Marinette: Tikki (Ledian), Wayzz (Dottler), Longg (Vibrava)

Adrien: Plagg (Meowstic), Neufchâtel (Skitty)

If there was one benefit, however minor and insignificant, to most of the class losing their partner pokémon, it was that Professor Sycamore had to start incorporating more field trips into their curriculum. Which meant for Marinette-who had already been to most of these places before and was feeling the effects of late nights preparing for her next Showcase and even later night patrolling with Mistigrix-it was a chance to lower her sunglasses and fall asleep on Alya's shoulder as M. Kubdel drolled on about the history of Parfum Palace.

"Parfum Palace, originally called Palais Chaydeuvre, was constructed 300 years ago by King Parfum. It was made to be a lodge house for the noble trainers who would train at the neighboring Shabboneau Castle, designed to showcase the best Kalos had to offer. Kalos was also in the midst of a war with Galar—not to be confused with the 100 Year Pokémon War that ended in the firing of the Arme Suprême 3,000 years ago—so King Parfum chose to create these beautiful sculptures in honor of the soldiers and their partner pokémon who took part in the battle. Of course, commissioning these pieces drained the Kalos treasury, causing a recession that would eventually result in overthrowing the monarchy and adopting the democratic government and League system we have today—"

"And now we charge tourists thousands of pokéuros to come and take a look at it." Alix complained.

Alix was sprawled out on a chaise lounge that was probably worth more than Marinette would ever make in her entire life. It made sense that she was probably even more tired than Marinette was, having to hear all of this from both of her Ruin Maniac family members far more than Marinette did. Still, Alix seemed even grumpier than usual this time. Her comments were meaner than her usual light-ribbing and came out quicker than usual. But even then, it did not seem like her heart was really in her riffs.

"It's Fluff, I know it."

Marinette was so focused on thinking about Alix and not thinking about falling asleep on her feet that she had not really noticed when M. Kubdel dismissed the group to explore the gardens, nor that Kim had made a Combeeline straight for her as soon as he could.

"Alix hasn't been the same since she lost Fluff. She doesn't even make fun of me, anymore, and that's saying a lot!" Kim said. "And don't get me wrong, I miss Xuppo too, but I at least talk to Max about it and not bottle it up like she is!"

"It can't be easy, for either of you." Marinette said. "But I'm sure that Coxyclaque and Mistigrix are working as fast as they can to find your partner pokémon. I heard they just snagged back a dozen more last night—"

"But that's not fast enough!" Kim said. "Which is why I'm gonna help them!"

Alya almost choked on her coffee. Marinette felt the same way.

"Y—you're gonna help them?" She sputtered.

"Yeah, can't be that hard!" Kim said, puffing out his chest. "All I got to do is join them in battle next time I see them! I'm sure they'll jump at the opportunity to get some backup!"

Well, that might be true. But still, Marinette would never forgive herself if she put anyone else in Team Prismillion's path. They had started to get pretty ruthless with attacking them, making it clear that they did not view them as people with Bonds but as pokémon with some added steps. The last thing Marinette wanted was for Kim to get caught in one of Mercury's poison attacks without being able to eat a Shalour Sable to recover…

"Kim…" Alya said. "You and what pokémon?"

Kim deflated. Oh good, he hadn't actually thought of putting himself in danger like that.

"I'm sure they appreciate the thought." Marinette said. "But maybe you can turn that attention to helping Alix out instead?"

"Yeah…yeah, good idea, Mari! I'm gonna catch up with her now!"

Kim sprinted off before Marinette could say anything else.

"Just hope he doesn't run into a Bisharp statue on the way out." Alya said.

"Y…yeah…"

"How'd you know about Coxyclaque and Mistigrix out last night, anyway?" Alya asked.

Shoot!

"Oh—uh—you posted it on your blog this morning?"

