Pokemon: The Orayen Tales

"Your Majesties." The Old Maid bowed to them when they landed on the platform next to the Clock Tower.

Even though she knew that it was Sabrina who was disguised as Ilene, the Old Jenny treated it as if she was not aware of the truth.

"Jenny," Aizen smiled at her, "How were the Games?"

"They were fun, Your Grace. Your friend Brock won the Cross-country on his Dodrio," She brightly informed him, having come to enjoy her conversations with him.

"That's nice. What about Gary?"

"Gary Oak is in the Finals of the Pokémon Battle Completion. He performed very well today, and Sir Riley was very impressed by him."

"As expected." He smiled. "And Ash?"

Old Jenny held back her giggle as she covered her face with her hand.

"He was unlucky, Your Grace."

Aizen raised his brow at her.

"He was disqualified from the Pokémon Battle Competition."

"Why? What happened?" He surprisedly asked.

"His newly involved Charizard interrupted an ongoing battle, Your Grace. It wanted to fight against the Charizard of Gary Oak's opponent."

Aizen sighed and shook his head, a little disappointed that Ash had still not worked on his relationship with his Pokémon.

"On the bright side, he and his Pikachu managed to win the Treasure Hunt."

"Wow..." Aizen was genuinely surprised at the news. "How?"

Ash and Pikachu were nowhere close to collecting all the hints yesterday.

"They stumbled on it when they were running from a horde of Beedrill, Your Grace..."

Jenny could not hold back her giggles anymore and laughed when Aizen chuckled, shaking his head.

On their way towards their Chamber, he asked the Old Maid if they had Black Augurite in the Castle, and as he expected, they did have it.

Lots of weapons, artefacts, and tools from the time that had long passed existed in nearly all Museums and Castles.

It was no different for the Cameran Palace which held tens of thousands of years of history.

By the time they freshened up and got ready for the dinner, Old Jenny brought a six-inch-long block of Black Augurite, shaped into a tea box, and she was quite curious about what he wanted to do with it.

"I hope it isn't something valuable, Jenny. You won't be getting it back. I plan on using it to help my Pokémon evolve."

"It was catching dust in the Old Treasury, Your Grace."

"Thank you." He smiled at her, but since the Pokéball of his New Scyther was locked, he could not call out his Pokémon right now to introduce it to her.

Aizen had his dinner with the Action Team, where Glacia and Cynthia were missing, having gone to attend the Silver Congress at the Indigo Plateau.

After the meal, they all entered the Royal Study and briefed each other about their day.

"Tomorrow's the Final Day of the Annual Games, and we have the Royal Ball in the evening. The Queen has to stay at the Palace," Joseph meaningful said, and the Orayen Prince nodded his head.

"Ilene and I will attend it."

"Is it wise?" Riley frowned and worriedly looked at the Cameran Queen. "You do know that they are going to act tomorrow, don't you?"

"Yes," Joseph Stone and the Orayen Prince solemnly nodded their heads.

"Aizen. Are you sure you will be able to take care of the Shadow Pokémon?" Krane suddenly asked him with all seriousness, and seeing him smile in response, everyone relaxed.

"Yes. Leave them to me and focus on keeping everyone who is going to attend the Ball safe. When is Lance coming?"

"He will be here at dawn with his most trusted Ace Trainers," Bill informed him and opened the suitcase he had carried into the room. "They are clear."

The dark-haired Stone then handed them small devices and asked them to wear these Wards behind their ears to stay safe against Psychic Attacks.

These devices were created by him, Krane, and Doctor Fuji after they reverse-engineered the technology of Team Rocket, and improved on these Wards.

Doctor Fuji sent them from the Cinnabar Lab, and it was Blue Oak who delivered them to Bill earlier at lunch.

Even though Aizen did not need these Wards, he still took three of them, and everyone else wore one and kept a spare.

There were still dozens of these devices in the briefcase, enough to give them to the guards and Lance's Team at the Ball.

After the meeting, Aizen left 'Ilene' with Joseph, Anabel, and Kidd as he went out to the Royal Games Village to visit the Pokémon Center. It was only operational for one month every year for the Annual Games, and there was a Transporter Machine at the Center.

