In which we write an important battle out of continuity.
As a side effect of setting out as soon as they were fully dressed, by the time they actually made it to the entrance to Victory Road, the guard at the gate was more awake than Calem was. Since Calem had eight badges, there was no reason why the guard should have made him stay longer than he had to.
Serena, on the other hand, did not have eight badges. As a result, she was immediately pulled aside.
"Only trainers with eight badges can pass," the guard said, in that cheerful morning-person tone that Calem hated so much. "So, I'm sorry, but you have to stay behind."
Serena took a moment to let it sink in. This guy was giving her a hard time, just because she hadn't bothered to make an already long journey even longer by adding her own gym battles to Calem's. If she had, Lysandre might not have been stopped, and then the world would have been ended by a giant crystal flower.
"What?" she finally said, once it was clear that, yes, he was going there. "I'm sorry, but seriously? My friend and I have done everything together – everything since we first got our starter Pokémon – and now you're trying to separate us because I don't have any badges?"
"I don't make the rules," the guard tried to say, but Serena was not feeling up for that right now.
"A battle," she suggested, her hand already reaching for Juliet's ball. "If I win, you let me pass so that I can cheer my friend on when he enters the Hall of Fame."
"I have eight badges myself," the trainer pointed out. "But I don't see why not. I like to battle."
Calem was awake enough to realize that this poor trainer had no idea what he was getting into. And what was even better was that Calem was awake enough to enjoy the result.
The Victory Road in Kalos was, as expected of all Victory Roads, a cave containing a maze only the use of several HM moves could solve. Or, if the challenging trainer was a very creative Pokedex carrier, and was accompanied by another creative Pokedex carrier, uses of non-HM attacks that weren't used in the way they were intended.
Such as, for example, using a Delphox to use her psychic powers to levitate a Strength rock aside, or having Yveltal carry them across the water where they were expected to use Surf.
"This is fun," Serena commented as the giant bird not only got them across the Surf parts, but also made both trainers and wild Pokémon to leave them alone. "You have to lend me Yveltal when I'm going through Victory Road myself."
"Better yet, I'll be your navigator." Calem couldn't help but laugh. "I'm not giving up my legendary so you can trash the Elite Four and Champion. You'll have Xerneas by then, so you won't need Yveltal."
Serena huffed and rolled her eyes. "Good enough, I guess."
But Calem noticed the pout, and struggled to keep from commenting. Instead, he decided that a subject change was what they needed. "Are you going to get your badges as soon as I make it to the Hall of Fame?"
Serena thought it over, staying quiet even as Yveltal landed and they started walking again. "No," she said after a while. "I might not take the Gym challenge for a while. Not in Kalos or any other region. I love to battle, it's fun, but…"
"But it's not your favorite thing," Calem finished. "I get it. I'm always surprised at just how much the world revolves around Pokémon battles, too."
"I'm still kind of glad it does, though," Serena said quickly. "If it hadn't been for the world's unnatural obsession, we might not have been able to even challenge Lysandre, he would have just flipped the power on and destroyed everything." She stopped walking, thinking it over. "I'll still take the Kalos Gym challenge, though. I have a family to fit into, after all. But world travel will still be my top priority." She paused again, and sounded almost nervous when she continued. "You can come, too, if you want."
If it had been any lighter inside this cave, Calem would have checked to see if she was blushing. But he didn't.
He still decided to tease her, though. "Asking me on a second date before our first? I'm surprised, Rini."
Serena rolled her eyes again, but she couldn't help but smile this time. "You're really that desperate to date me, Xavier?"
"No!"
"Prove it."
He couldn't. And that was the hardest part to explain.
Once they were safely out of the first round of caves, Serena came to a stop. Calem almost asked why, but she simply gestured to the ruins.
"I want a picture of this," she decided.
"Do you have a camera?"
"You doubt my tourist instincts, Calem," she said, nose in the air as a display of mock offense. "All that talk about exploring and you doubt me?"
"Sorry." He almost laughed. "I guess I was just so focused on the League that I didn't consider you'd want pictures, since you said you were coming back eventually."
