The second flashback chapter

Calem had finally made it to Shalour City. The settlement was just outside the edge of the Reflection Cave stretching out to gentle blue waves lapping at the sand.

Even at the outskirts, he could see the looming Tower of Mastery. One of his two destinations, the other being Shalour's gym, whose leader he had met outside the other end of the cave near Geosenge.

Now he was inside the Tower for the first time and he was instantly greeted with an immense imposing statue of a Pokemon who he had never seen before.

It looked like a Lucario, except many times more powerful. The appendages on the back of its head were longer and it seemed to have more fur, as depicted in the sculpture. Nevertheless, it appeared much more formidable, even as a statue. A room was in the atrium's center and he saw a set of staircases leading up the spire. However, he knew he wasn't able to pass, thanks to the stern looking guard at the beginning of the ascent.

The girl, Korrina was inside the room in the center, speaking to an older man. The atmosphere was tidy with a table to his left, a bed and bookcase to the right. Upon his entry, they both turned and smiled.

"Oh." He said, "You must be Calem."

When he nodded, his eyes lit up in understanding. "Sycamore told me you were coming. I'm the Mega evolution guru. I guess you could say that I'm an acquaintance of his. Of course, my real name isn't the Mega Evolution guru. Now will you come here for a moment?"

Calem worked to digest all the information before stepping forward. When he did, the guru looked around in puzzlement. "Hm. Only one of you? I thought he gave five kids a dex."

Just as he finished speaking, the door creaked open and Calem saw Trevor's orange hair slowly begin to appear as he leaned through the crack, as if preparing to flee if something attacked him.

When he saw nothing threatening, he strode inside with a shy manner, still keeping aware of his surroundings. He greatly reminded Calem of a Froakie's scanning behavior minus the carefree attitude. Tierno was right behind him.

"Who's that you're talking to?" He asked when he and Trevor stopped a little ways behind.

"People call me the Mega Evolution Guru!"

"Uh, my name's Tierno and that's Calem over there."

"My name's Trevor."

"Only three of you huh?" The guru asked in confusion. As he was looking around, he spotted something in Calem's jacket. Earlier that day, Tierno had given him an odd stone. He appreciated it, but was unsure why he had handed it over in the first place. "Oh it was you who found the Intriguing Stone?"

The stone had a name? Calem shook his head, not wanting to be in trouble for being accused of stealing a precious item. "It was given to me."

"What?! It was you who found it RIGHT Cal?" Tierno said, himself taking a step backwards in mock surprise.

"Well who found it doesn't really matter." Calem and Tierno both gave a sigh of relief when he later said that it was just an ordinary rock. "What matters is that you were honest. If you tell lies, the truth gets clouded and eventually lost."

They began to hear a girl's voice outside and the guru looked at the door. "Sure a lot of hubbub out there. Does this mean everyone's arrived?"

As he left with Tierno and Trevor, Korrina skated over to Calem's side. He liked her, the fun and energetic personality rubbed off easily. "Hey, you finally made it to Shalour City! Lucario's in its pokeball, but it's really happy to see you!"

A certain lucario had taken a shine to him earlier when he met Korrina for the first time outside Geosenge. During the battle, it showed impressive technique and Calem found it interesting to see how much lucario had already liked him, despite them meeting only once before.

"Well we should see what's going on too!"

"Sure." Calem replied as the four of them headed outside.

He had brightened up when he saw Serena and Shauna outside as well. They had initially thought that they were early, but the arrival of the boys plus Korrina proved them wrong.

"Looks like everyone is finally here!"

"Cal!" Shauna was jumping up and down excitedly.

Serena was also feeling great at his presence as well, "Where have you been?"

Calem could only shrug.

"It feels like it's been some time since our group has been together in one place."

"Yeah," Tierno agreed, "Since we all met up on Route 7. Mr. Mega Evolution Guru, I've been meaning to ask, who is that next to you?"

The guru looked over, "This is my granddaughter Korrina. She's Shalour City's Gym leader." When he said that, Calem was the only one who hadn't returned a surprised stare.

"So, Sycamore's pupils," The guru began to pace in front, "Now that you're all here. I suppose I should explain Mega Evolution. I assume you know about Pokemon evolution?"

"I know! I know!" Shauna was very excited today. Calem remembered how she could treasure every memory, whether it be getting her first Pokemon, having a first battle or even watching fireworks explode from the Parfum Palace's observation deck. To himself, he silently wished it was Serena at his side that night.

"Um…" She stuttered, not quite accustomed to being under pressure or at the center of attention. "You have your Pokemon battle a lot and then they grow stronger to evolve! Oh and there are some that only evolve by using items."

"Some Pokemon evolve through friendship," Serena added, "Others evolve only in specific places."

"Exactly!" The guru said, "It's likely there are plenty of other methods as well. However, Mega Evolution transcends all other evolution. It is a transformation of Pokemon that were thought were unable to evolve any further! It's a whole new level of power."

Trevor spoke up, "So an evolutionary line like Charmander, Charmeleon and Charizard. Does that mean Charizard has an evolution?"

"Yep! Exactly right. But not all Pokemon have a Mega Evolution."

"There's a reason why I used the word transformation rather than evolution. Mega Evolution differs from regular evolution because it ends after a certain amount of time. In other words, it's a temporary evolution."

"What?" Calem and Shauna asked, strangely simultaneously. "It evolves, but then goes back to what it was before?"

"Yes." Korrina said, "Mega Evolution is a special kind of evolution. That being said, we still know very little about it. What we do know is that it requires special items and trust."

"To make Mega Evolution work, you need two items; a mega stone for the Pokemon and the Mega Ring, which has a mysterious stone set in it, for the trainer. Since Professor Sycamore gave each one of you a Pokedex, I would like to give you these items. I'd like to share them with you but-"

"But what?" The little girl was still bubbling with excitement, "Just come out and say it already!"

"Sorry, but presently, I have only one Mega Ring. It's a very precious item, which is why my research isn't getting anywhere. So I want you all to decide amongst yourselves which one of you will challenge the Mega Evolution successor."

"I'll pass." Tierno piped up, "Pokemon battling isn't really my scene. So Mega Evolution would be way out of my league."

"Me too." Shauna agreed, causing Calem to give her a perplexed look. She was the one who wanted it a lot. Maybe even the most out of the entire group.

"I want to complete the Pokedex first." Trevor said, indicating he was opting out as well. "You try to do too much, you can't accomplish anything."

Calem nodded, he knew that very well. He knew that he wanted the ring, but the problem was that Serena would probably want it just as badly. If he was planning to be proficient at battling, then this ring would be an immense help.

"So that leaves Cal and Serena then."

"Trainers don't get much better than you two." Tierno remarked. He was right. So far, the other friends of his weren't as good in battling. They had Pokemon that were strong, but Calem always stayed one step ahead. Serena was the only one who even came close.

She moved over, "Calem, let's battle for it!" When he looked at her, she gave her explanation, "Whatever the reason, a battle gives us the opportunity to compete and see who Vaniville's best trainer really is!"

Calem had only battled with Serena twice since he met her, both times in a double battle with her at his side. Now he was going against her and he knew that she would have made significant progress ever since.

Her competitive spirit was burning again. She was ambitious, straightforward and not one to really use words as a way of fighting. Like him, she preferred to put talking aside and making the odds on battling alone. Still, he felt unusually soft.

"Are you ready?" She asked him.

He nodded.

"I will master Mega Evolution and set myself apart from other trainers. I'll also do it for my Pokemon, we've come so far together and they've never stopped in believing in me, their trainer."

Her gray eyes had a determined look gleaming inside, "You and your Pokemon are stronger. I can tell by just looking at you." She took out a ball, her first Pokemon to send into battle, "But I'm not going to lose. No, I'm going to win!"

The two of them tossed their first Pokemon out into the field and started their first battle against one another.

The battle was intense, with both trainers and Pokemon battling the hardest they have ever fought to win a prize. Unfortunately for her, Calem would defeat her three Pokemon, only losing one of his own.

With Serena's parents being both very successful trainers themselves, they knew that she was favored to win. Since her childhood, her parents always gave advice that she would later take in battling, type matchups, special combinations and their own experiences of victories and defeats.

Calem had a more unconventional approach. He was definitely not ready to get his first Pokemon, but still embraced the idea. Since, he had merely let all the battling do his talking and he was definitely good at it. He'd taken his fair share of defeats and victories, but what he really sought for was the strategy, always searching for an edge against your opponent.

Or Calem could just battle Team Flare repeatedly. The grunts employed by the villainous group had no idea how to battle at all.

Serena retrieved her fainted braixen and put a hand to her forehead. The rest of her face turned into disappointment. Previously, when her starter Pokemon began to show signs that it was losing, she had begun to worry that he was going to win. Nevertheless, until it had finally went down, she remained optimistic.

"So…I lost then."

