1. Ash's Story (Part 7: Kalos)

Chapter 58: Mystifying Battle

The next day, we returned to Laverre Gym with the Badge near. After the fashion show, Sawyer's battle, and the road here, the building felt different from yesterday. It was still beautiful, full of fabric, ribbons, and charm, but today every hallway led toward battle.

Before we went inside, Alice led me to the old well near the Gym. The stones around it were covered with small ribbons and old Laverre charms, some faded by rain and time. Valerie had told her daughters people left wishes there before important days, and Alice said Mom wanted me to see it before battle.

"Mom said this was left with the old training charms," Alice said, placing a Mega Stone in my hand. "It is Medichamite. She thought it should go to you because you do not treat strength and beauty like enemies."

I looked down at the stone, feeling its power rest against my palm. "Tell Aunt Valerie I will treasure it."

"You can tell Mom yourself after you win," Alice said, smiling like she had already decided the ending.

Inside the Gym, the guide greeted us with the bright energy every Gym guide seemed to keep no matter how strange the building was. "Well, howdy, Mr. Pouty. What's new, future Champ? This here Laverre City Pokémon Gym has some truly confounding conundrums. The first shocker is a Fairy-type Gym. Bet you have never seen one of these before. The second shocker is how you get around. Hop on one of the warp panels and off you go, but where you will land, nobody knows."

Bonnie leaned forward with interest, but the guide laughed before anyone could worry.

"Just pulling your leg, Champ," he said. "The warp panels all have fixed destinations, of course. Go step on a flashing yellow panel."

Since I had visited the Gym before, the warp panels did not confuse me. The strange dollhouse rooms, soft colors, and shifting pathways could have made the place feel like a maze, but it was Valerie's kind of maze. It wanted Trainers to pay attention to beauty without forgetting danger.

The warp panels themselves felt like part of Valerie's lesson. Every time we stepped onto one, the room disappeared in a flash of soft light, and we landed in another part of the dollhouse Gym. Sawyer tried to map the path in his notebook, but after the second warp, he frowned at the page because the drawing looked more like a ribbon knot than a route. Bonnie laughed and said that maybe Fairy-type strategy was supposed to make straight lines feel silly.

I understood what she meant. A normal Gym puzzle usually tested direction or strength. Valerie's Gym tested whether I could stay calm when the path refused to feel solid. Even before the battle, the Gym was teaching me that Fairy types could make the battlefield feel gentle while quietly taking control away from the opponent.

The first Trainer waited in the living room. Kali spun once to show off her outfit. "This Furisode Girl had her clothing designed by the one and only Valerie. How do I look?"

"You look ready to battle," I said.

Kali used Dedenne and Azumarill, and I chose Venusaur. Fairy types could be delicate, but Venusaur's Poison-type pressure gave us the right start. Sludge Bomb struck cleanly, and even Azumarill's bulk could not hold long against Venusaur's calm, steady power.

Venusaur also helped me set the tone for the whole challenge. It did not rush just because Kali's Pokémon moved quickly. It waited for Dedenne to dart close, then used Vine Whip to guide its own aim before Sludge Bomb landed. Against Azumarill, it let the stronger opponent commit first, then shifted its weight and struck from the side. The room looked like a dollhouse living room, but every chair, curtain, and carpet edge could become a distraction if I forgot the battle in front of me.

"So strong," Kali said after the match. "So beautiful."

The next warp panel carried us to the study, where Linnea stood surrounded by shelves and fabric notes. "I looked up to Lady Valerie so much that I came here to learn from her."