Timothy feels like he's in heaven the farther he is from the castle. For the past couple of hours, he and Electchu have been exploring the city almost nonstop. From seeing the blacksmith to the town baker, a butcher, or watching little kids playing the snow with their smaller Pokemon, everything seems to amaze him to no end.

"I can't believe my eyes, Electchu," he says as they walk by. "It's clear that seeing pictures and paintings and hearing stories of life outside of the castle is one thing but to actually witness said it is something else. Wouldn't you say?"

"Pikachu!" Electchu replies happily.

"I wonder what this place is like when it is not winter," Timothy says. "Maybe we would have been able to see some beautiful autumn leaves or perhaps watching herds of various Pokemon marching through the valley lands outside of the city in the spring or summertime. But then again, even seeing this place in the snow is a marvel to see so close as opposed to from any of the high towers of the castle."

Timothy's Pikachu nods in agreement as they walk through the streets. Their exploring is suddenly interrupted, however, when two brown arms suddenly wrap-around Timothy from behind and he is lifted off the ground as a tall man hugs him tightly.

"Ash! Pikachu!" Brock shouts happily. "I'm so glad you guys are safe!"

"Happiny!" Happiny says standing next to Brock.

Electchu jumps off of Timothy's shoulder as the prince struggles to breathe. Eventually, Brock let's go of him and Timothy coughs a few times before he starts breathing normally.

"What happened?" Brock asks. "Why did you guys suddenly chase that carriage to the castle."

"I think this is Ash's friend, Brock," Timothy whispers to Electchu before turning to the taller man and says, "Oh, it's just that Pikachu was...um...really fascinated with the wheels on that carriage and felt the need to chase after it for a better look at them. Isn't that right, Pikachu?"

"Pi....Pika?" Electchu answers with a shrug.

"Well, how did you two get out?" Brock asks. "Couldn't you get in serious trouble for sneaking into the castle like that?"

"Oh, we had a little trouble with the castle guards, but luckily the prince was there to help us out. He's really nice and he even let me try out some of his clothes before he sent us on our way," Timothy says with a proud smile.

"Well, at least someone in the castle is," Brock remarks with a frown." Come to think about it, maybe you could have asked the prince why his father is taking all the food from the kingdom."

Timothy looks at Brock confused and asks, "Wait, what are you talking about?

"What do you mean, what am I talking about?" Brock rebukes. "We need to get some food on the table and you find out why the king is taking everyone's food."

Timothy and Electchu look at each other confused before Timothy says, "Are you being for real Brock or are you trying to pull my leg?"

"What, did staying in the castle for that long affect your mind?" Brock rebukes, starting to feel annoyed. "We're struggling to have any food, remember? We've been trying to get any money just for a loaf of bread all day. Everyone else here is starving because the king is taking all their food."

"No, no, you've got it all wrong," Timothy says shaking his head. "My father - I mean the king would never do that. There must be something wrong with your head. He would die before he would do anything like that."

Brock furrows his brow and crosses his arms at the man he thinks is his best friend.

"Ash, what did they do to you inside the castle?" He demands. "Did they alter your mind or did they wipe out your memory or something?"

"What? No!" Timothy shouts. "No one is capable of doing that, Brock."

"You don't know that," Brock says. "They could have like a Hypno or a Malimar brainwashing you into thinking that everything is okay and they're not stealing food from the tables of families, of children."

"He would never do that," Timothy rebukes. "You're just pulling my leg. There's nothing like that at all happening here. I'll prove it to you".

Without another word, Timothy runs away from Brock as fast as he can with Electchu back on his shoulder. Brock and Happiny call out to him, pleading for him to come back, but once again the smaller man is slightly faster. After a while, Timothy manages to get a great distance away from Brock and hides behind an alleyway where Brock can't find him. He pants tirelessly after running for so long.

"What in the world was he going on about?" Timothy asks. "You'd think that if anything of this was going on, Ash would have said something about that while I was ranting about life outside of the castle, right?"

"Pika," Electchu says unsurely.

"Well, I know I'm right," the prince claims. "Father has been sick for weeks. He doesn't have the strength to get out bed much less make any decisions concerning the kingdom, and heaven knows he would rather die a thousand deaths rather than do anything Brock just said."

"Pikachu," Electchu says nodding.

