The Z Adventure
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
Kenshin: Well, the general consensus has stated that we continue with the X protagonist's story before we continue with the workings of the solar protagonist.
Yusei: What the hell did you say?
Kenshin: We're finishing Z before we move onto the Eclipse Adventure.
Kei: Oh, so then we're doing those changes?
Kenshin: What changes?
Julia: Just watch and you'll find out.
Journal Entry 8: Illuminate The Dark Heart
Lumiose City...
After his meeting with the strange big man, Calem passes through the gate into Lumiose City. While skating around he notes that the area is different from where he first ventured. Infact, this looks completely diff-"Look out!"
While scanning, Calem is again hit by a car and gets knocked over. He rubs his head while picking himself up, again no visible blood or wound on him. The driver comes out the car asking, "Are you okay?"
"Yes ma'am, I'm fine." He replies to her, before skating off. He traces where he was hurt on the head as he moves along the sidewalk, knowing it's gonna repeat if he's on the road.
Calem takes a look at the headline big screen, which talks about former Pokemon Champion Cynthia making a visit to the Kalos region. "Pokemon Champion... They make allot of cash don't they..."
He looks away towards the tower in the center of the city, before an idea comes to him. "Wait a minute... That's actually not a bad idea. If I need the money to buy that place then all I need is to become the Kalos Champion! That way, I'll have all the cash I need."
This causes him to think about his near future, and come up with a solid plan. "Mom and I will live a better life sooner than I thought. But first, I need the right to challenge them. I need the other four badges."
He skates to the Pokemon center nearby and heals his team, before making haste for the gym. "Let's go!"
A newfound zeal enters his heart as he makes his move, the cube in his backpack giving a small glow. He steps inside the gym, which has many people inside walking about and talking like it's a regular hangout joint. He sees the middle pillar is an elevator, and steps towards it when he reads a sign that says, "Gym Challengers enter."
"Good enough for me." He steps in the elevator which takes him up.
He comes up to the next floor, where in a disco like room he sees a little girl on a podium. Three people stand in front of three other elevators. The girl then says, "Ah, welcome! Have you come to battle my brother?"
A question mark forms over Calem. "The what?"
"I'm Bonnie, Clemont's little sister! He's this city's gym leader!" she says with a grand smile. She then looks to the side with a frown. "Wish he didn't cause more problems though."
"Huh?"
"Nothing! Anyway, go ahead and step onto that small square a few steps directly ahead of you, would you?" she tells him, pointing to said square. "You need to answer my questions if you want to get any farther ahead!"
Calem looks at the square in front of a table, and shrugs before stepping on it. Bonnie raises her hand and shouts, "Quiz Time!" She pats a button on her podium, and a picture of a Pokemon appears on screen. "Now, who's that Pokemon?! Step in front of the elevator that corresponds to your answer."
Three answers appear on the elevators: the first is Emolga, the second is Dendenne, and the third is Pikachu. Calem slightly sniffles before walking over to the third elevator and person.
"Your answer is Pikachu?" He nods. "Good! Now to battle to compare answers!" He takes out a Pokeball and summons Dendenne.
"I see..." Understanding the situation, Calem takes out Kouga's Pokeball. "Kouga, Bone Rush!"
"Dendenne, Charge Beam!" The round mouse fires its beam attack, but the materialized bone stands against the electric attack. Kouga then strikes Dendenne twice, causing her to faint. "What? No!"
"Return, Kouga," he says before retrieving his Pokemon.
"Well, step inside," says the trainer before moving aside for Calem's entry. The elevator closes as he retrieves Dendenne, and a blue circle appears.
The elevator goes up to the next floor, where he's placed in the exact same spot. Three different trainers guard the elevators.. Bonnie's there as well, saying, "Well, aren't you a clever one? Pikachu was right!"
"Well I have a Pikachu as a party member," he retorts, sheepish in the praise.
"Alright, Quiz Time!" Bonnie slaps the button, and another Pokemon appears on the screen. It's a bird like Pokemon. "Who's that Pokemon?!"
This time the answers are: Fletchling, Pidgey and Taillow. Seeing a resemblence, he heads to the first elevator. The girl guarding it says, "Well, looks like you think it's Fletchling. But, this is still a gym; you need to battle for your right to pass!"
The rising star sends out Raichu, and Calem chooses Garo. "Raichu, Thunderbolt!"
