Fidelity

Chapter 01: Trigger

AN: Y'know I think I'm doing too much, also since I'm in the middle of two other stories (soon to be three to five) but then again I don't really care and I like writing these things, so yeah. Hello there, grey0716 here, and as promised, I present to you a new story: my novelization of Pokemon XY: Fidelity! A brand new start, and a brand new story, and for once at a region not named Unova, so reviews, critiques and advice on how I can make this story better are welcome.

And for references sake:

"-word-" : Pokemon speaking. Humans cannot understand what they're saying unless they're something like N.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Pokémon or any of its existing/canon characters. This disclaimer is in effect for the entirety of the story so I don't have to repeat it over and over and over again in each chapter.

Alright with that out of the way, let's get started!

"So you think they will be awakened?"

"Affirmative. Calculations show that 'Life' and 'Death' shall be awakened by the humans."

"Hmph...Again with humanity digging their own graves...well? I'm going to assume that this will lead to another war."

"Affirmative. If 'Life' and 'Death' are awakened once more, then they shall continue their war from three centuries ago."

"...While rhetorical, what would happen if they resumed fighting?"

"Loading...loading...loading complete...calculations indicate that the region shall be plunged into an eternal cycle of life and death. Given eternal life, only to have it taken away, and then forcibly given life once more...like a cruel chain."

"...So that's why you asked for my help? To prevent this from happening?"

"Affirmative. Past indications provide evidence of your hand in helping humanity survive, 'Irregular'."

"What makes you think I'd help humans a third time?"

"Then this world is destined to perish. Countless Pokémon shall perish from the cycle. Calculations indicate that even you would not want this to happen."

"...Tch...Very well, 'Observer'. I'll play along to your tune. Let's just hope things go according to your 'calculations'."

"Negative. My calculations are never wrong. As the 'Observer', I am certain of this.

"You would think so, but you never know just how much 'humans' will screw them over."

"Mom! I can't do this anymore! Please tell him to stop!"

In the small town of Vaniville Town, there was one girl, currently wishing for the cruel and unusual torment (according to her at least) to stop. The girl, wearing a pink tracksuit with her strawberry blonde hair tied up into a ponytail, was currently trying (and failing) to ride her pet rhyhorn as practice for the ever-famous sport of rhyhorn racing with watery blue eyes.

"C'mon, you can do it Serena!" someone called out. "Don't talk! You'll bite off your tongue like that!"

Serena's mother, who should be stopping this, was just watching her from afar, cheering on for the girl as she continued her fruitless struggles to ride the Ground/Rock-type brute. Now normally, this would be considered child abuse, but since Serena's mother was Grace Yvonne, world famous Rhyhorn racer, no one seemed to mind at all, dismissing the Serena's plights and torture as training to follow her mother's footsteps.

"This is impossible!" Serena cried. "Rhyhorn! Please stop!"

The rhyhorn, despite being Serena's favorite pet, was Grace's rhyhorn, so he had an obligation to obey Grace over Serena. The rhyhorn follow his master's wishes, ignoring his rider's pleas to simulate an actual Rhyhorn racer's practice.

'Why did I agree to do this...?' the girl thought to herself. 'I can't control Rhyhorn well enough!'

As if to spice things up, Rhyhorn then decided to charge out of the fence, with Serena clinging on to dear life.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" was all Grace could hear from her daughter as she and her old rhyhorn disappeared into the town.

"Oh dear, not again," her mother sighed. "I just hope Rhyhorn doesn't smack into someone."

Serena was hanging on for dear life as Rhyhorn bulldozed through Vaniville Town at a raging speed.

"Heel! Stop! Sit! Please I beg of you! C'mon, Rhyhorn!" Serena cried.

Rhyhorn didn't bother to listen to Serena, as he smashed through garbage pails, and making a trek into the town. As she continued to scream while trying to make him stop, she managed to pay attention long enough to register someone in front of them, as they barged into their property in a frenzy of raging Rhyhorn.

"OUT OF THE WAY!"

"Huh...?" the boy asked as he looked to her. "WHAT THE HELL–!?"

