After Ash has also gotten the Bug Badge, they have been trekking through Kalos on Route 4 for three days. At about 11 AM for the characters, the group of four found what appeared to be a botanical garden filled with very adorable Pokémon.
"Awwww! So cute!" Shauna gushed over all of the cute looking Pokémon that were minding their own business.
"Whoa, so many new entries for the Pokedex!" Trevor gasped.
"Hey, let's play another game of who can catch the most." Serena suggested. "Except Trevor since he'll want to catch them all."
"Well, just because I want to catch them all doesn't mean I want to not play." He shyly pointed out. Serena rolled her eyes.
"Alright, fine. Let's put a time limit on the game then. Whoever can catch the most in 20 minutes wins, okay?" They all nodded. "Good. Let's get to it!" They explored the gardens, enjoying both the flowers and artwork of the trimmed bushes and the capturing of Pokémon. However, both Ash and Serena only caught a combee and yellow flabebe. The creature itself is a small Pokémon with a white upper half and a green lower half. It has beady eyes, a pink blush mark on each cheek, long, notched ears, and a small, pointed nose. And one thing they all have in common is holding onto the piston of flowers. Trevor captured a red flabebe and budew while Shauna won by capturing the three mentioned, and a ledyba, skitty and ralts, meaning a total of six.
"Yay! I won and have so many new cute friends!" Shauna cheered. "If only there wasn't a limit so I can carry them all and have a cute Pokémon party!"
"You'd fit right in with a Pokémon fan club." Serena chuckled.
"Hey Ash, I caught something special for you." The pink clothed girl said.
"Oh yeah?" Ash asked curiously.
"Yep, though it'll have to wait until we get to the Pokémon Center in Lumiose City." She winked and giggled. Serena wondered what she could be refering too. Shauna and her talk a lot since she's practically a motor mouth and she never said anything about giving Ash a gift. Battling through all the trainers in the garden gave their Pokemon a bunch of good exersice, being able to show their stuff while teaching their masters what they were capable of. Once they finally reached the end, or front?, of the garden, they saw a couple of well dressed people who were both young adults probably in their mid-twenties. One was a Caucasian man with medium length blonde hair, the other a darker toned woman with black hair extending a little past her chin. Their clothes were almost exclusively white.
"Oh, hello there." The man greeted. "Have you seen any flabebe?"
"Yeah, we all caught at least one." Shauna answered with a smile.
"Can we see it?" The woman asked. Trevor obliged and showed them his. "Ah, yes! A Pokémon of the recently discovered fairy type!"
"Fairy type?" Ash asked. "I never heard of a fairy type.
"Let me explain." The man replied. "Fairy type Pokémon are either new Pokémon or old ones with the added type in which they personify the mystical aspect of nature, though as we research the type it's sometimes not the case.
"Offensively, it's strong against fighting, dragon and dark types, though they're ineffective against fire, poison and steel types." The woman explained. "Speaking of which, they're defensively weak poison and steel types, though they do well against fighting, bug and dark types. Interestingly, these Pokémon are immune against the attacks of dragon type moves."
"However, it does bring up a contradiction in some cases." The man pointed out. "For Pokémon that just received the type such as Wigglytuff, Clefable and Granbull, they've always been unable to withstand the power of Dragonite, Kingdra and such that use dragon type moves. But now they can just because they recently gained a type we put on them?"
"Huh. That is pretty confusing." Trevor agreed, trying to ponder about it but wound up getting a headache.
"Yes, but that just reinforces the one thing about Pokémon." The woman said with a smile. "That for all we know, Pokémon are still quite an enigmatic race with mysteries that we may never figure out. But that's where the fun is for Pokémon professors so it's not entirely bad. But that's enough about fairy types for now. I'm Sina, a beautiful name for a beautiful woman." Serena rolled her eyes in response.
"And I'm Dexio. Two years ago, Professor Sycamore entrusted me with the Pokedex. You could call me a Pokémon-voyage veteran."
"Really?!" Trevor gasped. "I'm using the Pokedex as well!"
