Pokémon Chronicles 零 (ZERO)

Episode 24: The breaking web of bonds and reason

So we came across Megan's killer, having her emotions explode so much that she severely damaged a performance hall in an attempt to get revenge on him. Then we were potentially framed for murder and became a target of the knights, despite being helped out by a big figure like Feather, so we had to escape by literally walking through the sea. And now, we learnt that Shelly, the quietest member of the group, turned out to be royalty on the island one of our trials took place on. What a story.

I couldn't focus at all anymore. I was angry, so angry that I was silent throughout our escort to the island's castle. We got to confirm that we had indeed reached Celadon Island, as well as get a chance to marvel at its vivid landscape and tropical structures. The island was a paradise for grass type pokemon, covered every inch with flowers, smelly soil, oversized bushes and alien trees. I called them alien because I hadn't seen them before, nor did I have any idea how they functioned as trees – their trunks were split down the centre and their leaves spewed from inside, leaving nothing but unnatural flatness at their tops.

Thankfully, the procedure at the castle was as brief and snappy as I hoped it would be. Royal guards saluted Shelly upon sight, taking over the escort to take us through its fancy hallways. To me this place was as treacherous as a dungeon, maze-like at every turn and well protected by hordes of pokemon that would take a really carefully planned strategy to get past. It looked nice at least; smooth, well decorated, spacious, and bursting with positive activity no matter what room we went through. The ceiling of this castle, along with every other structure on the island, was a perfectly clean sheet of glass that magnified the burning sunlight coming through.

"Shelly, no chance to explain what's going on?" Megan whispered as we stopped behind a large set of doors. The knights had to confer something to each other, giving us this little opportunity to do so. Sadly the Oshawott still ignored us, however. "Ugh, what's with you all of a sudden? I swear, if this is some kinda trap..."

"Easy, Megan." Mimia spoke up, widening our eyes. He kept his voice down, slyly gesturing a paw towards Lucca. "He's analysing. So be ready."

"Plus, I'm here. I think I'll have enough of a presence to silence some pokes," Azeth joked.

"We ask that you wait outside, please," one of the knights ordered.

"No!" Shelly objected right away, shaking his head. "They can come with me. N-no... they need to come with me."

"Your highness..."

"No objections," he pressed. The knight looked us over and then tapped his weapon on the floor, signalling to the other knights to open the large doors ahead of us. I wound up gawking embarrassingly at the enormous room beyond, which was clearly in the middle of some important meeting or something. Countless more knights were lined up in perfectly square shaped formations on the left and right sides of the room, all facing a huge throne at the far end. Their differing species made the squares look weird to me, however.

The pokemon sat in the throne stopped talking right as we entered the room, a majestic grass type shielded in sleek, shiny, purple-red coating. It stood up as we approached too, revealing long, green straps of leaf that hung loosely behind it like hair. The hair went right down past its flowery waist and almost as far as its somewhat armoured legs, which looked long and tough. The pokemon seemed a little too beautiful and ladylike to be a royal leader in my eyes, but it was wearing a small crown, a small crown adorned with familiar leaves to counteract that thought. The leaves were the same as the single leaf Shelly wore, and they glowed red upon our intrusion.

"How dare you! I ordered there to be no obstructions to today's-" the pokemon snapped, slowing me down due to how powerful its voice was. Now it sounded like a queen. "Oh! Oh my goodness, do my eyes deceive me?"