The city square was packed with people and Pokemon all over the city. The Arceans had finished setting up the festival with stages, banners, musicians, food, barrels of mead, beer, wine, and cider. The entertainers were in tents, putting on costumes and makeup.

Up in the top balcony of Lumiose Cathedral, Electchu, Shockwave, and Odyssey helped Timothy put on his cloak and hood made up from one of the curtains in his room underneath the church bells and some rope. When the Pokemon finished, Odyssey put the hood on Timothy's head, and he backed away to give the disguised hunchback a good look.

"It's perfect," the Riolu said. "The hood and cloak cover him just right."

Shockwave nodded and turned to Electchu, saying, "I got to hand it to you, Electchu; I'm impressed that you are capable of coming up with a good idea like this."

The Pikachu glared at the Kirlia and asked, "Was that a compliment or a shot?"

"Pick one," Shockwave replied.

Timothy chuckled at his Pokemon's childish behavior before he gave a hesitant look and asked, "Are you guys sure this will work? What if my hood comes off or something?"

"Then, you just don't partake in any activities that require you to take it off," Shockwave answered. "Just stay in the crowd and watch all the shows and stuff. Maybe grab a plate of food and find a place to eat in secret so that you've tried it."

"But are you sure you guys don't want to come with me? I hate to leave you behind," Timothy said.

"We're sure," Odyssey said. "If any of us are there, Master Markenel might recognize us if we're not careful. Besides, this is more for you than for all of us."

"Exactly," Shockwave said. "So, go on. Have fun and tell us all about it when you get back."

"And bring us some souvenirs if you can," Electchu added.

The hunchback smiled at his loyal companions and pulled them into one big hug, saying, "You guys are the best friends I could wish for."

"Ugh, thanks, Timothy, but maybe you should get going before the festival starts without you," Electchu said, gasping for air.

Timothy let go of his friends and gave them an apologetic look, and said, "Okay, I'm off."

He went over the railing and climbed down, using the cathedral's columns and many statues of angels, apostles, and gargoyles. When he made it to the ground, Timothy sneaked his way into the crowd before anyone noticed that he climbed down from the building. He squeezed his way through people and Pokemon until he was in front of the main stage, having watched the festival long enough to know that the opening ceremony took place there.

Suddenly, a group of Arcean men sound their trumpets, and a cloud of purple smoke emerged from the center of the main stage with a loud crack. The crowd gasped before Sonia came out from the smoke, wearing gold earrings, white heart-shaped decorations on her hair, two gold bracelets, a yellow top with a violet bodice, and a fuchsia skirt. The men in the crowd whistled and howled in adoration for her attractive features, earning disapproving glares and smacks in the face or head from their wives and suitresses. The peach-haired woman cackled with her mouth closed, taking pleasure from the attention before she raised her hands in the air and spoke out loud to her audience with a bright smile.

"Welcome one and all to the Feast of Fools!" She greeted. "I'm so happy to see so many of you here to join us this year!"

People and Pokemon all over the square screamed and cheered before Sonia continued.

"Once again, we come together for a wonderful time of food, music, dancing, and letting out the childish, frivolous, and altogether goofy parts of ourselves!" She announced. "We have plays, games, puppet shows, and all other forms of entertainment to make us all laugh until our sides are sore! This will no doubt be the greatest Feast of Fools we have ever had!"

The crowd cheered again, with Timothy happily applauding in giddy excitement.

"Without further ado, let us begin the Feast of Fools!" Sonia shouted with her hands in the air again.

The audience cheered with confetti and streamers thrown high into the air, and the crowd dispersed. Timothy followed the largest group closest to him to keep himself from standing out. He followed the group to a platform where two Arcean men wrestled with an Ursaring and a Pangoro. Everyone laughed as the men tried with all of their might to drag Ursaring and Pangoro to the floor. The two bear-like Pokemon looked at each other with unamused looks before they smacked the men off of them, making them comically fall off the platform.

The audience laughed out loud, and the entertainers stood up and challenged people to try their luck. A pair of heavy-set men emerged from the crowd with confident grins and got on the platform, but no matter how hard they tried, they were no match for the strength of Ursaring and Pangoro. The Pokemon pushed the men away, and they fell flat on their backs. The audience laughed again, and the entertainers helped the fat men's families get them back on their feet. Suddenly, Timothy heard the sound of cheering, and he turned to see people and Pokemon gathering around on opposite sides of the square.

"Hey, the Fool Parade is starting!" A woman behind Timothy shouted.

The hunchback's eyes lit up, having watched the parade from above the cathedral with his friends, and rushed over to join the crowd. He squeezed his way through until he was at the front of the path just as the parade started. First, four lines of Oricorio, one for each style, were dancing down the street with Arcean women and girls dancing behind, wearing dresses in the dancing Pokemon's colors. Next came six Houndoom wearing feathered hats on their heads and holding the reins to six men wearing nuzzles with their front paws. The men were walking on all fours while the Houndoom were standing on their hind legs, giggling with their tongues sticking out, making it look like they were walking the humans as though they were dogs. Following the Houndoom were Arcean men and women balancing on top of several Voltorb and Electrode with their hands. Behind them were Arceans dressed in white outfits with paint on them, comically running around the street in panic while Smeargle were chasing them, trying to paint on their clothes with their tails. After them were a group of entertainers bouncing on top of Drifblim, floating ten feet into the air. The humans spun and did flips into the air as they jumped on the blimp Pokemon like trampolines. Next came a group of Chandelure, who were also high up on the air, rocking back and forth while performers held on to the Pokemon's arms for dear life. Finally, stilts performers followed behind the rest of the parade while juggling Exeggcute.

The audience was laughing and cheering throughout the entire parade. The twenty-one-year-old hunchback laughed like a little child even after the parade had ended with tears running down his face. Eventually, Timothy quieted down and felt the smell of meat go up to his nose. He followed the scent to where people and Pokemon were filling plates with bread, fruit, and vegetables and getting in line around where a large slab of meat was roasting over a fire. Timothy felt his stomach rumble, and he decided to grab a plate before getting in line. He waited patiently before he could fill half of his plate with a small loaf of bread and some fruit and vegetables and eventually made his way to the end of the line where the cook cut off a leg and put it on Timothy's plate. Timothy began looking around for a place to eat in secret when he accidentally bumped into a man, who was standing beside a barrel of ale.

"Sorry, sir!" Timothy said, bowing his head to his face with his hood.

"All good, sonny," the man replied, smiling through his bushy mustache. "It's pretty crowded over here, ain't it?"

"Yes, it is," Timothy said.

The man noticed Timothy's plate and said, "Ooo. Got yourself a leg there, did ya? Lucky you. You got some ale to wash it down?"

"Wash it down?" Timothy asked.

The man chuckled before he took out a mug and filled it with ale, saying, "Here, pal. This oughta go with your helping just fine."

Timothy stared at the drink for a moment before he smiled and took the mug, saying, "Thank you, sir."

"Hey, don't mention it," the man said. "Arceus protect ya."

"Er, yeah, the Lord be with you," Timothy said, taken aback by the Arcean farewell.

The hunchback looked around for a place to sit while holding his plate and mug. Then, he found a small wooden table that wasn't occupied and happily walked over to it and sat down. Timothy took a moment to say grace before starting with a handful of berries that surprised him with their sweet juicy taste. He stuffed the rest of them into his mouth before he moved on to his carrots, celery, and mushrooms. Finally, Timothy picked up his leg and took half of a bite before he froze. The taste of roasted meat exploded in his mouth. He finished the bite and looked at the leg as though it was made of gold, having never eaten meat before apart from lamb that Markenel would bring on Easter. Timothy took a bigger bite and chewed slowly to savor the taste before he swallowed. He picked up his mug of ale and took a sip, but he almost spat it out before coughing violently.

"Okay, ale is not my favorite drink," Timothy said to himself.

He went back to his leg to get rid of the taste of the ale. As he ate, he heard the sound of people gasping in awe, and he looked up to see people and Pokemon standing in front of a small stage. On the stage was a woman with large, curly orange hair in a blue and red dress playing the guitar, and next to her was a Primarina creating giant bubbles and juggling them with its nose. The kids in the audience cheered and clapped as they watched the bubbles shine in many colors while the Primarina lifted the bubbles up in the air without popping them. Timothy put his leg down and watched the act with his eyes wide open, having never seen anything like it.

He then heard children laughing from another direction and turned around from his seat to see a group of families watching a puppet show. On the left was a puppet of Markenel, and on the right was a puppet of Giovanni. The Markenel puppet was moving erratically like it was having a tantrum, while the Giovanni puppet was shaking violently in fear. The Giovanni figure moved to the end of the stage, and Sonia's puppet appeared in its place. The Markenel puppet took out a club and began hitting the Sonia puppet on the head with it. The Sonia puppet shook its head before grabbing the club from Markenel puppet's hands and violently hit its opponent's head with it. Two puppeteer hands appeared from under the Markenel puppet, one holding his ear and the other putting its thumb on the puppet's mouth. The puppeteer moved its thumb forward and backward to make it look like Markenel was sucking his thumb while the Sonia puppet waved its hands in victory. The families laughed and cheered, and Timothy let out a snicker, which he immediately regretted.