"How interesting. Would you like us to escort you to Professor Sycamore?" All of the teens agreed wholeheartedly. "Great! Come along now." They followed the two into the city and were blow away by how Lumiose City looked. Well, all except Trevor. Tall office buildings were all over the place. Taxies leisurely rolled down the grey brick roads though there were only two cars total in sight so people were crossing the street whenever they pleased. Turning left, they passed a café and one office building before shortly finding the professor's place of work. "This here is Professor Sycamore's lab! He can't wait to meet you all. He's up on the third floor." The group of teens entered the elevator and went up two floors, entering an office when the doors opened. Within the office sat the man himself in his desk, Professor Sycamore. He stood up with a smile.
"So, we finally meet."
"Professor Sycamore! You're my idol!" Trevor gushed over the leading scientist of the region. Serena didn't do anything to reign his nerdiness back in. This was really important to him just about above anything so she kept to herself.
"Fantastic to hear! Come this way, won't you?" He went to the elevator, and so did they, and went to the roof of the building, where there was wide open space, and even a battle field over it!
"Many thanks to you all for coming all the way from Vaniville Town! It's a pleasure to finally meet you all! How is your Pokémon journey so far? Have you met many different Pokémon?"
"Yes! I've caught a total of 22 Pokémon!" Trevor answered.
"Aha! I knew asking you would be a great choice! You have a certain je ne sais quoi."
"Huh?" Ash asked, unfamiliar with French.
"It means 'I do not know what'." Serena answered.
"Well how's he supposed to say we have a certain something if he doesn't know what it is?"
"Maybe it's our enthusiasm!" Shauna suggested with said enthusiasm.
"Well whatever that certain whatyamaycallit is, I have a good feeling about all of you. But especially you for some reason even though I don't know who you are." Sycamore pointed at Ash.
"Me?" The boy replied with sudden shock that he was signaled out of nowhere.
"Yes. Originally, I was thinking of choosing only one child from a town when I was deciding who to give a Pokémon too. That was going to be Serena. She's the daughter of two veteran trainers and is a hard, dedicated worker in what she does. But then you moved in and I was like, "A random young teen boy. I should choose him!"
"What?!" Serena shouted. She stomped towards him and pointed an aggressive finger into his face. "You picked some random person over me?! I mean, sure he's my best friend but what if he was an old pervert who had no interest in Pokémon?! Would you have chosen him anyway?!" Professor Sycamore gave actual consideration as he thought about before answering with a smile,
"I don't know. Anyway..." He pushed her aside without batting an eye. "...you boy-"
"Ash." He cut in.
"Ash, here in the Kalos region, you're far from everything you used to know. That hit me right here." He thumped his fist against his heart. "Then it hit me- I should give you a Pokémon and have you travel across Kalos! Now for the reason why we're up here. I wish to battle you Ash. See how well you have adjusted."
"Uh, sure." Ash agreed. Serena grumbled to herself, cursing that the professor is sexist.
"Go, Bulbasaur!" Professor Sycamore said with flair as he threw out the Kantonian grass starter. It looked like a spotted bullfrog but with tiny legs and a plant bulb on its back. Ash perked up.
"Hey, I know that one! I'll win this for sure! Fletchling, I choose you!" Sending out his fire/flying type, this was going to be a snap. "Use Peck!" Flying forward, the bird indeed peck the grass type. It super effectively did big damage as Bulbasaur cried out in pain.
"Get it off with Tackle!" And Bulbasaur did, pushing the quick Pokémon off. But he was too slow to counter.
"Peck again!" With a second peck, Bulbasaur was down.
"Bulbasuar, return. You did the best you could. Charmander, go!" A bipedal orange lizard appeared with a flame at its tail.
"Fletchling, return. Froakie, I choose you!" Starter vs starter, and everyone knew who would win this. However, Sycamore is smarter than that.
"Charmander, use Smokescreen!" Regurgitating smoky black clouds, he obscured the roof and thus made things really hard to see. But Ash was just as quick witted.
"Jump and throw your frubbles on the ground!" Obeying, the Bubble Frog Pokémon leapt above the smokescreen, created more bubbles over her back and head, before throwing them towards the ground through the smoke. He could hear where the Lizard Pokémon was struggling. Sycamore lost his smile. "Now use Quick Attack!" Once she fell back into the Smokescreen, an impact was heard along with a yelp of pain. "Now finish it with Bubble!" A hissing noise was heard along with a cry of harsh discomfort came through, and as the smoke disappeared, it showed the fire starter down and out and covered in frubbles.
