Calem's Alola Adventure

Chapter 13

By: Gandire

Guzma stands with his arms crossed in front of what once was an extravagant chair. Its former majesty can be seen underneath the dirt, alcohol stains, and ripped cushions, but its current state is much more fitting to his position. He made himself a throne room. In fact, the entire section of the room Guzma is on is elevated above the half before the door. The irritation Calem felt while plowing through the Team Skull thugs is replaced with an intense sensation of self-loathing. Guzma sneers as he looks down at Calem. "The hated boss who beats you down and beats you down and never lets up-"

"Shut up, I don't care. Return Gumshoos!" Calem glances at the grunt standing guard before the stolen pokemon.

Guzma laughs, "I see, I'm not even good enough to be an after though! I don't get you kid, but at least this is a change of pace. It's not every day someone comes straight to me for a beating!"

Mawile slams her second mouth against the floor. The floor board cracks from the force. "Mawile!"

"Fine, let's see if I can't smack some sense into you, Golisopod!"

Mawile taunts Golisopod into attacking and sneaks in a sucker punch. Golisopod blocks Mawile's attack and counters with "X-scissor!" She takes the hit with iron defense and retaliates with thunder fang.

Guzma says, "You're one messed up kid! Can't you just watch out for your own pokemon and stay out of other's people business?"

Calem ignores the taunts and says, "Iron head!" Golisopod catches Mawile's second mouth and pulls. Mawile leaps and uses the leverage to hoist herself towards Golisopod with "Mega kick!"

Golisopod pivots his body to let the slide past by his side and then lifts his arms. Small spikes launch from his arm guards with, "Pin missile!" Guzma says, "This is no different than at the garden! Who cares about any of this? Kukui's dream is just that, a pipe fairytale! We don't need a League, the Kahuna, or even the Tapu!

Calem scoffs as he picks up on the hidden meaning within Guzma's words. "So, that's it? You were rejected? You became an island champion, but never got a Z-ring?"

"Shut up! That's just a crutch for chumps who can't stand on their own! You think you're better than me? You've been ticking me off since we first met! I'll beat down and put you your place with my own power!"

Calem feels a sense of familiarity within the phrase, "own power." He bites his lips and says, "So, that's what it is… You're the me who kept losing against Serena. You're a broken reflection."

"Golisopod! Let's stop playing around and end this already!"

Mawile waves her arm with a "Maw!" She's reassuring him that she'll be fine. That he should continue without worrying himself about the battle.

Calem takes a breath and says, "You disgust me. You disgust me the same way Mizzy did! You're both disgusting!"

"Shut up! But if Mizzy is anything like me, then he's a perfect. I'll beat him down next and then make him a member of my Team Skull!"

"Mizzy isn't a scum bag like you! He'd never join you!"

"Then how about you tell me what he's like? I'll judge if he's Team Skull material myself!"

"A boy who became a trainer. A trainer who could never beat his best friend…" Calem's voice turns soft as he continues, "They were inseparable. They knew each other longer than each could remember. Rivals."

"Hey, hey, hey! This is about Mizzy! I ain't got time for stories about some side chick!"

"There's no Mizzy without Serena! If you want his story, she comes along too!"

Guzma glares at Calem. He doesn't say anything, but his expression speaks for him. He doesn't care about this story anymore.

Calem, having already started, refuses to stop. "Serena's background gave her a head start. Her parents, both ace trainers, taught her about pokemon battling since she was little. Mizzy only knew about riding. Obviously, he lost their first match. Then, he lost during their rematch when they met Professor Sycamore. He lost again, and again, and again. It didn't matter how far he ventured, how many gym badges he collect, or even if he got a pokedex, he couldn't beat her."

"Shut it! I don't want ta hear it anymore!"

Calem continues speaking, more to himself than to Guzma. "Mizzy's hardest loss was in his failure to acquire a key-stone. Professor Sycamore tasked Mizzy and Serena with the mission of uncovering the secrets of mega-evolution, a task which required a key-stone. The mega-evolution guru and his successor only had one left between them."

Guzma snorts, "A battle to the finish, huh? Winner get's the prize, right? Let me guess, Mizzy lost! You trying to say you didn't give up? That you kept going? Get on with it!"

"My name is Calem! Mizzy died! And you're wrong! Mizzy smiled for Serena, he congratulated her, pretended to be happy for her, but once he was alone, whenever he was alone, he just wanted to quit! He wanted to stomp on his pokedex and go home, to go back to riding! But he was also stubborn. A lesson from riding. If the horse buckles you, grab the reins and get back on! So he kept going, kept exploring, kept challenging new people, and kept fighting to develop his own power! The power of him and his pokemon! Besides, he couldn't just abandon Serena, not after she said she wanted to fight Team Flare. Well, his journey eventually took him to victory road where he battled the strongest trainer in Kalos, Diantha. That was a battle he would never forget because Diantha- Diantha had the power of mega-evolution too."

"Oh, Mizzy lost again! Right? He should'ave quit while he was ahead!"

"Mizzy gave it his all to polish himself as trainer! He had to! Unlike Serena, he started knowing nothing of pokemon training! He hated how he only knew about racing! But, because of that, nothing escaped his eyes! No matter how slight, no matter how miniscule the detail, he saw everything! He just didn't know how to use it! But he learned, slowly, over time, each battle! And then his Greninga defeated Diantha's Mega-Gardevoir! She was so impressed, she gifted him with the power of mega-evolution. She said, "I look forward to seeing you challenge the Pokemon League." But not yet! To Mizzy there was still one more challenge!"

Guzma clicks his tongue, but doesn't say anything.

"Mizzy and Serena fought on victory road. They were just before the Pokemon League. Serena wanted to test how far they progressed, if she was ready to face the League. He just wanted to see if he could beat her. The battle was intense, but there was something Mizzy never noticed. The reason Serena respected Mizzy as a trainer, in every battle they had, he pushed her harder than the previous one. Their rematch ended, it was close, they came down to one pokemon, but Mizzy finally won. Serena rejoiced at seeing how strong her friend has become."

"Great, you done already?"

Calem takes a breath. "Serena congratulated Mizzy. She always knew she'd lose to him one day. But for Mizzy, that battle was too close. Sure, he and his pokemon faced mega-evolution, but that wasn't enough. He wanted a rematch. The two of them agreed to train together and fight again on the seventh day. It was the happiest week of their lives…

When they first fought, Mizzy didn't feel ready to use mega-evolution. The results this time left no room for debate. Mizzy surpassed Serena. She was shocked at his growth. She was happy, but also a bit sad. Her childhood friend and now rival had left her behind. Regardless, she wiped her tears and congratulated him. She wished him luck on conquering the Pokemon League." Calem shrugs, "Oddly enough, Mizzy wasn't interested. He just wanted to get back to racing… That night is forever remembered now as the Last Night of Kalos. Mizzy survived, but died in the ensuing nightmare."

"So what? You continued to struggle while I just gave up? Is that it? I've heard that tale plenty of times!"

"Like I said, Mizzy died! My name is Calem!" He hooks his thumb underneath his shirt for his mega-necklace. He catches the key-stone within two fingers and says, "Seeing you- I'm nothing like you! I could never become you! You gave up! You only thought of yourself!"

"Maw!" A while light surrounds Mawile. It fades revealing her to have grown taller, developed a third mouth, and the fur on her legs changed to violet.

Calem continues his rant, "You gave up and started a worthless group of thugs who do nothing more than lick each other's wounds. Well, that ends today! Mega-Mawile, play rough!"

Mawile pounces on Golisopod. Her two spare mouths fly around the water pokemon, striking him from multiple sides until Guzma calls him back.

Guzma then grabs his head and says while shaking it, "Guzma! What is wrong with you?" He turns to the thug standing guard in front of Gumshoos, "Yo! Give the pokemon back to the kid. Now!" He clicks his tongue as Gumshoos scurries out of the room. Scared, the thug also runs out of the room. To Calem, "I'm gonna beat you down one of these days! No matter whose help I need to do it…" He then storms out of the room.

Calem takes one of the buginium Z piled in a suitcase by a corner of the room. "Maw?" his pokemon asks. He rubs her head and says, "Yeah… yeah… you were great. Everyone was." He gives a self-depreciating chuckle and says, "It's funny, with everything that happened, I forgot I used to feel that way. I forgot I even could feel that way." He looks at Guzma's throne, "Just one last thing."

Mawile nods and uses her two mouths to rip the chair in half, tossing the pieces aside as she turns around. She reverts back to normal and the two leave the mansion. The police officer from before is there to greet him. His speaks with a mostly bored and somewhat amused tone, "A number sure has been done here. Have I got you to thank for this?"

Gumshoos growls from beside his leg. The officer says, "Thing must've been scared half to death if it's glad to see a wretch like me." He stares Calem down.

Calem says, "You're the Island Kakuna…"

"What a hassle. A trial-goer, huh? Figures. Look, I'm not gonna fight someone who is taking on Team Skull."

Calem looks around. He is curt, "Taking on? I annihilated them."

The officer sighs, "Look, go… just go."

Acerola runs up the road saying, "Uncle Nanu!"

Nanu says, "And here come the noise again…"

Gumshoos growls at Acerola. She looks down and says, "Aue! I'm so sorry… You must've been so scared, huh?" She then looks around in amazement, "Uncle… What happened here? Did you do all this?"

Nanu shakes his head and looks to Calem. Acerola gasps, "You're this strong? Wow, Serena was right, we really didn't have to worry! Thank's Calem!" She then turns to Nanu, "Uncle, you're a great police officer. I really hope that you're keeping a good eye on things here!"

Nanu shakes his head, "You're over estimating me."

Acerola smiles. "Don't say that. What else do you stay here for, if you're not putting a stop to Team Skull's shenanigans?"

Calem says, "He got them to open the door for me."

Acerola says, "Really?"

Nanu says, "It was that, or watch him break it down."

Acerola smiles and says to Calem, "Well, come on. Let's get back to Aether House." As she and Calem walk off, she stops to wave back to Nanu, "I'll come back to see you again soon, Uncle!"

Nanu mumbles something to himself. Calem can't hear it, but from the way his lips move, he more or less makes out, "No one's asking you to…"

Calem says to Acerola, "He seems like a decent guy."

"He's great. He might say otherwise, but he stays there to look after the pokemon Team Skull hurt all on his own. He could rely on the Aether Foundation for help, but no. He chooses to live there just to keep an eye on things. Then again, you're pretty good too. You came all this way for Gumshoos. I can't wait to tell Lana."

Night falls by the time they return to the Aether House. They ran into Serena and Mahina midway back. Apparently, Serena, after finding Mahina and explaining the situation to her, asked her for help. Yet, neither were surprised to discover that everything was already over.

Acerola opens the door saying, "We're home. We brought Gumsho-"

She stops short upon seeing Hau and the children panicking.

Calem looks around and turns to Hau, "Where's Lillie?"

Hau says, "I'm sorry! I… I can't even make myself smile right now… This is all my fault…"

Acerola places her hand on her hips, "Why? What happened?"

"Miss Lillie… She's gone. Right after Acerola left, that Plumeria lady came back and took her."

Acerola shakes her head, "What!"

Calem and Serena exchange glances. They were played. Everything they did was calculated by Team Skull. Even defeating Guzma might have been part of their plan.

Hau says, "I'm supposed to be a trainer, but when it came down to it, Lillie had to protect me… Lillie, who's not even a trainer to begin with! Darn it!"

Gladion bursts into the room. "Did I hear that right? They took Lillie? Was Cosmog with her when she left?"

Hau says, "Geh! You know who Lillie is?"

Gladion clicks his tongue. "You all are so useless and weak. Now Cosmog is… Arghhh! I'll show you how angry you make me!"

Serena slaps Gladion before he can grab a pokeball. She says, "Now is not the time! What we need to do is figure out where they took Lillie. If they took her off the island, then we also are going to need transportation."

Gladion breathes out, "You're right… A battle would be meaningless." He looks to Calem and Hau, "But I told you both to protect them. I told you that Cosmog would bring disaster to all of Alola!"

Serena says, "That no longer matters. What we need to do is get her and Nebby back. Do you know where she is?"

"Aether Paradise. I have a boat in the ferry terminal." He again looks to Calem and Hau, "You two are coming whether you like it or not."

Acerola says, "Excuse me? We're all coming with you. Lillie is our friend. We're not abandoning her."

Mahina says, "I contacted Lana. She says to get there as soon as we can. She'll buy supplies and meet us at the docks."

Gladion looks at the five trainers. "Then, if you're ready, let's get going."

Six ride Charizard transport them to the terminal. Despite their hurry, a full hour is lost. They lose half an hour waiting for the ride pokemon to arrive and another to reach their destination. Lana calls out to them in panic as they land. "All the ships have been sunk! I've been calling around, but the soonest anyone can get here won't be until dawn."

Gladion says, "No!"

Calem says, "Can't we just fly there with Charizard or ride a top of Lapras?"

Acerola says, "It's too far. Ride pokemon don't have the strength to handle such a journey."

Calem clicks his tongue and reaches for his black pokeball. Serena stops him by grabbing his arm. A shake of her head is enough for him to convince him of the stupidity of his plan.

Acerola then says, "What about Nanu? He has a boat!"

Lana shakes her head, "That's the person I was talking about. He's working as fast as he can to prepare it for us."

Hau says, "What are we supposed to do in the meantime?"

Calem turns for the town. "I'm going to get something to eat." Serena nods and walks up to join him.

Hau says, "Food! How can you think about eating at a time like this? Don't you two care about Lillie and Nebby?"

Calem says, "I don't know about you, but my pokemon and I have been running around all day on only breakfast. The best thing we can do right now is get some food and rest. If you're not hungry, then lay down and go to sleep."

Hau says, "Sleep… You're crazy, how do you expect any of us to fall asleep?"

"Ponyta knows hypnosis."

Gladion clicks his teeth. "Calem's right." He turns to Lana, "This is the place we'll be meeting that guy with the ship, right?" At Lana's nod, he says, "Then, everyone, do what you have to and come back here."

Hau says, "You want to sleep out here?"

Serena says, "He is right. Camping out here is the best way to save time and maximize the amount of sleep we can get."

Calem and Serena awaken with Nanu stepping onto the dock. What awoke them was his presence, a survival skill they picked up in Kalos. The two are close enough that their elbows and shoulders bump against each other upon sitting up. Nanu stares at them and says, "Was I too loud?"

Calem ignores him and stares towards his left. He and Serena grew up together. When they were younger, they would sometimes sleep while holding hands. Sleeping next to each other with only a hands widths distance between them is natural. He has no such history with Lana. Why is she facing him in her sleep at a distance of little more than an arm lengths away?

Nanu says, "Let them sleep a bit longer. We need to talk a bit first… You know, I really wish Team Skull would have kept their troublemaking to Po Town. Instead, they've gone and made this fuss. Boy, you know who I am, right?"

"The Island Kakuna."

Lana murmurs "Kahuna…" in her sleep. Calem glances towards her, but she isn't close to stirring. She heard me? How?

"Right, so battle against me. The experience might be helpful."

Calem gets up and looks around. Acerola sleeps next to Lana. The distance is barely less than he and Serena. Makes sense. Maybe it's because they're both trail captains, but the two of them are pretty close to one another. Mahina sleeps just as close to Serena.

Serena gives a bashful smile, "She really is a lot like Tierno. She just drew me in yesterday and we bonded."

Gladion sleeps away from everyone. A loner? Hau also sleeps away from everyone. He tried sleeping next to the girls, but each one shooed him away. Acerola got sick of it after the fifth time and had her drifblim use hypnosis on him. They then decided to leave him where he fell, although some did joke about pushing him into the water.

Calem separates himself from everyone and, "Noibat." The battle against Nanu's Persian is tricky. The dark pokemon dodges Noibat's "wing attack" and pounces. Noibat, having succeeded in luring in his opponent, spins around to unleash "dragon pulse." Persian drops down with quick reflexes and rolls away.

Persian gets up and attacks with bite. Calem says, "Supersonic!" Persian takes the attack, but remains unbothered thanks to his high sense of balance. The dark pokemon pins Noibat to the ground. "Heat wave!"

Noibat's attack weakens Persian's attack. The dark pokemon's teeth don't sink into Noibat's side with as much strength as they should. Persian tries to increase the pressure of his jaw, but is unable to withstand the heat and faints.

Nanu grins and says, "Well shoot… Of course I already knew you had the heart and the strength to storm Team Skull's stronghold, but I didn't know you were this good. Couldn't even find the time to use my Z-power. Then again, thinking back about the number you did on that place, I shouldn't be surprised. Here, the darkium-Z is yours." He shows the routine on how to use the Z-power and holds the final pose.

Serena comments aloud to herself, "So… that is how Z-power is activated…"

Gladion, having awoken during the battle, stares at Nanu with shock on his face.

Nanu drops has arms and turns away. His shoulders slag at his sides as he walks. "There. Congratulations or whatever. You've officially finished your Ula'uka trials. Take my boat whenever you feel like setting off. Acerola knows where to return it to when you're done." He then stops. Without turning around, he says, "Oh, and you boy, Gladion… If you're really trying to get stronger as you say, then what're you depending on Team Skull for?"

Serena clears her throat to break the silence. "We should start waking everyone up. Gladion, would you please kic- I am, wake up Hau?" For Serena to almost break her polite and refined act, Hau must have really ticked her off last night. She then proceeds to shake Mahina's arm.

