The disclaimer can be found on the first chapter.
A/N:
This is going to be a relatively short(er) chapter in terms of story advancement. The reason for this is that I've been scheduled to work at Universal Studios from tomorrow to Saturday to prepare for the 4 days non-stop Halloween Horror Nights, and between juggling that and writing, I want to get the Halloween chapter over and ready by the day Halloween arrives.
As such, this chapter will have less action, and for that, I'm sorry. Don't worry, because I'm going to make sure that the Halloween chapter is written the best I can, even if I have to write it on my iPad during breaks.
At least, I hope I won't need to.
"Route 3, alternatively the Ouvert Way, is a breather route before the Gym in Santalune City. Its alternate name translates to the 'Open Way', which is fitting, as it is frequently used for outdoor activities that require open ground.
Notable Pokémon who inhabit the area include Azurill, the bouncy blue mouse who, although fairly weak, can go head-to-head with some Dragon-types and win (for more information on why, please refer to pg. 82 on the Fairy-type); Bidoof, the lovable beaver who is a fantastic addition to any explorer's team (I refuse to call it a HM Slave); Burmy, the bagworm whose appearance depends on the current environment; and Dunsparce, which has its origins in Johto mythology as a tsuchinoko, or the bachi hebi, to those of you reading this from Sinnoh.
Schoolchildren from Santalune City often gather here to battle. They use a variety of different Pokémon, but they're not as strong as you think they would be.
I honestly recommend you do not try to swim in the lake. If you do, don't jump into it like an idiot. The Nurse Joy down in Santalune can't remember how many people she's treated for Goldeen/Seaking impalements."
'The Official Kalos Companion Guide' (2020), by Maison Prince Calem.
"Can't read my, can't read my, no, he can't read my poker fa-"
"Fia?"
"GAH!" Fia yelped as she turned off the music player.
Skye cocked her head to one side and looked at her quizzically.
"Were you just-" "No." "But I thought-" "Never." "Didn't you-" "Not in a millennium."
"WILL YOU LET ME FINISH MY SENTENCE?" Skye squawked.
"I just let you."
Skye opened her mouth to retort, when it hit her.
The coil of ethereal rope, that is, not the realization.
Seconds later, the two popped out of their Pokéballs onto the plains of Route 3. Fia took one look at the two Pokémon facing them and deduced that they were about to enter a Double Battle.
"Skye, we'll settle your argument later, but for now, it's time to fight!"
Serena is challenged by Preschoolers Oliver & Ella!
Preschoolers Oliver & Ella sent out Azurill and Pichu!
"Well, these people look strong! But I know we can beat them!"
"Water trumps Fire; that I can remember. Electric, wait, what am I strong against, again?"
"Is she trying to get us savagely murdered?!"
"We're the only two Serena has on hand; what else can she do?"
"Azzy, Water Gun!" "Pichi, Thundershock!"
"Sortie!"
The two dodged; Fia to the right, and Skye to the left. While they didn't get hit by the attacks that were meant for them, well…
"Aieee! That's shocking!" "Ahhh! My feathers are wet!"
Skye shook the droplets off her wings before diving in for a Quick Attack, Fia following right behind with Ember.
However, thanks to their small stature, both of the opposing Pokémon dodged easily, and went back to throwing projectile attacks.
Round and round they went, with neither side managing to get a good hit. Fia realized this, and decided to formulate a plan.
"We attack them on the count of three!" "Sounds good to me!"
"They're attacking on the count of three! What do we do?"
Pichi's cheek pouches buzzed. "Prepare for their attack. We can safely anticipate them! Wait for their one-"
"THREE!"
Needless to say, the double Tackle caught both Azzy and Pichi off-guard, and the critical blows were all that were needed to knock them out.
"I'm… out of bounce…"
"This wasn't… expected…"
You defeated Preschoolers Oliver & Ella!
"No! I can't possibly accept money from preschoolers!"
"But dad told me that if I lose a battle, I need to be courteous and give-"
"Please! I don't want to look like I'm extorting you for cash!"
