The Adventure Zetto
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, but we've been down this road before.
Kenshin: Welcome everyone. Nice to be back again.
Yusei: This time, we're going into rock climbing. Calem increases his Pokemon and faces Grant at the gym.
Alger: In addition to that, we also meet Korrina. A little more of Calem's past is revealed to us as well.
Journal Entry 5: Stonewall Objection
Last time on the Z Adventure, Calem and Serena have come to face off against two Flare Grunts in the Glittering Cave. Unlike the others they've faced, these two are far stronger.
Calem sends out Nanami. "Nanami, Water Pulse!"
"Croagunk, Sludgebomb!" The toxic toad sends a sludge bomb that diverts the wave and cancels it out.
"Psybeam!" Mystic sends her beam.
"Take it, Scraggy!" Scraggy jumps in the way and gets hit. But when the beam subsides, Scraggy is revealed to be fine. "Nice try, but Scraggy is immune to Psychic attacks!"
"These two are stronger than the last," Calem says staring at the two grunts. "Or atleast smarter."
"It won't matter; we can stop them by ourselves." Serena tightens her fists while looking over to Calem. Their eyes connect for a moment before turning to their enemies. They would have to work together to get out of this.
"We'll have to work together. Got it?"
"Sure." Serena turns to her friend.
"Scraggy, Jump Kick!" Scraggy pulls up his leather pants and rushes in, leaping up to knee drop Espurr.
"Use Round!" Nanami sings, blowing the lizard fighter away.
"Croagunk, Poison Jab!" The toad runs low towards the frog.
"Psybeam!" Espurr fires, blowing Croagunk away from Nanami. The toxic toad falls backwards before recovering.
"Nanami, Smokescreen!" Nanami quits singing before throwing a smokebomb to the ground. Calem rushes in the moment she does.
"Calem, what are you doing?!" Serena shouts.
Calem goes straight forward, coming out on the other end to grab the grunts' Pokeballs. He then quickly tosses them in the air. "Now!"
"No!"
"Confusion!" Quickly picking up on his idea, Serena has Espurr use her psychic power to crush the Pokeballs. Without their containment, Croagunk and Scraggy stand still for a while before walking away.
"No!" The grunts realize the situation and back up to the wall.
Serena approaches them, her arms crossed. In a demanding voice she asks, "What are you guys doing here?"
"Raising money," one of them says.
"We thought we could get allot of money by gathering and reanimating fossils. But thanks to you brats we have to leave!" The female one runs off after speaking, causing her partner to follow.
"There might be more. Let's look around," Calem says before retrieving his Pokemon. Serena does so as well, and follows Calem further into the cave. They continue until reaching a dead end, where a person dressed in a lab coat jots down stuff on a clipboard.
He turns around to face them. "Oh, hello! You looking for fossils too?"
"What? Weren't you attacked by Team Flare?" Serena asks him.
"Team who?" The two young trainers look at eachother, before shrugging.
"Nevermind," Serena quickly says.
"Well, you two are in luck! I just found these two fossils. I have them already, but you two can have them," he tells them, showing the two fossils he found. "The left is the Sail Fossil and the right is the Jaw Fossil."
"Hmm... I'll go with the Jaw Fossil." Serena picks her Fossil, leaving Calem to choose the other with a shrug. "Anyway, before we get out of hand... Do you have any information about Mega Evolution?"
"Oh that? Well, I don't really know much; just that it requires a Pokemon and a stone, and strangely something to channel a special type of energy through it to the Pokemon." He then looks at his watch. "Non! I have to go!" He rushes past them out the exit.
"Well, so much for that lead."
"Yeah, let's leave," Calem says before they get a move on. Serena and Calem continue until they leave the cave, where he asks, "What will you do now?"
"I'm still planning to look into Mega Evolution, but there's still the problem with Team Flare," she replies with a sigh. "We need to get stronger so we can be safer as long as they're still around. Next up will be the gym at Cyllage City I guess."
"Then, that's where I'll go too," Calem states, a blank expression still on his face.
Upon exiting the cave they mount the Rhyhorn waiting outside. Calem then guides it back to regular land, having Serena in front of him this time. "Hold on tight."
"I don't make the same mistakes over and over ya know..." she says with a pout. She feels him get closer, and both of them blush from the contact.
Eventually they reach the other end of the mountain cliff, and dismount the rhino. Calem and Serena then walk back, neither of them noticing their boots coming apart as they walk. The duo come out past the gate and enter the laboratory, wondering how the scientist before them managed to get in without a Rhyhorn.
"So, I'm guessing you two have those fossils I handed over?" he asks them.
"Yes, and they're heavy too." Serena hands over her fossil, while Calem does the same. "Atleast we got something out of this."
"Fossil restoration will take a day to complete. Come back tomorrow for your Pokemon," he says before carting the fossils away.
With this task complete, Calem exits the lab. That's when he fully notices the darkness around them. "It's gotten so late. I'm gonna go meet up with Valerie and sleep for the night."
"Valerie..." Serena scowls at the mention of her name. "Why are you with her?"
"I can't just abandon her," he tells her before shrugging. "Besides, she still owes me a dinner for helping her out of a tree."
"Wait, that's why you're with her?!" She narrows her eyes at him. "You met her the same way we met?"
"That's not important." He looks away before going to the Pokemon Center. "See you tomorrow."
"Calem..." Serena watches as he leaves, sighing. 'Calem... Please don't go too far.' She turns over to the exit of the city.
Calem enters the Pokemon Center and rests himself in one of the rooms, where he also spots Valerie. But instead of sleeping like he expected, she's talking to someone through a holocast.
"I'll keep you posted. He'll join Flare soon enough." His eyes widen in shock when she mentions that name, but for the sake of silence he makes no movements or gestures. She turns off her device and lies in bed, eventually falling asleep.
With her down he goes to the room neighboring it and falls on top of a bed. He falls fast asleep.
The Following Morning...
Calem yawns as he awakens himself, looking back when he feels weight on his side. His eyes split open when he sees Valerie leaning on top of him. "Guwaah!" He flips off the bed away from her.
"Did I scare you?"
"Yes," he speaks, being much more calm about it now. "Ready to go?"
"Of course." She drops a hand to him, allowing him to take it and stand back up. "Next stop is Cyllage City, and there I can definitely treat you to food. Real food, not what you have to eat here."
"Before that though... I need to change." With that, Valerie leaves the room so Calem can change to a spare set of clothing he brought with him; he now sports an orange shirt with a Pokeball in gray down by his belly, a pair of dark blue pants, white and red shoes because his boots have been torn, his red cap and shades.
After that the two head out the door and he takes her to the fossil lab. "Why are we going here?"
"Picking up a new Pokemon," he replies, revealing his roster of five instead of six. "I put away Acno for this very task."
He enters the building, and approaches the fossil researcher. "Ah, so you've returned! Your friend already came and picked up her Pokemon."
"Is the Pokemon from the fossil I made okay?" he asks abruptly, taking both Valerie and the scientist by surprise.
"It's okay indeed!" He holds out a Pokeball to him.
Calem takes it and scans with his Pokedex, showing the image of a blue amargasaurus.
Amaura, the Tundra Pokemon - This is a Pokemon revived from part of its body frozen in ice for over 100 million years. It lived in the arctic to escape predators such as Tyrantrum.
'Tyrantrum? Must be another one...' "Thank you sir," he says before walking out the lab with his friend. "Ready to move?"
"Of course," she replies with a smile.
Ignoring the exhibit going on, they continue until they eventually reach the outer exit. This leads them outside on the other side, where the beach is in closer contact with them.
Calem steps onto the beach first, staring ahead as the sun blazes over them. He stares out ahead of him and walks forward, and Valerie follows. "You'll be facing the next gym right?"
"Correct," he replies with an added nod.
"Then, you'll need to look out. He specializes in Fossil Pokemon like the one you have."
"How do you know that?"
"I'm a gym leader myself," she declares, showing him the Fairy Badge. Such news shocks him.
"How long were you going to keep that from me?"
"Until you brought it up," she speaks with a smile. "Anyway, let's get going. Your meal awaits."
"Uh, right!" The two walk along the sandy plain towards the next town. As they do, Calem has battles against the surrounding trainers using Pikachu, Garo and Mythic specifically. Eventually, they reach the city of Cyllage.
"We're here," Valerie speaks as she looks up at the skies, gesturing to the sea side city before them.
Calem steps forward looking at the area, before running forward. "Hey, wait! This outfit is heavier than it looks!" He eventually stops, coming to a restaurant. "Eh?"
"Here we are, a restaurant. Time for you to own up," he tells her, pointing inside.
'Is he trying to get rid of me?' She blinks before coming to realize what he's doing; all this time he's been trying to ditch her. Did he know what she was up to?
"Calem, what are you trying to pull?"
"Pull?"
"Are you trying to get rid of me? You don't seem that interested in me at all," she states.
"It's more like I don't want to be confused." Though confused by what he means by this, she lets him continue. "I don't want you to...jeopardize my chances of defeating you later on. You're a gym leader, so you shouldn't know the Pokemon I have with me."
Valerie stares at him, feeling there's more to it than he's letting up. 'But if I stick to him any further without him wanting to, he'll only get more suspicious. I'll have to cut this job short.' "Very well. I did after all promise only a meal."
