Savoir-faire – To Know and To Do
XIX: Choisir – To Choose
Day 33: I have gone through medical school and continued to update my education, though I had entered the humanities instead. I may have neglected to update my license, although frankly my Trainer's license and eight badges of the Kalos League qualified me to perform emergency first aid from any Pokémon. Still, it was not every day that I had to administer such to an injured Zapdos. Thus, it was after the Electric Pokémon had been checked in and the worst of the landslide damage had been discovered, that the Ranger Union sent their warning letter. I had Crystal set it on fire.
On the morning of that day, I received a call from Mme. Oak regarding her son...
It was during a light breakfast of brioche tartines with hot chocolate, and a glass of orange juice to follow that I received Augustine's call. It came in the form of the concierge actually walking up to me with the announcement.
"I'll take it," I sighed, smoothing my pleated skirt over to stand. "Altair, make sure Darkrai doesn't take too much of the fromage blanc. He'll ruin lunch."
One of the first things I had learned after emancipation with the Plant Badge was to go for a hotel if I could afford to. I could usually afford to, even after I divorced my fortunes from my mother and enacted my disappearances. I could live off of the land, as I had proven time and again, yet Delphi had always been picky and more inclined for hotels, if for their excellent cuisine alone. After years in the life of academia, hotels were also a way to secure my work and ensure privacy. Despite that Pokémon Centres provided suitable accommodation free, they were also packed and served as public spaces. I used them so many times on more than one ethnographic field trip, that Augustine had learned to contact the hotels I was at before my Holo Caster.
"Allô?" I asked once I picked up the receiver at the screen phone. "C'est Marguerite."
"Finally!" Augustine's voice came in, and the live video-call showed his smile on the screen. "Salut. I've been fielding called from the Ranger Union. They want to speak to you about the injured Zapdos. Did you really treat it?"
"Broken humerus," I replied, now in Standard. "Tell them I don't want to speak to them."
"I knew you'd say that," Augustine sighed. "So, I referred them to the Champion's office at Île-de-l'arc. Since the League is keeping quiet for now, they're off your back."
"If you already knew, then why did you call?" I asked.
"Mme Vendredi Oak is asking about her son," Augustine broke the news, all business now. "She wants you to call her, and she's remarkably persistent about it."
"I understand," I replied, nodding. "Is there anything you need to say?"
"It might resolve your mother issues."
"Goodbye, Augustine," I hung up, before considering the dial-phone again. After a heartbeat, I dialled the number that I had memorised.
"This is the Oak household," a soft-spoken woman replied, her picture showing where Donar had gotten his dark hair and eyes.
"Bonjour," I began without preamble. "I am Marguerite Linden du Bois, the researcher currently attached to your son, Donar Oak. Augustine informed me that you wished to speak to me, Mrs Oak? I believe your son might have already updated you as to his situation regarding the Shalour landslide."
"Ah, good morning, Dr du Bois," she replied. "Please, call me Vendredi. It's just... a mother's curiosity, you understand. Donar mentioned you a lot, even before I asked him about any potential girlfriends."
I carefully did not allow my expression to change. "Then, you must certainly call me Marguerite. It seems only polite. And as for Donar... he is an admirable boy, to get two badges in a month and five Pokémon."
"I know what you mean," Vendredi agreed. "His father was the same. Well... part of the reason I called was because of his father. Woten Oak, of the International Police. He's in Shalour for the moment, and... well, he wants to meet, but Donar doesn't want to meet him."
"It's common for estranged family not to meet up," I replied.
"Oh, no! Woten and I are still married," Vendredi explained. "It's just that, Woten's not home often, and..."
"I see," I replied in the face of awkward silence. "I suggest we respect Donar's wishes on the matter."
"...oh," Vendredi echoed in a small voice. "Well... au revoir."
"Au revoir, madame," I replied, hanging up as the screen went black. It occurred to me as I headed back that I may have offended the subject's parents. It was a minor occurrence.
Frogadier gave me a brief greeting as I sat back down to finish my chocolate and tartine, before starting on the orange juice. "Who was it?" Donar asked me halfway through his orange juice.
"Professor Sycamore, looking to put me in touch with your mother," I replied. "Something about your father."
"Oh." Donar blinked, looking at the cylindrical glass in his hand.
