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Lumiose City - The Parade

"Stand aside, a*****e!" Zack yelled, grabbing the person in front of Helena by the scruff off the neck and brute forcing him out of the way. The man wobbled, scared as all hell by the look of his face, as he was rearranged to just behind Zack's sister. Luckily, the stranger seemed more embarrassed than angry, having realised he was blocking Helena's view, and just stood there rubbing his head.

Zack watched the back of the Leroux parade as it vanished around the bend, the Taines following behind. The Samurott ridden by the Taine bannermen looked to be in good condition, but not the strongest Zack had seen. He imagined that the nobility acquired pokémon from former trainers, giving them new purpose as show pieces. Samurott were reasonably rare as well. Trainers coming from noble stock must have access to all kinds of different species, he thought, putting bubbling ideas to the back of his mind.

"So, standing on the street for a few hours," Zack shouted to Helena over the music and general din, "That sounds like fun. This is fun."

Lumiose City - The Parade

"I... guess?" Zack said, frowning. He couldn't really see what was so great about it. It looked nice, sure, but he felt like he was the only person in the whole crowd who just didn't care. He'd rather be training. Was that uncultured of him?

"You okay on your own? I have to go, uhh... be anywhere else."

Lumiose City - The Parade

He may have already won a badge, but this felt like the start of his league. The air whipped past them as Sal and TK skated through the city, everything passing in a blur but at the same time, everything stood in the clearest of qualities. TK followed, not finding it hard to keep up in terms of speed, and where is lacking in strength made passing an obstacle difficult, he used a slightly alternative route that fit his way of moving better.

The trip to the rooftop Sal and TK were currently occupying was exhilarating. In terms of Parkouring, no one back in olivine could keep up with him, but here with Sal, well, it was a nice change. Their roof top garden was only lightly crowded, only a hand full of other people sharing the space so getting a good ledge was easy.

TK understood why Sal never paid attention to the speech, the parade was so magnificent that anything else would likely pale in comparison. Everything was so vibrant and alive. TK had to ask Sal about the first two noble families in the parade, the Leroux and the Taine's. But he knew of house Balibar. More specifically, their Champion, Wikstrom.

The man standing atop the Metagross was one of the few recognized as a steel type master. Out of all the elite four members, that was the man TK wanted to best the most. His grip tighted on the ledge he was currently leanings on with both hands in front of him. Swallowing thickly as a bead of sweat trailed down the side of his face. Takamaru could feel a case of the nerves acting up inside him, but it was vastly over shadowed by the amount of excitement he was feeling currently.

This moment felt like the start of something amazing. Or something irreversibly horrible.

Lumiose City - Estival Avenue

The bay window jutted over the misty street with lead, diamond-shaped hatchings on the surface of its glass. It was the final touch needed to instil the library with a sense of antiquity. Rows upon rows of bookshelves filled each floor with dusty tomes pertaining to the history of Kalos, its figures and culture. The lights were dim, mostly the work of small wall sconces that gave enough to read by, but not so much that you couldn't see through the window. Zack sat on the third floor, looking over the top of his book, one simply titled The Creatures of Kalos. Just as Prism Tower's lights turned on in sequence, a distant roar of approval travelled down the street. He smiled to himself, imagining Helena cheering along with everyone else, fully absorbed in the thick party atmosphere. The streets were eerily deserted by now, an entire city crammed into its central plaza, all apart from Zack and a couple librarians who sported more cobwebs than their books.

Well, they weren't quite alone. Sitting a short distance away under the glow of a heavy iron lamp was a girl partially obscured by stacks of books, scribbling notes on sheets of paper. Zack glanced up at her every now and then as he read. She wore the same shorts and running shoes he'd seen a million times that day, along with slightly-too-large hoodie where the sleeves went halfway over her hands. He wasn't staring, but he noticed that her legs were well toned, lightly tanned and athletic, offsetting the bookish effect of her square-rimmed glasses. Tails of pale blonde hair flowed from beneath a black knit hat, and were knotted loosely, draped carelessly over her shoulders. Zack went back to reading, but realised he hadn't taken in a single word for the past five minutes.

"God... freakin'..." he muttered to himself and closed his eyes. He counted to three and cleared his throat, peeking to see the girl's complete lack of reaction. One, two, three, he cleared it again, louder. She seemed absorbed in whatever it was she was writing.

