E15 EV Challenge

[Xiri]

ENTRY #24: Adrienn

Radomus suggested that since Agate City is currently closed, there weren't many choices for the culprit in terms of where he would run off. Radomus expected him to flee towards Reborn City as there will be more places for him to hide there.

With that, the three of us headed back to Route 1 and ventured to the very left. A Nature Center was present here, as well as myriads of Bouffalant and Tauros combating each other. After picking up a helpful Itemfinder in the Center, we headed south and we came across a large pair of gates, which seemed familiar for some reason.

'What are these gates? These seem oddly familiar...'

'These are the Grand Gates. They lead to North Obsidia Ward... if only they weren't shut' replied Radomus.

Upon entering however, we were shocked at what we saw. A white-haired man was in front of us - cursing about the fact that the gates were shut.

'Of course, the gate is still sealed...' El muttered

'Hey! That's him!' I shouted as I pointed towards him

'Bollocks!'

'After him!'

El ran towards the left - through a small opening. The three of us charged after him - and we came across a small corridor with a large, brown gear which was fixed in the middle of the room. To our surprise, El was nowhere to be seen - despite the fact that a dead-end was apparent... or was it?

Cain seemed to be just as confused as I was - and began to guess how he managed to escape - which Radomus found silly. Radomus seemed to notice some space beyond the awkward gear, and suggested that we inspect it.

Cain and I easily slipped past the gear, but Radomus seemed to have some trouble doing so - due to his body size. We experienced an awkward scene where Radomus managed to get stuck as he tried to pass through - which Cain found very amusing. He wondered aloud why the gear isn't moving - and Radomus replied as he tried to unstuck himself that the gears froze when the Grand Gates did - before Reborn City's collapse, more than a decade ago. Apparently, lots of people tried to make the gear function again but their efforts have been futile. And with an 'oomph', Radomus squeezed himself out of the gear's grasp. Unfortunately, he knocked himself directly onto Cain who was standing nearby - and the cheery boy fell beneath to the darkness somewhere.

Horrified, Radomus and I both rushed to where Cain fell through. Luckily, the drop didn't seem too deep and it lead into a cave of some sort. He asked me if I was ready, and I nodded. With that, the two of us jumped into the abyss. With a thud, we landed in what seemed like underneath the Grand Stairway. Cain was nowhere to be seen - which meant he probably moved on with the search for El.

After moving through the cave full of colorful crystals, we eventually reached a place with a somewhat different atmosphere. Cain was already here and he seemed to be staring at something. A grey-haired person in ponytails was coming towards us, with a Gardevoir.

"Oh, so you're here after all." said the grey-haired person.

"Huh, were you expecting us?" Cain asked in surprise.

"Not at all! But that older man just came by and told me what you did... I didn't think you were really pursuing him though!"

"To be clear, exactly what did he tell you?"

Radomus seemed rather amused.

"Hm... Well, he told me how you had kidnapped his daughter, and brainwashed her into thinking that she was your own." the grey-haired person continued. "And so he got ahold of your Gardevoir - and God, what have you done to this poor thing? - so that you might release his daughter."

"I beg your pardon?" asked Radomus, slightly frowning.

"Your Gardevoir doesn't seem to care for you as a trainer at all. Isn't that right?"

All our attention was headed towards the guardian Pokemon, who seemed to be trembling slightly.

"...Yes." said the Pokemon after a short silence.

"I - had always been too afraid of Radomus to say anything about it... but... You'll protect me from him, won't you, Adrienn?"

"I'm not going to stand for anyone who treats their Pokemon badly. You're safe with me, Gardevoir." replied Adrienn firmly.

Something was strange. Gardevoir and Radomus seemed to get along extremely well back in the castle, but was it just all an act? Radomus seemed rather untouched by Gardevoir's shocking confession, and was just merely acting as though he was watching a sitcom program. Gardevoir continued, in a more confident voice, that she always hated being with Radomus. Cain seemed confused by her words - as he thought like me, that she seemed perfectly happy back at the castle. Gardevoir snorted that it was all a show as she was expected to be in perfect harmony with her trainer, but she couldn't take it any longer. She continued to accuse Radomus of being neglectful and untruthful - and she was ultimately glad that El stole her away!

