Calem's Alola Adventure

Chapter 16

By: Gandire

Calem fishes out his mega-necklace from underneath his shirt with a weary grin. Both he and Serena nod towards each other as their respective key-stones glow. The rainbow light emitted from the stones fills their hands and connects them with their pokemon.

Lusamine shakes her head, "What a disappointment… To think that you are all so small-minded…" She shrugs, "You're going to startle my sweet beast! Serena, Calem… it looks like I'll be silencing you two first."

"Mawile," "Absol," the two glow with a rainbow light upon appearing from their pokeballs, "Mega-evolve!"

Lusamine sends out Clefable, "Metronome!" She wags her finger and draco meteor drops from above her head. Mega-Mawile blocks the attack with iron defense while Mega-Absol leaps out from behind her to retaliate with psycho cut.

Calem frowns. They got lucky with draco meteor. Other than a finger wag, metronome's selected attack has no setup. Without that, There's nothing for me to read. He can't give an appropriate counter. Not when it's random. They're just going to have to be faster than whatever comes out.

Clefable takes the slash without flinching and wags her finger again. From her open mouth shoots aeroblast.

Mega-Absol carries Mega-Mawile out of the attack's way. The blast of air continues and sinks the corner of the floor it hits. Mega-Absol carries Mega-Mawile up to Clefable where she delivers twin "Iron head!" with her two extra mouths.

Clefable rises after taking the hit and again uses metronome. An aura envelops her and heals her few wounds with recover. She continues to wag her finger and a bolt of lightning flies from her finger.

The two mega pokemon dodge the attack and retaliate. Mega-Absol lands a clean "X-scissor" across Clefable's chest. Mega-Mawile then jumps in with another iron head to buy her partner time to fall back.

Clefable gets up and wages her finger again. Electricity crackles around her as she's enveloped within light. Calem shouts, "Get back!" Mega-Absol carries Mega-Mawile as far as he can. At Serena's, "Get down!" Mega-Mawile covers Mega-Absol drops as he drops onto the ground. That's when the energy gathered by Clefable bursts with explosion.

Both Mega-Mawile and Mega-Absol tumble across the floor as they're blown away. Their breathing is a bit heavy and they need to shake their heads, but both of them stand back up ready to continue.

Clefable floats within a pool of water after having blown the floor underneath herself away. Lusamine calls back her pokemon and sends out "Lilligant." Mega-Absol again carries Mega-Mawile towards the grass pokemon. He opens a path towards the pokemon's body with "Megahorn" for Mega-Mawile to land "Iron head."

Lusamine recalls her pokemon with a tisk and sends out, "Milotic." The water pokemon dives into the water surround them and surfaces from the hole Clefable made. She rises up and attacks with Scald. Mega-Absol tries to leap away with Mega-Mawile, but moves too slow. He cries out as his hind leg gets burned.

Mega-Absol tumbles, sending Mega-Mawile head first into the marble ground from his back. The two pokemon get up, but Milotic drops underneath the surface before they can retaliate.

A moment passes and Calem says, "Giga impact!" Mega-Mawile lifts her spare mouths and slams them against the ground. A pair of craters appear is she bashes the floor and a cry of pain fills the room. The water surrounding them shakes from Milotic thrashing.

Milotic shoots up from the platform's side and in blind fury dives towards Mega-Mawile. Mega-Mawile lifts one of her mouths to try and deflect Milotic, but her recent attack leaves her too tired to defend herself. Milotic's body arcs sideways as Mega-Absol lunges into her with giga impact.

Cracks spider web from the crater formed by their landing. Some stretch out and connect with the crater Mega-Mawile made to form a small fissure. Milotic starts to rise, but Mega-Mawile smashes her forehead with "iron head." The floor shatters underneath the pressure, dropping both pokemon towards the water. Mega-Absol, despite wincing, catches Mega-Mawile with his back and leaps to safety.

Calem grimaces, Mega-Mawile and Mega-Absol can't continue going full out like this, but there's no choice. None of their other pokemon are strong enough to face Lusamine. Switching out with them would mean letting them get hurt for no reason. Their only recourse is to finish every battle as fast as they can.

Lusamine calls back her pokemon and sends out "Mismagius." Mega-Mawile lures her in with "Taunt" before she can attack. Then, while she's distracted, Mega-Absol strikes from the side with sucker punch. While she's disoriented, Mega-Mawile knocks her out with play rough.