Timothy nods back, confident with what he's saying, but then his confidence weakens as he gives it more thought.

"Then again, if my father has made no such commands, then maybe someone actually is taking people's food and is doing it in the king's name," he theorizes. "But even if that's true, then who is doing this?"

The prince thinks about this for a few minutes with his Pikachu until they suddenly hear a noise. A sound of a woman crying and kids bickering fills their ears and they look at each other in confusion. Timothy and Electchu peak from their hiding spot and their eyes widen to see a woman weeping desperately as two soldiers are trying to yank a sack of potatoes out of her hands while her three little kids try to push and kick the soldiers' feet.

"Please, let go, my lady," one soldier says in an aggressive tone. "It's for the king."

"Yeah, the king," says the other soldier.

"But it's all we have!" the woman begs.

"Well then, it's all we'll take," the first soldier says.

Timothy and Electchu stare in disbelief. Never have either of them ever seen anything like this in their lives and in the hands of Timothy's father's own guard. Suddenly, Timothy's shock turns to anger as he walks toward the commotion without thinking. Electchu only has a moment to realize what his master is about to do before Timothy speaks.

"Halt!" Timothy shouts in a commanding tone, instantly earning the attention of the two soldiers and the woman and her children. "As the prince of Kalos, I demand that you let go of that bag and leave these citizens in peace."

Everyone stares at Timothy in confusion. Finally, the two soldiers look at each other and burst out laughing. Timothy crosses his arms, unamused while the woman and her children step back.

"Oh, you are the prince?" The first soldier giggles. "Right, and I'm an Aipom's uncle."

"It's true," Timothy declares. "I am Prince Timothy and I swear on my father's crown, if you don't do as I order, I'll see two it that you will be removed from the royal guard and imprisoned."

The two soldiers laugh even harder.

"Oh, forgive us, your majesty," the second soldier says mockingly as he walks over to Timothy and Electchu. "But you seem to have forgotten your crown."

Without another word, the soldier punches Timothy hard in the stomach. The prince goes down in one knee and wraps his stomach around his arms. The soldier prepares to attack again, but Timothy comes to just in time to block the second punch.

"Electchu, Iron Tail," he commands.

Without hesitation, Electchu's tail turns into iron and he jumps in the air and smacks the second soldier right on the face. As he goes down in pain, Timothy and Electchu don't pay attention to notice the first soldier smacking the Pikachu while it's still in the air,sending flying into a wall.

"Electchu!" Timothy cries out before the soldier punches him in the face and he goes down on his knees.

"Please, 'Your Majesty,'" the soldier says tauntingly as he grabs a pumpkin from his cart. "Allow me to put your crown back on your head."

Timothy only has a second to realize what the soldier is thinking before he drops the pumpkin right on top of the prince's head. The pumpkin breaks on impact and Timothy falls down unconscious as the soldiers laugh, take the woman's bag of potatoes and walk away with their cart of food. The woman and her children run to Timothy and Electchu's side just in time for Brock and Happiny to find the shorter man and his Pikachu down.

***********************************************************************************

"Oh, man. I can't breathe," Ash complains as he, Pikachu and Odyssey walk down the halls. "Why in the world do I have to put on royal clothes that are so tight. What purpose do they have at all?"

The prince's Lucario rolls his eyes as he follows the disguised pauper.

"As heaven is my witness, you are almost more childish than master is," Odyssey grumbles telepathically. "You're going to eat at a banquet with the princess and the Kalos nobility and you would look like a fool in the name of both the prince and the King even if you wore the outfits master gave you before he and Electchu left."

Ash groans childishly and says, "Well, I don't care if I'm going to eat with a hundred princesses. No representation of someone's name is worth suffocating like this before getting a bite to eat."

"Oh, quit your bickering already," the Lucario rebukes. "Now, do you remember what I told you about your table manners?"

Ash sighs and recites, "Sit up straight, don't talk with my mouth full, don't rest my elbows on the table, make eye contact with the people sitting next to me, cover my mouth when I belch and say excuse me, use the napkin I'm putting under my shirt, blah, blah, blah."

Odyssey growls in annoyance and says, "I'm starting to wonder what's the real difference between you and master."