"Irrelevant," I declared. "What are your plans now?"
"Well, I need the Badge," Donar shrugged. "And the Shalour Gym declared a fortnight moratorium on Gym battles in light of the landslide, so I don't have anything left to do. I thought I might go to the Pokémon Centre, get a check-up on my Pokémon, and start intense training. Well..."
"Add to your team," I clarified. "Think."
"Well, I have Frogadier, Fletchinder, Ivysaur, and Bagon," Donar recounted. "And... well, when Fletchinder takes on the Carbink, she does badly against them."
"Not her fault," I nodded in understanding. "Fletchinder is a duel-type Fire/Flying Pokémon with a double weakness to Rock-type moves. Technically, you have Frogadier and Ivysaur to help with those."
"But they can't hit Ice-types very well," I reflected. "Like Sapin. And Fletchinder has a weakness to Ice-types as well, so I need a Fighting-type... Then I also need a Ghost-type... right?"
"Depends," I replied. "I know some people do without, though they keep Dark-type Pokémon at hand. Think about your team's weaknesses, and in the absence of Pokémon types, how to cover them."
"Okay..." Donar squinted, as if trying to recall. "Erm... Ice-types."
"What about them?"
"Three of my Pokémon are weak to them," he shamefully admitted.
"And you would have two weak to Rock-types as well, since a Salamence is Dragon/Flying dual-type," I noted. "There's no shame in admitting to it, the real shame is doing nothing about it. So, you need a Fighting-type Pokémon to give you decent coverage, and then consider how you would go about things. For example..."
"Example?" Donar blinked.
"Noël Duval," I specified. "Do you remember his Snover and its ability?"
"Caused massive snowing," Donar nodded. "What about it?"
"Snow Warning is only one of a few abilities that creates localised weather effects,"I answered. "The process was discovered in the Hoenn region years ago, and in doing so, the Pokémon Castform was created by humans. Anyway, there are four types of weather that humans can manipulate."
"Uh huh..." Donar was nodding.
"The first, as Noël Duval illustrated, is through hail," I specified. "The second, using either the Drizzle ability or Rain Dance, is by heavy rain. The third, intense sunlight brought on by Sunny Day or the Drought ability. The fourth is through sandstorms, transforming the field into a highly-specialised desert arena. These four forms dominated the Unova Leagues for a long time, ever since the strategies for manipulating weather were perfected for Pokémon battles. It's a rather inexact art, but worth the investment if one could pull it off. This is one aspect you need to consider, since the only way to disrupt a weather team is either use a weather-manipulating move, find a Rayquaza, or simply finish off all members before they can attack, which is nearly impossible. Let's not even go through entry hazards, since you already know their application."
"Entry hazards can only be removed via Rapid Spin or Defog, and the only way to stop these moves is to prevent their successful landing via a Ghost-type Pokémon or to finish off the other guy first." Donar recalled. "So I'll need a Ghost-type Pokémon."
"Or you can consider a different option," I agreed. "Either way, your team's vulnerability to Rock-, Dark-, Psychic- and Fairy-type is stunning."
"You don't need to tell me," he grumbled, pushing at Bagon's head-butt on my knee. "There's a temporary tournament being set up. I thought... I could go. You know... participate."
"An excellent idea."
At this, Donar actually looked at me. "Huh? You're... it's not going to ruin your research or something?"
"Note, subject is exposed to double hermeneutic," I commented. "To all intents and purposes, you are the subject. There is only yourself stopping your choices... as well as your monetary issues, and Pokémon, etcetera. Why would I be mad that at least you're preparing yourself for a tournament-style battle?"
"Oh..." Donar faintly answered. "But... Noël hates you."
"So do Sina, Dexio, and sometimes Augustine," I pointed out, before peering behind Donar. "And your friend Serena."
He turned around. Serena Calme was there, Calem's daughter, her blonde hair hanging matted on either side of her head, and her dark eyes glimmering with Calem's own joie de vivre. She wore a high-waisted blue and white dress that spoke of Calem bringing his daughter to Snowbelle City – nowhere else does that cutting exist save in the Snowbelle Boutique – and her high-top shoes were black.
"Donar!" Serena greeted, giving his a hug and cheek-peck as expected of a Kalosian girl. "Bonjour!"