Reluctantly, Zack climbed to his feet and walked over, book in hand. He hovered by the girl's desk, glancing over the titles of her books. They were all pokémon related, mostly focused around pokémon biology. "I was, uh... hoping I could borrow a pen," he said, swallowing a dry throat, "You know, for uh, for writing."

The sound of a nib scratching paper didn't slow down. The girl flicked the fingers of her free hand towards a scattering of spare pens that had poured from a pencil case. Zack picked one up, span around slowly and retreated back to his seat while waving the pen in the air. That went well, he thought as he collapsed back in his seat, sort of like getting a tooth yanked out by a dentist who thought anesthetic was a skin disease.

Minutes dragged on. Zack had taken out his notebook and pretended to write in it. His Creatures of Kalos wasn't being overly helpful. It was a thick, leather-bound book with shimmering gold emboss, detailing all sorts of myths and legends in Kalos. It specifically listed tales that couldn't be explained as the workings of pokémon, going back several thousand years. The thing that had murdered Gabriel Leroux wore a mask with a distinct pattern. Zack hoped he could find something like it in Kalos' history, understand its significance. But the more he read, the more he felt that any significance was in his imagination.

"So..." he said, peering across the floor to check that they were alone. Sure enough, the scraggy librarians had deemed the third floor too much trouble to climb to and patrol. "What's that you're writing?"
"Notes," the girl said. Barely above a whisper, the fact that she said anything at all set Zack back more than if she'd shouted.
"Parade too much trouble?"
"I've seen it already," the girl said, writing and writing, then she set her pen down and looked up, "and the year before, and the year before that. Are you still using that?"

Zack's heart leapt to his throat. Behind the thick rim of her glasses, the girl had a heart shaped face, with smooth, rounded features like a porcelain doll. He'd faced down wild animals, monsters that would make your skin crawl, survived in life-or-death skirmishes and endured slogs through rivers of s**t for the sake of a mad woman's training, but right now he struggled to string two words together. He turned the pen over in his hand, realising his notebook had fallen shut. "Well, I, uh, I..."

"Keep it," the girl said, flashing a strained smile and turning back to her work. Zack bolted up and sheepishly placed the pen back on the table.
"I'm Zack," he said, "Zack Redgrave. What's your name?"
Looking up for what Zack felt would be the final time, the girl shook her head and said, "I'm not telling you."

"Esme!" a croaky old voice called up the stairs. Slumped in defeat, the girl called back down in irritated Kalosian. A part of Zack that he never knew existed described the sound of her native tongue as an angelic melody, conjuring up images of harp-strumming cherubs descending on clouds, but he quickly stamped it out. The old librarian called back up in matching language. Startled, Esme leapt to her feet and bolted down the stairs. Not for the first time that night, Zack was unsure of what to do, but decided to follow.

---

The library's ground floor was more open than the upper levels. Musty red carpeting trailed from the glass double doors to the base of the stairs, while a wooden counter stood guard over the way out. Zack noticed that the register still had a small dangling bell attached, and assumed that the technology in this place hadn't been updated for decades. As he reached ground level, he saw Esme in heated debate with the librarians. The old women looked like twins, and one peered worriedly out the window while the other bickered with the young girl.

Finally, the arguing librarian slapped a hand on the counter and ended the dispute. She glanced over at the staircase, and readjusted her glasses when she saw Zack for the first time.

"Ah! Apologies monsieur but we are closing," she said in a thick Kalosian accent. "Please, do take care, there appear to be um..."

She pointed through the window. Across the street, under the cover of rolling mists leftover from the Nostrad procession, was the source of their alarm. Zack had to hold back a broad grin, as it felt as if the theoretical gods were giving him a second chance. Going from storefront to storefront, smashing every window and taking what was in arm's reach, were around half a dozen leather-clad young criminals. With all eyes on the opening ceremony, Lumiose City was ripe for thieves.

"Don't worry," Zack said, striding forward. He stopped by the door and gave the women a reassuring smile. "I'll handle this."

---

"Aaahahaha! This is too easy!" said the punk at the front. He swaggered down the street with his arms wide. Even in the thick mist, the pink of his mohawk was clearly visible. "The daft buggers haven't even fit any alarms! This city's ours for the taking!"
"Too right, Trevor!" one of the other punks sniggered, causing the others to burst out laughing, almost dropping their haul. The punk at the front span around and started to shout that his name was Fade, but cut off in short order.