"Then let's go," he says, and together they enter the restaurant for lunch.
Elsewhere as this goes on, Serena exits the Pokemon gym standing at the top of the mountain cliff. She takes out a green bicycle from her backpack and unfolds it, riding the bike down the hill.
"WHOO!" she screams in joy as she cycles out of Cyllage City. As she does she comes to a stop when her Holo Clip turns on. It reveals Professor Sycamore. "Professor!"
"Ca va, Serena! It seems you're nearing Shalour City! Splendid!"
"Professor, what brings you to call me?"
"I wanted to let you know that there's a person in Shalour who knows a great deal about Mega Evolution. He goes by the Mega Shinka Guru!"
"Mega Shinka?"
"I've told everyone but Calem about him, so if you have a second give him a visit!" His avatar fades out, allowing Serena to continue.
"Finally, another lead."
Time passes by as they complete their meal; Calem and Valerie soon exit the restaurant side to side. "Thank you for the meal; I hope this doesn't put a damper in your mood."
"No, it's okay," she replies quickly. "I was just surprised by your decision. Are you still planning to buy that palace?"
He turns to her in a flash. "You knew?"
"Of course." Valerie smiles to him. "If that's what you want, then go for it. It's nice when you have a dream you want to accomplish. If you ever want to reach that goal and you find yourself in trouble, don't be afraid to call on me." She takes out a Pokemon and calls forth a bat-like Pokemon bigger than her. She leans forward towards Calem and gives him a quick kiss on the cheek, before boarding her Pokemon and flying away. "I'll await for you at Laverre City!"
Calem looks up in shock at her, his face turning redder than a tomato. He places a hand on his cheek and wonders if she really is the woman he spied on last night. "I'll wonder that later... Now, I have a gym battle. Besides..." Serena pops in his mind as he ends his thoughts.
He then takes out his Town Map and scans it, looking for the gym. Its location is posted on top of the cliff, causing him to look up and go that way. He slaps on his skates and goes that way, before immediately taking them off upon reaching uphill. "I should have seen this coming."
Eventually he reaches the location of the gym and walks inside of it. Upon entering his sights turn upward the moment he sees a rock climbing tower before him. In the center of the room it stands. "A tower, and regular platforms around it... Okay, I think the gym leader's up at the top."
He goes to the tower and notices spots for him to climb up it. When he comes to an end he drops off onto the higher platform it stops at, and follows around to another one. He climbs up it and goes higher, rinsing and repeating until he comes to the very peak of the tower.
There he spots a dark skinned male, with gems in his black greasy hair. "Are you the Gym Leader?"
"Yup; the name's Grant!" Grant grins, bearing his whitened teeth to his challenger. "I've been waiting in eager anticipation!"
"What for?"
"What for? Another worthy challenger to appear! It's quite an achievement to have climbed all the way up here, and in such a short day. Very impressive, actually; and to have two challengers in one day? Even better! I have a feeling that our battle will turn out to be worth the wait! I hope you'll show me that your skill as a Trainer surpasses even mine."
"Wait," Calem begins while holding a hand out, "who was the challenger before me? You said twice in one day?"
"Ah, it was a girl. A very exuberant girl going by Serena Yvette!" Calem's eyes widen at his response. "Is it my guessing that you know her?"
"Of course... She and I have been friends since childhood." He then pulls out a Pokeball. "I want to see how strong her latest opponent was."
"Then I shall not disappoint!" He takes out a Pokeball. "This shall be a three on three battle; neither player can switch out Pokemon. Best two out of three will decide the winner."
'He has three Pokemon, and if what Valerie said is true they're Rock types like Amaura. Which means Water, Grass and Fighting should work, but I only have one Water type. I'll have to work harder for the others.' "I accept."
"Then let us begin!" Grant sends out his first Pokemon, an Aerodactyl.
"What the?" Calem scans with his Pokedex.
Aerodactyl, the Fossil Pokemon - A Pokemon regenerated from DNA found in amber, this ptera originally flown through the ancient skies giving out a powerful shriek.
"A Fossil Pokemon like Amaura... It's Rock/Flying, so I can do this." Calem sends out Pikachu.
"Aerodactyl, Ancient Power!" The giant dactyl summons stones to fire upon Pikachu.
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Pikachu skillfully dodges the stones before running towards the Pokemon and tackling it. But the strike does little damage, and Pikachu hits the ground.
"Wing Attack!" Aerodactyl smacks its wing at Pikachu.
"Nuzzle into it!" Pikachu grabs hold of the wing and nuzzles into it, causing damage that also paralyzes the Pokemon. "Now, hit it with Electro Ball!"
Pikachu summons a ball of electricity around its tail, before flipping and throwing it. The ball smacks into Aerodactyl, causing much stronger damage. 'The Nuzzle-Electro-Ball combo worked!' But as the smoke clears it is revealed to still be standing. "It's still standing?"
"Take Down!" The dactyl flies in and crashes into Pikachu, causing him to fly into Calem's arms. He notes it has fainted.
'Pikachu still needs better defenses.' He takes out a Pokeball and returns Pikachu inside of it.
"That's round 1. Next is 2." Grant retrieves Aerodactyl, and sends out Amaura.
'I knew it.' "Let's go, Garo!" He sends out his sword now, which unsheathes and turns to face it.
"Whoa, that's a rare Pokemon you have there! Don't be surprised if you can't use it to the best of your abilities. Amaura, Aurora Beam!" The amargasaurus fires a beam at the sword.
"Sword Dance!" Garo sheathes himself, and spins while taking in the beam. "Now, Fury Cutter!"
Garo flies in towards Amaura, drawing itself and cutting it. "Thunder Wave!" It then releases an electromagnetic pulse, causing the sword to spark painfully.
"Don't mind it! You can't dodge attacks anyway."
"Aurora Beam!" It fires again at Garo, who sheathes to take in the damage.
"Fury Cutter!" The sword draws out, and flies in to slash Amaura. The strike does more damage this time.
"Fury Cutter will get stronger with each hit, and Garo doesn't miss. But, it's still paralyzed so I doubt it'll get in any more hits. Aurora Beam!" Amaura charges up another attack.
"Shadow Sneak!" Garo stabs itself into the ground, summoning its shadow to strike Amaura's. The attack leaves a successful blow that causes the Pokemon to fall over on its side.
"No, Amaura!" Grant retrieves his fallen Pokemon. Calem sighs with relief, returning Garo to its ball with a 'thank you'.
"This is the last one," Calem tells him.
"Yeah. I'm all fired up despite having Rock Pokemon! Let's do this, Tyrunt!" He sends out his last Pokemon, a miniature T-rex.
Tyrunt, the Royal Heir Pokemon - It is revived from an ancient fossil. Should it hear or see something it doesn't like it throws a tantrum. Its jaws are strong enough to tear through an automobile.
"Then, I should be more careful. Luckily, I saved him for last." Calem sends out his last Pokemon, Nanami. 'That's obviously Rock, so I can deal with this.' "Water Pulse!"
Nanami gathers water into a ball and fires, trapping Tyrunt inside. He uses his feet claws however to cut through. "Nice try, but Tyrunt is part Dragon. Your Water attacks are only half as good."
'But, it's a Rock type so its speed is nothing compared to Nanami's.'
"Tyrunt, Rock Tomb!" Tyrunt stomps the ground to raise stones.
"Nanami, dodge them and use Lick!" Nanami jumps over the stones before they reach, and extends her tongue towards the tiny dinosaur. But he bites hard on it, causing her to flinch, and throws her to the ground.
"Bite attack!" Tyrunt then rushes towards Nanami and bites her arm.
"Round!" Nanami sings, causing the dinosaur to stumble backwards trying to cover his ears with his stubby arms. "Smokescreen!"
She then summons a cover of smoke to hide in. 'This one isn't as easy. I'm going to need some thinking.'
"Tyrunt, Dragon Tail!" Tyrunt spins in the air to slam his tail to the ground, dispelling the smoke. Nanami is up in the air.
"Water Pulse!" She throws her attack and traps Tyrunt.
"Useless! Tyrunt can easily tear through this!"
"Use Round!" Nanami lands and then moves in close to the sphere of water, unleashing her song. The sound passes through the large sphere with ease, causing more damage to the T-rex than usual. "Water is an excellent conductor for sound based attacks."
The sphere explodes, and Tyrunt falls out in pain. "Finish this up with Lick!" This time, Nanami shoots her tongue out like a machine gun, rapidly poking Tyrunt until he falls backwards.
"Oh no. Tyrunt has fallen..." Grant speaks, retrieving his Pokemon. "My goodness, you're stronger than you look! Definitely a wall I cannot surpass." He takes out an item, the Cliff Badge. "There are some things that seem out of reach no matter how hard you try. However, it's important that you never give up—no matter the opponent or the odds. I could tell from our battle that you and your Pokémon understand that. To commemorate such an impressive show of teamwork, please accept the Cliff Badge!"
Calem accepts the badge, before placing it inside of his case. "That's two. Thank you for accepting my challenge."
"No problem; it's always great to face a challenge no matter who it comes from," he declares, holding a hand out to him.
