Haven't I done this story before, kinda sorta? Oh well, it's M-rated (meaning some more mature stuff is par for the course), and finally it's another story with Calem and friends.
This one will probably be on lower priority for updating too, so if it goes a while without updating...
It was that time of the week, Calem reminded himself after waking from his nap.
Without further ado, he made his way to the nearest open space, and brought out one of his Poké Balls, which opened to reveal Swellow, his blue-feathered companion.
"Okay, Swellow… let's go to Anistar City."
Chirping a joyful tune, Swellow waited for its trainer to climb on its back before it spread its broad wings and took off, high in the skies of Kalos to reach their destination.
Calem's Swellow knew the journey well, and was able to quickly make it to Anistar City, the city bearing the giant and mysterious sundial. Making a smooth landing in front of the Pokémon Center there, it was but a short walk to the city's café, where he knew his friends would be there waiting for him.
He felt it was nice to catch up with them in this way; when Calem had first arrived from another region, he found some difficulty in adjusting to his new home in Vaniville Town, and being somewhat on the introverted side complicated his efforts to socialize. Nonetheless, he was able to befriend his next-door neighbor Serena, and Shauna, Trevor and Tierno too.
During his journey in Kalos with his very first Pokémon, the five of them often stuck together, whether observing the region's many marvelous sights, participating in heated Pokémon battles, or attempting to stop the devious Team Flare from causing trouble.
Now that the villainous team was no more, the region was once again at peace, and nowadays Calem and his friends explored and traveled around Kalos more independently to pursue their own respective interests. Before they made that decision though, they had all agreed that once a week they would take time from their schedule and meet up in the café to talk and spend time together, as the friends they were.
Just as Calem had expected, the others had already arrived before him, standing by the café's front door.
"There you are, Cal!" Serena jumped forward to give her neighbor a tight, binding hug. "Missed you lots!"
"We all did!" added Shauna. The brown-haired girl was holding a small purple blob-like Pokémon in her arms; a Goomy that she had hatched from an Egg just a few days ago.
Together, the five friends entered the door and sat themselves down at the counter, and they each ordered and paid for the drinks they wanted.
"So I got this crazy-awesome move I wanna try out sometime, but I gotta get something big for this one, like a Wailord or something…" Calem and the others always did like to hear Tierno talking about his dance routine plans, but thus far, the boy in the Vanillite shirt had not made good on his promise to show them any dances starring him and his Pokémon.
"Interesting," replied Trevor. "I myself am still in the process of fulfilling the Pokédex to full completion… however in the midst of my undertaking, I had the serendipity to happen upon a most compelling occurrence!"
"The what of your what?" Shauna asked, her understanding of linguistics greatly exceeded by the orange-haired boy's.
Trevor went on to explain. "Well, you see, I was observing the Pokémon that inhabited Route 21, when a Spinda horde had appeared before me! However, one of the five stood out compared to the other four, because-"
A waitress had interrupted Trevor's explanation as she held a tray bearing two cups of piping-hot coffee. "Sorry to keep you waiting! I have here two coffees, one regular and one decaf."
"Regular," Calem said, accepting the cup handed to him. The waitress gave the other cup to Serena, who was sitting directly next to him. As Calem drank the hot beverage, Serena savored hers, sipping quietly, and then humming a hearty "Mmmmm" in satisfaction.
Shauna noticed that the blond girl was really enjoying her coffee. "Wow, Serena, I didn't know you liked decaf so much."
Serena chuckled coyly. "I love it! Decaffeinated has all the goodness of caffeinated, but with an added 'dee'. But that's what I love about it, the 'dee'! I just can't get enough of the 'dee'!" She turned to Calem, who was halfway done with his coffee. In a more intimate tone, she asked the boy, "What do you think, Cal?"
Calem paused in thought. "…I like regular."
Serena sighed; it seemed like she had been too subtle in her suggestion, and her teasing joke had crossed into the territory of obscurity. An awkward silence ensued as the others received their drinks, which they began to consume.
Tierno was the first to finish, and he gave a small belch. "Uh, hey guys, did you hear about the magic show? It's in Lumiose City tomorrow! It's gonna be totally sick!"
Trevor scoffed. "Oh, don't tell me you subscribe to the notion of magic! The very idea is nothing short of preposterous!"
The boy in the Vanillite shirt shrugged. "Hey, it sounded cool to me. What about you guys, you on board or what?" he asked Calem, Serena and Shauna.
"Sorry, Tier," Shauna replied, "but Goomers isn't good with big crowds! He's still just a baby… A cute, squishy baby!" She proceeded to pat her Goomy, who was sitting upon the counter and bobbing about playfully.