"Garo, Shadow Sneak!" The attack strikes Garo, but he allows it to attack Raichu's shadow first. "Now, Night Slash!"
The sword then flies in to slash Raichu with darkness, knowing it can't dodge. "Raichu!"
"Once more, Slash!"
"Electro Ball!" The final flash between the two has Garo cutting through the electric ball and then slicing into Raichu. The electric mouse falls to the ground, fainting from the blade's power.
"Nice job Garo!" With Calem's praise, the sword begins glowing before their eyes. It splits into two and gains a ribbon, before the shine stops to reveal its new form. "Whoa..."
Calem scans, which reads, "Doublade, the Sword Pokemon - When Honedge evolves, it divides into two swords, which cooperate via telepathy to coordinate attacks and slash their enemies to ribbons. The complex attack patterns of its two swords are unstoppable, even for an opponent greatly accomplished at swordplay."
"So... Garo can use two swords now." He returns his Pokemon and asks, "May I enter now?"
"Sure." He steps inside as she retrieves her Raichu, and after a while the screen also turns blue.
The elevator brings him up a higher level. With new guards, Bonnie says, "Quiz Time! Who's that Pokemon?!" This time a strange looking Pokemon appears on screen.
The answers become Pansage, Pansear and Panpour. This time, Calem feels stumped. 'Oh well. Time to guess it out.'
He heads to door three. The Ace Trainer says, "You better be ready to take responsibility for your choices." He then sends out Ampharous.
"Acno, go!" Charmeleon glares at his target.
"Thunder Punch!" The shaved sheep charges in to attack.
"Smokescreen!" Using his tail, Acno makes a blindshield to dodge before preparing a counter. "Flame Burst!"
His fireball then explodes, and though it misses the splash damage hits Ampharous and forces everyone to dodge. "Ampharous, Confuse Ray!"
"Don't look!" The fire lizard closes his eyes, before getting hit by Thunder Punch. The blinding ray continues to shine. 'Gotta think of a way to deal with him.' "Don't use your eyes! Use your ears!" Acno keeps his eyes closed before staying lose to the ground. As he does, with the smoke still about, he hears the cracking sound of electricity coming close. With Ampharous coming in, he smacks him with his tail, before opening his maw. "Flame Burst!"
The attack at point blank range blows away Ampharous and sends him rolling to the ground. "Oh no, Ampharous!"
Calem retrieves his tired Pokemon and enters the elevator. From there he awaits his answer. And to his surprise he actually got it right. 'Phew.' The elevator goes up, and brings him to the next floor.
"Quiz Time!"
This time, three images appear on screen. All three look like butterflies, except the last which resembles a moth. Bonnie then asks, "Which one is Vivillion! 1, 2 or 3?"
Now this, he's sure about. The first two look similar, but they have a distinct shape that differs. He goes to the middle elevator, and the girl stands before him. "So you're picking two?"
"Of course I am," he says, having a bit more confidence in his decision.
"Then, time to own up." She sends out a Plusle. This time, he sends out Mythic. "Psybeam!" The Pokemon fires a beam of psychic energy at Plusle.
"Electro Ball!" The ball fires and goes around the beam to attack Mythic, who seems to shirk it off. The attack hits and sends Plusle scrambling. "Not so fast! Thunder Wave!"
Mythic gets paralyzed, causing him to drop to a knee weakened. "So he can't move as quickly. Psyshock!" The Pokemon summons stones from their surroundings and sends them crashing into Plusle who gets hit hard and sent flying into the girl's arms.
"I forfeit!" she says, and Calem pauses with shock. They probably went too far.
"Oh. I'm sorry!" Calem drops his head in shame, as does Mythic.
The girl approaches him and sees his sincerity. "That's some fair honesty.
Calem finally makes it to the final floor, where the Gym Leader Clemont awaits. "Oh, thank you again for coming. Allow me to introduce myself-"
"This is Lumiose's Gym Leader, Clemont!" Bonnie interrupts.
"B-Bonnie, let me-"
"You'd better watch out! My brother's strong!"
"Bonnie, I'm trying to-"
"As strong as you'd expect a Lumiose City Gym Leader to be, got it?!"
"BONNIE!" He finally snaps out. "How many times do I have to remind you, it's not my own strength that matters!" Clemont turns over to Calem. "None of us would be here if it weren't for our Pokemon."