Calem slowly takes it, and shakes. "Th-Thank you. Where's the next gym?"
"Just follow the path north and you'll reach Geosenge, and from there Shalour. Korrina will be waiting for you."
'Korrina...' Remembering the pretty blond girl who he's constantly run into since leaving the forest, Calem breathes in and out slowly to calm his nerves.
He takes to the slide behind the tower, taking him down to where he can reach the exit. He continues walking, leaving out the gym, and throws on his skates to slide down the hill. He ends up tripping and flipping, hitting the dirt painfully. But he easily gets back up like nothing's happened, blood coming down his forehead.
He pulls off his hat and shades, placing them on to cover the blood. He then notices his hat has blood on it, before checking his head. "I need to be more careful." He throws his hat back on like nothing's happened, and resumes skating ahead while wiping some blood off.
Though slow moving at first, Calem manages to get back into it in a few seconds. "This is real convenient." He turns down a corner towards the Pokemon Center, entering to have his Pokemon looked at. 'While I'm here...'
While waiting, he exchanges his Pokemon; taking out Amaura, he now has five Pokemon on hand. Soon his Pokemon become ready, and he heads out towards the exit. He moves faster as he continues ahead, passing over the bridge exiting Cyllage City. 'I wonder why they call it Cyllage City.'
After a few seconds of rolling, Calem makes it past the bridge and continues ahead. He sees petals floating by him as he speeds onward, noting the beautiful flowers they come from. He comes to an area covered in agriculture, as well as stones in an odd formation. Of course, with how far he's traveled he doesn't really care.
He stops by the grass, giving a pleasant yawn. The trainer lies on his back in the grass, throwing on his shades as the clouds pass under the sun. As he watches the clouds pass, he examines his Town Map. "The next stop is Geosenge Town, home to the strange stone formations. Afterwards going east it's Route 11, and then Reflection Cave. Shouldn't be long."
He looks on past his device to see a Pokemon rolling in flowers. Exchanging his Town Map for the Pokedex he scans it.
Eevee the Evolution Pokemon - It is a rare Pokemon possessing a unique and unstable genetic code, which grants it several evolutionary forms depending on its environments.
'I've heard of Eevees. They can turn into one of eight forms. And one of them is a Fairy type!' Realizing this Calem rises up from the bed of grass to take out a Pokeball.
Sending out Pikachu, Calem gains Eevee's attention. "Pikachu, Thunder Wave!" The iconic mouse releases an electromagnetic wave that hits the fox-like Pokemon. "Now, Electro Ball!" Pikachu then calls electricity around his tail to throw in the shape of a ball that pulverizes Eevee.
"Now, Great Ball go!" Calem throws his ball at it, catching it inside. The ball shakes for a while, until it ensures capture. "So, that gives me another Pokemon." He checks the stats. "So, Eevee's a girl... Alright."
He smiles slightly while caressing the ball, before attaching it to his belt waist. He then approaches Pikachu, holding him on his head. "Ready to go?" Pikachu agrees, and together they take off on skates, the yellow mouse squealing with joy. 'I might as well make him feel better, especially after losing his battle.'
While blading, Calem comes before a face he was hoping not to. A grunt from Team Flare. "You!"
"Hey, you're that bastard from the cave!" He takes out a Pokeball, summoning Houndour. "It's time I got my revenge from yesterday!"
"Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Pikachu disappears in a flash to tackle the hound, who blocks with his own headbutt.
"Ember!" Houndour fires at Pikachu, who dodges quickly.
"Rock Smash!" Pikachu moves closer, jumps up and then spins around to smash his tail into Houndour's face. Unfortunately he bites down on it. "Pikachu!"
"Now, throw it to the ground!" Houndour ruthlessly smashes Pikachu into the ground. "Ember!"
"Thunder Wave!" The wave blows onto Houndour, causing it to grown in pain without shooting its ember. "Now, Electro Ball!"
Pikachu's Electro combo strikes, leaving a final blow that sends Houndour into the ground sparking. "Crap!" The grunt retrieves his Pokemon. "Let's try this! Golbat!"
Before he could send out his Pokemon, Calem retrieves the tired Pikachu and releases Mythic. "Golbat, Air Cutter!"
"Psybeam!" Mythic concentrates to fire, but gets sent flying in the air. He then aims at Golbat once more and fires, blowing him away. "Mythic, Psyshock!"
The cat Pokemon focuses once more, before drawing up rocks from the ground to strike down Golbat. The stones move away to reveal Golbat has fainted.
"GOLBAT!" shouts the grunt angrily. He throws the Pokemon to the ground and runs away.
