I was rewarded a rare Master ball that captures Pokémon without fail. Facing the legendary Pokémon Xerneas was not taken lightly. My Pokémon kept Xerneas in place. Despite even being low on energy, I threw the master ball and that was the end of it.
"That was intense..." I leaned on my knees, feeling my heart racing at the anxiety induce experience. I captured a legendary Pokémon... a Pokémon I help find and use was now kept by my side.
"Serena! Serena!" Shauna shook Serena still unconscious "Calem! She won't wake up! What do we do?!"
"We have to get her to a hospital" I carried her up in my arms before seeing Lysandre walking into the room with a strange machine I never seen before attached to him
"What a startling development! I never would've thought the one who's brilliant plan it was to find and use the legendary Pokémon for the Ulimate weapon was really a chosen one!" I blocked the girls from him "That was the mighty Xerneas... I expected more from a Pokémon called a legend!"
"What's with the get up?!" Shauna questioned "Lysandre, get out of the way! We need to take Serena to the hospital!"
"Silence!" Shauna gasped and started mouthing something, unable to speak "Victory is using the Ultimate Weapon. In order to do that, I need to reclaim the legendary Pokémon's power and send it to that weapon once again. I'll be taking the legendary Pokémon back now!"
"Over my dead body, you wannabe murder and manipulator!" I opened my hand to push him off his feet before sending out my Pokémon to take care of his own Pokémon, and was victorious.
"You can't use the Ulimate weapon anymore!" I told him, taking Serena back from Shauna after battling "You manipulated too many people for your own selfish desires. Instead of working to get rid of this world, we could had just came together to make a better, beautiful world"
"No, I can only see one future! One where selfish, foolish humans think about nothing other than themselves and steal more and more from one another!"
"Speak for yourself" Shauna said in a sass tone
"Hmph! The original purpose of this device wants to bring a Pokémon back to life but the ancient king transformed it into this ultimate weapon" he was referring to the story of why the Ultimate Weapon was created in the first place. During a Pokémon war 3,000 years ago that was stopped due to that machine firing.
"There's not much power left... but there IS enough to use it once..." he finished by looking at the wristlet on his arm "Calem and Sycamore's pupils... the Ulimate weapon is a flower that bloomed to no avail... just like... me" he looked pained, shedding tears before setting off an earthquake that caused a loud explosion probably from outside
"Let's get out!" I shouted, looking for cover when the explosion took place. I looked back to see Lysandre staying behind "Lysandre! It won't work! Get out!" The ceiling started collapsing "Lysandre!" He turned back to see me and nodded
"Maybe I'll find my own world to perfect! I've lost all hope!" A man with strong ambitions lost hope just like that? Even if I beat him, he wouldn't give up like this.
"Gard..." Gardevoir appeared and grabbed me and Shauna before teleporting us to safety
"Gardevoir! Why didn't you save Lysandre!?" I yelled, completely in shock. She frowned and shook her head, like there wasn't anything she could do. I frowned down at Serena still asleep in my arms. Serena...
"Don't..." I looked down "Please don't let Serena find out about this. She'll only blame herself" I let out a shaky breath before hurrying to the hospital, which had immediate responses to multiple injuries that happened during the activation of the Ulimate weapon shooting only enough to destroy itself
I have been given shit about what I caused as a coworker and a criminal by many different people, but the words didn't sting as much as knowing that Serena still hasn't woken up for the pass few days already.
"You're still out here?" I asked, opening the door to see Shauna outside my door at Vaniville town, a town and home I abandoned so long ago, but remained here waiting for my return
"Yes I am" she held her hips "You can't just keep staying in here, you know?"
"Visiting hours don't start for another few hours to see Serena" she sighed
"That's not what I meant. Forget what everyone is saying. You need to go speak to Sycamore so we can clean your name"
"Sycamore? The professor?" I haven't talked to that man since he gave me Delphox as a Fenniken "I have nothing to say" she pulled on my ear, forcing me out the house and to a taxi to take us all the way to Lumiose. I didn't have the energy to stop her. I sat back and took in the silence, glad there was no one who was blaming me for all that's happened.
"Calem" I was face to face with the Pokémon professor who smiled at me, along with Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno, along with Sina, and Dixio, individuals who I knew so long ago, all surrounding me
"Hello, Professor" I looked down, not ready to face anyone after disappearing on them years ago "I have no words to explain the decision I made to run out on everyone after receiving so much help. I didn't want to run away, but..."
