AUTHOR'S NOTE

Welcome back! As I hinted last time, this chapter is a bit different than the previous ones. It really doesn't have anything to do with either Ash or Clemont, so I won't be offended in the slightest if you don't like this one. Before we get started, I do want to acknowledge there are some (okay, a lot) of inaccuracies in this chapter, all to do with Pokemon battles. There's a good chance you won't notice unless you're really familiar with movesets, but I don't carry enough post-Gen 1 battle knowledge around to really fix the issues without delaying this chapter by several weeks, so hopefully it doesn't bother you too much!

CHAPTER 13
A New Challenger Approaches!

The weather was dismal in Lumiose City today. What had started off as a promising, partly sunny sky had turned to clouds by mid-morning, and rain by the afternoon. And so it was with a scowl and a head full of wet hair that a new challenger pried open the door to Prism Tower.

A woman sat at a small desk in the corner, a bored expression on her face. Wordlessly, she pulled out a towel, and the trainer accepted it gratefully. He ruffled his long, dark hair with it, the patter of droplets hitting the marble floor lost in the sound of the rain outside. At least the three Pokeballs he wore on his belt had been protected from the rain, hidden safely under his jacket. Not seeing anywhere to deposit the now-damp towel, he handed it back to the woman, who took it back with an uncomfortable frown.

"Thirtieth floor," she told him, not commenting on the towel or his appearance as she tucked it back under the desk.

He stared dubiously up at the ceiling above him. He must have misheard her. He knew this was a tall building, but was it really safe to hold Pokemon battles that high up? "Thirteenth?"

"Thir-ti-eth," she repeated, slower than the first time. "First elevator to your right."

"Thank you," he murmured, but she had already gone back to staring out the window.

The elevator ride was shorter than he had expected, and while it was traveling faster than he was used to, the ride was also smoother than most. All the same, he was glad to get off the elevator when it finally dropped him off at his destination.

The thirtieth floor of Prism Tower looked almost like a mad scientist's laboratory. There were tubes of electricity lining the otherwise dark hallway, and the way his footsteps echoed told him he was walking along a metal platform. The doorway that he assumed was his destination had a large monitor mounted above it, and he headed towards it, preparing himself for the worst. He had heard some questionable things about this gym in the past.

"Welcome to the Lumiose Gym."

He looked around in a startled panic. Who said that? He hadn't seen anyone else in the hallway with him.

"In order to challenge the Lumiose Gym, you must have accumulated at least four gym badges. How many badges do you have?"

With a sudden realization, he looked at the monitor. The screen that had been completely yellow when he walked in now sported a red symbol in the middle, and he understood that this must be where the voice was coming from.

"I have exactly four," he said proudly, holding open the right side of his jacket where he was storing his badges.

"Very good," the mechanical voice said. "You have been admitted entrance to the Lumiose Gym."

One electronic-sounding click later, the door opened to what he assumed was the battlefield. The brightness emanating from the entrance temporarily blinded him, and he walked forward with a hand shielding his eyes, trusting he would remain unharmed as he stepped off the metal platform and onto what felt like hard-packed dirt beneath his feet.

The clang behind him told him the door had closed, and he squinted through the spaces between his fingers, wondering if he would be expected to fight blind when he heard quiet footsteps approach from the other side of the stadium.

"Thank you for coming." He assumed the voice belonged to the Gym Leader, though he could see no more than a faint humanoid outline in front of him. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Clemont. The Gym Leader." As if activated by the sound of his voice, the lights dimmed slightly, giving him his first real look at the stadium.

It struck him as odd, how the Gym didn't have many reminders of the electricity it boasted as its type. The Santalune Gym had been surrounded by the perfect environment for the bugs it was famous for. The Cyllage Gym had taken place among the rocks, and even featured rock climbing before the battle. The Shalour Gym was set up almost like a training ground for fighting-type Pokemon. But this particular stadium was on the plain side, making him feel strangely apprehensive.

