Pokémon: Leah's Journey {Rewrite}

Chapter 7: Knight, Poet, King

Camphrier Town has some kind of medieval ambience to it. The cobblestone paths, walls, and the castle in the center of the town all contributed to that feeling of old history. From the corner of her eye, Leah could see farmers tending to their berry crops. It was such a small town, yet the community seemed rather close, all helping one another. It was such a stark contrast with Lumiose City. Children were free to run around without much worry of potential dangers. The trio didn't intend on staying in this town very long, despite Leah's insistence on learning all of the possible history.

Before deciding to go on their merry way, Leah convinced her friends to visit the Chabboneau Castle. Anyone who went to that castle at least once would know that it is just as completely barren as the care Leah gives to her grandfather's opinions. It shouldn't have surprised them, the castle was once home to a very generous king and the nobles that inherited the place throughout the years kept this tradition of giving away possessions. What remained were a few displayed items. In that castle lay a nice little display glass, it was unsurprisingly empty, but Leah was curious about it, "Excuse me sir, what was supposed to be displayed here?"

"That was the Pokeflute that the owner of the Parfum Palace had borrowed from us."

"You'd think he'd bring it back if it was borrowed as you claim it to be." Mildred muttered which earned her a gentle smack in the side from Leah. The girl glared at Leah and spoke louder, "Do you perhaps know anything about Mega Evolution?"

Leah's expression fell to an expression of exasperation and she crossed her arms, "Are you serious, Millie? We were just with Korrina yesterday, if there's anyone who could infodump about Mega Evolution for hours, it's her!"

The man before them stared at them with a blank expression, "what's Mega Evolution?"

"To put it simply, it's the process of unleashing your Pokemon's full potential which triggers a temporary evolution. It requires a keystone, a mega stone and a very strong bond with your partner. Only a select few Pokemon can Mega evolve." Leah explained, mostly to Mildred.

The group became quiet after that, seemingly satisfied with Leah's explanation. They continued the tour in silence before being led out the door. It was a rather underwhelming experience. Most would say that once you've seen a castle, you've seen them all, but Leah would like to disagree, the Tower of Mastery could be considered a castle if she thought hard enough and at the very least it has life and a flair of uniqueness to it. Chabboneau Castle barely has that life. It is empty save for a few relics and necessities that are the bare minimum. That thought was put on hold when Leah saw two familiar faces walking towards them.

Spectre waved at Leah in greeting and then quickened his pace. Vespidae shook her head, but she wore a barely disguised smile, her brother could be endearing at times. She stopped in front of Leah, sparing a glimpse to Spectre who was playing with Mrs. Cuddletails, and spoke up, "So we meet again, Leah."

"Well hello to you too, Vespidae, how have you two been holding up?"

"I've been doing fairly well." Vespidae quickly added, "my Pokemon and I have grown much stronger since the last time we've battled."

"Oh yeah? So have we."

"I'd challenge you to a battle if it weren't for the fact that we intend on visiting the Chabboneau Castle."

Leah laughed, "We just finished visiting it, it's not worth it. It is completely barren."

"Ah well thanks for informing me then." Vespidae's expression shifted to a determined smirk, "so about that battle."

Leah smirked, "You know damn well that I accept your challenge."

And now the two girls stood in front of each other, Spectre hesitantly walked towards his sister and sent out a Nincada. Vespidae sent out a Joltik into the fight while Leah sent out Primadonna and Mrs. Cuddletails had run onto the battlefield. The Furfrou and the Vulpix looked at each other before taking a battle-ready stance. Leah didn't hesitate to go first, but Vespidae beat her to it with Pin Missile. Leah had to think of something, "Mrs. Cuddletails use Fire Spin to absorb Joltik's Pin Missile and then use Flame Charge. Primadonna roll over and once you get back up use Echoed Voice!"