Skies were dark and cloudy all day, casting a gloomy vibe over the Kalos region's Parfum Palace. The day began early with strong winds that toppled the garden's many potted plants and threatened to uproot the small trees decorating the area. Normally a vibrant area full of play and excitement from visiting trainers, the Parfum Palace garden was cold and desolate as people took refuge inside to prepare for an approaching storm.

Count Hamilton, an elderly man who looked after the palace, had opened its many bedroom doors for travellers in need of refuge while waiting for the storm to pass through. The Lumiose Press reported a severe thunderstorm warning for Western Kalos that was expected to run through the night. As such, Hamilton agreed to allow those who couldn't book a hotel room to book an overnight room at the Palace at an affordable price.

Inside the palace was packed. Travellers of all sorts —including trainers, coordinators, breeders and much more—were all scouring the palace for an empty bedroom to call their own for the night. People were admiring the fancy architecture and decoration of the palace designed by the king many years ago. Cell phones were ringing as travellers contacted their loved ones to assure them they had found safety. And wild Pokémon ran through the halls, also taking refuge from the storm.

"How long until the storm starts?" asked Jake, a 20-year-old boy from Ambrette Town who was on his way to Lumiose City to pick up his first ever Pokémon from Professor Sycamore.

Jake was of average height and slightly skinny. He had light brown hair that was styled messily on the top with the sides buzzed to a much smaller length, giving the impression of a faux "faux-hawk." Jake had light blue eyes and wore a pair of black thick-rimmed glasses. He had on a black button-up shirt with a classy-but-very-casual red and gold floral print. He wore dark black jeans and a pair of black, gold-studded sneakers.

"Hopefully soon…I just wanna get this storm over with," said Serena.

Serena was also 20 years old and was a childhood friend of Jake's. The two grew up in Vaniville Town together until Jake moved to Ambrette Town about two years ago. Serena had very long, thick, light brown hair and wore a black blouse and red skirt. She was visiting Jake in Ambrette Town so the two could head to Lumiose City together and begin their journey as Pokémon trainers at the same time.

The skies suddenly grew significantly darker, and the winds picked up outside when suddenly a stocky man in a blue t-shirt busted abruptly through the palace's backdoors.

"Help!" He shouted. "My Furfrou ran off into the garden and I can't find him! Help!"

There was a blinding flash across the palace's windows as lightning struck outside, followed moments later by the deep rumble of thunder. An immense downpour of rain began, beating violently against the windows. The man fell to his knees and burst into tears.

Jake and Serena looked over as a nearby boy jumped to his feet and dashed for the backdoors leading to the garden, his Squirtle following closely behind. He was a tall muscular boy in his early 20s. His skin was a very light shade of brown and he had short freshly buzzed black hair. He wore a black V-neck, a light-blue wash of slim jeans, a red plaid shirt hanging from his waist that trailed behind him as he ran and a pair of dark brown combat boots.

Immediately upon stepping outside, the boy became drenched in water and strong winds threatened to knock him over. His Squirtle held its ground and ran directly toward the center of the garden with him. In the distance, he could barely make out the silhouette of a Furfrou cowering underneath the statue of a large black dragon at the back of the garden.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind uprooted one of the nearby bushes and sent it flying directly toward the boy. "Squirtle! Use Protect!" The Squirtle closed his eyes and a protective dome surrounded the two, shielding them from the bush. The two then turned back toward the statue and resumed running, only to find that a gust of wind had created a vortex of water in the form of a twister that was coming straight for them.

"Quick! Use Ice Beam!" The Squirtle let out a thin stream of icy blue energy that froze the twister in its tracks. Now almost at the statue, the two of them dashed right for the Furfrou, ducking to dodge a nearby pot that was fly at the boy's head.

The Furfrou whimpered as the boy cradled the dog Pokémon in his arms and ran back into the palace, dodging even more obstacles the storm had created.

Jake watched as the boy burst through the palace doors, absolutely drenched in water. His Squirtle followed by his side and collapsed in exhaustion. The Furfrou hopped out of his hands and ran to his owner. The stocky man hugged his wet dog Pokémon ecstatically, happy to see his best friend survived. The boy fell to he knees, shivering in a puddle of rainwater.

Jake reached into his bag and pulled out a large towel, and ran over to the boy. "Here, take this," Jake said throwing the towel over the boy's shoulders. Serena fed the Squirtle some berries for recovery. "Are you gonna be ok?" Jake asked the boy.

The boy looked up from the ground at Jake and then turned away upon making eye contact. "I'm fine," he said sternly as he got to his feet and walked coldly off with his Squirtle.

"Ughh, what's his problem?" Jake asked Serena as he shook his head and shrugged.

"I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure he's just embarrassed to be so soaking wet in front of all these people," Serena said.

***

That night, Jake and Serena were sitting in bed, laughing and smiling as they reminisced growing up together in Vaniville Town.

"Remember during homecoming when we all got caught sneaking up on our high school roof?" Serena asked, already laughing at the story.

"Oh my god, yes!" Jake said giggling. "The look on Mrs. Anderson's face when she looked up to see all of us on top of the school!"

The two continued reminiscing when the boy from earlier peaked his head into the room. He saw Jake and Serena and then stood just outside the doorframe, his Squirtle perched on his shoulder. "Hi, um. I'm Ty," he said shyly. "I just wanted to speak to you really quick." He gestured toward Jake.

"Of course!" Serena said with a smile. "I'll just step out for a second."

"Squirtle, you go with her." Squirtle hopped off Ty's shoulders and jumped into Serena's arms. Serena then walked past Ty and into the hall to play with Squirtle.

"Come have a seat. I'm Jake by the way and that's my best friend, Serena," Jake said. "What's going on?"

Ty walked over and sat down next to Jake on the bed. "I just wanted to thank you for giving me that towel earlier. I know I was a little bit of an asshole."

"Don't worry about it," Jake said with a smile.

"Well thanks. Just sorry about earlier. Being out there was….tense, and then coming in I guess I just got a little shy. I'm not really such a dick."

Jake laughed. "Stop worrying about it. We can start over with a clean slate." Jake patted Ty on the arm.

Ty smiled and turned to look Jake in the eye. "So…you and Serena know each other pretty well, then?"

"Yeah, we grew up together in Vaniville. Until I moved to Ambrette a few years ago," Jake said. "We've been friends forever."

"That's cool," Ty said. "Then what are you two doing here?"

"We're on our way from my house to Lumiose City to pick up our starter Pokémon from Professor Sycamore," Jake said. "What about you? Where are you from and what are YOU doing here?"

"I'm from Dendemille," Ty said. "I actually got my Squirtle from Sycamore a few days ago. I came to Camphrier Town for some extra training and to catch a second Pokémon. I'm heading back to Lumiose tomorrow to challenge the gym leader Clemont. I had to come to the palace for storm shelter, though."

Jake nodded. "Awesome! I can't wait to get my first Pokémon tomorrow. I'm gonna challenge the gym leaders, too. Just not sure where to start yet."

"I'm kind of in the same boat. I figured I'd start with Clemont and go from there. Anyway, it's getting late. I should get to bed. Thanks again for earlier," Ty said.

"Goodnight." Jake smiled

Ty left the room and Serena walked back in shortly after. "What was that about?" she asked.

"It was…nothing," Jake said with a smile.

The two of them got ready for bed and then fell asleep to the patter of rain against the palace walls.