Pokémon Legends: Court of Kings

[Jump Einatz]

On Viola's command, Vivillon watched carefully as Feather floated around, then fired a Psybeam at her target.  

[Jump Einatz]

Route 7 – Riviére Walk: One Hour Ago

The map on Salieri’s Pokegear told her the Battle Chateau was on the edge of the sparkling river. This wouldn’t have been an issue if she hadn’t stumbled upon the mountainous Snorlax that decided sleeping on the bridge would be a good idea.

Other trainers before her attempted to climb up the Snorlax, only to be slapped off by it’s big paws. They had their pokemon band together in an attempt to roll Snorlax out of the way, but the beginner trainers didn’t have enough combined power to accomplish this. They also had no other way of getting across the bridge.

“Did anybody try waking it up?” Salieri asked the group, but they all shook their heads.

“This thing sleeps like a...a Snorlax,” a trainer chimed in. Other joined him.
“Nothing wakes it up!”
“He slept through my Machop’s Karate Chop!”

An elderly Painter stepped forward from the group. “The best way to wake up a sleeping Snorlax is with the song of the Pokeflute.” Salieri sighed.
“Really? I can’t just use a big burrito or something?”
“I’m afraid not.”
Sal scratched her head. This was going to be annoying. “Alright, where can I find a Pokeflute?”

The Painter pointed north at Route 6. “Beyond Palais Lane is the Parfum Palace. The Head Butler should have one on hand.”

Salieri raised her eyebrows. The Parfum Palace was the home of one of Kalos’ kings from olden days, built in honor of the war from 300 years ago. A national landmark, it now served as a museum filled with history and artifacts.

It was a good place to learn about the enemy. And an even better place to steal from the enemy.

“Yeah, I’ll get it.” Salieri clicked her skates and rolled off.

Route 6 – Palais Lane

The tree lined pathway to the Parfum Palace was a popular sight for tourists and travelers of all kinds. Mazes of grass taller than most men bordered either side, and the way the sun’s rays pierced through the canopy of the trees was very beloved for pictures and videos.

Salieri wasn’t here for the sights. At the far end of the path, she and Durendal were training. Under normal circumstances, she’d train her whole party simultaneously, but time was a factor and she wanted to focus all her efforts on her Pawniard for this mission.

“I noticed in our battle with Benedict that you have some limitations as a short range fighter. Your mobility is predictable outside of Fleché, you’re reliant on closing distance, and you don’t have defenses for status moves.”

Durendal nodded and blushed slightly, embarrassed as she listed off his faults in combat. Salieri grinned. “Cheer up, Dune. I’m going to remove one of those limitations right now.”