The poor lad didn't get to finish his sentence, as Rhyhorn smashed into him, sending him flying into a tree. Realizing this, Rhyhorn stopped, incidentally making Serena fly off of him and into the boy, further pummeling him.

"GUOUGH?!" the boy gagged.

"Ow...!" Serena moaned as she got up. "That hurt..."

"That's my line..."

Serena heard that and looked under her, to find that she was crushing the boy.

"Wha-wha-wha-wha-wha-! Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" Serena stuttered, while shooting away from him and apologizing frantically.

The boy angrily got back up from his pain. He had raven-black hair that reached down to his chin, while his dark, grey eyes glared sharply at Serena, who only flinched and cowered even more. He was wearing a blue jacket with white lining, and blue denim jeans and black combat boots. He rubbed his head in pain, muttering something under his breath.

"The hell was that about...?" the boy asked Serena.

"Uh-well-I-uh-I–," Serena began to panic and hyperventilate.

"Hey...you alright?" the boy asked, slowly approaching her.

"I-I'M SORRY!" Serena screamed before bulleting away from the boy, leaving both him and Rhyhorn in the dust.

"What the–!? Hey!" the boy yelled, but she was already gone.

The boy sighed, rubbing his ribs in pain, as he took notice to the rhyhorn that rammed into him. The Rock-type in question also glanced at him.

"The hell're you looking at?" the boy asked angrily.

The two glared at each other, until Rhyhorn decided to follow his master. The boy muttered something under his breath and headed back into his house.

Serena trotted back to her house defeated and gloomy, where Grace happened to meet up with her.

"Are you alright, honey?" Grace asked.

"Yeah..." Serena sighed. "But..."

"...You hit someone?" Grace asked, finishing Serena's sentence.

Serena nodded dejectedly.

"Did you at least apologize and made sure the person was okay?" Grace asked.

"K-Kinda...?" Serena replied weakly.

"You ran away, didn't you?" Grace asked.

Serena sighed and nodded, where her mother sighed as well.

"What am I gonna do with you?" Grace mumbled. "Serena, I know you feel bad, and it's not your fault. But you need to learn to be more confident. You can't stay like that forever, you know."

Serena sighed in defeat. She knew that she wasn't the most confident person in the world. She was scared of lots of things; bugs being the most prominent fear on her very, very, very long list of phobias, and she had the self-esteem and personality of a cyndaquil and was easily intimidated, and unlike a cyndaquil, she didn't have a convenient pouch of fire to use when intimidated. She was a kind girl, no doubt, or at least she wants to believe that, but her timid nature and low self-esteem were easily her biggest faults. Faults that she desperately wants to overcome.

"I'm sorry Mom..." Serena sniffled.

"It's alright," Grace said as she pulled her daughter in for a hug. "We should go apologize to the person...but..."

Grace looked up to the sky. It was already night.

"But it's late," Grace said. "You go properly apologize to him first thing tomorrow morning."

"Yes ma'am," Serena said.

"Good. Now let's go eat dinner," Grace said.

The next day, the sun crept through the openings of Serena's window curtains, but they failed to wake up the sleepy girl as she continued to snooze off. Downstairs, in the kitchen, Grace was making breakfast for her and her daughter, wondering just how much longer it will take for her to wake up before she sends her fletchling and wake her up the hard way.

"She certainly takes after her father," Grace chuckled, until she heard someone knocking on the door. "Oh? Who could that be?"

Grace cut off the fire on the stove as she rushed over to open the door. Grace was greeted to a girl with slightly dark skin, pale mint eyes and long brown hair styled into pigtails. She was wearing a pink t-shirt decorated by three black bows and wore a pair of denim shorts and pink boots. A messenger bag was strapped over her, with a pink Holo Caster clipped onto the strap.

"Good morning, Mrs. Yvonne!" the girl greeted cheerfully.

"Oh good morning, Shauna," Grace smiled. "Are you here for Serena?"

"Yep! Is she still asleep?" Shauna asked.

"Hang on. I'll go get her," Grace said as she looked back to the stairs. "Looks like we're doing this the hard way...again...Fletcher! You know the drill."

The small robin that was on the couch, watching TV, chirped in response, and began to take flight, headed up to Serena's room. A few moments later, the scream of a girl followed by several thuds rang throughout the house.