Donar blushed, but did not flinch. "Serena, hi! Erm, you remember Dr du Bois, right?"
"Bonjour, Mademoiselle Calme," I greeted in the face of the sudden chill.
"Bonjour," Serena replied, letting go of Donar with very bad grace as something sashayed behind her. Beside me, Altair's bread dropped into the Baie Mepo blend that I had deemed safe for canine consumption. I didn't blame him, though. Seeing a Delphox up close, one that kept sneering at gawkers in the small hotel restaurant, was a stark reminder of our past.
"Elmo?"Donar spoke incredulously. "Wow, Serena, Elmo! Congrats!"
"Isn't that right?" Serena smiled as behind her, the Delphox preened. "We got out of the Camphrier Pokémon Centre last week. Somehow, facing off with Altair really motivated Elmo to train and evolve, and he evolved yesterday! But the gym was closed, so we thought to visit the hotel for lunch before training. When did you come to Shalour City, Donar?"
"Two days ago," Donar replied.
"Wasn't that during the..." Serena paused, before she gasped. "Were you hurt, Donar?"
"No... we got out in time," Donar shook his head.
Serena looked to me with an expression that more or less communicated her contempt. I returned it with equal fervour before she looked away first, back to Donar.
"Anyway, maybe we should train together!" Serena suggested, before turning to see the one that she had yet to notice. Almost immediately after, she blanched. "Donar... who's your friend?"
"Erm... Serena, meet Darkrai," Donar swallowed.
Hello.
"...hi," Serena faintly replied. "So... train together for the tournament?"
"That'll be nice," Donar agreed. "Erm... how's your dad?"
"He's in Kiloude City," Serena tightly answered, before nodding to an approaching waiter. "May I join you?"
" S'il vous plaît, " I replied, taking the higher moral ground. Far be it for anyone to imply that a Linden du Bois was anything less than polite.
The waiter arrived as Serena took a seat. "Est-ce que Vous voulez quelque chose, madame?"
" Vous avez le gâteau Baie Grena? " Serena asked for the Pomeg Berry cake. " Je vais le prendre, avec un thé au lait. "
" Oui, madame. " The waiter left with the very order that had Altair and I flinching, plus one milk tea. A Pomeg Berry cake was simply too... tart, but adding milk tea was just horrendous.
"So, Donar, are you entering the coming tournament?" Serena asked, with a kind of false sweetness that was as grating as it might seem endearing. "I think quite a few of the Shalour Gym Trainers would be present, so it might be good practice."
"Ah haha..." Donar nodded. "Yeah, I will."
"And Dr du Bois?" Serena now turned that same poisoned honey on me.
"I am old now," I answered. "Training Pokémon is something best left for the young." Not to mention that any Shalour Gym Trainer would recognise their Gym Leader's former Lucario right off the bat.
"Maybe that's right," Serena next implied with false sweetness. "After all, without the Champion's Pokémon, I suppose you'll just be another Pokémon researcher."
"My ghosts shall protect me," I reminded her. "And I have a Darkrai."
Serena shot a disbelieving look towards the Pitch-Black Pokémon, but refrained from commenting as her order approached. Her Delphox snatched the cake, taking to it with great relish as his owner took the milky tea and added more sugar. "Your Ghosts. If you could be a Trainer, then why don't you go on your field-work yourself?"
"It would skew the research," I answered with a vague sense of unease. "Instead of attacking the basis of my research, why don't you say what you really mean?"
"Ah," Serena acknowledged, setting her half-full cup down. "Papa went to Kiloude to find Daisy Linden. He found no trace of her."
… I had expected that, but knowing it hurt more than anyone would believe. "I see."
"So, I think you lied to Papa," Serena elaborated. "Does it make you happy, that Papa would tear Kiloude City apart to find her."
"Not at all," I answered. Quite the opposite; I wanted Calem to be happy, quite badly.
"You mean Daisy isn't in Kiloude?" Donar spoke in concern, looking from Serena to me.
"No," Serena replied. "Papa said so. Dr du Bois, you are a liar. Where is Daisy Linden?"
I remained silent.
"Dr du Bois?" Donar spoke up.
"...her location is my secret," I answered at last.
Silence, before Serena finished her tea with milk. "I understand. Dr du Bois... I challenge you to a Pokémon battle."