"Lord, please forgive me for laughing," he whispered. "I don't wish any injury on Master Markenel, who has been so kind to me."

After the prayer, the hunchback went back to finish his leg just in time to hear the music band begin to play. He turned around from his seat and saw people and Pokemon create a large circle at the city square center. Citizens and Arceans joined together to dance, some in groups and others in pairs. Children were dancing together in a small circle with the smaller Pokemon. Some citizens were dancing with their loved ones, while some were dancing with Arcean men and women. People who weren't dancing clapped to the beat, and Timothy happily joined them from his seat.

"Wanna dance?"

Timothy turned his head to see Miette smirking at him and leaning her upper body toward him with her hands behind her back. The hunchback immediately looked away and pulled his hood down to hide his face and said, "No, thank you."

"Aw, no need to be bashful," Miette said. "I can tell when someone wants to dance but doesn't have a partner."

"N-n-no, really. I'm fine," Timothy said. "I don't know how to dance."

But the Arcean woman giggled and grabbed his arm, saying, "Well, I can fix that for ya."

Miette pulled Timothy off his seat and dragged him into the center of the dance circle, ignoring his pleas. She turned his body to face her, took his right hand, and pulled him close to her. Timothy's cheeks heated up, having never been close to a woman. He silently prayed that the Lord would forgive him for dancing with a non-follower and that his identity wouldn't be exposed in the process. Miette counted to three and began leading the dance with Timothy struggling to catch up. He looked down and studied how his partner was moving her feet to the lively beat of the music. He then looked at his own feet and started mimicking his partner. Slowly but surely, the hunchback was getting the hang of it, and he smiled like a child learning a new trick, making Miette giggle again.

"There you go," she said. "You sure you've never danced before?"

"I guess I'm just a fast learner," Timothy replied.

"Ah, lucky me as your dance partner," Miette said. "Speaking of which, I haven't seen you here before. Are you new to town?"

Timothy hesitated and said, "You could say that."

"Are you enjoying the festival?" Miette asked.

"Oh, yes. Very much so," Timothy answered. "It's more than I imagined."

"I'm glad to hear it," Miette said with a smile. "We all worked hard to make it fun for everyone, and thank Arceus that we always succeed."

Timothy's smile disappeared at the mention of Arceus, and he instantly remembered Markenel's teachings against the mythical Pokemon's worshipers. He grew afraid that Miette might somehow find out his relationship with the judge minister or that she mentioned Arceus as a means to turn him to her religion. Miette looked at him, curiously and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Oh, uh, yes, I'm okay," Timothy lied, forcing a smile on his face. "I just think I'm getting a stomach ache. I ate more than I normally do."

Miette frowned, unconvinced with his explanation, but decided to drop it. The two of them continued to dance until the song ended, and everyone clapped and cheered. Miette gave Timothy a bow and asked, "Thank you for dancing with me."

"Sure," Timothy said, eager to leave. "I think I'll look at some of the other activities."

"Of course," Miette said. "Why don't you go over to the main stage. They're doing a play there."

Timothy looked at the main stage and saw a large crowd surrounding it while a group of thespians were performing. He smiled, seeing an opportunity to hide in the crowd again, and said, "Thank you. I will do that."

"Good," Miette said. "Oh, and by the way, I love your mask."

Before Timothy could reply, the blue-haired woman left to find a new dance partner. He wondered what she meant about him wearing a mask but decided to drop it and go watch the play. Unknown to him, Markenel, Giovanni, Ash, Pikachu, and the other troops with their Pokemon had just arrived at the festival. A coachman drove Markenel's carriage with two Rapidash while Giovanni rode on his own Rapidash with Persian walking behind. Ash, Butch, Cassidy, and the rest of the soldiers were on Ponyta. The captain signaled his troops to spread out around the square while he and Ash continued to ride beside the carriage to a large tent in Markenel's outfit colors. The justice minister came out of the carriage and sat on a tall, wooden chair that could be mistaken for a throne. Markenel watched the festival continue in disgust while Ash and Pikachu watched with awe.

"Wow, look at all this, Pikachu. This looks like so much fun," Ash said.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed.

