Things are busy here, I claimed that I would have this next part out by the end of the month but that hasn't happened as per usual. We reach a semi-important part of the story sort of. I am going to hit all the plot points, do not worry. Here is chapter 6.
…
The gravity in the room seemed to drop a little and the carpet muffled every sound in Professor Sycamore's office once Calem locked eyes with Serena. What brief connection there was, had been instantly severed by the fact that neither of them could read each other's face. It wasn't a negative tension just… something different.
Serena turned her attention to Professor Sycamore as Calem joined ranks with the rest of the group next to Shauna.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting Professor." Serena said.
"Oh! Do not apologize. It is fantastic that you are all here now." He glanced down the row of trainers before him and stopped on Calem. "I think I have figured it out."
"Figured out what Professor?" Shauna asked.
"I have figured that in order for some of you to reach your full potential as trainers, I need to give at least three of you another pokemon." He walked behind his desk and pulled out a small tube-like contraption. Upon pressing the button, the glass cover on the tube slid up and three seemingly brand new, shiny pokeballs sat neatly in a row.
"Who gets them is up to you all." He took out the three balls and lightly tossed them above his head.
The three figures that landed on the desk were very, very familiar to Calem whose eyes grew large at the sight. There stood a Bulbasaur, a Squirtle, and finally a Charmander. The mere form of the orange lizard with his flame tail burning bright was enough to ignite a very important memory of when Calem had received his very first pokemon.
…
It had been a quiet, peaceful day in Pallet town. That wasn't an abnormality though. Every day was quiet and peaceful. It was in this quiet and peace that Calem felt suffocatingly shut off from the rest of the world with no real way out. It was why he wanted out.
Calem sat in the kitchen while his mother did the dishes. It was a small kitchen, as his family was small consisting of mostly just him and his mom. Dad was around some of the time but for the most part, was travelling and doing business in far away lands. Calem's life had become monotonous and boring, and frustratingly so.
Calem stopped looking out of the window into the summer sun and stared at his mother's back as she unflinchingly and robotically went through the motions of doing chores. "Mom?"
"Yes?" she said without turning around.
Calem returned his gaze out of the window. "Can I get a pokemon?"
"… That's not really up for me to decide. You should ask your father." His mother responded.
"But, he isn't here."
"You could call him?" his mother said.
"I don't know where he is. He didn't answer last time." Calem said.
"Well, you could try professor Oak's lab if you're so intent on getting a pokemon." His mother sounded a bit frustrated. At this point, she turned and faced Calem. Calem couldn't remember what her face looked like, as pathetic as that sounds, he had been roughly 12 at the time he got a pokemon and he hadn't seen or heard from his parents in 6 years.
"Why do you really want a pokemon? Are you going to leave home?" his mother's temper flared.
"No, I…" Calem really didn't have a reason to want a pokemon besides the fact that he just wanted some way, either literally or mentally to escape the prison he now found himself in.
His dad was gone, Mom was stifling and afraid he would leave her, the only other kid in town was Blue who was kind of a bully. He couldn't leave town really because of the overgrown, unkempt route 1 due to pokemon attacks. He had every right to consider this a prison.
"I'll go check with Professor Oak then." Calem said. He excused himself and made his way to the front door.
As he walked out, he heard his mother say "All kids leave home eventually…"
The summer had been a warm one. The sun hung high in the sky as he made his way to the lab. It was only a block away really if you could consider the large swaths of rural land "blocks."
It was a simple building, rectangular, with circular windows. The tan brick was an odd choice considering the other buildings in the rest of the town. He stepped in through the green door and stood in the main floor of Oak's lab. Across the room, a boy with spikey brown hair in a purple shirt noticed him and waved him over.
"What are you doing here Calem?" Blue said.
"I could ask you the same, Blue."
"I'm waiting on gramps, he said I could get a pokemon today and start my journey. But the old bastard is late! He's holding up my destiny of being the very best pokemon trainer there is."
"You're getting a pokemon?" Calem was immediately interested and disregarded the usual flair and fluff that comes with Blue. "Do you think I could get a pokemon too?"
"Huh? What do you want a pokemon for wimp? You'd be the worst trainer ever." Blue started laughing.
Calem had seen this before all too many times. Blue just laughs and belittles. It's all he knew how to do so Calem did what he had to do. Leave.
Calem left the pokemon lab, back into the summer heat. The heat was only describable as the sound of a droning noise, constantly beating on the heads of those unfortunate to find themselves in it. Without even thinking, Calem wandered to the edge of town toward route one, he didn't want to return home, and he just couldn't hang out at the lab. Unfortunately, he couldn't leave either. He stopped, paralyzed at the edge of the tall grass just before route one.