What? What?
Durand was currently still on employ, so it was with a squat follower and a Darkrai and Lucario as twin shadows that Dr du Bois slowly walked towards the practice field set outside of the Pokémon Centre. Across from her, Serena smirked.
"Each challenger can use three Pokémon," Serena dictated the rules. "The first with Pokémon left ready for battle wins. No switch is allowed between battles. If I win, then you must reveal the location of Daisy Linden."
"And if I win?" Dr du Bois coolly asked.
"If you win, I won't pester you about Daisy Linden ever again," Serena offered.
"... I understand," Dr du Bois answered. "Your Pokémon?"
"Elmo, you're up first!" Serena called out her Delphox, causing Altair to flinch again. The Delphox bristled, brandishing a branched wand from its fur-sleeve that caught on fire.
"Jelly," Dr du Bois summoned her Jellicent, which bobbed around the field.
Serena made a face. "Going for the high road, then?"
"Scald," Dr du Bois murmured as the pink menace spat a jet of steaming water towards Elmo. The Delphox dodged, but ended up drenched and defeated.
"Return, Elmo," Serena tersely commanded, holding her Pokéball up as the red beam of light enveloped the Delphox. "Take a good rest. Go, Pika!"
The Pikachu took to the field in a blur, almost racing to tackle immediately.
"Toxic," Dr du Bois called with her usual sang-froid. Poison dribbled over the Jellicent, a mist of violet descending over the field that the Pikachu was caught within.
"Pika, Thunderbolt!" Serena called quickly as the Pikachu stumbled.
"Pika-pi!" Electricity charged, shrouding the Pikachu.
"Recover," Dr du Bois ordered once more, as white light shrouded the creature of the deep that stood against the Thunderbolt.
"Hah!" Serena called as the thunder struck, punching the air. Her face fell as the dust cleared, the Jellicent still standing.
"Jelly..." Dr du Bois's voice took on an undertone of faint glee. "Hex."
The Pikachu screamed, really screamed, as ghostly energy of blue-violet shrouded it once more, before it finally toppled.
"Return, Pika!" Serena called, before plucking a third Pokéball from her belt. "Take a rest too. This time... this time, I won't fall! Go, Obscura!"
The ball bounced and opened, unleashing a Pokémon I had never seen before.
It was a dark purple Pokémon, almost similar to Jelly but more streamlined. It has a pair of tentacles on the bottom of its body that looked like stubby legs. Six light-yellow spots on the front and back, and a light-yellow stripe nearly wrapping around its body above the spots branded its body. Arm-like tendrils, scythe-like in appearance dangled from over the spots like fundamental arms, centred with a red beak, black eyes with yellow irises, and wavy 'hair' made of eight tentacles that waved about as it cackled and flitted.
Malamar, the Overturning Pokémon, my PokéDex read. It lures prey close with hypnotic motions, then wraps its tentacles around it before finishing it off with digestive fluids.
"Well," Dr du Bois spoke suddenly. It echoed with the kind of language that someone might say when confronted with a new type of problem.
"Obscura, Swagger!" Serena suddenly ordered as the Malamar swaggered about. The pink menace of a Jellicent followed its path with beady eyes beginning to glaze over.
"Oh," Dr du Bois spoke, with great interest as Jelly wobbled. "Jelly..."
"Now, Obscura!" Serena called. "Foul Play!"
Obscura grabbed onto Jelly with its tentacles, before flinging the Jellicent around and down to the ground with a bark of laughter.
"Jelly?" Dr du Bois whispered, almost in a dream.
Obscura giggled, a sound like a metronome or a low-pitched siren that seemed quite sinister, like a click of its beak.
"J- Jelly is unable to battle!" I called, although neither of them seemed to have listened.
"Well?" Serena asked. "I trained her when she was an Inkay into a beautiful Malamar!"
"In terms of defensive typing alone, Malamar would rank as number twenty-seven out of all known type combinations," Dr du Bois murmured. "And that creature... have you woken up, Jelly?"
"What?" Serena blinked as the pink menace arose from the ground like some horrible spectre of the deep.
"Return, the battle is over," Dr du Bois told the Jellicent, who floated sullenly back to Altair while the doctor plucked another Pokéball from her belt and released it. "Good work, Jelly, but it is time. C'est ton début, Liz!"