Calem shrugs and shakes Lana and Acerolas' arms to stir them. Within minutes, everyone is on the Nanu's ship to Aether Paradise.

Lana steps into the cabin out from captain's bridge. She shrugs and says, "Gladion is so impatient, letting him take us there might be better. Either way, we're not going to get there for at least two hours." She then looks to Serena who's rubbing Calem's back, "I can take over if you want to get some rest."

Serena shakes her head. "You have been to Aether Paradise. Someone who knows the layout needs their rest more."

Lana makes a face as she sits down next to Calem, but doesn't say anything. She just hugs her knees to herself and rests her face atop of them as she tries not to pout.

Acerola sets a tray of sandwiches she made on the table, "Breakfast." Next to one of the glasses of water is a pill. She passes the glass and pill to Calem while saying, "Did any of you even bother to look for sea sickness medicine? Uncle Nanu can't handle going out to sea either, so he always keeps a full supply handy."

Calem forces himself to drink the pill, but doesn't look hopeful. Serena says, "Medicines do not have any effect on Calem. We tried just about all of them."

Acerola smiles, "Well then, aren't you lucky. Uncle Nanu is the same. He made this one himself from natural herbs found on Ula'ula."

Fifteen minutes later, Calem finds himself well enough to talk. He's still uneasy, but not to the point where he can't move anymore. Serena jumps upon seeing him move around and says, "I have to ask him to share that recipe."

Acerola grins and says, "Best of all, it's quick acting. The effects are guaranteed to last two hours. Down side, you're gonna be hungry." She then gestures to the remaining sandwiches, "So eat up!"

He picks one up while saying, "For what we're about to do, we need to keep our strength up anyway." He makes a face as he hesitates on whether he should eat or not. I'm not going to throw up, am I? He breathes in and takes a bite.

Hau says while eating, "I've been wondering, but is Lillie really at Aether Paradise? It doesn't make sense. Aren't they good people who are care about conserving pokemon?"

Serena says, "Even those with the best of intentions can commit the worst atrocities. Lysander wanted to create a pure and beautiful world for pokemon and humans, but look at what resulted."

Hau says, "Well, I guess the real reason doesn't matter. What matters is going in there and rescuing Lillie. Then we can all go back to smiling and laughing together on our island adventure."

Mahina says, "Do we know where Lillie's being kept? Sure, Aether Paradise, but what part? Even if it's an artificial island, it's huge with multiple floors and undersea labs."

Calem says, "Gladion probably knows. He'll tell us when we get there."

Hau makes an annoyed face, "For a guy you barely know, you're putting a lot of faith into him." Calem and Serena exchange glances. After a few seconds, they both nod. This prompts Hau to say, "It's really annoying when you two do that. What's the big secret you can't tell us?"

Serena says, "We never trusted Aether Paradise. The two of us have been suspicious of them and their president from the start."

Lana says, "Really, but we met their president. Even with what Calem said before, Miss Lusamine was a wonderful person."

Calem shakes his head, "She looks at us like dolls. We're nothing more than things she can play with and throw away once she's bored. Don't you remember back when we were invited to Aether Paradise? Lillie didn't just refuse to come with us, she was scared."

Hau says, "Really? I didn't notice a thing. Wasn't she just excited for me?"

Calem says, "You're an idiot… Why do you think Professor Kukui and Kakuna Olivia came to see us off?"

Lana gives an absentminded "Kahuna," in response to Calem's mispronunciation.

Serena says, "Lillie is honest with her feelings, but will avoid talking about things by casually changing the subject. She does so every time the Aether Foundation arises in conversation."

Mahina says, "Well, none of that changes what we're doing. We go in, rescue Lillie and Nebby, and leave."

A/N: One thing that has always bothered me about pokemon is that no matter what is happening, the gym leaders just stand around without doing anything. Seriously, someone could burn down a building in front of them and they'll just leave it to you, the player. Black and White are the only exceptions to this. Then again, that might be because they were directly affected by Team Plasma's goals. Anyway, the answer to my question, as you all probably know by now, is that Guzma reminds Calem of himself. Did it surprise you to learn that Calem's role was more that of the rival's than the protagonist's? Thanks for playing, everyone. But, speaking of that answer, did anyone else feel like they were reading an exposition dump? I really think I could have handled that better. Doing so would probably involve going back and modifying everything I've written so far, though.

Thanks for reading, leave me some reviews,

Gandire