[Pokémon] Royal Mark

[Ageha1304]

A/N - Finally mustered up strength to write a longer fanfiction. Hopefully I find the strength to finish it. Also any comments, question and thoughts on the story are greatly appreciated. :)

Disclaimer - I do NOT own Pokemon in any way shape or form. Human characters are my creation though.

Chapter 1. The Assistant and The Butler.​

Amber reached in her bag and pulled out her green Holo Caster. She dialed professor Sycamore's number and waited for him to respond.

"Bonjour, my little assistant! I assume you are calling to tell me some good news!" the hologram of her mentor appeared and greeted her with a smile. Amber has been Sycamore's assistant for more than a year now, but recently she decided that she wanted to take on the league challenge and travel around Kalos. She expected him to reject this request, but instead he agreed and even allowed her to remain his assistant. A fieldwork assistant. She had to report everything about her pokemon and every pokemon she encountered during her travels. It was a bit tiring, but it allowed her to do the two things she loved - research and travel.

"Of course, professor. I just defeated the second gym and Serenity evolved into a kirlia!" Amber first showed her badge case that had two badges in it then turned Holo Caster to her pokemon who resting on the beach, enjoying the warm summer day.

"Magnifique! Excellent! I knew you would be a great trainer! Tell me everything that happened during the battle," the professor clearly grew more excited. He also liked to participate in pokemon battles. But because of his work he could not do that very often. Maybe that is the reason he allowed Amber to go on the journey in the first place.

"Well, gym leader Rick first sent out his dwebble! I sent out Odette to deal with it. I was afraid the dwebble would hit her with rock type move first. But Odette gracefully flew above it and then sprayed it with a powerful water gun. dwebble fainted right away!" Amber told with excitement and Odette, her ducklett, quacked to prove that her story was true.

"Amazing! Although dwebble has great defense, it does not do well against special moves," the professor explains more to himself than his student.

"Yes! And then Rick sent out a relicanth! I have to say I never expected to see a water type in a rock type gym," Amber continued her story.

"But how can a relicanth move in a rock type gym? It does not have legs or wings," Sycamore wonders as he had never really visited the gyms. Usually if gym leaders needed something, they came to professor's laboratory instead.

"You see, professor, Cyllage City gym actually has a very interesting design. In the middle there is this giant climbing wall that all challengers have to climb. And almost all around this climbing wall there is a pond of water. That is how relicanth was viable in this battle. As I was saying I was very shocked to see this relicanth. I knew that Odette was at a clear disadvantage. So I called her back and let Katherine out on the battlefield. She had dual advantage after all. I thought her Vine Whip would make short work of that relicanth, but it actually withstood Katherine's attack and launched a powerful Rock Tomb at her. I got really scared as Katherine was hit pretty hard, so I called her back. I really was not sure of who to use next, because nobody else in my team has an advantage over relicanth. But I remembered how easily that dwebble fainted from a special Water Gun. So I called out Serenity and made her attack the relicanth with Confusion. Of course, she was faster than the rocky fish and managed to gracefully take it out! And what's more, right after the battle she evolved!" Amber cheers and her pokemon join her to show how happy they are. Serenity looked especially proud.

"Wonderful! I am so happy for you! If you can continue like this you will become the next champion," Sycamore cheered as well.

"It is too early to think about being the champion, professor. Besides there are plenty of other people who want to be the champion. I just want to travel and learn more about pokemon and maybe one day become a professor just like you," Amber blushed a bit from the praise, but quickly recovers. Being the champion was not her aim. There were others who craved the title more than she did, so she would leave it to them.

"Well, if you want to be a professor, you need to send me data. Specifically data of Serenity after evolution," a glint appeared in the professor's eyes for this what he really wanted. After all professor Sycamore took a particular interest in pokemon evolution. Every little bit of data on evolution was precious to him.

"Of course, professor, I wouldn't dream of not sending it to you. Anyway, I will go have supper now. As soon as I am done I will send you the data," Amber said.