The Floette appeared, carrying her flower-umbrella as she spun in the air. Obscura scowled at the Single Bloom Pokémon.
"A Floette?" Serena stared at Liz in disbelief, her golden hair a cascade as she shook her head. "You're sending that tiny Pokémon against my Obscura?"
Obscura cackled, and Liz glared back, but Serena's point was true. Compared to Obscura, Liz might well be a dwarf against a giant.
"Size has no relative to power," Dr du Bois murmured.
"Whatever," Serena hand-waved. "Obscura, Foul Play!"
A tentacle was raised, but then her eyes spasmed in alarm and the squid flinched.
"Obscura?" Serena pleaded, suddenly afraid. "Obscura!"
"Liz, Dazzling Gleam!" Dr du Bois called, darkly commanding.
Light flooded my eyeballs, so much that I had to look away.
Serena screeched, and when I looked up again, there it was; Obscura toppled, tentacles sprawled on the earth, and Liz floating overhead with a sad expression before returning to Dr du Bois.
" C'est fini, " Dr du Bois signalled. "I win."
"Obscura..." Serena echoed, defeated.
"Mademoiselle, your combo was good, worthy of a veteran Trainer," Dr du Bois began. "Even, but your Malamar remains untrained. As do you."
"What happened...?" Serena whispered. "That last Foul Play..."
"There are three abilities common to the Frillish line," Dr du Bois outlined. "One, Water Absorb. Two, Cursed Body. Three, the rarest ability, Damp. Jelly possesses the second ability, which means that any physical moves that strike at her, including Foul Play, has a thirty-percent chance of being temporarily disabled."
"So it was luck..." Serena grumbled.
"But even if not, Dark-type moves are resisted by the Fairy-type," Dr du Bois added. "The Flabébé line also is not inclined towards physical strength to begin with, so damage from Foul Play would not do much. It's not too bad, though, that you could control a Malamar."
"That I could control a Malamar?" Serena echoed, offended as Obscura growled.
"Malamar are on par with Liepard as the most sadistic of Pokémon," Dr du Bois answered. "They are also powerful, and the Contrary ability they have enables them to take full advantage of Super Power, one of the strongest Fighting-type moves known. Xerosic, second-in-command of Team Flare and Lysandre Fleur-de-Lis himself, used a Malamar. Inkay and Malamar has also been proven to use their strong hypnotic powers on unsuspecting Trainers such as yourself in their cliff habitats to make people walk off cliffs of their own volition. When I say that you could control a Malamar, it was a compliment."
I looked at Obscura, who was staring towards Serena with a strange expression, reminding me excessively of Dr du Bois and the Clauncher Incident. I shuddered. "Serena... we should go to the Pokémon Centre."
"Good work," Dr du Bois murmured, reaching for the Jellicent. For a long moment, Trainer and Pokémon embraced, the beady eyes actually relaxed and warm, Dr du Bois's hug firm and unrelenting even as the Cursed Body activated. "Merci, Jelly."
It occurred to me, then, seeing Durand and Altair and Darkrai trail behind her, that the Pokémon team behind Marguerite Linden du Bois was way scarier than anything I could think of.
Stealth Rock with Stone Edge. Stealth Rock with Stone Edge. Landslide. Rain Dance. Absence of Thunder.
Humans looking for you, Marguerite.
I broke my train of thought to see two Pokémon Rangers, a male-female duo, each wearing the orange uniform most commonly seen in the Coumarine Gym. Both of them were approaching me with ill-disguised intent the moment I stepped into the Pokémon Centre.
"Dr du Bois?" one of them spoke. "I'm Pokémon Ranger Chaise from the Coumarine City branch of the Ranger Union."
"I'm Ranger Brooke, of the same," the woman shortly introduced herself. "We understand that you found and treated the Zapdos that crashed into the emergency tent during the landslide aftermath?"
I turned to Donar and Serena. "You two can go ahead."
"O- Okay," Donar nodded, following Serena towards the reception counter. Only when they were out of earshot did I deign to answer the Rangers.
"Yes," I answered. "I submitted my report to Nurse Joy over there. You can ask her."
"You detailed that the Zapdos was attacked prior to crashing into the tent?" Brooke asked.