"FLETCHER!" Serena's angry voice growled, where said Fletcher flew back down, snickering mischievously.

"Works every time," Grace said.

Serena came downstairs, still in her pink pajamas, obviously angry about the bird.

"You have a visitor," Grace said.

"Morning, Seré!" Shauna exclaimed.

"Morning Shauna..." Serena mumbled tiredly. "What's up?"

"You're not gonna believe this!" Shauna squealed. "You know Professor Sycamore, right?"

"Of course," Serena said. "He's the head researcher of Pokémon in the Kalos Region."

"Well, Trevs called me and Tierno and said that he's gonna give all of us a pokédex and our very first Pokémon!" Shauna announced.

"No way!?" Serena gasped.

"True chiz!" Shauna exclaimed. "So c'mon! Get dressed! We're meeting up with Tierno and Trevor at Aquacorde Town!"

"Yes!" Serena yelled, running back up to her room.

She ripped open her closet and quickly changed into her usual outfit; a collared black sleeveless shirt with a high waist red skirt, with black leggings and black laced shoes. Once she had changed, she quickly straightened out her hair and charged down the stairs.

"C'mon Shauna! Let's go!" Serena yelled, barely able to contain her excitement.

"Hold it right there!" Grace said, grabbing Serena by the collar just as she was about to bolt out of there. "You still need to apologize to the man whom you ran over with Rhyhorn."

"Er...right..." Serena muttered nervously, remembering what happened yesterday.

"I know you're excited and all, but priorities first!" Grace scolded. "Apologize first. Then go meet up with the others."

"Yes ma'am..." Serena mumbled.

"Again?" Shauna asked.

"Don't bring it up, please..." Serena whined to her best friend. "And sorry about this..."

"It's alright!" Shauna assured her. "I'll join up too! Just in case you need the extra help."

"Thanks," Serena said, somewhat relieved. At least she had someone she can trust with her.

"Which reminds me," Shauna said. "I had to deliver a letter to someone."

"To who?" Grace asked.

"To this new kid who apparently moved here recently," Shauna said. "His house shouldn't be far from here, since he just moved in, so I was supposed to give him this letter. Also doubles as a house-warming too! We'll do that, then go apologize to the guy you ran over with your mom's rhyhorn."

"Alright, be careful you two," Grace said.

"We will Mrs. Yvonne!" Shauna saluted to her.

"Will do, Mom," Serena said.

With that, the two girls took off, patting the sleeping rhyhorn on the way out, leaving Grace to herself.

"I just hope Serena will be okay," Grace sighed.

The two girls were walking down the street, headed to where Shauna had to deliver the letter.

"So you lost control and ended up smashing the poor guy into a tree?" Shauna asked.

"Yes..." Serena muttered.

"That has got to hurt..." Shauna said, cringing at the thought of getting smashed head on by Rhyhorn.

"I just hope he isn't angry..." Serena mumbled.

"Hey, I'm sure this guy's calmed down," Shauna assured her. "And it's not like you did it on purpose, so I'm sure he'll understand."

"You're right...I hope..." Serena muttered.

"C'mon, you need to learn how to be confident!" Shauna insisted. "Show some backbone! Dominate the male mass with your charm and make them your man-slaves! Then you'll really be confident!"

"Wha–Wh-where did that come from?!" Serena stuttered, embarrassed over the thought of the terms 'dominate' and 'man-slaves'. "That's not the kind of 'confidence' I need or want!"

"Aw..." Shauna muttered. "I kinda wanted to see that happen. It would've been really funny."

After they discussed some more, Shauna looked up.

"Hey, we're here!" Shauna announced.

Serena looked up to the house, and her stomach suddenly dropped. The house was oddly familiar, similar to the house she was at when–.

'Oh no oh no oh no oh no...' Serena panicked internally.

"Seré? You alright?" Shauna asked, noticing Serena's cold sweating.

"H-Huh!? Oh i-it's nothing at all..." Serena stuttered.

Serena tried to play it off, but internally, she was panicking out of her life.

'Are you serious!? This is definitely the house that I was at when that guy–wait, that guy is who Shauna's delivering the letter to!?' Serena thought.

