"Where to?"
For many in Kalos, the back seat of a cab in the middle of Lumiose City would, at best, be considered the interlude between breathtaking vistas. Calem, however, eyed his invitation peeking out of his bag next to him. In a way, the cab was his steed, guiding him forward to the beginnings of his journey.
Oh right, his journey! He had just heard a notification! Calem pulled out his phone and tapped on the screen absent-mindedly. He had been saving for the upcoming release from Lysandre Labs, the Elite 4 superstar had apologized for the nearly year long delay; but judging by what the Holocaster promised, it would be well worth the wait… and the expense.
But that could wait. For now, he had been sent… Calem looked at his new notification, a video message from the Kalos Pokemon Labs. A video buffered on his screen for a moment, before revealing a slender man with messy black hair.
"Hello! Sorry to keep you waiting! Welcome to the wonderful world of Pokemon! My name is Augustine Sycamore! But you may know me as Kalos' very own Pokemon Professor!"
Calem did know the man; he followed the league with an energy he liked to call fervent, though his friends might call it "crazy". Sycamore was an exceptional Pokémon mind, or so he had been told. Calem only really knew him from what others had said.
The Sycamore on-screen laughed. "We humans have lived alongside Pokemon for eons, at times as friendly playmates, and at times as cooperative workers," He showed off a familiar sphere. A Pokeball! "And sometimes, we band together and do battle against others alongside Pokemon!" The Pokeball opened to reveal a Froakie, the diminuative water pokemon; and, quite possibly, Calem's favorite.
Professor Sycamore revealed another Pokeball. "But this is not merely an introduction to another League Year, non non!" The ball opened to reveal a strange bluish mass, with a red beaded necklace around what Calem presumed to be a neck. "This is what is now known as a "Ghost-Type Pokemon!" This world is inhabited by many Pokemon, but only recently are any considered "Ghosts!""
Calem nearly jumped from his seat. "What?!" He yelled, hyped up from this new discovery. He imagined that many others were having the same reaction just now as well.
"Hey! No yelling back there!" The cabbie yelped, "It ain't clubbin time!"
Calem silently apologized, and continued watching with bated breath. As he pressed play, the frozen Sycamore began to speak again. "In fact, the discovery of their existence has opened the door to many more secrets that lie just beyond our reach. To unravel the mysteries of Ghost-Type Pokemon, I've been undertaking research. That's what I do." He paused dramatically, then suddenly, the strange 'ghost' popped in front of the camera and giggled with mischievous glee. "Ok, bye bye now!" He heard Sycamore call out before the feed was cut.
"Ghost Pokemon…" Calem mumbled, as if speaking an incantation. What could they possibly do? And if they were Pokemon, how had they not been discovered earlier?
"Hey kid, we're here!" The cabbie called out. He motioned to the building to their left, a large estate left over from an older time in Lumiose City. Calem grabbed his bag, double checked the cab quickly, then hopped out.
"Thanks for the ride, Monsieur!" He shouted, earning a mutter of acknowledgement in response. He jogged past the front gate, immediately into a large crowd of parents, children, and some photographers and such. Calem knew there would be about 50 people starting the League Challenge today, and at the end of the month it would be impressive to see more than 5 still going. But it was exciting nonetheless!
"Ah, Calem!" A peppy voice called out. Calem smiled, all his friends were there, excitable as always. Shauna, the most vocal of the group, gave him a big hug. "We were worried about you, you know!"
"Right, I got up a little late…"
Tierno popped up behind Shauna. "No worries, man! Did you hear about the ghost Pokémon?" Calem nodded. "Man! I bet ghosts are great dancers! I can't wait to meet one!"
"That's highly unlikely," another, harsher feminine voice replied, "I seriously doubt that "ghost Pokémon" are actually real Pokémon, Tierno."
"Selena, where's your sense of adventure?" Shauna whined. Selena rolled her eyes and smiled. She and Calem had been friends for forever, but she was always the most rational of the group.
"The only "sense of adventure" I need is right here, Shauna." She motioned to the Laboratory. "Our Pokémon adventure is about to begin, I don't need a ghost to make that exciting!"
Shauna was about to speak up, when an uproar near the entrance of the building caught the group's attention. The Pokémon Professor was surrounded by journalists, frantically asking him questions about his discovery and the start of the League Challenge. He pulled out a microphone, which noisily fed back for a moment, silencing the crowd.