"Trevor? That's an interesting name for a man."
"Who the bloody hell said that?" Trevor span back and stopped in his tracks. Zack stood in the centre of Estival Avenue, a shadow in the mist, barely illuminated by the light from the library window. Trevor paused, then broke into a fit of giggles. "Oh man, I do not believe what it is I'm seeing. Ey, lads, we got ourselves a hero!"

Zack tilted his head inquisitively as Trevor walked forwards. The young punk leaned in, trying to get a good look at Zack while being as intrusive as possible. "Cor, he's an ugly one alright. Got the kinda jaw you could break bricks upon. Say, there's an idea!" What exactly that idea was, Trevor had no time to explain. Zack's hand snatched out and grabbed him by the throat. "Bugger."

"See, there's two ways this will go down," Zack said, holding Trevor at arm's length, just out of reach of reprisal. "You guys drop the things you've stolen, go home, and okaaay you're attacking me."

The next few minutes were a brawl on a mist-strewn street. It had been a long while since Zack had been in a fight like this, but the cool night air aided his focus. He dodged and weaved around blows, and when he took them he gave them back in force. One of the punks went by the name Iceburg, and turned out to be a problem. A brute his size wasn't something Zack could just overpower, and one good crack sent the trainer crashing to the floor clutching his face. The pokémon came out next. Hazard blasted the punks with Confuse Ray, and had them attacking each other, swinging wildly in a fray of bodies. Trevor went for a pokéball, but as it cracked open, Zack clamped a hand over it and forced it shut, then drove a knee into the punk leader's gut.

"You'll drop the things, and... yeah," Zack panted as the punks ran off, Trevor vowing revenge like something out of a comic book. "Yeah, you'll do that."

The trainer sighed relief and recalled his Gastly. Stolen merchandise lay broken in a pile. Zack felt a hot trickle of blood flow from his nose and over his lips. Wiping it into a smear, he grumbled and promised himself to dodge next time. But still, he'd done it. Allowing himself some pride, he turned back to the library. Esme stood at the window folding her arms, and the twin librarians looked at him with a mixture of impressed concern and relief. Zack stopped as he reached the library door, but only because he found it barely budged in its frame. Frowning, he looked up in time to see Esme swing the sign around from OPEN to CLOSED, for the first time with a smile on her face.

"Huh," Zack said to himself as he was left alone in the empty street, "I think I'm in love."

Lumiose City - Central Pokémon Center

Not every room at the three Lumiose City pokémon centers had been crammed close to bursting with half a dozen trainers. Helena had been one of the luckier ones. Zack found himself awake some time around dawn, the world swimming as if he'd woken up drunk. Not being quite sure of how many arms and legs he currently possessed, you can imagine his drowsy confusion at seeing fifteen sets draped around the single en suite dorm room. Treating each misstep like one would in a minefield, Zack crept across the room, tiptoeing from his position by the window towards the bathroom door through the gaps between bodies, freezing solid every time someone muttered in their sleep or shifted place.

"Hey," he whispered, kneeling over the pair of youngsters who'd claimed the bathtub, "Get out."
"Nnnnrgh..." they grumbled groggily and Zack pinched his brow.
"Get the hell out," he hissed, "or you're about to get the worst wake up call of your life. How'd you like to be drenched and have some guy's naked a** in your face?"

Zack's subtle act of diplomacy had the desired effect. Stifling yawns and tripping over one another's limbs, the youngsters vacated the tub then promptly snuggled up to a big girl's belly and started to snore. Locking the door, Zack tried to shake off his alcohol-free drunkenness and proceeded to drown himself in an unreasonably hot shower. Half surprised that his skin hadn't melted off, Zack nonetheless felt more awake, though a quick look at his reflection in the steamed-up mirror suggested that he find a way to sleep for a day or two.

