When her eyes opened again, her vision was shrouded in white. White walls and white sheets. The Pokémon Center, she realized. The only splash of color came from the limited view outside the window, as well as the vase of sunflowers at her bedside table. Sun peaked through the sheer white curtains - it was morning already. Gauze and bandages covered her leg. It felt raw and sore; how badly was she burned? She still felt drowsy after sleeping all night; she must be on painkillers. Morgan was at her side in bed, his warmth radiating comfortably. His jumped up at her stirring, realizing that she was awake.
She mumbled a noise that was probably supposed to be Morgan's name, but her throat was still chalky. Her hand instinctively found his head and began petting. In all her groggy, drugged glory, she managed to pick up fractions of a one-sided conversation happening just outside her room.
A man. He sounded exasperated. He paced outside her door, but there was no one else. Must be on the phone.
"- wake up soon." She picked up, her eyes struggling to stay open. "- already called her mother-."
She knew that voice. She hadn't heard it in a while. Not since …
"- found what we were looking for. But - oh, Sycamore told you? Y-yes, sir. I will work harder. Sorry, Father."
A sigh. Shuffling. And then, he entered.
"You're awake!" He said with wide eyes and a slight crooked grin stretching across his face that he couldn't quite hide.
She groaned, rubbing her eyes of sleep. Morgan rose from the bed, standing on guard as the young man entered. "Calem. What are you-" A hiss of pain interrupted her train of thought in her effort to reposition herself. She gave up, returning to her original position that was just shy of slouching. "How long have you been here? Wait, how long have I been here?" Her syllables sloppily slurred together in medicated conglomeration of words.
Calem put his hands up in defense, urging her to relax. "The doctor said your Lucario brought you here just last night. Your mother is your emergency contact. You see, she got in touch with my mother and asked if I would check on you since she can't. And when I heard you were in the hospital, I was so wor-" he paused, clearing his throat. "How are you feeling?"
Terrible. For one thing, it was morning. Mornings were bad enough without the added grogginess of pain meds, burned flesh and bandage constrictions. "It's too bright." She groaned out. Finding her belt of Pokéballs on her bedside table, she found Morgan's Pokéball and returned him.
The corner of his mouth tugged upward as he walked across the room to close the curtains. "Better?" He asked.
She hummed in approval. She cringed upon trying to sit up once again, waves of pain overtaking her body.
She dismissed him before he had a chance to help her. He was clearly fighting every urge to help her up as she insisted on doing so herself.
"Did my mom send the flowers?" She asked, craning her head to the vase of sunflowers beside her.
He shifted on his feet, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, I, I mean, I thought you'd maybe- I wanted t-" he coughed, glancing around the room, but never finding her in the process. "I didn't know if you like sunflowers. But they reminded me of you, I guess, so I … yeah."
Calem brought her flowers?
With how tense their last meeting was, that was really unexpected, for one thing. Still, he went out of his way not only to check on her, but went an extra mile to make her happy.
He looked like a guilty child, freshly caught with a hand in the cookie jar. There must have been something terrifically fascinating about the floor with how much he stared at it. Really, he looked pretty cute with his head down, trying to hide his vermillion cheeks with a hand grasping the back of his neck.
The longer she thought about it, the harder it was for her to look at him. Her thumbs twiddled. Her lips curved into a gentle smile as her gaze focused on the white sheets she fumbled with. She peered at him through her bangs in a short glance, as if she were sneaking glances at the sun.
"Thank you," she finally said.
He cleared his throat, still refusing to make eye contact of any sort.
"The doctor mentioned a burn…" Calem began, a desperate attempt at changing the subject. He sat in the guest chair positioned right next to her bed. "What happened?"
Suddenly, she was sober from the fog of cute rival boys and flowers. Last night. That's right… There was Team Flare and a Houndoom and…
Morgan.
She had to protect Morgan.
"A guy from Team Flare caught Morgan and me off guard and attacked when we weren't paying attention…"
"What?" A growl burned in the back of Calem's throat. "Team Flare? Attacked you?" His hand clenched into a fist. "That's against everything it means to be a Pokémon Trainer; you never use Pokémon to attack a fellow trainer!"
"Something tells me Team Flare doesn't exactly care what it means to be a proper trainer." It was quite clear the organization isn't based on the strongest of moral codes. "Besides, he didn't really mean to attack me. I sort of… jumped in the way of an attack meant for Morgan."
A sharp glare. "You what?"
"I did it without thinking." Not that she had time to think. "You would have done the same for any of your Pokémon."
He hesitated for only a moment. "You can't take hits like Pokémon can; they've evolved to have a greater pain tolerance than humans."
"Does that mean I should have just let him get hit with a super effective move?" He was taken aback by her raise in voice. She exhaled; she didn't mean to get upset with him. "No, we're partners. Even though I didn't think about it much, I stand by what I did." There's no way if, given even a second to decide, she would let her Pokémon get hurt. That's what she decided from the very beginning.
He huffed. "You can't be so stubborn!" His brows furrowed together above round, piercing eyes. "You could have been seriously hurt!"
He wasn't angry. Not quite. It was something else, and it wasn't hard to tell. "You're worried," she voiced. She'd be worried plenty if one of her friends ended up in the hospital after a battle. While understanding where he was coming from, she didn't feel that she was wrong, nor did she think she owed anyone an apology. Except maybe for Morgan for not paying attention in the first place…
Her hand curled over his fist gently, watching him closely as she could feel his tension release beneath her touch. "I'll be careful. Okay? But I can't promise that I won't do what's necessary for my Pokémon. We're a team; we're friends." She gave a smile that she hoped was reassuring. "I'm sure as a trainer, you understand."
He did. He really did, and she knew it. He sighed, lips parted as if he wanted to speak, but he couldn't argue. His eyes trailed away from hers and to her hand that brushed back and forth in feathery caresses against his. He took a breath, which seemed to cut short as his eyes darted just slightly more proximal.
The mega bracelet.
The air condensed and was suddenly heavy between them. She withdrew her hand back to her person, still feeling his warmth. They both knew what he wanted to ask, but they sat in a cacophonous silence until he finally did.
"So, how is it? Mega evolving, I mean."
She swallowed, pursing her lips and finding a sudden fascination with the inaudible conversations among nurses outside the door. Her lungs felt heavy. She wanted to contract them so she'd have enough air to speak, but the words just couldn't seem to form quite right.
"Well I, um, I a-actually I don't - I mean, I haven't…" Her hands were already combing through her hair, pulling just hard enough to sting. Taking a deep breath, she finished. "I haven't been able to mega evolve yet."
For a moment, there were no words exchanged and she almost wished there were. Calem's leg bounced up and down, up and down as he sat. He stared, as if he expected her to continue, but that was really all there was to it. She couldn't mega evolve. Yet.
When he finally did speak, well, Serena realized that silence was, indeed, the lesser of two evils.
"You won the mega bracelet, and yet you can't even use it?"
He wasn't wrong. In fact, that's exactly what she said. So why, when he said it, did it burn so much more?
"Well, no. Korrina said I just need to get to know Morgan better so we can build a better bond, and then we'll be able to mega evolve, no problem." Since when was she so sure of this plan?
"And how long ago was that?" His face blanked; his expression was unreadable. God, how she wanted to be able to read it. "How long have you just been waiting for this 'bond' to form?" He asked, although it sounded more like a statement. A statement meant to slap her in the face.
"I'm not waiting for anything." Her eyes narrowed, feeling the pressure of her teeth grinding. "I'm training all day, every day." She didn't mean to get unnecessarily defensive, but if he was suggesting her time with the keystone has been wasted lollygagging, it was hard not to. Sure, she knew he was hurt. She knew he was disappointed, and she couldn't deny that she still felt incredibly guilty just looking at his naked wrist. But that didn't give him permission to talk down to her. It wasn't like he would have any better luck mega evolving with Morgan than she would. Even if he was a great trainer, there's no way even Calem could mega evolve without a proper bond. To suggest otherwise was ignorant. She did win against him. She was just as capable, if not more, of mega evolving as he would be. And she was doing everything she could to make use of this newfound power.
Right?
"Serena! You're ok! Right? Are you ok?"
Both heads turned to the doorway, their faces looking less than friendly.
At least until Serena saw the owner of said voice.
A grin immediately spread across Serena's face when she saw Shauna and Korrina enter the room.
"Oh Serena, mon chéri, I was so worried." Shauna spewed, not waiting to be invited in. "Are you hurt? Is it ok if I hug you?"
Serena nodded, extending her arms and welcoming Shauna to envelope her in a bear hug. For such a small girl, she gave such big, warming hugs. "It was just a battle incident. I'll be fine."
Calem shifted in his seat. He hadn't greeted either of the ladies. His eyes darted toward the door, probably finding a way to excuse himself.
Korrina seemed oblivious to any lingering tension in the room. She gave Serena a sympathetic smile. "Let me know if there's anything I can do for you, yeah?"
Serena nodded, still hugging Shauna who refused to let go.
"I should get going." Calem announced, rising from his seat. "I have a lot of training to do. You should do the same once you're feeling better," he directed to Serena. "It'd be a shame to see that keystone keep going to waste."
His back was already facing her. He was already walking towards to the door.
But no way in hell was she letting him get away with that.
"Stop," the word cut through the dense air. She felt her blood boiling with attacked pride. She couldn't have that. Not from a man. Not from him. Not from anyone. "If you think this mega bracelet is wasted on me, then prove it."
He turned to face her. "What do you mean?"
"Battle me."
All heads jerked to her.
"Serena, don't!" Shauna pleaded. Her frown deepened. "You're in the hospital, for crying out loud!"
"Yeah… give yourself time to recover. Can you even walk?" Korrina added.
Wincing in pain upon moving her leg, Serena was not deferred. "I don't need to stand to battle. Get a nurse. I'll roll out of here if I have to."
Both girls eyed each other, silently debating over the best way to stop this.
"Korrina is right; we can battle once you're feeling better." Calem agreed. He cringed upon watching her struggle to stand.
"We're doing this now." She said through labored breaths once standing. Serena had plenty of faults. She wasn't the most talented trainer. Maybe a more experienced trainer could have mastered mega evolution with an unfamiliar Pokémon faster. She avoided stress and doubted herself more than what was healthy.
But if there was one thing that fueled her, it was resentment.
And that resentment burned with a fiery rage with that final dousing of gasoline.
Calem tried to protest. He really did. Yet somehow, he found himself behind the Pokémon Center facing his wheelchair-bound rival. She could only be temporarily discharged if she left in a wheelchair, but she insisted that this battle had to happen. How did she expect him to battle her when she couldn't even stand?
Sure, he knew damn well his verbal jabs were probably uncalled for, but was he sorry? Not particularly. He was angry, too. Injured or not, the woman had challenged him to a battle, so a battle she would get.
He wasn't one to patronize or give handicaps.
"Let's make this quick. One on one. You ready?" Serena declared. Shauna and Korrina stood at the sidelines as spectators. Korrina agreed to act as referee. Calem had trouble believing this woman in a wheelchair before him was the stumbling, insecure neighbor he met just months ago. Then again, he had never been on her bad side before.
Was he on her bad side now?
There wasn't time to ponder this. He sent out his Ivysaur, Mel, as Serena chose Morgan for battle. No obvious type advantage, he figured the Lucario would have a speed advantage, so he'd have to focus on Mel's defense and stat-altering moves.
Poison powder, stun spore, razor leaf, and leech seed. Maybe not the most shattering move set, but he could definitely work with this in his favor for a slow but effective win.
Evidently, the wheelchair didn't dull Serena's battle thunder, her commands booming and rippling through the makeshift battlefield and controlling Morgan's every move.
She was a pure storm, lightning and rain fueled by pride and a need to please.
But Calem was a fire that refused to be extinguished once again.
So when both parties were exhausted almost beyond a healthy limit, the natural disasters were more determined than ever to not give into each other.
Serena had chewed most of her nails to brittle stubble. Calem's teeth dug into his bottom lip in a deep concentration. With just a few more minutes, Morgan would be out of commission as the leech seed would take its toll. He just had to stall long enough, and the battle was his.
But Mel was almost at her limit, too.
"I'm sorry, Morgan," Serena whispered, not loud enough for anyone but her to hear. She hadn't lost faith, but it didn't look particularly good for her. She knew Calem was doing his best to buy time; she had to finish the battle up fast.
"Serena," Shauna shouted from the sidelines. "Try to mega evolve! You've got nothing to lose!"
"I can't," Serena responded. "I just tried yesterday; still no luck."
"You've also had a hell of a day since then," Korrina added. "Every single moment between you and Morgan is important in establishing a connection; just try it!"
"You can do it!" Shauna cheered.
Serena looked to Calem. His frown was deeply ingrained on his face, clearly just as frustrated as she was. His heavy eyes returned her stare expectantly.
It was one thing to deal with the humiliation of Calem knowing that she was incapable of mega evolving, but for him to witness the failure with his own eyes? That was too much. She would never allow herself to live that down.
"It doesn't hurt to try!" Shauna continued.
Oh, but it did. The shame of failure was the worst kind of pain. Or, at least her brain told her it was.
Was that all it was? A fear instilled in her by her own anxious thoughts? The worst that could happen is nothing. Nothing could happen, in which case, she'd be in the same predicament she currently was.
To go down without at least trying to salvage the respectability of her Pokémon? From the outside looking in, that was more shameful than trying and failing.
So what if the evolution failed in front of Calem? She was going to lose if she couldn't pull this off.
Well, that just wasn't an option. She owed it to Morgan to try.
He wanted to know what mega evolution was like; who was she to deny him the chance to see in the flesh?
She cleared her throat, clenching her hand over the mega bracelet.
"Morgan," Serena uttered. "Mega evolve!"
It was a plea, not a command. She pleaded, as hours and days and weeks they spent training flashed before her eyes. From the moment they met to clutching tufts of blue fur as he carried her to the Pokémon Center the night before, it all zoomed past her in bright flashes of red and white.
All she saw was red and her heart felt as though it were being literally pulled out of her chest and connecting to that of Morgan.
Except that red light didn't stop in her mind. It passed through her and materialized in front of her, engulfing her partner in a shroud of ethereal radiance.
She did it. This was really happening, and she did it.
All eyes watched in a widened, rounded stupor as Morgan stood en garde, complete with newly formed red extremities and white fur.
Korrina gave Serena a knowing nod. She heard Shauna cheering in the background and saw Calem staring, slack-jawed and paralyzed.
She really did it!
Serena's fierce battle face was ruined, for she won that battle with a huge smile.
By the time Korrina was announcing the victor, Serena already had her arms wrapped around Morgan, burying her smiling face in his fluffy white chest.
"We did it, Morgan. Thank you, thank you!" Her grip tightened as Morgan reverted back to his normal state. He purred into her embrace, feeling just as relieved as his trainer.
"Neighbor," Calem announced as he approached the duo. "Congrats on another win, and on mega evolving." He scratched his neck and averted his gaze to the ground. "I take back what I said - about the mega ring going to waste. Clearly, it's in worthy hands." He forced a smile before turning his back to her. "Feel better soon." And with that, he was leaving.
Serena didn't know what to say, or if any words could possibly be appropriate for such an exchange. She felt tense and uncomfortable, and not just because of the burns preventing her from walking.
Serena had a few days before she was able to be discharged from the hospital for good. Shauna visited her for at least an hour every day, bless her heart. Shauna had become such a treasure to Serena; she couldn't understand how a single person could be so supportive and positive to others, but she certainly was grateful for the girl. She also had her Pokémon to keep her company. While she was grateful for the chance to recharge, she was glad to have the chance to get out on her own once again.
Aside from regaining her freedom, she had a badge to win.
The mega bracelet felt lighter than ever on her wrist; it was truly refreshing. Being one of the few to mega evolve in the Kalos region, she felt she could take on the world.
Then again, Korrina was no stranger to the process of mega evolution herself. She had several years of experience, both in battle and in mega evolution on Serena. But Korrina was her friend. The leader had been nothing but helpful and supportive since they met, and Serena felt comfortable losing to her, if it came down to that.
So when she found herself standing inside Korrina's gym, facing off mega Lucario to mega Lucario, she hardly felt like she was challenging a gym at all.
A battle between two of the same Pokémon who were mutually weak to each other; stealth and avid evasion were key. Serena feared Korrina would have the upper hand, having known Morgan for years. Then again, having worked with Morgan, Serena knew how to anticipate the opponent Lucario's moves. Serena studied Korrina's commands; she studied her expressions. She studied how Korrina followed her Lucario's every movement closely with her eyes, and how the blonde stood with such confidence as if she's never lost a battle in her life. Korrina's gloved hands curled into tight fists, ready to pump in the air in celebration when her Lucario landed a blow. She showered her partner in praise often; it was clear her Lucario had been a dear friend to her for many years.