"I know, I know!" She sticks her tongue out while lightly bopping her head. "Anway, good luck out there."
Clemont nods to her. "Anyway, let us both do our best in battle." Mechanical arms pop out from his machine backpack, one of them holding a Pokeball.
"I choose you, Emolga!" Clemont sends out his first Pokemon, the flying squirrel Emolga.
Calem scans. "Emolga, the Sky Squirrel Pokemon - The energy made in its cheeks' electric pouches is stored inside its membranes and released while it is gliding using the cape like membrane it has."
"Then, I'll send out Pikachu!" Calem counters with Pikachu. "Thunderbolt!"
"Shockwave!" Emolga's attack manages to stop the electric strike, forcing Calem to step aside.
"Quick Attack!" The mouse then races forward at him, jumping up to face the squirrel.
"Aerial Ace!" Emolga dodges at the last second and tackles Pikachu from behind.
"Electro Ball!" Pikachu manages to hit back, knocking Emolga up in the air. "Quick Attack!"
"Double Team!" Upon splitting into copies, Pikachu accidentally misses. "Shockwave!" The follow up blasts Pikachu and sends him crashing.
"Pikachu!"
"Finish him off with Aerial Ace!" Pikachu stumbles abit while trying to face Emolga, but gets struck from behind again. Pikachu faints.
"Pikachu is unable to battle; Emolga wins!" Bonnie judges cheerfully.
Calem goes over and picks up Pikachu. "I'm sorry Pikachu. I'll make sure to get back for you." He places Pikachu on the side before taking out Kouga's Pokeball. "Let's go, Kouga!"
Kouga appears onto the battlefield, clenching his fists. "Aerial Ace!" Emolga flies in to strike the Lucario.
"Power Up Punch!" Kouga awaits Emolga's approach, before prominently punching his lights out. Emolga goes flying high up, and hits the ground fainting.
"Emolga is unable to battle; Lucario wins," says Bonnie with a sigh.
"Oh man, you're better than I expected." Clemont's mechanical hand returns Emolga into his Pokeball, before his real hand throws out another. "Let's spark 'em up, Magneton!"
"Power Up Punch!" Kouga rushes in to strike down the magnet Pokemon.
"Thunder Wave!" This attack unleashes a pulverizing wave that forces Kouga to take a knee. "Thunderbolt!"
"Keep going!" Kouga takes the hit and moves in to punch down Magneton, but it remains floating. 'This won't go well.' "Kouga, return." He returns his Pokemon, before sending out Acno. Acno snorts flames.
"Thunderbolt!" Magneton fires at him, but Acno jumps away. The fire lizard continues to avoid the electricity.
"Flame Burst!" Acno charges up a fireball.
"Thunder Wave!" Magneton prepares to stun Acno, but gets blown away by the powerful flames. Magneton unfortunately falls over, going unconscious.
"Whoa..." Calem feels shocked seeing that. "Way to go Acno."
"Magneton is unable to battle; Charmeleon wins," Bonnie says.
Acno scratches his shoulder and roars, before glowing bright blue. "Eh?" Calem sees his Pokemon evolving, the second today. Acno sprouts wings and stands taller at over 5 ft, before he raises his head to roar flames.
Calem quickly scans. "Charizard, the Flame Pokemon - Charizard flies around the skies at over 4600 ft in search of powerful opponents. Its Flamethrower can rise to such great temperatures that it can melt even boulders. However, it never turns its fiery breath on any opponent weaker than itself."
"I finally have a Charizard..." Calem smiles seeing the iconic Pokemon now on his side. He pumps his fist up out of character before recovering himself.
"Whoa. Now I have to face that?!"
"Brother..." Bonnie begins.
"I'm kidding! Let's go, Heliolisk!" Clemont's final Pokemon is the frill lizard Heliolisk.
Once again, Calem scans. "Heliolisk, the Generator Pokemon - They flare their frills and generate energy. A single Heliolisk can generate sufficient electricity to power a skyscraper."
He reads, and then asks, "Heliolisk doesn't power this place does it?"
"Wha-no! As if I'd make it do something like that!" Bonnie glares at him. "All the time."
Calem shrugs taking that, before saying, "Let's go! Flame Burst!"
"Thunderbolt!" The two attacks collide, causing a great explosion. "Quick Attack!"
The dry lizard sneaks in and tackles Charizard in the chest. "Wing Attack!" Acno slams Heliolisk with his left wing, sending the lizard rolling over slightly. "Smokescreen!"
He then creates a smokescreen to block his vision. "Flame Burst!"
Acno charges a Flame Burst, just as Clemont shouts Thunderbolt. Having already charged it, the lightning strikes Acno before he could attack. Acno's fireball hits the side missing everyone.
'Damn. Acno's now a flying type, so he'll take Electric types harder. If only Kouga wasn't paralyzed, I could Mega Evolve... Wait.' He digs into his pocket and pulls out the Charizardite Y. 'Oh yeah!' Calem switches out the Lucarionite with the Charizardite Y.
"What are you doing?" asks Clemont.
"Time to unleash Acno's full power!" He places a hand on his Mega Bracelet, before unleashing all its power upon Acno. The sphere of evolution consumes the dragon, and it breaks away to show his new form: Charizard has three horns on its head, small wings on the wrists, and seems to radiate with a powerful heat wave. "Let's show them how it's done, Mega Charizard Y!"
"Whoa! So you can use Mega Evolution?!" Clemont asks in shock.
"Wow," speaks Bonnie.
The heat causes the lizard to drops down sweating. "Oh no!" Clemont looks at his Pokemon with worry.
"What's wrong?"
"Heliolisk has Dry Skin! If it gets too hot it'll get weaker."
"Oh... Is that allowed?" He looks at Heliolisk suffering, before holding out his Pokeball to retrieve Acno.
This surprises Clemont. "Eh? You're returning him?"
"I can't have Heliolisk suffer, so I'd rather have Kouga fight." He sends out Kouga instead.
The two siblings look at one another, before Clemont retrieves his Pokemon. "Eh? What are you doing?"
"I couldn't let that gesture go unthanked. I forfeit," he tells him, walking forward to shake his hand.
"EHHHH?!" Bonnie shouts.
"Bonnie, when will you learn there's no shame in losing?" he tells her. "I'm glad to learn something new thanks to strong challengers who care about Pokemon, like this guy here."
"I'm Calem."
"And for your battling and intuition, the victor go the spoils! Take the Voltage Badge!" He holds out his badge, and Calem takes it.
Calem reflects on the yellow badge before slapping it into the case. "I hope you learn more of yourself from this experience as well."
"Are you sure it's okay to give me that?"
"Dry Skin also increases Fire damage, so there's no way I'd have won at that rate. Remember to try to enjoy everyday with Pokemon to the fullest, and good luck against Valerie."
"Actually, I wanted to talk to someone about her," he says. "What do you know about Team Flare?"
"Flare?"
"Oh, you mean those flashy weirdos?!" Bonnie asks loudly.
"Yeah, them," he responds.
Clemont cups his chin. "Well, Team Flare originated as a group called Blue Flare in the Unova region."
"Unova?"
"Apparently they were a group of activists who sought to protect Pokemon from being misused by the evil ambitions of certain groups. Until a year ago, where they suddenly changed into Flare." This perplexes Calem. What made them change? "But what does this have to do with Valerie?"
"Do you support what Flare is doing?"
"Of course not! Hording everything for themselves and making the world better only for them? That's not right; stealing Pokemon from people is wrong no matter what," is Clemont's answer. Bonnie applauds her brother.
"Then, how about you and I work together to stop them?" His offer on the table, Clemont looks at him surprisingly. "How about it?"
"You...want me to help you stop that gang?"
"I'd have asked Ramos, but he's too old and didn't seem interested," he replies.
"Hmm..."
"Do it big bro!" Bonnie says to him.
"I know some others trying to stop them," he tells Clemont. "Well?"
The two continue to look at one another. Until finally, Clemont accepts his hand and shakes. "Let's."
"Good. Let's heal our Pokemon before we move on."
"Oh, can you give me a minute? I'll meet up with you by Lysandre Cafe."
"What's that?"
"It's a red cafe near the Pokemon Center." He nods before they take off.
As Calem is the first to leave, Clemont is soon stopped by his sister. "Big bro, are you really thinking of fighting them?"
"If Team Flare kept getting away with what they were doing we'd have nothing left for us," he replies. "Honestly, Calem has a point in all this; we Gym Leaders shouldn't be doing nothing while they're making people suffer."
She narrows her eyes with a smirk. "If only you were this cool more often."
"Don't make fun of me!"