"Yeah, way to go Ash!" Shauna cheered. Trevor nodded, and even Serena was impressed by her friend's ability. Sure, she was still mad that Ash was arbitrarily, randomly chosen for no reason whatsoever over her, but she could still appreciate the skill of her childhood friend he managed to accumulate in just three days.
"Charmander, return. We sure weren't ready for that, were we? Squirtle, go!" The final Kanto starter, a blue turtle in a cream and brown colored shell with a thick curly tail.
"Thanks Froakie, return." Ash recalled his own water starter. "Pansage, I choose you!" Ash let loose his bipedal grass type monkey which had a small tree on the top of his head.
"Tackle!" Running forward, Squirtle rammed his right shoulder into the Grass Monkey, screeching from the impact.
"Counter with Fury Swipes!" Ash instructed. Retaliating, Pansage scratched at the Tiny Turtle Pokémon.
"Withdraw!" Sycamore pleaded. The water starter withdrew into his shell, but that wasn't going to protect him much.
"Vine Whip!" Producing vines from behind his neck, he took a few swats at the shell, inflicting super effective damage. Squirtle emerged from his shell, fainted. Sycamore smiled, but then frowned as he shrugged and lowered his face towards the ground.
"Haha, you're too much for me! You're really something, aren't you? You win."
"Yay! Ash won!" Shauna cheered as she went and hugged her friend. By this point he's gotten used to her antics and just accepted it, chuckling. Serena felt a pang of...jealousy? The female trainer wondered what there was to be jealous of since she hasn't seen him in just over 10 years. But seeing him embrace Shauna's friendly affection still irked her for some reason. Maybe she should do something fun with him. Than a light bulb clicked over her head as she got an idea, then looked up in confusion and wondered why or how a light bulb suddenly appeared over her head, which dropped onto her face and smashed onto the ground.
"Aha! I think I've about figured it out!" Professor Sycamore yelled as he returned his water starter.
"Figured what out?" Shauna asked.
"Ash! You are an interesting trainer indeed! It'd be fantastic if you took another Pokémon with you! Here, choose whatever you'd like." Sycamore offered Ash one of three of his shrunken pokeballs.
"Wait, your Pokémon?!"
"Yes. Don't worry. Despite starters being endangered, us Professors have tons of them. We only give them to trainers that can bring them to their full potential."
"Well, in that case, I think I'll pick...Charmander." Ash picked the fire type lizard, which Serena groaned to.
"Ugh, he picked the best one again."
"Don't worry Serena." The professor tried to assure her. "Look, since you feel like you've been gypped out of some big responsibility thing, I'll also offer you a Pokémon. And the last to whoever wants the one left.
"Oh, me! Me! I call dibs!" Shauna screamed while jumping up and down waving her hands like crazy. Trevor sighed in disappointment he couldn't get another starter.
"Fine. I'll pick Squirtle then."
"Yay! Another cute grass starter for me!" The pink clad girl cheered as both girls took their choices. "At this rate, I could be a gym leader with nothing but grass starters."
"Just don't use meganium. Those aren't all that good comparatively." Serena tried to tell her friend gently, but she shook her head.
"But they're so beautiful! How can I turn away such a majestic looking Pokémon?! I won't do it!"
"Hehe, a gym of nothing but starters does sound interesting, no?" Professor Sycamore rhetorically asked. "Well, this is all simply wonderful! I just have a few words to say to you. Be the best trainers you can be. At the same time, don't forget to have fun traveling with your Pokémon. Also, I need your help solving the Kalos region's biggest Pokémon mystery: the secret and potential of Mega Evolution, a new kind of evolution that occurs in battle! Here." The man gave each of the new Kanto starter holders a stone. They looked like marbles that you play within a ring. Serena and Shauna had one, but Ash had two. These are important clues. Catch more Pokémon, find the mega stones, and unlock the greatest mystery of recent development!"
"Mega evolution sounds really interesting!" Shauna remarked.
"I believe that to start your investigation, why don't you check out Camphrier Town? That town has a lot of history. You might find a hint there! Now, this is the part where I tell you some inspiring speech about Pokémon and acceptance of others and blah blah blah, but you've all heard the gist before. It's like a requirement thing for professors and it gets boring after a while due to being long winded and overused.
