A/N: So glad to get this chapter done...


Chapter 6:

A Quest in The Palace

. . .

Palais Lane was very picturesque - trees lined each side of the route with perfectly round bushes under them. The evening was starting to set in turning the sky into its usual bright orange color. But since the sky was blocked by the canopies of the trees, only a couple of the sun's fading rays could penetrate, giving the route a mystifying feel and look. The palace could be seen up ahead, but we still had some ways to go before we got there. Shauna was still having her potty break, and Calem and I were growing a little impatient. We decided to explore the tall grass beyond the trees to pass the time; There were plenty of Pokémon in there, so I used this as an opportunity to fill in more pages to the Pokédex. There were also other Trainers - mostly tourists loitering around the area, so Calem and I used them to train our Pokémon with. We came out victorious at the end of every battle, so we were growing stronger by the day it seemed. But our victories were short lived - the tall grass in this area literally went above our heads, so Calem and I kept getting lost on more than one occasion. Luckily for us, our Pokémon were great at tracking the other down - Merida's big and roomy ears had given her acute hearing, and Genji's amazing observance skills and speed helped a lot as well.

We eventually stopped fooling around in the grass and met back up on the main road. Somehow, Calem and I ended up on opposite sides - don't ask how that happened because I don't know myself. When we did meet up again however, Calem had another Pokémon accompanying him - it was a bipedal purple cat called an Espurr. It was cute, but it had just weird habit of staring at any and everything without blinking for minutes. It made our other Pokémon uncomfortable, but it didn't seem to care.

"Where'd you find this li'l one?" I asked him, filling its page in the Pokédex.

"I honestly don't know," Calem replied, looking at the feline "It just started following me shortly after we entered the grass. I haven't made any attempt to capture it."

"Well, it's a Psychic type," I noted "maybe it sensed something in you it liked?"

"Maybe..." Espurr kept staring at Calem, though it did turned to look at me a few times. It was hard to see what this little Pokémon was thinking about, and why it had such an interest in Calem. I honestly believed it had something to do with it being a Psychic types, since they can see and sense things that most Pokémon cannot.

"...Take me with you."

My eyes widened before I turned towards Calem. "Did you-"

He nodded and remained silent, keeping his focus on Espurr. From its voice, we found out it was a male. "Take me with you. I can feel something strong within you, stranger. I am curious as to why this is...you are, what they call, a 'Trainer,' yes?" Calem nodded again. "Very well. Capture me if you wish - my only desire is to prove myself to you as we travel." Calem went silent for a minute before he took out a Pokéball and held it out towards Espurr. Said Pokémon immediately tapped the button and allowed itself to be captured, putting up little to no resistance as the Ball released its all too familiar "click!" indicating that Espurr was caught. Calem then released Espurr from her new Pokéball and went through the process of introducing himself, his partners, and then me and my party. He was also given the name Artemis by her new Trainer, and seemed to adjust to her new name fairly quickly. He looked indifferent to everything thanks to his always neutral expression, but he was pretty interested in us and how we were able to understand him. Shauna happened to FINALLY arrive after the capture, and she quickly took notice to the new team member. We went straight to the palace while we did introductions, and soon, we were face-to-face with Parfum Palace.

The Palace itself was a HUGE upgrade from Shabboneau Castle - It was only two stories high, but what it lacks in height, it made up for in volume. Rooms upon rooms with crystal windows were lined up one after another on each floor, a stone fence accompanied with a beautiful golden gate surrounded the palace with a very short designed concrete road with fancy street lamps in front of it. And I noticed that it had the same structure and style as the Shabboneau Castle and most of Camphrier Town, but it was fancier and modernized than the castle. We approached the palace filled with awe, even our Pokémon could help but to stare and admire the palace's beauty. There were many tourists outside and around the palace either taking pictures of it or taking pictures of themselves and other people standing in front of it. Shauna insisted that we all took a picture together in front of the Palace for a scrapbook she intends to make, so we did it just for the sake of preserving the memory. There was a professional photographer on the palace grounds taking numerous of pictures for the other tourists, so we had him do it for us (none of us had a camera anyway). He took a great picture, so we all paid him a tip as a thank you before going to the palace itself. We approached the gate, only to be stopped by a nicely dressed guard (more like a butler, but it was hard to tell).

"Excuse us," Calem asked "but is this place open to the public?"

"It is," the butler nodded "but the entry fee is 1,000 Poké per person."

All of our jaws dropped. "Are you kidding me?!" Shauna exclaimed "We have to pay just to get into this place?!"

"Why the high admission fee?" I asked, doing my best to sound calm.

"I do apologize about this, but he owner of the palace follows the mindset that you can never have too much money. Ergo he charges an even amount of 1,000 for each person who wishes to enter."

Calem wrinkled up his nose. "Sheesh...that's just a way for the rich to get richer. We work hard for the money we earn only to have it spent on things that shouldn't even have a price tag on it."

"Ugh, there's nothing we can do about it. We need the Pokéflute after all..." I brought up my bank account via Holo Caster and took out the desired amount. "Here it is, then. Exactly 1,000 Poké." Calem and Shauna paid their entry fee as well, though they did it with much disdain. The guard then went on the explain that the entrance fee goes towards paying off the expenses needed to repair and restore the palace. But we all knew that was a lie, even he did; with how fancy and grand this place was, I highly doubt that it doesn't need any more repairs or to be restored to whatever state it should be in. Honestly, the owner was just making quick and easy money from us. But, we had a task to do, so we entered the palace through its grand ivory and gold double doors.

