Our story now returns to Shabboneau Castle. The heroines have been exploring its halls a while, eh? Throughout the manor, classical art depicting Kalos history and legend is on display. Including but not limited to paintings, sculptures, and pottery.
The sparse bookshelves likely tell a tale of their own, as well; numerous priceless tomes have gone missing over the centuries.
"Hey, I think this chessboard was used recently." Hilda examines a chess table that's suspiciously clean, with its pieces nestled in each player's drawer underneath.
Intrigued, Akane sets up the game, then glances at Citrata.
"Are you challenging me, Akane?" Citrata's thoughts turn to her TCG playing blunders. "I'm awful at this stuff."
Not sure what to make of trying to play a game that has captivated generations of the world's most brilliant minds, our heroine dusts off a small chair and sits down.
For the first move, Citrata slides a pawn forward to space c3. Board locations are typically described starting at the white left-side rook, labeling the spaces as letters A to H horizontally, and numbers 1 to 8 vertically.
The next several turns are uneventful, except for Citrata's dismal play. She had the knights dance around the center area too soon, where Akane's pawns swarmed them.
"Cici." Akane sighs when the overeager white queen moves directly beside her black king. "That is not how to place a king in check."
Queens are the most mobile pieces in chess, capable of attacking any distance in eight directions. Early loss of a queen can be potentially devastating. Though other pieces offer distinct abilities of their own, such as castling or pawn promotion.
"Gee." Citrata takes a deep breath, processing the mistake she made.
A few turns later, Akane's rook takes a position our heroine cannot escape. The white king has no valid moves!
"Checkmate." In a fleeting break from her usual demeanor, Akane slightly smiles as she shakes our heroine's hand.
"It was no contest." Citrata says, conceding defeat.
Finished with their chess diversion, the heroines check out several more rooms, discovering little of interest except dust.
"All these cobwebs are getting us nowhere." Worn out by the hours of exploration, Hilda leans on a statue of an unusually tall man. "What are we looking for, anyway?"
Citrata explains that if Team Rocket is in the neighborhood, there's probably something they want to steal.
"Hmm." Hilda ponders the idea. "They're not art thieves. But if this musty palace still hides clues to finding legendary Pokémon…"
"Look up." Gazing skyward, Akane raises her pointer finger. "That is AZ."
It is said a strange incident during the war 3,000 years ago dramatically extended the lifespan of a man known only as AZ, and elongated his body to an unnatural height. Indeed to this very day, people occasionally encounter him, continuing to wander in search of his lost Pokémon partner.
"AZ?" Hilda asks.
Akane describes what she's heard, but notes that antiquity is more Heather's department. Listening to the story, the gears of realization click for Citrata.
"Say!" Suddenly, Citrata's face widens a bit. "That has to be it, Mega Stones! If this 'ultimate weapon' really did create a new tool to supercharge Pokémon, could they be what Team Flare is looking for?"
"Go on." Hilda impatiently taps her foot.
Our heroine recounts how, when she first met Team Flare, they were talking about some odd rocks. Essentia, Emma, said basically the same thing too.
"A fine deduction." Akane's stoic nature again briefly subsides. "However…"
Sharing mirth about Team Rocket lacking strong Pokémon to even use Mega Stones with, our heroines make their way to a local hotel. They crave a good meal and some cleanliness, before setting off to the next destination.
"Hello, welcome to Hotel Camphrier." A handsome vermilion-haired young man at the reception desk greets the arrivals.
"Ooh!" Citrata darts up closer to him. "Would you like to see some seashells on the seashore?"
"U-um…" The man stutters as he makes an excuse. "I'm allergic to fish."
"Cici, this town doesn't have a beach." Also bedazzled, Hilda cuts in. "Maybe we can visit the pool instead."
Overhearing the conversation, a somehow-familiar girl sets down her luggage and intervenes. Why, it's Dawn! This Pokémon coordinator from Sinnoh is another of Ash's former companions.
Coordinators prefer to raise their Pokémon for events like contests, more than battling. Of course, battles remain indispensable to keep in shape and develop new strategies.
"What's going on here?" A frustrated Dawn looks around the room. "Whoever you two are, you're acting like Brock!"
Upon noticing the receptionist though, her tone mellows somewhat.
"Maybe…" To avoid joining in the blushing, Dawn pivots to check on Akane. "Nice to meet you."
"Akane." Already distracting herself with a book, Akane invites Dawn to sit down on the adjacent chair.
"I see you enjoy reading." Dawn sips on some lemonade from a vending machine.
While Akane and Dawn discuss their favorite literature, the flustered receptionist eventually manages to shoo away Citrata and Hilda by offering them a discount on their meal.
"Let's eat, Akane!" Citrata grins at the unexpected result of her antics. "Okay, your new buddy can tag along too."
The quartet wastes little time on their way to the dining room, where they are promptly seated by the staff. Looking over their menus of world cuisine, each heroine introduces herself.
"Ash mentioned you on the phone." Dawn gazes around the table, starting with Hilda. "But I've never heard of a trainer from TCG Island. And what's this knight business about!?"
"Akane here isn't like the other knights." Excited to feast, Citrata twirls around her fork. "She's on their team of mech pilots."
"No offense, but I can't picture any of us driving a giant robot!" An amused Dawn says. "Team Rocket's machines are… wait a second! You're that woman from TV!"
"Did I look good?" Citrata asks, to lighten the mood.
"The dress was nicely designed." Dawn waves at the waitress. "It's just, well, you know."
"I get it." After a brief pause, Citrata continues. "I'm a phony. I don't dance, I'm bad at playing cards, even my vest doesn't..."
Catching on that her friends are not buying the sarcasm, she abruptly stops mid-sentence.
"That isn't funny." Akane gives a cold, disbelieving stare.
"Sorry." Citrata gently laughs. "Had you going there, didn't I?"
Meanwhile, as the four heroines dig into their assorted pasta dishes, a quarrel is about to unfold at the Poké Mart! Regina has accidentally bumped into Royle, spilling the contents of his shopping bag onto the floor!
"Watch it!" An irritated Royle shouts.
"Ah! Are you alright?" Regina turns around, then helps pick up the dropped items.
"Don't think that makes us even." Wanting to battle, Royle angrily grips his Poké Ball. "Let's rumble!"
"Regina fights for the knights." Regina disregards the challenge.
"Ha." Royle says, in a mocking tone. "The princess doesn't know her place."
"Oooh." Cool and composed Regina is not often annoyed, but on closer examination her eyebrows twitch.
"What's next?" Royle shrugs. "Marry a prince, happily ever after?"
"You would like to know." Regina resumes browsing for items to add to her basket.
"Princesses are too… princess-y!" An embarrassed Royle retorts. "There was this girl, and her dad's Cacnea…"
Realizing he said too much, Royle bolts out of the store without paying.
"Kids." The aging clerk seems used to having goods stolen. "Hello there, Regina."
"Regina's fine." Regina rings up her purchases. "But could it be…"
"Well, tell the knights I said hi." Uninterested in gossip, the clerk returns to his job.
Setting aside the curiosity about her pal's secret admirer, Regina takes a taxicab to her parents' villa on the edge of town. A splendid home built on valor and dedication; the family would never welcome a dishonorable sellsword.
Their prosperity has seen better days, however. In an era where conflict is usually resolved through Pokémon battles, knighthood is more romanticized than lucrative!
"It's good to see you are well." A trusted butler greets her.
"Mr. Faraday!" Regina steps out from the striped, yellow car. "Mom and Dad still keeping you busy?"
"Yes, quite." Faraday accompanies Regina to the living room.
Regina's enduring love of princesses is most apparent here. Displayed across one of the walls, are a series of photographs from throughout her life. In most of the images, she's wearing fabulous dresses.
One exception in particular stands out; a group picture of the town's youth soccer team, from roughly five years ago. They don't wear pink. And absolutely not ball gowns. A quizzical expression makes known Regina's dislike of the stone-gray uniform.
As for her parents, Miles is a retired bard. The man led a carefree youth, spinning yarns wherever he went. Yet life had a different sort of "yarn" in mind. Collecting costumes for his performances led him to the Knights of Fennekin, more specifically a seamstress of theirs, Amara. To quote a famous cliché, the rest is history.
"Welcome home." Relieved, Miles hugs his daughter.
"I've prepared a surprise for you." Amara opens up a jar of cookies she baked for the occasion.
"Aw, Mom!" Regina happily swipes a cookie. "You're the best."
The three chat over a plate of sugary, chocolate-covered goodness.
"By the way…" Amara squeezes some lemon into her tea. "When are you going to introduce us to that new friend you've told us so much about?"
"Cici?" The reminder perks Regina up. "That's right! Regina's got to show her Aldwin's latest project, it'll kick Team Rocket's tail!"
"Aldwin and his toys." Miles muses, with a stroke to his beard. "Since his brother disappeared, he tinkers with those things even more."
"Regina's glad she just flies 'em." Regina says.
After dinner we find Citrata and company, plus Dawn, lounging around in front of a large TV. This could be a long night; they have a nigh ludicrous variety of channels at their disposal!
"Put down the remote!" Pushing aside Hilda's hand, Dawn edges in closer to the screen. "Professor Oak's talk shows have taught me so much about Pokémon!"
On-screen, the polite man taps on a whiteboard showing a portrait of Axew.
"Good evening, everyone." Professor Oak motions toward a teenage boy holding the small dragon Pokémon. "I am Professor Oak. Our topic of the day is Axew, a basic dragon-type Pokémon."
"Axew!" Axew opens its mouth in a display of greeting.
"And I'm Tracey, the professor's assistant." Tracey nods his head.
Professor Oak carries on, describing the species' typical habitats and behaviors, followed by a commentary segment on notable trainers who have raised Axew.
"It's Iris!" Hilda remarks. "I'd like to battle her someday."
"Ash says she's good." Citrata pours popcorn into a bowl.
"Look at that, we're almost out of time." Tracey signals to the professor.
"Thank you." Professor Oak says. "Ahem. My grandson Gary told me that an intriguing trainer he battled recently, has since caught an Axew of her very own. I hope Citrata and her new Pokémon are doing well."
With the program drawing to a close, our heroines prepare their beds for much-needed slumber. Having checked in separately, Dawn instead retires to her own room.
What adventures await next time? Citrata and Hilda may have a tough road ahead of them, they've been neglecting training for the upcoming Cyllage City gym!