The guru spoke up. He and the group had been watching intently the whole time, "Listen, in a battle, there will always be one winner and one loser. Mega Evolution is nothing more than one way to make Pokemon stronger. There are many trainers who bring out their Pokemon's true strength without using Mega Evolution."

Korrina spoke up, "Well Calem, my mysterious trainer, my Lucario may have taken a shine to you, but now I must see if you're ready to challenge the Mega Evolution successor!" She stepped forward, her roller skates continuing to move as she headed out of the tower, "I'll be waiting for you at the Gym!"

Once she had left, Serena turned to him. He could still see tears in her eyes and knew that witnessing her disappointment was going to crush him too. Remarkably, she kept her composure. "I'll bet the professor will be happy if you master Mega Evolution. That's one way to show mastery as a trainer."

With that, she pivoted away and walked out of the tower.

Calem did it. He had finally defeated Korrina after a hard fought battle and finally obtained the Mega Ring. It was snugly fit on his left wrist and went quite stylishly with his outfit. Although he had two Pokemon capable of mega evolving, they weren't ready yet, as Combusken and Wartortle had yet to evolve into their final evolutions. He had already given them their Mega Stones and worked his ring to calibrate respectively, when the time to Mega Evolve would occur. It did still bother him that there was no user manual to the ring.

He had just left the Pokemon Center when he noticed something.

The girl sitting underneath the tree across the pathway looked very familiar.

He dashed over.

"Serena!"

She had just gotten off the chat with her parents. They shared her disappointment at the opportunity to get the Mega Ring, but they still had told her to keep getting stronger and they would always be proud.

She looked up when Calem shouted her name.

"Oh. Hi Calem." She greeted before looking down.

"Hey. I brought you something." He held out an object. "Got this at the Parkside Deli by the Pokemon Center. A trainer who manages to get a Rumble Badge gets two free sandwiches upon proof."

Serena accepted the offering, "Thanks. You hungry?"

"Nah. All yours. Try it. It's pretty good too!"

Serena took a bite, giving a nod of approval. "It is good!" She reached over and took the second half, "Here." She handed it to him, "We can share."

Calem held up his hand, "I'm fine. You enjoy it. I already ate."

"I'm not taking no for an answer."

He was actually pretty hungry. "Alright. Hey want to let our Pokemon out?"

"Sure."

They ate for a few minutes in silence, watching their partners play around in the small field in front. The sun bathed them in bright light. The Pokemon all ran around in the field, looking like they were playing tag and enjoying every minute.

"Have you used the Mega Evolution yet?" Serena asked, breaking it finally.

"No."

"Why?" He turned to face her, "Aren't you wanting to get stronger?"

"Yeah." He nodded, "But I've been having this nagging feeling. You know how that guy Lysandre was talking about a limited pool of resources. The guru had only one ring and we'd end up fighting for it. Isn't that partially proving the point of when something isn't shared it will be competed for?"

"It was a friendly competition. You won it fair and square."

"Yes but, I feel that you deserve it more. I've seen you behave after we battled and I couldn't see you being so sad any more."

He moved to unclip the Mega Ring but she put a hand over it. "Calem, you won it."

"Yes, but I would personally feel much better if you did."

She shook her head, "I can't take it."

"Why not? Aren't your parents disappointed that you didn't win it?"

"Yes losing is frustrating and confessing that to my parents was hard. However we both know that it was awarded to the right person." Calem found himself drawn into her eyes again, "How did you fare against the Mega Evolution successor?"

"Korrina was tough and it wasn't easy."

"See?" Serena giggled, "If you barely got by, then I would have stood no chance."

They had finished their food and their Pokemon had all laid down at their feet, now all tired from playing.

"You know Calem," Serena began, "You've always been quiet since I met you. Yet, you see me under this tree and come up for a talk and even offer me food which by the way was absolutely delicious. Why?"

He felt a blush creep up his face and that caused her to giggle.

"I don't expect an answer from you." She dug into her bag and handed Calem an object of her own. It was disc shaped and it had a blue coloring. He instantly recognized it. The Hidden Machine Surf.

"Here neighbor, you should use this."

He took the HM just as Serena retrieved her Pokemon.

"If you use the HM Surf, you'll be able to travel over water. When I think about it, it's kind of amazing how a person like you came to Kalos and ended up traveling with me."

"It's like destiny in a way." She stood up and began to walk down the path, "Later Cal."

Funny thing. Serena has his Mega Ring after he threw it to her in the first chapter. So she still gets it even after declining his offer.

Thanks for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose.