Despite allowing me to write the next entry, Marcus insisted I also include a recap of what happened once we got to Pastoria City, despite me not even being involved in the debacle regarding that Dimitri fellow. As per requested, Marcus got Dimitri to a hospital, where he was expected to be just fine, then quickly moved to a jail cell. We took the time to rest at the Pokemon Center ourselves, then Marcus was eager to make his way to the Pastoria Gym right away, considering we seldom made it to a city with time enough in the same day to challenge the gym. Unfortunately, once Marcus got to the gym, he found that it was closed. A note was attached to the door, explaining that the gym leader had left town to get medicine for an ailing Pokemon in the nearby Great Marsh.

Considering the situation, especially with the Great Marsh being a popular attraction for tourists and trainers alike, Marcus decided the day was best spent at the Great Marsh if not at the gym. Of course, being a Water-type, I was the perfect candidate to join Marcus in exploring this place. At least, I thought I would be, but as it turned out, trainers weren't allowed to use their own Pokemon inside. Something about "preserving the environment" and "maintaining a fair playing field with catching other Pokemon," as one of the humans who stopped us put it, not that I paid attention. This wasn't entirely my normal behavior on display, though. I was distracted by another worker, a woman who seemed to be up there in her years, staring intently at me the whole time. It wasn't until Marcus was about to return me that she got up and started approaching us.

"Excuse me there," she said to Marcus as he still had my Pokeball in his hand. He turned around to face the woman. "If you don't mind me asking, where did you get that Prinplup of yours?"

I tilted my head to the side curiously when she asked this. Memories of my hatchlinghood slowly flowed through my mind as I thought on her question, even though she hadn't asked me. I was pretty much hatched and raised in the facility Professor Rowan had for raising all sorts of Pokemon for research, including starters like myself. That period of time was honestly nothing special. True, I tried to act separate from all the other Piplup and seclude myself, but contrary to most other Pokemon, that was rather normal behavior for us. Piplup are proud and often don't play well with other Piplup, after all.

"You mean Princess?" Marcus asked the woman. "I got her from Professor Rowan when I started my journey. How come?"

The woman nodded and paused for a moment. "You two might be able to help us," she said before turning around and walking off. "Come with me to the second floor. I want to show you something."

Marcus and I exchanged confused glances for a moment before both shrugging and following the woman upstairs. Once we got there, we saw that there was a set of huge windows that overlooked the Great Marsh, with a few binoculars set up so trainers could get a close look at the Pokemon residing within. The woman walked up to one set of binoculars, looked through and adjusted them a bit, then stepped away and gestured for Marcus to take a look. He did so, and I could tell what he saw wasn't exactly uplifting. Curious, I had him lift me up so I could see what was on the other side of the binoculars. What I saw was an Empoleon lying on a bed of leaves with several various Pokemon attending to it.

"The Pokemon of the Great Marsh see that Empoleon as their ruler," the woman explained as Marcus held me. "But he's fallen ill as of late. Our town's gym leader, Crasher Wake, departed recently to get medicine that will most likely cure Empoleon, but this would only remedy one issue."

As the woman kept talking, I saw a Prinplup walk up to Empoleon and help him sit up and against a tree. "Empoleon's child, I presume?" I asked, although neither Marcus nor the woman understood me.

"There's another Prinplup who is often beside Empoleon," the woman continued. "If Empoleon is the 'king' of the Great Marsh, we've deduced that Prinplup must be a 'prince' of sorts, and as such would take over the Great Marsh should the worst befall Empoleon. This wouldn't be a problem were it not for two things..."

"I bet I could guess one of those," Marcus replied as he set me back down. I wasn't done looking at Prinplup's and Empoleon's interactions, but I've learned that any complaints I have with what Marcus does fall on deaf ears, so I didn't bother protesting. "Prinplup isn't fit to rule?"

The woman nodded. "He's a rather young boy. If Empoleon were to pass tomorrow, the weight of the responsibility thrust on Prinplup would crush him, and the Great Marsh would fall into disarray. It would, of course, be something the staff could handle with time, but we'd rather take a route that preserves the natural order as closely as possible." The woman paused and nodded again. "Thus, as trainer to a Prinplup yourself, I was hoping we'd be able to enlist your help in the matter. I understand it's somewhat a long shot, but I thought a backup plan in case Crasher Wake doesn't return in time would be smart."