Out there was freedom. It was somewhere. He had to find it.
"Waaaaaiiit!" An elderly voice called out.
Calem turned around back toward town and watched the old man saunter up the hill in a lab coat and surprisingly, pink slippers.
"You can't go out into the tall grass; you'll get attacked by a pokemon! Come with me to the lab. I know you, er what was your name again?" Professor Oak asked.
"Calem."
"Calem, yes. You've been friends with my grandson Blue for a while."
Calem shuddered at the word "Friends."
"I was going to give him a pokemon today, would you like one too?"
Calem nodded.
…
"Go on, Pick one." Professor Oak said gesturing to the table with three pokeballs on it.
"What?! Oh come on gramps, why does he get to go first!" Blue complained but whines fell on deaf ears.
Calem could scarcely believe what was happening. He felt nervous and eager at the same time. This was his escape right here in one of these balls. The first one was a Bulbasaur, calm and steady. An easy grass type. The second option was a Squirtle, the cool and collected water type. The final option was Charmander, the hot-tempered fire type. Calem felt inexplicably drawn to this one in particular.
Professor Oak must have noticed him hesitate on the fire type. "You should raise that one… patiently. Do you wish to claim this Charmander?" Prof Oak said.
Calem thought for a moment, before taking the ball in his hand. "Yes, this is the one."
Before either Oak or Calem could continue, Blue stepped up to the table and grabbed Squirtle's pokeball. "Great! Then I choose this one. Ha!"
Calem noticed that Blue's lack of hesitation meant that he was probably hellbent on claiming whichever one had a type advantage over his thus instantly gaining the ability to pummel Calem and his pokemon like the jerk he was. It made Calem's blood boil just a little bit.
"I would even go as far to say mine is better than yours, Calem. Certainly stronger." Blue sneered while shrugging.
Calem felt the heat from Charmander's pokeball flair a little as Calem grew tired of being in Blue's presence. He held up the pokeball as the connection dawned on him. He and Charmander weren't so different. Calem gripped the ball and found confidence he had never had before.
"You wanna test that theory?" Calem glared back at Blue.
Blue flinched slightly. Calem noticed. It had been slight, but noticeable.
"Against a wimp like you? Sure! Squirtle and I could really use a punching bag." Blue made his signature gesture like he was waving Calem away as he sent out Squirtle.
Calem brought his left foot forward and turned his body to the side as he brought the pokeball up into a throwing motion. He released Charmander into battle, without hesitation. Charmander seemed to instantly understand the situation and got down into a fighting stance, his flame tail burning bright.
This was his first pokemon battle. His first victory too.
…
Calem snapped back to reality. Shauna had chosen the Squirtle and was cooing over the little water turtle with Chespin.
Trevor stepped forward and pet the Bulbasaur on the head. "This will help me complete the pokedex. Starter pokemon are hard to find"
That left the Charmander who was glancing around the room now that the other two had been chosen. His eyes went to Calem, to Serena, and back to Sycamore.
"Calem? Would you like to take Charmander?" Professor Sycamore said.
Calem shuddered a little.
"Does Sycamore know I had a Charmander?" Calem thought.
He liked fire types, especially Chamander, but it would feel wrong. Calem knew his Charizard was out there somewhere. He didn't want to betray him.
Serena stepped forward, "I'll take Charmander if its alright with you professor."
Professor Sycamore seemed surprised for a second but he let Serena take Charmander's ball. Once all three pokemon had been chosen, their respective trainers returned them to their pokeballs and the professor continued.
"Where was I?... Ah, yes." He shuffled some papers into a stack on his desk and turned to face the group. "I want to ask you all for help in solving Kalos's biggest mystery: the secret of mega evolution. The best place to start is Ambrette town. I am a little busy here now and can't make my way out there. Can I ask you all to go in my place?"
"You can count on us Professor!" Tierno eagerly stated and the rest agreed.
"Wonderful, also I want you all to remember… Be the best trainer you can be! Have fun travelling with your pokemon and friends! It's what a journey is all about." Professor Sycamore said.
"But Professor, what about the pokedex?" Trevor asked.
"Trevor, my lad, if that's what 'best trainer' means to you, then I want you to go out there and complete that pokedex."
The atmosphere had grown noticeably lighter in the office space as a few of them chuckled at the Professor's wild gestures.
"Calem, you've heard this next bit. You can leave if you wish." Professor said with a smile. "Get a head start to Ambrette Town!"
Calem nodded and walked out of the office. He went to the elevator and pushed the button. It was a short wait, but he could hear the professor tell them a joke about something and the four of them laughing. He stepped into the elevator and headed for the ground floor.