"Alright then, I'll be waiting. Au revoir!" professor Sycamore waved and ended the call. Amber smiled and put the Holo Caster back in the side pocket of her bag. After obtaining second gym badge, the girl finally felt like a real trainer. She was ready to take on the world.

***​

"Please come back soon, Viscountess," Sebastian bowed to the woman who was leaving Battle Chateau. She was the last visitor for today so he could finally relax and stop being so overly polite. Sebastian did not like the Battle Chateau. It had the same system that the pokemon league enforced. Trainers battled to gain a higher status and the more victories they had, the more privileges they gained. And what's worse, he he had to dress in this tight uniform and pretend to be a butler of some sorts. He was basically a servant fulfilling every single wish of some spoiled brat or an arrogant old moneygrabber. But Sebastian would never complain out loud because he could earn a lot of money here.

But that day was not like the other days where he could return to his room in Royal Kalosian base which is located in Camphrier Town. That day he had a special job. A job that would start everything that Elizabeth has been planning and preparing for a long, long time.

Elizabeth was probably the strongest trainer that Sebastian has ever known and will probably ever know. And she was a very just person. All his life Sebastian had spent in an orphanage never knowing what it was like to have a family. Soon after he turned 15, Elizabeth and Royal Kalosians took him away from the horrid orphanage which he loathed to his core. He never quite understood why she did that, but there were few more orphans like him in the organization. And although life with Royal Kalosians was not exactly a rose garden, he was treated with respect by other members of Royal Kalosians and most importantly their leader Elizabeth.

Sebastian's job for the night was to sneak in Parfum Palace together with few other members of Royal Kalosians in order to seize it. Although it was not exactly legal to push someone out of their own property, the pig that lives in Parfum Palace just drinks and throws parties all day and night, tarnishing the ancient Kalosian relic. And even though Sebastian was not much for admiring history or art, it was obvious that this guy did not deserve to live there. Royal Kalosians will use the palace as their new headquarters. Once the police arrive Elizabeth and other members of Royal Kalosians are going to first aggravate them a bit and wait for media to arrive. Then Elizabeth is going to take advantage of curious reporters and announce the existence of their group and their intentions to the whole Kalos.

Honestly Sebastian was not quite sure that the rest of Kalos will take the news well, however he was sure that the system has to be changed. Elizabeth has shown him how unjust the league is to people who are not trainers. How they have categorized trainers by how many badges they have and given privileges to those who have earned more. The system was beyond ridiculous and it has to be fixed.

***​

Amber has been professor Sycamore's assistant for a year and two months now. She became his assistant right after finishing Pokemon Academy. Girl always wanted to do research but she never dreamed that she could become assistant to the famous professor Sycamore. Only reason why professor got interested in her is because of Amber's study paper about fletching and its evolutionary line. In her paper she attempted to explain and understand how a normal/flying type pokemon could change into fire/flying type pokemon. She had to chase after so many fletching and pester so many trainers to get the data she needed for the paper, but her hard work was not in vain.

But aside from doing research on pokemon Amber also liked to travel. Problem was that usually professors and their assistants spent most of their time in the laboratory. All the data they needed they received from trainers who in exchange got their starter pokemon. The data that trainers gathered in their pokedexes was automatically sent to the laboratories. Amber was really lucky. Professor allowed her to take on the league challenge on condition that she will send over even more detailed data of her pokemon than a normal trainer would. It certainly was quite tedious taking her pokemon height, weight and other measurements twice a week, but Amber was not going to complain.

"Okay, guys, enough basking in the sun. It is time to take measurements!" Amber cheered and pulled out a tape measure and scale out of her bag. Her pokemon groaned.

"I'm sorry, but we have to do this or we will have to return to the lab and spend the rest of our lives there," Amber explained, slightly exaggerating the whole situation to her pokemon a bit more compliant. At the beginning she and her pokemon both enjoyed the measuring. But after needing to do it so often, it just became a bothersome chore.