He perked up. “I’m going to teach you how to fly.”

~~~~

The idea behind Magnet Rise was simple. Every living being had a personal electro magnetic field. The faintness of it depended on the individual, but certain Pokemon –mostly Electric and Steel types- could control their field to fly through the air.

Durendal already had experience controlling electricity with his Fleché technique. That and the concentration he achieved through Inner Focus made learning Magnet Rise much easier. He had always been a fast learner because of this, but as Salieri watched him finally hover a few inches off the ground after a half an hour, she was surprised with his progress.

“Dune! You’re really good at this!” she told him a few claps. “Seriously, I didn’t expect you to learn that so quickly.”

Durendal dropped with a clunk and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He still felt shaky using the move, and orienting himself through the air was a clumsy process. But the praise was nice. “There’s another move I want to show you today, but that can wait til later. Now we have two jobs to do.”

Salieri pointed at the Parfum Palace in the distance. “First of all, we’re going to get the Pokeflute from the Butler in there. And then I’m gonna rob him.”

The Pawniard’s face fell flat. A sweatdrop appeared on his head. Did she say “rob him”?

In the maze behind Salieri and Durendal, the tall grass rustled. A pair of beady eyes shined from inside. Did she say “rob him”?  

[Spinne Biss]

Feather didn't wait for Helena's order. Instead she dodged the psybeam with the smallest of movements and shot out a vine whip alongside of it. The closeness and the glow of the beam, Feather thought, would obscure it, and if it worked, the fairy type would catch Vivillon in one of its eyes and create a blind spot.  

[Jump Einatz]

The Vine Whip did indeed strike Vivillon in the eye. She reeled back, squinting, and grabbed onto the vine while it was still extended. "Psybeam!"

Vivillon would pull Feather in while firing at the Fairy, trying to make up for reduced accuracy by pinning her down.  

[Spinne Biss]

"Keep in the blind spot," Helena said and Feather obeyed.

She may have been reluctant to listen, but she saw the value in her trainer's orders. They weren't bad, Feather just knew better.

So at the same time that Helena spoke, Feather released the vine whip as it wasn't attached to her and barely dodged the next psybeam - moving to the side of it - as well. It was easy to see them, and easy to stay in a spot where Viola would have difficulty seeing everything herself.

Like this the advantage the gym leader had as being a trainer was gone, thought Feather.

The next vine whip was aimed for Vivillon's other eye, shot from the blind spot and to trail mostly along the psybeam.  

[Jump Einatz]

As Feather floated about trying to stay out of sight, Viola looked not at the arena but at the big screen broadcasting everything. Feather was trying to maneuver to a place where Viola could not see, but the screen had a bigger vantage point. Moving away from the camera's view would just put Feather back into Viola's sightline. As a photographer she knew sights and angles better than most. Blindness would not overcome her.

"Swerve!" Viola ordered, and Vivillon tilted herself to both smash her Psybeam into the incoming vine and to arc it towards the blind spot Feaher lingered at. Vivillon was on its last hit points and was half blinded, but it still had the will to fight.  

[Spinne Biss]

"Up," Helena said and a fairy wind carried Feather up and over the psybeam. It was over her own volition that she used the next vine whip, this time aiming for the center of Vivillon's wings, so that dodges to the sides would likely still damage it.  

[Marsuru]

Parfum Palace - Second Floor

It was Roy Hunter's second day as a palace guard. Kalos seemed nice and museum duty was a piece of cake, but he wasn't getting used to it any time soon. Guarding politicians and film stars was one thing, but this kind of prissy job just didn't suit. He stood alone in the palace's upper level, patrolling the red-carpeted corridor by the rear balcony. Security cameras on every corner did most of the job for him, but Roy still felt on edge. He'd been instructed to show the utmost respect to any of the museum pieces; that meant never touching them, breathing on them, or radiating heat in their vicinity. He just couldn't bring himself to revere a dead king's bath towel simply because it was older than his grandfather.

Still, a job was a job. The agency had hired him out on contract while the pokémon league was ongoing. It wasn't the best gig in the world, but places like Parfum Palace always needed a little more security, and Roy always needed a little more money.

"God, I hope nobody tries to rob the place."  

[Jump Einatz]

The whip slammed down on top of Vivillon, and the flier careened to the floor. Vivillon struggled to flap its wings, and was engulfed in the red recall beam of its pokeball.

"Good job," Viola said to Helena as she chose another pokeball. "But don't think you've won yet!"

Out came a Beedrill, wings buzzing with its stinger hands crossed in an x-shape. Its level was lower than Vivillon's, and the purpose of this choice would be to see if Helena could make up for a type disadvantage.

"Whenever you're ready."  

[Spinne Biss]

"Fairy wind," Helena said and Feather complied with a blast of the fairy enchanted wind toward Beedrill, pushing herself higher into the air in the process.  

[Marsuru]

((I hope TK posts soon sad ))

Lumiose City - Vernal Avenue Pokémon Center

"Monsieur, I must ask you to calm down or you will be made to leave."

But Zack didn't want to calm down. Instead, he got angrier and angrier. Shortly after realising he'd misplaced his irreplaceable notebook, he'd teleported back to Lumiose City in a desperate bid to relocate it. The first stop was the Center dorms. He'd torn both of the rooms he'd stayed in apart looking for the book, wracking his brains trying to remember where he'd put it. The rooms had been tidied by now, so when it was discovered that an angry 19 year old was ripping them to shreds, Zack had been quietly escorted to the front desk.

"I don't think you understand, you stupid Kalosian. I'm not leaving until I've found my book," Zack hissed through gritted teeth.
"Your book is not here!" the nurse shouted back with a thick accent. Zack felt a pang of panic at the words. The book was something he'd been working on since he'd become a trainer a decade ago. Every insight, idea and inspiration he'd had was committed to the page. It wasn't something he could just rewrite, it was part of him, and losing it felt like missing a limb. How could it have taken him so long to realise?
"You're wrong. It's here. I know it is," Zack said, pushing off from the desk and heading back towards the dorm area. Why waste time with a nurse when the search could be underway? His path was blocked by two stern looking Machoke.

The trainer sized them up and scowled. "The hell are you two gonna do?"

---

Zack hit the pavement pretty hard. Startled passersby darted away to make room for the teenager as he was launched out of the Center's front door. He rolled to his feet and staggered backwards, dusting himself off as if he'd done nothing more than stumble. The glass doors swished shut, leaving Zack to stare at his own frustrated reflection.

"Okay, so I'll cross this place off the list for now," he grumbled, looking around. The general flow of people went in two different directions, so he joined one and got to walking. He always thought better when he walked. Despite the day's events, he hadn't found much cause to use his notebook until he'd captured Fatass. Zack couldn't be sure that he'd taken the book out of his bag while looking for another item, or if it had fallen out while he left it unzipped. Hell, a pokémon could have stolen it while he wasn't paying attention. Salieri could have stolen it.

"Ughh." Zack collapsed on an empty bench in Centrico Plaza. Too many possibilities. Okay. When was the last time he'd definitely seen it? He thought back, running today through his mind. Yesterday? He'd escaped the parade in favour of researching the Creature. And at one point, he'd taken out his notebook to pretend to use Esme's borrowed pen...

"Oh s**t."  

[Jump Einatz]

((Same))

Beedrill's eyes locked onto Feather, tracking her up into the air. "Focus Energy."

The bee's mind became centered, boosting its willpower to score a critical hit. Beedrill darted up into the air after Feather, stinger at the ready. "Poison Sting!"

He jabbed one of his needle hands up at Feather once he got in close enough, tipping it with a poisonous acid.  

[Jump Einatz]

Parfum Palace

Parfum Palace shined majestically in the summer sun that caused it’s stained glass windows to sparkle. Flowery patterns were etched into the walls, repeating geometrically over and over. The paved entrance was modest, but the real draws of the whole affair were the preserved history inside and the courtyard in the back.

Salieri told the guard at the entrance that she was here for the Pokeflute, so she was let in for free and told to find the Head Butler. In the foyer, she and her Pawniard looked up at the decorated walls and statues of Pokemon Military Generals from the past.

“Eh. It’s smaller than I thought. Let’s scope this place out.” Durendal tapped his foot in a rare form of anxiousness. The delinquent sighed and squatted down to his level. “Nervous?”

Dune looked away and crossed his arms. It wasn’t nerves. Unlike Veillantif, who didn’t care much for a moral code as long as she could explore, Durendal didn’t like to support Salieri’s thievery. It wasn’t for survival, or even riches. It was just to hurt the nobles. For the Pawniard, revenge was fine so long as it was just. But he didn’t want a part in this prank.

“What, are you chickening out on me?”
Dune shook his head. He looked up with pleading eyes at Salieri.
“Oh, I get it…listen, Veil usually helps me with this kind of thing, but you know I can’t bring her into a place like this. Banksy doesn’t care what I say, and Biz is…er…” She stifled a smile. “Conspicuous. You’re calm, you’re quick, you’re perfect for this.”

Durendal narrowed his eyes at Salieri. She furrowed her brow. “Nobles take things from people all the time, I’m giving them what they deserve. I’m making it even, and no one else can get hurt. Are you helping me or not?”

He considered going with her before turning away, nose upturned. Salieri stood up with a scowl. “Fine,” she huffed. “You’re lame.”

Sal stuck out her tongue and continued down the hall on her own. Dune watched her go over his shoulder, then went down the opposite hall.