Adrienn seemed furious at Gardevoir's recount - and stated that it was impossible to forgive someone for being so cruel to such a sweet Pokemon like Gardevoir, and was determined to retrieve El's daughter and some 'stolen property'. I didn't quite get what he meant by 'stolen property' and so was Cain. Gardevoir sneered at me just then, and said that I should know what Adrienn means by that as I currently have that. Confused and shocked, Cain quickly faced me and asked if I have stolen anything. I was about to say that I didn't do such a thing, but at that moment, Gardevoir swiftly moved towards me, and snatched the Amethyst Pendant from my bag! She was just about to take my Ruby Ring as well, but Cain was a bit quicker. He snatched me out as Gardevoir reached for my bag again - and angrily pushed Gardevoir off - stating that the Pendant belongs to Anna.

Gardevoir stated that the items belong to El, and nobody else. Radomus, who remained rather quiet until now, asked if the item Gardevoir was holding was called the 'Amethyst Pendant'. I nodded, and Gardevoir seemed upset that she couldn't take back the Ruby Ring too.

"Well... I guess it'll have to do." scoffed the guardian Pokemon. "Only one key is necessary to reach the aerie, so I was supposed to get both of them..."

"Thieves and liars seldom relinquish things that easily." said Adrienn, who seemed to be quite angry at me now. "Come on, Gardevoir, let's go. We'll get the other one later."

The two then began to walk away from us - back into a rather large castle of some sort towering over the place. Before leaving, Adrienn warned us not to stop them unless our intentions have changed.

Cain seemed to be bewildered that Gardevoir was feeling negatively about Radomus all along, and nervously asked Radomus if he actually did brainwash Luna. Radomus accused him of being foolish - as such methods don't exist. He suggested that we chase after them as we still had to fulfill our objective, and we headed inside the castle-like structure.

Four doors were lined against the wall in the first chamber of the castle. One of them was open - and El, Adrienn and Gardevoir were about to enter, as we caught up to them. Cain demanded to know what El has done to Gardevoir, and El hushed him - saying that he is defiling the holy place with stupid shouting. Gardevoir turned towards Cain - failing to understand why Cain was not believing her, when she said that El has done nothing but freed her from Radomus. El calmed her down - saying that non-believers of Arceus will be tough to persuade. He asked Gardevoir and Adrienn to follow him - and he and Gardevoir entered through the door.

"This is all so confusing..." muttered Cain.

"It is strange. When I fell down here, I was certain I would be trapped and alone." said Adrienn. "But almost immediately, I saw a girl climbing up the cave wall, and then El and Gardevoir appeared."

A girl climbing up the cave? What was this?

"And now you all. Is this some kind of secret tourist spot?"

With that, Adrienn followed El and Gardevoir, and he shut the door behind him. This particular door had a purple line across it.

Cain seemed to be wondering what gender Adrienn was, and Radomus suggested asking when we run into Adrienn next. He continued to say that there are more concerning matters - as they were able to open the door with the power of the Amethyst Pendant. Radomus turned towards me and asked if I did have the Ruby Ring with me. I nodded - and Radomus stated that in that case, another door should open for us as he lead us to the very right door - which had a red line across it.

As I touched the doorknob with the Ruby Ring, the door magically opened. A logic puzzle was waiting for us inside - and after successfully solving it, we were lead into a different chamber - about the same size as the first one we encountered. It seemed that all of the four doors in the first chamber all eventually lead to this room. Adrienn was only present here - as he informed us that El and Gardevoir have continued up the aerie.

"I'm supposed to take the Ruby Ring from you, so that you can't follow us." said Adrienn. He put out his hand - asking me to give the ring. I shook my head with a firm 'no', and Cain angrily stated that the ring belongs to a girl called Heather, and not El.

Adrienn mentioned that he said something along those lines with the Amethyst Pendant too, and the way he said it didn't seem like he was lying.

"Well, why would we lie about that?" asked Cain.

"But El insists that they belong to him." replied Adrienn. "And he did seem to know about them - for instance, that they would open these doors. I had been wandering around down here just a little while before he showed up, and they wouldn't open at all."

"How did you get here in the first place?" I asked curiously.

"I fell down here when I was inspecting the Grand Gates about an hour ago." replied Adrienn sternly. "But then, there's this old ruin. I don't know what to make of it."

"I believe that answer will become clear as we press forward" spoke Radomus. "It will-"

"Which brings us back to the ring, huh?" interrupted Adrienn. "One of you is definietly lying to me... but who..."