Calem takes a breath, last one, and strains his focus to his limit. If Lusamine has a trump card, this is where she'll show it.

Lusamine sends out, "Bewear." The normal pokemon stomps his feet to create an earthquake. Cracks spiderweb out from floor underneath Bewear to cover the entire platform. Many of the already damaged parts splinter off and sink.

The attack succeeds in tripping up Mega-Absol, Mega-Mawile, and their trainers. Mega-Absol more or less shakes it off after a few seconds, but Mega-Mawile remains flat on the ground. She grits her teeth as she struggles to move.

Bewear raises an arm and charges Mega-Mawile. Mega-Absol throws off Bewear's aim by striking his shoulder with psycho cut. Bewear's attention shifts to Mega-Absol. The normal pokemon stops charging and turns around. His eye glints as he raises his other arm and punches with superpower. The attack strikes the dark pokemon's underside and sends him rolling across the floor.

Mega-Absol pushes itself back onto his feet, but falls over after taking a step. He grits his teeth, but his panting is clear for everyone to see. He's exhausted and an open target for Beware.

Mega-Mawile clamps Bewear's legs from behind with her two mouths. She threw herself forward to save her partner. The normal pokemon grunts more from surprise than pain. He twists around ready to pummel the steel pokemon, but Mega-Mawile forces a weak grin. While pulling on her eyelid, she flicks Bewear off the platform and into the water.

The two mega pokemon regroup during the time Bewear is underwater. Their bodies quake with heavy breathing. They've been going full out since the beginning and neither have any strength left. Both of them are plowing on threw the determination burning in their eyes. Neither are ready to give up.

Serena calls out to Mega-Absol, and after an exchange of glances, the two nod. His eyes glow for a moment, but nothing happens.

Calem notes that they're planning something as he strains his eyes against at the floor. Anything, something, small, big, whatever, where is it? A small pebble falls over. It didn't make a sound as it tipped. It wouldn't have made one even if it was underfoot instead of halfway across the platform.

The pebble doesn't even finish falling when he says, "Move!" Mega-Mawile grabs Mega-Absol's back as the pokemon leaps to the side. Bewear bursts upward from where they stood with an upheld paw. The force he propelled himself out of the water with creates a geyser with his body at the point.

Bewear reaches the peak of his ascent when Mega-Absol's future sight hits him from behind. Calem's, "Now!" comes before Bewear can even reach the ground. Mega-Mawile lunges forward with play rough. She continues her assault without pause even after they fall onto the ground.

Bewear ignores the hits as he stands up. Even if Mega-Mawile is fatigued, he should at least feel something. This is impossible! Calem grits his teeth, but continues urging Mega-Mawile to continue. Bewear, however, gives Mega-Mawile a menacing smile.

Mega-Absol attacks Bewear's joints with psycho cut, but only succeeds in redirecting the normal pokemon's two "superpower"s. The strength behind Bewear's blows remain unhampered, evident by the craters forming just from the shockwaves created by his swings. Mega-Mawile would have been finished had those hit.

Bewear jumps up and spreads his arms. Mega-Mawile and Mega-Absol try to escape, but their injuries and exhaustion cause them to fall over and revert back to normal forms after 3 paces. Dust rises as Bewear hits the ground and with giga impact. Mawile and Absol are sent flying to their trainer's feet, waves splash around, and dust gets kicked up as the room shakes.

The smoke clears to reveal Bewear floating unconscious on the water. The flooring he meteored into sunk underneath the water.

Calem and Serena lean against each other for support after the exhausting battle. Their attacks did more damage to Bewear than they realized. Bewear's toughness must have even fooled Lusamine, or she wouldn't have ordered that final attack. She's really out of her mind.

Serena and Calem recall their respective pokemon back into their pokeballs. Serena says, "Mega-evolution… really takes its toll after a while." She give Lusamine a hard stare, "But, with this, it's over."

Lusamine trembles with rage as she calls back her pokemon, "How- how can you be so awful! All that I want is my precious beast! I don't care about any of the rest of you!"