"Let's start with you, Katherine," Amber motions towards her first pokemon - once a little Snivy, now a proud Servine. Katherine was a gift from Amber's parents for being accepted as professor Sycamore's assistant. For a whole year this patient pokemon spent her time in the laboratory together with her trainer. Servine enjoyed battling and growing stronger every day, so she was ready to accept any chore to continue doing that. So Katherine was the one who complained the least about the measurings.

"Height - 76,4 centimeters, weight - 15,7 kilograms. Now - Odette," Amber quickly wrote down the measurements in the pokedex and called her Ducklett. She lazily waddled over to her trainer. Odette was a very charming little bird and she got attached to Amber very quickly. Her quirkiness and silly gestures always made the girl smile.

"Height - 46 centimeters, weight - 5,3 kilograms. Melissa, it is your turn," Amber quickly writes the measurements and beckons her mawile to come. Melissa was an interesting pokemon. Amber encountered her in the Glittering Cave while running an errand for the professor. Girl's initial goal was to find some amaura fossils, but while going through Glittering Cave she saw mawile gnawing at the wall. It was a very rare pokemon so Amber wanted to befriend it right away. Obviously it was not easy, as Melissa was as adamant as it gets. However after three hours of following the pokemon and trying to bribe it with pokebeans and toys, mawile finally gave in.

"Height - 64,3 centimeters, weight - 11,9 kilograms. All is good. Serenity you are the last one," Amber writes down the measurements again and turns to her kirlia who was a ralts just this morning. Serenity was a very calm and serene being, but when Amber found her, she was all alone sitting near fountain on Route 4. Little ralts looked so very sad that young trainer just could not walk past her and instantly decided to add her to the team.

"Height - 83 centimeters, weight 22,9 kilograms. Wow! You have become so much bigger. I will have trouble lifting you now," Amber laughed while writing down the measurements.

"Kiii!" Serenity pouted a little bit. She really liked being carried around. The thought that her trainer will not carry her around anymore made her regret the evolution.

"Don't worry, I will love no less than before. Probably going to love you even more now," Amber gently patted kirlia's head and pokemon's mood visibly lightened.

"Well, now that this chore is done, let's go the next city!" Amber pointed towards Geosenge Town and her pokemon cheered, eager to continue their adventure.

***​

"Elizabeth, we have removed the old man from Parfum Palace. It belongs to Royal Kalosians now," Sebastian and five other members of Royal Kalosians reported their mission to the leader of their group.

"Excellent. How did it go? Did he resist?" Elizabeth gives them a small smile and then her expression turns back to the usual, stoick, unreadable one.

"He tried at first. Then we threatened his furfrou and he was ready to do anything. We demanded that he and all other people in the palace leave by tomorrow morning. He instantly commanded everyone to leave and we oversaw that they did so. Palace is now completely empty," young black-haired girl named Alice explains what had happened. All Royal Kalosians who participated in the mission were dressed in a dark blue suit that covered them from head to toe. Only their eyes were visible. They had learned that this way they could stay unnoticed in the night as well as intimidate those who spotted them.
Apparently there was a whole culture in Kanto centered around people who used this kind of garb. They were called ninjas and obviously their culture consisted of more than just a costume.

"Good. It is better that he leaves without a fuss. I bet that man just went to one of his other properties to continue tarnishing everything with his mere existence. Dirty swine!" although her voice sounded surprisingly calm, Elizabeth's face showed her true emotions - pure anger and hate. She clearly hated the man and Sebastian wondered if she knew him personally or if she had a grudge against him.

"Anyway, he is gone now and we can proceed with our plan. All of you have done very well today. You six have been very loyal to our organization. At first I was doubtful. I was not sure if I should take you in Royal Kalosians, because you are orphans. It is true that you all blue blood, but without any parents to support you, it did not mean much. However I am glad to know that was wrong. You all have not only noble blood but also noble heart. You have proved that over the years. I think the time has come for you to receive your starter pokemon. Tomorrow all of you will go to professor Sycamore's lab and choose your first pokemon. Then you will have to take on pokemon league challenge. You have to beat this unfair system and when you and many other from our organization will have proven how wrong they are, we will change this wretched system once and for all!" Elizabeth smiled which was a very rare sight. Sebastian felt proud of what he had accomplished in the organization. He could not wait to see the time when the pokemon league will be no more.

"Thank you!" All six young members of Royal Kalosians bowed politely and left Elizabeth's dark office. All young members of the group were excited that after years of hard work they have been accepted as part of Royal Kalosians. They were orphans no more.

 

[Astinus]

I take it this is one of those longer projects you mentioned wanting to write, right? Glad to see that you have the beginnings of something here!

So I take it that Amber is going to run into the Royal Kalosians at some point. They're an interesting bunch, and I wonder how they plan on showing how wrong the League system is. I also wonder about Elizabeth, and just what her deal is. Something must have set her on this path to show how unfair the League is. And something must have set her on the path to get Parfum Palace back!

My main advice for you is to keep a better eye on your grammar. For instance, you kept omitting the word "the" before nearly every instance that you needed it. Like here

"Amazing! Although Dwebble has great defense, it does not do well against special moves," professor explains more to himself than his student.

you'd use a "the" before "professor."

You also bounced around from past tense to present tense. You start off in past tense ("Amber reached in her bag and pulled out her green Holo Caster.") and then go to present tense (" Amber first shows her badge case that now has two badges in it then turns Holo Caster to her pokemon"). It's something to watch out for. You'll want to stay in one tense when writing the narration, which tends to be in the past tense.

Don't let this discourage you though! Definitely keep writing! Practice is the main way you'll get better, and that will be great to see! Please continue writing this, since you have the beginnings of an interesting story.

 

[Ageha1304]

I take it this is one of those longer projects you mentioned wanting to write, right? Glad to see that you have the beginnings of something here!

So I take it that Amber is going to run into the Royal Kalosians at some point. They're an interesting bunch, and I wonder how they plan on showing how wrong the League system is. I also wonder about Elizabeth, and just what her deal is. Something must have set her on this path to show how unfair the League is. And something must have set her on the path to get Parfum Palace back!

My main advice for you is to keep a better eye on your grammar. For instance, you kept omitting the word "the" before nearly every instance that you needed it. Like here you'd use a "the" before "professor."

You also bounced around from past tense to present tense. You start off in past tense ("Amber reached in her bag and pulled out her green Holo Caster.") and then go to present tense (" Amber first shows her badge case that now has two badges in it then turns Holo Caster to her pokemon"). It's something to watch out for. You'll want to stay in one tense when writing the narration, which tends to be in the past tense.

Don't let this discourage you though! Definitely keep writing! Practice is the main way you'll get better, and that will be great to see! Please continue writing this, since you have the beginnings of an interesting story.

Thanks for the comment. Articles honestly have been my strong point, but I'll try to keep a eye on them. :) As for the present tense and past tense mix, I started writing this fic in present tense so I guess I didn't notice few places I needed to change. Definitely going to go through whole thing again to correct the mistakes.

 

[Ageha1304]

Chapter 2. Beginning of a Storm.​

As Amber ventured through Route 10 she could describe it in one word - odd. There were long, wide rocks laid down symmetrically everywhere on the route. Nobody knew why or who did it, but nobody also dared to touch or move these rocks. Supposedly they were important part of history. Amber thought they just made traveling harder for cars and other vehicles, as they were forced to find another route to get to Geosenge Town. But she did not own a car, nor intended to travel by one so in the end her path was not obscured.

Another thing Amber noticed as she and her team were going through Route 10 was that were scarcely any trainers left. Few days ago after she beat the gym, this path was filled with eager trainers. But that day it seemed like she was on a completely different path. It looked so odd without people. But Amber and her pokemon enjoyed this peace and trained against wild pokemon and each other instead. However their main goal for the day was to reach Geosenge Town not train. There was no gym there but it was a good resting point. Amber had already decided that she will spend a week there to rest, fill in some detailed reports for professor Sycamore and occasionally battle other trainers.