Calem looks at the Pokeball, before breaking it against a rock. It sparks and cracks. "There. Now that Pokemon can be free." He pushes the rocks away, letting Golbat move its wings. "No bruises. You're free to go." It nods with a smile before flying away.
Calem then goes to his own Pokemon. "Good work out there Mythic. Your Psychic powers are growing stronger." After the compliment, Mythic squeals with joy. It then glows, something he recognizes as evolution. The light of the Pokemon dies out when it takes a bigger shape, becoming a dark blue and white striped cat.
Meowstic the Constraint Pokemon - When in danger, it raises its ears and releases enough psychic power to grind a 10-ton truck to dust.
"Interesting..." Calem returns his new Pokemon inside his ball. He pulls grass out of his wheels and then skates off. As he heads north, he notices someone else skating in front of him. Once his eyes get a hold of the blond hair she has, he immediately recognizes her.
Calem hastens his speed and catches up, to who he confirms is Korrina. The moment he comes close, she looks back to see him. "Ah! Calem!"
"What brings you here?" he asks her.
"Just passing by looking for something important," she tells him as they come up near Geosenge. The two enter the town, their eyes drawn to the large stone formations in the center. Calem grasps his heart as he comes closer, feeling something tightening his strings. "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah, just..." He breathes slowly while trying to regain himself.
The girl looks at his hand and notices something around his wrist. "Calem, that ring..."
"Huh? Oh, this is something I received in the mail a few days ago," he tells her. As he goes on with his explanation, he begins to realize how much he's starting to open up to others, especially girls. 'I think I'm getting better at this.' "I still don't know what this is."
"I do." Korrina holds up her hand, revealing a similar device around her left wrist.
Calem's eyes widen when he sees it, noticing how close the two are in appearance. "It's a Mega Ring, a device used to power Mega Stones and induce Mega Evolution."
"Mega Evolution?" He looks down at his ring. 'The secret to Mega Evolution was around my hand the whole time? But, how does she know this?' "How do you know about Mega Evolution?"
"Me? Why so curious?" She then thinks about what could have brought him to gain that.
"Me and my friends have been searching for clues about Mega Evolution. It was a task Professor Sycamore asked for us," he tells her before digging in his pocket and pulling out the Charizardite. "This is Charizardite Y, apparently. He gave it to me."
"Then, you can use this too." Korrina holds out a similar stone.
"What's that?"
"Charizardite X. Your stone and this can evolve Charizard into two different Mega Evolution forms," she says, taking his hand and adding it with his own. "That's what I was looking for in Menhir Trail."
"You found this stone? How?"
"I have a very unique power, one that lets me track the energy the stones emit. I guess I didn't notice you had one because I already have three."
"But, why are you giving this to me?"
"Because, I have a feeling you can use this sooner than you think. As well, you and I really are destined to come together." Korrina smiles after saying that, causing him to blush. "If you want to understand the secret to Mega Evolution, I'll take you to Shalour City and show you." She stands back away from him, a little red in the cheeks too. "Just, try not to get too close. I don't want you to get hurt."
"Huh?"
"Let's go!" The two skate forward, passing by the stone formations at the center of the town. Calem takes a short moment to look back at it, wondering what's wrong about it.
They pass into Route 12, Miroir Way, and continue until reaching a cave. "Let's remove our skates. We can't use them inside."
"Gotcha." Calem removes his blades and walks forward, taking her hand to her surprise.
She blushes from the contact, letting him take her off. 'He has nice hands...' They enter the blue lit cave, immediately seeing the surrounding walls were covered in clear glass. Calem approaches one mirror, and although he sees himself he notices something wrong. 'It's visible through mirrors.'
"What's wrong?" Calem immediately looks away from the mirror so she wouldn't notice what was wrong. He couldn't go through the risk of letting her know his secret.
He takes out his Town Map and follows a path designed for the cave, guiding Korrina behind him. After a bit of travel through the cave's underbelly, eventually they come to the end. Walking out the cave finally, they look up to see the darkness risen over the skies. "It's night. Time to go to bed."
"How about coming to my house?" she says, and he blinks a bit before agreeing. "Great!" Korrina takes his hand and guides him to her place, leading to a sort of beach with a straight path.
Calem looks down the path, seeing a large tower at the end of the line; his eyes and face contorts into amazement. "You live here?"
"Yup!" They run up the stairs and continue until coming inside, where Calem looks in shock to see a towering statue of Lucario.
"Is that Lucario?" It obviously is, but he doesn't remember it looking exactly like that.
"That's Mega Lucario, the world's first Mega Evolved Pokemon," she describes pointing at it. "Using Lucarionite and a Mega Accessory, Lucario can reach his strongest form. If you had it you could do it too. That Lucario who's been fond of you from the beginning would evolve just like that."
"Hey, do you still have him?" Calem asks. She holds up a Premiere Ball, making him realize that's Lucario's.
"Calem, I know you're battling for Gym Leader badges, but you also want the secrets to Mega Evolution right?"
"Uh huh."
"Then, tomorrow we can battle. I'll face you to the best of my abilities," she tells him. She then points to a room just to his left. "You can sleep in there."
"Oh, okay." Calem goes into the room to sleep. He turns around to look at her, saying, "Bonne nuit."
"Bonne nuit, Calem," she says before he enters the room. Korrina goes to a room adjacent to it, holding her hand. "Calem, I'll face you with all I am. As the Gym Leader of Shalour City, the Successor to Mega Evolution, and a...Pokemon Trainer."
The next day comes soon. Serena exits the Pokemon Center, chewing on the fleeting remains of an apple core. She tosses it over to the nearest trash can, which rots mid air. "Alright, let's get moving. Tower of Mastery, here I come!"
She pulls out her bike from her bag, unfolding it until reaching full size, and boards it to ride down the slowly brightening road. She passes by the center of the city aiming north, until she hears someone. "Y!"
Serena turns around and looks to see Tierno and Trevor coming up. "Tierno! Trevor! What are you doing here?"
"We're looking for the Mega Shinka Guru!" Trevor says while adjusting his orange hair.
"Yeah, he's supposed to be in Shalour City! But...wait, who is again?" Tierno asks him.
"I think that's his name..." Trevor replies.
"Well Shauna told me she would be here, and I still haven't heard from Calem yesterday," she tells them. Her eyes then turn dark, remembering Valerie. "He better be alone."
"Huh?"
"Nothing!" Serena rides towards the tower away from them.
"Hey, wait!" They run after her in an attempt to keep up. Luckily for her, she's not serious in leaving them behind.
Passing over the small beach, the trio reach the tower where Shauna can be seen walking up a step. She turns around to face them, saying, "Oh hey! Nice to see you guys again!"
"Well, it seems the gang's all together again," Trevor says.
"Yeah, except X is missing," Tierno states.
"Maybe he's inside..." Serena mutters hopefully.
Inside, Calem awakens and rolls out of bed. He adjusts his hat and walks forward, looking around for anyone. He sees a door in the podium underneath the Lucario statue and goes to it, opening the door. "Hello?"
To his shock he sees Korrina pulling on her latex shorts. Of course, the rest of her is naked so that adds to the shock. Still bent over, Korrina sees Calem and goes wide eye before screaming. Calem closes the door shut, unable to get the image out of his head.
'That could have been worse...' The door eventually opens to reveal Korrina, who punches him in the dome of his head. 'It is.'
"There's a reason you knock!" Korrina says, still blushing from what happened.
"I'm sorry, but why were you changing in there?!"
"I like to stay fresh! I am a girl you know..." She looks away.
"... I'm really sorry... A-Anyway, about the-"
"What was with all the screaming?" speaks someone else. Calem and Korrina look up the stairs to see an old man coming down. He brushes his long haired eyebrows, approaching the two. "Korrina what's wrong?"
"N-Nothing!" she replies. "Grandpa, this is the guy I told you about."
"Oh, the one Lucario was so interested in?" He turns to Calem with intrigue. "You must be Calem then, the one Korrina mentioned before and the one I heard from Professor Sycamore."
"Are you the Mega Shinka Guru?"
"Actually, it's Mega Evolution guru. I'm an acquaintance of his," he replies. "Wait, shouldn't there be more of you?"
The doors open up, and in steps Serena and the others. She smiles with relief seeing him. "Calem!"
"Serena," he replies, giving his own smile back. She and the others widen their eyes in shock. Calem is smiling. Genuinely. "Good to have you guys around. This guy's the Mega Evolution guru."
"You mean the Mega Shinka-"
"Right, right, of course," Calem says, interrupting Tierno.
"I'm Tierno."
"My name is Shauna."
"Trevor."
"Je m'appelle Serena." Everyone introduces themselves. As Serena concludes, Korrina finds herself glaring darts at her briefly.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet all five of Sycamore's pupils," he says with a smile.
"Uh..." Tierno comes forward with a stone. "I found this intriguing stone. Is it possible it's a Mega Stone?"
"This?" The guru takes out a lens and examines it. "Sorry, but this is really just an ordinary stone."
"Aw man..."
"It takes a while to actually find them, even longer if you don't know how," Korrina tells him. "Oh, I'm the Shalour Gym Leader Korrina. This is also my grandfather."
'Korrina huh?' Serena notes how close she is beside Calem, and begins to glare at her as well.