Marcus brought his hand to his chin and thought on this for a moment, audibly humming. "I'm curious," he started, "what was the other thing that posed a problem for Prinplup?"

The woman rubbed the back of her head. "This is a little embarrassing to say, and I deeply apologize to both you and your Prinplup if I insult either of you by saying this... but both Prinplup and Empoleon are the only two of their kind in the Great Marsh, and they've refused to take any mates that we've tried to set them up with."

As soon as I heard the woman say that, I could immediately feel my face turn a bright red. She really wanted me to...?

"I'll floor you for suggesting that!" I shouted as I charged the woman, but Marcus held me back, leaving me to just helplessly flail my flippers while in his grasp.

"We'll, um..." Marcus started. "Ahem, I don't see why Princess would be a good fit for that... 'role,' honestly. I understand, the prince would need to continue the bloodline, but... well, I think Princess answered your question a bit bluntly."

The woman nodded again, seemingly unfazed by my advance against her. She was lucky I had the common sense not to use a ranged attack on her in front of Marcus. "Forgive me," she said. "This was a plan I threw together in the few moments you spent talking to my colleagues downstairs. I won't expect you to offer them a mate, but I'm hoping you can advise Prinplup and Empoleon as a Prinplup trainer yourself."

I stopped flailing and shook myself out of Marcus' grip, walking back next to him. "We'll see what we can do," Marcus said after a short pause. He then looked down to me. I pouted a bit, still flustered from the woman's suggestion, but I think Marcus could tell I was still willing to help some other way.

"Oh thank you, both of you," the woman said as she approached to shake Marcus' hand and my flipper. "I'll go talk to my colleagues about our plan right away." With that, she made her way downstairs, Marcus and I following close behind.

(***)

It didn't take long to explain the plan to the rest of the Great Marsh staff, but they retained a high degree of skepticism anyway. Frankly, I couldn't have blamed them. Even I knew it was a harebrained plan, especially considering we never got past "see what you can do about it." Granted, I was certain I could come up with something. All Piplup are born with royal blood, after all. Maybe all I'd need to do would be remind the Prince of that somehow.

After a bit of convincing, Marcus and I were let into the Great Marsh together. We were taken by tram directly to the section where Empoleon was, which had apparently been closed off to other trainers since he fell ill.

To be perfectly fair, I'm not sure what I expected of a marsh, but it was a far cry from where I was raised. There was a lot more mud and cloudy water, the area was somewhat overgrown, and the canopy above only let a few streams of sunlight through here and there. I shuddered as I thought of what spending too much time here would do to my coat, and that was if I could avoid falling anywhere. I would have to demand a handsome reward after we were done here just to account for damages to my feathers.

Marcus pulled out a map that the staff had given us and looked it over for a bit. "Okay, I know where we need to go," he said before putting the map back in his bag and walking forward. I followed close behind, being careful where I stepped to make sure I wouldn't trip. "Be on your guard, Princess," I heard Marcus say. "I could imagine the Pokemon around here might be rather defensive with Empoleon ill. We have to watch where we- CRAP!"

I looked up when I heard Marcus shout, and saw a Drapion charging at him quickly with a roar. He wasn't able to leap out of the way in time before the Drapion used one of its arms to smack Marcus away and into a tree.

"Marcus!" I shouted as I watched my trainer slump to the ground. I was about to go try and help him, but I couldn't get far before the Drapion approached me. I got ready to defend myself, but before it even got within striking distance, it was suddenly attacked and staggered backward by an unseen force. I blinked once, and I suddenly saw Marie standing between Drapion and I.

"Go make sure Marcus is okay," Marie told me. "I'll take care of Drapion."

I gave a firm nod before turning and making my way over to Marcus, still trying to be careful of where I stepped to make sure I didn't fall. When I successfully made it to Marcus, I found that he seemed to be alright. He got up slowly and rubbed his head with a groan.

"That was a nasty surprise..." he mumbled as he got up and tried to shake the muck from where he landed off. (Fortunately, he was kind enough to do so away from me.) "Are you alright, Princess?"

I gave a nod. "Marie came out of nowhere and protected me," I replied. "How long have you had her following us, by the way?"

Marcus nodded, ignoring that I was even talking, and got to where Marie and Drapion were clashing. "Marie, get behind Drapion and use Fury Swipes!" he called. "Princess, use Brine from afar while it's distracted!"