He sent Bulbasaur, Vulpix, and Nidoran to the Oak Laboratory, and contacted the Professor to send him his Aerodactyl.

A few minutes later, he received Aerodactyl's Pokéball and left the Pokémon Center.

Aizen did not return to the Palace.

Instead, he sent Joseph a message that he was going to run a quick errand and climbed up his Ancient Pokémon to head to the Celadon City.

He could have used Dexter to Teleport and make it quicker, but he needed his Mega Metagross at his perfect tomorrow, and Teleporting to such long distances consumed a lot of the Psychic Reserves.

It took the Orayen Prince two and a half hours to reach his destination, a few minutes before the Grand Celadon Poké Mart was about to close.

He chuckled when the Clerk informed him that only one Metal Coat was left and that the next batch was going to arrive a few weeks before the Indigo Conference.

Thankfully, he decided to make the errand himself and also purchased a Fire Stone when he saw that it was available.

Since he had gifted his Fire Stone to Elaine's Growlithe, he now needed one for his Vulpix.

Aizen already had the Electirizer for his Electabuzz, but he still needed a Protector for his Rhydon.

When he asked the Clerk if they could arrange for it, the man was surprised but nodded his head.

Aizen watched speak into his walkie-talkie, and soon, two of his colleagues brought a Protector out of the backroom.

The Prince was happy that it was the right size for his Rhydon.

"My apologies, but we don't have a smaller one."

"No worries. I need this size for my Rhydon." He smiled at them and then picked it up with such ease that it nearly gave them a scare.

He carefully inspected it and was satisfied with its condition.

"I will take it."

The Clerks beamed a smile at him.

The Fire Stone cost him 20,000 PokeDollars, which was the standard price, the Metal Coat cost him 42,000 PokeDollars, which was slightly more expensive than the Standard Price, and the Protector for his Rhydon cost him 67,000 PokeDollars after a discount.

Evolutionary Items were not cheap, and they were not something that a poor Trainer could afford.

Everyone curiously looked at him when he carried the heavy Protector with ease, left the Poké Mart and entered the Pokemon Center next to it.

After showing Nurse Joy his Pokédex, he requested her to keep the Protector at the Center for him.

Rhydon was not yet ready to evolve, and Aizen planned on helping it become a Rhyperior a month before the Indigo Council. So, carrying this heavy item around was not convenient.

Joy happily accepted his request and then guided him to the Store Room, where he placed the Protector in the corner.

He thanked her and then exited the Center before Teleporting to its roof.

There, he called out his Aerodactyl and rushed back to the Cameran Palace.

Aizen managed to reach his destination by 2 am, and he allowed Aerodactyl to stay out and rest at the topmost Tower of the Palace, where Aerius and Sky were also resting.

Anabel and Kidd were present in the Chamber with 'Ilene', and he apologised to the two of them for the delay.

When they left the room to get some sleep, the Prince quickly changed into his Pyjamas and dropped into his bed.

"Where did you go?" Sabrina, who was sitting on the couch, meditating, opened her eyes and asked.

"Celadon City. Wanted to buy a Metal Coat for Scyther."

She nodded her head and closed her eyes again.

"Come here," Aizen called out to her, and the Moonheart slowly stood up and entered the bed with him. "Sleep." He gently said as he wrapped his arms around her, and she did as he asked.

A couple of hours later, right before dawn, the Promise Ball on his neck started shining, and a bright red star appeared in the sky.

The two would have slept soundly until late in the morning had they not been woken up by sudden knocks at dawn.

Aizen quickly got out of bed when he sensed the anxiety of Anabel, who was at the door.

"They are attacking Oak Laboratory!" She frantically informed him, and his heart nearly jumped in his throat.

His mind buzzed as his Psychic Focus raged, and 'Ilene' was already out of bed as she rushed into the dressing room.

[They are safe.]

It was only after he heard Lyla's words that his mind cleared up and the Violet glow in his eyes subsided.

"Where's everyone?" He asked Anabel, whose face had gone pale after sensing his raw Psychic Focus.

"Lounge 1."

"I will be there in a few minutes."

The Stone was quite anxious, but quickly nodded her head before she rushed back to the lounge.

Now, she was more concerned about what he would do than what was happening at the Pallet Town.