Calem steps out from the Prism Tower, but before he could go to the Pokemon Center his Holo Clip activates. He turns it on, and in front of his eyes appears Professor Sycamore. "Oh, Professor."
"Calem? Good thing I caught you. I need you to go to the Lysandre Cafe. You know where that is right?"
"It's all anyone's talking about nowadays," is his reply.
"I got something important over there." He then leaves the transmission Star Wars style before Calem heads out.
"Hmm..." An idea comes to mind, but he puts it aside to focus on what's ahead.
After hitting the Pokemon Center and healing his team, he changes certain members to update. He now has Frogadier, Charizard, Doublade, Lucario, Eevee and Pikachu as team members. "I should really evolve Yaoki sometime too."
He walks out towards the cafe while keeping an eye on his surroundings. He spots the obvious red cafe not far from the center, though as he gets near it he recognizes a Team Flare member just standing around. 'Wait a minute...'
He skates by him and enters the cafe, where he spots Lysandre and Sycamore conversing at the bar. The two notice and call him over. "Calem, there you are! I was expecting you."
"I see you have mastered Mega Evolution," says Lysandre while looking down at him. "That too is something I wish to use eventually."
Calem looks at Lysandre, before something comes to mind. His hair has the bright color Flare has. "Doesn't the owner of Lysandre corps own everything already?"
"If only," he replies with a small amount of contempt.
"Actually, Lysandre himself is of royal ancestry... He truly is a chosen one." Though he flatters him, the man feels nothing of it.
"True. I'm a descendant of the king's younger brother. That being said, a 3000 year old story may not be reliable."
"By the way Calem, did you know where the Holo Caster is made?"
Calem takes a brief pause before casually pointing at Lysandre. "That's right! Lysandre's lab made them. He manages to support trainers and Pokemon research with some of the profit from the Holo Caster."
"People can be divided into two groups: those who give, and those who take. Just like how the Legendary Pokemon of Kalos Xerneas gives life, and Yveltal takes it away." He clenches one fist tightly. "I want to be the kind of man who gives."
"Sir?" Calem mutters.
"But, in this world, there are foolish humans who exist to show their strength by taking what isn't theirs." He slams his fist into the bar counter. "They are filth!"
This surprises everyone around them, including Sycamore and Calem. "Long, long ago, the king of Kalos sought to take everything for his own, and he created a terrible weapon. Then the fire of destruction was unleashed... That is the legend that has been passed down."
He turns around to face them. "Kalos is beautiful right now! There will be no foolish actions if the number of people and Pokémon do not increase. That being said, the future isn't decided. You can't be sure each day will be like the one before. It's true what the king of Kalos did was reprehensible, but... The ultimate weapon did manage to wash the world clean of that era's filth."
'What is with him and beauty? It was like that with Diantha too...' Lysandre stands up, taking Calem by surprise as he was musing.
"Thank you for listening." Lysandre then walks off, patting Calem's shoulder as he exits.
"Well, that was strange indeed." Sycamore tells Calem. "Perhaps his pride in his lineage is what makes him burn so intensely."
"Is it?" Calem mutters. He then says out loud, "What he's saying is just one sided isn't it?"
"Of course not!" he replies. "What's truly important is the time you spend together with others. You must treasure your moments spent traveling Kalos with your friends, including your Pokemon."
Calem opens his mouth to say something, only to stop. "Thank." He then walks out the cafe. "Lysandre... Are you..."
He then suddenly holds his head in pain. 'What was that?' He then sees the location around him has changed;
He looks up to see a bleak and dark sky overhead, which has a dark red ray coming down at him. In it he sees Serena guiding the beam. "Serena?"
A noise makes him turn around, to see a blue beam combating the red. The two lights continue their conflict before a huge explosion is made, causing both of them to disappear. Serena lies on the desert floor dead, and standing over top her is the blue light ruler, him.
He comes out of his hallucination sweating. "... What fresh hell is going on?!"
His Holo Caster turns on. Trevor appears. "Trevor?"
"Hello? How's it been? I just wanted to let you know we're all going to meet on Route 14, so it'd be nice if you could come join us."
"oh, sure. I'll be there." The transmission ends, and Calem proceeds to look around for Clemont.
"Calem!" He turns his head to the left to spot Clemont rushing up to him. And his sister by his side.
"Clemont, and Bonnie." He whispers to the inventor, "Why is she here?"