Marie and I both quickly leapt into action at Marcus's command. Marie whirled around Drapion with such speed that she was nearly invisible, then started unleashing a volley of strikes before Drapion could even react. With Marie creating an opening, I took my shot. I took a deep breath, and let out a powerful stream of salty water which pelted Drapion square in its back. It fell forward, but stopped itself with its claws, panting heavily.

"I can't... lose..." it growled, struggling to stand. "At a time like this... a trainer... capturing the Prince..."

"Wait, the Prince?" I asked. I looked up at Marie, and she nodded at me, having heard the same thing, before running over to Marcus.

"We've got a problem..." she said. "This Drapion just addressed Princess as 'the Prince' while struggling to get up."

While Marie was updating Marcus, I ran over in front of Drapion. "This is a but awkward, but... I'm not your Prince," I explained to him. He immediately looked up and stared at me with disbelief on his face.

"You're not... the Prince...?" he asked. He then seemed to grow angry again, though still too beat from our attacks to do much. "Then... what business does another Prinplup and her trainer have in our land?"

"We actually seek an audience with the Empoleon and Prinplup who rule here," I replied. "My trainer will heal you once the Zoroark explains that you were acting to defend your Prince, despite the fact that I was mistaken for him. After that, will you take us to those in charge?"

Drapion let out a low growl and stared at me intensely. "What business... do you have with us?" he repeated.

Around this time, Marcus was approaching Drapion with a Potion in hand, but I raised my flipper to stop him, hoping he'd understand that meant I wasn't done talking Drapion down. Fortunately, Marcus got the message and stepped back. I then turned back to Drapion. "We wish no harm," I said. "My retainers and I heard that trouble befalls your people, so we wanted to help."

Drapion closed his eyes and thought on this for a moment. "I should not allow random travelers to simply waltz up to the Emperor," he said, "but I attacked you unprovoked, you bested me, you offer now to heal me, and you wish to help when the Emperor ails. I suppose I would make a poor retainer if I denied such a request." He then stared right into my eyes. "Have your trainer heal me."

I offered a slight, if not nervous, smile, then looked over to Marcus and nodded. He took the cue and approached Drapion to start healing him. As Marcus worked, Marie walked up beside me, the both of us watching Marcus work.

"I heard you call us your retainers," she said to me. "I'm telling Marcus when we're done here."

"Oh, lighten up, Marie," I said with a chuckle. "This is my mission in my element. Won't you let me have a little fun?" Marie shook her head, but didn't say anything else.

(***)

Once Drapion was healed and given some berries, he led us deep into the marsh to where Empoleon - the Emperor, as Drapion called him - was. What surprised me was that he offered to carry me over high water and mud on our trek, which I was very appreciative of. Ah, how jealous Marcus and Marie must have been...

After a bit of walking, we finally made it to a clearing that had some flowers and shrubbery - as well as some Burmy and Wormadam - hanging about in a decorative fashion, with Empoleon sitting against a tree on the opposite side of the clearing from where we entered, being attended to by some Croagunk and Bidoof, as well as the Prinplup standing next to him.

"My liege, I return with news and visitors," Drapion announced as he stepped forward, placed his left claw over his chest, and bowed his head. I did the same, and indicated for Marcus and Marie to follow suit. In truth, it hurt my soul a bit to bow to anyone, but an Empoleon was of higher nobility than a mere Prinplup, plus I was a guest to his court, so I had to suck it up if I was going to help at all. "I attacked them and was bested, but they healed my wounds, so I was indebted to them and obligated to fulfill their request for an audience with His Majesty. Please, forgive me."

Empoleon stared intensely at Drapion for a moment before slowly raising his flipper. "Rise... Sir Drapion..." he said, though I could tell talking was a struggle for him. His illness must have been worse than the Great Marsh staff first thought.

Drapion slowly looked up at Empoleon. "My liege, I apologize for any offense incurred, but they have come seeking to aid us in our time of need," Drapion explained.

"Nonsense!" Prinplup suddenly exclaimed while stepping forward. "A trainer, a Zoroark, and another Prinplup? They're surely here to usurp the-"

"Young Prince!" Empoleon exclaimed. The Prince quickly stopped talking and turned to face Empoleon, who started coughing after his shout. He was coughing for a few seconds before resuming. "Mind you hold your tongue, boy. You are not the Emperor yet."

Prinplup slouched his head a bit. "Yes, Father," he said quietly before returning to his spot next to Empoleon.

Empoleon then looked back over to us. "Zoroark and Prinplup from the outside," he said, "will you speak, or will your trainer?"