"Don't worry Professor Sycamore! We'll learn everything there is about Mega Evolution and shine new light on Pokémon as a whole!" Trevor accepted the quest. The four then went to the elevator to start the latest part of their journey, but when they reached the lobby, they met someone that was...the darkest, most intimidating person they've ever seen in their lives. The man was between 2.50-2.60 meters, towering over the woman he was talking to by over two feet, and looked like he weighed over 150 kilos. His jacket was covered in Pokémon fur and was extremely black along with his pants, the shade of Vantablack with blood red accenting his suit, which oddly had both a cape extending almost to the ground and a high collar reaching his over his head. Speaking of his head, it was completely bald and shiny but he did have a thick fire red beard and high arching eyebrows like he was always furious. One eye had an eyepatch with a skull on it, but the other had an eye color of fire. In between his teeth was a fat cigar which fit his mouth like it was a normal cigarette. But the most striking feature of his face was that it had a pentagram scar on his forehead. Below his head, his furred clothes had spikes along his fingerless gloves, his right hand stroking a purrloin who napped in just his left hand alone while being petted, belt, knees and shoes. He even had a spiked choker around his neck! And his voice. Oh man it was so deep and gruff! It was like if Steve Blum was tasked to combine the voices of Vilgax and the Iron Giant.
"So, I will be able to meet you soon, then." He then took the cigarette out to cough rather violently, filling the room with coughs powerful enough that he could throw up a lung before recovering.
"Yes." Sina said.
"The children chosen by the professor...I wonder what potential they have." She looked to the right and spotted them.
"Oh, there they are now." He turned to them, and the teenagers huddled together fearfully as he approached them with thunderous steps, and as he got closer, he smelled like burnt toast. Charred black to the core burnt toast.
"Trevor. You received the Pokedex." He addressed the little teen, whom was so frightened he couldn't speak." He then smiled in a way like an angel died. "Wonderful. How...wonderful. Hey, look at me." He called for Trevor's attention. Reluctantly, he looked into the man's face, only for him to yell, "BOO!" The boy shrieked and hid behind Serena. He then started to laugh loudly. Hollering laughter that you'd expect a crocodile would if it could laugh. "I'm just playing around. You are the chosen ones. I am Malvin Lysandre Scarlord. But you can just call me Lysandre. I've tried to learn as much about Pokémon as I can to help build a brighter future. Professor Sycamore has taught me so much. Here, let me gift you something of mine." Digging into his coat, he pulled out wrist communicators. "These are Holo Castors. An invention of mine. Knowledge is power, after all. Put it to good use. Now listen!" His voice boomed through the room. It is vital that this world become a better place. And the people and Pokémon chosen to make the world better must work tirelessly to achieve this goal. My desire...it is for a more beautiful world!" He then started coughing horrendously again as he left, taking the cigar out of his mouth and dropping it onto the ground, before stomping and crushing it under his boot. Finally, he left. The teens were left speechless as Sina approached them.
"I wonder what kind of beautiful world Lysandre desires?" Sina questioned, like the man was completely normal.
"Are you kidding me?" Serena questioned. "He looks like the kind of guy who could command the four horsemen of the apocalypse."
"Oh don't be silly." Sina laughed. "Sure he looks slightly intimidating, but he has a noble goal, and one should never judge a book by its cover."
"Wha-what if th-the book was titled "Mein Kampf?" Trevor stuttered.
"Well, anyway, in this great big Kalos region, there's over 600 Pokémon. I hope you learn all of them."
"Right. We'll just be going then. Bye." Serena nervously chuckled as she pushed her friends out of the facility and they were back outside.
"Wow. He was sooooo scary! I don't like him, and I like everybody!" Shauna shivered.
"How can Sina and Professor Sycamore see anything good in him?" Serena asked in bewilderment. "Let's just go to a cafe and get some tea. That'll maybe help." All of them agreed, so they went to try and forget they witnessed a man who looked like an agent of chaos.
A/N: Haha, that's one of my greatest parody ideas! We all knew Lysandre was the villain the millisecond we saw him. So what did I do? I made him so obviously ominous and terrifying that my parents and sister loved the amount of description I gave him as a character. You might also notice I made fun that Serena was going to be his choice but than someone new moved in and chose him instead. That stood out to me and I thought I should make fun of that. Tell me what you think. What is your opinion of the newly redesigned Lysandre? Is there also anything else I can do to make him and Team Flare better villains since they're so bland and bad? I know there's an animated special so that's a start. Review please. Thank you for your time. I am having a blast.