A/N: So, this is the first Pokemon fanfic that I have ever written. It is my take on X and Y, with a few ideas/themes mixed in from the manga. I hope you enjoy, and please read and review. Also, shout out to the creator of my cover image, which either came from Pinterest or a Tumblr blog called pkmn-masters. Regardless, it is truly an awesome image. If you know the true creator, please tell me so I can give them proper credit.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
Chapter 1: Humble Beginnings
Vaniville Town in the morning was incredibly quiet. Most of the residents didn't wake up until eight or later in the morning, businesses didn't open their doors until nine, and even the Pokemon remained asleep. Every morning in Vaniville Town was as quiet as a church.
Except for this morning. This morning's quietness was broken by a teenage boy whistling. Calem Albright sat in a bench, looking down the main street of Vaniville, a pad of paper resting on his hunched up legs. A male Meowstic sat on the bench next to him, swinging his legs cheerfully and swaying to the tune his trainer whistled.
Calem cared little for the quietness of Vaniville Town. He had lived there for twelve of his sixteen years of life, and never liked the quiet mornings. Born an early riser, he wanted something to do in the morning, someone to accompany him on crazy adventures, to distract him. His parents, growing weary of his complaining, had enrolled him into an art class nine years ago, telling him that if mornings drove him so crazy, why not draw or paint to keep himself busy?
Their plan worked better than they could have hoped for. Calem had taken to drawing with a passion. At first he had just drawn sights he could see out of his window, but once he got a Pokemon to accompany him, he began to draw the sleepy little Town.
Calem made a few extra marks, held the paper up and examined it critically. His Meowstic looked at the grey-eyed, dark haired trainer. As usual, Calem had his red outdoors cap, as well as his blue jacket and jeans. Once he was satisfied, Calem quickly signed his name in the corner then turned to his Pokemon.
"What do you think, Grix?" Calem asked. Grix, for his part, seriously examined the drawing.
"Meowstic, me," Grix said, waving his front paws around. Calem looked at the drawing closer and smiled.
"Got me there, Grix," he said. "But still, think it's good?" Grix nodded enthusiastically. Calem closed the small sketchbook and rubbed the Constraint Pokemon's head. "Thanks, pal. Best critic a guy could want." Calem hopped off the bench, followed by Grix, and began walking towards his house. "So, we still have a couple of hours to kill before we meet with the gang," Calem said, "so I was thinking, we go scare Serena. Deal?"
Grix mrowed and scowled at his trainer. Calem laughed. "Of course she's still asleep; that's the whole point, Grix!" Grix continued to scowl at his trainer. Calem raised his hands in defeat. "All right, all right. You win. We'll scare her in an hour, deal?" Grix huffed but nodded. "Excellent! Now, home for breakfast!"
An Hour Later….
Serena slept peacefully, blankets pulled up around her neck. Her honey blonde hair was fanned out on her pillow with some strands falling her face as she turned over onto her side. A soft snore came out of her mouth and she mumbled something about Vivillons and Butterfrees.
Calem carefully hoisted himself up enough to look into the room through the window while Grix kept look out below. Moving very carefully, and as silently as possible, Calem slowly opened the window and crawled into the room, making sure that he didn't crash to the floor and wake his target. Reaching into his bag Calem pulled out a long, black object…
… And proceeded to play a loud, sharp note from his flute right by Serena.
Serena bolted awake, practically flying out her bed, looking around wildly, her hand grasping the Poke Ball that she kept by her bed. Her eyes came upon Calem, who was laughing like a mad person, and her look of shock turned into one of rage. "CALEM!" she roared.
"Sorry, Seri," Calem said, still chuckling. "But, we all agreed to meet at Aquacorde at ten, remember? And last time you overslept, so I figure I'd make sure you were awake in time."
"It's eight-thirty!" Serena exclaimed. "Who gets up at this ungodly hour?! And get out of here! I'm not dressed and my hair's a mess!"
"Me," Calem said, smiling. " You also look cute when you just wake up, all sleepy-eyed. It's adorable. And besides, Serena, it was just a harmless prank! "
Serena's eyes narrowed into pinpricks of murderous rage. "I'll show you harmless. Vivian, teach him a lesson!" The brightly colored Pokemon, Vivillon, emerged from her Poke Ball and glared at Calem. Calem gulped and began to walk back towards the window.
"This is what I get for trying to make sure you arrived on time?" Calem asked, faking hurt.
"Thank you," Serena said. "But, get out. Vivian, Psybeam!" The blast of pink energy hit directly between Calem's feet and he took the message, diving out of the window.
"Grix!" He yelled. "Catch me! Confusion!" Grix looked up at his falling Trainer and tuttered. His eyes glowed blue and his trainer's fall slowed before he landed softly on the ground. "Thanks, Grix. So, see you at ten, Serena?" Calem called up.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be there," Serena grumbled. She wasn't going back to sleep now. Stupid Calem.
Calem laughed and began walking towards the small park in the middle of the town. He figured he would kill the time drawing before leaving to meet his friends in Aquacorde.