That day was very sunny so Amber was in a very good mood. Katherine learned a new move - Mega Drain, which was more powerful than Vine Whip. Not to mention that Katherine was a better special attacker. Amber's other pokemon were also getting stronger and learning new battle tactics every day. As she and her pokemon kept moving forward and training, Amber started to notice entrance of Geosenge Town which was made out of same odd rocks that covered the rest of the route. Soon enough they had reached their destination for the day.

The team proceeded towards the town. But something felt off. The closer Amber got to the town the stronger the feeling grew. When they finally entered the town, the streets were almost completely empty.

"I wonder if something has happened," Amber quietly said. Girl decided to go to the Pokemon Center first to heal her pokemon. She expected it to be as empty as the streets outside, but it was quite the opposite. The reception area was filled with people who were talking and arguing amongst themselves. When Amber entered the center nobody, not even nurses, paid any attention to her and instead continued talking and watching the TV that was positioned on the white wall.

Amber went to closer to the TV, hoping to find out what all the fuss was about. There she saw a proud-looking woman in approximately her forties. Her red hair were neatly combed into an elegant bun behind her with new short curls falling down the side of her face, her blue eyes were vibrant and her whole being seemed noble, almost arrogant. The stunning woman was talking about trainers, pokemon, Kalos league and how unfair was the whole battle system. Amber couldn't understand why everyone were so worried. There were plenty of people who complained about the league and how much power it had, but in the end they were just politicians. All they did was talk big and in the end do nothing. Their lack of action was the reason pokemon league even existed in the first place.

But there was something odd about the shooting location of the video. It was not inside some studio or office but rather outside of Parfum Palace. In the background Amber could see a bunch of people dressed in white and golden clothes that sort of reminded Amber of the clothes worn by nobles few centuries ago. The red-haired woman was dressed in a similar attire, except that hers was purple and gold. Amber wondered what were all those people doing in Parfum Palace in the first place.

"Excuse me, sir, what is going on exactly?" Amber asked to of the elderly men watching the TV.

"Bad things, young trainer. Last night this woman and the organization under her command - how were they called? Royal Kalosians, I think. Yes, this woman and her group forced their way into Parfum Palace, threw out its owner and now are just occupying it as their own," old man explained.

"What? Aren't the police going to do something about it?" Amber asked in shock.

"Apparently not. Police refuse to do anything. I am sure they have been bribed by that woman. And this woman also claims to be the descendant of the ancient king AZ. She says that she is the rightful ruler of Kalos not the Champion and the Elite Four!"

***​

Finally Sebastian had truly earned his place among Royal Kalosians. For ten years he had to work hard to be accepted as one of them. But his work was not in vain and now he and other five orphans can officially obtain their first pokemon. The philosophy of Royal Kalosians is that only those with noble blood and noble heart are worthy of being pokemon trainers. That is why all members of this organization are people from established noble houses or people with great accomplishments. Sebastian supposedly had noble blood in him however his parents were unknown so he had to prove that he had both the "noble blood" and the "noble heart".

When he was younger he thought that this ideology was stupid and that everyone should have the right to train pokemon. But over the years of taking care of abandoned and injured pokemon, Sebastian had realized that not everyone should be a trainer. There were plenty of trainers who were using pokemon for their own selfish desires, plenty of those who hurt their pokemon and plenty of those who sold pokemon like they were nothing more than accessories. So now he stood with what this organization was trying to accomplish.

Besides gym leaders, the Elite Four and the Champion were ignoring trainers all these injustices not only towards pokemon but also towards non-trainers. All they cared about is fame and money that they gained from their privileged status. They were cashing in ridiculous amounts of money from trainers just so they would have a chance to battle the league and more often than not pay more money for losing. Sebastian could not understand how everyone could be so accepting of this system.