"I dunno what's up with Gardevoir but El kidnapped her from Radomus" said Cain as he stepped forward. "Luna wants us to get her back!"

"Right... then there's that Luna girl he keeps mentioning..." said Adrienn, who seemed to be confused and frustrated now. "Ugh, isn't there some way to prove one way or another?"

Without a word, Radomus stretched his right arm towards Adrienn - with the note El sent him back in the castle. Radomus suggested to Adrienn that he reads it, and assured the confused bloke that Cain and I can prove that it is not forgery. Adrienn's expression became more puzzled as he read through the letter.

"If I were really so bad of a trainer," began Radomus. "I wouldn't have followed El here, right?"

"I'm not gonna lie, you didn't seem too happy to go at first" interjected Cain. I couldn't help but agree.

"Yet here I am." said Radomus without losing his calm. "I am compelled to acquiesce to Luna's request."

"Ah... I don't know. None of this makes any sense" said a puzzled Adrienn. "All right then. Let's go find out together. All of us. Through the Ruby door, then"

Adrienn began moving towards the Ruby door - which was located in the northeastern side of the chamber. Cain stopped Adrienn however, and asked the question he was curious about in the first chamber. Adrienn seemed to quite taken back at his question - but calmly replied that xe was a non- binary individual. Radomus seemed to be quite surprised - as he recognized non-binary individuals to be those that identifies outside the traditional gender spectrum. After teaching Cain some methods of addressing non-binary individuals, we moved on through the door - where a second logic puzzle was waiting for us.

After solving the puzzle, we ended up in the aerie - a large chamber with a large pole-like structure in the middle. A large door was in the middle of this structure, and standing in front of it was El and Gardevoir. El seemed to sigh that the door to the innermost sanctum will not open without all four keys. He turned to Adrienn - and seemed to be disappointed that xe failed to detain us. Adrienn replied that he has some questions to ask him, which El muttered under his breath that questions and answers are all meaningless words of humans.

"This is a holy place." said El. "This is not the place for trifles such as those. Beyond this gate lies that from whose dreams our world unfolds."

"Behold!" exclaimed El. "O unworthy ones - the birthplace of Arceus."

"What? This is where Arceus was born?" I asked El, confused.

"Correct!" shouted El. "It is known that The God of Pokemon did create unto Earth all other species. Here, upon our Earth, doth a meteor crash - bearing upon it our Lord. Here in this sanctum, doth that very meteor lie!"

"Sounds like a lot of religious fairy tale to me." whispered Cain rather loudly.

"Yet!" continued El, pretending to have not heard Cain. "How vile it is that it should be buried so far beneath the filth known as Reborn City! My lord, I beg your forgiveness for humanity's sin..."

Okay... I knew that El was rather religious, but this seemed a bit far-fetched to my knowledge. I asked him what he was going to do if he manages to open the innermost chamber.

"Cleanse the world of course!" said El who looked at me as if I asked an extremely obvious question. "And begin from pure innocence, once again."

"If anything can be said to be heretical," began Radomus who seemed to consider El's world as much babbling. "I believe you've just named it."

"And what does a deceiver as you know of declaiming heresy?" shouted El.

"Isn't it ironic for you to say that with that Pokemon standing by your side?" asked Radomus as he fixed his crooked hat.

"Radomus, I've had more than enough of your constant lying." said Gardevoir bitterly. "Why don't you just admit what you did to poor Luna?"

"That's right" sneered El. "Return Luna to me, and I'll return your Gardevoir."

"Except that Gardevoir doesn't want to seem to go back to him" said Adrienn.

"If we're going to consider the wishes of those whose custody is questioned," said Radomus, who ignored Gardevoir's words. "Let us not ignore Luna's adamant wish to remain with me."

El seemed furious at his words - as he accused him again for brainwashing her to think that way.

"Really, what a foolish accusation..." sighed Radomus.

"But it's true!" shouted Gardevoir as she pointed her slim finger at Radomus. "I was there when you did it! Radomus, you are an awful monster! I've always hated being your Pokemon!"

"How long are you going to keep this up?" asked Radomus - who seemed to be growing impatient.

"Er..." interrupted Cain. "Don't you even care about your Pokemon's feelings, Radomus?"

"I'll second that question" added Adrienn. "You really don't seem affected by its words at all."