"And isn't there going to be a meteor shower that night? Cal and I are gonna watch that!" said Serena.
Calem didn't remember agreeing to that arrangement. "…We are?"
"Of course we are!" replied the girl. "We could a private spot on the mountains to watch it alone, just you and I… Doesn't that sound romantic?"
"Well, yes, but-"
"Yay, I knew you would like it!" Serena squealed gleefully. "Tomorrow night just can't come soon enough… I gotta prepare for it!"
And just like that, Serena had dashed out of the café. Soon after, Tierno and Shauna had finished their drinks, and they left too, leaving Calem and Trevor on their own.
"Magic…" Trevor mused. "How could anyone possibly believe in such an absurd affront to logic and reason? Nothing can truly happen 'by magic', there always has to exist a perfectly feasible consequence!"
Calem didn't have any way to refute such an argument. "I like magic… and that magic show, it sounds kind of exciting… I guess."
Trevor raised his eyebrow. "Well, if you insist on believing in magic, I suppose I have no right to dissuade you. But if I am correct, did you not promise a rendezvous with Serena at that time?"
The boy in the cap shook his head. "I don't really want to…"
"Why not? …Actually, don't answer that, it's none of my business really." The orange-haired boy frowned a little. "Far be it from me to begin dispensing advice pertaining to relationships, but if you didn't want to, it would be important to let her know, correct?"
"Well…" his unfinished sentence lingered about, even when he had left the café himself.
"Honesty is more important than anything else," Trevor said to himself. "Don't you understand that, Calem?"
%%%
On the evening of the next day, Tierno was already seated at the Lumiose City theater where the magic show was to be held. As disappointing as it was to be without his friends for the occasion, he was still very eager to watch. In time, more and more people began to enter, filling the rows of seats, and to Tierno's surprise, one of his friends had come to see the show after all.
"Trevs?!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
Trevor regarded his friend, and came over to his row to sit next to him. "I came here to witness the performance for myself. Why else would I have come?"
The boy in the Vanillite shirt scratched his head. "I thought you said magic wasn't real."
"That is indeed what I had said, and I continue to stand by my word." Trevor answered. "However, I will concede that I am rather curious to examine the rational cause behind this so-called 'magic'."
Tierno got what the orange-haired boy was trying to say. "Then don't ruin it for me!"
More and more people came in by the minute, waiting for the show to begin.
After a long while, the lights then gradually dimmed, and nobody in the audience could see a thing for the suspenseful darkness. After the initial clamoring had died down, the persistent rumble of a faint drum roll could be heard. Gradually, the noise grew in volume and intensity, eventually culminating in a loud cymbal clash, like the burst of a balloon being inflated beyond its limit. The cymbal's crash was the signal for a single spotlight to appear upon the center of the stage. It seemed like nothing was within the brightened boundary for mere seconds until a glittery explosion of smoke occurred.
Once the smokescreen had cleared, the audience could see now that standing within the cone of light was a squat, chubby man dressed to resemble the definitive image of a magician, complete with matching top hat and tailcoat, both purple as the evening skies; the former was even decorated with stars that reflected the light shining upon them. All eyes were on this man now, and he took a preliminary bow before introducing himself.
"Ledians and Jellicents, and trainers of all ages, I welcome you! I am the wonderfully talented Mysterial, and I have come from a faraway place to amaze and excite people from around the world with my displays of magic!"
Removing and upturning his top hat, Mysterial reached inside, and pulled his arm out to reveal that he had produced a Pikachu from within the small space, which danced around and emitted a dazzling display of electric sparks. The audience responded with a round of gasps and light applause. Next, the magician pulled out from his sleeve a big red sash, covered in sequins which made the fabric shimmer in the light. Catching the Pikachu unawares, he blanketed the Pokémon with the cloth, leaving a red sequined lump on the floor. With an exclamation of "Huzzah!" Mysterial lifted the fabric away from the ground – to reveal that the Pikachu had disappeared completely.
Many people in the audience cheered for more, but Trevor was unmoved. "Oh, he can't be serious," he muttered. "That Pikachu was obviously-"
"Shh!" Tierno hissed.
%%%
For the next half hour, Mysterial continued to perform spectacular feats, conjuring various things out of thin air, and making them disappear again, shifting Poké Balls and their contents from one hand to the other, smashing rare Master Balls with a large mallet, only to restore them to mint condition shortly after, and even lifting a heavyset Snorlax ten inches off the ground with just a wave of the hand. Just when it seemed like he had no more tricks left to show, he extended one arm out to address his audience.
"For my next trick… may I ask a member of the audience to come up to the stage with me?"
Almost everyone present jumped from their seat, competing for the honor of being an active participant in this magician's amazing act. Mysterial twirled this thin handlebar mustache between his fingers as he was considering his choice.
