Fidelity
Chapter 5: Parfum Pandemonium
AN: Well this is a new record for me. Sure I know I can take a little time, but 4 months is actually a new record. In my defense, I had some justifications. If you all are familiar with Color of Your Soul and/or follow it, then you'll probably know by now that I placed an update over there explaining why I haven't been uploading lately; mainly because the USB drive that contains all my chapters got corrupted, so I had to do a factory reset and lost all my files. So I had to rewrite the new chapters ALL OVER AGAIN. Not to mention I'm not totally satisfied with how I portrayed everyone's personalities, or if I defined them enough here. So I am terribly sorry for taking so long in updating. But on the bright side, I had a lot to put into this chapter, so hopefully that makes up for it.
But first, some reviews:
Defender31415: Thanks! Whether I buff the Gym Leaders or not will depend on how I feel about it, and yeah if we all learned anything about Lysandre in the canon games, then clearly whatever he's plotting can't be good.
Tony Anderson: Thanks! Sorry for the long wait, but here's the next chapter!
AnimeKawaiiChibi-chan: Hey, you got it! Good for you!
flashyhero: Well glad to hear that you had a good vacation. And regarding on whether I buff Grant or not, if I do buff him, I will not hold back and make sure the team ends up as obscenely powerful as I can think of.
Anonymous Trainer: Thanks! Glad you liked it!
bt: Hey thanks man!
Knight of Wings: Yknow, you're building up to becoming one of my favorite readers, mostly cuz all of your reviews analyzes every notable aspect of the chapter. I always like reading your reviews since it's so in-depth. But that's besides the point, and I'm not gonna hold favoritism or bias for that matter. Sure turning a gyarados into its mega would theoretically make it even more deadly than usual, I'm just saying turning an arrogant bloodknight into an obscene bloodthirsty berserker is still pretty damn dangerous. Bonus points for having a type combination only shared by a legendary. And yeah you bring a point up with how I scale the Gym Leader's power. If their challenger is capable enough, then they can go all out, otherwise, they need to match their skill to the skill of their challengers, lest their bosses get pissed off. And for what Lysandre said, it's basically that one line he keeps saying in the game, but in French. Something about making a beautiful world, idk I forgot how he said it in the games. Don't worry, you'll all learn eventually why Lysandre became the insane genocidal man we all know him as. And oh yes, Shauna, Tierno and Trevor will get full teams. Mostly cuz this game gives me many, many options.
I M Poik: I'm just saying, Serena is the main protagonist. Sure Calem is probably more interesting and mysterious and probably fills the role of such kind of mysterious protagonist along the lines of how I portrayed Nate and Hilbert, but he's still the deuteragonist at best. Serena's still the main star of the show, and unlike Nate, Hilbert and so far Dawn, she's meant to be closer to a more traditional Pokemon protagonist (I mean compare her to Nate and tell me which one is the normal main hero) that I'm trying to establish; a new trainer who just got their first Pokemon and is journeying out the region to be their very best. She's the naive, timid newbie trainer who's doing her best to get better, has the potential and determination to grow further, and is just trying to find her place in the world. It's not like she'll be like that forever though, and if anything she'll get her fair share of development, if that helps.
Oh yeah and thanks for pointing out that I forgot to put Squirtle into Shauna's roster. Should've fixed it by now. Will Shauna, Tierno and Trevor get Mega Evolution? Uh...hm, well while the idea's tempting, I'm not too sure yet. Probably not, since in the games they stated they weren't good enough to be able to master it, and that made sense.
to ra: See, you get me in regards to Serena. I like you. Welcome to the club. Just remember, update times may vary from two weeks, earlier, or I'm probably busy getting mauled by personal issues, and I'm willing to not hold back when things go awry and dramatic. Or gory for that matter.
Pale1357: Glad you're all caught up! Here's a new chapter for you.
Alright, let's get on with it.
Serena stretched out her arms as she looked around Route 5. After the craziness that happened in Lumiose, the open nature was very welcoming. The air was much fresher than compared to the big cities; that much was for sure.
"Alright," Serena said, as she took out her pokéballs and released her party. "Let's get some training done before we head off to the next town!"
"-Right,-" Marisso and Rill nodded.
"As for you, Salamé," Serena said as she kneeled down to the charmander. "You're now traveling with us from now on, so let's get along and do our best, alright?"
"-Uh huh!-" Salamé nodded enthusiastically, punching the air. "-I'm ready to go!-"
As Salamé got fired up and ready to fight, Shauna, Tierno and Trevor let all their Pokémon out to enjoy the outside while taking a rest.
"Do you really think we'll find any info about Mega Evolution at the next town?" Shauna asked.
"Well we won't ever find out until we get there," Tierno shrugged as he let his Pokémon out to enjoy the air and to practice some dance routines.
"Yeah, you're right," Shauna agreed as she let her Pokémon out. "Besides, I wanna get to know Squirts some more!"
Squirts looked up as Shauna picked him up and squeezed him into her chest.
"-Gueh...still worth...even if she's flat...-" Squirts gagged.
Kinniekins rolled her eyes while Kitkat tilted her head in slight confusion.
"-Pervert...-" Kinniekins muttered.
Seeing the others release their Pokémon, Trevor decided to let his Pokémon out too. Flabébé and Pikachu landed on the grass, yawning and acknowledging their Trainer.
"Alright," Trevor told them. "While everyone else is doing their thing, let's go and check what kind of Pokémon are in this area for the dex."
"-Of course,-" Flabébé nodded.
"-Well if she's doing it, then I'm doing it too,-" Pikachu smirked, glancing at Flabébé, making her blush slightly.
"O...kay then..." Trevor muttered, somewhat weirded out by his Pokémon's interactions. "Let's go then you two."
As Trevor decided to survey the area for its residing Pokémon, Serena placed Marisso against Salamé.
"Now, are you two ready?" Serena asked them.
"-You betcha!-" Salamé exclaimed.
"-Ready,-" Marisso nodded in response.
"Alright, then begin!" Serena proclaimed, signaling the two tykes to charge at each other.
Salamé lunged at Marisso with a Scratch attack, but Marisso hardened his shell, easily defending himself while making Salamé stab himself with the pricked spikes on Marisso's shell.
"-Ow!-" Salamé winced as he pulled back.
As Salamé did that however, Marisso shot out vines from his collar and ensnared Salamé with them, before proceeding to slam Salamé into the ground.
"-Ow! Ow! Hey, cut it out!-" Salamé yelled before shooting an Ember at the vines, lighting them on fire.
"-Agh!-" Marisso yelped, letting go of Salamé and receding the vines to put out the fire.
Now seeing his opening, Salamé shot another stream of embers at Marisso, but the hedgehog managed to roll out of the way, much to Salamé's chagrin. Salamé angrily kept shooting Embers at Marisso, who kept rolling out of the way, until Marisso was able to get close and ram into the Fire-type with the Rollout. Salamé flew back, but managed to land on his feet as Marisso rolled away from him. Growling, Salamé charged at Marisso once more, while Marisso got ready. As they continued their battle, Serena kept watching them, noting how they battled.
"Hm...Marisso tends to fight more defensively, while Salamé tends to just charge straight in there..." Serena noted. "Maybe I should fix that...or train them to better suit their battle styles...? Hmm...I don't know whether that's a good thing or not...although..."
Serena watched as Marisso was able to land a Leech Seed on Salamé as he recklessly tried to scratch Marisso once more.
"I should train Salamé to not just rush in there," Serena decided.
"-At this rate, he'll lose to Marisso,-" Rill commented, sighing in disappointment. "-If he would only just calm down and not rush in there like an idiot, then maybe he can win.-"
"-I'm not done yet!-" Salamé roared as he prepared a Dragon Rage.
Marisso got ready to take the hit, but a loud cry came from the sky, interrupting both of them.
"-Huh?-" Marisso asked, looking up to the sky, only to find something crash into him like a cannonball. "-AGH!?-"
"What the–?!" Serena blurted, rushing over to Marisso.
Serena, Rill and Salamé rushed over to Marisso, who groaned in slight pain as he got back up. Not too far away from Marisso was another Pokémon, a small panda cub with a short, white puffy tail. The panda groggily got up, revealing a leaf in its mouth.
"What is it?" Serena asked as everyone else gathered around after the commotion she brought up.
"What's wrong, Seré?" Shauna asked.