An hour passed, and Calem had three finished sketches in his notebook. Two were of the park and one was of Grix playing with a gear he found on the ground. Before he could begin a fourth sketch, his Holo Caster rang. Calem picked up the device and answered the call, revealing the image of a slight, nervous looking boy. "Trevor," Calem greeted. "What's with the call?"
"Hi, Calem," Trevor said, smiling. "And this is about our meeting."
Calem felt his heart drop into his stomach. If the meeting was canceled, Serena would kill him. She would then bring him back to life, and kill him a second time. "Is it canceled?"
Trevor frowned. "What? No, of course not. It's just, I ran into Professor Sycamore when I was leaving my house and well, he gave me five Pokemon."
"He just gave you Pokemon?" Calem asked. "And that's pretty cool. But why?"
"They're, apparently, for the five of us," Trevor said. "Along with Pokemon, he also told me to give each of us one of these," Trevor held up a card like device, "a Pokedex. He said something about a journey, the mystique of an adventure, and something else but he was talking too fast to be heard. Point is, we get these, and he wants us all to meet him in Lumiose as soon as possible."
"This," Calem said slowly, "is… So COOL! Dude, we get a Pokedex! We can be like Seth Thompson, Amy Birch, and Kyle Jones! Exploring the region, becoming famous! He wants us to explore! Do you have an idea of the art I could make, the sights I could see? This is awesome!"
Trevor smiled faintly. "I haven't told Shauna or Serena yet, so I suggest you hurry over here now, before they take the good ones." Trevor ended the call and Calem jumped up, beyond excited. He reached into his bag and pulled out his roller skates, stuffing his notebook and pencil into the bag.
"You ready to meet our new pal, Grix?" Calem asked. Grix nodded and hopped up onto his shoulders. Calem snapped his roller skates onto his shoes and took off. This is so amazing, he thought. A journey. Me, Trevor, Shauna, Tierno, and Serena. The five of us. My chance to show her that I'm worth the time. Finally!
Calem was so wrapped up in his thoughts he didn't notice the trio in front of him, or hear Grix's warning cry. Going at full speed, Calem crashed into the newcomer, hitting the ground hard. Grix, for his part, simply leaped off his trainer and landed easily on the ground.
Calem scrambled to his feet quickly, and turned towards the stranger, whose friends helped him up. "Oh my god, I'm so, so, so, so, so sorry!" Calem said quickly. " I wasn't paying attention and I was going so fast and it's all my fault!"
"It's no prob," the stranger said, brushing dirt off his shoulder. "It was an accident anyways." Calem looked closer at the trio, consisting of two boys and a girl, all a few years older than him. The boy he had crashed into looked extremely familiar. Something about his dark red hair and laidback brown eyes… and the clothes he wore were extremely familiar, too. As was his face. Calem had seen him from somewhere before….But where? Then, it struck him.
"Sweet Arceus!" he shouted. "Y-you-you're Seth Thompson! The guy who beat the Sinnoh Elite Four!"
"Looks like you have a fan," the girl joked. Seth rolled his eyes.
"And you're Amy Birch, the Coordinator!" Calem continued, pointing to the girl. "And you're Kyle Jones, the other Trainer and the assistant of Professor Rowan! Holy crap, you guys are famous!" Grix looked at his trainer and meowed in concern. "What do you mean, Grix? Of course they are!"
Kyle, a young man with light brown hair and dark eyes, smiled at the younger boy. "Well, I'm glad someone finally recognizes me! Usually Seth is the one who gets all the praise!"
"Unfortunately," Seth joked. He looked closer at the young trainer who had bumped into him. Calem and Grix were completely engrossed in a conversation with each other, or as close as a conversation could be between a Pokemon and human.
"He definitely seems to understand his Meowstic well," Amy muttered to Seth.
"He reminds me of someone I once met," Kyle joked. Seth smiled.
"I wonder," he said thoughtfully. "Hey, kid," he called. Calem and Grix both fell silent, and, in unison, turned to look at Seth.
"Yeah?" Calem asked nervously.
"What's your name?"
"Calem Albright," he answered.
Seth smiled. "Nice to meet you, Calem," he said, extending a hand. Calem shook it hesitantly. "Now, I know I said it was fine that you bumped into me, but there is one thing I would like you to do."
"What is it?" Calem asked, excited at the prospect of helping his hero.
"Battle me," Seth said. "Right here, right now."
A/N: Well, that's that. I hope everyone liked it, or at least tolerated it. So, couple of things. One, Grix is part of Meowstics name in French, Mistigrix. That's how Calem nicknames his Pokemon, by taking a part of the French name. Serena nicknames hers with names that start with a part of the Pokemon's name. Also, Seth, Amy, and Kyle were characters I've made up, but never written about. Essentially, Seth is the son of Lance, and is my version of Red, trying to make a name for himself outside of his dad. He beat the Sinnoh Elite Four in a series of matches but lost to Cynthia and now works for Rowan with Kyle as an assistant. So, that's about all for now. Please drop a review! And continue reading!