"I guess it's time to hit the road."
The doors opened to the ground floor lobby once again and was greeted with an odd sight. There was a very tall man with flame orange hair in a suit talking with Sina by the front desk. His suit's collar ringed the man's neck in some sort of fur. Between that, the gloves on his hands, and the beard, this man had a very lordly appearance.
Calem was able to catch some of their conversation.
"So, I will be able to meet them soon, then… the students chosen by the professor. I wonder what potential they have." Said the tall man.
"Yes, they're currently meeting with the professor now." Sina said. She was small in comparison to this giant in front of her and she seemed a little nervous. She glanced back to the elevator as Calem stepped off.
"Hey! Here's one of them now." She gestured for Calem to join her. He approached the tall man managing to make eye contact. Something was off about him, his eyes depicted an emotion indescribable as he maintained a serious, stern face.
"This is Calem," Sina said. "He has been chosen by the professor to help complete the pokedex and solve the mystery of mega evolution."
"Such a wonderful thing indeed to be one of the chosen ones." The man said.
Calem had to hide a shudder. He had been one of the "chosen ones" in Unova and that had ended poorly.
"The professor gauges potential well. It's good that he's given us this task seeing as he's so busy these days." Calem shook the man's hand.
"I am Lysandre. I, like yourself, have tried to learn as much about pokemon as I can to help build a brighter future. Professor Sycamore is a great man and has taught me much. You are going after mega evolution, that is correct?"
"Yes, he wants us to figure out how it works, and the processes involved." Calem said.
"hm…" Lysandre brought a hand to his chin "listen Calem, knowledge is power. It is vital that this world become a more beautiful place. It is then vital that the pokemon and people chosen to make the world better must work tirelessly to achieve this goal."
"…I understand." Calem said. Something was very off about this man and Calem could feel it. While nothing was inherently bad about what he said, the man felt like another sinister presence Calem had felt before. He couldn't remember at the moment.
"Well, I will be off. Give professor Sycamore my best. Please." Said Lysandre. He stepped past Calem and Sina and with fists clenched, he walked out of the lab.
Sina broke the silence that followed "I wonder what sort of beautiful world Lysandre desires…"
"Hm, this world is already beautiful in my book." Calem said.
"He's just a great mind of our time. His company has invented many different pieces of technology, including the holocaster. I guess it might just be a genius thing." Sina said and walked away leaving Calem in the lobby alone.
"Lysander…" Calem said. He would have to watch out for that man. Even if his intentions were good, Calem couldn't shake this feeling that he had seen him before even though he had never met the man.
The elevator dinged and out stepped the rest of the group.
"Well, back together again!" Shauna said.
"Sorry for splitting up back there Calem." Tierno said.
"It's no problem," Said Calem. "Are we travelling together again?"
"Not today!" Sauna said. "There's a place I wanna check out. So, I'll see you all around!" Shauna left the lab and into the bright Kalosian day.
"It is a nice day. I think Trevor and I are going to check out the sights and food of Lumiose." Said Tierno.
"Wait, but the professor said! -" Trevor interrupted.
"The professor said, have fun on our journey. Come on Trevs if you work on the pokedex too much, you'll eventually get burnt out."
"Fine…" Trevor grumbled to Tierno as the duo left the lab.
That left Serena and Calem.
Calem turned back to her and tried to speak. "Hey…"
"Hey…" She said back. Another second of silence and Serena let out a big sigh.
"Calem, listen. I've calmed down, I am sorry for getting so upset. If my main intention was to help you figure out how you came to Kalos, I shouldn't have been so rude as to leave you behind." Serena said.
Calem breathed a sigh of relief as well, the weight was gone off his chest. "Look, I am sorry for not sticking to the promise of letting you help me out. It was wrong of me. It was selfish really."
"Well, I was worried when we left, and you didn't follow. You made it here ok though." She smiled a familiar smile. "What do you say? Friends?" She stuck out her hand.
Calem shook it gingerly. "Friends."
Serena stretched as they walked side by side out of the lab. "well, Shauna went to the PR studio, and Trevor and Tierno ran off to… who knows. What do you want to do?"
"I don't really know. It is a beautiful day out. It would be a shame to not get out." Calem answered.
"Well, the gym is closed, would you like to come with me? I am going to get a drink at my favorite café. It's just down the street from here." Serena said.
"You know what? Sure" Calem replied. "Heck I'll buy."
…
Calem and Serena sat outside underneath a red-ish orange shade cloth. The big window to Calem's right allowed him to look inside and see all of the various people in the café. It was a small place that seemed to be bustling with activity.
