Route 7

Oh, there you are! I didn’t think you two were coming back, we’ve been waiting this whole time!

Sorry, it took a long time getting the Pokéflute. We figured everyone had gone to bed so we stayed the night at the palace.

+ Of course they charged us for the rooms…

And the Furfrou ran off again in the night.

You know, Cally we could’ve shared a room…

+ It’s fine, Shauna, don’t worry about it.

So do you have my Pokéflute or not?

+ Oh, sure. Here.

I hand over the flute.

Hurry up and wake that damn Snorlax already!

Stand back, and be ready to battle it, trainers. Snorlax can get very grumpy if you wake them.

The guy puts the flute to his lips, puffs up his cheeks, and blasts a horribly loud screech from the flute.

Hmm! Why you wake Puddin’? Puddin’ hungry, want pudding!

Oh crap, she’s not mad. She’s hungry!

+ Sorry to wake you. Puddin’, is it? But you’re blocking the way.

Hm? Oh, Puddin’ sorry. Puddin’ move. Got any pudding?

+ I don’t have any pudding, sorry.

Puddin’ go find some. Bye!

Puddin’ waddles off towards a field of lavender flowers.

Oh, it understood you?

+ She was just hungry.

Ah, wait don’t a bunch of Swirlix live in that lavender patch?

Sucks to be them, I guess.

Thank you for clearing the road, I’ll inform the town.

Yay! Mission complete!

We cross the bridge and start walking the long road by the river. As we near some tall grass I notice a faint glowing light buzzing around, an Illumise emerges from the grass.

I found you! You’re the trainer Cally, right?

+ Uh, yes.

I met your Vivillon friend, Claire?

+ Oh?

I asked Claire to spread the word about our mission.

I want to help the search!

Why?

It’s important! Can I please go with you? My name is Lucia, by the way.

+ Okay, sure.

Hey, Cally!

You’re just charming the Pokémon to go with you?

Could you maybe put in a good word for me?

Guys! I finally caught up. Thanks for telling me the road was open again…

Oh… sorry Serena!

I’ll teach you all lesson with a battle!

What?

I don’t want to battle right now! And three against one isn’t fair. Cally, why don’t you team up with Serena to make it fair?

+ Uh…

I’m okay with that, I’m sure leaving me behind was the boys’ idea anyway.

But we just-

Go Fletchling!

Go Corphish!

+ Joule, you’re up!

Why’re you dragging me into this?

Go Pikachu!

Hi!

Oh it’s on!

+ Thundershock the Corphish!

Peck the Corphish!

Thundershock the Fletchling!

Vice Grip the Fletchling!

Fletchling pecks at Corphish and Joule zaps it while it’s distracted. The other Pikachu shocks Fletchling to the floor allowing Corphish to pinch at it with it’s claws.

+ Thundershock the Corphish!

Peck the Corphish!

Thundershock the Fletchling!

Vice Grip the Fletchling!

Fletchling pecks at Corphish again and Joule finishes it off with a jolt, the other Pikachu zaps Fletchling into submission.

Go Braixen!

+ Quick Attack!

Ember!

Quick Attack the Pikachu!

Joule and the other Pikachu dart at eachother and bump heads at high speed, the other Pikachu recoils back and rolls to the floor where Braixen roasts it a bit.

Oh yeah, still got it! I’m in the top percentile of Pikachu! … Whatever that means.

Go Flabébé!

+ Electro Ball!

Ember!

Fairy Wind the Pikachu!

Always fun to try new techniques!

Joule places her paws on her cheeks, sparks start to arc around her paws and as she raises them above her head a bright yellow ball of lightning forms between them. Joule sprints at Flabébé and slam dunks the ball on its head. Braixen waves a stick it produced from its tail and showers Flabébé with embers. Flabébé wafts its flower at Joule, causing a small gust of pink… stuff to somehow harm her as it blows by.

Hey that weird pink stuff hurts! Sort of.

+ Quick Attack!

Ember!

Fairy Wind the Pikachu!

Joule darts at Flabébé and knocks it into an easel some nearby artist was using while she tried to furiously paint the battle this whole time. The canvas clatters to the floor revealing a picture consisting of splatters and streaks of yellow, orange and pink.



+ Oops, sorry!



Are you kidding? This is probably my best work so far thanks to you!

Oh, it certainly looks… abstract.

I like how yellow it is. So, Braixen now? How’s evolution working out for you?

Fine, just fine. Can you get your trainer to ask Serena to get me a brush? My ear tufts are starting to get out of hand…

Heh.

So anyway, our next destination is Ambrette Town. We’ll have to go through the Connecting cave first.

The Zubat Roost?

Aww man, not Zubats again…

Connecting Cave

Let’s just run through here.

+ Agreed.

We sprint through the cave. Zubats whip past us, screeching incoherently. I reach the other end and check on my bag because I think I can feel something moving inside. A Zubat is flapping around inside.

I fight for justice!

The Zubat bites one of the Pokéballs in my bag and before I can react it’s in the ball and being teleported away.

+ Uh…

Route 8

Ambrette Town is just at the end of this path, be careful of the cliff edge.

I’m not going anywhere near the edge, I hate heights!

+ You and me both.

We have so much in common, Cally!

It sure looks a long way down, and those rocks at the bottom sure look jagged.

+ Not helping, Joule!

We begin walking down the path, Shauna and I make extra sure to be as far from the cliff edge as possible.

If people use this path so much they really should add a fence or something.

What good is a fence going to do if you’re just going to shimmy along the wall like that?

A Spoink leaps out from behind a rock in front of Shauna.

Wha!

Found you!

What does it want? Is is going to push me off the cliff?

You’re the human with the Pikachu!

Why’s it staring at me?

+ Oh, that’d be me.

Oh! Hi there. They call me Babe, Claire sends her regards.

Oh?

I’m coming with you! You’re going to need all the help you can get to find the Lifegiver.

+ Oh… okay.

So you just talk to them and they decide to go with you?

+ Uh, sort of. It’s a little more complicated than that. Sometimes they battle me… sometimes.

Ambrette Town

We eventually make it to town and after a stop at the Pokémon Center, Serena takes us to some research lab.

They research fossils here, maybe they found something linked to Mega Evolution on one of their digs.

+ Seems like a bit of a stretch.

Oh! Excuse me, Mister Doctor Scientist guy?

Myeees?

Have you ever dug up anything linked to Mega Evolution?

I’m afraid not, it’s possible my colleague in the Glittering Cave may have discovered something recently. He’s been gone for quite some time.

Oh, I see.

If you can give him a gentle reminder to get back here before we finish for the day I’ll let you use this fossil reviving machine if you ever find a fossil for yourselves.

Cool! Let’s go!

Route 9

The path here is much too treacherous than Route 8, a nearby guide loans us a Rhyhorn to ride on. It seems Shauna is much more afraid of heights than I am so she elected to stay in town. Having learned to ride on Rhyhorn since I was little I feel right at home.

So your mom taught you to ride?

+ Yeah, it helps to be able to talk with them too.

I’ll say! It’s so much easier when we have two-way communication.

Oh, I suppose so. You’ve always been able to talk with Pokémon?

+ For as long as I can remember, yes.

Oh! I think I stepped on something!

Ow! My foot! I’ll make you pay, human!

Uh-oh!

I’ve got this one, mom! Bubble-bweeeem!

Oh no!

Baker blasts the Hippopotas with a bright bubbly blue beam, knocking it off the cliff.

Haha! I feel funny.

Yeah!

Baker no!

Woah, everything else got smaller again.

They grow up so fast…

Glittering Cave

More humans? You’re not red, you aren’t with the humans in red?

Naw, they’re with me. Also this one has the gift.

+ Hi.

Oh, then maybe you can help? Some bad humans came and they’re harassing the Pokémon in here.

Bad humans? In red?

Yes, you know them?

They kidnapped the Lifegiver while he slumbered! We must know where they took him!

Then how about we help eachother. Together we’ll punish the humans in red, also could you introduce me to that handsome fellow you rode here with?

Excellent, another one for the cause!

My name is Beryl, by the way.

+ The more the merrier, I guess.

What just happened?

+ Don’t worry about it, but it looks like there’s trouble further ahead.

We travel deeper into the cave and soon we reach a tunnel that looks to have been excavated recently, we round a corner to find an odd looking guy standing around.

What do we have here?

It’s one of them!

+ You’re wearing a lot of red. You look ridiculous.

You dare insult the uniform of Team Flare? Brats like you should be taught a lesson.

+ You’re not alone in here?

I have cohorts nearby, what does that have to do wi-

I knee him in the gut, as he doubles over winded I grab him by his stupid hair and slam his face into a nearby minecart.

+ Good, I only need one of you awake.

I’m not sure why you did that but there’s more coming now.

What’s going on here?

Looks like someone beat up Bob again.

Those two brats beat him up?

Ask questions later, get them!

+ That’s my line! Joule! Give that one a Thunder Wave!

This’ll be fun!

Wait I didn’t call out my Pokémon yet!

While Joule tasers the flair woman I dash at the flair guy and sweep his leg with a kick, causing him to trip face first into the tunnel wall, knocking him out.

I approach the flair woman as she twitches on the ground.

Gah, I didn’t expect a pretty little brat to fight dirty.

Cally, why’re you hurting these people?

+ They torture Pokémon. And their organisation has kidnapped a Pokémon deity.

Deity? Which one?

+ The Pokémon here call it the Lifegiver?

Can’t say I’ve heard of that one, we probably know it by a different name.

What are you two talking about?

+ Don’t play dumb, tell me where you took it!

I have no idea what you want!

+ You want Joule to shock you again?

Zappy zap zap! Hehe.

Please! No! We were sent here to look for Mega Stones! I don’t know anything about this, what did you call it, Lifegiver?

So they’re just foot soldiers.

+ Take your comrades and get out of my sight.

The flair woman grabs each of the flair guys by the foot and slowly drags them away.

Hm? Hey, what’s that?

Joule points to the wall where the second flair guy smacked his head. A tiny shiny yellow ball had been uncovered. With little effort I pry it from the wall.

It’s so sparkly, is this ball made of light?

+ I’m not sure what it is. It’s like it’s made of glass or something.

I want it, let me have it!

+ Fine.

We should check on the scientist, those Team Flare people might’ve done something to him.

It doesn’t take us long to find the scientist at the end of the tunnel.

What a haul, there’s a whole mess o’ fossils here!

Hello, are you perhaps from the research lab in Ambrette?

Hello, why yes I am. Did they send you to find me again? I guess I got carried away. I just found a lot of fossils, it’ll take a while to carry them all back. There’s much more than we’d possibly need, why don’t you each pick one as a souvenir?

Oh my, thank you. Let’s see, oh this one looks pretty.

I just grab one from the top of the pile.

+ I’ll take this one I guess.

Ambrette Town

On the trip back to town Serena seemed fairly quiet, I would have thought she’d have more questions. Though she did ask about Mega Stones at the research lab. It would seem the gym leader in Cyllage City might know more.

I found some twine and a fitting so Joule can wear the light ball. Apparently the fossil I picked up was a rare jaw fossil, the scientist with the revival machine was all too happy to use it and it revived a rather surprised looking Tyrunt.