"For your courageous efforts in protecting our great city, we bestow upon you a Mega Ring, in addition to a sum of money," the mayor announced a week later at a crowded reception in Centrico Plaza.
Sebastiano received the accessory fitted with a Key Stone on a purple cushion, but his mind was somewhere else. What could he have done differently in his battle with Hamburglar? He needed to streamline Gabe's attack execution so that he wouldn't need to raise his arms before a Psyshock, or trace the shape of Light Screen in the air to make it appear. More importantly, Seb hated battling, and he had to develop a style that married his love of singing with his command of Pokémon.
"And now, our hero will sing the national anthem!" the mayor proceeded, handing the boy a microphone and snapping him out of his trance.
"I get to SING?!?!?!" he beamed.
"Oh no, this isn't good..." Gabe muttered ominously on the small stage the city had wheeled out just for the event.
"Well, here goes..." he readied himself, summoning air into his lungs and an ear-splitting demon from his mouth. "Allons enfants de la Patrie…!"
The moment the first line escaped him, all the plaza's windows exploded into showers of glass. The one discordant phrase instantly denuded Prism Tower of panes and the listeners' faces of smiles, hearts sinking and shards raining down. If drizzle accompanied sad songs, then the dangerous bits of glass perfectly complemented a song of death.
"Le jour de gloire est arrive!"
When Sebastiano belted the second line, everyone's eyes shot back into their heads like busted slot machines and foam welled up from their mouths. People dropped like flies. An old man had a heart attack. One guy's hands were trembling so much that when they moved to cover his ears, they accidentally slipped and twisted his neck. Another dude snapped his on purpose to send himself to Hell straightaway instead of sitting through the welcoming ceremony. A third man pulled out a gun, blew his brains out, and splattered the previous guy with blood. A pregnant woman suddenly gave birth, and the baby was so terrified that he learned to crawl in the span of a second and worked his tiny limbs as fast as he could to get away, his umbilical cord jerking him back like a leash, catching his mother's throat, and ripping her head off.
"Contre nous de la tyrannie
L’étendard sanglant est levé
L’étendard sanglant est levé
Entendez-vous dans les campagnes
Mugir ces féroces soldats?
Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras
Égorger vos fils, vos compagnes!"
Seb kept on singing and singing and singing, until a hand punched him in the face and shut him up. The mayor had been closest to the auditory Grim Reaper, but he'd survived, which was not unexpected of the resilient figure who occupied the highest office in Lumiose City.
"STOP! STOP IT! STOP FREAKING SINGING!" he screamed. "Just take the Mega Ring and get the hell out of here! I can't deal with two terrorist-level threats in one week!"
Sebastiano received the accessory fitted with a Key Stone on a purple cushion, but his mind was somewhere else. What could he have done differently in his battle with Hamburglar? He needed to streamline Gabe's attack execution so that he wouldn't need to raise his arms before a Psyshock, or trace the shape of Light Screen in the air to make it appear. More importantly, Seb hated battling, and he had to develop a style that married his love of singing with his command of Pokémon.
"And now, our hero will sing the national anthem!" the mayor proceeded, handing the boy a microphone and snapping him out of his trance.
"I get to SING?!?!?!" he beamed.
"Oh no, this isn't good..." Gabe muttered ominously on the small stage the city had wheeled out just for the event.
"Well, here goes..." he readied himself, summoning air into his lungs and an ear-splitting demon from his mouth. "Allons enfants de la Patrie…!"
The moment the first line escaped him, all the plaza's windows exploded into showers of glass. The one discordant phrase instantly denuded Prism Tower of panes and the listeners' faces of smiles, hearts sinking and shards raining down. If drizzle accompanied sad songs, then the dangerous bits of glass perfectly complemented a song of death.
"Le jour de gloire est arrive!"
When Sebastiano belted the second line, everyone's eyes shot back into their heads like busted slot machines and foam welled up from their mouths. People dropped like flies. An old man had a heart attack. One guy's hands were trembling so much that when they moved to cover his ears, they accidentally slipped and twisted his neck. Another dude snapped his on purpose to send himself to Hell straightaway instead of sitting through the welcoming ceremony. A third man pulled out a gun, blew his brains out, and splattered the previous guy with blood. A pregnant woman suddenly gave birth, and the baby was so terrified that he learned to crawl in the span of a second and worked his tiny limbs as fast as he could to get away, his umbilical cord jerking him back like a leash, catching his mother's throat, and ripping her head off.
"Contre nous de la tyrannie
L’étendard sanglant est levé
L’étendard sanglant est levé
Entendez-vous dans les campagnes
Mugir ces féroces soldats?
Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras
Égorger vos fils, vos compagnes!"
Seb kept on singing and singing and singing, until a hand punched him in the face and shut him up. The mayor had been closest to the auditory Grim Reaper, but he'd survived, which was not unexpected of the resilient figure who occupied the highest office in Lumiose City.
"STOP! STOP IT! STOP FREAKING SINGING!" he screamed. "Just take the Mega Ring and get the hell out of here! I can't deal with two terrorist-level threats in one week!"