"The first time through is always better," Serena pointed out. "Especially if you have a friend with you."
"You're starting to get cheesy."
She opened her mouth to reply, but caught herself and stuck out her tongue. "Better keep that one to myself," she said quietly.
"Cheese pun?"
"Yes." She held her head in her hand. "And it wasn't even a good one."
"Go on," Calem encouraged, actually laughing this time. "I won't push you off the side. Promise."
Serena looked doubtful. "Never. It was so bad, I'm going to lie." She thought about a new one, and then faked a smile. "Well, I can't just swiss off my cheese, Calem."
Calem stopped laughing. "Yeah, you're right. The lie was terrible, I shouldn't have asked about what really crossed your mind. I might have to challenge you to a battle for that."
"You wanted to hear a cheese pun!" Serena protested. "I am not going up against the boy with a legendary, ok? Not after I lost to him so many times before he caught it."
"Fine," Calem agreed, "but once you have Xerneas and the playing field levels out, I will have my revenge."
Serena pulled a camera from her bag. "We'll see," she said, and took the picture she wanted.
The Pokémon League building was, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful buildings they'd seen – and, since they were in the Kalos region, they had seen a lot of pretty sights. But they agreed that nothing could compare to the fear and awe they both felt when they saw that castle.
It was another thing entirely once they had healed their teams and gone inside. The moment they entered the hall that led to the Elite Four's rooms, they immediately saw a familiar face.
They hadn't encountered her in person before, but they knew her at once from the Holo Caster. She was the reporter who had told the world about the incident at the Pokeball Factory.
And, surprisingly enough, she recognized them immediately, too. "I should have known you were going to show up sooner or later." Her voice was rough, as if she'd been dealing with her own personal trauma. "And you're every bit as pathetic-looking as I thought. You won't stand up to the four of us, much less the Champion."
"We stood up to Team Flare," Calem pointed out, and the woman laughed sharply, the sound bouncing off the walls in a way that sounded less like an echo and more like others joining in.
"I have heard that," she agreed. "It seemed to me as if you were having a bit of beginner's luck. You weren't even a trainer for very long, were you, boy?"
"No," Calem admitted, "but I never said that I was the one who put a stop to Lysandre's plans. I just said that I stood up to him."
The woman's eyes darted to Serena. "So would I be wrong in assuming that the girl is the one who wants to challenge us?"
"No, that one is me." Calem looked toward Serena, who smiled in encouragement. "She won't be facing you for a while."
"Shame. I would have wanted to see the true power of the one who defeated Lysandre." The woman looked Calem up and down, shrugged, and turned to leave. "Let's get on with it, shall we? I don't want one of my last matches as an Elite Four member to be wasted on a trainer with no talent."
"I have plenty of talent!"
"Then show me." She gestured to the doors ahead of them. "When you're ready, you can find me in my room. My name is Malva – it's right there on the door to the Blazing Chamber."
That's when she left, not a single word of encouragement to her challenger.
"One of her last matches?" Serena asked, trying hard to think. "Is she planning an undefeated reign or something? Why would she know that you're one of her last matches?"
Calem had an entirely different train of thought. "Blazing Chamber," he repeated, before slamming his palm into his face. "I should have known there would be a Fire-type specialist here! I'm not prepared for the Elite Four! I'll lose to her!"
"You have Yveltal," Serena pointed out.
Calem stopped to consider it. He had to admit, the thought of Yveltal making Malva's Magmortar (not that he knew she had a Magmortar, it was just the Fire-type that his brain had supplied) faint just by looking at it was amusing. And, if the Magmortar or whatever it was she used against him could face the angry look of a so-called death god, he could always Oblivion Wing it.
Yes, Yveltal was perfect. He was going to save it for the Champion battle, but he really couldn't afford to send out anything else.
"You're a genius, Rini."
"No, I'm not. You're just an idiot for overlooking the obvious." She grinned and pushed him forward. "Now, on we go! We have a date, and I don't want you to cancel because you were scared of losing!"