"I'm Calem," he introduced himself nervously, realizing he had failed to reply to the Gym Leader's greeting. "I've come to pit my strength against yours to defeat you in a Gym Battle, and claim the Voltage Badge."

Those words had been said hundreds of times in this Gym, Serena realized as she trudged across the field to take her place as the referee. The job was not difficult, but she was beginning to regret volunteering for it this week. She had started to notice a pattern. Everyone wanted to defeat Clemont. Everyone wanted the Voltage Badge. No one walked into the Gym just to say "hi". She wouldn't want to be a Gym Leader. It would make her feel like everyone was out to get her.

Back on the battlefield, Clemont was smiling wryly at Calem's comment. "It's not my own strength that matters, nor any other trainer's. None of us would be here if it weren't for Pokemon. Someone very special to me taught me that. That being said..." he looked meaningfully at Serena.

"The battle will be three against three!" Serena called out, her hands in the air. "Only the challenger may switch out their Pokemon!" She waited for a nod from both of them to show they understood the rules, then crossed her arms in the air and set them down to signify the start of the battle. "Ready? Begin!"

"Go! Heliolisk!" Clemont always took it upon himself to make the first choice in Pokemon. He felt this gave his opponent the information they would need to make a good choice for their own first Pokemon. He knew that others didn't necessarily agree with this practice, but he never liked to embarrass the trainers with sound defeats.

"Lisk," the Generator Pokemon murmured as it was released from its pokeball. Like his trainer, Heliolisk enjoyed a challenge.

"I choose you! Meowstic!" Calem sent his pokeball spiraling, releasing a male Meowstic with shining blue fur. Serena gazed at the two of them, noting how Meowstic seemed to be very well taken care of. Not only was his blue and white fur very glossy, it also matched his trainer's blue and white jacket. "Oh!" she exclaimed in surprise as she realized this. The outburst earned her a wink from Calem, and blushing furiously, she returned her gaze to the center of the room. Referees did not usually talk during the battles, unless there was a dispute over the rules or the winner.

"Thunderbolt!" Clemont cried out, ready for the battle to begin.

"Meowstic! Dodge it and use Disarming Voice!" Calem covered his ears as a Meowstic released a charming cry, knowing how unbalanced it could make people feel.

Clemont gritted his teeth, unprepared as the blow hit both him and Heliolisk. It was like all the doubts he had been feeling lately were rising to the surface, clouding his mind with uncertainty. "Power through it, Heliolisk! Use Quick Attack!" Special attacks could be dependent upon a Pokemon's emotions, but physical attacks did not suffer from the same problem.

"Shadow Ball!" Meowstic nodded once, creating a shadowy ball of darkness that surrounded him like a shroud. This was a technique they had spent hours working on during training, and the Constraint Pokemon knew exactly what to do. Instead of releasing the ball on his attacker, he held it until it was large enough to cover a huge area, ultimately causing Heliolisk to run into the wrong part of the ball, missing Meowstic entirely.

"Hel-io!" he said in annoyance, as he turned around to see where his opponent had gone. Meowstic dispersed the ball, looking rather smug as he turned to face Heliolisk.

"Impressive," Clemont said, looking at Calem with respect. "As a partially Normal-type Pokemon, that move wouldn't have had any effect on Heliolisk. But by simply holding it, you were able to hide your location. You're not the only one with unique moves, though. Heliolisk - you know what to do!"

"Lisk," Heliolisk affirmed, running in a circle around Meowstic. He stood still, watching the reptile as it moved towards the end of the Arena and plucked something from the warning, several small rings flew towards Meowstic, knocking him off balance.

"Meow!" Meowstic fell to the ground, tripped by the strange green rings that were being thrown at him. Upon inspection, they were revealed to be blades of grass, knotted together to form a strong, rope-like structure.

"Wow! You were able to teach an Electric-type Pokemon a Grass-type move?" Calem sounded impressed.

"All thanks to the machine that gives: Technical Machines! TM86, Grass Knot. I wanted Heliolisk to have a move that opponents weren't expecting." Clemont adjusted his glasses triumphantly, pleased he had finally landed a move on his opponent's Pokemon.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that, all right," Calem admitted. "But now it's time to throw you off balance, too. Disarming Voice!"