"As if I'm gonna let my brother go off on some dangerous adventure! Someone's gotta look out for him," she says, having heard him.
"Bonnie, be quiet."
"But then, who's gonna do the Gym Battles for the next person?" asks Calem.
"Oh, don't worry about that." Clemont's robotic hand shoots out from the backpack to give a thumbs up. "I got a battle bot designed for Pokemon Battles just for whenever I'm not around. Besides, Bonnie doesn't do Pokemon Battles."
"Nope!" She says it rather proudly, which is rather strange.
The X protagonist shrugs. "Anyway, I'm going to meet up with my friends. They'll be up at Route 14."
"Then let's go!" The three of them make their way towards one of Lumiose's northern exits.
Out in the new area, the Laverre trail, they spot Serena and Trevor waving to them. The orange haired boy says, "You certainly arrived quickly."
"I had free time," says Calem.
Serena notices Clemont, and then asks, "Why is the Gym Leader with you?"
"It's nice of you to ask miss Serena," says Clemont. "We're looking into Team Flare. There's a chance they may have involved some of the Gym Leaders into their cause."
This revelation takes them by surprise. Serena then asks, "You think so?"
"It's a good chance," says Calem. "So, what brings you guys here?"
"We're here to compare Pokedexes," Trevor tells him. He then holds out his Pokedex, causing Calem to do the same. They share results, causing the little egghead to drop. "You beat me again..."
"I'm not too into the whole Pokedex thing," Serena states.
"Wait, you guys do this alllot?" asks Clemont.
"It's his own type of Pokemon battle," Calem tells him, to which Bonnie boos on how boring it is.
"And now for our own type of battle!" Serena says, holding up a Pokeball.
"Ah!" Calem says. He takes out a Pokeball, but Serena stares curiously. "What?"
"You seem a little more outspoken," she says, surprising him.
"Really?"
"But, more on that later." The two send out their Pokemon at once, Serena Chesnaught and Calem Charizard. "Oh, so Acno evolved?"
"Yup. Acno, Flame Burst!" The dragon charges its mouth of a fireball and fires.
"Dodge and use Needle Arm!" Chesnaught rolls to the side and then moves in for a charge, though the splash fire hits him. He slams into Acno and sends him stumbling back.
"Fire Fang!" This time Acno rears his head forward for a bite
"Spiky Shield!" The armored Pokemon slams his fists together, forming a shield of spikes. This repels the Fire Fang, and knocks Acno back in pain. "Now, Roll Out!"
The big guy then rolls up into a ball to smash into Acno. But on orders, the dragon takes flight. "Flame Burst!" Acno then fires from above, trapping Maurice in flames.
"Smack Down!" Still on fire, Maurice fires a golden ball that hits Charizard bad, and forces the dragon to land. "Smack Down is a useful move for grounding Flying Pokemon. Now, Roll Out!"
"Get to the side!" But it's too late; without his wings, Acno hasn't the speed to effectively down Roll Out, and gets sent crashing into the ground. Acno faints. "No way..."
"I won?" Serena looks surprised at this. She managed to win one on one against Calem, who defeated her earlier in a three on three contest. "We won!" She then jumps up hugging her Pokemon.
Calem goes over to Acno using a Super Potion he picked up on his wounds. "Sorry about that. I guess I'm not used to battles with you in your new form yet."
"That was a great battle!" says Shauna as she comes onto the scene.
"Shauna!" Both Calem and Serena says as they call back their Pokemon. Calem then asks, "How long were you here?"
"A while. Where's Tierny?" she asks, noticing their larger friend isn't around.
"Fighting Dojo," says Trevor.
"The what?" This is Clemont.
"I'm here!" Tierno manages to run onto the scene. "I was having so much fun with a sparring dance that I totally lost track of time! I'm just SO super close to my perfect dance team!"
"That's great!" Shauna applauds him.
The two siblings look on as Calem and his friends converse. The little sister then says, "They seem like nice people."
"Yeah. Calem is actually so introvert compared to them," Clemont says as he notes him. "He seems different when immersed in Pokemon Battles."
"Hey, while we're here let's check out the haunted house!" says Shauna.
The siblings perk up at that. "The one by Laverre City?" asks Trevor. "That's just a rumor."
"C'mon! Let's go find out together! You guys too!" Shauna says as everyone prepares to go. Serena however waves them off, leaving for Laverre City directly, saying she would like to receive the badge first.