He waited a second before starting. "Yes, hello, my friends!" Sycamore began, "I welcome the 50 of you to the Gym League Challenge! Every year, it is an immense honor to send aspiring trainers out to challenge some of the best trainers in Kalos!" He nudged a staff member. "Being handed out to all of you are your group tickets! You will receive your starting pokemon in groups. Please be civil in deciding which Pokémon you will start with! This is to be your stalwart partner and friend for the journey, after all!"
A lab attendant approached the group. "As there are four of you, one of you will have to move groups, unfortunately."
Tierno smiled and pulled out a Pokeball. "No need, ma'am!" He exclaimed. "My Corphish is gonna be my starting partner!"
"Ah! In that case…" She pulled out a briefcase with 3 Pokeballs inside. "Each of you may choose one."
Shauna looked at the other two and grinned mischievously. "Hey Selena, Calem… You know, my birthday's coming up and I would really like a Chespin as my partner…"
Selena shrugged. "Fine by me." She said. Calem felt the tension in the air. Neither of them loved Chespin like Shauna did, but…
"Well, I suppose we should flip a coin." Selena offered. "We both love Froakie, after all."
Calem grimaced. "So we do." Selena pulled out a coin and tossed it.
"Call it, Calem?"
Calem hesitated. He looked back at the two remaining pokeballs, and he felt a pang of sadness from one of them. "No, we shouldn't do that." Calem grabbed the other ball. "You can work with Froakie. Fennekin is my partner."
He felt a sense of joy emanate from his hand. Selena shrugged. "Sweet!" She said, "Thanks, Calem."
Calem shrugged in response. "Fennekin is pretty cool, too."
"I'm surprised you were willing to part with Froakie, Calem." A new voice chimed in. "You're usually so stubborn."
"Trevor!" Shauna cried out, "What Pokémon did you go with?" The oranged haired boy smiled and revealed a Pokeball.
"As it happens, I have caught my own!" He grinned. "I already have a head start on the rest of you!" He revealed a Flabebe, who twirled around Trevor with glee. The others gasped in amazement, which caused Trevor to giggle with glee. "Are you really surprised? You're talking to the trainer that will catch every one of these mysterious ghost Pokémon."
Ghosts again. The idea of a new Pokémon type was intriguing, but ghosts seemed farfetched; Selena was probably right; perhaps they were some strange psychic types or some-
The microphone squealed again, causing everyone to clutch their ears. Sycamore looked around, before speaking again. "All of our starting Pokémon have been accounted for, which now leads to the most exciting part of the event." He pulled out a large hankerchief. "Go forth, new generation of trainers!" He waved his arm around, and most of the kids ran, as fast as they could, out beyond the gates of the Pokémon lab. Trevor and Tierno waved at the others as they joined the raucous crowd.
Calem sighed. "I think I'll take it easy for a little bit, get to know Fennekin." Before Selena could reply, Shauna waved.
"Have fun!" She shouted, "Hey, Selena, let's go check out the Mart and get some equipment!"
Calem appreciated Shauna. As loud as she could be, she understood that he enjoyed his quiet moments. It was a long hike, but after a little bit, he reached it. A small river, close to the city, but far enough away to be away from the sound. He pulled out his Pokéball, and sent out Fennekin.
He felt a force hit him in the stomach, knocking him over into the grass. "Hey, what's the big-" The Fennekin looked at him with big tears in their eyes. "I, uh…"
"Fennekin can read minds, you know." An older voice noted. "Fire type first, but they're known to catch thoughts with their big ears." A pink haired woman offered Calem a bottle of water. "Malva," she introduced herself quickly, "Reporter for the Lumiose Press."
"Yeah, I recognize you…" he squinted, "How did you know I'd be here? Wait," Calem jumped up, "Are you stalking me?" Fennekin, to his surprise, leapt between the two, growling at the famous journalist.
Malva scoffed. "I'm trying to offer advice to a young trainer. After all, I'm a journalist first, fire-type expert second!" She hesitated, "But yes, I followed you."
"Why?"
"I, uh, might have used my excellent investigative skills to… overhear your friends talking about how much you like Froakie, and how surprising it was that you didn't fight for it more." Malva blabbered nervously. "Okay, now that I say it out loud, I sound like a maniac…"
"Uh huh."
"Do you want my help or not?"
Calem thought about it for a moment. Getting a lesson about Fire types from a Fire type trainer wouldn't be bad, but this lady was exceptionally shady… "What's the catch?" He asked.
Malva put her hands on her hips. "Not much," she replied, "Just an exclusive battle interview with yours truly!"