"What's this pancham doing here?" Trevor asked as he scanned the panda.
"Pancham, the playful Pokémon," it read. "It does its level best to glare and pull a scary face, but it can't help grinning if anyone pats its head."
The pancham looked around, not recognizing anyone around him.
"-Where am I?-" Pancham asked.
"-That's what we wanna know,-" Rill replied. "-You did kinda fall from the sky.-"
"-Wait, I did?-" Pancham asked. "-Wait, where's Korrina?-"
"-Who?-" Marisso asked.
"PANCHAAAAAM!"
The group turned to the hills, where someone suddenly shot out from on top of the hill, before bulleting down said hill towards them, with two other Pokémon following her at an equally impressive speed. The person made a complete halt before a severe accident could occur, where the two Pokémon made a full halt as well.
"What the–!?" Serena blurted as Marisso got in front of her in a defensive posture.
Upon closer look, the person was a tall and slender girl wearing a typical skater attire, consisting of a short white and red sleeveless dress over black shorts and a white and red helmet on her head. She also had green-gray eyes with very long creamy blonde hair tied in a big, thick high fluffy ponytail that emerged from the back of the helmet. A rather peculiar stone was embedded into her left glove. The two Pokémon behind her were a bipedal, canine-like Pokémon with predominantly blue and black fur, and a smaller, bipedal bird-like Pokémon with red, cape-like wings. On the left paw of the jackal was a bracelet with an orange stone with a blue and red swirl crystallized in it.
"Thank Arceus...we found you..." the girl panted.
"A-Are you this pancham's trainer...?" Serena asked.
"Yeah..." the girl admitted sheepishly. "I just recently caught that pancham and decided to train him against Hawlucha...but things got carried away..."
The small bird-like Pokémon in question, Hawlucha, scratched the back of his head nervously, all while getting dirty glares from Pancham.
"Anyways, sorry about that..." the girl apologized. "I hope no one got hurt..."
"Ah, no everything's alright, no one got hurt," Serena assured. "At least your Pancham's safe."
"Yeah, true," the girl agreed, before kneeling down to Pancham. "Sorry 'bout that, buddy. Are you alright?"
Pancham glanced back up to his trainer, before nodding in response.
"I'm Serena, by the way," Serena decided to introduce herself, before introducing everyone else. "And these are my friends, Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor."
"The name's Korrina," the girl introduced herself. "And thanks for catching Pancham for me."
"I-Is that lucario and hawlucha yours, by the way?" Trevor asked as he and Tierno stared at them in awe.
"Huh? Yeah," Korrina said.
"Are you two okay?" Shauna asked the two boys.
"Don't you know how rare Lucario is?" Trevor asked. "Lucarios are really powerful Fighting-types! They're the few to not be weak to Fairy-types and have the ability to manipulate aura, something no other Pokémon can. Many notable trainers in history had a lucario, which just shows how powerful they are."
"Hawluchas are among the most elegant and graceful Kalos has to offer, in battle and in the field of dance!" Tierno exclaimed. "Strong and agile Fighting and Flying-type hybrids they are; hawluchas make up for their small bodies with their proficiency in fighting, allowing htem to keep up with bigger fighters, like machamps and hariyamas. They're capable of deftly controlling their position in the air with skillful uses of their wings in a similar manner to talonflames! As a dance enthusiast, Hawlucha is a must to have!"
Serena and Shauna looked weirded out by the boys' enthusiasm, before promptly scanning the two Fighting-types with their pokédex.
"Lucario, the aura Pokémon," Serena's pokédex read. "By catching the aura emanating from others, it can read their thoughts and movements."
"Hawlucha, the wrestling Pokémon," Shauna's pokédex read. "With its wings, it controls its position in the air. It likes to attack from above, a maneuver that is difficult to defend against."
"You have a lot of Fighting-types, huh," Serena noted.
"Uh huh!" Korrina replied. "I am the Shalour City Gym's Gym Leader after all."
"You're a gym leader?!" Serena gasped.
"Yep!" Korrina smirked. "Fighting-type is the gym's modus operandi!"
"Wow..." Shauna could only say in awe. "You don't look any older than any of us...how old are you?"
"Sixteen," Korrina replied.
"Yep, we're all the same age," Shauna nodded.
"So, are you all trainers?" Korrina asked.
"Uh y-yeah," Serena said. "We started our journeys a few days ago."
"That's pretty cool," Korrina smiled. "And any of you going after the gyms?"
"That'll be Seré!" Shauna replied, placing all attention to her honey-blonde friend. "She just defeated Santalune City's Gym Leader with her chespin!"
"I-It wasn't that impressive..." Serena mumbled.
"Wait, doesn't Santalune City's gym specialize in Bug-types?" Korrina asked, where Shauna nodded in confirmation. "That's awesome!"
Marisso rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Are these your Pokémon?" Korrina asked Serena as she kneeled down to Marisso, Rill and Salamé.
"Ah, yes..." Serena said.
"Hm...They all look pretty tough," Korrina commented. "You must've trained them pretty well."
"Thanks..." Serena mumbled, happy that a gym leader complimented her team.
"Wait, you said you were the Shalour City Gym Leader, correct?" Trevor asked once he calmed down. "So would you perhaps know anything about Mega Evolution?"
"Oh? You're looking into Mega Evolution?" Korrina asked.
"Ah yes," Trevor explained. "Professor Sycamore assigned us to look into Mega Evolution, Mega Stones and Key Stones, and he mentioned that the Mega Evolution Guru, the main overseer of Mega Evolution in Kalos, lives there. You wouldn't happen to know this person, would you?"
"Do I know him? He's my Grampa!" Korrina admitted.
"He is?!" Shauna gasped. "Wait, does that mean you can use Mega Evolution too?!"
"Yep!" Korrina puffed her chest up proudly and showing them her left glove, which housed the peculiar stone. "I'm a recognized Mega Evolution Trainer!"
"Amazing...!" Tierno gaped. "So you're a Gym Leader and a trainer who can use Mega Evolution?!"
"That's right!" Korrina grinned.
Serena merely gazed at Korrina in awe. She was the same age as herself, yet she's already a Gym Leader and already capable of using Mega Evolution. There was no doubt that Korrina was much stronger than her. Serena couldn't help but look up to Korrina; she was already a much more accomplished trainer than she was at the same age.
As Serena gazed at the stone in Korrina's glove, until noticing that it looked familiar.
"So...that stone is a 'Key Stone', right?" Serena asked, remembering what Professor Sycamore called it.
"That's right," Korrina confirmed as she gestured to Lucario to come up. "You need a Key Stone and a Mega Stone to Mega Evolve a certain Pokémon."
The jackal walked up to Korrina, before presenting the stone in his bracelet.
"This is the Lucarionite," Korrina explained. "With it, and the Key Stone I have, Lucario can Mega Evolve into 'Mega Lucario'."
"Huh..." Serena said. "Y'know that stone looks like the one Calem has on his bracelet."
"Huh?" Shauna asked, before staring at the Key Stone. "Hey yeah, now that you mention it."
"Wait, does that mean Calem can use Mega Evolution?" Trevor asked.
"I mean I wouldn't be too surprised," Tierno said. "I mean he already has a powerful blaziken, and he didn't seem too fazed when Professor Sycamore was talking about Mega Evolution."
"Cal...?" Korrina asked. "Wait, you guys said that you were sent by Professor Sycamore, right?"
"What? Uh, yeah," Serena replied.
"...So you know a trainer called 'Calem'?" Korrina asked.
"You know Calem...?" Serena asked.
"WATCH OUT!"
Before anyone could do anything, they all heard incoming stomping sounds. They turned to see a two-headed, bipedal avian Pokémon, charging at them in a frenzy.
"What the–?!" Tierno blurted. "Is that a doduo?!"
While everyone else was able to jump out of the way, Salamé was a bit too slow on reaction, so Serena had to jump back and get the Fire-type out of the way, getting hit by the bird in his stead.
"-S-Serena!-" Salamé gasped.
"Ugh...Are you alright, Salamé?" Serena managed to ask.
The doduo went into another frenzy, before targeting Serena.
"-W-Why you–!-" Salamé growled, enraged that the bird hurt Serena.
Before Doduo could do anything, two vines shot out, ensnaring the bird by their two necks and preventing it from approaching Serena.
"Huh? Marisso?" Serena asked, but noticed that the chespin was next to her, and therefore not responsible for the vines.
"Get out of there!"
Everyone looked to see Calem, with Bulbasaur having shot the Vine Whip to keep Doduo at bay.
"-Ng...-" Bulbasaur grunted as he kept Doduo from advancing.
"Calem...!" Serena gasped, before nodding and getting Salamé and Marisso out of the way.
"Froakie!" Calem yelled.
The frog nodded as he charged a Water Pulse in his hands, before jumping onto Bulbasaur's vines and launching the orb at Doduo, blasting its heads with the attack. Bulbasaur let go of the bird, as it fell to the ground, unconscious.
"What a pain..." Calem sighed. "Well at least all that was over. Is everyone alright?"
Everyone grouped back together as they confronted Calem, who had suddenly appeared when the doduo attack. No one seemed to notice Korrina, or how she was staring at Calem intently.
"Yes, we're alright," Trevor replied. "But...what was that...?"
"An oversight on my part," Calem admitted. "I was training Froakie and Bulbasaur against that doduo, but it got confused by one of Froakie's Water Pulses. And thus it went on a frenzy, and this happened."
"I see..." Trevor nodded, understanding what happened.
"Seré, are you alright?" Shauna asked, checking up on her and then noticing her wound. "You got hurt!"
Serena looked down to see a moderate gash on her arm, with blood leaking out of it. Calem went up to her and examined the wound, before rummaging through his bag, taking out a handkerchief, wiped the blood off, before wrapping the wound with bandage.
"Oh, uh...th-thank you..." Serena mumbled, blushing at the contact and Calem's sudden kindness.
"It was my fault you got hurt in the first place," Calem said. "It's the least I can do. Although you should let a nurse treat the wound properly. I only made sure the bleeding stopped for the time being."
"R-Right," Serena nodded, but smiled. "But still...thank you."
Calem looked a bit surprised, but nodded regardless in response slightly. While Marisso and Salamé looked at Serena with some relief, Rill kept glaring at Calem; the memory of her horde of fellow marills being attacked by him still fresh in her mind. Rill wanted to protest, but decided against it so that Serena could get some treatment. Once Calem finished treating Serena's wound, he checked up on his own Pokémon.
"You two alright?" Calem asked.
Bulbasaur timidly nodded, while Froakie grunted in response, feeling somewhat responsible for the doduo going berserk.
"It's not your fault," Calem told Froakie, foreseeing Froakie's guilt. "You couldn't have known."
Froakie nodded reluctantly, but still gritted his teeth in frustration.
"Well, since all that's settled," Calem said, as he turned to the group. "What're you all doing here, anyways? I'd figured you'd all reach Camphrier by now."
"Oh, we kinda stopped by to train and explore the route here," Serena said. "And then we ran into Korrina."
"Korrina?" Calem asked, glancing around until he spotted the girl in question, and then groaning upon recognizing her. "Oh goddamn it..."
"I knew it..." Korrina murmured, still staring at Calem as big grin began to form on her face.
"Wait wha...?" Shauna asked.
"CAL-CHAAAAAAAAN!" Korrina cried gleefully as she suddenly pounced at Calem.
And before anyone could even respond, Calem responded by grabbing her face and hurling her into the ground.
"GUEH!?" Korrina gagged.
"Can't you make a normal greeting, you idiot?" Calem asked in an exasperated tone as he let go of her.
"Oh c'mon, Cal-chan!" Korrina whined as she got back up as if nothing happened at all. "It's been SOOOOO long since we last met! Let me be happy about our reunion, Cal-chan!"
"And stop it with the stupid nickname," Calem grumbled, palming his face. "...It's embarrassing."
"But that's the nickname we decided on, Cal-chan! You can't just stop it after all these years!" Korrina argued. "And what's wrong with it, anyways?"
"Wait...you know each other?" Shauna asked.
Calem glanced at the group, before sighing as he moved to the side next to Korrina.
"Well, like you all know, this is Korrina," Calem grumbled. "...She's my childhood friend."
"She is?!" everyone else gasped, while Korrina had a rather proud grin on her face.
"Yeah..." Calem muttered. "Her battling skills are her only saving grace."
"Hey, that's not nice!" Korrina yelled, catching the hidden insult.
"So...can you use Mega Evolution too?" Serena asked, glancing at Calem's bracelet.
"...Yeah..." Calem muttered.
"Why didn't you say anything back at the lab then?" Shauna asked. "Professor Sycamore is researching Mega Evolution, right?"
"Sycamore already knows about my Mega Ring," Calem admitted. "But even with my ring in his research, there're still stuff beyond what this will provide. Which is why he wants you all to go and look into Mega Evolution."
"But how come you didn't say anything about being able to Mega Evolve back at Lumiose though?" Trevor questioned.
"You're all headed to Shalour anyways," Calem shrugged. "It'll all be explained there anyways, so I figured it wouldn't matter in the end."
"So...is Blaziken capable of Mega Evolution?" Trevor asked.
"Yeah," Calem replied. "He's the only one capable of doing so in my team at the moment though."
"So~, Cal-chan," Korrina decided to interrupt. "Did you finally catch some new Pokémon?"
"Yeah, yeah," Calem grumbled as he took out his remaining pokéballs and released Scyther and Blaziken.
"Wow, so you got a froakie, a bulbasaur, and a scyther," Korrina commented. "Nice to see you again, Blaziken."
Blaziken nodded in response, recognizing and acknowledging Korrina. He then glanced to Lucario, where the two exchanged glances.
"-It's been a while,-" Lucario said curtly.
"-Indeed,-" Blaziken nodded back.
"Nice to see you actually having other mons, Cal-chan," Korrina teased Calem, making the boy grumble.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Serena asked.
"For the longest time, he never caught any Pokémon," Korrina explained. "His only party member was just Blaziken. He would never bother to catch anything else!"
"Really?" Shauna asked, surprised by this fact. "Wait, wouldn't that mean Froakie would be the very first Pokémon he ever got that's not Blaziken?"
"Oh shut up," Calem grumbled in embarrassment, before glaring at Korrina. "And you stop divulging in shit like that."
The girl simply stuck her tongue out playfully, before revealing two more pokéballs.
"You're not the only one who caught new Pokémon however!" Korrina declared, as she released two more Pokémon, while Pancham walked up in front of her.
To her right emerged a bipedal, beetle-like Pokémon covered in a blue exoskeleton with a long, pronged horn on its forehead, while to her left emerged a humanoid, bipedal Pokémon that resembled a yoga practitioner.
"A pancham, a heracross and a medicham, huh," Calem mused as he glanced at her new roster, while the others took out their pokédexes and scanned the two newcomers. "You really do like Fighting-types, huh."
"Heracross, the single horn Pokémon. This powerful Pokémon thrusts its prized horn under its enemies' bellies, then lifts and throws them."
"Medicham, the meditate Pokémon. Through yoga training, it gained the psychic power to predict its foe's next move."
"But of course!" Korrina replied. "They're my modus operandi, you know that Cal-chan."
"But then again, this makes my life easier," Calem said as he rummaged through his bag and took out a yellow stone with a blue, orange and red swirl crystallized in it, before proceeding to toss it to Heracross, who caught it in his hand.
"Is that the Heracronite?!" Korrina gasped as Heracross and Medicham examined the stone.
"Yeah," Calem answered. "I found it at Santalune Forest along with the Pinsirite. Also managed to find the Scizorite, which Scyther had."
Everyone gathered around to see the Mega Stone in Heracross's possession and marveled at it. Serena, on the other hand, didn't want to get near Heracross, her fear of Bug-type Pokémon getting the best of her, and instead glanced at Calem.
'So he has three Mega Stones?' Serena thought. 'Blaziken's Mega Stone, this 'Scizorite', and the Venusaurite he received from Professor Sycamore. So that means when they evolve, he has three Mega Evolutions at his disposal...?'
She trembled slightly in fear at the power Calem would possess in the future. Blaziken was already an outright terror in his own right, and he already shown that Froakie was strong; who knows how much stronger he would become if he had three Mega Evolutions at his disposal, along with an evolved Froakie?
"I was going to find a suitable trainer to use the Heracronite," Calem said. "But since you have a heracross, then that makes my life easier. Consider it yours."
"Oh my god YES!" Korrina rejoiced, before smothering Calem into another hug. "Thanks, Cal-chan! You're the best!"
"Gah! Get off me, you idiot!" Calem snarled in annoyance as he tried to pry her off.
While everyone else was still too distracted by Heracross and the Mega Stone, Serena didn't know how to feel about the exchange. Korrina was gushing all over her childhood friend, nuzzling her cheek against Calem's while the boy tried to get her off of him to no avail.
Serena didn't miss how Calem was slightly blushing, even if he looked annoyed.
...Honestly Serena didn't know how to feel. Korrina was already a much capable and stronger trainer, was a Gym Leader, was capable of Mega Evolution, and already had a good relationship with Calem, if she's able to openly show affection to him in public like that.
She felt uneasy, jealous even.
"Ooh! Ooh! I SO have to test it out!" Korrina declared once she decided to let go of Calem. "C'mon, Cal-chan! Let's battle! I wanna test out Mega Heracross!"
Calem dusted himself off and raised an eyebrow at the excited Fighting-type enthusiast, before glancing back at Serena, specifically her bandage.
"First we should take Serena to an actual center, and have a professional look at the wound," Calem interjected.
"Ah, right..." Korrina mumbled sheepishly, having forgotten that Serena had gotten hurt, before turning to the girl. "Sorry. I got caught up in the tension..."
"Ah, no no, it's alright," Serena insisted.
"But we should get you to a nurse," Korrina said. "C'mon, Camphrier shouldn't be too far from here."
"C'mon, let's go Seré," Shauna said, worried for her friend.
"Right..." Serena mumbled, before the group headed to the direction of the town.
"Alright, you should be all better now," the nurse at Camphrier Town's pokécenter told Serena as she finished patching up her wound. "It's a good thing your friend managed to treat it when he did. It could've been much worse."
"Yeah, I guess..." Serena replied meekly.
"Now you be careful now," the nurse told Serena as she collected her tools.
"Thank you!" Serena thanked the nurse.
"At least that's all better now," Shauna sighed in relief.
"Still, it was a good thing Calem treated the wound when he did though," Tierno said. "The wound could've gotten worse if he hadn't."
The four looked over to where Calem was, currently charging a laptop he had on him while Korrina kept bugging him.
"But still, to think Calem knew a gym leader as a childhood friend," Trevor said. "And they're both capable of using Mega Evolution at that."
"Come to think about it, we don't know much about him, do we?" Tierno brought up.
"Well, he barely talks to us anyways," Shauna muttered. "How are we supposed to know what's up with him when he won't open up? Doesn't help that he acts like a jerk."
"I wouldn't call him a 'jerk' per say," Tierno retorted. "I mean he does help out when the situation calls for it, like when he saved us from the hydreigon, or when he treated Serena's wound. At best, he's just aloof. Just give it some time; I'm sure he'll open up."
"I still think he's just a jerk..." Shauna pouted.
"Now, now, Shauna," Trevor tried to calm Shauna down.
Serena glanced over to Calem, who kept swatting away Korrina's hand as she repeatedly kept trying to poke him in the cheek. Shauna glanced between Serena slightly longingly staring back at Calem and said jerk.
"What? Jealous?" Shauna decided to tease Serena.
"Wha–?! What're you talking about?" Serena blurted.
"Oh please it couldn't be any more obvious," Shauna said. "You have a crush on him, don't you?"
"I-It's not a c-crush, per say..." Serena mumbled. "More...admiration...? I mean he's a really strong trainer...someone I could look up to as a trainer...and he's pretty cool and surprisingly nice and...Uh..."
"Yeaaah...you're terrible at lying," Shauna dismissed it. "Well, good luck. You're gonna need it."
"Good luck? For what?" Serena asked, before Shauna pointed to Calem and Korrina.
Currently Calem was looking at the screen intently, while Korrina was still poking at his cheek, the boy having given up at some point since Korrina apparently refused to stop poking his cheek, and simply decided to ignore her for the time being. Slightly pouting, Korrina decided to close the distance and rested her head next to his on his shoulder, while wrapping her arms around him. Calem shot her a dirty glare, but grumbled something and left her be. Korrina smiled as she nuzzled against Calem's cheek, content with her current position.
"You're gonna need a loooooot of work, Seré," Shauna said. "Cuz Korrina is definitely gonna be the biggest cockblock between you, him and a white dress at the local chapel with a baby coming soon."
"Wha–?!" Serena stammered, her face as red as Salamé was orange.
"Wait, you think Korrina has a crush on Calem too?" Trevor asked.
"Oh please, look at that and tell me she doesn't have a crush on him too," Shauna dared Trevor, pointing to Korrina's public display of affection.
"She could just be the touchy-feely type," Trevor offered.
"Highly doubt it," Shauna simply replied. "So Seré, you better step up your game."
"It's not like that!" Serena squealed.
"But still," Tierno said as he glanced at the duo. "What do you think they're talking about?"
"So how was Clem-chan doing?" Korrina asked Calem.
"Clemont? He was doing well," Calem replied without even looking at her. "Apparently the city was going through a blackout so most of the streets were closed off. Had to sneak around just to get back into Prism Tower."
"Is that so," Korrina mused as she watched Calem work on his laptop. "So how many Mega Stones did you find?"
"Counting the Heracronite I gave you," Calem replied as he scrolled through the list on his laptop. "I found the Scizorite, Pinsirite which I entrusted to Viola, Manectite which I already gave to Clemont, Aerodactylite, Venusaurite which Sycamore gave to me, and Charizardite X."
"That's quite a few," Korrina said, impressed.
"I tried to find the Tyranitarite, Mawilite, the second Gardevoirite and Gyaradosite that was reported, Alakazite, Abomasite, Garchompite, Absolite, Aggronite, Medichamite and Gengarite, but I couldn't find them, but no luck," Calem decided to tell her. "Either they've already been found and retrieved, or they're in another location I haven't searched yet. All the other stones all already have confirmed owners."
"What about those Mega Stones for the other Mega Evolutions sighted in Hoenn a few years back?" Korrina asked.
"I couldn't find a thing about them," Calem shook his head. "While I'm still banking on the possibility, I highly doubt they're in Kalos. I'll have to look more into that. Although if I can get them...then imagine the power..."
"You did say you wanted one of them after all," Korrina giggled.
"It would certainly be a powerful asset after all," Calem nodded. "Perhaps they could acquire one..."
Korrina stared at Calem as he continued to type away at his list of Mega Stones and whatever data he accumulated from studying them.
"So, you feel like taking a visit to the Parfum Palace?" Korrina asked.
"Parfum Palace?" Calem asked. "That palace at the end of Route 6? Why?"
"I mean why not? It'll make for some decent sight-seeing," Korrina said. "We could go together, if you wanted..."
"Hmph, I don't have time for sight-seeing, you know that," Calem rolled his eyes.
"...Hm...You know, there's been information that states that Wikstrom from the Kalos Pokémon League is currently at the Palace right now," Korrina revealed.
Calem stopped typing, glancing at Korrina, who had a more serious look on her face.
"Wikstrom? What's he doing there?" Calem asked, genuinely interested.
"Apparently there's been a security breach in the Palace recently," Korrina informed. "While this would normally be ignored, the current owner insisted that someone from the League come to survey the premise, and make sure no new breaches happen."
"...Did the owner give any description of the intruder?" Calem asked.
"The owner could've sworn that he saw a suspicious man in a striking red suit," Korrina described, where Calem's eyes grew wider at the revelation. "...So, you wanna visit the Parfum Palace?"
"...You know what, I guess I do have time for some sight-seeing after all," Calem agreed as he put his laptop away.
Serena noticed that Calem and Korrina promptly stood up from their seats, where the boy began to collect his things.
"Huh? Is everything alright?" Serena asked.
"Oh, nothing," Calem said as he got his things. "Hope your injury gets better."
Before Serena could inquire anything else, Calem already left the door with Korrina in tow, leaving the honey blonde somewhat confused, and worried (though whether it's for his safety or a different reason entirely is debatable).
"Now do you wanna try and step up your game?" Shauna asked Serena.
"...Let's follow them," Serena declared, strangely much more determined.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Tierno asked.
But the girl ignored her large friend's question as she and Shauna already gathered their things and left. Tierno merely shook his head while Trevor patted him on the shoulder in comfort, before the two of them followed the two girls.
After venturing through Route 6, Calem and Korrina finally found the Parfum Palace at the end of the road. Once the proud castle of the man who ruled Kalos 300 years ago after a war with neighboring regions, the palace now acts as a refurbished museum for the common folks of Kalos to visit and see the history of Kalos long ago.
"Wow, this place is pretty impressive," Korrina commented.
"This used to be the King of Kalos's palace, after all," Calem shrugged. "And now it acts as a glorified museum. Of course the aesthetics has to look appealing."
As Calem and Korrina headed towards the palace, Serena and the others emerged from a few bushes not too far from them.
"I feel stupid," Shauna grumbled.
"Why're they headed to the Parfum Palace, anyways?" Trevor asked.
"Who knows," Tierno shrugged. "Maybe they came to learn about Kalos's history?"
Serena, on the other hand, had her eyes affixed to Calem and Korrina, refusing to leave them out of her sight.
"Serena?" Trevor asked. "Are you alright?"
"Now, now, Trevs," Shauna told her friend. "All's fair in love and war."
"So how do you propose we even follow them?" Tierno asked. "I highly doubt they'll just let four kids into a place like this."
"I dunno," Serena muttered offhandedly, still eyeing Calem and Korrina as they approached the gate. "Ah! C'mon!"
As Serena quickly moved ahead, with her three friends tailing from behind, a yellow wave of electricity shot out from nowhere, hitting Tierno and shocking him.
"AAAAGH?!" the boy cried out, before falling to the ground.
"What the–?!" Shauna blurted as they all stopped in their tracks. "Tierno, you alright?"
"What was...?" Tierno muttered in pain and static.
As Shauna and Trevor rushed over to help him up, a loud and vibrant sound of metal clanking against one another emerged from above. They all looked up to see a small grayish-white Pokémon that resembled a key ring, jingling the four keys on it rather fervently and glaring at them with its two eyes.
"What is that...?" Shauna asked, somewhat confused.
"A klefki!" Trevor gasped. "I see, it must have shot Tierno with a Thunder Wave!"
The klefki's jingling sound also alerted Calem and Korrina, who turned around and saw the quartet along with Klefki.
"What the hell?" Calem asked.
"What is this?"
Before anyone could make another move while Klefki descended from the ground, from behind the key ring, a tall heavily-built man with black spiked hair and pale skin, fully clad in silver and gold knight's armor emerged and walked up to them. Accompanying the man in armor was a floating golden sword with one purple pupil with the blade pointing down, holding a round shield in front of the blade with two cloth-like arms crossed behind the shield. As the man saw a paralyzed Tierno, the man looked surprised, and rushed over to help him up.
"Art thou alright?" the man asked.
"I-I can't m-m-move..." Tierno muttered in a shaky voice.
The man took out a cherry-shaped berry from a bag he was carrying and fed it to Tierno. The berry instantly healed off the paralysis, allowing the large boy to move again.
"Wow, much better," Tierno said. "Thank you sir!"
"Verily," the man smiled, before shooting a glare at the klefki. "Klefki! Thou doth not attack innocent children! They are not the intruders described by the owner!"
The keyring looked somewhat shocked, and then looked guilty, floating down to Tierno and made a few gestures as if it was apologizing.
"I must apologize for my Klefki's sudden attacks," the man apologized. "We wast assigned to guard the palace from intruders that have been sighted recently. Klefki must has't mistook thee for suspicious people and attacked on his own accord."
"It's alright," Tierno replied. "He was just doing his job."
Klefki perked up slightly, while the sword simply rolled its eye at the keyring. Staring at the two peculiar Pokémon, Serena decided to scan them with her pokédex out of curiosity.
"Klefki, the key ring Pokémon. These key collectors threaten any attackers by fiercely jingling their keys at them."
"Aegislash, the royal sword Pokémon. Generations of kings were attended by these Pokémon, which used their spectral power to manipulate and control people and Pokémon."
"Uh, excuse me, but who are you anyways?" Shauna asked. "You said you were assigned to guard the Parfum Palace..."
"Ah yes, introductions are in order," the man smiled. "Verily, I am the Elite Four's famed blade of hardened Steel, Wikstrom!"
"Wikstrom...wait, the Elite Four?!" Trevor gasped. "You're one of the members of the Elite Four?!"
"Verily," Wikstrom confirmed with a smile.
"Wow..." Tierno gaped in awe.
"Uh...what's the Elite Four?" Serena asked.
Everyone looked at Serena as if she had just grown a second head, while Wikstrom looked mildly surprised, and Calem simply sighed.
"Uh...did...did I say something wrong?" Serena asked timidly.
"The Elite Four are the four strongest trainers in their region, under the command of the region's Champion and the regional Pokémon League," Calem explained. "...They're pretty important."
"I see," Serena nodded.
"Wait, but what are you doing here?" Trevor asked. "You said you were assigned to guard the palace..."
"Ah yes, verily!" Wikstrom replied. "You see, recently there has't been sightings of villains trespassing the palace. The owner of this palace has't reached out to the Pokémon League seeking protection. Thus, I answered the call to protect this land from this unknown tyranny."
"An intruder?" Trevor asked.
"Considering the Parfum Palace, there would be a lot of stuff any burglar would set their eyes on," Calem reasoned. "Money, artifacts, paintings...you could probably make a fortune by simply stealing something from here and selling it off."
"Such petty crimes shalt not beest tolerated," Wikstrom declared. "As a knight of Kalos, I wilt findeth the evildoer and bringeth justice upon those folk!"
"Hey, maybe we can help too!" Shauna offered. "We could help you guard the place and find this guy!"
"Fie, I cannot allow innocent children such as yourselves to get involved in such a dangerous office," Wikstrom declined.
"But pleaaaaaase, Mr. Wikstrom!" Shauna pleaded. "We can help, totally!"
"You could always use some extra help," Tierno reasoned. "And even if we are new trainers, we aren't exactly helpless."
"Hmm...Perhaps..." Wikstrom was still a bit hesitant. "...Very well, I shalt allow thee all to aid me in this mission. But do exert caution. We has't no idea just how dangerous this villain is."
"Yes sir!" Shauna and Tierno responded.
"Wait, are you sure we should be doing this?" Serena asked somewhat worried.
"Yeah, shouldn't we leave this one to the professionals?" Trevor asked.
"Fear not, young children!" Wikstrom assured her. "Thou shall not be harmed as long as I art here."
The two still looked a bit unsure, but everyone else headed to the palace, leaving them with no other choice as they followed the rest.
The group headed to the gate, where a butler was blocking the gate.
"The entrance fee will be 1,000 pd per person," the butler guard informed them.
"What the hell?!" Korrina yelled. "It costs money to go inside?!"
"You see, the owner of the palace follows the school of that that you can never have too much money," the butler guard replied.
"You'd think that's why people are trying to break in," Tierno muttered.
"Yeesh! This is how the rich get richer, huh," Shauna grumbled.
"Good sir," Wikstrom stepped forward. "I art from the Pokémon League. I art the Elite Four member your master has requested to come guard and capture the villain that troubles him so. And these children art with I."
"Ah, I see," the butler said in understanding, bowing. "Right this way then, sir."
The butler went ahead and opened the golden gates for them, allowing for the group to enter the palace. Inside the palace was just as magnificent as outside the palace; with gold statuettes, chandeliers, beautifully crafted and designed decors, all decorating the interior that's covered in a bronze color. At the front was a portly man who was pacing frantically around the entrance, presumably the owner of the palace.
"Where is he?! Where could he be?!" the man frantically asked as he kept looking around. "My dear Furfrou!? Where are you!? Where have they taken you?!"
"Sir?" Wikstrom asked, getting the man's attention.
"Ah, oh! Lord Wikstrom!" the owner exclaimed, recognizing the man. "I'm surprised you came so early! I'm terribly sorry for not properly greeting you, but it would appear that my furfrou has gone missing."
"Your furfrou went missing?" Shauna asked.
"Ah, I see you brought guests with you," the owner said apologetically. "I'm sorry you caught me in a bad time..."
"A bad time...?" Serena asked.
"Ah well, you see–," the owner was about to say, until someone from behind him placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.
The man who stopped him was wearing a fashionable red suit with matching red sunglasses and red hair stylized to look like red flames. The owner stiffened when the man stopped him.
"There you are," the man in the red suit said jovially. "I was wondering where you went, Mr. Parfum. You were taking a long time, so I was starting to get worried."
"A-Ah, yes...my apologies..." Mr. Parfum stammered.
"Please, let's head back so that we can continue our discussions," the man in the red suit said, before noticing the others. "Oh hello there. Visitors, I presume. Do go ahead and view the exhibits, but I suggest you not disturb us. You know, business and all, boring stuff. Isn't that right, Mr. Parfum?"
"Ah yes..." Mr. Parfum agreed. "Sir Wikstrom, please continue to survey the outside for any suspicious intruders..."
"...Very well," Wikstrom nodded.
"Do enjoy your time here," the man in red smiled as he patted Mr. Parfum's shoulder. "Now, Mr. Parfum. Let's go back and continue our discussion."
"Y-Yes..." Mr. Parfum nodded reluctantly as he and the man in red headed back in, leaving the group.
"That was weird..." Shauna commented.
While the others agreed, Serena glanced back to Calem, only noticing now his murderous glare in the direction that the man in the red suit walked off too.
"Um...Calem...? Are you alright?" Serena asked.
Calem shot his murderous glare at Serena, frightening her, before his expression softened somewhat, calming down.
"Sorry," Calem muttered.
"Hey, let's go look for that furfrou!" Shauna proposed.
"Look for the furfrou?" Serena asked.
"Yeah!" Shauna insisted. "I mean I'd be worried too if my Pokémon suddenly went missing! If he can't look for it, then let's look for the furfrou for him!"
"I-I'm not sure about that," Serena said. "I mean we don't even know where to look..."
"It couldn't have strayed that far away," Tierno said. "And if the owner is too busy to look for it, might as well try looking for it ourselves."
"I guess..." Serena mumbled.
"Alright then, let's go!" Shauna declared, immediately rushing off and exploring the palace.
"Shauna, wait!" Tierno yelled, rushing after Shauna.
Trevor sighed and followed the two, while Serena hesitated; debating to herself whether to follow her friends or follow Calem.
"They're your friends, right?" Calem asked Serena, noticing her hesitation. "You should go help them."
"I–Right, y–you have a point..." Serena mumbled. "Alright then..."
Calem nodded as Serena chased after her friends. With the four gone, Calem glanced to the direction Mr. Parfum and the man in red went, before heading off to it, with Korrina following behind him.
Which left Wikstrom by himself. The knight figured the boy and the gym leader would be fine by themselves, seeing as how they both possessed a Mega Ring. The other four trainers, on the other hand, may need to be watched over, to make sure nothing bad happens.
Making up his mind, the knight walked off to the direction where Serena and her group went; Klefki and Aegislash following in tow.
Serena eventually rendezvoused with Trevor after several minutes trying to navigate through the large corridors of the palace. Said boy had been waiting outside at the backyard garden of the palace. The garden was just as impressive as the interior; boasting huge maze-like hedges, several fountains made from marble, and several grand and glorious statues; one depicting a giant pokéball, one depicting a golurk, and two statues that were depicting Reshiram and Zekrom, the two Legendary dragon Pokémon from Unova.
"Wait, where's Shauna and Tierno?" Serena asked, looking around and seeing that the other two aren't here.
"They went off ahead," Trevor sighed. "They said they were going to search the hedge mazes."
Trevor pointed to the four large hedge mazes that neighbored one another, where Trevor pointed to the ones on the top right and the bottom left.
"They're searching there," Trevor informed her, as he pointed to the hedge mazes to the bottom right. "I'll search over there, so could you search the one on the top left?"
"Alright," Serena nodded.
"If you do find it, let us know," Trevor said.
"Of course," Serena acknowledged as the two went off to the mazes.
Serena reached the maze on the top left, where she released her team, just in case something happened. The three Pokémon looked up to their trainer, wondering what was going on.
"We're looking for a furfrou," Serena said.
"-Right,-" Marisso nodded.
"-That's easy!-" Salamé scoffed.
"-You say that now,-" Rill rolled her eyes.
"C'mon, let's go," Serena said as she ventured into the maze.
The Pokémon followed their trainer into the maze. Compared to what she saw of the other hedges from the high point that was the entrance to the backyard, the maze she was in right now wasn't as complicated or elaborate as she assumed and was easily able to make her way through the maze. As she reached the end, she heard a faint barking noise.
"-I guess we found it,-" Marisso said.
"-See, told you this was easy,-" Salamé snorted.
Serena and her Pokémon turned around the corner to a large dead end, where there was another man in a red suit with red sunglasses, with a bipedal, humanoid Pokémon covered in gray skin with four arms, manhandling a dog-like Pokémon with thick, white fur in one arm with ease.
"Oh, what's this?" the man asked.
"-You were saying?-" Rill asked Salamé.
"It would seem my cover's be blown already," the man sighed. "What's a pretty little girl doing here, anyways? The exhibits are inside the palace."
"W-What're you doing with the furfrou?" Serena demanded nervously.
"Well, if you must know, I'm keeping the furfrou here so that its precious owner, who just so happens to be the owner of the palace will cooperate with us," the man explained. "When people have important things used against them, they do tend to be more cooperative, after all."
"-That's blackmailing!-" Rill growled.
"-Oh like we care,-" the bipedal Pokémon behind the man scoffed.
"L–Let it go!" Serena yelled, somewhat intimidated by the man.
"Sorry, can't do that," the man replied. "Now, why don't you just turn around and leave, and we can forget about this little encounter and we can go about with our business."
Serena backed away slightly, but she glanced at the furfrou, struggling to break free from the Pokémon's grasp. The furfrou shot a pleading whine and look at Serena, silently begging for help. The furfrou needed help, and no matter what, she knew she needed to do something.
"N–No!" Serena shot back. "I won't let you get away with this!"
"Kid, don't you know not to play with fire?" the man asked, shaking his head. "You really wanna play the hero, don't you? Or heroine, in this case..."
Serena shot a glare at the man in the red suit, where all her Pokémon did the same, getting ready to fight.
"Oh well," the man in red sighed. "Getting my fancy suit dirty isn't the stylish way to do things, but if you insist..."
The man snapped his fingers, where the bipedal Pokémon roared, before lunging at Serena.
Serena flew back into the hedges after the Pokémon had smashed one of its fists into the ground, her Pokémon having jumped out of the way.
"Machamp, obliterate them!" the man yelled.
The humanoid, Machamp, roared as he lunged for the smaller Pokémon.
"Ugh...!" Serena groaned as she got back up. "Rill, Aqua Jet!"
Rill jumped back and shot at Machamp as a bullet of water, nailing it in the head. As Machamp faltered, Marisso and Salamé tackled into it, but that didn't make it flinch.
"Grab those two and return to sender!" the man yelled.
Machamp grabbed Marisso and Salamé, before hurling them back to Serena, who managed to catch them.
"Are you two okay?" Serena asked.
"-Yeah...-" Marisso muttered.
"-Ow my head...-" Salamé groaned.
Machamp tried to grab Rill, but the water mouse jumped back and shot a Water Gun at the Fighting-type.
"-Pesky mouse!-" Machamp growled.
"-Says the hulking muscle head,-" Rill scoffed.
"Machamp, Dynamic Punch!" the man yelled.
Machamp roared as it charged energy into its fist, before shooting a straight lunge at Rill. Upon contact, the energy exploded, shooting Rill back.
"Rill!" Serena cried as the Water-type bounced back like a ball.
Rill got back up, but began to fidget around drunkenly, completely dazed and unresponsive.
"Rill?" her trainer asked.
"Heh, didn't you know?" the man asked, waving his finger tauntingly. "Dynamic Punch always confuses the opponent upon contact. Now, Poison Jab!"
One of Machamp's fists glowed bright purple, where the hulking Fighting-type lunged at the incapacitated Rill.
"Rill, no!" Serena cried, dropping Marisso and Salamé.
Finally being released to the ground, Marisso lunged for Rill, grabbed her, and moved out of the way, just in time to avoid the Poison Jab.
"Marisso! Nice job!" Serena exclaimed happily, before seeing an opening. "Salamé, Dragon Rage!"
Salamé growled as he shot a blue shockwave at Machamp's head, sending the bipedal back a bit.
"That didn't do much..." Serena mumbled, where Salamé looked frustrated. "Marisso, Vine Whip! Salamé, Flame Burst!"