That much was true, at least. Alya had always been devoted to her blog, but before the superheroes it was only daily news, trainer analysis, and gossip in Lumiose City. Now, it was almost devoted to the superheroes; theories on who they were, updates on when they were spotted, and most importantly, keeping tabs on what pokémon were snagged back so trainers would know to keep an eye on their box. That devotion had only made Alya's blog more popular, and now it was nearly just as much a legitimate news source as the Holo Network.

"Oh right. Guess I forgot I posted that already." Alya said with a yawn. "I was up late last night too, you know."

"But you're chasing your dream." Marinette said. "Shouldn't the late night sacrifices be worth it?"

"Maybe. But this is my second cup of Komala Coffee today, and it still doesn't feel like enough." Alya said.

"You can't replace sleep with coffee, you know."

Once again, Marinette did not notice as Adrien and Nino approached them. Alya had to place a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from jumping.

"You're not going to win the judges over if you fall asleep on stage, too, Nettie." Nino said. "Caring for yourself comes first."

"If that's the case, then you gotta help me break into the royal bedroom so we can take a nap." Alya joked.

"I'm not sure you should do that, Alya." Adrien said, a sly smile starting to spread on his face. "That sounds ir-regal!"

He was worse than Mistigrix!

"S—shouldn't you be exploring the palace?" Marinette asked, desperate to change the subject.

"We were, but…" Adrien started.

"Some dude in a fancy costume asked us to help him find his Furfrou." Nino finished. "We were asking around to see if anyone else would help us search the gardens."

"We tried exploring on our own, but we ended up getting lost in the Chandelure garden." Adrien said. "Those things are like mazes."

"Oh, sounds great!" Alya said, suddenly perking up. What was she up to?

If there was one thing that Marinette did not get tired of while exploring Parfum Palace, it was the gardens. It was really four elaborate gardens, each one hidden by hedges made into the shape of a pokémon. The Gyarados garden was full of beautiful blue and lavender hyacinths, irises, and larkspur. The Chandelure garden was home to darker shades of red and purple: begonias, geraniums, bleeding hearts, and morning glories. The Pyroar garden was made of lush grasses and bright wildflowers: wild daisies, daffodils, and dryas. And finally, the Solrok garden was made of every possible shade and species of rose Marinette could think of.

"Alright, let's split up." Alya said once they had all assembled. "Nino, Mylene, Ivan, and I can look through the Gyarados garden. Kim, Max, and Alix, you look through the Pyroar garden. Rose, Juleka, and Nathaniel, you look through the Chandelure garden. And Mari and Sunshine, you two can look through the Solrok garden."

Oh, that's what she was up to.

"Wait, won't they get lost—" Nino started, until Alya firmly nudged him in the side and gave him a look. "Oh, right. Good thinking, Alya!"

"By 'Sunshine', did she mean me?" Adrien asked. Thank Mew he didn't realize what Alya was up to, or else she would probably die of embarrassment.

"D—don't worry!" Marinette said. "The Solrok garden isn't that hard to get around. We'll both be done in no time!"

The gardens were truly beautiful this time of year. All the roses were in full bloom. Marinette was surrounded by roses of all shapes and shades: bright reds, subtle whites, deep purples, and even colors Marinette never thought roses could be like greens and blues. It would have been the perfect place to someone you loved. But there was no way that Marinette was going to say that and make it weird for both of them!

"Did you say something, Marinette?" Adrien asked, glancing up from one of the green roses.

"No, just, uh—do you come here often?"

Was that the best she could think of?

"Only twice." Adrien said, although there was a strange strain in his voice. "The first time was for a photo shoot at the gates, so I wasn't even allowed in the palace itself. But I also went to the Performer's Ball last year."

That's right, the Performer's Ball. Once a year, all active Performers wore their fanciest costumes and gathered for a masquerade ball. Once the Queen of Kalos was unmasked, she would perform in an exhibition Performance for the whole crowd. It was by invitation only, which is why Marinette had never been. But anyone who competed in at least one Showcase was guaranteed an invite, which meant she had to go this year.

"Are you planning on going, Marinette?" Adrien asked.

"I hadn't thought of it." Marinette said. But now it was all she could think about. She would have to make her own dress, but it couldn't just be any old thing. She had to make a good impression in front of all of those Performers. Would she make a full ballgown, or something like her costume, or-

"I usually can't stand those fancy-do parties, but it'll be fun to go with a friend." Adrien said.

Her mind was so full of designs and materials that she missed what Adrien was implying there.

"Oh—there it is!"

That shook her out of her thoughts. She looked up. It was rare that Marinette had even seen a Furfrou with untrimmed hair. When it moved, it was more of a blur of white than a figure. But the second that it saw the two of them, it bolted in the other direction.

"Shoot. I'll go get Nino and Alya, you stay here and watch it." Adrien said and took off in the other direction.

"Okay."

But once Adrien had taken off, the Furfrou came back, barreling towards her. Marinette tried to reach for Tikki's pokéball, but it was too late. The Furfrou's jaws opened as—

—it politely took her by her skirt hem and pulled gently. Almost like…

"Wait…" Marinette said. "Do you want me to follow you?"

The Furfrou dropped her skirt for just a moment to bark and nod in affirmative.

"O—okay…lead the way!"

The Furfrou led her through areas of the garden she did not even think existed. Hidden pathways covered by optical illusions made by careful placement of rose bushes, through corners she thought for sure were dead ends and into bushes she was pretty sure were dead ends. But when they got towards the back end of the garden, Furfrou abruptly pulled on her skirt again to make her hide behind a hedge. She heard the voices of two people, one man and one woman, talking.

"Don't get why the Boss is so interested in us getting some lame Furfrou—"

"—Hey, you don't want to upset him, do you?"

"It's a Furfrou! We can just nab one on Versant Road!"

"He gets scary when he's mad!"

"I just don't get why we should risk our necks to steal pokémon when all you do is lose them!"

"H—hey!"

She recognized those voices. Sparrow and Melodie. When she dared herself enough to peek beyond the hedges, she caught a glimpse of their purple costumes.

"Okay, I understand." She said to the Furfrou. As if he could understand.

But then again, he did single her out. And she was the only one who could deal with Team Prismillion.

She shifted to pull off her backpack. There was a set of Snag Balls inside that she would need, but there was also the Egg Incubator that held the Larvesta egg, which she most certainly would not.

"Can you take care of this?" She asked the Furfrou.

The Furfrou gave a bark, then quickly realized his error. The two on the other side did as well. Shoot!

"Tikki's let's transform!"

The transformation phrase was still a work in progress.

Adrien found Nino and Alya lounging on one of the benches in the Gyarados garden. Alya was half asleep on Nino's shoulder. Nino did not seem to mind, his eyes zoned out as he listened to his music until he saw Adrien run up to him.

"We found the Furfrou, but we need some help cornering it." Adrien explained.

"Oh, shoot." Nino stood, causing Alya to nearly fall on the bench. "Where should we go?"

"Maybe we should go take a look where that Snorlax is?" Alya said, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

What? Adrien turned back, and sure enough there was a Snorlax poking its head out above the rose bushes. But what Nino and Alya did not remark upon was the thick, shadowy aura that permeated off of it.

"Uh, maybe you guys should go back inside, actually. That looks a little dangerous." Adrien said. "And you should take everyone else with you."

Alya gave him a questioning look.

"Alright. But you better make sure my girl Mari gets out of there, too." Alya said.

That was the first thing on his mind, too.

"No prob!"

He ran off, waited until he was just outside of sight, hidden behind a hedge, before he released his pokéball.

"Plagg, claws out!"

He had workshopped that one all night, but he was really proud of it! Plagg was less proud, but he still followed his partner's lead.

Mistigrix leaped out from behind the bushes, using a jolt of psychic energy to propel himself from hedge to hedge until he reached the site of the battle. There was Team Prismillon, as he expected, and there was his lady, already in the midst of battle. No Marinette, so he had to assume Coxyclaque had already saved her. A bit of a bummer, he had hoped to be her knight in white-and-blue armor, but so long as Marinette was safe he couldn't complain.

