Thing is, you still have to take care of weeds and wild Pokémon. Got surprised by a couple of Spewpa, heh heh. Anyway, after planting the berries, watering the soil, and getting ready to leave, a woman approaches me, and asks me if I'm the owner of the farm. I tell I'm not. I don't think I am, anyway. The guy just lets me plant berries here. She tells me she is researching Berry mutations, and to meet her at the house. Neat. I can tell her about the free Qualot Berry I got!
I meet her in the house, and I'm guessing the woman is telepathic, because she remarks that the Oran and Pecha create a Qualot. Wait...how does that work? I only planted the berries! I didn't try to crossbreed them! Maybe it's a plant thing? Anyway, since I know I don't have to worry about watering them for a while, I'll hit Route 6 and check out Parfum Palace. Shauna's been wanting to go there anyway.
Route 6 is incredibly neat. It's a path that is lined by trees. The trees provide shade over the path, and I get the impression that I am entering a temple, with the leaves as a roof, and the tree trunks as columns. There are also a couple trainers along the route, so I can get some experience and some money along the way. And there's a couple areas of tall grass and more Trainers, and lots more wild Pokémon to collect.
One feature I think this game could use comes from the original Gold and Silver. In that game, some Trainers would exchange numbers with you and call you for rematches. I loved that idea, as I can imagine in this world, there would be rivalries between Trainers, and rematches may happen a lot. It also added to the replay ability of the game because you can continue battling Trainers. Would be even better if those Trainers came with stronger Pokémon, showing that like your character, they have grown stronger with time as well. That would be nice.
Passing through Route 6, I arrive at Parfum Palace. And I have to admit, the graphics on this thing are amazing. The palace is so beautiful, even at night. Looking at this palace, I am amazed by how the Pokémon series has grown graphically since the days of Red and Blue on the original Game Boy. In almost twenty years, the Pokémon games really have grown. I'm hoping that for Pokémon's 20th Anniversary, they give the original Red and Blue updates like they just did for Ruby and Sapphire.
One thing I can't help but wonder, though. I wonder why Shauna thinks we could learn more about Mega Evolution here? Does an expert on Pokémon evolution live there?
The Palace does remind me a little of Buckingham Palace, but since Kalos is modeled on France, I wouldn't be surprised if they modeled this place on the Palace of Versailles. I headed up to the front gates, which have Serperiors on them. A man there tells me that it will cost 1,000 gold to go inside. 1,000 Gold?! Do I look like I'm made of money?! Really?! Are you kidding me?! What, is this place only visited by dignitaries and entrepreneurs?
Thankfully, Shauna shares my outrage on it. The doorman, or should I say, gate man, explains that the owner believes that one can never have too much money. Ahhh, the owner is a greedy jerk. The man also explains that the fee is so high because the money goes towards maintaining the palace. That makes sense, actually. In real life, castles are very expensive to live in. Anyway, we pay the fee, and he lets us inside. Probably...
Jeez, this place is huge up close. Never thought I'd see buildings shown this...BIG in a Pokémon game. Anyway, we walk inside, and we see a man standing in front of a Milotic statue. He is screaming about not being able to find something. He's screaming about his Furfrou. Shauna suggests we help look for it, she saying that she empathizes with the man. I don't blame her. But I have no idea where to start. This place is opulent like you won't believe. It's walls are white with what I can assume is possibly marble, and there's lots of gold patterns on the walls, and busts of gold-clad knights everywhere. No wonder the entrance fee was so high.
I spot a butler in front of a pair of large blue doors. He states that beyond the doors lie the Palace's courtyard, described in his own words as 'too-vast'. I'll bet. A place as opulent like this, I'd be disappointed if it had a tiny courtyard, heh heh. I decided on exploring the place a bit. I found the King's bed...and I took a nap. Evidently the bed is a Pokémon Center, because my Pokémon feel good, too.
Walking around the place, you encounter various people, and through them, learn a bit about the mansion. I learned the current owner inherited the place. I also learned it was built when Kalos won a war with neighboring regions (A bard revealed the war happened about 3,000 years ago). That's interesting. Was Kalos warring with the regions featured in previous Pokémon games, or with other regions that haven't been seen yet? And Pokémon fought in those wars, too? Maybe that's where the battling thing came from. Gives you a lot to think about. Huh. And the same three paintings appear often in the place. That's funny. But I did find in one room a portrait of a person. It may have been the king who originally commissioned this palace.
Earlier, I spoke about how much the graphics in the Pokémon games have grown over the years. The second-floor balcony is further proof. It gives a view of...well, a too-vast courtyard. And it's quite a sight. You really get a sense of the size of that place. When I played the original Red and Blue on the original Game Boy back in the day, I never imagined I'd see a courtyard like this. Breathtaking.
Further exploring, I found what appeared to be a private library. Talking to the butler, he says that he heard a rumor that there was a book that contained a secret for restoring dead Pokémon to life. Foreshadowing, perhaps? He claims such a book is not in this library. Looking at the shelves, I found a book called "The Transforming Pokémon and the Mysterious Stone", about an incident in Shalour City. It's about Mega Evolution! Shame I can't take it...
Ah well, to the Courtyard! Once there, Shauna says she'll look around in the back. I get the front then, I guess. Looking around through the gardens, I find some items, including HM01, Cut. I also noticed the statues of Zekrom and Reshiram, the legendary Pokémon of the Unova region. A nod to Black and White, neat. Anyway, we find the Furfrou, and it runs off into a maze. We have to trick it into running into a dead end. Shauna and I manage to pull it off, though. It was pretty simple when we put some thought into it.
The owner is so overjoyed, he arranges a fireworks show. Wow. So, we decided to go up to the second floor balcony to watch the show. Shauna confesses she never watched fireworks with a boy before. Aww.The fireworks show is absolutely amazing, bright and colorful. We remember we came there for the Poké Flute, to wake up the Snorlax. The owner sends his butler to retrieve it. He explains that it was the treasure of Shabboneau Castle, but that he took it as payment for a loan. Sheesh, ever heard of payment plans? Anyway, the butler retrieves the Flute for us. The man advises us to always return what we borrow.
Shauna doesn't really like the Palace's owner, but the butler defends him by saying that running this place is hard on him. She then remembers that she was hoping to learn some things about Mega Evolution here, and she asks the butler if he knows anything. He explains the he remembers reading about it in the Palace's library. He also gives us TM17, Protect.
Well, now that we got the flute, it's time to wake that Snorlax!
Pokémon Obtained:
Quilladin (Chestnut) - Evolved from Chespin
Jones (Audino)
Venom (Venipede)
Braixen (Vulcan) - Evolved from Fennekin
Slash (Honedge)
Lookout (Sentret)
Frogadier (Neptune) - Evolved from Froakie
Weird (Oddish)
Psykitty (Espurr)
Goemon (Nincada)
Xerox (Kecleon)
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