Marisso lunged forward as he produced vines from his collar, before smacking them across Machamp's legs, causing the Fighting-type to kneel slightly in pain, leaving it wide open for Salamé to shoot a Flame Burst in its face. Before it could do anything, Marisso and Salamé rammed into it, causing it to fall on its behind.
"Hmph, you're not half bad," the man mused as Machamp got back up. "Although those little Pokémon of yours won't be enough to take down my machamp!"
Marisso and Salamé glared at the man and Machamp, while Rill was still confused. Serena shared the sentiment the two tykes were probably feeling, but the man had a point. Even if it was three against one, the machamp was clearly much stronger than Marisso, Salamé and Rill combined.
"Doesn't mean we're gonna give up!" Serena yelled back in spite of that.
"Oh really?" the man asked as Machamp lifted Furfrou. "Can you continue battling knowing you might hurt the poor doggie?"
"Wha–?!" Serena blurted.
"What, you didn't expect me to use the dog to my advantage?" the man sneered. "This isn't a battle with rules, anything's fair and square!"
Great. While she knew the machamp had furfrou in its clutches, now that it was actively using it as a shield, it would be much harder to take the machamp down without hurting the furfrou. They needed to get Furfrou out of its clutches.
"What's the matter?" the man asked as Machamp flaunted Furfrou around like a rag doll. "Suddenly can't attack?"
Serena and her Pokémon gritted their teeth, knowing full-well that the moment they try to attack, the machamp will just simply shield itself with Furfrou.
"Well if you won't do anything, then allow me! Earthquake!" the man yelled.
Machamp proceeded to punch the ground, causing a tremor in the ground to violently shake, making her Pokémon lose their balance and cause faulting plates of the ground to smash into them. The violent tremors continued to advance towards Serena.
"AAAAAH!" Serena screamed, shielding herself from the incoming attack.
"King's Shield!"
Before the Earthquake could reach her, Aegislash appeared out of nowhere and deployed a lustrous barrier from its shield, defending her from the Earthquake.
"What the–?!" the man gasped.
"Wha–Aegislash...?" Serena muttered, recognizing the sword.
"Where did this thing come from–AGAAGAGAGAA?!" the man shrieked in pain, being electrocuted from behind.
As the man fell, Machamp glanced over to see what happened. From behind, Klefki emerged with a rather devious expression on its face, before proceeding to unleash a Thunder Wave on Machamp, paralyzing the Fighting-type and forcing it to let go of Furfrou. The dog rejoiced, before rushing over to Serena. From behind Serena, Wikstrom emerged from the hedges as Klefki floated back to his side.
"Hither me, evildoer," Wikstrom proclaimed. "I shalt not allow thee to harm the fair maiden any longer!"
"Mr. Wikstrom!" Serena exclaimed.
"Thee did well, young lass," Wikstrom said. "Thou has't much courage to visage a daunting foe as this villain. Thou should beest proud of thyself."
"Tch, an Elite Four member?!" the man muttered. "This wasn't part of the plan!"
"As for thee, evil scum," Wikstrom turned his gaze to the man in red. "Prepare thyself, and gust the wrath of the blade of justice!"
"Damn it! Machamp, shake it off! Use Knock Off!" the man hastily yelled.
"Parry it and punish with Sacred Sword!" Wikstrom commanded.
As Machamp mustered enough strength to lunge for Aegislash, the sword quickly removed itself from its shield and parried the incoming attack with its shield, before the blade glowed brightly, which Aegislash used to strike down Machamp, knocking it out in one hit.
"S-So strong...!" Serena gaped at how Aegislash was able to take out Machamp in one single strike.
"Damn it!" the man growled as he managed to get back up and recall Machamp.
"Has't thee hadst enough?" Wikstrom asked.
"Tch! You think I'm done?!" the man yelled, before he took out a switch. "We figured things would go south, so we set up a bomb hidden in the palace!"
"A bomb?!" Serena screamed.
"That's right! If the owner blabs, we would blow his place up to kingdom come!" the man hissed.
"A bomb, aye?" Wikstrom asked, before pointing above him. "Pray tell, dost thou meaneth that one over there?"
They all glanced up to see a blue, rock Pokémon that had a large red nose with a bushy black mustache, floating above with three small objects circling around a large metal contraption that was floating along with them.
"What in the–?!" the man blurted.
"What is that?" Serena asked, scanning the new Pokemon.
"Probopass, the compass Pokémon," the pokédex read. "It exudes strong magnetism from all over. It controls three small units called Mini-Noses."
"I hadst Probopass scout the area for any traps thee may has't setteth up," Wikstrom explained. "He is currently holding it using its powers over electromagnetism."
"Wow..." Serena said in awe.
"Now, Probobpass! Throw it to the heavens, and destroy that foul contraption with Power Gem!" Wikstrom yelled.
The Mini-Noses lifted the bomb and repelled it high into the air, where Probopass created several jewel-like energy projectiles and shot them at the bomb; the jewels piercing through the bomb and letting it explode.
"I-Impossible..." the man gaped.
"Stand down, villain," Wikstrom said sternly, where the man slumped down in defeat.
"Th-thank you, Mr. Wikstrom..." Serena mumbled.
"Ah, no thanks are necessary," Wikstrom said jovially. "Thy has't shown impressive valor and determination! Thou shall become a fine trainer in the future."
"Seréééééééé!"
The others turned around to see Shauna, who was panting while having dragged Tierno and Trevor with her.
"Give us a warning next time, Shauna," Trevor murmured, his head somewhat dizzy.
"I'm surprised she can carry us like this," Tierno muttered.
"Shauna?" Serena asked.
"I heard some noise here, so I got Trevor and Tierno and rushed here as fast as I could!" Shauna panted. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Serena mumbled. "Mr. Wikstrom saved me at the last second."
"Ah, thy give me too much credit," Wikstrom held his hand up. "Thy has't battled the heinous villain before I showed up. Thou art a brave lass."
"I-I guess..." Serena murmured, blushing in embarrassment from the praise.
The furfrou jumped up into Serena's arm, before licking her cheek affectionately, most likely as its way of thanking her.
"Hey you found the furfrou!" Tierno exclaimed.
"Haha, you're welcome," Serena giggled.
"Now then," Wikstrom said, grabbing the man in the red suit by the neck. "Let us report this to the owner."
The group managed to reach Mr. Parfum's office, where they entered to see Calem having restrained the man in red while Korrina was guarding Mr. Parfum. There was a large, purple scorpion-like Pokémon, knocked out and fallen on the floor where Blaziken was stepping on it.
"What in blazes is this?" Wikstrom asked.
Everyone glanced to the entering group, where Mr. Parfum shot ot of his seat upon seeing his furfrou.
"Furfrou! Thank goodness!" Mr. Parfum rejoiced.
The dog jumped out of Serena's arms and rushed over into Mr. Parfum's embrace.
"Thank goodness you're alright," Mr. Parfum said. "Thank you for finding my furfrou!"
"You have this young lady to show your gratitude to," Wikstrom said, beckoning to Serena. "This fair lady put up a forefront in fighting the man keeping your furfrou in its clutches."
"Wait, what happened to the bomb?!" the man in red that Calem was restraining demanded.
"It has been swiftly dealt with," Wikstrom scoffed. "Now, you two will be reported to the authorities."
Calem acknowledged Wikstrom and hurled the man in red he was holding back over to him; the knight catching the second man in red in his free hand.
"Now then, I shall be on my way," Wikstrom said, before turning to Serena. "Fair lady. What is thy name?"
"Huh? It's Serena. Serena Yvonne," Serena answered.
"And are thou pursuing the gym badges?" Wikstrom asked.
"Yep!" Shauna answered for Serena. "She's gonna beat all the gym leaders, you just wait!"
"W-Well I'm not sure about that..." Serena mumbled.
"Well then, Miss Serena," Wikstrom said. "If thou art able to collect all eight gym badges and qualify for the Pokémon League, then perhaps we wilt has't the opportunity to square in the field of battle."
"S-Square?" Serena asked.
"He wants to fight you at the Pokémon League," Trevor whispered to Serena.
"Ah," Serena mouthed.
"I wilt beest weaiting for the day we doth battle," Wikstrom chuckled. "Until then, hone thy skills as a trainer."
And with that, Wikstrom strode off, dragging the two men in red with him. Calem glanced over to Serena's group, approaching them.
"Hm, so it looks like you all had an interesting time out there," Calem commented.
"Seré's the hero here," Shauna said. "She's the one that actually found the other guy."
"I-I didn't do that much..." Serena said quietly, blushing and glancing away.
"Hmph, yeah right," Calem snorted. "You managed to impress an Elite Four member; you must've done something."
"I-I guess..." Serena replied meekly.
"Anyways, good work," Calem complimented. "Without your help, we would've been stuck in a stalemate over here. Didn't even know they set up a bomb here. Luckily you all managed to deal with it."
"R-Really?" Serena asked, perking up.
"Yeah," Calem nodded. "Good work out there."
"Th-thank you!" Serena exclaimed, internally rejoicing.
From where she was, Korrina was staring at Serena, noting how the honey-blonde girl became much happier when Calem complimented her. She also noted Serena's blush.
"Hmmm, oh I see..." Korrina muttered, an impish smile forming on her face.
"Regardless, this is a joyous day!" Mr. Parfum announced. "I cannot thank all of you enough for your help!"
"It's no biggie," Tierno replied.
"I know! A situation like this demands fireworks!" Mr. Parfum declared. "We shall put on a show–boom, boom! We'll commemorate this joyous occasion and my gratitude to you wonderful children with a tremendous fireworks display! I shall have it prepared ASAP!"
By the time Mr. Parfum and his workers had finished setting up the fireworks show, it had already become nighttime; perfect for fireworks. The group was treated to lunch and dinner at the palace as part of Mr. Parfum's token of appreciation. Currently everyone was at the balcony, awaiting Mr. Parfum's fireworks display.
"Wow, fireworks!" Shauna gushed. "It's been ages since we've seen a fireworks show!"
"Right," Serena replied, before glancing at Calem, whom she was standing next to. "Uh, if you don't mind me asking, what did those guys want with Mr. Parfum anyways?"
"Hm? They were extorting money from him," Calem replied. "Unfortunately they already got the money they wanted and sent it to their group, but we were able to stop him before they could do anything else."
"How much money?" Tierno asked.
"Over 50 million pd," Calem said.
"Jesus–! That's a lot of money!" Shauna gasped.
"But, what do they plan to do with all that money?" Trevor asked.
"Duh, be rich." Shauna retorted.
"No, not that," Trevor said. "Calem said that they sent the money to a group, so what's that group planning to do with so much money? I highly doubt getting it for money's sake is the reason; especially if they even set up a bomb just to get the money."
"You have a point..." Shauna commented, before shrugging. "Oh well, no use thinking about it now. Let's just enjoy the fireworks."
"Shauna's right, Trevs, we can think about all this later," Tierno added. "Let's just enjoy ourselves."
"I guess..." Trevor muttered.
As Shauna, Tierno and Trevor continued to talk, Korrina shifted from her spot next to Calem towards Serena.
"Good work out there today!" Korrina congratulated, giving Serena a hearty pat on the back. "You must be tired after everything that's happened today!"
"Y-Yeah..." Serena mumbled, coughing slightly.
"But still, if you managed to impress Wikstrom of all people, then you gotta be a good trainer," Korrina said. "Now I'm really looking forward to when you reach the Shalour Gym!"
"I guess..." the honey-blonde girl mumbled.
"C'mon! Have some more confidence!" Korrina guffawed, giving Serena another pat on the back. "Who knows, sooner or later you might catch up to Cal-chan!"
"You think so?" Serena asked.
"Sure! You can do it!" Korrina encouraged the honey-blonde. "Oh, speaking of which."
Korrina turned to Calem; the boy in the middle of his own thoughts.
"Hey Cal-chan, that Parfum guy wanted to see you," Korrina said.
Calem raised an eyebrow at his childhood friend, but shrugged and went off regardless. Once Calem was out of earshot, Korrina narrowed her eyes at Serena.
"So, Serena," Korrina said. "You have a crush on Cal-chan, don't you?"
"Wh-What?!" Serena blurted, her face heating up.
"Yeah, that's confirmation alright," Korrina said. "Look, I know why you would fall in love with Cal-chan. I mean he's really strong, cool, fun to mess with and troll, really nice once you get past his edgy elitist attitude, and really good in bed."
"Y-Yeah–Wait what?!" Serena shrieked, catching onto that last part.
"I'm kidding on that last part," Korrina quickly assured Serena. "But regardless, there are many reasons to get a crush on him, am I right?"
"I-Y-Yeah..." Serena muttered.
"Uh huh," Korrina nodded. "I understand for falling for Cal-chan, since he has his many perks underneath his many faults, but just know this!"
Korrina pointed a finger at her; a determined expression written all over the gym leader's face.
"I won't lose!" Korrina declared. "As two women in love with the same man, all's fair in love and war! And from now on, you are my rival in this war of love, Serena!"
"Wh-wh-wh-wh-wha–?!" Serena blurted in complete shock.
"You sure you don't wanna step up your game now?!" Shauna called out from the sideline.
Serena didn't know how to react or what to do, but fortunately she was saved by Calem's timely intervention, having walked in right as soon as Korrina finished her declaration.
"What the hell're you yelling about Korrina?" Calem grumbled.
"Cal-chan!" Korrina blurted. "Did you hear anything I said?"
"What? No," Calem muttered, before turning to the flustered Serena. "What did you do to her?"
"Oh nothing," Korrina said, turning to her. "We were just having a friendly girl-to-girl convo, right?"
"R-Right," Serena muttered.
"If you say so," Calem muttered as he returned to his spot. "Mr. Parfum said the fireworks are about to start."
Korrina nodded, before going back to her spot next to Calem, leaving with a rather mischievous smile on her face. Serena groaned, before returning to her spot. Not long after, a light shot up into the sky, before exploding into a burst of burning lights formed to look like a pokéball, before several other lights shot up, bursting into several fireworks shaped like several different Pokémon.
"Wow..." Shauna said in awe at the grand fireworks.
Serena stared at the fireworks in awe, before sighing. A lot happened today. She met a gym leader, who just happened to be Calem's childhood friend, learned a lot more about Calem, ended up stopping a crime, impressed a member of the Elite Four, and ended up making a rival for Calem's affection.
Serena blushed at that last part. Honestly, she didn't know how she feels about Calem. At first it was admiration for his tremendous strength and independence; it was something she always desired. But quickly enough it grew from admiration into something more. And with how Korrina bluntly put it, it might as well be love.
Serena glanced at Calem, who was staring at the fireworks with an unreadable expression on his face. Even if she did have a crush on him, there was no doubt he would rather have someone who could keep up with him by his side. And she was nowhere near his level as it is. Korrina, however, was closer.
...If Korrina wanted to declare war, then so be it. She'll get stronger. Slowly, but surely, she'll reach their level and be able to stand on equal grounds with them. And from there, they'll decide who will win this war of love and admiration.
Committing that determination to herself, Serena looked back up to the festive skies.
To be continued
AN: Well at least you know what you want to do now, Serena. Too bad you gained a rival in Korrina. So yeah, a lot of things happened. Korrina makes her debut as Calem's extremely peppy childhood friend and love rival to Serena, Wikstrom from the Elite Four makes an early debut, and y'all should know who the red suits are assuming you all know X and Y. Also I'd like to mention that one of the reasons this got delayed was due to Wikstrom. Since the man speaks in a medieval dialect, and I know jackshit of how to write like that, I pretty much had to work my ass off trying to write Wikstrom's speech patterns and lines, even resorting to using one of those weird shakespearean translators (and even then I'm not sure whether half of the crap Wikstrom spewed out is right or not). If any of you are familiar with medieval English, then I'd appreciate it if you could tell me how good I did with writing up the knight's dialogue.
And here're the rosters:
Serena: Marisso (Chespin) / Rill (Marill) / Salamé (Charmander)
Calem: Blaziken / Froakie / Scyther / Bulbasaur
Shauna: Kinniekins (Fennekin) / Kitkat (Skitty) / Squirts (Squirtle)
Tierno: Corphish / Fletchling / Budew
Trevor: Flabébé / Pikachu
And that should be it. Hopefully the next chapter won't take fucking four months (probably won't but no promises). And now, since it's like 3:30 at night right now, I should go to sleep.
Anyways, hoped you enjoyed the chapter, and as always, look forward to the next chapter. See ya next time and take care.