"Come on, big bro!" says Bonnie pulling her brother along, who seemed pretty frightened by the idea.
"You guys are making a big deal of nothing," says Trevor. "There's always a reason for rumors."
The group makes their way up to the haunted house, with them meeting new Pokemon along the way. Rain begins pouring down above them. As they do, Calem spots a Pokemon he's never seen, a purple goopy looking dragon called Goomy.
"Goomy, the Soft Tissue Pokemon. Goomy is considered the weakest Dragon type, forced to live in wet areas to protect its dry body." Calem then says, "That's just mean."
"It looks kind of cute," says Bonnie looking at Goomy.
Calem picks up Goomy and pats her squishy head. "There there... How would you like to come with me?" The little blob looks at him, and chirps a noise of approval. Calem then walks ahead carrying Goomy. "You guys coming?"
"Interesting," Clemont says seeing that.
Soon the group make it to the house. Trevor sees it, and says, "Is this the part where we go inside?"
"What?!" Clemont and Tierno shout. "We didn't agree to that!"
"Serena is off spending time with her Pokemon, so I guess we'll just have to go in without her and see if the rumor is true by ourselves," says the orange haired scholar to be.
"We might as well," Calem says, being so nonchalant about it.
"Let's go!" shouts Shauna before she steps inside. The others follow in, most without choice. They step inside to find a large, mostly tattered house as expected.
Location Unknown...
Serena falls to the ground. Mud kicks up from around her from the plummet, before that familiar dark aura returns. She coughs up before regurgitating blood. "It's too hard... I'm losing control."
She reaches out pulling herself forward, reaching a tree to rest herself against. Serena makes a light scream, and the tree rots away. This gives her time to recover. "It's finally over..."
She opens her eyes to the sounds of approaching footsteps. Looking around she sees bright red colors. Her strength gives out and she eventually falls unconscious.
Back with the others, they exit the haunted house. Bonnie says, "Lame."
"Can't believe he tried to charge us for that," says Calem.
"Well, I know you wanted to go camping, and that was kind of like camping, I guess," says Trevor with vague intrigue.
"I've had enough of dark and scary places," says Tierno. "I'm going to rehearse my dances. See you guys later!" The big guy leaves through the swamp.
"I'm going too," says Trevor before he leaves.
As their friends leaves, Shauna looks over at Calem. "Everyone's working hard to achieve what they want, and yet all I want is to make memories. I feel like I'm goofing around. Calem, what exactly are you planning to do?"
Calem sighs before saying, "I want to see how far I can go as a trainer, before I make a decision. Because, right now all I want is money to help support my mom."
"Oh wow," she says, surprised and slightly saddened his family's in such a situation. Clemont and Bonnie listen too, and begin to see another side of him.
"But after seeing all this happen, I've wanted to try and see more. I mean, I'm not dying anytime soon." He whispers that last part to himself. "I'll see you some other time, Shauna."
"See you later, Calem," she says, before taking off.
Calem looks back to Clemont and Bonnie before they go on their way towards Laverre City. They continue through the murk until stepping out into the light. Calem sees his little friend Goomy is starting to dry up. "I'll place you in a Pokeball." He takes out an Ultra Ball and taps his head, capturing the little girl. The Pokeball is immediately transferred to his PC.
"Calem, why did you want Goomy?"
"I like Goomy," his only response, which is good enough for them.
"You think Goomy will become stronger?" asks Bonnie with a smile.
"I believe so," he replies, before they continue into Laverre City. "When we see Valerie, I need you to pay attention to her."
"What am I looking for?"
"You'll notice." The light of the city shines down upon them.
Kei: We come to an end.
Yusei: The next time he'll battle Valerie, Team Flare hits the Pokeball Factory, and some insight on what happened to Serena.
Calem's Pokemon: Frogadier/Nanami, Fletchinder/Yaoki, Pikachu, Charizard/Acno, Doublade/Garo, Lucario/Kouga, Eevee, Meowstic/Mythic, Amaura, Gummy/Goomy
Serena's Pokemon: Chesnaught/Maurice, Wartortle, Blaziken/Talonburn, Fletchling, Meowstic/Mystic, Tyrunt
Shauna's Pokemon: Braixen/Sakuya, Venusaur
Trevor's Pokemon: Flabebe, Pikachu
Tierno's Pokemon: Corphish