"Talk about a ripoff," Shauna mumbled "I bet he charges people just to look at touch the stuff in here!"

"It wouldn't surprise me," I said "I bet there's a fee for looking at whatever's supposed to be in here. I won't be coming back here anytime soon..."

We were already inside before we took notice of our new surroundings - we were too busy voicing our complaints about the fee to even notice the beauty on the inside. All I had to say was this: gold was EVERYWHERE; As soon as you walk in, you're greeted by a golden Milotic statue with golden busts of Bisharp on each side of the entrance hall. There was no carpeting here - only a wooden floor with a complicated design. The walls were painted a reddish-maroon color with gold floral patterns. Arches that led to the other halls and rooms were ivory just like the doors leading in with - of course - more gold design. Whoever owned the place must really have a thing for gold...Speaking of the owner, he was right in front of us frantically pacing around the Milotic statue looking very distraught.

"Where are you? Fluffle-Frou?! Where are you my darling angel? FLUFFLE-FROU!"

Calem, Shauna and I looked at each other and winced - I wasn't entirely sure if it was from the terrible nickname or the fact that this guy's voice was loud and exceedingly annoying. I could only guess that it was both reasons, and I was beginning to understand why the owner of the castle back in Camphrier Town warned us beforehand about the palace's owner. Something told me that retrieving the Pokéflute was not going to be an easy task as we initially thought. The owner then noticed us just standing there awkwardly before he approached with pleading eyes.

"Are you three visitors? Can you help me, please?" he begged "My darling Fluffle-Frou - I mean my Furfrou - has disappeared and I can't find him anywhere! I don't know where he could have wandered off to and I'm worried that I will never see my baby again! Something might have happened to him!"

This man was pitiful indeed. "Uh, c-calm down sir. I'm sure he hasn't left the palace grounds..."

"Where did you last see him?" Calem asked.

"Uh...well...we were making our rounds through the palace and I turned my back for just a teensy second and when I turned around he was gone! I've looked everywhere - I even have my employees look for him but they have come up empty handed so far! I don't know what I will do if I don't find him! Life isn't worth living without my sweet Fluffle-Frou!" The poor man was on the verge of tears, but I honestly couldn't feel sorry for him.

"We'll help look for him!" Shauna offered "I'm sure that the three of us will find him quicker if we split up! I mean...if my Pokémon got lost I would be worried sick! Let's check every place he could be, and if we can't find anything, we meet up here!"

"Sounds like a plan," Calem nodded "We'll contact each other through our Holo Casters. If anyone finds anything, then call right away."

I nodded. "Got it." I looked at Merida and Vivian, who seemed more than happy to help out. "Well gang, let's get started. Something tells me we have a LOT of ground to cover." Our plan was made, and we went our separate ways to start our search around the palace. I just hope that this wouldn't turn out to be a difficult search mission.

. . .

I'm going to end up eating my shoes if this keeps up. Here I am hoping that finding a Furfrou wouldn't be too hard...but given the sheer size of the palace had proven this to be much harder than we initially thought. We had to search through EVERY. ROOM. And there's at least 20, 30, probably 50 rooms in this entire palace by itself! I got lost on many occasions, and I ran into Calem and Shauna a couple of times too. I was starting to get frustrated since I knew we have been going through this place like a fine toothed comb to make sure we didn't happen to miss the Furfrou, and I know we've been in here searching for a good hour if not more. There were even more tourists inside the palace as well, but they turned out to be more of a nuisance rather than being helpful; None of them saw the Furfrou - or they claim they haven't - and most of them were too busy ooh''ing and ahh'ing to even try to help. I was starting to wonder if we would even find it.

"This is getting ridiculous," I heard Merida say as we exited yet ANOTHER room "I'm starting to believe that he's not even here."

"He has to be," I insisted, looking at the various gold statues of knights lining the wall "Though I will admit I'm getting my money's worth for this place. For 1,000 Poké, this is one heck of an adventure. We even learned a thing or two from the people who work here."

Merida put her paw on her hip as we walked. "The only thing I learned was that the idiot downstairs only inherited this place. He literally did nothing to work for this place, only being a 'descendant' of the original owner, who was supposedly the king back then."

"And that the palace was built shortly after the king won several wars against other regions," I added "I actually want to check out the library after we get finished with this. The one here might be more useful than the one in Shabboneau Castle. The only thing we found there was this journal of sorts, and we could only find one page that could be read." We went down another hall that led to the balcony - it was lined with mirrors while the entry arches were ivory in color with more gold trimmings. I walked out to see that the garden was overlooking the palace's garden; The garden covered as much ground as the palace, and had four hedgerow gardens in the shapes of various Pokémon. Several statues of Pokéballs were places around the hedgerow gardens while statues of Reshiram and Zekrom (thanks again, Pokédex) stood proudly in the front and the back. The once bright orange sky was now turning a very dark blue now that the sun was almost gone with only its lasting deep orange light visible from the horizon. Time really did fly by as we were searching for this elusive Furfrou - it was getting late. "But from the looks of it, I won't be able to have my study time..."

Vivian crawled closer to the edge of the balcony, sticking her head through the small columns to see the garden more clearly. She suddenly gasped, and tapped my leg with her antennae. "Um, Kat? I think I found him..."