Marie and I both raised our heads, and I guess Marcus took the cue to follow suit. Marie looked over to me, probably wondering if there was anything in particular she was supposed to do. "Let me do the talking," I told her. I then turned back to Empoleon. "Your Majesty, my given name is Princess. My retainers are Marie and Marcus Lyre, the former of whom is able to translate our words for the latter using illusion. Forgive us for intruding in your affairs, but we wished to extend aid in your time of need."

I heard Marie translating for Marcus, who suddenly got a bit peeved. "What's this 'retainers' business, Princess?" he asked me.

"Just roll with it for now," I said quietly before turning back to Empoleon.

"You offer aid, you say?" Empoleon asked. He paused for a moment and hummed to himself. "Do you seek to cure my illness? Other humans have tried and failed."

"I'm afraid we cannot offer that," I said while shaking my head. "Actually, if we could request you clear your attendants out for now, save your son. We wish to speak of a matter better kept between us, though I swear upon my own royal blood that our intentions are pure."

Empoleon mused on this for a bit before raising his flipper, apparently a command to dismiss all other Pokemon in attendance, as they quickly left the clearing, leaving only him, the Prince, Marcus, Marie, and myself. "Any Pokemon proud to be who they are is able to see the shape of a trainer's heart," Empoleon said, "whether directly from the trainer, or through the Pokemon they travel with. You have my ear, Princess." As Empoleon said this, I saw Prinplup cross his flippers and stare at me intensely, though I ignored him for the time being.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," I said with a nod. "As for my proposition - and this is primarily my idea, with only oversight from my trainer - I actually ask something of your son. Forgive any offense, but I was informed that your current state may be weighing heavy on his heart. As such, I wished you would accept my offer of council for him. I thought perhaps I could teach him-"

"You wish to offer... yourself... to my son?" Empoleon interrupted. Both Prinplup and I gasped in unison. I felt a blush on my face just the same as I saw on his.

"F-Father, how could you suggest that?" Prinplup shouted as he turned to face Empoleon, his flippers flailing as he spoke.

"That's not even what I was offering!" I added. I took a few seconds to collect myself as I heard Marcus and Marie chuckle a little behind me. "Nay, I am... not interested, no offense to the Prince." He shot me another glare, apparently having composed himself, but I was able to easily ignore his glares at this point. "I thought that perhaps, at this time with the present situation, the Prince may want some type of guide for what his destiny is to be. The two of us may come from two different worlds, and we may walk two different roads with two different end goals, but we are both Prinplup with royal blood in our veins." I turned to Prinplup. "Prince Prinplup, if it would please you, I'd be more than happy to offer my help in any way you may need."

Prinplup continued to glare at me for a bit before he started walking towards me, stopping just a couple feet away and looking me dead in the eye, placing his flipper on his chin. "Call me crazy... but something you just said kinda sticks out for me..." he said. "Tell me, where do you come from, Princess?"

I blinked, not expecting a question like that. "I, uh... I was raised by Professor Rowan to one day become a starter Pokemon, and was later chosen by Marcus to journey with him," I replied. "What makes you ask?"

Prinplup continued to stare into my eyes for a few moments before stepping back a bit. "Father, could I have you take a look at something?" he asked Empoleon. Prinplup turned and motioned for me to follow him, and the two of us walked up in front of Empoleon.

"What is it, my son?" Empoleon asked.

"It's her eyes, Father," Prinplup replied. "I can't put my flipper on it, but I feel as though I've seen a similar look before."

"Oh...?" Empoleon asked, turning his attention to me and looking into my eyes in much the same way as Prinplup did. Staring back at Empoleon like this, I felt an uneasiness unlike any I'd ever felt before. Was this the feeling of being intimidated by a stronger Pokemon?

"Princess, what's going on?" I heard Marie ask from behind me. It was right at this moment that Empoleon suddenly stood up and took a step toward me.

"I see now..." he grumbled, his face turned to a scowl. He took another step towards me, and I took a step back. "You have nerves of stronger fortitude than another Empoleon to come here... bastard."

I took another step back, that last word cutting through me like a knife. "Oi, what's with the language?" Marie called. I would have said the same thing, but something about Empoleon's glare was having an extreme effect on me.

"Even if you were hatched under than human's care, you still knew where you came from... DIDN'T YOU?" Without warning, Empoleon suddenly reared his flipper back and struck me with enough force to send me flying backwards, landing right on Marie and taking us both to the ground, though I knew I didn't hit Marcus.

