Savoir-faire – To Know and To Do
VIII: Donner – To Give
Throughout the years that Altair had followed me, we were always an aberration. A Lucario who fought too violently to be allowed in any Gym battles, and a Trainer who did not care about the destination so much as the journey. We had met in Versant Road, but it would not be until I had journeyed to Geosenge Town that I would meet Altair and Korrina again. It was only after I had taken Altair that I realised that my newest partner had restraint problems that Korrina had forgotten to discuss with me.
"Close Combat," I mumbled. We were in a private room set aside for my use, though technically each Champion had a suite for their own use. I was hiding in my room, commiserating with my Lucario, and definitely not trying to hide from Korrina. Said Lucario was mutinously staring back at me.
"On the joints," I emphasised. "Altair, we have discussed restraint."
You should not have taught me to recognise weaknesses if you did not wish me to utilise the knowledge, Altair defended.
I shouldn't have taught him anatomy. It just made an already deadly fighter even more effective in permanently incapacitating Pokémon and humans alike. A Pokémon might thirst for knowledge, but I was quite sure that most Fighting-type Pokémon did not have the in-depth anatomical training that myself of years ago had taught my Lucario. "It was a Braixen. Not a Delphox, not an Infernape, not even a Blaziken. A Braixen. There was no need to try and break an innocent Pokémon's arms and legs, or its skeletal system. This is as much a headache for me as it would be for you."
The girl was clearly intent on your life, Altair argued.
"Of course she is," I mumbled. "Calem was the same in the heat of battle, and yet I don't remember his Absol receiving the same treatment."
The Absol was a worthy opponent, Altair defended. Either way, that Braixen had no choice. I merely defeated it in as forceful and overwhelming a way as possible. The shock factor kept the girl quiet at last, did it not?
"I..." I faltered. Pokémon morality was not equal to human morality, as I had long expounded upon. Altair had faced the same issues in Shalour City with Korrina, against Calem, against the Elite Four, against Diantha and her Gardevoir, and so time and again it had gone rather far in combat or in protection, especially after what happened in Geosenge. Hence, it was rather pointless to explain to a Lucario, who might have understood human language, that there were impending legal troubles if the Braixen had been permanently injured, or if grievous intent was proven.
Overhead, Crystal clinked intimidatingly. I had let Jelly loose in the Parfum Palace courtyard, resolving to take her back in by tonight to save the inhabitants of the fountain from an imminent population bottleneck. Aegis must be somewhere with Wikstrom's Aegislash, and Liz lingered by my side, bristling at Altair. Its Aromatherapy was relaxing, but I could not let my guard down, not against any imminent entrance by the Evolution fighter.
"The Braixen was no match for you," I firmly stated. "Just because Delphi defeated you as a Braixen does not mean that every Braixen would be as intimidating as him. Serena's Braixen was not Delphi, and you are far above a Braixen now."
I know, Altair admitted reluctantly. I... overreacted.
"I am glad you understood," I answered. Still, it had happened long enough for me to have a standard operating procedure. Apologise, pay for medical bills, and invite for a meal. In the case of Zachary, I had informed Viola as to the state of affairs, and I expected that the young man would exercise restraint and guidance against young Trainers in the future.
"Time for Lady Korrina's big appearance!" The door crashed open.
I bodily restrained Altair, looking to where Korrina had drop-kicked the lock. Did she have to wear those roller skates indoors as well? Still, she looked to have aged well, I admitted, at how she'd shaved off her long hair to cut it short. "Bonjour, Korrina."
"Where were you?" Korrina scowled, hands on her hips. "Disappearing for years for no reason like that... and with Altair, at that!"
"There was... a spot of trouble," I answered.
"Well, at least it looks like you're training Altair well, I've never heard of a Lucario clocking in at the speeds described," Korrina crossed her arms. "What's this I heard about a Braixen?"
"The daughter of my rival had the same reaction you did, albeit in a more infuriated manner," I relayed. "I attempted to direct us to private quarters and she ordered her Braixen to use Fire Spin. Altair incapacitated the Braixen using the overkill method of Close Combat."
"Ah, right," Korrina nodded. "So the reason why you went AWOL?"
"I..." I stopped. "Geosenge. I needed... time."
"Okay," Korrina nodded. "I see you kept the Ring, though."
I touched the ring glowing within, contemplating. "It is proof."
"Diantha has a Mega Charm, not a Mega Ring," Korrina scoffed. "As Successor, I would know."
"I know," I answered. "We aren't going to battle, though."
"Eh? Why?" Korrina whined.
"Because Altair is currently under punishment," I clarified. "And the only other non-Ghost I have on hand is Liz. Liz, meet Korrina."
The Floette floated around Korrina, spiralling in an aerial dance, a sweet scent wafting in its wake.
"Damn," Korrina muttered. "A dark blue Floette... that's from purple flowers, right? Any chance I could convince you otherwise?"
"No," I answered, turning around. "You look fine. Congratulations on your advancement to Mega Evolution Guru."
Korrina stopped. "Now how did you know that?"
"Previously, you wore your Key Stone on your left glove. Now, it has switched to your ring finger," I indicated. "Presumably commemorating your devotion to your chosen discipline. Since you have no practical reason to shift the position of your clé de voûte, I can only conclude that there is an emotional reason."
"Fine," Korrina conceded. "You know, that thing you do. Where you can tell if a Pokémon is about to be sick, or-"
"If this is a roundabout attempt to thank me for mentioning your Machoke's tumour, then you're welcome." My Holo Caster beeped, and I picked it up to read Donar's message.
"...you were right then," Korrina admitted as I picked up the bag that, indeed, Wikstrom had guarded with extra zeal. "I took him to Lumiose to have it checked. The doctor said that Machoke was lucky. What are you doing?"
"I have to feed my Pokémon," I released Jelly, Crystal and Aegis. Korrina blanched as she saw the three Ghost-type Pokémon, the pink menace hovering nearby, Aegis just floating about, and Crystal malevolently looming.