Serena had ordered a white tea that came in a ceramic mug while Calem had ordered a simple black tea. He didn't have much experience with anything fancy but paid for them both with the extra money he got from battling that skater girl on route 4. They shared a small plate of biscuits as they talked and just enjoyed each other's company.
"What did you call this place again?" Calem asked taking a sip from his mug.
"It's Café Soleil, Pretty nice isn't it?"
"Yeah, it seems like a great place. Just look at all the people, must be popular." Calem said. "Hey Serena, why is this café your favorite one out of the many hundreds of them?"
"Hm…" She pondered that one for a second. "I guess I used to come here with my parents a lot when I was younger back when they competed in pokemon tournaments in the big city. I just associate this place with a good time I suppose."
"That must have been a lot of fun when you were younger." Calem said.
"It was a blast always! My mom and dad are the best trainers ever. I am happy to be following in their footsteps today." Serena replied. They both took sips from their glasses and caste their gaze to the streetscape.
It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, there was a light breeze, some of the trees had begun to flower. All of it combined with the architecture along the street made for a very picturesque view that smelled lightly of coffee and… perfume? Serena must be wearing some. It was a scent of sugar and vanilla that blended perfectly with the aromas of the café.
"You know, I always figured I'd eventually make it to Lumiose on my journey. I just figured I'd go here with Shauna or Trevor but they ran off, so I am happy to be here with someone." Serena said with a small grin.
Calem returned the smile for a second but something else came to his mind for a second. "Serena? Can I see your Carmander?"
"Hm?" Serena was a little surprised but agreed "Yeah sure hang on." She sat up straighter and reached for the pokeballs on her belt before finding Charmander's.
She sent out the little orange lizard next to the table. Charmander looked up at its new trainer and at Calem. Everything from the flame tail to its little clawed hands was familiar. It made Calem a little sad as he missed his Charizard. That had been his best friend and Calem didn't even know where he was.
"Its time to tell her."
"You know, my first pokemon was a Charmander." Calem said. "He went with me everywhere and was always by my side until…"
Serena sat in silence, she stared across the table with concern at Calem he had caste his gaze out at the pretty street scenery.
"until I guess my fight with N." Calem thought long and hard. "There was a prophecy about two heroes and two legendary dragons who represented ideals and truth. The two clashed until there was a victor, and that victorious hero was able to shape the Unova region into exactly the way they saw it. Team Plasma crowned a man named N as their king and named him the hero. At the end of it all I guess I found myself playing the part of the second hero. That fight is what I can't remember." Calem put his hands together on the table. His mind was a tumultuous cloud that failed to remember the event that stole away his best friend. He was pathetic.
Serena was listening to all of this intently. "I wonder when he decided to open up? Calem… I am sorry."
"N's ideal was to separate humans and pokemon and I just couldn't let that happen. I don't know how I found myself in that position but…" Calem had his hands clenched so tight the knuckles were turning white. "I… couldn't do anything." A warm touch made Calem stop.
Serena had placed her hands on top of his which made him stop. The memories of that battle and trauma faded away.
"Calem…" She met his eyes "I am sorry for getting so frustrated with you earlier. I didn't know how bad it was. I should have assumed that…"
"No, I am sorry for not telling you sooner." Calem said. "You just want to help me and I see that now. Its best for you to know."
"We will get your pokemon back." Said Serena. "I am here for you."
Serena studied his face. Most of the pain that was there was gone, his hands were relaxed. She removed her hands.
"We all have fears Calem. That's part of why we need each other for support. I know your Charizard was taken from you after being together for such a long time. I couldn't begin to imagine it." Serena said as she returned her Charmander to its ball.
"Sorry for just dumping all of that on you, I typically don't confide in people like that." Calem felt a little embarrassed now. It must have showed on his face too.
"You know Calem, I want to take on the gyms just like my parents and become a distinguished pokemon trainer. My fear is not doing that and disappointing them. But with you helping me, I know I can be a better trainer!" Serena said. "I am glad you opened up and told me Calem. Ever since you came here I have wanted to help you get your pokemon back and continue your journey with us here in Kalos."
Calem was surprised. This took him back a little bit. He hadn't considered what he would do if he had his pokemon. He had never truly had a direction but now. Serena and Kalos were his direction.
End Chapter 6
…
We are going to slow boil the heck out of this series if the pace keeps moving like this. But the good side to this is that I am able to develop some more themes to add some more flavor and depth to the story. Lysandre wants to build a better in the game but all we see here is descriptions from Calem's perspective of how beautiful Kalos is and how happy its people are. Purpose also is a big driving factor. If someone disconnect with all of the people close with them and doesn't have a direction to go in life. Is that a life worth living? Interesting themes being developed but as always I hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading.