Quick Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon period, let alone X or Y.
"It has often been said that power corrupts. But it is perhaps equally important to realize that weakness, too, corrupts. Power corrupts the few, while weakness corrupts the many. Hatred, malice, rudeness, intolerance, and suspicion are the faults of weakness. The resentment of the weak does not spring from any injustice done to them but from their sense of inadequacy and impotence. We cannot win the weak by sharing our wealth with them. They feel our generosity as oppression." - Eric Hoffer
Corruption is a quiet yet deceptively powerful evil. It took two simple conversations for the seeds to be planted in two good, innocent, moral, well-meaning people. All because of Mega Evolution.
The first happened many years ago. A genius young man with a bright future and amazing hair was approached by another equally smart youth with equally amazing hair, inquiring what the other knew about Mega Evolution. The first replied that he didn't know much, but, intrigued, offered to help the other research the subject.
That exchange led to a long and plentiful friend and partnership.
The second conversation happened not too long ago. The region's leading Pokemon Professor met with his five pupils in his lab in Lumiose City and talked separately to the legacy of Pokemon battling, the girl raised on stories of her parents' Pokemon adventures and the legend of Mega Evolution. The girl admitted that, after hearing all the legends behind Mega Evolution, it was a major goal of hers to learn as much as she could about it and master it if she had the chance.
The professor smiled and told her that he was sure that her dream would come true. And, he added, if anyone would unlock the secrets of Mega Evolution, she would be the key.
The girl left glowing with his praise.
A short time later, the girl's rival defeated her in a battle for ownership for the only Mega Ring.
Serena walked dejectedly back to the Pokemon Center, feet dragging on the road of Anistar City. Calem had just beaten her, again. But this time hurt the most, by far. After she had trained and trained and trained her team, he still managed to outclass their efforts. Calem had torn through more than half of her team with his Lucario that he Mega Evolved as soon as it came out of its Pokeball. She just couldn't keep up with its sheer power and speed; it absolutely wrecked her Meowstic, Vaporeon, and Tyrantrum before finally being taken out by her exhausted Chesnaught. To finish the battle, his Gardevoir wiped the floor with Chesnaught and Absol. It seemed that although she would always be ahead of him, she would never be able to catch him to even give him a good battle.
No, that's not it, she mused as her thoughts turned darker, brought on by anger, jealousy, and envy. It's all because of his Mega Ring! That's the only reason he keeps beating me so handily!
Immediately after those thoughts popped into her head, she felt ashamed. Calem had won possession of the Mega Ring fair and square; on top of the Ring's mystical power, he was a powerful Trainer in his own right.
... Still, that didn't make losing so badly sting any less. Ever since their battle for the Mega Ring, Calem had always Mega Evolved his Lucario (that Korrina had given him for Mega Evolution!) and trashed her Pokemon with it. Every. Single. Time! And on top of that, he never used his Charizard, his most powerful Pokemon (which could also Mega Evolve) against her. She didn't know why, but she felt slighted.
Head drooped in exhaustion and sadness, Serena wasn't watching where she was going; thus anyone reading this shouldn't be surprised when she slammed into another, larger person, putting her on the ground.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Serena exclaimed. "I wasn't looking where I was going..." her voice trailed off as she looked up at the person she walked into.
"It's quite alright," Lysandre assured her, outstretching his hand. "You must have a lot on your mind."
"Yeah..." Serena answered hesitantly as she cautiously took the fiery-haired man's hand, letting him pull her up. She didn't know why, but Lysandre had always given her a bad feeling, like he was hiding a dark secret.
"Serena?" Lysandre's voice cut through her thoughts. "Is something the matter?"
"Oh, no!" she smiled nervously. "I just need to get to the Pokemon Center right away. Calem beat me again..." she looked away in embarrassment. "He's really something else."
Lysandre noted the wonder in her tone; did the two of them have something going on? Sometimes the way they acted... "He is indeed," he mused. "I certainly didn't expect him to master Mega Evolution."
He didn't miss the way Serena flinched ever so slightly. "Yeah..." she answered quietly. She looked up at him, expression earnest. "But he deserves it," she declared, a light shining in her eyes. "Calem's the strongest person I know." Her eyes flitted away from him as she finished speaking.
Curious, Lysandre thought, looking down at the Vanivillite native in front of him. She spoke as if she believed that, yet her body language spoke differently. "Professor Sycamore told me that it was a major goal of yours to master Mega Evolution," he said finally.
She nodded. "My parents used to tell me stories about their adventures and the legends behind Mega Evolution. Of course, now that I've seen it up close and personal, I think the stories make it out to be a lot more..." she paused, puzzling for words, "dramatic and mystical than it actually is. But it is still very powerful." She hid it well, but her eyes showed some of the longing for the Mega Ring she still felt.
