Pokemon X and Y Reborn: Chapter 12

AN: Good Lord! This was a nightmare! The longest chapter yet and I hate it. I think the only thing I like about this is Fruze. That's it.

“Are you sure you’re okay Jess?” Storm asked the Braixen as they headed towards Parfum Palace. Jessie rolled his eyes and chuckled at his trainer.

“Of course I am! Plus we don’t have to deal with Shauna following us around, so it’s all good!” he replied happily.

After their run in with Shadow, the group had headed back to town so that Storm could heal her Pokémon. Shauna had declared that she was going to stay at the Pokémon Centre because she didn’t want to run into the purple haired maniac again. In all honesty, Storm couldn’t care less about why Shauna had decided to leave her alone, she was just grateful for the fact that she didn’t have to babysit her anymore.

“Well if you’re sure.” She mumbled as she turned her attention back to the path. Her eyes wandered to a bush near the edge of the road that had started to rustle slightly. As she got closer a Venipede launched itself from the bush, hissing madly at her.

“Shut it!” Jessie snapped as he launched a few embers at the small purple bug, causing it to flee back into the bush, shrieking in panic.

“Bug problems?” a familiar voice asked from behind the two of them, causing Storm to smile involuntary.

“Of course not, Jessie can handle anything.” She replied with a smirk. The person behind her chuckled in amusement.

“I know. How have you been?” he asked as Storm turned around to face the owner of the voice. Her grin widened when she saw the Frogadire next to the trainer.

“Not bad, how about you Hawk?” she asked the slightly taller boy. Hawk smiled back at her and nodded slightly.

“I haven’t been doing too badly. How’s Red Jr.?” he asked cheerfully. Storm drew the small fire-types poke ball from her bag and let him out of the capsule. The small Charmander yawned and looked up at the brown haired boy. His eyes widened slightly before he waved awkwardly at the trainer.

“Headed to Parfum Palace?” Hawk asked with a hint of a laugh in his voice. Storm nodded and turned back to the path.

“Yeah, apparently the owner has something that can wake up that Snorlax on Route 7.” She informed him as they began walking down the route. Hawk nodded in thought as he gazed at the palace that stood before them.

“Sounds like it might be difficult. I hear the owner doesn’t like sharing very much.” He stated darkly as the gates came into view.

“WHAT! THAT’S INSANE! I’M NOT PAYING THAT MUCH!” a girl’s voice roared from the gate as the two of them got closer. The two shared a confused look before making their way towards the palace at a quicker pace. Jessie and Swift watched their trainers go before turning to each other.

“How have things been Swift?” Jessie asked the water-type. Swift smiled at him and nodded slightly.

“Not bad. The team hasn’t changed since we last met. What about you?” She asked as they made their way along the path. The Braixen grimaced and adopted a sour expression.

“I lost a battle to a Quilladin.” He grumbled. Swift smiled warmly at him as their trainers came into view. They appeared to be consoling a teenage girl who had a Chespin by her side.

“Well, we can’t win everything. Let’s see what’s going on here.” Swift whispered before hopping to Hawks side. Jessie followed suit and went to Storms side.

“Just pay the guy will you! It’s no big deal!” Storm hissed to the girl in annoyance. The girl gave her a hard look before handing the man at the gate a handful of money.

“There, now was that so hard?” Storm asked her. The girl gave her a look before turning back to the guard.

“Can you open the gate now?” she asked him. The guard sighed before turning and opening the large golden gate for the group.

“Are you happy now Marina?” Hawk asked in a rather bored voice. The girl sniffed before entering the palace with her Chespin on her heels.

“Guess, we’d better get going.” Hawk muttered. Storm nodded in agreement before the two of them followed Marina into the palace.

AS soon as they entered the grand building, they were met with the sound of panicked screams. The three of them shared a confused look before a man came running into the foyer of the Palace, screaming his head off and flapping his hands around his head in a spectacular display of panic.

“What’s wrong?” Marina demanded of the man as he continued to scream and spout complete nonsense to the ground of onlookers.

“Hey! Calm down will ya?” Storm spat, her patience clearly beginning to wear thin. The man kept up his performance, drawing confused looks from a family that had just entered the room. Apparently Hawk had decided that enough was enough and looked to Swift for help.

“Swift, use water gun. Cool him off a bit please.” He muttered to his partner. The Frogadire complied instantly and shot a stream of cold water into the man’s face. He froze in place then looked at the three trainers who stood before him.

“You! You’re trainers! Oh thank Arceus! Can you find my two Furfrou? Please! They’re lost somewhere in the Palace and I need to find them! Oh, I am so worried about them!” the man sobbed pitifully. The trio shared a look before Storm yawned.

The man’s head shot up and he fixed her with an icy glare. The teenage girl stared back at him with a blank expression on her face.

“You’re the owner of this place aren’t you?” she asked simply. The man nodded stiffly keeping his glare fixed on her.

“We need the Poke flute to wake up the Snorlax who decided to take a nap in the middle of Route 7.” She told him. She watched him think things over quickly before he clapped his hands together.

“I’ll tell you what. You three, find my Furfrou and I’ll give you the flute. Deal?” He asked roughly. Storm and Hawk nodded in agreement.

“Fine, I guess I’ll help.” Marina muttered in agreement before she headed for a nearby room. And thus the search for the missing Frufrou began.

…

“The only place left to look is the garden.” Hawk announced as the teens met at the giant doors. A flash of lightning lit the room before rain began to pound the outside. Marina wrinkled her nose as she gazed out at the garden.