"Lieutenant, focus," Giovanni commanded. "We're here to protect the minister and keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

"Yes, sir," Ash said begrudgingly.

Meanwhile, the play at the main stage ended, and Timothy applauded with the crowd. After the actors got off stage, the trumpets sounded again, and the activities all over the festival ended. All of the citizens gathered around the main stage, where Sonia stepped back into and cleared her throat.

"My friends, we are halfway through the Feast of Fools, and what a joy it's been already!" She began. "It fills my heart with joy to see us all come together to dance, feast, drink, entertain, and all around have a lot of fun!"

The crowd cheered while Markenel scoffed and turned to Giovanni, saying, "It never fails for that heathen witch to boast about their corruption against the people and Pokemon of this city."

"Indeed, sir," Giovanni said.

"And now, I present two new attractions to our beloved festival!" Sonia continued. "The first is a performance like you've never seen before full of mystery and romance!"

The audience "Oooo" ed and whispered among themselves, intrigued.

"From a small town, there is a lady more beautiful than any person or Pokemon in all of Kalos!" Sonia said. "Her smile lights up the sun, and she lifts everyone's spirits when she dances with her Pokemon partner."

The audience became excited, the more Sonia advertised. Timothy moved his way to the front of the crowd, wanting to clearly see the person the leader of the Arceans was talking about. Sonia reached into her pouch tied around her waist and took out a smoke pellet. She held it up with a closed fist and shouted, "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Serena!"

Sonia thrust the pellet into the ground, and it exploded, covering the stage in a cloud of magenta smoke. The audience gasped in alarm before noticing a figure spinning inside the smoke, looking like a tornado. The smoke disappeared, and in Sonia's place was Serena in a sleeveless dress; the top of it pink with white edges, and the bottom red with a black stripe in the bottom. The music band began to play, and Serena danced in the rhythm of the beat, holding a purple, see-through scarf with both hands while Sylveon popped up from behind to join her. The audience was entranced by the honey blonde woman's beauty and how she and her Pokemon danced with bright smiles.

Timothy watched Serena in awe as though he was looking at an angel from heaven. Ash and Pikachu's hearts leaped at the sight of both Serena and Sylveon again. The mouse Pokemon's black eyes were fixed on Sylveon, who jumped, twirled, and flipped with a glimmer in its light blue eyes. Meanwhile, its partner kept his eyes on Serena, who he could see was enjoying how people and Pokemon were enchanted by her dancing. The joy she expressed on the stage captivated Ash more than how she was lovelier than anything he had ever seen.

Markenel was on the edge of his seat, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. He observed the honey blonde woman's face and how she moved her body energetically, forgetting that she was an enemy in his eyes. After a moment, he realized his impure thoughts and grunted in disgust before turning to his captain and lieutenant.

"Look at that disgusting display," Markenel said.

"Yes, sir," Ash replied with a grin, earning a clearing of the throat from Giovanni that snapped him out of his gaze.

Markenel smirked, satisfied that his men did not notice how he looked at the performer, but as he looked away, he did not see Serena running off the stage and into his tent. The old man faced forward to find her sitting on the arm of his chair and wrapping her scarf around his neck. Markenel felt his heart beating rapidly from the honey blonde woman so close to him as she kissed the tip of his crooked nose before pulling his hat down to his face. The audience laughed as Serena ran back to the stage. Markenel glared at her with his face beet red in both bashfulness and anger while taking off Serena's scarf.

Back on stage, Serena and Sylveon continued to dance together, and the audience clapped at the beat of the music. The intertwining Pokemon continued to jump and flip at the center of the stage while Serena cartwheeled around it. She then spun with her hands in the air before doing a split at the front of center stage. The honey blonde noticed Timothy and gave him a wink, making the hunchback flush and cover his face with his hood. Then, Serena stood up and did several backflips toward Sylveon. When she was above her Pokemon, Sylveon summoned a gust of silver wind and raised it up from underneath Serena, sending her high into the air. The crowd gasped as Serena did multiple flips before landing on the floor with one hand. The audience gasped a third time, and Serena did one more flip before landing on the edge of the stage on her knees with her legs apart from each other. Sylveon finished the act by throwing gold stars up in the air and destroyed them with Fairy Wind, creating a burst of silver and gold fireworks above Serena.

The music ended, and the audience roared in applause as Serena stood up to take several bows with Sylveon. People began to shower the stage with coins, and Sonia, Miette, Slurpuff, and a couple of other Arceans and their Pokemon went on stage to pick them up. Markenel and Giovanni scoffed in disgust, not noticing Ash tossing two coins to the stage, one from him and another from Pikachu. When Sonia finished collecting coins, she walked over to give Serena a side hug

"Did I do well?" Serena whispered while both women waved at the crowd.

"You were perfect," Sonia whispered back. "You put your heart into your performance, and they're giving us more money than we hoped for. I'm proud of you, Serena. You and Sylveon have really come through for our people and Pokemon."

Serena smiled, uplifted by the peach-haired woman's words. She turned to Sylveon, who was giving her a bright smile, happy with what they accomplished. After a minute, the applause died down, and the Arceans finished collecting the money. They got off stage, save for Sonia, Serena, Sylveon, Miette, and Slurpuff, and the leader of the mistreated people and Pokemon lifted her hand up for silence.

"Now, we begin our second new attraction!" She announced. "And not just any new attraction! It's the one that you have no doubt heard through word of mouth and have expressed excitement for all over Lumiose City! It's the moment you've all been waiting for, a competition that will make us laugh until our sides are sore! Ladies, gentlemen, it's time to crown the King of Fools!"

Children jumped up and down, and the adults grinned and elbowed each other in anticipation while Timothy wondered what the citizens knew about the new event. He then saw some of the men putting on large head masks in various colors with faces barely resembling humans. They walked over to the stage, where Sonia, Serena, and Miette helped them up and put them in a straight line. Timothy wanted to ask the people next to him what was going on, but he decided not to risk it.

The next thing the hunchback knew, Serena looked right at him, kneeling at the edge of the stage and stretching out her hand to him. Timothy stood still with his cheeks heating up, confused with what the honey blonde woman was doing.

"Well? Don't you want to come up?" Serena asked.

Timothy's blush grew, and he pointed at the men, asking, "Don't you need one of those things?"

Serena giggled with her mouth closed and answered, "Not necessarily. In fact, I think you'll fit in just fine."

"Really?" Timothy asked.

"Of course," Serena said with a bright smile. "Come on. It'll be fun."

Timothy stared in awe, taken aback by how Serena encouraged him in such a friendly way. At that moment, any concern for his disguise or Markenel's teachings was replaced with hopes of having fun during the competition with the beautiful woman. He took her hand with a smile, and Serena's smile brightened as she pulled him on stage and guided him to the end of the line. Sonia, Miette, and Serena checked to see if anyone else in the crowd was coming to compete before the peach-haired woman smiled and turned to her audience.

"Will you look at this, ladies and gentlemen?!" she called out. "Over two dozen souls have come to compete in our brand new event! But only one can be crowned the King of Fools, so let us begin!"

The crowd cheered, and Miette and Serena walked to the front of the line with their Pokemon standing behind the competitors. Serena took off the mask of a scrawny man, who moved his upper lip to touch his nose. The crowd booed, and Sylveon used Fairy Wind to knock the man off the stage. Miette took off the mask of the second person, who held his bottom lip down from both sides and shouted, "Blegh!" Again, the audience booed, and Slurpuff knocked the competitor off the stage with Fairy Wind.

One by one, the women and their Pokemon took turns unmasking people who make goofy faces and knocking them off the stage. One person held his nose up, another put his eyelids over his eyes, a short man crossed his eyes, while a chubby man just belched. One competitor had his head inside his shirt and held his Feebas up to look like his head. The crowd booed even louder with some shouting, "Cheater!" Sylveon and Slurpuff looked at each other and nodded before using Fairy Wind together, sending the man and his Pokemon flying high to the other side of the square and landing on a cart of manure. All the while, Timothy watched, growing more confused with no idea what was happening or what he was supposed to do when it was his turn.

"Oh my goodness, this is disappointing!" Sonia said to the crowd. "Months of anticipation and this is the best Lumiose City can do?! Is there anyone that can give us the most horrible and frightening face we have ever seen?"

Timothy's heart sank with Sonia's words ringing in his ears. It suddenly became clear what the competitors were doing, why Miette thought he was wearing a mask, and why Serena invited him to join. He turned around and prepared to run to the cathedral, but before he could take a step, Miette grabbed him by the shoulder, turned him back to face the stage again, pulled off his hood, and began pulling him by the face. The blue-haired woman pulled as hard as she could, thinking Timothy's mask was stuck, but after a couple more yanks, she realized that he wasn't wearing a mask. At that moment, all Timothy could do is watch her red eyes shrink before she screamed.