Meowstic once more cried out, but Clemont was expecting it this time. "Heliolisk! Dispel it with Parabolic Charge!" The air around them lit up with electricity, and it was in that moment that Calem understood the design of the Gym. Clemont's Pokemon created enough electricity on their own. They didn't need any additional charge in the room, that might interfere with their attacks.

Calem's yells for a counter-attack couldn't be heard over the crackle of electricity, but Meowstic didn't need to hear them to know what to do. He raised his ears, continuing to cry out, and released a telekinetic force. It was a direct hit, and Heliolisk stumbled a bit, but did not fall.

"Keep going!" Clemont directed, encouraging his Pokemon onward. "Thunderbolt!"

Another fantastic display of electricity brought the battlefield alive, and Calem could not help but stare at the attack in awe, even as Meowstic was forced to jump out of the way, missing the main bolt but still getting shocked by the extraneous lightning. Not having any Electric types of his own, he did not get to witness such things under normal circumstances. "Are you okay?" he called frantically to his friend, and felt relieved when Meowstic turned to him and nodded once.

One of the conclusions Calem had come to early on in his short career as a Pokemon Trainer was that battles, especially ones such as this one, moved outside the normal flow of time. Everything flashed around him so fast it was hard to keep up with the moves his own Pokemon were using, let alone the opponent's. And yet, he already felt like he had been standing on the field for eternity, frozen in place while miniature wars waged around him. It gave him an advantage though; a way to see the strengths and weaknesses of each Pokemon involved, and how they might be used against each other.

"Quick Attack!" Clemont called out at the end of a long string of attacks that left Heliolisk off balance, and Calem grinned. This was exactly what he had been waiting for. "Meowstic!" he cried out, with a clear vision of exactly what would happen in his mind's eye. "Fake Out!"

The reaction was immediate. Meowstic shot forward, interrupting Heliolisk's Quick Attack with several sharp slaps, causing him to flinch and take a couple steps backwards. "Again!" he instructed, and once more Heliolisk was assaulted with a force he would not have expected of the Constraint Pokemon. The attack was repeated for a third time, and with a final slap, Heliolisk fell down, closing his eyes at the relief of not being attacked anymore.

"Thank you, Heliolisk," Clemont said, recalling him to his Pokeball. "You fought well."

"Heliolisk seems pretty strong," Calem commented, trying to hide his excitement at having won the first round. "But you'll have to do better than that in order to beat us!"

"Don't worry," Clemont said with a grin, pushing up his glasses as his eyes glittered with his increasing passion for the challenge this battle was posing. "I'm just getting started. Magneton - you're up!"

And so the battle continued. Weakened from its battle with Heliolisk, it didn't take long for Meowstic to bow out of the fight, and in its place Calem chose Absol to continue. It seemed like a rookie mistake, at first - Absol's Bite could not penetrate Magneton's steel exterior; nor did Slash or Quick Attack do much more than inconvenience the Magnet Pokemon. But when Calem switched Absol with his last Pokemon, Greninja, his strategy became more apparent. With one well-placed blast of Dark Pulse, Magneton fell down, and Calem crossed his arms triumphantly.

"I see," Clemont said thoughtfully, returning Magneton to its Pokeball with a quick murmur of thanks. "You tired Magneton out making it dodge useless attacks. But you do realize that you're at a disadvantage here. Water Pokemon are weak to Electric-type attacks - and there's no shortage of those at this Gym. Come on out, Luxray!"

His newest addition to his Gym lineup and one of his oldest friends, Luxray had proven himself time and time again to be a valuable asset to Clemont during his battles. "Lux," he growled, baring his fangs into a grin at his opponent as he waited for Clemont's first instruction.

"Oh, no," Calem said with a smile. "With all due respect, it is you who are at a disadvantage here. Greninja! Dark Pulse!"