“No thanks.” She said as she turned on her heel to leave.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Strom growled at her. Marina turned to look at her.

“Not out there. I’m not going to get wet for your sake.” She replied. Rasputin, her Chespin, nodded in agreement and gave the others a defiant look.

A flash of light burst from Storm’s bag and Naru launched himself at the grass-type. His eyes blazed with rage as he held Rasputin down.

“Don’t think you’re so tough.” The Pancham growled. He raised his paw to strike the other Pokémon but was pulled back by his trainer.

“Give it a rest Naru. We’ll find the Furfrou ourselves.” She hissed as she carried the small Pokémon to the garden with Jessie trotting behind her.

Outside, rain lashed mercilessly at the grounds. Storm returned Jessie to his Poke ball, saving him from his worst nightmare, a never ending barrage of water. Naru was still sulking as they gazed out at the dark grounds.

“We’ve got quite a bit of ground to cover.” Hawk commented as he came to Storms side. She nodded in agreement and scanned the maze of hedges that lay before them. Standing tall in the garden was two statues. One was a large black dragon, the other an elegant white dragon.

“Reshiram…” she whispered before she could think. Hawk turned to look at her, confusion written across his face.

“Looks like it… isn’t that Zekrom over there?” he asked pointing to the tougher looking dragon. His voice was thoughtful, almost as if he wasn’t actually there.

“I think so… they seem familiar.” Storm murmured in response. Hawk nodded and muttered an agreement as they observed the two statues. They were so realistic, it was almost as if they were about to leap into battle sending flames and bolts of lightning dancing into the sky.

They stood there for a while, lost deep in thought. Soon the rain began to ease up and the sun began to peak out from behind the clouds. Naru launched himself from his trainer’s arms and looked around.

“Shall we get moving?” he asked eagerly and began to scamper off into the garden. Laughing, Storm followed her small friend as he journeyed into one of the mazes. Soon the sound of a scuffle reached her ears and she quickened her pace.

“Naru?” she called for her Pancham as she turned a corner. In front of her was Naru face to face with a small cat-like creature with wide, seemingly unblinking eyes.

“I’d back off if I were you.” The slightly smaller Pokémon stated calmly as he gazed at the fighting-type.

“Why should I do that pip squeak?” Naru chuckled as he started his opponent down. The Pokémon calmly and simply used confusion on the cocky Pancham. Naru flailed for a few seconds before slumping on the ground and giving the smaller creature a bewildered look.

“Naru… do you really have to pick a fight with everyone?” Storm sighed as she returned him to his Poke ball. The Espurr gave up at her with an inquisitive look on his face, his ears flicking slightly as if he was anticipating another attack.

“Hi there… I’m Strom.” She greeted the psychic-type that stood before her. He relaxed slightly and grinned at her.

“Fruze is the name.” he replied. He looked her in the eye then clapped his paws together as if he understood something.

“You want help finding that Furfrou that’s in the next maze, don’t you?” he asked her simply. Storm nodded, feeling a wave of uneasiness flow over her as she watched Fruze brush past her.

“I can help you, but only if I can go with you on your journey. You see, I’ve been stuck in this garden for a while now and I’m sick of this place. You can understand me, so I guess you’re my best means of escape.” He explained with a meaningful glance at her. Storm nodded in understanding.

“Okay, but we have to find Hawk first.” She told him. The Espurr nodded in understanding.

“He’s the one you came here with. Well he’s right outside this maze.” Fruze stated as he led her out of the maze. Just as he’d predicted, the teen was standing outside the maze.

“Hawk, this is Fruze. He knows where one of the Furfrou is.” She explained as she introduced the two. She explained the entire story to Hawk as Fruze led them to a simple maze. Hawk listened intently and commented occasionally on the Espurr’s calm attitude.

“She’s right there.” Fruze stated as he pointed to the shaggy white Pokémon that was sniffing at a clump of grass. Storm tried to approach her, but the Furfrou took off running. She shared a look with Hawk and the two of them began to dash madly around the maze trying to catch the excited Pokémon.

Eventually they managed to get her to the centre of the maze, where she stood her ground and growled at them. The two teens shared a worried look as she continued to growl at them.

“Limoges… can you stop that growling and come with us. Your master is looking for you.” Fruze called to the Furfrou. Storm jumped as she realized that she hadn’t heard him coming and he was just standing there, staring at Limoges with his unsettling eyes.

The Furfrou cowered back and then slowly inched herself forward. Strom turned to Fruze and held a Poke ball out to him.

“Okay then… how about you get in here now. Thanks Fruze but I don’t think the owner of this place would be very happy seeing you here.” Storm mumbled to the small Pokémon. He gazed at her as he pressed on the button on the Poke ball and disappeared inside. Storm breathed a sigh of relief and put the capsule in her bag.

“Let’s get back to her owner then.” Hawk suggested awkwardly as they looked at the cowering Furfrou.

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” Storm replied quietly as they began to lead Limoges home. It didn’t take long to get back to the palace and locate the owner. He was overjoyed to see Limoges and gestured to a butler to give them a small package.

“Here’s the Poke flute, just like I promised.” He explained to them. Storm gave him a confused look as she took the item.

“But, what about your other Frufrou?” she asked him. The owner sighed sadly and looked out a nearby window.

“He’s found another path to follow. Now you two go and wake up that Snorlax. I’m sure there are a lot of people who need to get past it.” He laughed with a sad smile. Limoges barked in encouragement and with that, the two teens left Parfum Palace, onward on their journeys.