"Well, it seems like a whole lot of unnecessary stuff," Ash protest. "I mean being polite is all well and good, but I doubt half of the other things you said is really necessary just for good manners at a dining table. I mean will the princess really be looking for stuff like this while thinking I'm the Prince?"

"Pika, pika pika pika pikachu," Pikachu says.

"Now that I can agree on," Odyssey says with a smirk. "He said it's funny that you are saying you don't care when you were so lost in the princess's eyes earlier."

Ash blushes lightly at the Lucario's words. His mind begins to drift to when he stared at Serena's ocean blue eyes. It felt so strange yet inviting to find himself staring at one person's eyes for so long and never wanting two look at anything else. But then Ash shakes his head, stops walking and turns to Pikachu.

"Well, you're the one to talk about odd behavior, Pikachu," he points out. "I mean that's twice today you were suddenly chasing something without any explanation at all. Seriously, what's gotten into you, buddy?"

Pikachu hesitates and scratches the back of his head nervously.

"I'm afraid I share your master's curiosity, little mouse," Odyssey says. "I think it is time you explain yourself once and for all if for no other reason then to avoid any more trouble you may cause for both yourself and your trainer."

Pikachu acts even more embarrassed than before. His already red cheeks turn even redder as he avoids eye contact with either Ash or Odyssey.

"Well, come on, Pikachu, out with it", Ash demands.

With his trainer's command, Pikachu reluctantly takes a deep breath and start speaking. While Ash cannot understand his language, Odyssey listens to the yellow mouse intently and his determination turns into a smirk as Pikachu finishes his story.

"Well, well, well," the Lucario says amused. "It appears that you are not the only one that has been hypnotized by a lady's blue eyes, young man."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Ash asks.

"It appears that your Pikachu was drawn to the beauty of the princess's Sylveon when her carriage was passing by the two of you and your friends which is why he chased the carriage all the way to the castle courtyard," Odyssey explains. "And when he saw the Sylveon again when you formally met Princess Serena, he was running towards her Sylveon eager to officially meet her without any care of his surroundings, thus resulting in you needing to save the princess from falling down because of his attraction to the fairy Pokemon."

Ash stairs at Odyssey dumbfounded before turning to Pikachu and asks, "Pikachu, is this true?"

"Pikachu," Pikachu reluctantly says with a nod.

"So our entire adventure here started because you are... Falling for the princess's Sylveon?" Ash asks.

At this point, Pikachu's entire face is turning deep red and he completely looks away from his trainer and the Lucario much to the surprise of Ash and the amusement of Odyssey.

"I think that's all the explanation we need," Odyssey says before giving Pikachu a concerned look. "However, I must remind both of you that you are not here to fall in love with the princess or her Pokemon. You are only here until my master comes back and then it's back to the city for you."

Pikachu winces at the thought of only seeing Sylveon for just one day and his ears drop. Ash looks at his friends sadly and pets him for comfort.

"I'm sorry, Pikachu, but he's right," Ash says sympathetically. "We shouldn't even be here in the first place. We just have to play our part until the prince comes back and then it's back to Brock and Happiny. But who knows, maybe will find another female Pokemon that might interest you. There are hundreds of Pokemon in the world. Maybe even a female Pikachu might be better for you."

Pikachu refuses to listen to his trainer as in his little mind he does not believe that there will be any other Pokemon that could grab his attention the way the princess's Sylveon does. Deep down inside, Pikachu mentally wishes to make the most of whatever time he has left if any at all with that Sylveon even though he hasn't said a word to the evolved form of an Eevee. But Odyssey and Ash take his silence as a means of trying to accept that he can't be with the princess' Pokemon and continue walking down the hall until they make it to a large doorway where Markenal is waiting for them with an unamused look.

"I trust there will be no more delays or embarrassments, sire?" The older man asks coldly.

"Not to worry, Sir Markenal," Ash says. "I have just cleared things up with Pika - I mean Electchu and he won't do that again."

"I should hope not," Markenal warns. "I have half a mind to throw him outside with the rest of your Pokemon. Now, let us proceed."

Ash nods as the head of the household turns around and prepares to open the large doors. As he does, Ash leans into Odyssey's ear.

"Is it me, or does this guy have a real dislike for the prince's Pokemon except for you?" He whispers.