"Luxray! Dodge it!" Luxray jumped out of the way, and watched his opponent warily. "Electric Terrain!"

The ground lit up, and Greninja jumped out of the way. "Stay in the air!" Calem shouted, and Greninja touched down only briefly on the battlefield before jumping up again. "Water Shuriken!"

Luxray jumped to the side, but the widespread attack drenched him in water anyway, and he shook out his fur in irritation.

"Ice Beam!" Calem shouted, and Greninja pointed his attack at the ground, creating a small platform out of harm's way to stand on. The Ninja Pokemon perched on the ice, and Clemont's eyes narrowed. They were up to something - but what?

"He's an easy target! Get him, Luxray - Thunder Fang!" But though Luxray bounded forward, it was obvious he was hurting as he touched the ground, and the adjustment he made to his speed as he ran gave Greninja time to jump in the air again.

"You shouldn't have let him get covered in water," Calem commented. "Your own attack is being used against you." It was true, Clemont saw - every time Luxray's damp paws touched the electric battlefield, the Pokemon winced in response. "Now! Quick Attack!"

Instead of dodging, Luxray leaned into the attack, teeth sparkling with Thunder Fang. Greninja made a dissatisfied noise, and jumped back. "Are you okay?" Calem asked his friend, and though Greninja was now clutching at his arm, he nodded, and got back into a fighting position. The Thunder Fang had been a well-placed attack - but it wasn't enough to bring him down.

"Swift!" Clemont ordered, and a sudden breeze picked up as Luxray swished his tail towards Greninja, stars shooting out at his opponent. There was no way to avoid the attack. Swift never missed its intended target. And so Greninja braced itself for impact, and when the cloud cleared, he stood, seemingly unharmed.

"My Greninja is special, you see," Calem said proudly. "He was my very first Pokemon, and I evolved him all the way from a Froakie. We've been through a lot together."

A sudden flashback hit Clemont; the day when Ash first met his Froakie, who had also evolved all the way to Greninja. There was no way that this Greninja was more special than Ash's, but he smiled tolerantly at the trainer in front of him regardless, knowing that to each trainer no Pokemon was more special than their own. "Dark Pulse!" Calem said suddenly, and Greninja released an aura of darkness heading right towards Luxray.

With Clemont lost in thought, Serena was the only one to see the dangerous attack headed towards Luxray. She almost cried out, but caught herself just in time. She had to remain impartial, no matter what happened.

The next thing Clemont knew, he had been engulfed in darkness. He coughed, though the air around him was no less clear to his lungs than it had been a minute ago, and called out for Luxray. He found his Pokemon as the light returned, looking disgruntled and confused, and shook his head in anger at himself.

"Luxray, I'm sorry!" He was shaking, and his voice came out as a rather weak tremble rather than the commanding tone he had been using throughout the battle. It was then that he realized what attack had been used, and that it must have hit him as well. He groaned, clutching at the side of his head. He could feel himself losing confidence and control already. How could he have made such a mistake?

"Discharge!" Clemont yelled, stepping back out of the way this time. Though lines were drawn on the battlefield to keep trainers out of the way of dangerous Pokemon attacks, it was not uncommon for long-range attacks to cross those lines, and as long as a trainer didn't step off the field they were not disqualified in battle.

The rest of the battle was still a good one, Clemont thought, even if both his and Luxray's reaction time seemed down. Greninja was getting weaker, and with every move Luxray appeared to gain more confidence in his attacks. But half of the attacks were misses, and Greninja's reflexes had not suffered despite the injuries he had sustained. In the end, it was Luxray who was taken down by Greninja's Ice Beam, and he laid down on the cool ice that had given him his final blow, allowing the cold to heal his wounds.

"Luxray," Clemont said, kneeling down next to his Pokemon. "Good job out there." Luxray licked his face feebly, and he returned him to his Pokeball, knowing that he would apply first aid to his own Pokemon once the challenger had left. "That looks serious," he said to Calem, gesturing at a deep wound left by Thunder Fang on Greninja's arm.