"Hm..." mumbled Radomus. "A Pokemon like that? Why should I care?"

Gardevoir tut-tutted - stating that he was being cruel to her again.

Cain was beginning to think that Radomus did indeed brainwash Luna - and El happily sneered that he is a callous and a two-faced swine with no moral compass. Adrienn seemed to agree - as the fact that his Gardevoir resents him proves that Radomus was treating his Pokemon badly. He also added that the spell on Luna should be lifted too. El seemed to be feeling more confident since more people was turning to his side - and he demanded that Radomus release his daughter from his darkness. Radomus turned to me and Cain, and asked what our opinion was on this matter.

"I don't know..." started Cain, who was clutching his hair in confusion. "You don't seem to care at all about Gardevoir, and you certainly didn't react when she was taken... you made jokes instead."

"But on the other hand, Luna really seems to want to say with you, but that could just be a trick. Ugh... I don't get it at all."

Cain turned to me, and asked my thoughts on the matter. To be honest, I was pretty confused myself - but something about El was just suspicious. Ever since my encounter with him in Spinel Town, I've been sensing something ominous about the man, and was almost certain that something was wrong.

Radomus seemed delighted that he wasn't the only one to not be fooled by this charade. Adrienn seemed confused by what Radomus meant by a charade, and Radomus smiled that xe was accusing him for being an evil monster because of Gardevoir's words. However, unlike me and Cain, Adrienn has never met Gardevoir until now. Just as Adrienn was about to question Radomus further, El sighed - stating that he underestimated Radomus all along. The figure of Gardevoir started to turn bright pink - and to everyone's shock, Gardevoir began to transform, and where it was standing, a pink blob - a Ditto - was nervously lurching around.

Radomus finally explained to us that he was acting uninterested to the false Gardevoir's accusations of him as he knew all along that the Pokemon was a decoy. I couldn't understand, however, why El planned this all along, and what he was hoping to achieve from this drama.

"Lord Arceus blessed me with vision." answered El. "I have followed his name ever since. However, now, I will deign to borrow his power once more..."

"Can you feel it? The holy energy that charges this place?"

Uh... no?

"It emanates from the stone of Arceus. Ditto!" shouted El suddenly to his Pokemon. "Embrace the Lord's blessing. Take the energy into thyself!"

Ditto stirred slowly - and in the next second, Arceus was standing beside El, which freaked the living guts out of the three of us.

"We will silence the heretics!" shouted El maniacally. "Let judgment rain down upon thee!"

[Xiri]

ENTRY #25: Confusion and Chess

Mission:

vs

Well... technically this was sort of a Mission Fail because Root didn't really defeat Arceus. A Shadow Ball hit Root - but Root held on with a sliver of health, and she was able to fire off a Destiny Bond which allowed her to faint Arceus with Root as another Shadow Ball hit her.

The fake Arceus shrieked before it reverted back to its pink blob form. El sighed as he retreated his Pokemon back into his ball that a false idol cannot mimic the true Lord's power.

Cain was wondering where the real Gardevoir was - and Radomus seemed glad that he asked that question - saying that it was his turn to make some moves.

"Gardevoir!" Radomus shouted - with his voice resonating in the almighty chamber. "If you can hear me, wherever you are... teleport, now."

Seconds later, a green figure materialized behind Radomus. The real Gardevoir appeared - smiling and enjoying the fact that everyone was astonished at her dramatic entrance. Radomus didn't stop here forever. He ordered his Pokemon to launch a Hypnosis attack on El, which Gardevoir obeyed happily. Fuzzled by the psychic Pokemon's slumber-inducing movements, El collapsed immediately to the floor - fast asleep.

Radomus seemed satisfied with the job, and somehow got rid of his detective uniform and replaced it with a policeman's.

"We'll take this one back down to the station." said Radomus. "He has some time to do."

"Wait, I don't get it." said Cain, with a confused expression. "If you could have just had Gardevoir teleport at any time, why bother coming all the way down here?"

He had a point.

"I hadn't said before?" shrugged Radomus. "Simply because Luna asked me to."

Gardevoir was beaming at him - overjoyed that her 'master' came down to rescue her, even though a simple teleportation could have done the job... and I probably wouldn't have had to face that stupid imposter Arceus.