Not to mention that every trainer received special treatment. They were always serviced first in all restaurants, cafes and hotels. They had special access to rooms in Pokemon Centers that non-trainers could never even dream of using. They had access to rare items and goods that were sold in markets and shops. And all because the pokemon league has stated that this was "normal" and "fair".

Now Sebastian is a trainer himself. A young trainer, but a trainer nonetheless. Few days ago he received his starter from professor Sycamore. Sebastian chose a Kantonian starter pokemon charmander. He felt that he and this charmander had similar personalities and would make a great team. But one pokemon was not enough to beat all the gym leaders and the league and ultimately change the system. To do that Sebastian needed a team.

He decided that the best place to search for a new party member is in the route he knew best - Route 7. There were plenty of pokemon here - ducklett, flabebe, roselia, spritzee, etc. But these pokemon were not exactly strong and were thought to be "girly". But there was one pokemon that certainly could pack a punch. Quite literally. It was croagunk. Route 7 was full of them, so finding one was not a problem at all. As soon as Sebastian saw the blue frog appear in the grass, he called his charmander out of the ball.

"Blaze, use Ember!" Sebastian issued the command and little dragon shot hot embers at the poor Croagunk. It instantly fell to the ground. The attack seemed to be quite effective so Sebastian did not give it a chance to recover and quickly threw a pokeball. It hit the croagunk right between the eyes. Pokemon was sucked into the ball, which then fell to the ground, shook three times and became still.

"Now we can start beating those gym leaders one by one," Sebastian said to himself as he picked up croagunk's pokeball. After catching his first pokemon he really felt like a trainer. He felt like he finally had the power to help Royal Kalosians accomplish their noble goal.

***​

The announcement of the red-haired woman named Elizabeth stirred the whole region. And for a good reason. Just 10 years ago Team Flare wanted to use the ultimate weapon to destroy Kalos. Of course they were stopped and nobody got hurt, however it still created quite a panic. This new group calling themselves Royal Kalosians claimed that they want to change the unfair pokemon league system, but it was impossible to tell if their intention were truly good or not. The announcement of Team Royal - as people called Royal Kalosians due to resemblance to Team Flare - instantly sent Amber into panic. Right after hearing news from the old man she quickly went to the hotel, reserved a room there and locked herself in.

Girl's breathing was erratic and she started nervously pacing around the room. Her pokemon were watching her, worried as to why their trainer was behaving like that so suddenly. She had been fine just a second ago. Serenity was even more worried about her trainer as she could feel exactly what Amber was feeling. After all kirlia were not called "the emotion pokemon" for nothing.

"Kii!!" the kirlia grabbed Amber's arm, trying to calm her down.

"I'm sorry, Serenity. I… I just lost my cool, is all," Amber stopped pacing around. She sat down on the edge of the bed and tried to push away bad memories from her childhood. The announcement of Team Royal made her remember events from 9 years ago which she hoped to forget.

Amber was not born and raised in Kalos. Actually she was born in Unova and lived there with her parents until a certain incident happened which forced Amber's parents and Amber to move to Kalos. When Amber became 10 years old she received her first pokemon friend from her parents - a pidove. It was not a rare pokemon, but little Amber loved it nonetheless. She and her Pidove became inseparable. They ate together, slept together and whenever Amber would go to school, Pidove would patiently wait outside of school on a tree until Amber's classes would end.

One day when Amber was going back home from school together with her Pidove, she was suddenly confronted by men dressed in strange black and white clothes. At first they were talking about how all pokemon should be free and should not be restrained by humans. Little Amber did not understand these men. After all everyone had pokemon by their side. Even these people clearly had pokeballs hanging on belts around their waist. When Amber stated these facts, men got very angry and one of them pulled the girl by her hair while the other grabbed her Pidove. She tried to resist, she tried to get to her pidove, but they were too strong. Girl even tried to kick the man who was holding her by her hair, but he just mercilessly slapped the girl and then threw her in the dirt. Then they all left taking her beloved pidove with them.