Serena was surprised when Lysandre handed her some Revives. "I hope these will tide your Pokemon over for a while," he said with a rare smile. "Would you mind telling me how your battle went?"
"Why?" Serena asked hesitantly, wondering what his motive could be.
"You could say that I've taken a small interest in the two of you after what the Professor told me," he answered. "You two are two of the strongest and best Trainers of this new generation. I can't help but wonder what the two of you will do in the future- will you work to make the world a more beautiful place, or will you make it uglier?"
Serena couldn't help the light blush that dusted her cheeks at the unexpected compliment, quickly reviving her fainted Pokemon. "It wasn't much of a battle," she admitted finally. "His Lucario tore my team apart, and his Gardevoir finished us off."
"Mega Evolution?" he asked.
"Yeah," she admitted quietly, looking down at her hands. A rueful smile tugged at her lips. "It's not like I should be surprised," she added. "He's Mega Evolved Lucario every time we've battled, and every time I lose easily. Sometimes we can't even defeat it."
"And it upsets you," Lysandre concluded.
Serena looked up at him in shock before looking away. "Am I really that easy to read?" she murmured. "I... I try so hard to keep it hidden so that nobody can see... so that nobody judges me and thinks badly of me. I know it's really stupid of me, especially since he won the Ring fairly, but... I keep having these feelings... I'm just so jealous, even when I know I have no reason to." Her eyes closed as she gave into the current of anger flowing though her. "And it's like he doesn't even care how I feel! Every single time we've battled since our competition, he's Mega Evolved Lucario, as if he's trying to... to spite me! And it hurts..." A tear rolled down her cheek.
Lysandre couldn't help but wonder if the girl was more upset about the Mega Evolutions or the fact that it was the boy she clearly cared for who was hurting her. "You see, this is what I hope to abolish," he said, gesturing at her. "Feelings of jealousy, of anger, of arrogance, of spite. Such feelings cause the world to be imperfect, to be less beautiful! This world could be a paradise if only we could forget all our negative emotions!" The girl looked up at him, blinking away the remains of her tears. "You want to possess a Key Stone for Mega Evolution." It wasn't a question. The girl opened her mouth, most likely to deny it, but he rushed on. "You want the power, not for power's sake, but so that your friend looks at you like an equal, not as just another obstacle, not just a challenge to overcome." Her eyes widened.
"I..." Serena couldn't find the words to deny his claim. Because she knew, and he knew she knew, that it really was what she wanted, deep down. She wanted Calem to admit that she was just as strong as him, that he was proud to have such a strong Trainer as a rival, that he felt the same way about her as she did him.
Well, that last one wasn't too relevant at the moment, but the point was made.
"What if I could give you this power?" Lysandre's voice brought her back to the here and now. "What if I could give you the ability to Mega Evolve your Pokemon, and prove to Calem that you're as strong as he is? To help him turn away from such negative and hurtful emotions? What if I told you that together, we could share Mega Evolution with everyone in the world so that there would be no more petty squabbling over it?"
Serena couldn't do much more than stare at him, shocked. Was he actually offering...?
"Lysandre Labs has recently had a breakthrough with a Key Stone prototype," the man informed her. "All it needs is someone who will unlock its true potential- and I have a feeling that someone is you."
Serena couldn't believe it. Her biggest wish could come true! It sounded almost too good to be true.
Lysandre extended his hand. "So, Serena, will you allow me to give you the instrument for you to achieve your dream, and in return, help me achieve my dream of shaping the world into a more beautiful state?"
Just minding my own business one day recently playing Pokemon X when suddenly this story idea hit me harder than Thor's hammer hit Captain America's shield in The Avengers. Since it wouldn't leave me alone, I decided to entertain myself by thinking about a plot, how it would unfold, the twists and turns, etc. The good news is that I pretty much have it written down in my head- the bad news is that, well, it's in my head, not in Physical Forme. Back to good news, hopefully this story will be done in a few weeks!
Just to point some things out that should already be somewhat clear but I'm a nice guy so I'll point them out anyway: Calem is the Protagonist/Played Character, Serena is the Rival, this happened right after the Rival Battle in front of the Anistar City Gym, and I gave Serena a Tyrantrum because I picked the Sail Fossil in Glittering Cave, so she got the Jaw Fossil; I always hated the fact she had four Pokemon, so I had her revive the Fossil! Anyway, don't get any strange ideas about the story being LysandrexSerena; it's not, and it slightly creeps me out thinking about it, to be honest. No, any pairings have already been hinted at in the story (and by hinted at, I mean practically shoved in your face).
Well, merci for taking the time to read this! Any thoughts, questions, etc. can be put in the box below that says "Review."