"If you say so," Shauna shrugged. "Alright then."

As Shauna knocked on the door, several thoughts grew in her mind.

'No...It could just be a coincidence, right?' Serena thought desperately. 'I mean what are the odds that the person I injured is the same person Shauna needs to deliver the letter to? It's slim...right?'

Serena looked around, and saw a tree, with an odd indent in it.

'Th-that could've been caused by anything...' Serena thought. '...Right...?'

"Yeah?"

The door opened up, where a boy with raven black hair and dark grey eyes lazily greeted them. He was wearing a white tank top which revealed that his torso was bandaged.

'I should've known.' She whined internally while slowly hiding behind Shauna.

"Are you 'Calem Xavier?"

"Yeah, so what?" 'Calem' groggily asked.

"Hi, I'm Shauna Lumina," Shauna said. "And this is Serena Yvonne."

"Eek! Uh-uh...hi..." Serena squeaked.

"Whatever," Calem grumbled before noticing Serena hiding behind Shauna. "Hey, you're the chick from before."

"Eh!?" Serena blurted.

"Yeah, you're the chick with the damn rhyhorn who smashed me into the tree," Calem muttered, pointing to said tree.

"Ooh...that's gotta hurt..." Shauna cringed.

"It did," Calem said flatly.

"Right...about that...uh...I..." Serena mumbled, before bowing apologetically. "I'm so sorry about that! I didn't mean to, I swear! I was just practicing my rhyhorn racing skills, and I lost control and all this happened and I'm really sorry!"

Calem looked down to the girl, who was at the verge of breaking down. He sighed, and scratched his head.

"Look, get up," Calem muttered. "It's not like I died or anything, so I guess it's alright."

"H-Huh...?" Serena asked, until she noticed his bandaged torso. "B-But I hurt you! And you're just gonna leave it like that!?"

"Look, it's obvious someone like you wouldn't have done that on purpose," Calem said.

"Wh-What makes you so sure about that?" Serena asked, somewhat offended.

"Oh, so you did do it on purpose then?" Calem inquired, giving Serena a sharp glare.

"N-no sir!" Serena immediately shot up.

"See? Someone like you wouldn't be able to attempt to commit essential murder," Calem said bluntly. "Besides, I'm not the type to sue girls. I'm not that much of a douche, and I already have enough bullshit to deal with."

"I-I see..." Serena said timidly. 'At least he forgives me...'

"Now then," Calem said. "Shauna, was it? You knew my name before I even introduced myself. Does that mean you have something for me then?"

"Right, here!" Shauna exclaimed, handing Calem a letter.

"A letter?" Calem asked as he checked the envelope, before he leered at it. "...Sycamore...?"

"Yep, he told me to deliver this letter to you," Shauna explained as she handed him the letter. "And guess what? You've been chosen to get a pokédex and a Pokémon from Professor Sycamore!"

"...What?" Calem flatly asked, not amused in the slightest as he accepted the letter.

"Wait...him too!?" Serena gasped.

"Well that's a rather harsh way to express your opinion," Calem deadpanned to Serena.

"I–I didn't mean it like that!" Serena blubbered.

Calem only sighed, then turned to Shauna.

"Explain," he ordered her.

"You, Serena and I, along with two of our friends, were chosen to get a pokédex and explore the Kalos Region to complete the Kalos Pokédex!" Shauna explained. "Although I don't know why Professor Sycamore chose you, or even knew you to begin with. No offense, but you did just move here."

"None taken," Calem said as he eyed the letter. "And what's this letter for then?"

"Professor Sycamore told me to give this to you," Shauna said.

"Tch..." Calem muttered. "Goddamn playboy..."

"What was that?" Shauna asked.

"Nothing," Calem said as he eyed the letter in his hand.

He proceeded to rip the envelope open, grab the letter in it and skimmed through it. The content of the letter wasn't that interesting to the boy.

"So he has five kids do his dirty work for him, eh?" Calem muttered. "Why do professors keep doing that?"

As he read through the letter, something caught his interest. He read the rest of it intently, then crumpled the letter and tossed it into the garbage can.

"So they finally made a move..." Calem muttered.

"Huh?" Serena asked.

"Nothing," Calem said. "...Fine, I'll take on the pokédex."

"You will?!" Serena gasped.

"Might as well," Calem said. "So? Where do I pick it up?"

"One of our friends has it with him at Aquacorde Town," Shauna explained.

"Fine," Calem said. "I'll meet you two there."

"Huh? You're not gonna come with us?" Serena asked.

Calem leered at her incredulously. Serena looked at him questioningly, until Shauna nudged her in the side and pointed at him. He was only wearing a tank top and black sweatpants, making the girl realize what he meant, and blush and cover her eyes. Calem rolled his eyes and closed the door, leaving the two girls at the front.

"Well, he wasn't the friendliest guy," Shauna sighed. "I wonder why Professor Sycamore enlisted him."

Shauna glanced at Serena, who still looked a bit uneasy.

"C'mon, lighten up," Shauna said, patting her on the back. "I'm sure he'll open up once we get to know him."

"I-I guess..." Serena mumbled.

Not wanting to waste any more time, the two girls hurried off to their destination.

Calem grumbled something under his breath as he took a seat in his couch. His house was full of boxes stuffed with essentials, silverware, plates and whatnots. The couch, along with a coffee table with several papers on it were the only things that didn't need to be boxed.

Ignoring all of this, Calem went over and changed into his blue denim jeans, grabbed his blue jacket and wore it over his tank top. He went over to the coffee table, grabbed all the papers on it, and neatly shoved them into his messenger bag. From the bag, he took out a black ring-like object and equipped it onto his right wrist.

Wearing his combat boots, Calem was about to leave his house, before noticing a picture frame on his drawer. He took a look at it, where in the frame was a picture of a young boy, and a young woman with brown hair. There seemed to be a man in the picture, but the face was ripped out, making it virtually impossible to identify him.

Despite his face being ripped out of the picture, making it unable to recognize the man, Calem knew who excatly he was, and scowled at the thought of that man.

After glaring at it, Calem placed the frame back onto the drawer and slammed the door behind him, not even taking a glance behind.

Aquacorde Town. A town that neighbors Vaniville Town, it just takes a walk through Route 1, a very short route, considered one of the shortest routes in the world. In the plaza, two boys were talking to each other. One of them was a large, heavy-set boy with black hair that resembled that of a torchic's head, and wore a large black t-shirt that has a vanillite design on it, orange cargo shorts, a yellow backpack, and matching black and yellow shoes. The other boy was a short boy with round orange hair and wore a grey t-shirt with white sleeves, grey pants, a green backpack and matching green shoes. Around the boy's neck was a green Holo Caster, a high tech device recently invented that allowed people to communicate via holograms.

"I wonder what's taking them so long?" the short boy asked.

"I'm sure they'll be here soon," the large boy said.

"Heey! Tiern! Trevs!"

The two boys looked up and saw Shauna running up to them, with Serena trailing from behind.

"You two sure took your time," the short boy said.

"Hey, it isn't our fault Trevs," Shauna argued.

"That reminds me," the large boy commented. "Weren't you two supposed to bring the fifth kid here?"

"He said he was gonna catch up with us, Tiern," Shauna said.

"I see then," Tierno said.

"Is that him?" Trevor asked, pointing elsewhere.

They all turned to see Calem, in his attire that Serena recognized as his attire he wore when he moved to Vaniville.

"That's him," Shauna said.

Calem glanced over to the four kids, leering at them. While the three were a bit unnerved and intimidated, the leer was enough to make Serena look down in fear.

"So you must be Calem Xavier," Tierno said, breaking the ice. "I'm Tierno Flamenco, and this is Trevor Conoscenza. You already met Serena and Shauna."

Calem gave a courteous and acknowledging nod as he took a seat next to Serena. The girl, surprised, shuffled a few inches away from him.

"Seré..." Shauna sighed, as Calem rolled his eyes.

"Well, as you were told, Professor Sycamore has enlisted the five of us to complete the Kalos Pokédex," Tierno said. "And the three of you are to receive one of the starter Pokémon."