Adrienn seemed to realize what Radomus was saying before in terms of comparing the real Gardevoir with the Ditto-Gardevoir - as xe noticed that the real Gardevoir was more lively. Gardevoir giggled that Adrienn was cute as xe was trying to protect her - and appreciated xyr heroism. She continued that she will never leave Radomus - as he is perfect for a Pokemon like her. Adrienn seemed relieved at her words - as xe was really worried that she belonged to a nasty trainer. Radomus explained that this was the reason why he remained content when El and the fake Gardevoir was accusing him of being a terrible trainer - as El failed to realize his mistake of underestimating Gardevoir. He then suggested that we take leave from this place, and all of us began to make our way back to the Grand Gates. I thought I heard a female child's voice excitedly saying something about coming back to play again, as I was exiting the aerie. It was probably my imagination...

"Ah, it's good to be above ground again!" said Adrienn as we reached the Grand Gates. "I feel like I was down there for ages! Fresh air, come to me!"

With that, xe rushed out in to the sunlight... through the southern gate.

The remaining four of us looked at each other in disbelief.

"Say... does anybody notice anything - er - strange?" asked Radomus.

"The Grand Gate!" shouted Cain in awe. "It opened!"

"Whaaaat?" babbled Gardevoir. "But it's been sealed for years! Why would it suddenly open now?"

"Imma go check it out. Let's go!"

Cain dragged me along as he followed Adrienn outside.

Adrienn seemed appalled by something - as if the scene in front of xym was something disgusting (which was partially true). Xe was pacing to and fro on the top of the Grand Stairway - as if something was bothering him, and xe seemed confused on where he currently was at the moment.

"I'm confused" replied Adrienn as I asked xym if xe was alright. "Where are we?"

"Reborn City." answered Cain, with a frown on his face. "This is the North Obsidia Ward... haven't you been here before?"

"This isn't the city..." muttered Adrienn in disbelief. "This isnt- where is the center? Where are the cabins and the port and why is the lake... brown?"

"Come off it, you must be new here." said Cain as he attempted to calm Adrienn down.

"I'm not!" shouted Adrienn. "I've lived in Reborn City my whole life! But this isn't the Reborn City that I know... It's disgusting! Nothing like the quiet city I grew up in"

Gardevoir sighed that Adrienn has gone slightly 'gaga', while her trainer had different thoughts. Radomus walked towards Adrienn, and asked whether the lake was a different color from his memory. Adrienn replied that the lake was a perfect brilliant blue - which is why it was named Azurine. Xe also told us that there were lots of grass and trees, and a grand waterfall was beside the Grand Gates.

"At the corner of the lake, there's a beautiful little port, and my gym- Oh goodness. What if something's happened to my gym? I've got to go there!"

With that, Adrienn dashed down the stairs and headed off towards the Coral Ward. Radomus stated that it would not be best to leave xem alone right now, and suggested we follow. Cain just realized that Adrienn must be the mysterious Gym Leader who disappeared from the Gym in Coral Ward, and Gardevoir teased him by asking him if he just figured that out.

We found Adrienn in front of the ruined Coral Ward Gym. I myself always wondered who owned this Gym - and felt sorry for Adrienn as xe didn't seem to know why xyr gym was in this destructed state. Adrienn seemed lost for words - muttering audibly that all of this must be a dream.

"Were this but a dream, it would be all the easier." said Radomus calmly. "Alas, it is not."

"I feel sick..." said Adrienn who was almost on the verge of tears.

"Steel your nerves for a moment and answer me this."

We all looked at Radomus - wondering what he was going to ask Adrienn.

"By your reaction, I can assume that you were not expecting to find this building in such a condition. Is that correct?" asked Radomus

"When I left this morning, it was perfectly fine..." squeaked Adrienn sadly. "And none of this was like this at all. This whole city-"

Something was wrong here. It's been almost two months since I arrived in Reborn - and the city was stale as ever even before that.

"As I thought." interrupted Radomus. "Then allow me to tell you what I know about this gym."

Radomus went on to explain that around a decade ago, Ame designated several buildings to be left untouched without repair - and most of these buildings were historical artifacts that had left from long ago. He pointed that this gym was one of those buildings - as Ame may have believed that the original owner of the gym would soon come attend to the repairs.

Adrienn seemed confused as ever.

"Understandably." said Radomus as he noticed Adrienn's expression. "Then allow me to clarify another thing."