I followed Vivian's gaze and saw an all too familiar white poodle creature loitering around in the garden below. I suddenly gained a surge of energy as I returned Vivian to her Ball and ran back into the hall. I grabbed my Holo Caster and dialed Calem's and Shauna's number after stopping near the stairwell - I didn't want to fall while running and trying to call them at the same time.

"I found him," I gasped once Calem's and Shauna's holographic images appeared "He's in the garden. I'm heading there now."

"I'm in the lobby on the first floor," Shauna said "To get into the garden, you need to go through the two blue doors that are directly in front of the entrance hall. I keep seeing a lot of people go out there."

"I'm all the way on the east side past the balcony," Calem explained "Can you guys meet me out there? It's going to take me a while to get down there from here..."

"Sure. I'll see you guys then." I hung up before running down the stairs and towards the lobby. When I got there, more people were going out past the two blue doors out to the garden just as Shauna said. I wasted no time and ran out there, and soon slowed down as I walked over the bridge over a small lake with statues of a knight that was probably the king, accompanied with a Golurk, Palitoed and Eevee sitting in the lake. Streams of water cascaded gracefully into the lake below from the Dratini statues sitting on the balcony, overlooking the garden. I had to admit, it was stunning. I didn't see the Furfrou in the area I first spotted it in once I was outside. I soon found out why after spotting Shauna and Electra chasing the poor thing near the back of the garden. I could do nothing but stand there and watch as the girl in pink and her Pikachu chase down a runaway Furfrou, which proved to be faster than her and Electra combined. She even called out its name to get it to stop, but I could have sworn it ran faster and I don't blame it - that name is just horrible. Either way, I found the scene to be pretty amusing. However, Merida tapped my arm to help me refocus on the task at hand, so we ran towards Shauna in front of a fountain in the middle of the garden, now sitting on the ground panting and sweating a little with Electra lying on her stomach doing the same.

"It's...pretty fast," she panted "I think...we're...better off...cornering it...in the hedgerow...gardens..."

"If that's what you plan to do, you're in luck," Merida said, before pointing towards the hedgerow garden on the top left. The Furfrou was also lying on the ground panting. "If we're quick, we can corner it there before it decides to take off again."

Shauna furrowed her brow, wondering what Merida was saying to me. "What did she say?"

"Merida says that it's in one of the hedgerow gardens," I explained "We will be able to corner it if we get over there fast enough."

"Oh." Shauna then stood up, now fully rested while Electra climbed up to her shoulder. "Well I'll help too! After all, I love puzzles! If we work together, I'm sure we will catch Fluffle-Frou!"

I could have sworn I heard a growl from the hedgerow garden. "Please...never say that again..."

"Yeah, you're right. That name is just awful." We made our way towards the garden where Furfrou was while sharing a laugh at the humiliating nickname. We made it there in a matter of seconds, but the Furfrou took off deeper into the garden once we got closer. "Hmm...hey Li'l K, how about I stand here in the middle and you approach it from the opposite side. That way, it will have no choice but to go up!"

I followed Shauna's suggestion and went to the other side of where Furfrou was standing. Shauna gave me the okay to continue before I drew closer to it, and it immediately took off towards the other end of the garden, seeing that the other way was blocked. Now it was in front of a dead end that we were trying to corner it into - I told Shauna to stand on one end while I went to the other, and we both approached the Furfrou. It ran again, but this time it ran towards the dead end since it had no where else to go. We finally caught it, much to our relief, but I couldn't help but to feel sorry for it a little. It meant that now it had to go back to it's owner.

"Sorry bud, but we kinda need you to go back with your owner," I said to him. Oddly, enough, he was docile enough to let me pet him, though he whined at us.

"I kinda feel sorry for it," Shauna murmured "I would hate to have that guy as my owner if I were a Pokémon."

"Regardless, we need the Pokéflute...If he wants, this li'l guy can run off as soon as we leave. In fact, I kinda encourage it."

Furfrou looked at Shauna and I before it started barking. "Ouaf, fuahf-woorf! Aworooo! Bahrk, ouaf fuarf!"

I frowned, not being able to hear its voice. "What did he say?" I asked Merida.

"He says that he originally belonged to Shaun - the owner of Shabboneau Castle - as a pup. But he's been paying back loans to Azllo - the palace owner - ever since they became adults. When Shaun couldn't pay the loan with money, he took him instead, and then the Pokéflute a couple of months ago. He wants to go back to his original owner and hear him play the flute again." Furfrou barked a few more times. "He's tried to take the flute and go back home, but it's locked away in a display case. He could've ran away at any time, but he's really been staying here waiting for when he was able to get the flute. Only then he would return home."

I frowned deeply. "That's awful."

Shauna tilted her head. "What's awful?" I explained to her what Merida just told me, and Shauna suddenly looked horrified. "That's just despicable! How could he do such a thing to the castle owner and his Furfrou?! You can't just take something that doesn't belong to you, even if it was to repay a loan! No wonder he's just sitting on his keister being handed free money! If I had any respect for that guy left, it's all gone!"

"That makes two of us," I spat, before kneeling down in front of Furfrou and petting him again. "Listen pal, my friends and I need to get the Pokéflute back to your original owner anyway. So...this may be your only chance to leave this place and go home. But we will find a way to help you get back to your real owner, even if it means reasoning with Azllo or sneaking you out of here ourselves, and that's a promise." I couldn't hear it, but I could tell Furfrou knew we were here to help. Unfortunately, it didn't get a chance to reply when it owner decided to come out here and reclaim "his" Furfrou.

"Fluffle-Frou! My dear beloved Fluffle-Frou! You're safe and sound! I'm so relieved!" he exclaimed as he rushed over and petted its head. Shauna and I slightly glared at him, but said nothing. He then turned to look at us. "You two must be responsible for my wonderfrou reunion with my darling Furfrou?" Ugh...he ever puts "frou" at the end of some of his words..."How wonderfrou indeed! Marvelous! I applaud you both!" He clasped his hands together and smiled with excitement. "This DEMANDS a fireworks show! It will show everyone the bond between Fluffle-Frou and I!...And also serve as a reward for your hard work, of course. The rendezvous spot will be on the balcony. You know how to get there, yes? Just on the second floor in the hall full of mirrors. You honestly can't miss it even if you tried. You understand? Good. Now then, you two go do that while I get everything ready. Come Fluffle-Frou - we have to get ready!" Furfrou lowered his head and begrudgingly followed Azllo back towards the palace, but not before looking back at us with pleading eyes that cried for help before leaving the garden.

"...You know what I think?" Shauna said softly "I believe Furfrou would've been better off if we hadn't found it, y'know?..."

"You're telling me," I said "But it couldn't be helped...we have to move Snorlax off the bridge to get to the next town. And to do that, we need the Pokéflute to wake up Snorlax to move it if we want to proceed. Trust me, I don't like it anymore than you do, but this is something we had to do. Besides, I...I sorta promised him that we would help him get back to his real owner. I'm sure we'll find a way before we go back to Route 7."

"I hope you're right...but you know what? It's really cool how you can understand a Pokémon's feelings and channel it so that they can understand yours. I could tell that Fufrou trusts you and knows you want to help it. And I want to help him too! I want to learn how to understand Pokémon the way you do, Li'l K! Well...I guess there's nothing else we can do then, right? Let's go up to the balcony and see the fireworks."

"Yeah. Might as well..." We navigated out way out of the hedgerow and back towards the bridge, but not before Shauna suddenly clenched her legs together and started hopping around. I raised my eyebrow at her before asking "The heck's wrong with you?"

"I need to pee..." she murmured, looking awfully embarrassed.

"You just...didn't you already go to the bathroom before we came here?" I exasperated.

"Do you know how long ago that was? The sun was still out then - it's dark now!" She said nothing else before she ran back into the palace to look for the nearest toilet. I only shook my head and went back inside, whilst hearing Merida laugh beside me.

. . .

After staring at the patterns of the hedgerow gardens, I noticed that all four of them were in the shapes of Pokémon. Bastiodon, Chandelure, Solrock and I believe Kyurem were the four shapes of the gardens. I only took notice of this because I had nothing better to do than stare out at the garden while waiting for Shauna, who has not made it back from the bathroom yet. It was completely dark out now - the stars were visible and the quarter full moon hung in the sky above us. It was a perfect night to see a fireworks show, if it would start anyway; I really hope Shauna would hurry and get here on time before the show began, but if I knew her well enough by now, I would guess that she got lost trying to get up here. And judging by how long I've been waiting for her, I would assume that I was right. At least my Pokémon were with me; Merida was by my side as always, and Vivian was sitting in between the balcony's supports, staring out into the garden. I was starting to grow impatient though - I just wanted to get the flute and leave this place already.

"Hey neighbor." I turned to see Calem step onto the balcony with Genji and Artemis at his side. "I take it you and Shauna found Furfrou?"

I nodded. "Azllo - that's the name of the palace owner by the way - is supposed to be putting on a fireworks show in celebrate his reunion with it. And it's supposed to be a reward for us finding it, but I kinda doubt it."

"I see. Sorry about not making it in time. We...sorta got lost..."

"I tried to get them to ask for directions," I heard Artemis say while shrugging "but they were too stubborn."

Merida scoffed. "Men."

Genji shot Artemis a quick glare while I stifled a giggle. Calem decided to just ignore them and changed the subject quickly. "Hey, where is Shauna anyway? I thought you two met up in the garden?"

"We did," I nodded "but Shauna had to go take another potty break. I've been standing here waiting for her since then."

"...She got lost, didn't she?"

"Yeeeah, pretty much." It was Calem's turn to laugh as he leaned against the rail and looked out into the garden. I decided to explain to him what happened when we found Furfrou in the garden, including the new information about the situation between the Azllo and Shaun, and Furfrou's predicament. I told him that I volunteered to help it, and Calem was more than willing to do the same - he even brought up the fact that our ability to communicate with Pokémon could help reason with palace owner, but given his behavior, I sort of doubt it. I was about to elaborate more on that before a loud whistling noise cut me off. A loud bang followed by flashing lights indicated that the fireworks show was starting. Our attention immediately went towards the show, giving us a wonderous display of exploding colors, shapes and sizes. Our Pokémon were even enchanted by the display - mostly Artemis and Vivian since they never saw anything like this before. The tourists and even some of the employees in the garden also stopped to look at the fireworks, appearing to be just as enchanted as we were. For the trouble we had to go through since we've arrived, I guess it was worth it after all.

"...Hey Kat?"

"Yeah?"

"I remembered what I wanted to tell you at the café."

"Oh really?" I turned towards him "What was it?"

"I was going to tell you that I wanted you and I to become rivals in a competition to see who was the strongest, but I changed my mind." He turned towards me. "You see, ever since we started our journey, my only cause was to travel around the region, grow stronger, collect the Gym Badges, compete in the League and be done with it. I didn't care about anything else - I just wanted to show my family - show the world that I can gain my own strength and prove to them that I'm not just some other Trainer, you know? And...to be honest, the only reason why I wanted us to become rivals was because I felt threatened by you. When I saw the way you just easily defeated Shauna and that kid Austin the day we met, I grew intimidated. I thought you would become that brick wall I would have to find a way to pass through if I wanted to accomplish my goal, so I decided then that I needed to get you out of the way if I was to be successful. But when I actually sat down and got to know you a bit more yesterday in Lumiose City, I was able to open my eyes and see the real you, not the person I made you out to be. You may be the daughter of the famous Rhyhorn Rider Grace, but you don't let that define who you are. Really, you're just an ordinary kid like me who just want to enjoy a journey around the region with her friends and Pokémon. You could care less about being strong or weak, but you seem to have this fighting spirit that allows you to bring out this incredible prowess in both yourself and your Pokémon. But you're also selfless and will put others before yourself, including Pokémon that don't even belong to you. So, what I'm trying to say is...I no longer want to be your rival; Instead, I want us to become close friends. I want to travel alongside you and share memories with you as we travel through Kalos. I...I forgot what it was to actually have fun, but you managed to show me what it really meant to travel and to see things from a different perspective. And I thank you for that, but I also want to apologize for putting a target on your back."

I was speechless. "I...um...wow...thanks Calem, but I-"

"And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, was my wonderfrou fireworks display in tribute to my dear Fluffle-Frou!" I cringed after hearing that Arceus-awful name again before I noticed Azllo, one of his butlers and Furfrou step onto the balcony. "Ahh, there's nothing I love more than fireworks! They're simply amazing and marvelous! The way they explode into a shower of colors and patterns - it's enough to move anyone's heart!" He turned his attention to us after he was done gloating. "I trust you two were satisfied with that. I went through a looot of trouble trying to make the most wonderfrou combination for the show."

"Trust me, we're more than satisfied," I said through my gritted teeth. I noticed Furfrou giving me an expectant look, causing me to remember the very reason why we were here. "OH! That's right! Excuse me, Mr. Azllo? You wouldn't happen to have the Pokéflute from Shabboneau Castle, would you?"

Azllo's face went from happy to what looked like disappointment. "The Pokéflute, huh..." he sighed "I'm going to assume Shaun sent you, didn't he?" I nodded. "Fine. Arthur, go get it, would you?" The butler bowed shortly before leaving to get the flute. "The flute was the treasure of the family who once lived in Shabboneau Castle before it was abandoned. I took it as a payment for a loan a little while ago."

"Just like Furfrou, huh?"

Azllo suddenly frowned as he eyed me with suspicsion. "Who told you that?! As a matter of fact, how do you even know my name? I bet Shaun told you, didn't he? He's always been jealous of the fact that I was rich and he-"

"Furfrou told me."

"...I beg your pardon?"

"Well...look, my friend and I have this...ability where we can hear the voices of various Pokémon. When we found Furfrou outside, it told us how you took it from Shaun as a pup as a previous payment for a loan just like you did the flute. He's been wanting to go home ever since he's been with you, but it's been staying because it wants to get the flute back to Shaun - he wants to hear him play again."

Azllo simply scoffed at us. "And you expect me to believe that two commoner kids can speak to Pokémon? You HAVE to be joking...Besides, Shaun already sent you for the flute, did he not?"

"If you don't believe us, then explain why Furfrou constantly runs away from you," Calem challenged "It's clear to us that he doesn't like you and wants his original owner back. Besides, you HAVE the money to get a Furfrou of your own - why take someone else's?"

"Fluffle-Frou was only a puppy when I took him in," Azllo retorted "and who's to say I took him as a payment? You have no proof!"

"We have Furfrou's word," I said firmly "Pokémon aren't items we can simply give or take - they're living creatures with as many feelings as we have. The only thing that hinders them is the fact that they can't communicate with us openly as you or me can, but their behavior and body language should be more than enough to show us what they're trying to say. If you really DID care for Furfrou, then you would ask him yourself. He has that right to a decision just like anyone else, and a free will that shouldn't be taken away."

Arthur the butler had came back with the Pokéflute in his hands and handed it to Calem where he decided to get involved into the conversation since it was beginning to take a sour turn. "Actually, sir, if I may...I couldn't help but to overhear the conversation," he said "I believe these children MAY have the ability to communicate with Pokémon. I have read many books and heard tales of an ancient race of people born with this gift."

"Wait, so you actually have something about it?" Calem asked.

Arthur nodded. "Why yes. Though, the information that I have is very little and may not be of use..."

"We'll take it," I said quickly "We want to learn as much about this as we can."

"Very well...Now then, from what I have read and was told, this race of people had a very close connection to the 3 Legendary Pokémon of Kalos - Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde. It was even believed that these people were in fact born from them, but that has yet to be proven. The people were split into 3 groups, or tribes for each respective Legendary, and carried out specific duties and tasks that represented each one. They were as different as day and night, but they all had the ability to hear the voices of Pokémon, enabling them to speak with them in the same way you and I are speaking right now. It is also rumored that they had a strong connection with the Earth and was admired by the king of Kalos when he still reigned at that time. However, they suddenly disappeared more than 3,000 years ago shortly after the great war that plagued the land, and nothing regarding their existence can be found anywhere, except in underground sources, but even those are kept secret. Alas, that is all I can share with you at the moment..."

"Still more than what we were able to find," Calem noted "Oh, by the way Mr...Arthur? Do you have any information regarding Mega Evolution?"