Calem breaks away from Serena and hobbles a few steps towards Lusamine. "That selfishness is…" Calem shakes his head. He's still in Lusamine's private room, but looking forward is like staring down a tunnel. He reassures himself that his feet are firm against the ground and continues, "That selfishness is exactly why we're stopping you."

The jellyfish ultra beast chips. As everyone looks towards it, a breaking sound followed by a splash resounds within the chamber.

Calem opens his eyes. The light… it's below me? It's getting away from me. No… I'm sinking? He stretches his hand towards it, but then recalls Lusamine's preserved pokemon. They remind him of Greninja, Charizard, Lucario, Agislash, Tyrantrum… That journey ended. Then, with the encouragement of others, he started a new one. Am I done? Can I see them, again? He stops reaching for the light and lets everything turn black.

Something presses against Calem's mouth. It's… soft. His body jolts and lurches to the side with a fit of coughing when he tries to inhale. Each hack sends a burning, stringing, pain through his chest. Cupping the sting with a hand settles it, but the action also creates a different pain. His breathing normalizes as his chest clears, but each breath hurts.

Lana kneels right next to him. She avoids his eyes, but looks relieved. Serena, Lillie, Hau, Acerola, Mahina, and Gladion surround them. They're either laughing, smiling, or crying. He's soaking wet… so is Serena. Right, she's the only one who'd jump in after me. He runs his fingers across his lips, "CPR?"

Lana averts her gaze, "You're not a spry young swimmer, but close enough…"

Calem takes a breath and winces. Despite clutching his side, he says, "Thanks." He looks around and discovers they're the only ones remaining. Lusamine, Guzma, and Faba all vanished. "What happened?"

Gladion says, "They went into the ultra wormhole, but Nebby…" He looks down.

Lillie's sniffle draws Calem's attention. She holds a round object similar to the night sky in her arms. Her eyes are squeezed shut as she shakes her head, "We- we were too late. Mo- mother sucked all the life from it."

Calem stares at the object for a moment and says, "Nebby's not dead." His words shock everyone. They all look to him for an explanation. Calem leans forward to get a better look despite the flashes of pain moving brings him. "This looks… more like a chrysalis stage."

Lillie's voice comes out pleading, almost begging, "Are- are you sure? Is that really true?"

Calem forces himself to keep from looking away. His body trembles at what he says, but he keeps it from showing. "A pokemon that… when pokemon have… It looks different. They- They shrivel into empty, leathery, dry husks… Ne-Nebby… Nebby's just sleeping."

Lillie says, "Really? You're sure? Are you positive?"

Serena says, "Back in Kalos, we once found a batch of pokemon eggs that had been buried in cold mud for months. Calem, despite everyone else's judgement, insisted that one still lived. The egg took years of care-"

Mahina gasps, "Noibat!"

Serena smiles as she nods, "If Calem says something is alive, then I believe him."

Lillie cries tears of joy as she hugs Nebby's new form to herself.

Gladion gets up. He tries to act collected, but can't keep a smile off his face. "Let's go. Nothing good will come out of staying here any longer."

Calem's hand flies to his side as he gets up. Looking as though he's about to teeter over, Serena and Lana support him at his left and right. "Thanks…"

Wicke waits for everyone in Lusamine's room as they take the teleporter back. She breathes out in relief upon seeing them. "You are all unharmed… Oh, thank goodness…"

Gladion looks towards Calem, "Not exactly, Calem might have a broken rib. Get him to a doctor. A ton of works lies ahead for us to do. The president, Guzma, and Faba have disappeared into the ultra wormhole. Not to mention what's going on with Cosmog… Lusamine… even if she is like that, she's still out mother. We might be able to reach her with Alola's legendary pokemon." He clicks his tongue, "There's no guarantee they even exist, though."

Hau says, "Of course they do! The beasts are real, after all. All we have to do is find them!"

Calem sighs out with a smile, "When you're right, you're right."

Serena says, "There's bound to be clues within the stories."

Lillie says, "Everyone, Calem, Serena, Lana, Acerola, Mahina, Hau… Gladion, thank you for everything."

Wicke says, "Miss. Lillie… I have prepared some beds for you and your friends. Food will also be prepared shortly. Please use the facilities to clean yourselves and recuperate."

Gladion says, "We'll take you up on that."

Mahina says, "Finally, I'm beat!"