"You keep Ghosts now?" Korrina echoed.
I did not answer her, merely shuffling through the vitamins present in my bag. After a moment, she got the message and left.
"Aegis, Iron and Zinc," I held out the supplements, watching as the pills disappeared... somewhere. The mouth of an Aegislash could be anywhere near the length of its sword. Or shield. I gave him a PokéPuff for the effort, and it accepted it placidly before I reached out and touched its hilt with my hand.
The first rule of fighting with an Aegislash;do not touch the hilt. Soldiers did not use their Honedge companions in direct hand-to-hand, they were sabotages. Likewise, Doublade wielders competing with their partners merely dictated the motions with their bodies, the Doublade copying the patterns by telekinesis in a parody of swordsmanship. In the case of an Aegislash, only its Trainer could get away with touching its hilt, and then only for a moment.
The hilts were the means by which it took life force, for their entire breed.
So I touched it. My hand deadened of feeling, along with most of my arm. My reflexes slowed, my vision dimmed. When I let go, it returned, albeit slowly.
Crystal hovered as I pulled out a bottle of Fresh Water. I cracked the seal, drank half of it, and then faced Jelly. I held my hand, palm up, and watched as my Jellicent latched onto the offered appendage. The white-out was less numbing or effective; at this stage, ten years of feeding three Ghosts had left me numb.
I knew, it was not a requirement to let Ghosts feed on life force. In fact, even the most obsessed of Hex Maniacs would not dare allow this leash over their companions. Ghosts did not always understand what was a long-term food source. Then again, I was never a typical Trainer. If he wanted to inflict this curse on me, it might as well hold some value.
I faced Crystal now. The first of my Ghosts, the first that gave me the idea, the idea that I had not dared to entertain until this curse struck. If I had to live like this, then let eternal life hold some value while it can.
The blisters on my palm opened as I reached into Crystal's flame. The ethereal heliotrope flame was not as hot as some Fire-type Pokémon, but they burnt differently. The struck directly at the spirit, and in the end, after the prey was left drained and then, only then, feral Chandelure would feed on the soul. Trained Chandelure just left the victim as a walking shell, until they recovered. Malva would know, since I had burnt her face with Crystal's Will-O-Wisp as revenge. All the plastic surgery in the world would not stop the embers of a Houndoom's bite or a Chandelure's fire.
"Remember where we met?" I whispered to her, Crystal. "You, greedy little Litwick. Runt of the litter, and the punks inside the Lost Hotel all had Dark-type Pokémon. You tried to feed on me. I let you."
Crystal trembled.
"You gorged yourself sick, if that was even possible," I continued, embracing it close, uncaring as its Flame Body scorched at my arms. "Until you evolved. So I found a little Lampent, trying to eat me out of house and home, and I was so thankful that at the very least... at least, my life would be of value."
Crystal whined, a curious reed-like whistle that was pitched at me.
"You gave me the idea," I reflected. "I gave you this evolution, this name, this power... you accepted it. To find Aegis... Jelly... Liz was a surprise. Wasn't it, Altair?"
My Lucario tensely observed with me, as my burns began to heal and dispassionately, I was living still. A sizzle reached my ears, and Liz gave a whimper as she hovered behind Altair.
"Crying?" I almost laughed at the bad joke. Pendulous and hovering, Crystal's eyes thinned as she parted from my arms. "Ghosts exist to torment the living... I wonder where Banette went. Do you, Altair?"
"The parasite escaped during the Geosenge strike. I would not be surprised of we never saw it again," Altair answered.
"Well, you didn't like the prankster," I reflected. "Altair, when you made the choice to follow me, those years ago at the Tower of Mastery... do you regret them?"
"I have grown far stronger," Altair reminded me. "I have challenged the best. Now, all there remains is to see that which I had fought to a standstill during our greatest tragedy."
I tried not to smile. "Korrina and your brother would be proud to know that they trained a Lucario capable of taking on a Legendary Pokémon to a standstill."
"I did not win that match."
"The Sacred Swordsmen of Unova had trouble handling Kyurem, it was said. There is no shame in what a Lucario did. Epics would be written had anyone known the truth of the matter."
"I do not wish for such a hollow celebration. It was exhausted, anyway. I imagine that had the destructive herald not arrive, all of us would have been in the nether world in an instant."
"Yes," I answered. "At least four of us survived, if one of us is not present. And now Vega has left us."
"For the moment. There is no place for a Flygon."
"Deneb would have implied it," I whispered, watching the last of the burns heal as I finally got around to applying aloe upon them. "Six o'clock is coming, Altair. Try not to mistakenly injure any Pokémon now, there's a good partner."
"Do you anticipate a battle?"
"Perhaps," I looked down at my outfit, and Liz perched on my shoulder, still slightly shaken, but much calmer as I cooed and gave her a PokéPuff.
Time to go greet the guests.
"Hello, sprout," came the greeting as I wandered the elaborate hallways of Parfum Palace. "Glad to see you're still alive and kicking, eh?"
I smiled at Ramos, the old goat still as fearsome as he was a decade ago. Somehow, the greens and browns of his gardener's uniform had given way to more browns, like some bizarre change of camouflage. Ramos could probably give Byron of Sinnoh a run for his money on beating sense into idiot Trainers. "Sure you aren't up to retiring now, old goat?"
"An old goat's gotta stick around to kick arse into shape," Ramos snorted. "Like that brat that held up my Gym entrance with you, what's his name again?"
"Calem," I replied.
"That's the brat. Wiped the floor with him, you did," Ramos snickered. "An old goat remembers, sprout. Memory like an elephant."
I felt a chill, and yet a calm that if anyone had noticed the change or lack thereof, it had been Ramos. The Coumarine Gym Leader could be an institution, like Blaine. "Has your Weepinbell evolved yet?"
"Stubborn coot ain't ready yet," Ramos muttered. "I got a Leaf Stone from bloody Lumiose, and then he ain't ready. Here's to hoping that one day, otherwise..."