After this incident Amber was too scared to go outside alone and she was constantly crying for her pidove to return. Obviously, it never did because it probably never could escape the clutches of its captors. Amber's parents decided that they could not stay in Unova while a such a dangerous group is running around unchecked. And they could not watch their little daughter shed tears day and night so they decided to move away to Kalos. Unfortunately, even after the evil team that was responsible for theft of Amber's Pidove was stopped and put behind bars, her pidove was never found.

Amber had hoped that no such group would ever appear anywhere, but now it seems that history was repeating itself. Although Team Royal claimed to have only the best intentions, she did not trust them. Team Plasma had also masked itself as organization that was trying to save pokemon from bad trainers, but in the end their leader Ghetsis had only wanted power and its member abused pokemon more than anyone else. Amber believed that Team Royal was exactly the same.

***​

"Blaze, use Ember on its wing!" Sebastian commanded his charmander who quickly sent blazing embers towards Viola's vivillion. This was Sebastian's first gym battle but so far it seemed that regular trainers were more competent than this gym leader. She was too predictable. All the information about her pokemon and her battle patterns were available online. All young trainer had to do was spend one evening reading about her pokemon and thinking of a way to counter them. And it was not hard at all since her battle tactics had not changed in years. Apparently this gym leader was more focused on being a photographer. However people taking on the gym challenge were only happy to gain a easy victory.

"No! Vivi!" Viola gasped in shock as she saw her pokemon fall to the ground, unable to fly.

"Blaze, finish this battle!" Sebastian said and Charmander obeyed. The butterfly tried to move away, but it could not and soon was knocked out unconscious. Viola quickly recalled it and carefully placed the pokeball in her pocket. Woman did not seem happy but the rules stated that she had to give the Bug Badge to all trainers that beat her in battle.

"You have won the battle and although I do not quite think you deserve it as you used dirty tactics, I still must give you this Bug Badge," woman frowned and offered the badge to Sebastian.

"I do not think I fought dirty," Sebastian stated, took the badge and headed for the exit.

"You did. Burning vivillon's wing like that might make her unable to fly. Not to mention that it must be very painful for her," blonde said with a stern face. Her anger was apparent and it did not quite suit an adult woman like her.

"Well, if you had spent more studying about bug-type pokemon instead of taking pictures of them and trying to make a gallery out of your gym, then you would know that vivillon's wings would not just burn down like a piece of hay. They are quite resistant. Also butterfly pokemon like vivillon cannot even feel pain," Sebastian retorted and exited the gym. Viola was dumbstruck and she started to feel guilty. It is true that she would use every waking moment to find the perfect shot. She has been a gym leader for so long, she was praised by the league that she had made the gym so interesting and beautiful with her pictures. It had not occurred to her that she should have spent more time studying about bug-type pokemon and working on her battle tactics. After all nobody expected first gym leader to be strong. But how could she even be a gym leader if she had not known this simple fact about her own pokemon.

Coming out of the gym only one thing could describe Sebastian's emotions - disappointment. He honestly expected his first gym battle to be at least somewhat challenging but it wasn't. He had hoped that all those things he read online about Viola's gym being easy was an exaggeration. Most likely the league decided to keep Viola as a gym leader because they wanted to entice trainers to take on the league challenge. It made trainers believe that if the first gym was so easy then all of the other gyms and maybe also the elite four were just as easy. And the more trainers took on the challenge the more money they earned. This only confirmed that the system had to be changed.

 

[Astinus]

I think my favorite scene from this chapter is the last one with Sebastian. It really paints the Royal Kalosians--or Team Royal, which is easier to type!--in a more easy-to-understand light. It makes that they'd want to change the League if it's so corrupt that a Gym Leader that doesn't know the basics of their Pokemon can keep their gym.

Poor Amber! I'm sure that there will be something that will force her to take action against Team Royal. Though I can understand why she's afraid to leave her room. But I'm sure that she'll see that she's a stronger person than she was when she lost her Pidove.