"I've been waiting for this!" Shauna suddenly squealed, accidentally pushing Serena asides rather roughly. "C'mon, c'mon! I wanna see my new partner!"

Serena ended up landing onto Calem, letting out an "eep!" Calem simply leered at Shauna. Tierno released the pokéballs as Calem gently pushed Serena back up. On the left was a small, bipedal hedgehog-like Pokémon with a light brown front with dark brown arms and has a green shell covering its back that extended from its head to halfway down its tail. In the middle was a small fox-like Pokémon with pale yellow fur and had tufts of dark orange fur that cover the insides of its ears. And next to the fox was a small frog-like Pokémon with light blue skin, white hands and had a large mane of bubbles from its chest and back.

"The three Pokémon from left to right are Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie," Tierno explained. "Chespin is a Grass-type, Fennekin is a Fire-type, and Froakie is a Water-type."

"Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie, huh..." Serena said as she examined the three Pokémon, pondering on which one she should choose.

"Oh. My. God! That is the cutest thing EVAH!" Shauna suddenly squealed as she grabbed the fennekin. "I pick Fennekin!"

"Is that alright with you, Serena?" Trevor asked.

"C'mon, please Seré!" Shauna begged. "Kinniekins and I are made for each other! We go together great! We're just way-ay-ay too cute!"

"She already nicknamed it..." Tierno said uneasily.

"Sure, if that's what you want, Shauna," Serena said.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you!" Shauna boomed as she hugged Kinniekins. "My name is Shauna, Kinniekins! Nice to meet you!"

'-Well, at least she's energetic,-' Kinniekins thought to herself. '-She seems pretty nice.-'

"And what about you, Serena?" Tierno asked.

Serena glanced back to Chespin and Froakie. She glanced over to Froakie, who was just sitting there, seemingly staring at Serena. The stoic expression with the wide eyes ended up unnerving the poor timid girl. She glanced over to Chespin, who looked up to her with a more benevolent and curious expression. The hedgehog was cute in her eyes.

"You don't seem too scary..." Serena mumbled. "You're pretty cute too..."

"So do you want to choose Chespin?" Tierno asked.

"Yes, I choose Chespin," Serena answered.

"Alright then," Tierno said, handing her Chespin's pokéball. "Are you gonna nickname him?"

Serena looked at Chespin as he looked at her curiously.

"Hmm..." Serena said. "How about...'Marisso'? Is that alright with you?"

Chespin nodded his head in excitement. Apparently he liked the name 'Marisso'.

"Alright then, I'm Serena, and I'm your new trainer," Serena said. "Let's get along..."

"-Nice to meet you, Serena,-" Marisso responded by giving her a little bow.

"And it would seem that you get Froakie, Calem," Tierno said.

Calem glanced at Froakie, who glanced back at Calem. After they spent a few moments simply staring at each other, Calem shrugged his shoulders, while Froakie simply nodded in acknowledgment.

"Whatever," Calem muttered.

"Hey, how about we give you a nickname, Calem?" Shauna offered. "I mean since we're gonna be traveling together and all. I feel it'll make us a closer crew."

"Yeah, you have a point Shauna," Tierno said.

"No than–," Calem said but was interrupted by the girl.

"I vote on Lil' C!" Shauna declared, completely ignoring Calem's opinion.

"No way, he's definitely a C-Meister!" Tierno argued. "Trevs, what do you think?"

"W-What?!" Trevor stammered. "You want me to nickname someone I just met?! Trevor, Shauna, you two shouldn't put people on the spot like this."

"Uh guys...?" Serena tried to intervene, noticing Calem getting agitated.

"Like I said, no tha–," Calem tried to interrupt to no avail.

"Then what do you think we should call Lil' C here?" Shauna asked.

"Well...how about something low key?" Trevor suggested. "Maybe...something like Big C?"

"No way, Trevs! C'mon you gotta really think about it!" Tierno urged his best friend.

"Guys maybe we should stop–," Serena said timidly.

"What about you Seré?" Shauna asked. "What do you think we should call Lil' C then?"

"I..." Serena mumbled, glancing nervously over to Calem.

Having enough of the conversation and being ignored, Calem slammed his palms to the table hard, getting everyone's attention.