Mistigrix leaped into battle, stunning the Snorlax with a Fake Out. That ought to give them enough time to strategize together.

"What's the story, morning glory?" He asked.

"Now's not the time for puns, Mistigrix." Coxyclaque huffed. "Do you know any fighting type moves?"

"Does Quick Guard count?"

"I know Focus Punch, but I need time to charge it. Can you keep me covered for a few minutes?"

"As you wish!"

Coxyclaque took a step back, Mistigrix took a step forward. The Snorlax was starting to shake off the effects of the Fake Out, and boy was it angry. Mistigrix wasted no time. His upper Meowstic ears unfurled, unleashing psychic blast after psychic blast in an attempt to keep it away. His hands, meanwhile, charged with Light Screens, just in case the psychic attacks weren't enough and he had to play defense. It was taxing to use that much psychic energy, even more taxing considering he didn't even know he could do this a month ago, but it was worth it if it meant keeping his lady safe.

He was not sure how long a Focus Punch needed to charge, but it still felt too long before Coxyclaque leaped back into battle. She plowed through the Snorlax, seemingly effortlessly knocking the normal type onto its backside with one punch. She wasted no time in reaching for a Snag Ball, tossing it before she had even really finished her attack.

One, two, three…click!

The two Team Prismillion admins, who at this point had been watching from atop the topiary with disgusting smiles of delight, suddenly found themselves aghast with the loss of their pokémon.

"Fine!" Melodie growled as she reached for another dark pokéball. "If it's a fight you want…"

"…Then it's a fight you're gonna get!" Sparrow finished for her as he reached for his own dark pokéball.

The two tossed out the pokéballs. A Raboot and a Thwacky, both covered in dark aura, and—

Coxyclaque let out a loud gasp.

"I know those pokémon!" She said.

"Then let's not waste any time!" He said.

"Raboot, burn that little bug!" Melodie ordered.

"Hey, I wanted to be the one that beat her up!" Sparrow complained.

Mistigrix wasn't about to let either of those things happen. Raboot started charging forward, its dark aura muddled in the combustion of a Flame Charge. Mistigrix knocked it backwards with another Fake Out. Then, for good measure, pinned it in place with a Mean Look. That would make sure it would only want to attack him.

"Fine! Thwackey, take care of this catboy with a Knock Off!"

This time it was Coxyclaque that saved him. She moved between him and the monkey pokémon, pushing the pokémon backwards with a Silver Wind. They stood back to back as the battle raged on, perfectly in sync with their attacks.

Together, they were unstoppable.

"Shall we?" Coxyclaque asked, holding out a Snag Ball.

"Let's shall!"

One…two…three…click!

Melodie shrieked; Sparrow scowled and reached for another dark pokéball that was not there. The battle was over, and they both knew it.

"This isn't over, twerps!" Melodie said.

She reached for her pokéball, her real one that housed her own partner Wigglytuff, ready to make her getaway again. Coxyclaque started to move forward, maybe in an attempt to try and stop the thief. But she didn't get the chance to. As soon as Melodie was off the ground, Sparrow had latched onto her ankle, clinging on for dear life.

"Hey—get your own partner pokémon to escape on!"

The two admins flew off into the distance, fighting each other the whole time. Mistigrix had more important things to worry about. He reached down for the Snag Balls, only to feel his body lock up. He had almost forgotten the heat of Raboot's fire attacks in the heat of battle, but

"Here, try this." Coxyclaque said and handed him a Shalour Sable.

"Thanks." If he ignored the fact that it was pokémon food, it actually tasted pretty good.

"Thank you for being here today, kitty." Coxyclaque said.

"If it were up to me, I would never be leaving your side." He replied.

He could see Coxyclaque roll her bluebell eyes under her mask.

"I could think of a couple of things you'd rather not see me doing." She said, a light smile on her face. "I know Kalos is pretty big, and obviously we can't be in every fight together, but…we make a pretty good team."

"You and me against the world, my lady!"

"Oh Furfrou! My beloved Furfrou!"