---

Lumiose City - Centrico Plaza

Mists still clung to the streets of Lumiose, though they'd devolved into more a thin haze as the sun began its work. Zack found a bench to collapse into, one that hadn't been claimed by a trainer who'd been unable or unwilling to sleep in one of the crowded pokémon center rooms. Prism Tower stretched into heaven behind him, and the abandoned remains of last night's celebrations littered the plaza. Stages and sound equipment lay dormant, and the pavestones were covered in a layer of trash, wrappers and bottles mainly, that shifted around in the breeze. Zack spotted store owners opening up shop, and cafés trying to reorganise their outdoor seating for business.

His encounter with Esme felt like a dream. Zack peered as best he could down Estival Avenue, but the library looked closed. He sighed, slumping down in his bench and tipping his head back to the sky. It felt strangely comfortable, and a wave of tiredness risked sweeping him off to sleep. Did he really want to see her again? The thought terrified and exhilarated him in equal measure, and answered itself.

"Maybe when the hours are friendlier," he said to himself, tingling a little with excitement. There wasn't much to do in a sleeping city, and the pokémon centers were barely staffed this early in the morning. Old routines resurfaced from his years as a travelling trainer, so he did what came naturally. He went off to train.

---

Route 5

Hours passed by visibly. The sun began its long climb into the sky, growing hotter and melting away the morning dew. What started as the odd sighting of another human, mainly joggers and trainers looking to get an early start, became a steadier and louder rush of travellers spilling out of Lumiose's gate. Zack trained his pokémon just out of the way. It was fairly standard stuff. Not wanting to push them too hard before breakfast, Zack essentially had his pokémon exercising through the use of battle techniques, firing them into thin air one at a time. The newest recruits, Corphish and Fletchinder, took some acclimatising to their new situation. The water type had been slumbering peacefully when Pikachu's Thundershock rendered its day over, but it seemed to take to being an owned pokémon quite well. Whatever Zack's senior staff whispered to it in pokémon tongue was apparently convincing.

Fletchinder was another story. While it didn't stray too far, it refused to train with the others, instead taking to the skies and soaring. Zack wondered if it would have just left them behind entirely were it not afraid of Serene's Teleport. He smiled when he thought back to how brutally Helena had taken advantage of the move. That was the kind of do-or-die thinking she'd need to win her first badge, and he hoped yesterday's training session had at least partially instilled the attitude in her.

At first his wrist vibrated, then it started to beep. Think of the devil. Zack held out his Xtransceiver to catch his face in the camera, and swiped across the screen to answer Helena's call. "What?"

Whatever he had expected her to say, it certainly wasn't that. Zack was surprised to see his sister awake so early, though from the looks of things, calling it 'awake' was a kindness. Leaving his pokémon to continue their work out under their own steam, and keeping Fletchinder where he could see it, Zack found a roadside boulder and sat down.

"Camping. Huh. I guess I could give you a few tips, but it's not exactly rocket science, Helena," Zack said. He was more inclined to research things he wasn't sure of using books or a computer rather than asking for help, and he was fairly certain that thought would have crossed Helena's mind as well. She must want him to do the big brother thing. "Find an outdoors shop and buy what you need. They'll be able to give you a hand if you're not certain. Just don't go overboard, you know when people are trying to make you spend money when you don't have to. Then tonight, I promise, we'll let you sleep in a field."

Hunger didn't grab Zack all at once. It had been steadily gnawing at the pit of his stomach for some time now, doing little to energise him and making the morning drag. He'd been able to deal with it, push it to the back of his mind while he concentrated on the training, but as soon as Helena mentioned breakfast, hunger found its name and ached with full fury.

"There's a café pretty much opposite the Route 5 gate." Zack said as his stomach rumbled. He did his best to ignore it, and hoped the sound hadn't been picked up by the Xtransceiver, "I'll meet you there. Ask if they do a Full Breakfast, Sinnoh-style. If not, I'll choose when I get there. And get coffee. A lot of coffee."

Lumiose City - Café Soleil

"That hits the spot," Zack said after clearing half his plate and demolishing one of his two cups. He'd said little upon arriving, other than perhaps 'thanks' and 'I'm not paying for this, by the way'. His pokémon were back in their balls, waiting for their own breakfast which would have to be at the Pokémon Center. The free food at the Center's cafeteria was passable, but there was a reason it was free. And in Zack's less than modest opinion, you couldn't beat a Full Sinnoh.

"So," he said, thumping his chest to quell a burp as he settled into a more civil eating pace, "Have fun standing in a crowd for hours? There's nothing quite like it."