"A moment ago, you said 'this morning' that this gym was normal to you. Earlier, you said you arrived at the ruin around 'an hour' before us. Is that right?"

"Y-yeah..." said Adrienn.

"I see." said Radomus. I wondered if he was making the same assumptions as me.

"Then, based on your description of this city and your testimony of what's happened, I believe there is only one conclusion that can be reached. You've been frozen in time for more than a decade."

It sounded unrealistic - but I was thinking that it was a possibility too. According to Radomus, the city's destruction began more than a decade ago, and it was impossible for Adrienn to not notice the City to be in a complete disarray if he was living in the present. Cain let out a small 'oh' - implying that he too, thought Radomus's prediction made sense.

Only Adrienn found this hard to believe.

"I'm sorry... What?"

"When you fell down into the ruin," began Radomus. "How did you get there?"

"Well, I was checking something out in the Mechanical Hall behind the Grand Gates." answered Adrienn. "Someone reported that they had seen some kind of light shining through the floor, so I dismantled part of it, and crawled down there. But when I lost my footing, I fell underground. Following a natural tunnel, I eventually came to that place"

"When you say you were in the Grand Gates," said Radomus. It slightly looked like he was interrogating Adrienn. "Does that mean you accessed them as normal from the Grand Stairway?"

"Yes... why?" asked Adrienn.

"Then that confirms it. The gates have been inoperational for years. More than a decade ago, they suddenly ceased function."

Radomus's theory began to make more sense as we listened to Adrienn's recount. He also seemed to believe that Adrienn was the cause of the gate's malfunction. Cain didn't seem convinced by this part of his theory though - and Radomus shrugged that he was just making deductions from fact - as it was true that the gates didn't function while Adrienn was inside - although they began to miraculously work again once xe left.

"If we are to believe what El told us about that being the site of Arceus's birth," said Radomus. "There is no telling what kind of energy afflicts that place. It is possible the energy of the meteor concealed inside the ruin warped the flow of time."

I nodded my head - convinced. But something was bugging me a little - but I wasn't quite sure what it was.

"Then shouldn't you all have been stuck with me too?" asked Adrienn. Ah, that was it.

"A valid concern," replied Radomus. "However, we had something you did not."

"Huh?" I gaped rather foolishly.

"The keys!" shouted Cain. I looked at him - it looked as if a light bulb has appeared on top of his head. "The Ruby Ring and the Amethyst Pendant! They must have prevented us from being trapped!"

"Perhaps their presence, and the energy they bear connected to the ruin," said Radomus. "They were sufficient to 'unlock' you from the spell of frozen time."

Adrienn slowly turned to face his gym. His expression was extremely gloomy. Cain asked xem what xe was going to do now.

"Well... I can't just leave the place like this." said Adrienn.

"You're gonna try and fix your gym all by yourself~" giggled Gardevoir. I couldn't help but feel that she was patronizing Adrienn. "You've got your work cut out for you!"

"No." replied Adrienn sternly. "Not the Gym, I mean the whole city."

"You intend to fix the whole city?" asked Radomus, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah" replied Adrienn with a sigh. "That's what I'm going to do. Is there someone in charge that I can speak to?"

"Wellllll" said Cain. "Ame is usually around the Grand Hall."
"The Grand Hall is a new construction." said Radomus. "Xe won't know it."

With that, Radomus asked me, Cain and Gardevoir to wait for him as he will take Adrienn to the Grand Hall. Gardevoir seemed to want to tag along - but Radomus assured her that he will be back as soon as she knows it. And he did. The four of us then headed back to Radomus's castle together - and the battle for my eighth Reborn Badge was drawing near.

Luna was waiting for us at the front door - and she greeted us very warmly. She was especially glad to see that Gardevoir was unharmed, and the two girls exchanged girly greetings. Luna thanked Radomus for being so grateful, and Cain and I couldn't help smirking at those words. Cain was whispering to me, rather audibly about Radomus's hats. On our way here, Radomus somehow managed to change his outfit again - this time, he was imitating a Gallade. I was thinking this outfit was slightly ridiculous - and apparently Cain thought so too. However, he seemed to have forgotten that Radomus had a good sense of hearing.

"There's nothing silly about these hats!" said Radomus, and Cain showed a guilty expression - embarrassed that he was caught talking about him behind his back. "If you don't like this one..."