Said Furfrou was staring blankly at Marinette, silently begging her to do something to get his trainer off of him. All Marinette could do was offer him a sympathetic look as he was coddled.

"My pokémon and I have been united! Our bond has been proven! Thank you all so much for this wonderfrou reunion with my Furfrou!" The palace owner said. "A situation like this demands fireworks! We shall put on a magnificent show—and you all are invited!"

"It's not that magnificent of a reunion, you know." Alix said. "You lost your pokémon in your own yard!"

Still, there was a bright smile on her face as she ribbed her father's boss. And Marinette was sure that Fluff was wearing a similar expression under his cowl.

"Mari! Did you see? Did you see?"

"S—see what?" Marinette stammered.

Alya held up her Holocaster, playing footage of the fight.

"Nino and I snuck up on the balcony and caught this footage! Isn't it great?" Alya said.

Alya was so busy talking that she did not notice the notification pop up on screen.

"Looks like you're not the only one that thinks so." Marinette said.

Alya took another look at her Holocaster. Marinette watched as her eyes darted back and forth as she read, her eyes slowly lighting up as she realized what she was reading.

"It's from Lumiose Press…they want to offer me a position!"

"That's great, Alya!" Marinette said. "It may not be the Holo Network just yet, but it's a good first step!"

"I gotta tell Nino!"

Alya started to take off, but stopped in her tracks and glanced back at her.

"And speaking of good first steps, don't you think it's time you took yours?"

What did she—oh. Oh no.

"Alya, I really can't—"

"You can and you will!"

Alya practically dragged her all the way up to the palace balcony. Marinette wasn't surprised that Alya had been able to capture such great footage from the fight up here. From here, she could see the entire garden in its full beauty. It was almost enough for Marinette to forget Alya's dastardly schemes.

"I already texted Nino." Alya said. "You two get along now!"

Alya scampered off before she could say anything else, and Adrien and Nino were already joining her before she had time to prepare.

"Hey Marinette!" Adrien said. "You're going to watch the fireworks up here, too?"

"U—uh-huh!" Marinette stammered. "Alya said that this was the best place to watch it from."

"Yeah, the view up here is amazing!" Nino said. "Oh. Uh…'uh-oh! Where did Alya go? I'll go look for her'."

Nino's acting was awful, but it did not seem like Adrien noticed. He scampered off, leaving the two alone. Together. Watching the fireworks together. With no one to interrupt them.

"I've never watched fireworks in-person before." Adrien said.

"R—really?"

"Nope!" Adrien turned to her, smiling at her with a smile brighter than any firework. "I may not have seen them yet, but I know these are going to be something special. Because I get to watch them with you, Marinette!"

She hoped the loud booms! of the fireworks hid how fast her heart was beating. She hoped the color of the explosions hid the color in her cheeks.

She hoped one day she would be able to tell Adrien how she really felt.

Marinette: Tikki (Ledian), Wayzz (Dottler), Longg (Vibrava)

Adrien: Plagg (Meowstic), Neufchâtel (Skitty)

Alix: Fluff (Raboot)

Kim: Xuppo (Thwackey)

Author's Note: So sorry about the delays in updating! I basically have every excuse except for my dog eating my homework: health emergencies, family emergencies, schoolwork, real life work, computer issues...but I don't like not writing, especially when it's already a work in progress. I'm hoping that I can take a month off after chapter 13 (which will basically be our 'season 1 finale') in order to build up a better backlog so I can return to a normal schedule. Until then, there may be some more delays, especially since I haven't even looked at chapter 10 yet. So sorry.

One thing I really like about working on this is all the background world-building of the Pokemon World I can just squeeze in here. Had a lot of fun writing M. Kubdel's speech.

The Team Prismillion admins were actually very late additions to the story outline. Originally, I was just going to have the shadow pokemon rampaging around town like the akumas. This was the pinnacle of that idea, where that Snorlax was going to be the same Snorlax you encounter on the bridge in the game. But I like this idea better. It gives me a little more structure to my fight scenes.

Larvesta my beloved...I promise one day you can hatch...