"Well, since you're all here I can finally explain Mega Evolution to you," he begins, taking in a deep yawn. "As you know, Pokemon evolve through one of many ways: by raising their levels to certain points, placing them in contact with certain gems, and even through trade. Some Pokemon even evolve when certain conditions are met.
"But, Mega Evolution transcends all we've known about evolution so far. It allows Pokemon who couldn't evolve before to reach a new transformation. For example, in the evolutionary line of Squirtle, Wartortle and Blastoise, Blastoise would be able to evolve once more to a stronger form."
"So far," Korrina continues, "there are certain Pokemon who can't either. Also, Mega Evolution is only temporary; like a true transformation it ends after a certain amount of time."
"What?! So then it evolves, but then it goes back to what it was before?" Shauna asks.
"Exactly. In addition, it requires a special stone. As well as the trust between the Pokemon and its trainer," the guru adds.
"So is that it? A bond made between trainer and Pokemon?" Serena asks.
"Of course not," Korrina says, though her delivery brings narrow eyes to Serena's look.
"For it to work, it requires a Mega Stone which connects to the Pokemon and a Mega Accessory. For example, the Mega Ring Korrina has." He gestures to his daughter, who reveals her Mega Ring. "Also, your friend Calem has the one I gave him."
"Eh?!" Everyone says at once. Calem looks down at the Mega Ring.
Serena takes his arm and stares at it. "That's a Mega Ring? You had a clue to Mega Evolution the whole time?"
Calem then pieces everything together. "You were the one who had this sent to me?"
"That's right!" The Mega Evolution guru approaches Calem and takes the arm with the ring attached. "About two years ago I had completed a series of Mega Accessories that could contain the Mega Stones for Mega Evolution and had them sent out to extraordinary trainers around Kalos. When I heard about you I knew I had to send one of my sets to you. And now, alas, I only have one extra Mega Ring left."
"But why? Why would you give one to me out of everyone?" Calem asks him.
"Why? Because we've met before, when you were just a little kid," he replies. "That was when I sensed something special inside of you, which is why you deserve to be a successor to Mega Evolution, like Korrina. Something must have happened to do so after that accident."
"Accident?" Everyone turns to Calem, especially Korrina and Serena with worry.
"You... You knew about that?" Now he feels afraid, scared that this person may know his secret.
"Of course, I was never told the purpose of why you ended up in the hospital, but I won't diverge into your past without permission. Anyway, that is why I cannot grant all of you Mega Accessories."
"Aw..." Shauna moans. She then shrugs, saying, "Oh well."
"Oh well?" Serena turns to the little girl.
"As much as I would like the cool memory, I'm not as tightly bonded to Pokemon Battles," she replies.
"I'm not good on fighting either," Tierno adds.
"I'd rather focus on the Pokedex," Trevor declares.
"Then, that leaves me..." Serena says turning to face the guru. "Calem, I don't know how strong you've become on your travels, but I don't want to fall behind. I want to be up there with you."
Korrina pouts at her claim. Calem then says, "Serena, I'm actually curious to how strong you are too."
"Yeah, trainers don't get any better than you," Tierno states.
"How about, after the gym battle then?" Calem tells her while holding up a Pokeball. "If that's okay with you Korrina."
"Okay," she says, turning her eyes to Serena. "It would give me a chance to know your friend."
"Like wise." The two dart eyes at one another, before Korrina looks away in shock.
'What's wrong with me? It shouldn't bother me that he hangs around other girls. I barely even know him...' Korrina tries to reason with herself despite what she's feeling. "A-Anyway, I'll meet you at the gym."
"I'll go prepare." Calem walks out the door, followed by Korrina. Serena narrows her eyes before going out.
Meanwhile, the three stare at the three who just left. Shauna sighs. 'I thought he was over that.'
As this happens, outside of the city actress and Pokemon trainer Diantha sits on a bench. She licks an icecream cone while fidgeting with a stone attached to her necklace. "Good luck out there, Serena."
Takeshi: And that ends chapter 5.
Lucas: In chapter 6 Calem faces the successor Korrina and her powerful Mega Lucario. Both he and Serena then try using Mega Evolution on eachother in their destined battle.
Yusei: These are the Pokemon these trainers have.
Calem's Pokemon: Frogadier/Nanami, Fletchinder/Yaoki, Pikachu, Charmander/Acno, Honedge/Garo, Eevee, Meowstic/Mythic, Amaura
Serena's Pokemon: Quilladin/Maurice, Wartortle, Combusken, Fletchling, Meowstic/Mystic, Tyrunt
Shauna's Pokemon: Braixen/Sakuya, Bulbasaur
Trevor's Pokemon: Flabebe, Pikachu
Tierno's Pokemon: Corphish