With that, he twirled on the spot, and Radomus has changed his outfit again - and this time, he was wearing a magenta colored top hat, and was wearing magenta-colored robes - sort of looking like a magician. Noticing our amused expression, Gardevoir cackled that the 'peasantry' doesn't understand her master's divine taste of fashion. Luna seemed to agree as she finds them the most interesting. Cain and I let out small grunts, as we were verbally bashed by these two girls just because we made a comment about hats belonging to their 'master'.

At that moment, the doorbell rung.

"Ah." said Radomus. "He has arrived. I have somebody to introduce to you all. If you would be so kind as to stand aside, Cain..."

Cain was standing right in front of the door. He moved out of the way as Radomus opened the door, revealing a familiar white-haired man.

"Uhm." said Cain. He, like all of us except Radomus, was wearing a confused and shocked expression.

"That's-" squealed Luna, intimidated.

"Everybody." said Radomus, who seemed to be the only person remaining calm. "I would like you to meet the estate's newest butler, Elias."

"I am pleased to serve." said Elias as he bowed to us politely.

What the fu*k was going on here? There was no doubt that this man was El, the man who tried to blackmail Radomus, and tried to kill us with his Ditto. Why was he acting as if he was hypnotized?

Luna seemed to be the one that seemed to be the most confused.

"Why..." said Luna, as she looked into her father's eyes.

"Ah, dear Luna, you look as if you've seen a ghost." said Radomus - oblivious to the fact that Luna was rather terrified.

"It's not a ghost she's seen, yo." said Cain - his facial expression still aghast. "It's her father!"

"I am confused by your words" shivered Luna. "Master is my father, and none other."

"Indeed," said Radomus. "It is a strange thing to accuse our new attendant of."

"Elias" addressed Radomus. The white-haired man turned to look at Radomus. "Is this girl your daughter?"

"She is not." firmly replied Elias.

"Right." said Radomus. "And as she claims me to be her parent, I believe that this issue can be laid to the rest."

"B-but" stuttered Luna. "I don't like the feeling of that person. It's u-uncomfortable."

After a moment of silence, Luna excused us as she wished to leave. She walked deeper into the castle, and vanished from sight. Gardevoir ran after her.

Elias asked if he has offended her in any way, but Radomus told him not to worry. Instead, he asked if he has retrieved a certain rare object he has asked for. Elias nodded and handed Radomus, a purple piece of jewelry. Radomus thanked Elias, and asked him to leave us, which he did so obediently.

Cain and I were shocked - as we realized that the piece of jewelry that was in Radomus's hand was Anna's Amethyst Pendant. Radomus said he was correct, and asked me how I came to access the peculiar object. I explained that it belonged to a friend of ours, and she will be wanting that back.

"Ah," sighed Radomus. "Such a precious thing to lose. I understand, believe me."

I stretched out my hands, but Radomus made no movement with his hands.

"But in understanding," said Radomus. "It is with all my greatest sympathy, that I will refuse to return it to you."

I opened my mouth to argue but Radomus stopped me.

"For just this once, I will implore you to acquiesce me on faith alone." said Radomus quickly - so that I won't be unleashing my frustration. "I will keep this object, and you will not find your trust abused."

Cain opened his mouth to argue this time, but Radomus halted him too.

"Now! Onto lighter matters, I believe we have a gym challenge to get under way, do we not?"

He told me that the doors to the Challenge Hall is now open - and wished me luck as he walked away - getting prepared for the upcoming battle.

Cain and I were left alone (OH NO!) - and he was having serious doubts whether it was a good decision to side with Radomus after all. I agreed somewhat too - but I decided it was too much for me to think at the moment, and now was the time to focus on the Gym Battle...

Current Team:

Jan (Feraligatr) Lv. 57

- Water Pledge

- Crunch

- Ice Fang

- Rock Smash

Squelch (Muk) Lv. 57

- Gunk Shot

- Mud Bomb

- Strength

- Screech

Donar (Venomoth) Lv. 58

- Bug Buzz

- Psychic

- Sleep Powder

- Quiver Dance

Paruto (Diggersby) Lv. 57

- Bounce

- Dig

- Hammer Arm

- Nature Power

Root (Trevenant) Lv. 57

- Destiny Bond

- Horn Leech

- Phantom Force

- Will-O-Wisp

Purugly (Dummy) Lv. 58

- Body Slam

- Shadow Claw

- Swagger

- Hypnosis