A/N: In a significant departure from the games, in this story Calem and Serena will be allowed to access most of Lumiose City - I edited out those annoying workers.
There will be a number of cameos for characters from previous generations in this fic. I gave Morty one because he is my favorite Pokemon character. There probably will be one for Cynthia in a later chapter, and I might give N, Hilbert, and Hilda a cameo towards the end...
CHAPTER 12: LUMIOSE THE GRAND
Since the others were quite busy, Calem and Serena decided to explore Lumiose City and see all of the wondrous things that it had to offer.
"Where do you want to go first?" asked Calem.
"Let me see," said Serena, thinking for a second. "I think I would like to visit the Lumiose Museum."
Calem and Serena decided to go to the Lumiose Museum. There they took a tour of the museum and its various paintings of all of the regions in the world. Calem liked one painting that he saw of the Bell Tower in Ecruteak City.
"This tower is amazing!" said Calem. "It's so beautiful."
"It sure is," said Serena.
"This is the tower where Ho-oh was said to have lived a long time ago," said Calem. "As for the other tower...it looks burnt."
Then, Serena saw someone coming their way. It was a man, who looked to be about twenty-four years old. He had neck-length blond hair and purple eyes. He wore a plaid purple jacket, a black shirt, beige pants, and a purple scarf. Calem and Serena guessed that he was intrigued by this tower.
"There are two towers again," said the man.
"Really?" asked Serena. "Did they..."
"Yes," said the man. "They finished the reconstruction of the Burned Tower recently. It was a controversial decision for some, but I think it was an excellent idea."
"What is your name?" asked Calem.
"My name is Morty," said the man. "I am the Gym Leader of Ecruteak City. I have extensive knowledge of the Bell Tower in that picture."
"Morty!" said Calem. "I guess I'm meeting a lot of famous people today. Earlier we met Diantha."
"Diantha?" asked Morty. "She is a dear. I know her well - I was an extra in one of her films. She's an amazing Trainer."
Serena looked at the painting.
"It's so cool to live near that tower," said Serena. "What brings you to Kalos?"
"I am here to visit Valerie," said Morty. "Valerie is the nice woman who runs the Laverre City Gym. She is also a third cousin of mine - she was born in Johto. Her mother was from Kalos, and she has lived in Kalos since she was fourteen - after her father died. She designs clothes - including the jacket I'm wearing. There's also a boutique in Lumiose where she frequents. It's called Boutique Couture."
"A boutique?" asked Serena. "Awesome!"
"It's a little pricey," said Morty, "just so you know."
Calem and Serena sighed.
"But I do have some extra vouchers," said Morty. "Here - there's one for each of you." He gave Calem and Serena vouchers. "It will give you 20% off. They're both good for the next week or so. I wanted to show it to Jasmine, but she prefers steal over splurge."
"We'll go today," said Calem.
"It's a very nice boutique," said Morty. "You'll find lots of nice items!"
Later, Calem and Serena went to the Boutique Couture, located on Vernal Avenue. They looked around and saw all sorts of nice clothes.
"This is better than the Santalune boutique," said Serena.
"That one didn't have any good clothes," said Calem. "All I got was two feather accessories."
"I got a nifty blue hat just like my red one," said Serena, "and a yellow flower accessory and a green button."
A woman approached them. She had dark skin, short red hair, and red eyes. She wore a blue tank top and skirt with blue leggings and high heels. She wore red lipstick on her lips and hoop earrings.
"Hello," said the woman. "May I help you?"
"We're looking for nice clothes," said Serena.
"You've come to the right place," said the woman. "My name is Theresa Glissant. I am one of the designers for the clothes here. I design many clothes - including those for Gym Leaders."
"I've heard of you," said Calem. "My friend Shauna idolizes you. She wants to design clothes herself - I wonder if you can give her some pointers."
"I most certainly could," said Theresa. "I love giving people advice related to fashion."
"Do you own this boutique?" asked Serena.
"No," said Theresa. "But I do a lot of business with it. I'm here because my latest clothing is here. My new line is plaid and checked. I make clothes for both men and women, so both of you can purchase my items if you'd like."
Calem and Serena looked around and saw all sorts of nice clothes. The three of them got a little carried away with purchasing. Calem bought a black fedora, a checked red T-shirt combo, a pair of checked red pants, and a pair of black loafers. Serena bought a black tie-neck blouse, a black kilt skirt, white stockings, and a pink ribbon.
The two of them showed their clothing to Theresa.
"Very impressive!" said Theresa. "You even picked out clothing from my fashion line. I'm going to be at the discotheque at Vert Plaza tomorrow night. I was invited to see the performance of Vivienne Legrand, the graceful dancer and Vivillon fanatic. Bring your friends with you."
"Definitely," said Calem.
After Calem and Serena paid for everything, they left the store with their new overpriced clothing.
"Wow!" said Calem. "We wasted money in the best way possible - on clothes."
"At least these are nice clothes," said Serena. "And they're all in our size."
"I like those plaid pants that I got," said Calem.
"There's another boutique in Cyllage that would appeal to us," said Serena. "The clothes there are much cheaper."
Calem and Serena walked around the city more. They purchased Poke Balls at the Poke Ball Boutique in Autumnal Avenue, bought ice cream in Jaune Plaza, and watched an organ grinder with his Pansage in Rouge Plaza. They ate an early dinner at Cafe Ultimo. They even made use of the Gogoat Shuffle twice, which was quite fun even though the Gogoat didn't go that fast.
Then, Calem had an idea.
"Serena," said Calem, "I'd like to take you to my older sister's place. Maia lives at an apartment near Bleu Plaza. You'll like her."
"Sure thing," said Serena.
Calem took Serena to the apartment complex he was talking about. He showed Serena to the residence of his sister.
Calem knocked on the door of his sister's apartment. Calem's older sister Maia came to the door and opened up. She was shorter than Calem, and had brown hair in pigtails and blue eyes. She wore a green shirt and white pants.
"Hi, Calem," said Maia. "Nice for you to visit me! And this must be your friend Serena."
"Hi," said Serena.
"Come on in," said Maia. "I'll give you some drinks."
Maia gave Calem and Serena some sparkling apple juice.
"I heard about your journey," said Maia. "I think it's good that you are getting out, Calem. I know with your disability it's kind of hard to get out much. But I'm glad you have Serena with you. From what you've told me, she seems like a really nice girl."
"I am very nice," said Serena. "Calem is my best friend."
"It's good that you've made some friends," said Maia. "I'm proud of you."
"I know," said Calem.
The three of them talked for an hour more. Then, Calem remembered what Theresa had told him.
"Do you want to go to the discotheque at Vert Plaza tomorrow?" Calem asked Maia. "Serena and I are going."
"I love going there!" said Maia. "Of course I will go."
Serena looked out the window and saw that the sun was going down.
"It's getting late," said Serena. "We better go back to the Pokemon Center."
"Good idea," said Maia. "Unfortunately, this apartment isn't big enough for the both of you, so it would better if you stayed there."
"We should," said Calem. "I left Cal there anyway. My doll will get worried for me."
Maia then had something to give Calem.
"I made some clothes for Cal," said Maia. "They're in this little box." She gave Calem a small box. "They should fit him perfectly."
"Thanks," said Calem. "We better go now. Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno might be looking for us."
"Bye, Maia!" said Calem and Serena.
"Bye!" said Maia.
Calem and Serena left Maia's apartment and hurried back to the Pokemon Center before the sun completely set.