was about to say something else, but was cut off by the beginning of the fireworks.

It was not the best fireworks show Calem had seen-Saffron City had an absolutely spectacular one on closing night the year they hosted the Pokémon World Tournament-but it felt oddly different somehow. A bit uncomfortable, even. Perhaps it was the quaintness of it all, he thought, as he subconsciously shifted slightly closer to Shauna.

When he looked over at her as a firework went off, her face illuminated in red and blue light, he realized exactly why he was feeling uncomfortable. He was watching fireworks with a rather pretty girl he was not related to. And with that realization, his brain pretty much stalled for a moment.

I'm sorry, where did that come from? He thought to himself. I've known her for two weeks, she's just a friend.

As much as he thought his teenage hormones were screaming at him otherwise, he resisted the very act of thinking in order to stop it.

"Calem?" he heard Shauna ask, snapping him out of his mental battle as she tapped him on the shoulder. "Are you okay?"

He was suddenly acutely aware that he was standing almost completely stiff, and took a moment to relax himself and cleared his throat. "Yeah, I'm...I'm fine. Just thinking."

"About what?" Shauna asked, curious.

"Just wondering how Ash and Serena are doing," he said quickly.

Shauna chuckled. "Knowing them, they're probably already in Santalune."

Ash walked out of Santalune Gym, placing the Bug Badge into the Kalos badge case he bought earlier that day.

"That was quite the match," Brock said.

Ash nodded. "I wasn't expecting a four versus four match for the first badge of the region, but I suppose they did ask for how many badges I had, including ones from other regions."

"Not to mention you and Serena flew there on Pidgeot," Brock mentioned.

"Speaking of," Serena began, "why don't you do that more often? I found it fun, at least."

"I mean, I could just fly around on Pidgeot and get all the badges in a couple days using just my old pokémon, but there's no fun in that!" Ash explained. "Besides, I like meeting new people and pokémon. Flying to the gym wouldn't have been my first choice, but we had to get there before closing."

Serena shrugged. "Fair enough. I guess I'll see you two tomorrow, then," she said as they entered the pokémon center.

"Yep," Brock confirmed. "Good luck on your performance debut in case you have to leave for it earlier tomorrow morning!"

Calem chuckled. "Knowing Ash, he probably has the badge already."

"Probably," Shauna agreed.

Their conversation faded into silence, but it was a much more comfortable silence than before, at least for Calem.

The fireworks ended at about nine, and the two humans and their pokémon made their way back inside the building, discussing what their plans were for the next day. "If we leave at six, we should be able to make it back to Route Seven by one, and hopefully the snorlax will be cleared up by then," Calem said.

"And you'll have the afternoon to check out the Battle Chateau," Shauna inputted.

Calem nodded, and was about to say something, but was cut off by Elliot suddenly appearing. "Hello," he greeted.

"Hi, Elliot!" Shauna excitedly said back. "Is there anything else you need us for?"

"Well, I couldn't help but overhear that you're leaving early tomorrow morning, and there was something I wanted to discuss with you two tomorrow, but tonight should do," he explained. "Follow me."

Elliot led the group through a few hallways before showing them into a room housing Furfrou, along with what looked to be her pups. "So, my furfrou that you helped rescue earlier had a litter a few weeks ago, and I was wondering if one of you'd like to take one. Consider it more thanks for helping out."

Shauna blinked, and suddenly rushed forward to look at the furfrou puppies. "They're so adorable!" she practically squealed. She put her hand out, and one of them walked forward, sniffed her hand, and licked it. This time, Shauna actually did squeal.

"This one!" she exclaimed. "I'll take this one."

Elliot blinked. "That was fast," he commented. "Are you sure you don't want to take more time?"

Shauna shook her head, standing up with the puppy in her arms and pokéball in hand. "Do they have pokéballs yet, or do I need to capture this one?"

"You'll have to capture her," Elliot answered. "It shouldn't be any trouble, especially since she seems to take a liking to you."

Shauna nodded, and with a bump of the pokéball against the furfrou's fur, the puppy was absorbed and the capture completed.

Thanking Elliot for both his hospitality and the furfrou, Calem and Shauna headed off to the hotel to sleep.

The next morning, the group headed out early after grabbing a quick breakfast, as was planned, and with one stop for lunch, they reached the Route Seven Bridge at one fifteen. As was expected, the snorlax had been taken care of, and they made their way onward.

Without any complications due to trainers or wild pokémon, the group had the time to just enjoy the scenery and talk to each other, something Fennekin took great advantage of.

"Alright Chespin," she said. "You were there last night during the fireworks."

Chespin sighed, already telling where this was going. "No, I'm not joining your crazy idea that Calem and Shauna like each other."

"But, but…" Fennekin pouted, trying to come up with a response. "Did you see how Calem looked at Shauna that one time?"

"Exactly once," Chespin replied, "but it must not have lasted for long, because I sure as heck didn't see it."

"He looked at her for about half a second once before turning back to the fireworks," Bulbasaur supplied. "Though, they did talk for a bit."

Fennekin waved her paw. "Yeah that one doesn't count, it was just a pleasant conversation."

"Ahem," Riolu cleared his throat, hoping to redirect the subject and pointing to a building. "I do believe that is the Battle Chateau we have heard of."

It was, in fact, the Battle Chateau, though that much could be seen from the sign. As the group crossed the bridge connecting the Chateau, which was built into the nearby river, to the path, the doorman respectfully bowed. "Bonjour monsieur, mademoiselle. Are either of you here today to battle?"

"I'd like to try my hand at it," Calem replied.

Shauna just shook her head. "I'm just here to watch."

The doorman nodded, sent some message ahead using a pager, and gestured for them to enter.

"Good afternoon," the receptionist politely said as they entered. "The monsieur is battling today, correct?"

Calem nodded, and the receptionist pushed some papers towards him.

"You just need to fill out this form," he explained. "Afterward, you'll have to battle against a baron, but the only time slot we have available at the moment for a public initiation battle is after an exhibition battle."

Calem looked up after finishing the form. "Are we allowed to just go in to spectate?"

"Of course!" the receptionist answered. "It's in the outdoor section of the west wing, beginning in five minutes. Your own will be..." he checked the time slot, "directly afterward, actually."

Calem and Shauna both nodded, them heading toward the battle, and their pokémon following behind them. The group arrived just on time to watch, and the two humans sat down in some of the only spectator seats left available, them having to recall their pokémon upon reaching the stands, much to their pokémons' chagrin.

Upon seeing exactly who was battling, Calem's eyes widened in surprise.

"This will be a full battle, with six pokémon on each side," the referee stated. "Any use of healing items not already held by a pokémon will result in automatic disqualification, as will not having a pokémon on the field for any more than five seconds. Recalling and switching pokémon, however, is allowed. Do both trainers agree to these terms?"

It was a required formality to ask for agreement from both trainers in official pokémon battles, and for many gym battles, it is a step the referee skips. Most of the time, the rules are never challenged, as was the case in this battle, when both competitors nodded in agreement.

The referee smiled and stepped back behind the barrier a mr. mime was creating to protect the stands. "Then the battle between Duchess Drasna and Duke Wikstrom will now commence! Begin!"

Lord Shabboneau sighed while he read the bank statement. He knew it was coming, and it was only a matter of time. With tourism decreasing rapidly, and Camphrier itself widely being regarded as only a stopover for Parfum Palace, Shabboneau Castle Museum was bound to go bankrupt eventually. When he had told the two kids he met the day previous that they were going bankrupt "soon," what he had not told them was that he was one of six employees left working for the museum, and they had been the only two visitors throughout the entire day.

It really is a shame, he thought as he walked through the barren halls, nothing left on the walls but stray wire and he occasional wall light. This building has so much history to it, but I suppose the city will be able to take better care of it than I could.

As he approached the set of double doors leading to Camphrier Town, in his right hand he clutched the pokéball containing his beloved mawile. In his old age, she was the only pokémon he had left. In his left pocket, he had something much less well known: a mawilite. Those in hand, he exited the building.

With a heavy heart and sighing soul, the keys felt like lead as he brought them up to lock the doors for the final time, saying goodbye to the museum he had run for over fifty years.

As he walked away from city hall later to confirm Camphrier Town's repossession-and probable scheduled demolition-of the castle, Lord Shabbonaeu was approached by a slightly overweight, incredibly pale man with a shockingly orange mohawk. He was wearing orange glasses, and was similarly dressed in all orange.

"Lord Shabboneau," he greeted, walking up to the old man. "It is my understanding that you are out of a job, correct? And that you are in the possession of a mega stone?"

Shabboneau gulped a bit. "Yes to both questions. Why do you ask?"

The man smiled. "I am Xerosic from Lysandre Labs. And I have a business proposition for you."

By the end of the day, Lysandre Labs had purchased Shabboneau castle from Camphrier Town, and Lord Shabboneau was working there once more.

Author's Notes: So, it would appear things are flaring up.

I apologize for the later update on this one. I'm still mentally processing Nintendo's E3 presentation yesterday. And June 5th's, but that one's fine. I like the idea of Dynamax. Now the removal of Megas and Z-Moves AND them removing all pokémon that aren't in Galar already? That's something that I don't care for too much. Now, SwSh would still be my most hyped game on the Switch if Nintendo hadn't gone and added Banjo to Smash and then just dropped BotW 2 confirmation like it's no big deal this is amazing and-

Ahem. My apologies. I just like the Zelda games and Smash Bros. Have a great day to you all!