Melaine's Castle : Outer Wall Outskirts
Allen's request was met with silence initially, especially as other fighting Trainers retreated, having been whited out by the Trainers in armor, armed with weapons alongside Pokemon, that seemed to be on the side of whoever owned the castle. Then, a break after several minutes. Emerging from her castle, a Pokemon descended to greet Allen.
She was a dark-purple, sylph-like Pokemon that had a black chest and arms that resembled a dress. She also had a headdress, which consisted of purple crystals; the four short ones cresting along the top pointing upwards, and two long ones on each side of her head, pointing downwards, with an additional diamond-cut centerpiece framed by her slim dark-purple ears. A smaller purple crystal was also embedded in the back of her head, and a red nugget was embedded in her forehead. Her eyes were black with pale-purple irises, and a red crescent circled her neck, with each end joined by a rhomboid gem. Her lower body resembled a large oblong chunk of stone, with a large purple crystal protruding from it.
Are you the rabble that disrespects the very ground they stand upon with their incessant yelling? You are standing in the presence of Melaine—1st Crown-Princess of Ruula. You may kneel if you wish. Your choice in the matter may determine the direction of our following interaction.
The other Trainers who had sided with the Pokemon seemed to step forward, as if ready to follow her on her words. They all shared unanimous features; their armor and weapons made mostly of diamonds and crystals that were styled in a medieval bent and faintly glowing shadowy purple eyes lighting through their helmet shaded or mask covered faces. Most of the males wore shorts and pants, while most of the females wore miniskirts and pants. The attire seemed to be based on what sort of weapon they carried, and all of them seemed to be unaffected by, if not outright immune to, the flashes of light that stung and burned at exposed Trainers and Pokemon.
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Nuvema Town : Professor Juniper's Lab
The Professors across the board were a wealth of useful knowledge. Juniper was able to to get ahold of Krane, Sycamore, and Rowan, thus getting Touko and Radegast some critical info about their foe.
What was revealed was this: She is a Diancie, which are rare, but powerful, mutations of a normally Kalosian and Alolan native species called Carbink. Sycamore also confirmed it's typing as a Rock/Fairy dual-type, and a number of other details that more or less created a solid, if still work in progress, Pokedex Entry for the pair to use.
Professor Krane could also shed light on what he had on Shadow Pokemon.
He revealed that Shadow Pokemon are created through a still somewhat unknown process that all but removes a Pokemon's emotions entirely, turning them into a soulless fighting machine. A man named Ein, who was the creator of the process and Team Cipher's head scientist at some time not too long ago, referred to the process as "shutting the door to their hearts". Team Cipher's science division later refined and upgraded the process to allow many Shadow Pokemon to be produced simultaneously. The head of their science division, before they were defeated recently, was a scientist named Lovrina, who also worked on stabilizing the process to increase their resistance to the best purification methods at the time. The goal was to create a Shadow Pokemon that could not be purified.
Further, while normal Pokemon are generally friendly and trusting creatures as a whole, Shadow Pokemon are not hesitant to attack with no mercy, and they do not attack only other Pokemon, even extending their victims to Trainers. Shadow Pokemon were occasionally overwhelmed by their emotions, and sometimes entered a state called "Hyper Mode," or, "Reverse Mode." The state was connected to how purified they were prior to full purification. Calling out to the Pokemon usually snapped them out of the effect, though other remedies exist.
However, Shadow Pokemon cannot be differentiated from normal Pokemon without certain abilities or tools. Shadow Pokemon emit a dark aura that normal Pokemon do not, though the aura is typically invisible. The Professor has built a device that can detect auras, but it'd take time to get two of them over to Unova; though Juniper and Rowan theorize that anyone sensitive to Aura could also detect it. In some cases, the Pokemon's physical appearance can change if it is sufficiently corrupted.
This information thus presented a couple of avenues to further explore, mostly in actual field research. While the Professors would continue their own research in lab, field data would be invaluable, as would any data from Nendal's vast archives that surely existed somewhere. Thus, Touko and Radegast would find themselves once more in Castelia City, though this time, together and with information and a good recharge.
Castelia City : Bridge Gate
However, in their short absence, the Bridge Gate had turned into a small warzone's aftermath. The usual guards on duty were both noticeably absent, and in their place were three girls who were more or less silent, though smiling as they seemed to quietly small talk with each other and clean up the place. Two of the girls wore a cuirass made of faintly glowing purple and shadowy diamonds over a black blouse with bell sleeves. Their miniskirts were black as well, with strategically cuts to not hinder movement, though short modesty shorts were present as well in a dark purple color. Their dark purple thigh boots had a small heel that suggested they could ride a Pokemon suited for it, and their dark purple gloves were cuffed for added flair and protection, likely because they had weaponry.
On their backs were what looked liked shortbows, and they had a belt and strap that allowed them to keep a quiver full of arrows. These weapons seemed to be made of the same faintly glowing purple and shadowy diamonds as the cuirass was. Lastly, they each had a kettle helmet with diamond motifs that shaded their face from the nose up, though their faintly glowing purple and shadowy eyes were visible and not normal looking. Both had shorter hair, with one doing a bob cut while the other did a wavy/curly look, though both had grey hair, darker in tone with a heavy charcoal-esque tint.
Both looked young, and between the two of them, they had four Pokemon it seemed. The one with the bob cut had three gym badges, while the one with the wavy/curly look had two of her own. Perhaps they were novice Trainers whose journeys were cut short?
The third Trainer was a younger woman with a ponytail and a maid outfit that had a diamond brooch that radiated the sense of energy. With purple eyes as well, though hers lacked the faint glow, and only a frilled head decoration with flower accessory that didn't shade her face, she somehow seemed more important than the other two, despite her appearances. Her hair was blonde, and she kept her arms behind her back as she supervised the cleanup, though it seemed by the rag she held that she was doing her own fair share. She had three Poke Balls, but otherwise seemed unarmed and unarmored.
Upon hearing the doors open, all three turned to look at Touko and Radegast as the two archers drew their shortbows and reached for Poke Balls.
Marksman 1:
Hey! You two there! Identify yourselves!
Marksman 2:
Yeah, you can't pass until we know you're not here to cause trouble!
Maid:
Well, aren't you two ready to go? Stand down. We should at least talk with these two Trainers first.
Dusting herself off, the maid gave a bow, not letting Touko or Radegast have a word edgewise before she continued.
Maid:
Apologies. My name is Belinda, and I'm in proud service to the new Crown-Princess. If either of you harbors ill intentions toward her, then I will have to ask you to leave unless you can present proof of a presence request by her decree. If you mean to stay without, then I will have to get the room dirty again. Such a problem that would be, no? We shouldn't need to undo my work.
Belinda's demeanor was quite Brazen, all facts considered. She also seemed unusually confident despite her expected position by appearances.