"You don't have to explain yourself to me, Calem. Rest assured that your name will be cleared once we have a talk" I sighed "You're excellent gift had made you very valuable to Team Flare. I'm more ashamed that I didn't get the chance to convince you to work with me first" he chuckled "I always knew you had potential, Calem. Your parents would had been proud of you, despite the wrongs you did, you made them right at the end" I held back tears
"My parents... I'm sorry, Professor. I was young and naive. I wish I didn't run away... but I couldn't help but to blame myself for not being able to protect them. I was a coward, and because of that, those people stole everything from me. It's not the money I care about..."
"Losing your parents is totally understandable for how you feel, Calem" Shauna frowned "but you can't keep hiding like this. Everyone has something they want to avoid" I thought of Serena
"Your work for Team Flare was so brilliant I'm surprised you weren't the boss" Sina held her hip "You really made us work to find any leads to taking them down. I applaud you"
"We have been investigating Team Flare and their members, but a majority escaped" Dixio said. I dug in my pocket at the packet of paper that held all the gang members information and handed it to him "We were able to get many testimonies from individuals you've met and... what is this?" He took the packet confused, looking through it "what?! You had this the whole time?!"
"Yeah. It's been in my pants the entire time" I admit
"Are you still wearing those pants from that day?" Trevor asked
"Gross..." Shauna made a disgusted face
"This will be helpful, thanks" Dixio sighed "Still wish we received this sooner"
"As long as we have it, it doesn't matter how much time passed" Sina said "anyway, we talked to many people who came to your defense and helped us determine your innocence"
"Innocence? What are you talking about? I pretty much gave Team Flare the blueprint to this entire plan!" I fought
"Hardly. There were more guilty parties who were reported to have hurt people for interfering with their plans. You did no such thing" I nervously looked at Trevor who can say otherwise "You were used by a taboo ability. This makes you not guilty of any crime. You were simply a worker, not the head" I shook my head
"I still did bad things..."
"Stop digging yourself into a hole, dude" Tierno said "Serena always praised you for the little stuff" Trevor sighed
"Even if you did some bad things, she's the one and only person who has the right to prove your innocence... you know, if she was awake" I sighed, not believing this
"Wait..." I looked back at Sina and Dixio "who came to my defense? I didn't know that many people"
"There were a few individuals who came all the way from Anistar City to give their statements" those psychic users... "there was also a coworker of yours who came forward on your behalf" I was confused "She was undercover and working as an admin. She's also here to talk to you" a undercover admin? This is news to me. I never had much of a relationship with my coworkers, not much less an admin
Dixio had left to go get them while I faced Sycamore again "We'll work hard to make sure your name is clean" I slowly nodded, knowing I don't deserve it "There is something important I want to tell you involving your parents"
"My parents?" I looked over at Shauna smiling, making me nervous to know what I'm about to hear
"The people who were responsible for their deaths have been found two years ago" I almost choked and cupped my mouth "Everything that was stolen had been recovered and has been waiting for you" he patted at a check on his table I didn't see before "Every last penny was recovered. It's not about the money, of course, but just know you finally got justice" I let out a sob and kneeled down to control myself.
Shauna came to rub my back, comforting me "If only I was able to find you and tell you this... I know it can't bring back your parents, but those people are behind bars. It's okay now" I nodded and heard the door open. Dixio came in with a woman, wearing a light pink and white kimono, I didn't know.
"Here she is" Dixio gestured "Go and introduce yourself" the woman nodded with a smile and came to face me standing up to meet her
"Hello, Calem" she smiled more "My, seeing you like this is very strange. I remember seeing your eyes once while on call" she giggled "and you're exactly how Olympia described you" my eyes widened
"You know Olympia?" She nodded
"Yes. She had assigned me to become part of Team Flare to look after you. I am your admin from your team" the admin I was always with in every mission? "We weren't close enough to memorize names, but my name is Rin"
"Rin... of course I remember your name" she nodded happily "You were assigned to look after me? What does that mean?"
"A fellow Psychic user with a powerful mind is prone to being taken advantage of. Often when an older and more powerful psychic user uses another to their advantage, it must be stopped. Your ability isn't the type to be used on someone else like Lysandre could with his mind control. Because of your typing, you were easily manipulated compared to Serena who has the type of ability that can be used on someone"
"Oh... Okay" I guess I get it "So psychic users who can't use their abilities on other people can be easily manipulated by those who can" she nodded "And that's why you looked after me?"
"Yes" she nodded "and this is also done to protect Serena" she cleared her throat "If you don't mind, I would like to have the rest of our conversation private" Sycamore nodded to Dixio and Sina to show us a room where we can talk alone
"Is something so important that you can't say in front of everyone?" I asked "I'm sorry, I'm still a bit overwhelmed about everything I heard earlier"
"I understand, but this concerns Serena, and only you are trusted with this information" I listened "As you know, Olympia can see the future, and she expected these events happening long before they were an idea" that's scary to know that the possibility of the end of the world is known like that "In order to keep the future stable, she can't interfere too much in it. She knew these events would not happen, so that's not the main concern. She was worried about her fellow psychic users. You and Serena. This is sensitive information, so please take a deep breath before what I'm about to tell you" I did as she said and sighed
"Okay... I'm ready"
"Serena will be attempting to take her own life soon" I immediately remembered the vision Gardevoir showed me, causing my heart to drop "Before you speak, let me continue"
"How can I let you continue when I should be going to see Serena to see if she's okay!?"
"She's okay. We still have until tonight. It's only 7 am" I bit my lips, bouncing my leg, anxious that I have to stay here instead of checking on Serena
"Fine. Talk" I forced
"I understand very well what Serena is going through. We have the same abilities to heal and destroy the mind at a whim" she pointed at her head "The mind is a very sensitive thing, Calem. It can easily be manipulated if it hasn't been trained. Even when trained, there are opticals that can break us very easily. We collected some data through her by a psychic user who can see back in time, a young man you met once, who works at Olympia's gym" does she mean that Timothy guy who escorted me to Olympia?
"Oh..."
"She was never trained, making her state of mind weak" I looked away, sometimes seeing her vulnerability she often hides with a smile "Without this training, she wasn't able to fully remove the mind control that you've suffered for many years. As soon as she was able to heal you completely, it became easier to bring you back to her side" she closed her eyes "She was a victim and used for cruel things. Coming from a child, she seen things that a child shouldn't witness or have to deal with. It could cause anyone trouble growing up"
"She told me she was kidnapped and used by loan sharks to make people talk" I explained.
"Yes. That is just the icing on the cake. What she went through went much deeper. Unless you grew up with an ability that can be used on others, you may never understand the power to influence someone else's mind and can't do anything about it. Think of how she feels like a cake. The cake is made with eggs, flour, sugar in place of pain, guilt, and sadness. Even if you add love to your cake, those other ingredients still make up that cake"
"Are you saying she's a messed-up cake?"
"In metaphors, yes" she sighed "You can't undo a broken cake, but I believe you can turn it into something different. Calem..." she deepened her frown "It's not easy for people like us, and what Serena went through... the weight of her past weighed heavily on Serena shoulders, and she couldn't help but wonder if she ever find solace. Her heart yearned for happiness for a chance to escape the pain that had followed her since childhood. Haunting memories of her past refused to loosen their grip on her soul. The memories of her captivity haunted her every waking moment, reminding her of the pain she endured. This demon like nightmare was stronger with each passing day, threatening to consume her completely."
"If you were looking after us, why haven't you done a better job in helping Serena if you investigated her this much to the point where you knew this much..." my fist were shaking "It's like you read her like a page on a book"
"Because it was not our job to save her. It's yours" my frown deepened "She found happiness in you, and that caused obsession. You were the main source of her happiness, and I'm sorry that kind of responsibility was placed on you, but-"
"I don't mind at all. I love Serena more than anything, even if she's broken" she nodded.
"You are the only one who can bring her back. If anyone else does it, she will only continue" she looked down at my feet "that Pokémon you captured..." I took out the master ball with Xerneas still inside "Is the bringer of life. With so much pressure on wanting death, that legendary Pokémon was able to relieve some of her stress, but it's not enough. Once she wakes, she'll be on the move" I took her hands to put the back of them on my forehead, thanking her from the bottom of my heart, and stormed out to find Serena.