Episode 1: The City of Light

Niko sat near his gate in Castelia City's airport. In the next hour, he would be travelling to the Kalos region with his two friends, Warren and Charlotte, and starting a new journey there. He was alone in waiting for them—he chose to not bring any Pokémon with him again, electing to start fresh as he always did.

It was a bright, late-summer afternoon in Castelia City, and Niko sat by the window to see planes leave and enter the airport, carrying hundreds of people from all over the region and the world. It was also odd to be in Castelia City after competing in the Unova League—he usually didn't return to a region after leaving it, either. While he waited, he thought about the things Professor Oak told him about mega evolution. He had a few Pokémon that were capable of it, but how would he get them to that point? What would he have to do, besides get a mega stone for each of them? Where would he find them? And, even if he did get the necessary materials, would that simply be it? Would he need to do more?

It made him regret not asking Elliot about it.

"Niko!" He heard a familiar, masculine voice call from across the gate. Looking up, he saw Warren and Charlotte walking over. "Long time no see!" He said, walking in for an embrace.

"Hey Warren, and…hey…Charlotte…" Niko said, turning to his female companion.

Charlotte was a short, brunette girl who normally wore jeans, white sneakers, and a thin sweatshirt over a plain shirt. At the airport that day, she looked largely the same as Niko knew her, but she had something in her arms.

"Hey Niko! Look what I got!" She said, holding a Pokémon egg up in front of her friend's face.

"An egg…? But, where did you…?"

"My mother gave it to me. Said it was from a family friend. But neither of us know what's in it." She said, pulling the egg back closer to her.

"Well, that's exciting!" Niko said with a smile. "I can't wait to see what's in it."

"Neither can I. Warren and I kept making guesses the entire way here." She said, looking up at her other male companion. "He thinks it'll be some sort of starter Pokémon. But there are no starter Pokémon that I know of with this kind of pattern…" She said, pointing to the egg with her eyes. It was light brown with a couple black speckles on it.

"Yeah, I've never seen a grass, fire, or water type with that pattern…" Niko said, also curious. "How long ago did you get it? I know that some eggs take longer to hatch than others, so maybe that'll give you an indication? Or at least rule some Pokémon out." He added. Damn, I wish I had JJ with me right now…he knows way more about this than I do. Niko thought to himself.

"I got it yesterday, while I was packing. My mom walked in to give it to me. It feels warm, though…" She said, rubbing the egg. "Not too warm, but warmer than I expected an egg to feel."

"Maybe it's a fire type, then?" Niko asked with a shrug. "Could be a Heatmor, those are light brown-looking."

"Ew, no!" Charlotte snapped. "Plus, they don't have black speckles on them!"

"Right, sorry." Niko said, scratching the back of his head nervously. Just then, their gate opened—it was time to leave for Kalos.

Niko, Warren, and Charlotte managed to get seats next to each other. Unfortunately, Niko found himself in the uncomfortable middle seat of the three-seat row, with Charlotte on the window side and Warren on the aisle side. Fortunately, the trip was only a couple of hours, as Kalos was closer to Unova than it was to Kanto.

"So, how was your trip here?" Warren asked for conversation's sake.

"Not bad, didn't really do much." Niko said. "I packed light this time, only really bringing clothes and some other useful things I could find."

"You feel ready for Kalos?" He asked. "There's gyms there, too, right?"

"I believe so. I also head that Lumiose City itself has a gym leader." Niko replied. "Maybe we could try going there first?"

"Worth a shot." Warren said, sitting back. "You didn't bring any Pokémon with you?"

"Nope. You?"

"Poliwhirl, Leavanny, and Pidove, so…all of them." They both turned to Charlotte. "What about you?"

"Oh? Err…Smeargle, Deerling, and Frillish. And this egg, now." Charlotte said, rubbing her egg again.

"Well, if worse comes to worse, Niko, you can borrow some of my Pokémon for the Lumiose Gym." Warren offered.

"Thanks, but I'd like to go out and catch something in Kalos, too."

"Oh, no doubt. But if you need any of my Pokémon, they'd gladly fight with you."

"I appreciate that, Warren." Niko said before laying back and waiting for the airplane to land. Like with boats, Niko quickly got motion sickness on flights, and found it best to close his eyes and ignore the sounds and motions around him.

"Niko, we just landed!" Warren whispered as Niko opened his eyes, looking around at other passengers getting up from their seats and grabbing their bags. Niko slowly got up as well, grabbing his bags from the overhead compartment and handing Charlotte's to her.

Once they left the Lumiose City Airport, they looked out at the world ahead of them. Even from their vantage point on the ground, they could tell the city was larger than they realized.

"Where…do we start…?" Warren asked as they began walking through the city, down wide, brick-laid streets, watching as hundreds of people did the same. They passed by dozens of cafes, shops, and restaurants as they navigated their way through the city. "This place is enormous!"

"It's also the largest city in the Pokémon world." Charlotte added as they stared up at a massive tower off in the distance.

"I believe it." Niko said as he watched some kids ride a massive green goat down a street alongside cars. "What the…"

"What a cool Pokémon." Charlotte said as they saw the goat run by them. "Wonder what it's called."

"Think we should ask where Professor Sycamore's office is?" Niko wondered as they stopped at the corner of a block. Looking around, he saw more unfamiliar Pokémon. One of them was a large blue frog with a long, pink tongue wrapped around its neck.

"I'm actually kinda hungry." Warren said. "Think we could grab something to eat first?"

"Sure. Why not that place?" Niko said, pointing to the first restaurant that he saw. "Restaurant…Le Yeah? What an odd name."

"I'm fine with that. I don't think I'll eat too much." Charlotte commented. They soon discovered that the restaurant served unfamiliar food to them—snails, beef stewed in wine, odd-smelling cheeses—but went with it all the same. "This is new…" Charlotte said as she examined the snail coated in garlic and butter sitting in front of her.

"Definitely new." Niko said, looking at the stewed beef. He looked to Warren, who gave him a similar expression.

"How is the meal?" Their waiter, a tall blonde-haired man with a long white apron that ran over his entirely white outfit. A blue neckerchief sat between the opening in his raised collar. On it sat a small orb.

"Just fine, thanks." Niko said.

"New to me, but just fine." Charlotte replied.

"New? Ah, are you three from outside of Kalos?" He asked in a kind tone.

"Yeah, we're from Unova, and he's from Kanto." Warren replied.

"Ah, Unova. Lovely place. I spent a fair amount of time in Castelia City, working my way up in the kitchen. Excuse me, I should have introduced myself. I am Siebold, the head chef of this establishment."

"Niko. And these are Warren and Charlotte."

"Pleasure. Now, what brings you to Kalos?"

"Gym challenge." Warren said. "Niko here is taking it on."

"Ah. I wish you luck. Two of the gym leaders in Kalos—Grant of Cyllage City and Valerie of Laverre City—come here often, and I prepare meals for them. They're both quite interesting people."

"That's cool." Niko said, not sure what else to say. "Do you know anything about the gym leader here?"

"Clemont? Of course, I do. I don't see him often, but he's famous in Lumiose for more reasons than one. He's a lovely man, that's for sure." Siebold said. "Well-traveled, as well, which is odd for a gym leader, especially one from a large city like Lumiose. However…if you're just starting out, I recommend against challenging Clemont. He generally appreciates challengers having four badges before taking him on. Sometimes trainers need more than four."

"Really now." Niko said, looking at Charlotte, who gave him an unusual look. He didn't quite know how to describe it—it was one of interest, but also of concern. Like she had an investment in this knowledge as well.

"Anyways, I'd rather not keep you any longer. Enjoy your meal, and I wish you luck in your journeys." Siebold said before turning and leaving.

"He had a mega stone." Niko said once Siebold was out of hearing range. "Did you notice it?"

"No?" Warren said. "Is that a big deal?"

"Not really, but he's definitely not just a chef." Niko said with fascination.

"Well, a lot of trainers have multiple professions." Charlotte added. "Like Clay, or Skyla. Or Drayden! Drayden's a mayor!"

"I know, but still…I think it's cool. I wonder which mega stone it was." Niko said, turning back in the direction Siebold left, and seeing nothing.

Leaving Restaurant Le Yeah, the group continued their search for Professor Sycamore's office. After asking a random passerby, they discovered that the lab was on the opposite end of the city—in the southeast, and they were in the north—which made Warren audibly groan.

"We could just take a taxi there." Niko suggested.

"I like that idea." Charlotte added. "We can split it between the three of us, and it shouldn't take too long."

Finding the first taxi they could, the trio hopped in and gave directions to Professor Sycamore's lab, which was located just across from Vernal Avenue, in the southeast side of Lumiose City. Interestingly enough, their taxi driver mentioned taking another trainer there just an hour ago.

"Yeah, the young man—probably 'round your ages, actually—was off to get a Pokémon from Professor Sycamore. That what you kids are up to?"

"Well, no. I want to ask him about something on my mind." Niko said.

"Oh? Well Sycamore is a smart guy. It's like he knows everyting!" Their driver said with an accent.

"Hopefully he knows about mega evolution too." Niko muttered.

"Oh, he does! He was one of da guys that discovered it!"

"Really now?" Niko asked.

"Yeah! Bout a decade ago he and some other scientist people found them mega stones. It was all over da news!"

"Huh. Guess my questions will get answered, then." Niko said. Soon enough, they arrived at the lab. As they got out, they noticed someone leaving. He was roughly Niko's height and tan-skinned with a small afro on his head. As he left, a Charmander in tow, he nodded briefly to Niko before heading towards Vernal Avenue.

"That must be the guy our driver was telling us about…" Warren mentioned as they watched him walk off.

"Must be." Niko said before turning to look at the lab itself. It was three-story building with a large courtyard outside. Walking through it, Niko admired the attention to the gardens established on both sides of the front door, which was made of glass and slide open automatically.

When they entered, a woman old enough to be Niko's mother walked by with a curious expression on her face. She had long, dark teal hair and a white lab coat over a pale blue shirt and pencil skirt. She pushed up her glasses and looked at the trio with a kind smile.

"Hello, how may I help you?" She asked.

"Hi, my name is Niko. I'm here to speak with Professor Sycamore."

"Oh? Do you have an appointment?"

"Err…no. I don't."

"I see. He usually likes to plan ahead of their meeting. What exactly is this about?"

"Mega evolution. I have some questions about it." Niko added.

"Hmm. I'll see what I can do, then." She said. Just as she turned towards a set of stairs, she gasped. "Oh, Professor!" She said.

"Hello." A tall, black-haired man said as he walked down the stairs. Unlike the woman, he wasn't wearing a lab coat. Instead, he wore a pure blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and tight black pants with a golden belt. "Sophie, who are these people?"

"They're here to talk to you about mega evolution." Sophie said with a smile.

"Well, fortunately I'm free. Just got done meeting with a new trainer. Said he's off to go the gym challenge." Sycamore said. "But, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Augustine Sycamore. I run the laboratory here in Lumiose City. And…you are?"

"Niko. I'm from Pallet Town in Kanto. Professor Oak referred me to you." Niko said, shaking the Sycamore's hand.

"Warren, from Castelia City."

"Charlotte, also from Castelia."

"Ah, I've always enjoyed Castelia City. I briefly studied at their university there. It's where I met my colleague and good friend, Aurea Juniper. Are you familiar with her?"

"Yeah, I've met her before." Niko said.

"Ah, you've been around then, haven't you? Sam Oak…that's someone I haven't seen in quite some time. Now…come with me. If you want to discuss mega evolution, I'd like to take you around the lab, if you don't mind."

Niko nodded, and the trio walked along with Sycamore and his assistant, Sophie. He showed them into a massive garden with Pokémon—familiar and unfamiliar—running around aimlessly.

"This is where I keep Pokémon, either for research or to help find them a home. I'm bringing you here for that reason, right there." Sycamore said, pointing to a Garchomp. "This Garchomp was my first test-subject for mega evolution, several years back. Tell me Niko, what do you know about mega evolution?"

Niko explained his battle with Elliot in the Vertress Conference, and then his discussion with Professor Oak about the subject that past summer. When he was finished, Sycamore nodded pleasantly.

"Ah, so you know enough. There isn't much more for me to tell you, then. Other than if you want to practice mega evolution yourself, you need three things—a key stone, a Pokémon capable of mega evolution, and its corresponding mega stone." Sycamore said, rubbing the forehead of the Garchomp that had just arrived.

"That's it…?" Niko wondered. "Really now."

"Yep! Once you have those, all you need to do is practice with your Pokémon. It requires a strong bond between trainer and Pokémon, so be careful. Even the strongest bonds will still give way to difficulty."

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks." Niko said.

"Now, you didn't just come to Kalos to talk to me, did you?" Sycamore asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. I plan on challenging the gyms here, too."

"Well done. The trainer that just left wishes to do the same." Sycamore said. "It is the job of the professor to help a trainer start off. Is this your first gym challenge?"

"It's my sixth…actually." Niko said.