I nodded, comprehending the oxymoron. On one hand, forcing a Pokémon to evolve before its time was Not Good, as Professor Kudzu would explain it. However, Ramos's situation was unique. Evolution was the only way to save a Weepinbell from its impending death by dissolution in its own stomach acids. Much like how the Sunkern engineered its own endangered status due to over-catching in search for the elusive Sun Stone, the whole reason Bellsprout grew something like arms and legs was, after all, to break open rocks in search for the Leaf Stones that would bring them salvation from the countdown that began from evolution.
"I think he just likes not being upside down," Ramos continued. "Eh, sprout?"
There was a bit of small talk that may have involved a comparison with Inkay and Malamar, and then a guard arrived with Ramos's giant scissors. I left the Kalos region's oldest Gym Leader to wait at the entrance, ducking to avoid Cynthia and Lance. Iris was a delight, rather terrified but interested, especially in the native Noibat and Noivern. Drasna came by soon enough, and I left the Dragon Masters to discuss in peace as I walked silently with Altair past timelessly glided halls towards the entrance hall, singly occupied by the Milotic.
The Milotic statue was pure gold, and the only reason its previous miser of an owner did not take it was because pure gold was too dense, rather than due to any historical respect. Unlike most of the statues, one featuring the infamous Bisharp general of the Kalosian Revolution, this one was far more demure, the patina of matte gold adding a softness and life to the cold gleam of gold.
There had never been a record of a Feebas evolution in Kalos since three millennia ago. Perhaps due to the Kalosian acknowledgement of themselves as the most beautiful, or perhaps due to some belief in the perfection of the design of Arceus; the inner beauty of the Feebas could not be acknowledged either by its Trainers and by an external party together. There were no Pokémon Contests in Kalos, for pageantry was already common enough in Kalosian everyday life; thus, the Feebas had no chance with the belief of static perfection.
Lysandre had been very troubled when I asked would a Feebas or Milotic be more beautiful – the quandary was in the paradox. I understood the paradox far better now; to acknowledge the Milotic would be to welcome beauty in change, and to acknowledge the Feebas would be to acknowledge the current situation as perfect, thus unneeded to change. I do not think any other question must have rattled Seigneur Fleur-de-lis as much as the oxymoron.
Static perfection could be the same way. The dreams of a Bagon and Quagsire, the ambitions of a Smeargle, the-
Metal screeching and screams interrupted me. Was there no peace to be gotten?
The reason why the Kalos Champion quickly called for emergency first aid soon became easily apparent; Altair was a vicious bastard. Even in a throwaway all-or-nothing move like Close Combat, it had aimed for the joints and hinges, which made the doctors and Nurse Joy frown and flinch.
"Is that bad?" Shauna asked, since the Nurse Joy that told us looked very grave as she said so.
"The joints of the body determine the body's mobility," Nurse Joy explained. "They are some of the most complicated parts of the skeletal system, and the most complex to heal. I was in Shalour City on rotation before, and most Pokémon, when using Close Combat there, usually aim for the biceps or chest, which offer a greater chance of hitting at least part of the body in such a reckless, all-or-nothing move. Aiming for the joints is a way of ensuring a very long and complicated hospital stay if used on a human being."
Shauna and I gulped, trying not to look at Serena's ashen features. "And... the battles?" Serena asked. "Will Elmo... battle again?"
"Don't worry," Nurse Joy assured. "Pokémon heal faster than humans, and this Close Combat was meant to incapacitate. He'll be fine in a week or so, with physiotherapy."
"That Champion was too much!" Serena exclaimed as we adjourned to the waiting room. "She could've put a leash on that beast!"
"You did yell at Elmo to use Fire Spin first," I severely replied. "You started it."
"Whose side are you on?!" Serena yelled at me.
"The side of the people who think rationally," I muttered. "Rushing in yelling like a madwoman... she already gave you two chances to settle things like a normal human being."
"That Lucario didn't have to be so vicious!" Serena defended. "You heard Nurse Joy, that could have been a mortal injury! I'm going to call Dad! A lawyer! Professor Sycamore!"
"Erm, Ms Calme?" Nurse Joy had reappeared, holding a clipboard. "Please sign here."
Blankly, Serena scrawled her name there. "What's it for?"
"It's to confirm that you acknowledge the Kalos Pokémon League paying the hospitalisation fees for your Braixen," Nurse Joy answered sternly. "Mme Linden was very particular about that, but she's been barred from leaving Parfum Palace on account of her health. M. Wikstrom delivered the missive himself."
"So she's a good person," Shauna nodded.
"I still say, that Lucario is a sadistic bastard," Serena grumbled.
"She must be good, if her Pokémon is so willing to injure for her," Shauna reflected. "Did you see the speed of that Lucario? It's out of this world!"
"It's a Champion's Pokémon," I rolled my eyes. Still, the mystery of Dr du Bois's competence was solved, if she was related to the Kalos Champion.
We returned to the Hotel Camphrier, only to be told that the Champion had left us a summons to Parfum Palace. The card was simple card stock bearing a letterhead of a white deer's horns spread over a pair of black wings, with a simple message:
Mme Serena Calme,
I understand that you have many questions regarding my state that has deeply affected your family. Though I do not know how to account for the violence my partner has shown you, I would still issue a formal apology, were you to arrive at the Great Library of Parfum Palace.
If so, perhaps you would also accept my invitation to dinner with the Elite Four and Madame Diantha at seven pm. Please arrive by six pm. Your friends are welcome to attend. Please RSVP via my sister-in-law's Holo Caster coordonnées.
Sincerely,
Daisy
"Huh," Serena muttered as she picked it up. "Posh, isn't it?"
"It looks like we aren't the first to be mauled by Altair if this is her reaction," I commented. I had released Bulbasaur, Frogadier and Fletchling, and currently Fletchling was perched on my head as I cradled Bulbasaur. Frogadier had looked visibly distressed, staring at Elmo laid out on a padded table and stuck in a full-body cast, that I had not the heart to recall him into his Pokéball.
"If she's treating us to dinner, we might as well accept," Serena grumbled. "All three of us. We can interrogate her for Mme Linden and Dad."
I got the feeling that Serena was more focused on what Daisy Linden had been to her father rather than Mrs Linden's state without her daughter, but I hardly voiced it. Elmo's state had taken most of the enjoyment out of the day. Even Shauna looked visibly less bubbly as she changed the topic to Mega Evolution.
"Shabboneau Castle yielded nothing," Shauna complained. "I want to know how to do Mega Evolution!"
"Mega Evolution is known to the Champions..." Serena muttered. "And Dad."
"Your dad knows?" I blinked.
"Yes," Serena confirmed. "My dad didn't tell me, though. But, it has three requirements. From the stories he related, it required two stones; one to be held by a Pokémon, and a clé devoûte. A keystone. And a bond between Trainer and Pokémon."
"A bond..." I reflected. "It's not required, is it? Mega Evolution?"
"But think of the possibilities?" Shauna exclaimed. "Anyway, maybe the Champion would have an idea! But..."
"But?" Serena echoed.
"What do we wear to a palace?" Shauna screamed. "I didn't get the chance to go window-shopping in Lumiose before Trevor dragged me to Versant Road!"
"Are you sure you should put fashion before battling...?" I muttered, tugging at my shirt. "I don't really have a change of clothes, and I think they'll let it go if we're invited. This is an apology dinner, after all."
Shauna looked doubtful, even as I engaged her Skitty against Fletchling in a mock battle. I sent our acceptance to Dr du Bois via Holo Caster, and then Serena went on a shopping spree for Super Potions.
By dusk, we had ventured out of Camphrier Town with a notification to the concierge desk, and headed down the Palais Lane towards the grand Parfum Palace. The first time, I had been dragged by Serena and Shauna, and it was daytime. Now, seeing the palace surrounded by woodland gave it the creeps, like those old Johto fairy tales. Or the legendary Litwick Mansion in Unova.
In the distance, I could see the tents of camps being set up, the Trainers unable to lodge for free at the Pokémon Centre or those without the money or luck to stay at the Hotel Camphrier choosing to camp out in the tall grass. It felt like the entrance into an otherworldly empire, I reflected.
"What do you think they'll serve?" Shauna reflected.
"Who knows!" Serena scowled. "Donar, say something!"
"It's your apology dinner," I mumbled, trying not to trip on the slightly uneven ground. The weather in Kalos was much different from Kanto, the variations in weather controlled by the legendary birds missing here.
"What kind of person leaves their clothes around?" Shauna complained, picking up a blue scarf. The end of the scarf clanked ominously, and I heard the snick of metal on metal. "E- Eh?"
"Let go!" Serena shouted as the scarf wrapped around Shauna's forearm.
From the bushes, a scabbard, brown and worn, clattered onto the ground as the sword attached to the other end of the scarf swung up, eyes gleaming as it prepared to stab.
"AAHH!"
"Frogadier, go!" I released the Pokéball, the ninja amphibian rushing immediately. "Lick!"
Frogadier blinked as he held down the clicking sword, blinking at me as if to say Really? Lick it?
"It's a Ghost!" I shouted.
I think my Frogadier dissed me, for it merely leaned over and licked the hilt. The sword paused, shivering, and its scarf uncurled, allowing Shauna to run.
"How'd you know that?" Serena hissed, Shauna hiding behind her. "That it was a Ghost-type Pokémon?"
"I lived in Lavender Town before we moved here, and way before that I spent my childhood passing through Ecruteak City," I answered grimly. "You can't survive in that place without knowing when you're getting pranked by Ghosts."
The Pokémon's scabbard clanked, and the scarf wrapped around it in a proprietary manner, the sword twisting about as it hovered point down, beady eyes blinking at us from within the hilt.
"Why..." Shauna stumbled, but was caught by Serena. "That..."
Grimly, with Frogadier to defend us, I pulled my PokéDex. Honedge, the Sword Pokémon. If anyone dares to grab its hilt, it wraps a blue cloth around that person's arm and drains that person's life energy completely.Ominous alright.
"Scary!" Shauna screamed.
"It's a Steel/Ghost type," I whispered as the sword oriented itself to prepare to stab towards Shauna. "Normal-type attacks won't work-"
"Elmo is still in the Pokémon Centre, we don't have a Fire-type Pokémon-" Serena shook her head, pulling out a Pokéball. "Appear, Squirtle!"
The aqua tortoise appeared, babbling before it caught sight of the Honedge currently engaged in one-sided fencing with Frogadier.
"That's a living sword-" I shook my head, shuffling through the electronic pages. "It's the original form of Aegislash. No wonder it looks like Dr du Bois's Pokémon-"
"Enough, how do we defeat it?" Serena scowled.
"Erm, Ghost, Dark, Fire," I counted. "At least Frogadier knows Lick, otherwise we're screwed."
"M- My lil' Chespin evolved..." Shauna confessed.
"Ghosts are immune to Fighting," I answered, reaching into my bag slowly.
The Honedge screeched, a curious mix of metal screeches and indignant silk rustling. It stabbed out, Frogadier kicked out, and added a Water Gun for good measure, which did not seem to deter it so much as piss it off.
It screeched, a horrible sound that reverberated around my skull and caused me to shut my ears and cringe on reflex. Shauna screamed again as the Honedge dived, a vindictive stab to the ground as she tugged onto Serena.
"Squirtle, Water Gun!" Serena ordered, as a jet of water coursed onto the Honedge, driving it back for a brief moment. "Run!"
"Frogadier, come back!" I recalled him, dashing to drag Shauna, and together the three of us ran from the murderous sword Pokémon towards the palace gates. We ran down the driveway, but Shauna screamed as the Honedge's sash rippled out, the sword flying on the other end to rotate itself and stab into her back.
"Shauna!"Serena yelled.
"Bone Rush!"