"Mega Evolution? Hmm...I remember reading a book about the very subject in the palace's library. It said something about having a Trainer hold a mysterious stone high to further evolve a Pokémon. Actually, now that you mention it, the ancient race of people were also said to be the very first ones to use Mega Evolution." Calem and I looked at each other. "There may be more information floating around here, but I have yet to find it. In fact, I've become rather interested in both subjects. I may even do a little research when I have the free time."

"If you happen to find anything else regarding either or," I asked "do you mind contacting Professor Sycamore to tell him the details? We're his students, see, and we're trying to discover secrets about both subjects for him."

"I would be honored to do so," Arthur said bowing "I'll contact him as soon as I find anything."

Azllo suddenly cleared his throat loudly, ending the conversation. He looked both impatient and annoyed, and I got a feeling that he would love nothing more than to kick Calem and I out of the palace. "Well then, if you lot are finished, Fluffle-Frou and I will be on our way. But listen well you two - always return what you borrow. Technically the flute still belongs to me." He turned to leave, but Furfrou didn't follow; I didn't notice this until I felt his fur brush across my hand. Azllo tried to get the canine to follow after seeing he was no longer by his side, but it wouldn't budge. It even growled at him after being called by Fluffle-Frou a few times. He finally accepted defeated, and begrudgingly insisted that we bring the flute back once we were done with it before leaving in a huff. Calem remarked that he hoped he never had to see him again, but I couldn't help but to notice the smile on Furfrou's face as he looked up at me with his tail wagging a bit.

"Thank you."

. . .

Arthur was nice enough to escort us back to the entrance - we even met up with Shauna, who did in fact got herself lost while trying to get back to the balcony, but she was able to see the fireworks from the garden with the rest of the tourists. She was relieved when she saw us with the flute, but asked us why Furfrou was with us. Calem and I began to retell what happened up on the balcony after the fireworks show as we made our way back to Route 7. Shauna was glad that we were able to get Furfrou out of Azllo's possession after the explanation was over, and seemed really interested in the ancient race of people that Arthur told us about. As much as I wanted to elaborate on that, I was honestly exhausted from wandering around in the palace and trying to catch Furfrou. I told Calem and Shauna to go on ahead and give the flute and Furfrou back to Shaun while I went back to Camphrier Town. Shauna promised that they would, so we split ways once we reached the crossroads at the end of Palais Lane. It was a little bit after 10 when I did make it back to the Pokémon Center - I had Merida and Vivian checked on once again while I went to go buy a quick and easy meal. I settled on buying a small bowl of ramen and some tea, as well as some food for my Pokémon and ate in the lobby while I waited. By the time I had finished eating, Calem and Shauna had returned from Route 7; they told me that Shaun was ecstatic when they arrived with Furfrou, and said that he couldn't care less about the flute after getting his Pokémon back. And from what I was told, Furfrou was just as happy to be back with him (turns out that Furfrou's actual name was Prince - MUCH better than Fluffle-Frou). I was happy for both of them regardless, and I was glad that I was able to keep my promise to Prince. Calem also explained that Snorlax left back to the mountains after being woken up; he wanted to catch it, but changed his mind and let it go, so now the entirety of Route 7 was back open. We got rooms after our business was taken care of and retired for the night - we got our usual rooms, but we managed to get separate bathrooms much to Shauna's glee. I was feeling really good at the moment, so I went ahead and took a shower first, getting another chance to bathe Vivian again too. Shauna went in after me, so I decided to relax and lounge around on the bed for a while before going to bed.

"I should probably call Mom," I mumbled, looking at the Holo Caster hanging from my bag. I was too lazy to reach over and make the call, so I just let it hang there and rolled over until I was on my stomach. Shauna started singing again, so I turned on the TV to try and drain out the noise; I saw Merida sit on the edge next to me, but had to pick and put Vivian on the bed after she started whining. We sat/lied there in silence before I felt Merida's elbows on my back.

"Do you think that what that man said back in the palace is true?" I heard her ask. "About the ancient race, I mean. Do you think they're linked to you and the other boy?"

I shrugged. "They might, but we have so little information to decide if it's just a myth or truth. But if it does link back to us, then it explains why we have this ability."

"You could be a psychic," Merida mused "Psychics and Psychic types are known to be able to sense and see what others cannot. And there are even a select few who are able to communicate with us like you can."

"Hey, I'd believe it. At this point, I'm willing to believe anything. But I AM curious about this ancient race; you gotta wonder why they could exist back then and suddenly disappear eons ago without a trace. I mean, there has to be something connecting back to them, right? I wonder if the Professor knows anything about it..."

Merida shift her weight. "Your face turned red when you met him, I noticed."

"So?"

"You must find him attractive."

I felt a blush creep into my face, seeing an image of Sycamore appear in my head. "And what if I did?"

The bipedal fox shrugged. "I'm just saying that you're not the first to find him attractive. I was born and raised by him and his assistants, so I have seen a lot of female humans walk in and become flustered whenever he was around. So I would assume that he is considered to be, what we categorize as mate worthy. He must be desired by many females."

"Merida!" I gasped, unable to hide the blush on my face "For Arceus' sake, the man's like, half my age! Besides we...humans don't 'mate' just to have babies like Pokémon do. We...we do it for pleasure mostly."

"That's not true. I know a couple of species who mate for pleasure. I heard that Greninja, Lucario and Zoroark were the known to be quite the charmers back in ancient times when Pokémon could be, what you call, 'husbands' and 'wives.'"