"A bit, yes," Calem said worriedly. He bounced Greninja's Pokeball in the palm of his hand, trying to remember if he had seen a Pokemon Center outside the Gym or not. He had been too preoccupied with the rain and the upcoming battle to remember much of his surroundings.

"Here." Clemont produced a Parlyz Heal and a bandage from his pocket, and handed them to Calem. "This will help, but you should still take him to the Pokemon Center. It's just outside - exit through the main door, walk through the square, and you should see it on your left." Calem nodded, trying to remember the directions even as he treated Greninja's arm.

"Thank you," he said, bowing his head gratefully at Clemont's show of kindness.

"Oh, and don't forget this!" Calem looked up to see a broad grin on the Gym Leader's face, a small triangle-shaped badge in the palm of his hand. "This is the Voltage Badge. You've more than earned it!" In awe, Calem accepted the badge, and pinned it to the inside of his jacket to rest with his other badges. "I hope to see you again sometime, Calem. I'm glad I got to learn new things thanks to your strong battle style."

"I learned a lot, too." Calem held out his hand for a handshake, which Clemont readily accepted. "I can see why you became the Gym Leader!"

And with a last nod at the Gym Leader he had expended so much effort to defeat, he took one more look around the Gym fondly as he left with Greninja by his side, committing every detail of the stadium to his memory, including the referee on the sidelines, who stood with her head slightly bowed and a smile on her face.

Later that same day, Serena walked somewhat aimlessly throughout the streets of Lumiose City, having just come back from a leisurely stroll through the cultivated lawns of Parterre Way. She had a lot of things on her mind; things that the charged air of the Lumiose Gym and the loneliness of Prism Tower were not able to help her with, but the slower and more relaxed atmosphere outside the city limits could.

She found herself visiting Parterre Way often, seeing as it was the route that would eventually lead her back to her hometown of Vaniville. Of course, to actually walk all the way there would be out of the question - she would have to go through several other towns and the daunting Santalune Forest, none of which could be traversed in a day. But Parterre Way itself was beautiful, with carefully arranged flower gardens and hedges surrounding a fountain where she had spent many hours sitting and thinking. Over time, the gardeners who cared for the surrounding landscape had come to know her, and she would often return to Lumiose City with a handful of red and yellow flowers carefully selected from their respective gardens.

And now, holding the flowers down loosely at her side, she was on her way back to Prism Tower. Though she felt she would have benefitted from more time away from the rush of people and cars that made up the city, nightfall would be on them in another hour, and she felt significantly safer inside when it was dark.

Unfortunately, it was going to take her a little longer than usual to get home today.

As she rounded a corner around a rather tall building, she was so absorbed in her thoughts that she failed to see someone coming around the bend at the same time in the opposite direction, and they collided, sending her freshly picked flowers flying all over the sidewalk.

"Oh! I'm so sorry," Serena apologized, blushing as she knelt down to pick up the scattered bouquet. She could be such a klutz sometimes! She really needed to pay more attention to where she was going.

"It is I who should be apologizing." The person she had bumped into had a very deep and melodic voice, a sound that made her heart skip a beat. The sound of shifting fabric told her he had also knelt down, and deft hands picked up the flowers that were just out of her reach. "Here," he said, presenting her with the red and yellow blossoms he had been able to collect. "Pretty flowers for a pretty girl."

She silently accepted the flowers from him, her face growing redder by the moment. She had never been skilled at flirting, unlike other girls her age. Being around boys, especially cute ones, always made her tongue-tied. She still hadn't looked up to see his face, but he certainly sounded cute, and somehow familiar.

"Allow me." With a start, she realized that the boy had stood up, and was offering his hand to her to help her up as well. She took his hand, the sudden spark of electricity she felt as their skin made contact nearly forcing her down to her knees again. What was going on? She had never experienced that feeling with anyone but Ash.

"Thank you," she finally said, her eyes still firmly planted on the ground. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire at this point. The worst part about being embarrassed, she decided then and there, was that the embarrassment of the symptoms of embarrassment only made those symptoms worse.