"Attacked... hardly," I demurred. "I deduced, from its injuries, that the Zapdos fell victim to a Stealth Rock and Stone Edge, caused a storm via Rain Dance in an effort to fight its... predator... off, and then managed to flee from over the ridge. Whether Zapdos was attacked or not remains uncertain."
"Pokémon do not usually attack one another," Chaise contributed.
"Not without reason," I disagreed. "Pokémon can hurt and kill one another. Willingness is a different story."
"Would you say that this was a human effort?" Brooke finally asked, inviting a stare from Chaise.
"I do not know," I replied. "I only know that there were two moves involved in Zapdos's injury; Stone Edge and Stealth Rock. I did not do more than a cursory examination. Furthermore, even if we can prove that Zapdos was struck by two different Pokémon, that in no way denotes that Zapdos went up against a Trainer's or poacher's team."
Chaise nodded with a glazed look that indicated that he was memorising my entire testimony. "I notice that you don't have a medical license."
"I have eight Gym badges, which under the Kalos League entitles me to a licence pour les produits pharmaceutiques solides," I answered. "First aid is not exactly hard to engineer."
"Still, to treat an injured Legendary Pokémon while under stress and in the field like that should be much more than any academic could manage," Chaise commented. Brooke – not very discreetly – elbowed him.
"Would you like to repeat that?" I demanded. "Goodbye, Rangers."
I walked away, attempting to reach the counter before their local Wigglytuff nurse reached me. Vacuous eyes stared from Altair to me, before the Pokémon nurse nodded to me and started indicating towards the hallway.
Zapdos summons you, Darkrai relayed.
I eyed the fluorescent lights overhead. "Now?"
The nurse nodded, rather sadly.
I followed the Wigglytuff in a businesslike manner. For the doctors who wanted to interfere, a sneer and a Lucario's snarl put them to rights. However, Darkrai still hid in my shadow before I entered the ward.
Perhaps because of its power, or merely a concession to its status as a Legendary Pokémon, the entire ward had been cleared. No machine was left within the room; merely a nest of blankets and carpets on a white tiled floor. The smell of ammonia and cleaner was tamped down with lemon and static; a sort of roasted smell or ozone in the air that mixed oddly with the general acoustics of the isolated ward. In the middle, the spiky-feathered form of Zapdos nested, one wing bound in a sling.
"Bonjour," I answered in the face of the Legendary, privately thinking that at least, citizens Shalour City had had the experience of a lifetime to face a Legendary Pokémon. The grumpy chicken gave a snarl and a chirrup that plainly communicated ill-will.
They thank you for treating him, Darkrai interpreted.
"I see," I replied, noting the plural pronoun used by Darkrai before I regarded Zapdos. "You'd have lost the wing if you continued, you know."
Now the Legendary looked awkwardly contrite.
"You could do me a favour," I told it. "Please, identify who attacked you."
A crackle of overt electricity followed that pronouncement.
They wants revenge, Darkrai translated.
I considered the Zapdos. I was not a fan of any Legendary Pokémon, including Kanto's legends. Zapdos was clearly used to enacting its own justice, and it created an implicit disrespect of the human justice system. While the justice system and I might disagree on some instances, it was still a system of civilisation that was actively subverted by so many individualistic personalities as created by Trainers and such powerful Pokémon.
"Very well," I acknowledged. "Your wing should heal within the week. Nurse Joy and the staff at the Pokémon Centre will release you back into general public space when you are deemed well enough. Taking, of course, that no Trainer tracks you down from here to catch you once you step out of the Centre, or that you might attract your attacker here."
At my pronouncement, the Zapdos bristled its wings in something approaching alarm.
"It has been known to happen," I continued. "Of course, you don't have to care about them, do you? Not for the people who tended to your injured self. Not for the multiples of injured Pokémon injured in the landslide that you caused. Adieu, Zapdos."
I spun on one foot, about to walk out and leave Zapdos to its stewing before a burst of sparks and a shimmering veil of light over the door greeted my eyes. It squawked some more.
I believe them to be surprised, Darkrai relayed. They expected rather more deference.
Any other person could have taken it as a warning, but I rolled my eyes and pushed my way through the Light Screen. Zapdos squawked in surprise; why, though, I had no idea. Light Screen was clearly only for special attacks.
