Pokémon Chronicles 零 (ZERO)

Episode 25: Shelly's trial

"Go home already! This isn't a trip to the park, you won't be needed!" Megan shouted.

"I don't care! I'm going after Shelly too, and you aren't going to stop me!" Elise pouted.

"Somebody stop these two..." I groaned, slumping forward as I walked. Just as was promised yesterday, there really was a path at the back of the castle that led directly to the Shadow Palace. We had to ask a Princess Elise for directions, where she showed us to a ground floor passage that went straight out into the field of Celadon Island. Once there, it was an easy, marked out path that led directly to the dungeon where our next trial was supposed to take place. The problem was that she forcibly joined our party, which caused Megan to argue with her nonstop since we set off.

The Shadow Palace went beyond my expectations in first appearance though, practically changing the whole theme of the landscape the closer we got to it. It was night time now, and so Celadon Island took on more of a wild, natural feel, like a forest at night. All life was asleep and invisible, there weren't any forms of light besides our own to help us, and only nocturnal cries distracted me from Megan and Elise's petty squabble.

But once we got close to the Shadow Palace, all of this changed, as if we had stepped through a portal to another world. Horribly chilly fog filled the atmosphere. The stars that dotted the sky completely disappeared from view, even though the sky was clear. All forms of nature other than the ground seemed to have vanished from existence too, and even then, the ground wasn't soil like the rest of the island, it was now cement like that of RBY Academy.

Thankfully the Shadow Palace itself was always visible to us, appearing as a rectangular silhouette nestled between layers of cream coloured fog. It stood out like a painting, only it grew in size as we got closer and closer. We never got to see anything more of it than its roof thanks to the fog, but as long as it was clear that we were getting closer, we kept walking.

"Stay together now, everyone. I should've expected things to start getting creepy," Lucca suggested in a worried tone.

"Hmpf, I expected Elise to sound like that, not you. You're not gonna run off on us too, are you?" Megan complained. He sighed, bowing his head for a second.

"What poor excuse for a leader would I be if I did... but you've got to admit, we can't see a thing, and it's awful," he shuddered. I held my sword out in front of me to test that, bothered by how barely I could make it out. This fog can't have been natural.

"You say that, but you guys're walking slower than usual. It's pretty funny to see, actually," Brine teased.

"I can't help it, okay? There could be a trap somewhere!" Lucca cried.

"I will ask that you all continue to trust me. I have actually been here before, you know. Whilst I do not know my way around the palace by memory, I am aware of many of its quirks and tricks," Elise proposed. "For example, if we keep walking, right about now..."

I groaned, keeping as close to the others as I could to avoid losing them. Just as Elise hinted at, we suddenly found ourselves out of the fog, having it clear from view without me realising. I couldn't even recall what had just happened – the cloudy view literally faded out in seconds right before my eyes, being replaced with solid walls and dark indoors.

"Wait what? What's happening?" Lucca cried, darting in random directions. I didn't recall walking through any doors or anything, and yet, it was now obvious that we were inside of the Shadow Palace as planned. It resembled Queen Gladys' castle, complete with the glass sheet ceiling and clean hallways. Only this place was horribly discoloured in comparison, painted with decaying blues, purples and worn out yellow pillars. The moon shone some light at least, but that didn't give us a very good view of the dark halls ahead.