For a moment, my brain must have gone offline. I saw a glowing bone form, and then a black-blue blur overcame my sight. A Lucario had defended Shauna, the glowing bone used to club the Honedge's keen blade away from her and towards the gates. Steadily and continuously, switching between left and right paws, the Lucario lashed out, one, two, three, four, five hits, leaving the Honedge flying out of the gates of Parfum Palace.
"A spot of trouble?" Daisy was there, blinking at us. "I see you made it."
"What was with that Honedge?!" Shauna hissed. "How is such a bloodthirsty Pokémon still around?"
"That story has something to do with the history of this palace," Daisy answered. "Would you come in?"
Remembering the last time not following her suggestion had landed us, I dragged Serena in, with Shauna quickly following in the wake of the Honedge attack. The doors closed behind with a ponderous yawn as we walked past the Milotic statue to the equally decorated hallways.
"That Honedge..." Serena whispered. "It attacked us."
"Unlike most Pokémon, the existence of Honedge and its evolutions made its primary purpose in war," Daisy related to us. "Soldiers would carry Honedge, and despite being armed with nothing more than a spear or a shovel, would never draw their companion. Rather, the Honedge would become a trap, for the Pokémon would drain the life force of supposed victors, allowing the soldiers to safely sabotage whole battalions. Kalos was faced with numerous invasions after the fall of the AZ Empire and leading to the Warring era, and thus the Honedge and Doublade became a crucial companion in the many battles waged. The Dusk Stone that came to Kalos by the old shipping routes were discovered to have an effect on Doublade in the Century War era, and the resultant Aegislash had an advantage over Doublade and Honedge, being able to use its spectral power to control these deadly Pokémon. The Kalosian Revolution would see the destruction of many symbols of the Last Dynasty, culminating in the massacre of the royal guard in the tall grass around Palais Lane as revolutionaries seized Parfum Palace and executed the Roi-Soleil. The Honedge and Doublade, freed after the death of the Kalosian king's Aegislash, took to hiding amongst Palais Lane, still guarding it however they know."
Shauna swallowed. "So... that Pokémon remembers its ancestors' war?"
"The Honedge remembers its war, and perhaps the wars of its ancestors," Daisy clarified. "Ghost-type Pokémon are amongst the Pokémon with the longest lifespan. The tall grass around Parfum Palace is thus the only known habitat of wild Honedge and its like."
The silence allowed us to fully comprehend the implications. "S- So..." Shauna whispered.
"Those who live in Camphrier Town know that the Honedge mean no harm, and usually issue warnings to passing Trainers not to touch the Honedge," Daisy shook her head. "I apologise. This talk of war must seem distressing, Madame Calme, Madame Shauna, Mr Oak."
"M- Madame Linden..." Serena hesitated. "I'm sorry for my behaviour today. I- I shouldn't have attacked you."
"The fault lies with Altair and I as much as it lies with your Braixen and you," Daisy Linden answered, with a small smile that seemed to light up her face, an animated, passing fantasy despite that she was nearly leaning on her Lucario. "Apology accepted."
"So... erm, dinner, right?" Shauna asked. "Is this going to be like that... the really big dining room the guide mentioned?"
"I see that someone has noted Parfum Palace's attractions," Daisy remarked. "It is actually more informal than what the guides would say. The ritualism of Kalosian traditions have to be foregone, for the sake of our delegates."
I was about to ask when she opened a set of double doors, and then we were in a grand hall. Elaborate chandeliers – and one or two real Chandelure – overhead, on the far end a stage of dark wood with silver filigree edging, a long table in the middle, and on either side of the table were...
"There's Elesa Kamitsure!" Shauna squealed, watching that Unovan Gym Leader with a dark-haired woman in a mystifyingly long-sleeved kimono, discussing in animated detail. "And Lavarre City's Gym Leader, Valerie!"
On one hand, Lt Surge and Volkner holding a very loud agreement session that their job was too easy, with interjections from the Hoenn Electric-type Gym Leader Wattson. It continued until their argument was interrupted by a loose robot followed by a blonde bespectacled man in blue overalls and a backpack.
"Bonnie isn't here, Clemont?" Daisy enquired as the robot, and its chaser, passed us.
"She's in Lumiose, holding down the Gym," Clemont half-shouted. "Get back here!"
"That is the man responsible for half of Lumiose City's blackouts," Daisy sighed.
"That's the Lumiose Gym Leader?" Serena blinked. "Aunt Shauna-" She flinched, glancing towards Shauna before looking around. And there were a lot of people to look around at; Iris, Drasna and Lance holding a heated argument about the merits of Haxorus, Noivern and Dragonite, stoked as they pulled Garchomp and Cynthia into the argument. Lucian, Sabrina and Olympia, doing what looked like three-tier chessboard simultaneously with their psychic power, and then I saw a woman with bubblegum-pink hair intervening as Elesa and Valerie's argument got more heated.
Oh, Daisy Linden had invited us to dinner. She probably forgot to mention that dinner was taking place in Parfum Palace, with some of the Pokémon world's celebrities.
"Mademoiselle Iris," Daisy whispered as she more or less bodily shoved the three of us towards a rather short, dark-skinned young woman with a tiara stuck in her bushy purple locks. "The Trainers involved in that little mess with Altair today. Serena Calme, Shauna, and Donar Oak. Oh, I'm being summoned, please excuse me."
"Y- You're the Unovan Champion..." Serena honestly whimpered as Daisy and Altair left.
"Thanks!" Iris smiled, cheerfully intimidated by the brilliance of the hall. "I'm Iris. Nice to meet you!"
"The youngest Dragon Master!" Shauna exclaimed. "Is it true that you've seen Kyurem once?"
"Well, only once..." Iris laughed depreciatingly. "So, you're all Trainers?"
"My goal is to become Champion of Kalos!" Serena affirmed.
"That's great!" Iris looked even more excited. "Donar, right?"
"I'm just going to find myself," I admitted. "Maybe the League can help me with that. Anyway, I have a Pokémon researcher tracking me in exchange for food and lodging in each town, so I'm good with that."
"A researcher?" Iris looked blank. "Researching what?"
"Something about the Trainer and society," I shrugged, but Iris's exclamation left me with a feeling that I did not fully comprehend what Dr du Bois was researching. Speaking of which, the doctor wasn't around-
"Eek!" Iris suddenly squealed and hid behind Shauna. We turned around, spotting three old men – the Elite Four Drake from Hoenn, a large heavyset man with a light blue jacket thrown over his wide-set shoulders, and a reedy-looking gardener with a pair of giant scissors – arguing over what looked like a giant iceberg on legs.
"That's an..." Serena flipped open her PokéDex. "Avalugg, the Iceberg Pokémon. Its ice-covered body is as hard as steel. Its cumbersome frame crushes anything that stands in its way."
"I hate Ice-type Pokémon," Iris complained.
"Huh?" I snorted. "You're a Champion and you have a fear of Ice-type Pokémon?"
"Ice is super-effective against Dragons!" Iris insisted mutinously.
"Che, only you..." I muttered. "Still, that's a ridiculously big Pokémon."
"Speaking of which..." Shauna's nose wrinkled as more and more Pokémon were appearing. "The Pokémon seems to be having fun... ah!"
"What are you doing?" I asked as Shauna got out a Pokéball.
"Come out, Chester!" Shauna called as she lightly threw the ball up, releasing the Pokémon within.
"Quill, quill!" the bipedal Pokémon shouted. It was largely covered in an armour-like shell, green with two large spines jutting out like ears. The spines and the Pokémon's pointed tail had red tips, with banded segments on the back. Its lower half was brown like its stubby limbs, a patch of fur decorating the front. As I watched it, I wiggled its small, pink nose and pointed snout, the hairy brown fur on it immediately homing onto the buffet table. Its eyes widened, the triangles of fur on its cheeks ballooned out, and its buck teeth appeared as the Pokémon made a mad dash for the table.
"Oh, your Chespin evolved?" I commented, pulling out my own PokéDex. "Quilladin, the Spiny Armour Pokémon. They strengthen their lower bodies by running into one another. They are very kind and won't start fights."
"Very suitable," Serena nodded. "My Elmo evolved, but... it's in the Pokémon Centre at the moment..."
"Oh," Iris echoed into the awkward silence.
"Donar, your Froakie evolved, right?" Shauna suddenly commented.
"Yeah," I took my three Pokémon and unleashed them. Fletchling immediately perched on my head, giving me a light peck. Bulbasaur lingered, Frogadier giving Iris an assessing look before it went back to posing like some amphibian ninja.
"It looks like Koga...!" Iris bit back a giggle.
I looked around. The Poison-specialising Elite Four was currently speaking to Daisy, and his expression was so much like Frogadier that I started laughing. This prompted Shauna and Serena to giggle, and Iris to laugh until we were attracting some attention.
"That woman looks rather..." Iris made a universal gesture by her head. "She seems sane, though... I should release my Pokémon, but Hydreigon might ruin the party..."
A low whistle sounded by my feet, and I looked down to where Frogadier was staring at the interloper. The fox-like Pokémon rubbing against my leg was covered primarily in pale cream fur with pinkish feet, ears, and tail. Two bows, pale cream with pinkish centres,adorned it: one on its left ear and one around its neck, the bow-tails that protruded out pale cream with pinkish and blue tips.
"Cute!" Iris reached down to pet it, but the cream-and-pink confection of a Pokémon bristled and meowed. The voice was heartbreakingly soft, as it turned to me with glassy wide blue and white eyes.
"Syl vie~"
"Oh, he likes you." I turned my head to see Valerie. Up close she was ethereally beautiful, her long hair merely tied back with a purple ribbon to match her long-sleeved furisode set with a bodice cinched around her stomach. "Pick him up."
"It looks like an evolution of Eevee," Shauna squealed as I picked it up, and it purred, twisting in my arms like an angry Meowth.
"He is," Valerie clarified. "One of the first discovered pure Fairy-type Pokémon, Sylveon. The newest evolution of Eevee."
"That's a Fairy-type Pokémon?" Iris exclaimed. "It's so cute!"
"Aren't Eevee rare?" I blinked. "And Eevee are only known to evolve with a Stone... right?"
"Espeon and Umbreon evolve with the dawn and dusk," Valerie clarified. "Perhaps it is the Sylveon that holds the greatest mystery of all. He evolved one day, in a battle- till today, I cannot remember the exact circumstances of his evolution."
I pulled out my PokéDex as Valerie accepted her Pokémon, its ribbons flying around. "Sylveon, the Intertwining Pokémon. It wraps its ribbon-like feelers around the arm of its beloved Trainer and walks with him or her."
"Syl vie~!" the Sylveon purred as she set it down, its feelers curling around her hand.
"The legend of Jeanne..." I muttered.
"Oh?" Valerie blinked. "I came from the Johto region. The legend of Jeanne is an amazing story, is it not?"
"Y- Yeah!" I nodded furiously. "I came from Kanto, and before that I was always travelling with my Mom. She worked at a Fighting Dojo, but after its last branch in Saffron was closed down, we took to travelling around the regions. I think, Sylveon could win a Pokémon Contest against a Milotic."
"Who knows," Valerie smiled. "Luckily, we have a Milotic in our midst."
I spluttered. "B- But, Milotic are incredibly rare Pokémon-"
"Wallace," Valerie called out to the Hoenn Champion. "This boy claims that my Sylveon can win against a Milotic."
"Is that so, Ms Valerie?" To my horror, the Hoenn Champion had flounced over to us, a Pokéball already in hand.
"I- I didn't mean anything against your Milotic!" I exclaimed, faced with one of the greatest Trainers of the world. "I- please just assume that it's a mark of ignorance-"
"Then, it would be proper to correct that," Wallace smirked as he released the Pokémon.
What was released...
The Milotic undulated in the air like some aerial serpent – or a flying Gyarados – with its primarily cream-coloured body. Red eyes with long, pinkish antennae above them fluttered their eyelashes, the wispy hair-like fins above its eyes that extended along to half its body. A straight spike was perched on its relatively small head, and running down either side of its neck were three black dots, similar to gills. Its lower body was a mosaic of blue and pink diamonds, outlined with black, its fan-like tail four large, blue fins with pink ovals in their centres. As I watched, the tail swished, causing the patterns and colours to shift from red to yellow to green to blue to violet and back, an entire electromagnetic spectrum contained within a fan attached to the graceful serpent of the sky.
"It's beautiful..." Shauna gasped.
"Milotic..." Serena echoed numbly, reaching for a Holo Caster and activating its camera. I took out my PokéDex, the small picture attached hardly doing the creature justice.
Milotic, the Tender Pokémon. Milotic is said to be the most beautiful of all the Pokémon. It has the power to becalm such emotions as anger and hostility to quell bitter feuding.
"That entry was made before the Kalos PokéDex came into being," Daisy mentioned, having reappeared as a crowd began to pay attention to us. "Shall we play a game, Wallace?"
The creature of heart-stopping inspiration curled around Wallace and crooned, a song of enchantment and promise. Absently, its Trainer patted its head. "A game?"
"The aesthetics of Madame Valerie serves her well, in the fashion circles of Lavarre City," Daisy waved an arm, the gesture one of careless elegance. "For a master coordinator, your Milotic has won Grand Festivals all over the world. Both parties are contributors to beauty. Should the veracity of this claim not be tested?"
"The elusive Fairy-type appear frail as a breeze and delicate as a bloom," Valerie distantly answered. "Its beauty is a transient one, one that the water captures only for a brief moment."
"Born from a Feebas, the inner beauty of Pokémon are truly expressed with the Milotic," Wallace imperiously gestured.
"Shall we leave it to this boy to decide?" Daisy slyly whispered. "A Pokémon Contest had five judges, but this is a game. This boy, Mademoiselle Iris and myself would be able to judge the aesthetics of Sylveon and Milotic."
"Sad that Fantima is not here," Wallace shook his head, sending his teal locks flying from side to side. "I know another within this room who can act as judge."
Before I could sink into the expensive panelled floor in embarrassment, Wallace had already flounced around. "Elesa!"
"A Contest on the fly!" Viola was rushing by with her camera. "Oh, Donar, Serena!"
"I invited them and Mme Shauna for dinner," Daisy explained to the Gym Leader. "Donar has apparently appointed himself chief judge in the game to determine if a Fairy-type Pokémon can defeat a Milotic in beauty."
"Well, this is going to be interesting," Viola chattered happily as chairs were cleared to the side and Gym Leaders and Elite Four alike began chattering.
"You've done it now, boy," I turned around and had a heart attack as Sabrina, Mistress of Psychic Pokémon and Leader of the Saffron Gym was talking to me. Me, Donar Oak, not even related to Professor Oak.
"W- What?" I squeaked. "I mean, I'm sorry, Leader Sabrina-"
"No," she delicately answered. "The whole dinner had been swallowed in tension. A bit of unnecessary pageantry might just be enough to save us a headache."
"Erm..." I swallowed. "Right..."
"Well, because of time constraints, there will be only two segments," Diantha had taken over as host of the impromptu contest. "The first is the appeals segment. Each Pokémon will present one show-piece for the sake of entrance, and next is the battle portion, where the Pokémon battle while showing off their beauty."
"I wouldn't know how to judge!" I shouted, but my answers went unheeded.
"Can't be helped," Shauna wisely commented, already having grabbed a sandwich and bitten into it. She handed me a plate of canapés. "Here, have some food."
"That's the appetiser," Daisy clarified as I stared at the plate piled high with finger foods that looked way more expensive than back in Kanto. "To account for the stomachs of our guests, we decided to stick to a three-course meal rather than let them suffer through the full course. Perhaps you need a drink to go with it. Orange juice?"
"Thanks," I mumbled, partially glad that someone was alleviating my pain. "Save me," I begged Serena. The effect of my plea might have been lessened by stuffing my face with the ridiculously delicious bread. I can honestly say, right now, that cafés in Kalos put more effort into their food than even the Kanto region's most expensive restaurants.
"You dug yourself into this hole," Serena shrugged, eating through the entrée.
"I heard that the kings of Kalos could eat their way through twenty-one courses," Shauna hissed. "I wonder where they put all of that."
"No!" We were shocked out of eating as the blonde man in the chef's uniform suddenly appeared. "You do not put away a pleine plats. You enjoy it, it is artistry!"
"Erm, you're... Siebold! The master chef, Siebold of the Elite Four!" Serena's eyes widened.
"Yes," Siebold nodded. "Young ladies, young man, it is an affront to the chefs of Restaurant Le Wow, Le Yeah, perhaps, even Le Nah, that you suffer through les repas. The profession of a chef is more than merely cooking. It is to create something wonderful, that shall disappear when it is enjoyed. It is the chef who can empathise the most with the heart of a Trainer."
"Siebold," Siebold was interrupted from his tirade by Daisy's quick intervention. "If you call yourself an artist, perhaps you can sit in as guest judge as well."
"Hold on," I realised. "There's no water-"
"If my opponent requires merely a blank stage upon which her art shall be displayed, then there is no meaning!" Wallace declared. "And, it shall not unduly harm her, either way."
The Milotic crooned in agreement.
"T- Then- here?" I waved at the great hall.
"There's enough space," Daisy whispered. "This hall was built to take battles to begin with, hence the extra height. It can't take a Wailord, but anything up to a Dragonite is fine."
"Shall we?" Diantha promised, to cheers and laughter. "Let the appeal begin!"
I sighed as I got myself the main course, before Wallace began his display. The Tender Pokémon leapt into the air, curling its body as a shimmering ring of water began to form around it. Its body coiled with power, undulating, and as I watched, the water rings began to move in mid-air, the torrents of their motion the only thing to keep them from spilling apart. It was not alone, though – the Milotic shot a rainbow beam of light, freezing the rings until gravity took over and then, the Milotic used its powerful body and uncoiled to show the ice spiral it had created. The ice splintered and cracked as Milotic slapped its tail up, and within the crystals, Milotic danced to show its fan, a rainbow caught within a waterfall, at least for the moment.
"Caught it!" Viola screamed, albeit in a hushed voice.
"This commemorates the lives of wild Milotic," Wallace declared. "Beauty as hidden within the placid lakes of Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova, the inner beauty of Pokémon acknowledged at long last given material form, a Pokémon that seized the dreams of Hoenn."
"Well, that's some flashy move right there," Lieutenant Surge mentioned. "I betcha we could shake it up, Raichu."
"Rai, rai!"
"Pika pika pi!" Pika complained to Serena.
"Wait till Mama finds a Thunder Stone, alright?" Serena cooed to Raichu.
"Excellent, Milotic," Wallace held out a berry that it ate delicately as it floated down. "Come, my lady."
Even Valerie clapped. "Très bien, that is truly beautiful. Sylveon, we'll have to try our best, alright?"
"Syl vie~!" The Sylveon leapt forth, staring towards all of us humans. Then, it began to pace. Where it stepped, mist began to form, until its entire body was shrouded in the off-pink mist.
"How mysterious," Elesa commented. "But will Sylveon reach the dazzling heights of Milotic-"
She was cut off as a truly haunting voice sounded from within the mists. A pair of horns formed by shadow appeared, stark against the mists, and the voice cried out, terrified and lonely and afraid that there was a wave of flinching from within. A faint echo, took place like a dying cry.
The shadows reformed, the silhouette of Sylveon within holding its ears flattered, its ruff puffed like an Eevee. A silver wind blew around, circling the Sylveon as its shadow reformed, the haunting melody continuing, a lament of regret and hopelessness.
It was then that the first rays of light shone. The feelers billowed out like ribbons as the wind dismissed the mists; the tails themselves shone, white and resplendent as the stellar fall might have looked from far away. Milotic had been shrouded by a rainbow; this fallen star glowed with its dazzling gleam, and as it did so it screamed with triumph:
"Syl vie on!"
The light was gone; everyone held their breath. Disoriented and amazed, I think only a few had noticed Valerie take her place beside her Pokémon.
"Sylveon has re-enacted its own evolution process," she spoke quietly. "All Pokémon evolutions come from a desire, a deep love and happiness between Trainer and Pokémon that leads them to find the stones that hold the power to unlock their transformations. Espeon and Umbreon derive the power of their evolutions from the sun and moon respectively, Glaceon and Leafeon from the Ice Rock and Moss Rock. However, unlike its other evolutions, the power of a Sylveon is different. Even I do not know how it works, but, perhaps... Beyond the power hidden in Stones, without the aid of Stones, an Eevee must fight to unlock the divine power within themselves, for the sake of another. The Eevee, weak, unable to fight, and desperate, wishes for power unlike any other to fight, out of deep and abiding love for its Trainer. Then and only then, can they embrace the power within to transform themselves into the divine."
"An Eevee can transform itself into a Sylveon?" Wallace looked stunned at that information.
"An Eevee, which usually requires an external force to allow it to evolve, whose very own genetic structure is said to be the most unstable, that, in the absence of any other external factor and with only the love that the Eevee feels for its Trainer, chose to evolve," Daisy whispered, staring with half-lidded eyes to the Sylveon purring in Valerie's arms. "If Salamence and Quagsire represent the power of dreams and wishes, then Sylveon represent power in love."
Se smiled, if only for a moment, and I was caught again in her faint shadow.
"Daisy?" I asked lightly. "What Pokémon do you like?"
"The Smeargle."
"Sorry?" I blinked.
"Smeargle learn in an instant attacks which take other Pokémon years to master, and can combine them in nearly infinite ways of which others can only dream of," Daisy stiffly replied. "There is no divine power within the Smeargle; the Smeargle's determination to Sketch moves is admirable, to poison, stun and paralyse itself in search of copying nature."
"Erm... right," I muttered.
My reluctance must have been heard, for Daisy turned her head to regard me. Fiery, defiant, her eyes set, she made me feel like Dr du Bois was glaring at me. "Few people know that the Renaissance was symbolised in the Smeargle. There is a legend about the Smeargle, that is outright banned in the Sinnoh region. Today, most archaeologists do not even dare cite the legend.
"There was once a Smeargle for whom merely being among the greatest was not enough, for he sought the power of the gods," Daisy recited, almost lost in a memory. By her side, Altair listed down, supporting her even when she was sitting with nary a growl. "He travelled from across the lands, doing "battle" with various Pokémon of legend, losing each match. He was a brilliant painter of objects as well as techniques, and used his income to purchase countless Focus Sashes, which he used in order to last long enough to Sketch their wrath. In time, he climbed Mount Coronet, faced off against Dialga and Palkia in turn, and gained control over time and space itself, a power which he used to perform miracles for personal gain.
"To preserve the harmony of the world, Arceus descended from the heavens and cast Judgement upon this Smeargle. Smeargle, badly wounded but not yet vanquished, Sketched out the attack in all its heavenly glory, and the god was too surprised to move."
Her lip curled, and for once, I thought, she's gone utterly mad, but then her expression changed from grinning madly to calm, eyes placid as the clear sky, and that was even more unsettling. "Smeargle then cast his own Judgement on Arceus itself, bringing forth and condemning it for every atrocity of mythology, every cruel thing in creation. Arceus – Mighty Arceus, Arceus the Creator – was defeated in battle for the only time in its eternal life."
I wondered if her disappearance wasn't purely without reason, that somehow the stress of being Champion had turned Daisy Linden loony.
"Thus passed the power of the priests," this was said in a breathy whisper, like an invocation or a prayer, away from the luminaries of the Pokémon world who had, apparently, not heard the almost blasphemous words. "Thus began the Age of Reason."
Chapter 235 of Pokedex by Birdboy: Smeargle, mentioned here.
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