Wait, he said, Darkrai spoke telepathically.
I turned to Zapdos. "Thank you for your time. I hope I never see you again."
The indignant squawk of the Legendary as I walked out was quite charming.
Marguerite, Darkrai spoke telepathically. On my other side, Altair lingered as a solid presence, fending off passing nurses.
I was about to retort when I was confronted by Calem's daughter once again, her blue eyes brimming with tears as she stared from Darkrai to me, and then to Darkrai and back again. "You weren't serious about battling me, were you?" her voice was small.
I decided not to correct her assumption. "Was that so?"
"You didn't use Darkrai," Serena bristled, offended. Her face was a round cherub like so many fair Kalosian girls, so different from my own lean features, only made gaunter by age and nightmares. A child confronting an adult. Nabokov would have classed her permanently as a child. "Papa told me."
I leaned close to her, ensuring that our eyes met. She had none of Calem in her face; blue eyes not covered with contacts, long blonde hair, youth clear in every part of her face, almost like Daisy Linden. Up close, I could smell charred twigs, a touch of ozone and perhaps the Malamar, on top with all of the other scents that she had not managed to erase in her clothes. In many ways, Calem's daughter had taken on the form of Daisy Linden.
"W- What?" Serena blinked, trying not to meet my eyes.
"That dress is very fashionable," I told her.
"Y- Yes?" Serena hazarded. "It's available only from the Boutique Couture in Snowbelle City. P- Papa bought it for me."
"Oui," I replied, still unmoving.
Serena stared at my own skirt and blouse. "Erm... why?"
"It was in this design that the Kalos League crowned Daisy Linden ten years ago," I answered, half in reflection. "Did he also suggest that you go on this journey?"
Serena's eyes slid to the side. "Well..."
She caught herself. "What's does that mean, anyway? We're talking about you!"
I straightened my back. "Go home, Serena Calme," I told her, as blunt as you please. "Escape this attempt to turn you into Daisy Linden. You are not her, no matter what your father wishes. Even though your attempts to become her has driven you to such depths of malice, you are not Daisy Linden-"
The slap was not wholly unforeseen; I had recognised that Serena hated me, after all. For not conforming as she had done, perhaps, ever since Santalune City and her face-off; perhaps even earlier, since our meeting in Aquacorde Town, she had hated me. Either way, the slap came, and I was caught off-guard.
She attempted to follow up on the other arm, were it not for Donar.
"Serena, Dr du Bois!" Donar's shout attracted much attention from the counter, from nearly everyone in the Shalour Pokémon Centre. "What's going on?!"
"I gave my frank opinion of her skills and aptitude as a Trainer," I answered, dazed with a realisation that had kept nagging since I saw a stack of Carbink. "Mademoiselle Calme apparently disagreed with me, and it escalated into violence."
"Doctor..." Donar warned, still holding Serena back. "Come on, Serena. Let's go away. You're attracting attention!"
"She insulted my papa!" Serena snapped back. "I- I-! Donar, let go of me!"
"Officer Jenny might come!" Donar snapped, pulling Serena by the hand out of the Pokémon Centre's sliding doors.
I went to the counter immediately. "Nurse Joy. The Carbink that just came in."
"Ah?" Nurse Joy looked up, harried. "Yes, they're down with suffocation, the poor dears-"
"Mark them down for ferrous compound analysis," I insisted. "Please."
"Iron poisoning?" Nurse Joy realised.
"A possibility," I nodded, turning away from the counter to march through the crowd, staring at all of the witnesses' expressions before I found Brooke and Chaise amongst the crowd.
"There is a potential mass poisoning going on. What are you waiting for?" I snapped. "Back to work!"
Altair and Darkrai followed my march out of the Pokémon Centre, where I found Durand standing guard outside of the Pokémon Centre with some of the recovering Pokémon patients. I chatted with the Golett a bit more about future employment, gave him an identity and a memento in the form of a referral mail to Augustine, and then I found a basket which I filled with Berries. We then escorted the Golett only as far as the city limits facing the Reflection Cave, before I knelt to face the Golett.
"With this, our contract is over," I told the rotund little golem Pokémon before I kissed its approximate forehead. "You've been a very good escort, Durand. Au revoir."
One clay arm rose, and the Golett attempted some form of a salute that nearly had me giggling at its antics.