"People still do that, I think. As a matter of fact, yeah, they do. In fact, I read this interesting article somewhere that-" I paused, realizing what I was discussing with my partner. "...Okay, why am I even having this conversation with you in the first place? The last thing I want to talk about before going to bed is how humans and Pokémon go about having relationships and reproduce. And don't try to put this off on me, because you started it."

"You and I haven't had enough proper quality time together," she shrugged, before rolling over so that her head was resting on my back. "Besides, I think it was worth it, seeing you flustered."

"Oh yeah?" I looked back at her and grinned slyly "What about Priam? You were eyeing him a lot back on Route 5. You must have found him attractive too, huh? After all, from what I've read, you two can breed." It was Merida's turn to have her cheeks turn pink before she sent a small flame into my back through her paw. It stung, but I couldn't help but to laugh at my partner - revenge was a dish best served cold. Shauna finally emerged from the bathroom with a cloud of steam at her wake with Tiptup at her heels; she must have given him a bath while she was in there. I asked her where Tierno and Trevor were - I haven't seen them since we arrived in town.

"They already left for Ambrette Town earlier today," she explained while getting dressed "Trevor really wanted to go learn about fossils, so he and Tierny managed to cross the bridge before Snorlax came. I got a call from both of them back in the palace - they made it to Ambrette Town just fine from what they told me."

"At least they're safe," I said as I rubbed in between Vivian's antennae a bit. "Any plans for tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Shauna explained "I'm going to leave for Ambrette Town first thing tomorrow morning, but I'm going to keep going until I reach Shalour City. Fossils are cool and all, but they're not exactly my thing, you know? What about you?"

"I think I'll stick around and learn more about fossils when I get there," I mused "I always loved ancient Pokémon as a kid ever since I saw Lance - he's the champion of Johto, by the way - battling with an Areodactyl during the League one year. It was awesome...so now I gotta find out what kind of fossils Kalos has."

"Okay. So I guess that means we'll split up after tomorrow, huh?"

"Until we meet up in Shalour City, at least." I took out my map again and started to look through it. "And from the looks of it, Shalour City's just two towns away from Ambrette, right? We'll see each other in a few days after tomorrow, I believe."

"I hope so!" Shauna jumped onto her bed and sighed contently. Chester and Tiptup joined her, though Chester had to be more careful since he didn't want to pierce her with his spikes. "It's been so much fun traveling with you, Kat! And you know what? I'm really glad you moved here when you did - you've been a great friend."

"Hey, I can say the same thing about you guys," I replied, smiling at her "I honestly thought I was going to be alone again after moving here. But you guys have been the bestest friends I could have ever met. Really, I'm thankful I've gotten to know you all."

Shauna beamed before she rolled over to face me, now gaining a thoughtful expression. "Hey Kat? What were you and Calem doing up on the balcony during the fireworks? I saw you guys up there when I was in the garden."

I furrowed my brow a bit. "Whaddya mean 'what were we doing'? We were just watching the fireworks and talking."

"Talking about what? You looked awfully touched by what ever he was talking about, y'know?" There was this glint in her eye that made feel oddly uncomfortable, before the realization hit me.

"...Wait, are you implying-no! No, Shauna, I haven't known the guy for a week! We're just friends, okay? Calem just had some stuff he had to get off of his chest at the time, alright?"

"What? Was he confessing that he had a crush on you or something? C'mon, you can tell me!"

"There's nothing to tell!"

"Yes there is~" She suddenly grew a teasing smirk. "And I know how you two had a 'private' talk at the café in Lumiose - Tierno told me all about it! So c'mon, give me the details! I won't tell anyone, promise! You two make such a cute couple anyway~"

Merida was on the floor in cackling like a maniac while Chester, Tiptup and Vivian were looking at each other looking awfully confused. I refused to be put on the spot like this twice in one night, so I told her that Calem wasn't my type before I threw the duvets over my head and turned off my lamp. Merida eventually stopped her laughing fit and climbed in the bed next to me, but not before earning a light kick from me after getting in. She blew a raspberry at me before she lied there while I gave Vivian one of the pillows to sleep on next to the bed. I could still hear Shauna giggling on the other side of the room as she turned off the TV and her lamp before going to bed as well. Chester and Tiptup were chittering softly for a few minutes before they fell silent. I gave Vivian one last rub before I got into a more comfortable position and relaxed, letting sleep take over my being until I fell into an well-deserved slumber.

. . .

Tap-tap-tap.

Tap-tap-bink-tap!

Bink...tap-tap-tap-bink-tap.

"Mmnn..." The eerie white glow from the moon casted its light into the room, providing the only thing that enabled me to see through the darkness surrounding us. Vivian wasn't on her pillow anymore - instead I spotted her at the couch under the window, using her antennae to tap at the glass. The noise was able to wake me up, but Shauna, Chester, Tiptup and even Merida were still sound asleep. I looked over at the clock and saw that it was almost 3 in the morning - I didn't want to get up at this ungodly hour, but I had to see what was the source of that noise and why Vivian was at the window. I made sure to be extra careful as I climbed out of bed to avoid waking Merida, and tiptoed over to the window to avoid waking Shauna and her Pokémon.

"Hey girl," I whispered once I was at the window "What's up? What are you doing up this time of night?"

"He's hurt," she murmured.