~~~~~

Outside the palace, a Kecleon poked his head out of the bushes. There was something he really, really wanted to steal from inside ever since he saw it through the window as a young lad. He’d gained experience stealing from the tourists on Route 6, and ventured down to Route 7 to do the same when he was older. Getting past security was the reason he never attempted to rob Parfum Palace before. But with a second thief on the loose to distract the new guard, the best chance was now.

Kecleon changed his coloring, instinctively matching his surrounding wherever he stepped and essentially making him invisible. The only thing he could not change was his stripe, but by wraping his tail around his mid section he could get around this issue.

His camouflaged tongue whipped out of his mouth and latched the sill of an open window on the second floor. The Kecleon reeled himself in and climbed inside. He saw Salieri enter a parlor and followed closely behind.

The parlor used to be a meeting room for important guests, adorned with plush velvet chairs and a bar for drinks. Salieri paced around it, hands clasped behind her back. She took in the surroundings, trying to find something that they might miss if it was to be taken.

At last, her eyes settled on a target: in the fireplace was a mystical looking gold coin attached to a string. Salieri picked up the Amulet Coin and quickly slipped it in her pocket. Score.  

[Spinne Biss]

"Lucky Chant and get away," Helena said and Feather began to chant. The chant would lock out the ability to land critical hits for a time.

Feather would then blast a fairy wind at Beedrill to launch herself further away from him and hopefully push him backwards, or at least slow his ascent.  

[Marsuru]

Parfum Palace

Roy wouldn't have spotted Salieri enter the parlour were it not for the swish of her ponytail. The palace had visitors all the time, though the entry fee had managed to keep out most of the rabble. They didn't have to worry about overly-excited Youngers or Punks causing mayhem, but at the same time the league hardly bumped up Parfum Palace's profits like it did elsewhere. Seeing as he had nothing else to do but watch old people looking at old things, he decided to stealthily check on what Salieri was doing.

"Hey! What are you going in here?" he barked, standing in the only doorway to the parlour.