While Serena was trying to persuade the young children not to hand their lunch money over, and predictably failing to do so, the rest of the gang were busy searching the rest of the Pokémon that were available on the route.
Well, everyone except Oberon, that is. He was their designated medic, being the strongest of the current troupe and thus not needing to train up as much as the others.
"This is only going to sting a bit, so bear with me, okay?"
Fia cringed as the cold liquid was sprayed over the slightly singed part of her fur where the initial shock hit, before sighing in relief as the Potion's healing properties soothed whatever pain that remained.
"Ah… that's much better. Thanks a lot, Oberon!"
She bounded over and nuzzled him, and was surprised to find his skin warmer than she had imagined.
"Wow, I didn't know you were so hot!"
Oberon stared at her. "…Was that supposed to be a pick-up line?"
As the gravity of her words kicked in, she backed away in embarrassment. "N-N-No, it's not what you think! I just meant, well, you know…"
"Relax. There's nothing wrong with it. In fact, I find it rather cute that you're paying attention to the small details." He touched the horn on his head. "My sensor can detect emotions from people and Pokémon alike, but since I'm still a Ralts, they're a bit jumbled. Nevertheless, by body reacts to the emotions in the air…"
He paused and frowned. "Wait. You said my body was feeling hot. But that only happens when there are romantic feelings-"
"Oberon! Trevs' Pikachu needs healing up!"
"Sorry about that, I gotta go. Talk to you guys later, okay?"
Oberon picked up the small bag of healing supplies with telekinesis and walked off.
Skye flapped her wings and chirped, "Some poker face you have! You're turning redder than me!"
"Sh-sh-shut up! I can't help it if he compliments me!"
"So, do you want me to tell him or-"
Skye veered right to avoid the fireball. "I take it that's a no, then?"
Fia snapped, "Of course it is! If he were to find out my secret, then-"
"Secret? What kind of secret is it when everyone knows but him?" a voice called out from behind.
They both turned to find a certain frog flipping a 10P coin. "The only reason he hasn't picked up on it yet, is because he's just oblivious to it all."
"He's only oblivious to other people's feelings about him. Last I checked, he knows that our Trainers are falling for his." Skye interjected.
"Mentality of an adult, love life of a kid." Fontaine grabbed the coin, before hopping away.
"Strange. Why am I missing 10P?"
Ella thought about it a while. "I think you spent it on candy a while back."
Oliver checked his pockets and found a roll of Mentos. "Makes sense."
Serena checked her handbag. "Hein? Where's my roll of Mentos?"
"Maybe *aie* trying to crawl under *ow* that shrub *aie*, was a bad *ow* idea."
Calem pulled out another thorn from Shauna's arm, eliciting another pained whimper from her. "Gee, what gave that away, the prickly edges or the fact that there were Bluk Berries growing on the bushes?"
He stood up. "That's the last of them. Now, please tell me you had a good reason to get yourself punctured like that."
Mauve spread over Shauna's face as she twiddled her fingers. "I saw something shiny on the other side."
To say Calem was dumbfounded was an understatement. "You got yourself scratched and impaled for something shiny?"
To this, Shauna looked miffed. "I brought it back…"
He put a hand to his forehead. "Well, if you brought it back, then let me have a look at it."
"I think it's a star piece of some sort."
Shauna opened her palm to reveal a small octahedron.
"That's a Revive! People pay a lot to buy those from the shops, but to find one out here-"
He turned and gripped her shoulders. "I'm sorry I was so disapproving just now!"
Calem hugged Shauna, causing her to gasp.
It probably would have been much sweeter had she gasped in happiness and not in pain.
"Ow, C-Sharp, you're hurting me…"
"Oh whoops, your injuries! Sorry! Oberon, bring the bandages!"
Tierno checked the entire inventory. "So, in addition to the normal Potions and Pokéballs, we have one Revive, courtesy of Shaw, and a Super Potion that was randomly lying around for Trevs to pick up."