"Hmm… yes, I see… I HAVE DECIDED!" The audience immediately quieted and sat back down, and a drum roll began to sound. "The lucky winner will be… you!"
Mysterial's gloved finger pointed directly at the upper-middle section of the theater's audience… where Trevor was sitting. Just to remove any doubt or confusion, a spotlight was cast upon the orange-haired boy, which his eyes were unprepared for.
"What?" Trevor stood from his seat cautiously, looking around. "I don't understand…"
The magician brought a palm to his face. "Not you, you silly Silcoon, the boy standing behind you!"
Trevor and Tierno turned around in their chairs, and sitting directly behind them was none other than-
"Calem?!" Both of the hat-wearing boy's friends were completely surprised to see him there, and he stood from his seat, just as Trevor did.
"Actually," Mysterial said, "I'm in a generous mood today, so why don't you both come down here? I will make this one extra-amazing! "
The two boys initially hesitated, but Tierno urged them to go along with it, and Calem and Trevor slowly made their way down to the stage, where they both stood next to Mysterial. They were both quite nervous from staring back at the many faces in the audience, who continued to watch.
"Now listen carefully, my friends. When I snap my fingers, you two will fall into my hypnotic spell, and do as I instruct!"
And then, the man snapped his fingers loudly. Calem didn't move, but Trevor looked from side to side, feeling no difference.
"It didn't work!" Trevor announced. "I don't feel a thing! This man is a frauuuuuaf! Ouaf!" The short boy started barking like a Furfrou, and stood on all fours.
"Peep peep!" Calem flapped his arms and hopped, imitating a Fletchling. The audience was finding the entire thing very funny, and even Tierno couldn't suppress the smile on his face.
A minute passed, and the two boys were still acting like wild Pokémon, which continued to amuse the audience. "Now," Mysterial said. "When I snap my fingers, you will go back to normal!" He snapped his fingers again, but this time nothing changed. He snapped them again, and again, but Calem and Trevor stayed the same. "What's wrong with you? I said enough!"
"Grrrr…" Trevor growled, facing the back curtain. In his hypnotized state, he ran on his arms and legs, passing behind the curtain and out of sight. Immediately after, his snarling could be heard along with an odd screeching noise. Calem remained oblivious, chirping and pecking at the ground with his face.
To Mysterial's dismay, the back curtain had collapsed, revealing that Trevor was attacking a Malamar that had been hiding backstage; the tentacled Pokémon had been pushed into the curtain in the melee, making it fall down to reveal an entire group of other Pokémon, who all had psychic abilities and were actually the cause behind the illusionist's trickery. The audience gasped in surprise when they saw an Abra, Kadabra and Alakazam, who lifted Trevor and Malamar in mid-air, trying to break up their fight. Meanwhile, one of the magician's Pokémon, small, blue, and sitting idly had roused Calem's attention, and the mind-warped boy flounced towards it.
"Is… is this part of the act or something?" Tierno wondered, watching the craziness unfold.
When Calem had jumped on Manaphy, the small Water-type squeaked in surprise, and accidentally unleashed its power, as the antenna-like extensions on its head started to glow vividly. Mysterial could take no more, and rushed off-stage to retrieve the Poké Balls of his Pokémon. After they had all been recalled, Calem and Trevor were finally able to snap out of Malamar's hypnotic trance.
"Errrgh," Calem thought to himself. "My head hurts…"
"What did you do to me?!" Calem heard his own voice shouting at Mysterial, and for some reason, he saw that it was another Calem who was doing the shouting: red hat, blue jacket and all. It was like looking into a mirror that didn't properly reflect.
"Why… why am I over there?" he asked, but the voice speaking was not his own; it was Trevor's. Calem looked down at his body, and he saw that his outfit was not his own either; they too belonged to Trevor.
The boy in the hat heard the Trevor-voice talking, and he flinched in surprise. "That's… that's me? But that's impossible! I'm me!"
"No," said the orange-haired boy, "You're not you. You're me."
"That's not possible," said the boy in the hat. "If I were you, then who would you be? …Wait a moment!"
The two boys looked at one another, and couldn't believe what they were seeing.
"It seems as though you really are me, and consequently, I really am you! As ludicrous as it sounds, we have become each other!"
Mysterial gasped, and he faced to the audience, who remained completely silent. "Oh, my goodness… Looks like it's time for this magician to disappear!" Pulling a smoke bomb from his pockets, he threw the ball down, which exploded into a sparkling foggy cloud that quickly evaporated to reveal that Mysterial had fled the scene, leaving behind only his signature top hat.
Then, the audience gave a standing ovation, cheering louder than they had done for the entire show.