"Well, being able to speak telepathically has its privileges in that man's eyes," the Lucario answers. "Since I can speak telepathically and I am unofficially the voice of reason among my master and his Pokemon, Sir Markenal seems to tolerate me the most. In fact, sometimes I wonder if he even sees me as a Pokemon at all."

"Well, that's weird," Ash says.

"It's all a matter of traditions and such," Odyssey answers. "In Markenal's eyes, Pokemon are nothing but mindless animals and the fact that the prince has six of them and is close to them is disgusting in his eyes."

"That doesn't sound fair," Ash says. "Where I live, people and Pokemon are equals."

"Doesn't matter," Odyssey says. "It's only because it is the king and the prince's wish that Markenal has tolerated Pokemon living inside the castle walls much less for there to be any inside the castle itself. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if the first thing the prince does when he's king is see to it that Markenal's ideals are removed from the royal court."

Ash nods in acknowledgment as Markenal opens the door and he, Ash, Odyssey, and Pikachu enter the grand dining hall where dozens of noble people are waiting for them. A group of men sound their trumpets as Markenal clears his throat.

"Announcing the arrival of His Highness, Prince Timothy of Kalos," he says loudly.

"Man, I hope I don't get used to people calling me by that name," Ash thinks as he waves his hand like a prince just as Odyssey taught him before he sits down on the table reserved for royalty. The trumpets sound again as Markenal continues.

"And announcing the arrival of Princess Serena of Kanto," he declares.

Two doors opposite from where Markenal, Ash, Odyssey, and Pikachu entered open to reveal Serena in a lovely blue dress followed by Fennekin, Sylveon and Holly. Once again, Ash stares at the princess in awe as she walks over to the seat next to him. Without thinking about it, he stands up from his seat, surprising everyone and he moves Serena's seat back, much to everyone's surprise.

"Please, my lady, allow me," he says.

Serena stares at the disguised pauper surprised and blushes lightly before she smiles.

"Why, thank you, good sir," she says as she sits on her chair and Ash scoots it toward the table. Some of the noblewomen "awww," at the gesture as Ash sits back on his seat. Markenal gives him a raised eyebrow, while Pikachu and Odyssey look at the poor man approvingly.

"Good call," Odyssey compliments. "I must admit I would never have thought of that. Nor would my master, for that matter."

"Thanks," Ash whispers. "Though Sir Markenal doesn't appear to be happy about it."

"Well, it's not normal for a prince to do such a thing for a princess," the Lucario explains before he smirks at Ash. "Although come to think about it, he is also a man who more than likely has never been interested in a relationship with a woman a day in his stubborn old life."

Ash and Pikachu chuckle at the Lucario's comment as Markenal takes his seat.

"As acting member of the royal family, it is my duty to say, let the feast begin," he announces.

Suddenly, doors begin to open and noble people gasp in excitement hs servants come out delivering all kinds of food of different shapes and sizes. Ash and Pikachu's eyes widen as a large turkey and plates of mashed potatoes, rice, corn and other dishes placed on their table right in front of them.

"Oh my goodness, everything looks so good," Ash says eagerly.

"Just don't forget what I told you, boy," Odyssey warns.

Ash's excited face fades for a moment before he reluctantly obeys by putting on a napkin under his shirt. Serena notices this and tries hard not to laugh to embarrass the man that she thinks is her betrothed. Finally, Ash grabs a large turkey leg and fills the rest of his plate of all different foods and digs in almost immediately while Pikachu follow suits with a small plate of Pokemon food served right in front of them. Serena and Holly begin to eat quietly like the ladies they are raised to be while Ash already cleans up what he has on his plate.

"My goodness, Sir Timothy, you are quite the fastest eater, aren't you?" Serena says politely.

Ash realizes what he's doing, swallows the food in his mouth and wipes his face with his napkin before answering.

"My apologies, Madame," he says ashamedly like a child being ridiculed by his mother. "It just feels like forever since I've eaten so much."

"Really?" Serena asks. "I thought it is natural to have this much food prepared for the royal court, so I imagine you eat this much all the time like any prince or princess among the continent."

"Uh... I do," Ash says realizing what he said to her. "I guess I mean it just feels like forever since the last time Electchu and I ate what with all the lessons and the whole commotion with that poor man and the king's - er I mean my father's guard."

Serena frowns at the mentioning of what happened at the courtyard.

"Yes, I've been meaning to ask," she says. "Is that man alright?"

"Oh yeah, he's fine," Ash assures. "My Pokemon and I took great care of him and his PIkachu."

"That's a relief," Serena says giving the raven-haired man a pleased smile. "It was very kind of you to take care of him."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all, my lady," Ash says with a toothy grin that makes Serena giggle. "It's lucky that Aloe was able to heal him and his Pikachu just fine with heal pulse."

Holly who is overhearing the conversation looks at Ash in confusion.

"Begging your pardon, Your Majesty, but who is Aloe?" She asks.

"Oh, she's Prince Timo - I mean, my Latias," Ash answers.

Serena's eyes light up at his answer.

"You have a Latias?" She asks excitedly.

"Yes, I do," Ash answers.

"Oh my goodness, I've heard stories about Latias," Serena says blissfully. "They're rare beautiful creatures. How did you get one?"

Ash struggles to answer until he remembers Timothy explaining how he got all of his Pokemon.

"Aloe was born from the Latias and Latios that the king and queen of Hoenn own," Ash answers. Princess May took care of her for a while before they decided to bring her over to Kalos for me to take care of her. She's been with me ever since."

"Wow, that's amazing!" Serena says. "I would very much like to meet her."

"Of course," Ash says.

"Really? Thank you." Serena says happily.

Ash and Serena smile at each other for a few seconds before they go back to their food. Odyssey, however, is dumbfounded that Ash said that.

"Ash, you shouldn't speak for the prince like that," He hisses telepathically in a way that only Ash can hear him.

"Why not?"Ash protests. "I mean when Prince Timothy comes back he's going to do that anyway seeing as she's going to be his wife, right?"

"Ideally, yes, but what if Master doesn't like her?" Odyssey asks worryingly.

"Doesn't like her? How could he not like her? Ash asks. "She has to be the sweetest person I've ever met my life. Maybe even sweeter than my mother, Lord rest her soul."

"Then you must have had quite the mother to make such a claim," the Lucario says. "Regardless, I don't want you taking any particular liberties when posing as my master."

"I won't, Odyssey," Ash says after swallowing a large chunk of turkey meat. "Besides, the prince's exact words were to learn all that I can about her and so I can tell when he comes back tonight. Why not tell him about her interest to meet Aloe?

Odyssey hesitates before he sighs and says, "Very well, your point is made. But be sure that you don't tell her anything about yourself that has nothing to do with the prince."

"Understood," Ash says in agreement.

Meanwhile, Pikachu has fully finished his entire bowl of food and sighs happily as he pats his belly. Suddenly, a white feeler wraps itself around him and lifts him up in the air. Pikachu squeaks an alarm making both Odyssey, Ash, and Serena notice when they realize it's Sylveon's feeler as she puts the yellow mouse down right in front of her.

"Syl, Sylveon," Sylveon greets with a kind smile.

Pikachu blushes furiously and tries to take a step back from Sylveon in shyness only to realize that she has him backed up behind Odysseys chair. The mouse Pokemon stutters as Sylveon walks over to him with a happy smile.

"Aw, how sweet," Serena coos. "Looks like Sylveon is taking a liking for Electchu."

"Oh no," Odyssey grumbles to himself as Sylveon steps closer to Pikachu. Without warning, Sylveon lightly licks Pikachu in the face and Pikachu stands still and falls to the ground stone cold. Both Serena and Ash find themselves chuckling on amusement at the stiff Pikachu as Sylveon smiles brightly, amused by the Pikachu's reaction to her affection. The Lucario, on the other hand, facepalms in annoyance, afraid of what trouble this might cause.

"I have half a mind to use a bone rush to knock some sense into this citizen and his blasted Pikachu," he grumbles to himself. "Master, for heaven sakes, where are you?"

**********************************************************************

Timothy groans as he starts to come to. He rubs his head and he slowly opens his eyes to realize that he is lying in a hard wooden bed in what appears to be a small attic bedroom. He checks his surroundings confused before Electchu jumps onto him and starts licking his face, relieved that his trainer is awake.

"Hey, pal," Timothy says weakly. "Are you okay?

"Pika, pika, pika," Electchu answers with a smile.

"Good," Timothy says with his own smile as he slowly sits up. "Where are we?"