Trevor checked his Dex. "I think we've seen all possible Pokémon up to now, plus a few extra. Not bad for a day's work, I'll say."
Serena tapped her boots against the ground. "Well, since we're closer to Santalune, we're going to have to spend the night there, I suppose. Strange… I never thought I'd actually miss sleeping in my own bed."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Allons-y!"
The five laughed in tandem as they passed under the arches that signified the entrance to Santalune City.
"Santalune City is a quaint little place, where wannabe Trainers study at the Trainer School; actual Trainers come to earn gym badges; couples come to have a nice meal next to the beautiful Roselia fountain in the middle of the city; and the odd mercenary who visits the boutique on a daily basis.
In terms of cuisine, I suggest you try their fried Basculin. While some people may be slightly put-off by eating Pokémon, we assure you that the Basculin skeletons were immediately returned to their lakes after they are removed from their flesh. This process ensures that they are granted new life, after which they resume their original Basculin lives.
Besides, I think we'd rather be eating the little buggers than have them gnaw away at us.
While the city predominantly relies on its cafés to gain revenue, their boutique, the 'Chapeaux Fabuleux', acts as a second, but strangely stable, source of income. The clerk there tells me of a Kalos man in a balaclava who frequents the shop, and also pays them extra to add special details to their hats, but for what purpose, she does not know.
Viola Mercier is Santalune's Gym Leader, and their official photographer. Should she approach you to take pictures of you and your Pokémon, I recommend you allow her. She's just a very passionate woman who wants to capture the smiles of people and Pokémon alike from all over Kalos. You'll even get a free photo of you and your loyal friends.
Do not, however, under any circumstance, ask her how old she is; she'd carve it onto your gravestone.
Overall, Santalune is where you should go if you're just looking for a traditional city to unwind in. They don't offer much, but if you're already there, you probably aren't asking for much either.
'The Ultimate Kalosian City Guide: What To Do, and Where To Do It' (2020), by Elite Four Member Serena Rosseau.
"Good evening! We'd like to book lodging for the night, if that's alright."
"Sure! Just hold on a sec while I check the available spaces." The Nurse Joy flipped through a book, before stopping at the latest entries.
"For the five of you, I have a two-person room and a three-person room ready for use. Is that acceptable?"
Serena turned to her comrades, who nodded. "Sounds fine to us."
Nurse Joy stamped two of the boxes, before reaching under the desk to retrieve a stack of cards.
"These two are for Room 7, while these three are for Room 8. Enjoy your stay!"
They took the cards, thanked the Nurse, before moving off.
"So, usual arrangement? Trevs, C-Sharp and I take 8 while you girls take 7?"
"Pretty much."
Calem checked his watch. "Meet the both of you at the café by the fountain in an hour?"
"6.30? No problem."
Shauna picked at one of the bandages on her forearm. "The hot water shouldn't hurt so much, I hope."
"Délicieuse!"
Serena jabbed her fork into another of the fried Basculin fillets, and brought it to her plate.
Trevor took another look at the menu. "I think you should watch how much you eat, Siri. Each of these fillets has about two hundred calories-"
"But they taste so good!" she'd already wolfed down that fillet, and was in the process of taking another.
Calem took a bite of his fried fish. "What an unsightly display for someone so ladylike."
She'd already polished off the other fillet, and was taking a fourth one. "To hell with being ladylike!"
Shauna, who was on her fifth fillet, said between bites, "Oui!"
On the adjacent table, the Pokémon were having their own little discussion.
"So, I take it you don't know why you detected romance in the air just now?"
Oberon shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. Now, will one of you tell me why it happened?"
"The less you know the better." The fox said in relief, before taking another scoop of the apple parfait. She was suitably impressed that the café also catered to Pokémon, and their desserts weren't half-bad either.
Fontaine finished off the rest of his Nanab split in a huff. Damn. He really IS that clueless.
A waiter approached the two tables. "I have an order here for two large puddings. To whom do I serve them to?"
"Your total comes to 1200P. Cash or credit, monsieur?"
Calem took out his wallet and forked over his card.
"Very good, monsieur."
As he put his wallet back, he surveyed the surroundings. As the sun dipped into the western horizon, the lampposts lit up, shrouding the area in a beautiful orange light.
And a very peculiar girl walked past him.
What made her peculiar wasn't her face; she was cute, yes, but not at Shauna's level. It was what she was wearing; a white dress, an equally white pair of cat ears, navy tights, gloves, scarf, and hat, and to top it all off, a tail accessory with equal parts navy and white.
She must have noticed him staring, because she walked over to their table, and placed both hands on Calem's shoulder. "Bonjour, charmant! I see you like my outfit."
"He's mine!"
The situation would have been awkward enough if it were just Serena or Shauna that had exclaimed that. But in this reality, they had yelled the same thing, at the same time, and were now looking at each other with a horrified expression on their faces.
Please commence to read the following line as if two girls are speaking them at the same time.
"No, he's mine! Mine! How could you betray me? He's been mine since we met!"
Serena let down her ponytail. "He is mine, and that's final!"
Shauna cracked her knuckles. "Oh, it is so on."
Fontaine jumped onto the table. "Woo! Catfight! Place your bets, ladies and- ouch, Fia, stop burning me!"
Calem, who had flat-out ignored them, turned his attention to the girl. "It's nice, but why are you dressed like that in the first place?"
Her expression turned quizzical. "You're not from around here, are you?"
"Nope."
"Figured just as much. We're having a special celebration today in Santalune, where we dress up as Pokémon and go around town, knocking on doors."
"So it's just like Halloween."
"The inhabitants of the houses we visit will give us items or candy, based on how well we pulled the outfit off."
"So it's just like Halloween."
"We also tell spooky stories to each other to frighten-"
"So it's just like Halloween."
"Hey, stop it! Our celebration is nothing like Halloween!"
Unconvinced, Calem crossed his hands. "Prove it."
A long pause followed.
"We use dice."
"What?"
The girl shook her head. "Sorry, inside joke. What I meant to say, is that we don't celebrate it on the 31st of October."
Trevor shrugged. "That counts."
"We don't actually have to put on costumes, do we?" Tierno asked.
"If you don't, we're going to have to request that you please stay out of the city until the celebration is over."
The two girls, who up to now had been viciously fighting (read: mock-fighting), stopped and turned their heads.
"Out of the city?"
"The young mademoiselle is right." The waiter had returned with Calem's card, which he took back. "Should you not have an acceptable costume, you will be escorted out of the premises, and will only be allowed back when the celebration ends, which can be as late as eleven at night."
The five all blinked. Then, in unison, they rose from their chairs, and calmly left the café.
Well, if your definition of calm is running away screaming, "TO THE BOUTIQUE!"
A/N:
Hein? – Huh?
aie – ouch
Bluk berries – Pokémon's equivalent of blackberries. Blackberry bushes are very prickly.
Délicieuse – delicious
Oui! – Yes!
Charmant – charming
Pokédex count:
Central Kalos – 25/150 seen.
(Coastal Kalos – 1/153 seen. – Rhyhorn – Unregistered)
(Mountain Kalos – 1/151 seen. – Ditto – Unregistered)
Next time, on The Kalos Chronicles:
A lot of events are going down tonight. Between the trick-and-treating, the haunted house attraction and the overall celebratory mood, Calem's finding it harder and harder not to stay out of trouble,
"C-Sharp? Where do you think you're TOUCHING ME?!"
Oberon reconnects with someone from his past,
"Guys, I'd like to introduce my half-sister. Her name's-"
And a surprise visit is made from a certain star in Unova.
"Put your hands together for the one and only-"
Well, maybe two.
"Wait. That voice! You can't be serious!"
Eh. Make that three.
"That's what a Gym Leader does, non?"
Stay tuned for Chapter 8: The Santalune Horror Picture Show!