"Sixth? Huh…I once knew a trainer just like that." Sycamore said, looking towards the sky for whatever reason. "He turned out quite well, as it seems. Anyways! If you would like, I could give you a Pokémon to start off with."

"Niko actually left all of his Pokémon in Pallet Town!" Warren uttered out.

"Perfect then." Sycamore said, motioning for them to follow. While they walked, Sycamore continued to talk. "The gyms here are…not easy. I would advise against immediately challenging Clemont, here in Lumiose City, but there is a gym just southeast of here in Santalune City. Viola is her name, and I think she would prove to be a decent starting point for you."

"Thanks. How far is Santalune City?"

"Erm…a couple of days, I think?" Sycamore asked, turning to his assistant, who shrugged. "Yeah, couple days. Just take route 4."

They arrived in a room similar to other laboratories Niko had seen before. On a desk lay two pokéballs. Sycamore turned to them with an apologetic look.

"My apologies, Niko, but the trainer that just left took with him the water type starter that I usually give out to trainers—Froakie. So, I only have two that you could choose from." He opened both pokéballs. "Here is the grass type—Chespin." Sycamore said. Niko looked down at Chespin.

Chespin was bipedal and mammalian. It had a light-brown front with dark brown arms and three triangular-shaped markings on its face. There was a green shell covering its back that extended from its head to halfway down its tail. Around the face, the shell had four leaf-like spikes, and one split into three parts on the back of its head. The visible part of its tapered tail was orange.

"And Fennekin, the fire type." Sycamore said, sending out a small, pale yellow, foxlike Pokémon. Tufts of dark orange fur cover the insides of its large ears, and it has a white muzzle with longer fur on its cheeks. It has dark orange eyes and a pointed black nose. Its tail is fluffy with a dark orange tip.

"Fennekin is so cute!" Charlotte said, crouching down—egg still in hand—to look at Fennekin.

"It is." Sycamore said before turning back to Niko.

"I think I'll go with Chespin." Niko said, also crouching down to see the grass type. "Do you want to go on a journey with me, Chespin?"

It eyed Niko carefully before somersaulting and striking Niko with its spikes. Niko fell backwards, his face lightly scratched.

"Chespin will take some time to get used to, I'm sure." Sycamore said. "Here's the pokéball for you." He handed Niko a red and white pokéball. "Best of luck. Oh! And here's a pokédex." Sycamore reached into a desk drawer and handed Niko a small orange device that looked more like a remote than anything. "It has information on all of the Pokémon you might find in the Kalos region. But I'm sure you're used to using these kinds of devices."

"Of course. Thanks, Professor." Niko said, returning Chespin to its pokéball. He then turned to Warren and Charlotte. "You guys ready to go?"

"Yeah, but Niko…" Charlotte said, standing back up.

"What's up, Charlotte?"

"I—uh—have something to tell you." She said, almost nervously.

"What is it?" Niko asked, looking concerned.

"I want to take the gym challenge, too!" She blurted out.

Niko blinked for a few moments, trying to process what he just heard. Instead of shock, he responded with a smile. "Awesome. Let's do it."

"Well, in that case…" Sycamore said, getting a second pokédex and pokéball. "Why don't you take Fennekin with you?"

"I can!?" Charlotte said happily, thrusting the egg into Warren's hands and grabbing the two items from Sycamore's. "Fennekin, do you want to come along with us?"

"Fen!" Fennekin shouted happily. Charlotte then opened her pokédex to examine Fennekin:

"Fennekin, the Fox Pokémon. Fire type. Eating a twig fills it with energy, and its roomy ears give vent to air hotter than 390 degrees Fahrenheit."

"Thank you so much, Professor." Charlotte said.

"No problem. And—hey—let me know what pops out of that egg." He said, eying the light-brown and black egg sitting in Warren's arms. "I have an idea, but I'm curious all the same."

"Will do!" She said, pocketing her pokéball and pokédex before taking the egg back from Warren.

"Now, is that all?" Sycamore asked. When the trio nodded, he smiled and led them back to the front door of the lab. "You seem like good kids. Let me know how your journey is progressing, specifically as it relates to mega evolution. I'm curious to see how you handle it."

"Will do, Professor." Niko said, shaking Sycamore's hand.

"And best of luck with the gym challenges, both of you." Sycamore added. "I'm sure you'll give Viola a run for her money."

"Hopefully." Warren added, just as the trio left the lab at sunset. With their sights set on Santalune City, the trio's next journey had officially begun.

Author's Note: New season! Hope you enjoyed