"You're welcome," he said, releasing her hand. "It was nice to see you again." He brushed past her, taking slow and measured steps as he continued towards his destination, but Serena's gentle voice stopped him.

"Wait!" She turned around, something finally clicking in her head. "You're Calem, right?" As he turned back around, she took this chance to look at him properly. He was tall; much taller than her, and he carried himself well despite the heavy-looking bag on his shoulder. His shoulder-length dark hair and stormy blue eyes complimented his outfit just as well as his Meowstic had.

"Yes," he said, a wide smile appearing on his face. He seemed pleased that she remembered who he was. "I'm afraid I didn't catch your name earlier," he told her.

"I'm Serena," she replied, extending her hand out for a handshake. He gripped it tightly, but instead of the shake she had expected, he lightly touched her hand to his lips.

"Well, Serena. I'm lost." It hadn't been what he was originally going to say, but it was the truth. He had been wandering around for over an hour in this city, and he still couldn't remember which Pokemon Center he was staying at - he just knew it wasn't the one he kept walking into every fifteen minutes, thinking it was a different one.

His response prompted her to laugh, remembering how overwhelming it seemed for her when she first came here. "Let me guess, this is your first time in Lumiose?" He nodded sheepishly, feeling a little ashamed.

"I did end up coming through here a month ago, as a shortcut. But that was easy. I just walked in a straight line across the city to get where I was going. This time, though..." he trailed off, shaking his head at the poorly designed streets.

"Maybe I can help you find your way," Serena suggested, feeling sort of bad for him. He seemed so nice, and surely he didn't deserve to simply be abandoned to navigate the city by himself after he had just confessed how lost he was. "Where are you going?"

"For now, the Pokemon Center." She stared at him in surprise, and he grinned a bit sheepishly. "I know there's one...that way," he pointed behind him, and when she peered over his shoulder with a confused look, he moved his hand. "Or maybe it's that way." Based on her expression, this was correct, and he gazed off in the distance, wondering if he would be able to see it from here. "But it isn't the right one," he explained quickly. "I already checked in for the night, you see, but then I decided to go exploring. That isn't the one I'm staying at."

"Are you staying at the one near the Gym?" Serena suggested, hoping that they might be able to walk together in the direction of Prism Tower, saving her time in having to backtrack to get home before dark.

Calem shook his head, pursing his lips. Upon reflection, that would have been a smart idea, but he hadn't been familiar enough with the city at the time to realize that there were even multiple Pokemon Centers to choose from, much less one that would be easier to find than the one he apparently walked into first.

"Oh!" Serena exclaimed. "Where did you arrive from? You're probably staying in the one closest to there."

It was sound logic, and Calem smiled. "Coumarine City. That was a week ago, though. It took quite a while to make it through the badlands."

Serena paused, and after a moment managed to pull out her town map. "Coumarine...that's northwest of here." She remembered the badlands that Calem mentioned, though their own journey through them had involved a stop at the Kalos Power Plant. "I know! You're probably staying at the North Pokemon Center!"

Calm gave a confused glance around the area, then turned back to her. "We're already in the north part of town, yes?"

"I'm afraid not," Serena told him. "See?" She turned her map towards him, and he glanced at the glowing dot that showed him where they were, in comparison to the three lit up Pokemon Centers around the city.

"That explains it," Calem said, not sure at this point whether he was irritated at himself and the mistake he had made when navigating through Lumiose, or pleased that it had enabled him to meet Serena. "Thank you, Serena! What would I ever do without you?"

"Ask for directions next time you walk into the wrong Pokemon Center," she replied honestly, and they both laughed.

It could only be described as the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

For those of you not familiar with the X&Y games, Calem is the main protagonist / rival of those alongside Serena. Anyway, Ash should only be away for another chapter or two, depending on how much content I end up with, so enjoy the break while you can! Things will probably escalate quickly once he returns, and maybe not quite in the way you all expect - but I won't say any more than that ;)

Stay tuned for Chapter 14, and thank you for reading / following / favoriting / reviewing!