As Durand disappeared in a burst of Phantom Force, a brunet man in a trench coat approached me. "Ceci est un territoire limité," he spoke in badly stilted Kalosian. "Qui êtes-vous?"
"I haven't known," I answered him in Standard. "If this is restricted territory, then who are you?"
He produced a pass, upon which his face was on, along with the emblem of the world's most inefficient agency. "International Police. The name's Oak, Woten Oak."
"What was that for?" Serena rounded on me the moment we were out of earshot.
"You can't attack a professor, Serena," I explained, feeling rather out of touch. "Look, we can probably bring this up to Professor Sycamore-"
"Sycamore's as terrified of her as you are," Serena snapped back. "He won't try anything. We've got to fight against her tyranny."
I privately considered that Dr du Bois was not so much a tyrant as a free spirit. "Yes, well, hitting her in public isn't going to do you favours. The Gym Leader is going to know, Serena. What's this going to reflect on you as a Trainer?"
At this, Serena blushed, looking at the asphalt floor as we walked in the streets. Shalour City was a coastal city, and it showed as a passing breeze brought the calming scent of brine and petrichor to tickle my nose. It was not the most appropriate mindset.
We ended up meandering down to Shalour's harbour, where, aside from a wide spread of sand forming a path that led towards a small island, where a tower squatted, surrounded by ochre walls. By its very presence, the tower seemed to intimidate. Serena and I stood there, unsure of whether to walk forth or turn back.
"Maybe we should go there," Serena suggested.
Since it was likely that Dr du Bois was still at the Pokémon Centre, or had seen off Durand, I followed her across the beach onto the island. It rose like some tiered wedding cake decorated with colourful houses and tents, separated by a set of stone steps along which their street-lamp sentinels were covered in paper.
I looked at one of the posters. "Oh, the Shalour tournament's going to be here. Serena- Serena?!"
My friend had already left me behind, climbing the steps with a sudden, decisive spring. I sighed, climbing after her past a set of gilded pillars decorated in spirals, into the main tower.
The inside of the tower was like a lighthouse, a spiralling staircase leading up above, but most staircases did not have large stone statues of Lucario as their guard dogs. Nor did those statue-guardians stand on plagues as tall as two men, with a... door? It was a free-standing room that thing was on? What?
I stopped, craning my head up to look at the giant statue in dim light. That Lucario was different; it looked more like K9, or how Altair had been dressed during the movie shoot. But... the manga, was new, right?
There was a plaque by the door, brass tarnished with age and the carvings uncertain:
Il y a très longtemps, un homme et son Lucario sont venus ici. Ils ont trouvé deux pierres étranges. C'était la première Méga-Évolution du monde.
Nous, ses descendants, avons formé la Maison de Lierre et donc déclarons l'ouverture de la Tour Maîtrise au quatorze juillet de la douzième année du règne du roi Dagobert de la Maison Cent-Feuilles.
"It's Kalosian!" Serena realised, reading the text. "'Long, long ago, a man and his Lucario came here. They found two strange stones. That was the first Mega Evolution of the world' – Donar, Mega Evolution!"
I nodded in trepidation, staring up from the masked Altair -lookalike to the plaque. "Yeah... keep reading, please."
"Oh, sorry!" Serena huffed. "'We, his descendants, formed the House of Lierre, and thus declare the opening of the Tower of Mastery on the fourteenth of July of the twelfth year of the reign of the king Dagobert of the House of Cent-Feuilles.' That means this fort must be over two thousand years old!"
"It's not," a voice echoed behind us.
Slowly, the two of us turned behind to stare at the very angry blonde woman standing in the doorway.
"Care to explain why you're here?" the woman drawled, blue eyes shimmering dangerously. She was covered in mud and sweat – probably from helping out at the landslide.
"You're Leader Korrina!" I blurted, suddenly remembering. "Shalour's Gym Leader!"
"Um..." she blinked. "Yes?"
"I'm Serena Calme, and he's Donar," Serena offered, visibly excited. "If you're here... then this is the Tower of Mastery, the home of Mega Evolution!"
On that very same day, I met Monsieur Oak Sr.
– Marguerite Linden du Bois.
Lierre = ivy. The meaning is approximately 'friendship'.
Critique, s'il vous plaît!