"What the hell's going on?" Marcus asked as he ran between Empoleon and where Marie and I lay.

"I was gonna ask the same thing..." I replied as I got up, my head suddenly a little foggy from both Empoleon's glare and the hit I took. I checked to make sure Marie was okay, and she nodded.

"Stay out of this, human," Empoleon growled as he continued approaching me. "Your Prinplup has caused more harm than either you or her realize. Her eyes cannot lie, for they belong to her mother."

"My... mother?" I asked. I could feel everyone's eyes fall on me all at once as Empoleon spoke. I shook my head and retorted, trying to sound confident, but some kind of chill was starting to run through me all of a sudden. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

Empoleon grunted and looked down. "I wouldn't be surprised if she died after laying you but before you hatched..." he said. "It would explain why you didn't know her sin."

I mustered all the confidence I could and took a step forward, trying to look determined. "What are you going on about?" I shouted.

"Your mother... used to be my Empress," Empoleon replied. "She and I used to rule the Great Marsh together. We even bore Prince Prinplup together. His eyes are the same as yours and hers. An abstract distinction, but a clear image of her soul can be found in both of you with a trained eye. Our days were happy, until... until the day the Creature came, and wrought havoc upon the Great Marsh. Your mother fought him in single combat in our name, and though she did succeed in greatly wounding him to the point where he has not posed a threat to the Great Marsh for a while now... she did not win, and the Creature..." Empoleon looked away, tears in his eyes.

"What... what happened?" I asked, my resolve waning fast.

Empoleon looked back at me, his glare still strong, but the tears were there. "We... we looked everywhere for her, and it was a few days before she finally staggered back into my wings," he continued, his voice starting to break a little. "But she... she couldn't stay. The Creature had defiled her, and thus soiled her pure blood. Exile was the only mercy I could offer her... and you."

I gasped and took a step back. "You mean... I'm..." I asked. I suddenly felt dizzy as this realization hit me. This "Creature" was... my father? And my mother was originally Empoleon's mate...

"And now you dare come back when I near the end of my life?" Empoleon shouted again, slashing at the air in my direction. "At this point, when it has been long enough for the Creature to have recovered enough to come back and usurp the throne, fate dictates you come and herald his return?" Empoleon looked down and clenched his flipper. "I shudder to think... what you would have done to the Prince if we had not realized this when we did."

I took another step back, but this time, I lost my balance and fell flat on my back, the world around me spinning as everything Empoleon had just told me crashed through my mind. None of this was what I had planned... or was it? Was my blood really not as pure as I always thought? Was this Creature waiting for me to make my way here one day, and now he had his chance to strike?

Would I really have done something terrible if Prinplup and Empoleon hadn't caught me?

I must have blacked out for a second, because the next thing I knew, Marcus and Marie were both standing over me, trying to get me to come to my senses. They were saying things, but I couldn't hear them. I sat up and looked past them, despite them trying to get my attention. I got tunnel vision, focusing on Empoleon hobbling back to the tree he was originally resting at with Prinplup holding onto him. Empoleon sat heavily back down with a grunt that signaled he'd exhausted himself just now. Despite not hearing Marcus or Marie, I heard Empoleon's next words clearly.

"I want all of you out of my sight now," he choked out. "Never sully my marsh with your tainted blood again."

I could tell Marcus and Marie were talking, I could tell Prinplup was looking back at me with some kind of sadness and anger, I could tell Empoleon's heart weighed heavy with what had just happened, and I could tell my coat was dirty from when I fell... but none of it was registering. My entire world felt like it was crashing down around me after what I'd just been told.

"Princess!" I heard Marie call. I knew it wasn't the first time she'd said my name, but for some reason, it was this time that I was snapped back to reality. I looked at her, and I turned to Marcus. Both were wearing worried looks.

"Princess... are you alright?" Marcus asked.

I could feel tears well up in my eyes, and I didn't have the strength to say anything except two words.

"I'm sorry..."

I think I blacked out for a second again, but when I came to, I was running. I was running through grass, branches, mud, everything. I didn't stop if I got scratched or cut, or if my coat got all sorts of mess on it. I didn't stop when I heard Marcus and Marie shout after me. I just ran, and I couldn't stop running. Running away from who I learned I was just now. Running away from Empoleon's words echoing through my mind. Wishing I could escape it all, though knowing in my heart that I couldn't...