"Who's hurt?" Vivian pointed her antennae at the window, so I deduced that what ever had Vivian's attention was outside. I peered the window and could only see the inky darkness of the night, the only source of light coming from the street lamps and the moon. However, after a few seconds of scanning the area outside, I suddenly saw something fluttering near the corner with that familiar tapping noise on the glass. Curious, I unlocked the window and slowly lifted it open, wincing at the slight creaking noise it was creating. I looked back into the room to see that my roommates were still asleep, allowing me to release a breath that I had been holding since I started opening the window. Vivian moved closer to me and peered out the window - I heard the rustling of leaves shortly after, indicating that there was something in the bushes below. I strained my eyes to get a clear view of whatever was in them, only to pause when I saw a bat-like Pokémon lying on top of the bush. It looked up at me with fear, and tried to fly off, but it suddenly cried out in pain and fell back down while breathing heavily.

"So this is who you were talking about, huh...?" I murmured, before reaching out towards the injured Pokémon. It instantly screeched at me and tried to bite at my hand, but Vivian was able to tell it that I didn't mean it any harm. Once it calmed down, I scooped it up into my hands and brought it inside before closing the window. Now that I could see the Pokémon better, I saw that it was a purple bat covered with fur with big round ears and just as big yellow eyes. Something warm and wet ran down my fingers, and a drop of crimson stained my bare leg. It was then that I noticed that the Pokémon was bleeding from a cut on its wing, but there wasn't a tear in the membrane that would hinder its flight ability. I used one of the towels from the bathroom to cover the wound and stop the bleeding and sat it on the desk while I got a Super Potion and an Oran Berry from my bag. The bat Pokémon looked apprehensive at the items, but I told it that they Potion was a medicine to help treat the cut. It calmed down at the sound of my voice and was reassured by Vivian, so it lied there on the desk and watched me carefully. The cut wasn't severe, so I sprayed the towel with the Potion until it was soaked, and gently patted the wound with it. The Pokemon hissed at the slight sting, but it only lasted for a few seconds after the Potion was able to start working its healing magic. I decided to wrap the wing in a bandage until the Potion had fully healed the cut, and then gave it the Berry while I cleaned up the mess.

"There, that should do it," I told it once I came back "You should be able to fly by tomorrow as long as you just take it easy for the rest of the night." It made a soft chittering noise while I used my Pokédex to identify this new creature. I found out that it was a male Noibat, a Flying/Dragon type to my surprise - you wouldn't think that it would be a Dragon type after seeing it for the first time. I gave Noibat my pillow to rest on and sat it next to Vivian's pillow since he seemed to be more comfortable around her. I placed him on the pillow as Vivian crawled over to climb on hers before I climbed back into bed and lied back down. I was going to have a hard time getting up in the morning, but I couldn't ignore an injured Pokémon even if I tried. I watched Nobat shift around on his pillow before he finally relaxed and laid there next to Vivian; He went to sleep moments later before his new friend followed suit. I smiled at them both, relieved that the li'l guy was going to be alright before I rolled over and closed my eyes. Sleep came to me quickly, and I was out before I even realized it.


E/N: Gaaaaah, this chapter too a long time D:

The double battle between you, Calem/Serena, Tierno and Trevor won't appear until later, unfortunately. I wish you could battle all of your friends in the game more often than Calem/Serena - you only battle Shauna, Tierno and Trevor twice during the whole game and continue to battle Calem in nearly every town and route to walk on.

Speaking of Calem, I decided to give him the female Espurr instead of the usual male - the female can learn better moves once it evolves in a Meowstic, and I thought Calem deserved the better Pokémon in my opinion. I love both Meowstic, but the female is just awesome. Also, I changed up the fireworks scene on the balcony for a few reasons; I like how it kinda implies Shauna likes the male protagonist, saying that she never saw fireworks "alone with a boy" before. If you're the female protagonist, she just says that she hopes you two can become good friends. As you know, I'm trying to deepen the character development between all of them, therefore I had Calem meet Kat at the balcony rather than Shauna to have that "bonding" moment between them. I didn't like the fact that Calem just only wanted to battle and compete with you to see who's stronger - at least Shauna tries to have some fun with you while you're exploring through Kalos; that was the reason behind my altered scene on the balcony up there.

Oh, before anyone gets on me, yes, I did say that I wasn't planning on putting romance in this, but I know people are going to be wondering if that's a lie after Shauna implies that Calem and Kat like each other. Now, I'm not planning on pairing the two up - I know there are people who are fond of the Calem/Serena pairing, and I don't want to hear any butthurt because Calem is with my character from the game. There might be some fluff between them, but that's it; Things might change later on in the future, but we'll cross that bridge when it comes, 'kay?

I don't like the Parfum Palace owner - he rips you out of 1,000 bucks, plus he's a rich snob anyway. I really did feel sorry for his Furfrou in the game, reason why I made it to be the castle owner's Pokémon instead. Also, I made the currency to be the same as in the Mystery Dungeon games; I hear a lot of people say that the currency in the main games are based off of Yen, but I didn't want to spark any kind of debate, so I made it Poké instead to make it easier for everyone. Oh, and the reason behind the conversation between Kat and Merida? Fan art. Lots, and lots of fan art...*shudders*

Amberette Town and the Glittering Cave are up next, and you know what that means~ We get to meet the fabulously stylish antagonist team of the game! See you guys then! :D

[EDIT] Decided it would be better to stick with the game's canon and made Calem's Espurr a male. I don't want there to be an overabundance of female Pokémon here.