With each party giving it her all, the battle was close. One final aura sphere left one of the Lucario standing. The referee stared hyper-focused as the other Lucario collapsed for the final time that match. Dust rose from the field from the impact of Lucario's limp body with the ground. A few moments of silence, waiting, verifying that Lucario was down for good.
This battle was for research. There was no pressure, and dare she admit it, Serena would be okay with losing, just this once.
And yet, she didn't.
"Leader Korrina's Lucario is unable to battle; Challenger Serena and Morgan are the winners."
Jumping and praising Arceus, Serena found herself in her Mega Morgan's fluffy embrace. After praising her own Lucario one more time before withdrawing him to his Pokéball, Korrina couldn't bring herself to be disappointed in the least.
"Serena, you were amazing, even more so than last time we battled!" Korrina declared, practically skipping towards the victor.
Serena halted her victory dance for just a moment, eyes bright and smile unable to be hidden. "Thank you, thank you so much."
"I do believe this is yours," Korrina retrieved the Rumble Badge from her wallet, readily offering it to her mentee.
Serena took the badge without a second to waste, holding onto Korrina's hands for just an extra second to give her a grateful handshake. "Thank you again, for everything. If it weren't for you and Shauna encouraging me to mega evolve that day with Calem, I wouldn't have tried and I would have lost." Serena smiled, remembering back to the doubts and uncertainties of the moment, yet wanting nothing more than to be worthy of her Pokémon. That, and she would have had to eat whatever snappy comment Calem had to say otherwise. "So thank you for that, and for believing in me from the beginning."
"Sometimes a little support is all we need. You got the talent and the support of everyone around you. But all that isn't good for anything if you can't believe in yourself." Korrina nodded, placing her now-free hands on her hips. "Blah blah, cliché, I know," she chuckled at her own words. "But I'm excited to see where your journey takes you."
Inhaling, Serena's lips parted, but she couldn't seem to find words to say. She was elated with her latest victory. Yet Korrina offered the same advice that Shauna had in the past; just believe in herself. If everyone is saying it, it must be at least somewhat true. But why did everyone seem to think that was so easy?
However, with a perfectly functional mega ring on her wrist and a new badge to add to her collection, that notion seemed just slightly more plausible…
Before Serena had a chance to try and thank Korrina yet again, her Holocaster began to ring.
.Excusing herself from the exchange with the Leader, Serena answered to see a face she hadn't seen in a while.
None other than Professor Sycamore appeared before her, a serious expression glossing over his face.
"Serena, we seem to have some trouble." The Sycamore hologram announced, shamelessly skipping any pleasantries. "I'm sending the same message to your whole group- I need you all to come to Courmarine City at your earliest convenience. Your assistance is needed. So, yeah. Thank you!"
The message indicated two things. Firstly, Professor Sycamore was terribly awkward ending visual voicemails. Secondly, whatever the issue was, it was clearly urgent.
Turning to Korrina after putting away her Holocaster, Serena cringed, knowing Korrina overheard. "I'm sorry; I guess I should get going." She felt the young leader deserved more than a quick goodbye and handshake for all her help, but little could be done about that at the moment. Professor duties call. "Is there anything I can do to repay you for everything?"
"Oh please," Korrina swished her hand, seeming unfazed at the abrupt departure. "Seeing you kick my ass in battle is all the payoff I need. So go, go! Tell Augustine I said hi on your way to becoming champion!"
How Korrina managed to get on a first-name basis with Professor Sycamore, Serena didn't have time to inquire about, nor could she imagine exchanging such informalities with an adult. Well, a "real" adult, anyway. With bidding a final adieu, Serena was on her way to Courmarine, leaving no time for sightseeing along the way.
Author's Note: Happy Pokemon Go release! I hope you're all having fun and safe adventures catching Pokemon in our now enchanted world :D Thank you for being patient with the update. Gym battles are boring to write; fluff is fun to write. Hence, this chapter is born. What I hope you get from this chapter is: Calem is a secret dork lol wut a loser. Best wishes - until the next update!