"You are back in your bed where you should be," he hears Brock say as he and Happiny enter the room.

"Brock," Timothy says with a weak smile. "What happened?"

"What happened is you lost your mind," Brock rebukes. "First you actually thought that the guards don't take food from everyone and then you try to stop them by apparently claiming that you are the prince resulting in them beating you and Pikachu and then dropping a pumpkin on top of your head. What in the world were you thinking? You could have been killed or arrested for claiming something like that!"

Timothy doesn't say anything at first as he begins to recollect everything that happened.

"I guess I wasn't," he admits. "I just couldn't believe I was seeing that. Stealing in the king's name."

"I know it can be hard to always keep a grasp on it, Ash," Brock says sympathetically. "But the fact is this happens all the time. People are going hungry just because the king is taking away all their food. Every day around noon the Royal Provisioner carries a cart across the town and brings it over to the castle where the King and the Prince and who knows who else gorge on the food of their own citizens. It's disgusting."

Timothy frowns and looks away in disbelief. It hurts to hear someone saying that his father has made such an order even though he knows in his heart that his father would never do such a thing. But he also feels a sense of guilt knowing his people are starving while he has been living comfortably in the castle. He starts to silently count his blessings about his controlled life as Happiny brings in two bowls.

"Here, you two better eat up," Brock says as he takes one of the bowls and hands it to Timothy while Happiny gives the other to Electchu.

The Prince and his Pikachu stare in disbelief as they see the bowls of water full of nothing but the tiniest amount of crumbs and smaller pieces of other sorts of food. Electchu's ears drop and he looks at his master with a sad face. Timothy frowns and reluctantly gives his Pikachu a look as if to say, "Just go with it."The two of them take a deep breath to swallow their pride and reluctantly eat the strange substance. Both of them struggle to keep a straight face as they eat until there is nothing left in the bowl is. Brock nods and takes both of the bowls and stands up saying, "Okay, now maybe a good night's sleep will get your head straight, Ash. We'll try again with selling firewood in the morning."

Without another word, Brock and Happiny exit the room leaving Timothy and Electchu alone.

"Pika..." Electchu whines to his trainer.

"I know, pal," Timothy says sadly as he pets his Pikachu. "I'm still very hungry. That was practically nothing. A flavorless soup of nothing. Back in the castle we would be having our belly satisfied with whatever is fed to us despite having to eat with those stupid nobles. I wish we could sneak back to the castle right now just so we can have our fill... but we shouldn't."

"Pika?" Electchu asks confused.

"Something is very wrong here," Timothy continues. "I know in my heart that my father would never make such a command has to take away the food he's worked all his life for our people and their Pokemon to have a plentiful amount of it. So if it isn't him, then obviously someone is having our guards steal everyone's food for their own greedy means while my father is sick. Something has to be done."

"Pika, pika, pika, pikachu," Electchu says pointing at the castle from the bedroom window.

"No," Timothy says shaking his head. "We can't do anything by going back to the castle. More than likely, Markenal will be more infuriated that I escaped and will have my hide and force me to do all of these unnecessary things before I can tell him a thing. No, if we are to fix this, we have to do it ourselves. But this time, we're going to do it by my rules."

Timothy reaches into his pocket and takes out the Seal of the King. He holds up the ring with a determined look as he says, "I was an idiot to try to stop those two men from robbing that family just by declaring my heritage. I admit that. But with this ring, I will see to it that they get down on their knees and kiss the feet of every citizen they have robbed under penalty of death. Brock says a cart full of food passes through the city heading to the castle around noon every day. So we need to look around the city first thing in the morning and figure out its route and when it passes by the largest amount of people, I'll force that cart to stop and then I shall make a declaration that what those soldiers are saying is a lie and start giving back to the people even if I have to travel through the entire kingdom to do it. Electchu, are you with me?"

"Pika!" Electchu says feeling pumped.

"Good," Timothy says with a smirk. "Then we better get to sleep, pal. Because we're going to have to get up earlier than usual to cover enough ground in time for when that cart comes at noon. "

With a look of determination on his face, Timothy lies down on the hard bed and closes his eyes with Electchu lying down next to him. The two of them do their best to fall asleep despite the hard mattress as they are both eager to write the wrongs against the people and Pokemon of Kalos.