Lillie walks towards Lusamine's bed, "I think… I'll sleep here. In the bed I once shared with my mother when I was small… Just one last time…"

Wicke nods and says, "Very well, I'll send someone later to alert you when dinner is ready. Master Gladion, if you could show everyone to our facilities, I'll guide Calem to the medical bay."

Calem, despite having a broken rib and being advised to rest, absconds from his bed during the middle of the night. A crescent moon and countless stars illuminate the cloudless sky. Calem looks across the ocean as he leans against a railing. The crashing waves against Aether Island and the salty air are soothing. He knows Serena is there before hearing her delicate footsteps, "What are you still doing up?"

"You have no right speaking such a phrase."

"I almost slept forever. Staying up sound pretty reasonable to me. Well, back at the moment, that was also pretty tempting." He chuckles, but then winces and holds his side.

Serena leans against the rail next to him. "Is that what happened?" She glances at Calem before looking the black horizon, "You were trembling…"

"You noticed…"

"Of course I did. I will always notice. Whether you are happy, embarrassed, angry, sad, or scared; you will never escape my eyes."

Calem stares at the determination shining with Serena's eyes. He stares until his attention is drawn towards a corner. With a sighs, he looks back out at the ocean and says, "Mawile fainted before we got there… Although, we got through the last gate because she gave her all… Greninja, Charizard, Lucario, Agislash, Tyrantrum…" He places a hand over the black pokeball at his side, "We rushed in to free Yveltal. We succeeded.

"You remember the story? Upon reaching their sacred ends, one giveths and the other takeths." Calem clicks his tongue, "Everyone was fair game. The Team Flare grunts, the scientists, their pokemon, me…" Calem swallows and his hand slides to the lower half of his stomach. "They made a wall. I didn't order it, didn't ask them, never even considered it… They just jumped in front of me. I still see it happening at night…"

"They saved you…"

"Yveltal spared me. Seeing pokemon so dedicated to their trainer… He wanted to experience it." He takes a breath. "I don't actually blame him for what happened. He didn't choose… he doesn't choose to steal everyone's… That's the role he was given…"

Serena wraps her arms around him from the side. She's firm enough to comfort him, but gentle enough to avoid aggravating his rib. "And so you became unable to battle."

"I was broken as a pokemon trainer. More than a year later, I was broken as a person. Now, we're here." A moment of silence passes and Calem says, "I'm going to stay out here and watch the sea a bit longer."

Serena leans forward to press her lips against his cheek. "See you tomorrow, Mizzy." She walks away with a glance towards the same corner Calem spied.

Once alone, Calem calls out, "It's fine to come out. You don't have to pretend you were never here."

Lana scratches her cheek as she steps from around her hiding spot. She's uncertain about herself, but says, "You noticed? Sorry, I wouldn't have stayed had I realized the contents of your conversation."

"I wouldn't have said anything if that bothered me."

"Why did you say it? Serena, she's your… friend, you've known her for years."

"Those who help others really can't see the impact they have…"

"Huh?"

"Just something someone else said to me a while back. It means you're not such a stranger anymore. But, about earlier. I've been keeping that to myself for years. I finally found the courage to face it and I wanted someone to listen. That's all."

A few moments pass and Lana points out a star constellation, "That's Kyogre. The really bright star in the middle is his eye. With it, he watches over the safety of all fishermen by giving them a beacon to guide them home. Water pokemon swim towards it when they pass to become the stars across the night sky where they can forever swim in the great ocean."

Lana points to a second constellation with red stars, "That's the Mask of Entei. Every year, it grows brighter. It does so by inheriting the flames of every fire pokemon that passes. Oh, a shooting star! Flying pokemon become them upon passing. Free to soar the skies for eternity and no longer tethered to the mortal plane, they become our guides to the next word. As for the moon, it's the home of all fairy pokemon…"

A/N: We finally have the answer to why Calem stopped pokemon battling. I wonder, how many of you guessed it? Anyway, Sayaka's theme, Decretum, started mentally playing itself during that last bit with Lana. What happened to Sayaka is nothing like what happened there, but the melody still feels appropriate, or do you guys disagree? Sorry for the delay in this chapter, but the battle scene was harder than I anticipated. I'm still not 100% sold with it, but that's my current limit as a writer. Maybe if I rewrote the whole thing from scratch…

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading,

Leave a review,

Gandire