"I SAID NO THANKS!" Calem growled, startling everyone at the table. "Now, Tierno, was it? You said something about the pokédex, right?"

"W-Well, yeah..." Tierno said somewhat uneasily.

"Then give it to me already," Calem practically ordered.

"S-Sure," Tierno stammered, intimidated by Calem.

As Tierno rushed through his things to get the pokédexes, Calem earned himself a glare from Shauna.

"What's with your temper?! We were only trying to be friendly!" Shauna yelled.

"I never asked for that," Calem shot back. "And for the record, I never wanted a 'nickname' or whatever to begin with. Or at least I tried to, before you decided to crank up the volume."

The three looked shocked at Calem, who simply leered in the other direction. Tierno finally got out the pokédexes; three red card-shaped like devices, and handed them to Calem, Serena and Shauna hastily.

"So this is the pokédex?" Serena asked.

"Yep," Tierno said. "Just push the button in the middle to activate it and it should register you as its owner."

The three of them did so and pushed the button in the middle. The pokédexes then scanned their fingerprints.

"User analysis complete," the pokédexes said in a monotonous tone.

"There, all set," Tierno said. "Just aim the pokédex at a Pokémon you don't know to record the data."

"Good," Calem said. "Now then, I'll be on my way."

"Huh?! Wait a minute!" Shauna yelled as Calem got back up. "I thought you agreed to go on the journey with us!"

"What?" Calem asked. "I only said that 'I'll take on the pokédex.' I never agreed to go on a journey with you idiots."

"Excuse me?!" Shauna gasped.

Ignoring Shauna, Calem got up and headed towards the exit of the town. Froakie jumped off the table and followed his new trainer.

"Hold up!" Shauna yelled, chasing after him with Kinniekins in her hands.

"Shauna! Wait!" Serena exclaimed, chasing after her friend, with Marisso in pursuit.

That left the two boys by themselves. Trevor sighed in relief, while Tierno sighed in exhaustion.

"Why did Professor Sycamore choose him, anyways?" Trevor asked.

"The professor must have had a good reason to do so," Tierno reasoned. "I just hope the girls don't blow a fuse with him."

As they entered Route 2, Shauna finally caught up with Calem, who stopped, noticing her presence.

"What do you want now?" Calem asked.

"What do I want? I want you to apologize now!" Shauna yelled.

"Shauna, wait up..." Serena whined as she finally caught up to her.

Calem glanced at Serena, then shifted his glare at Shauna, who was returning it with her own.

"And what do I apologize for?" Calem asked. "I never agreed to go on your stupid journey with you. You just assumed that."

"But shouldn't we go on the journey together, since we have the pokédexes?" Serena tried to reason.

"Maybe, but I work alone," Calem replied back. "So if you're done, then scram. I'm gonna head off now."

"That tears it!" Shauna yelled, letting Kinniekins land onto the ground. "You and I are going to battle! NOW!"

"Wha–Shauna?!" Serena gasped.

"Really now," Calem said, somewhat interested.

"If I win, then you apologize!" Shauna yelled.

"And if I win?" Calem asked.

"Then you can do whatever you want, and I'll apologize," Shauna muttered.

"Fair enough," Calem said. "But you sure you're up for this?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shauna asked, rather agitated.

"Your fennekin is a Fire-type, and Froakie here is a Water-type," Calem said. "It doesn't take rocket science to know that Froakie has the type advantage. And you just got Fennekin, so skill won't certainly save you here."

"Why you..." Shauna grumbled, angry that he had a point.

"Shauna, let's just drop it and let him do what he wants..." Serena tried to dissuade her friend.

"Then Serena will help me!" Shauna suddenly declared.

"Wha–ME?!" Serena gasped. "Nonononononononono–I can't fight! This is my first time having a Pokémon battle!"

"C'mon, Seré, help me out here," Shauna pleaded. "As much as I hate to admit it, he has a point. Froakie is a Water-type, and Kinniekins is a Fire-type. But Marisso is a Grass-type, which has the advantage against Froakie."

"B-But..." Serena mumbled, before caving for the sake of her friend. "O-Okay..."

"Yes!" Shauna exclaimed. "Alright, you got yourself a battle!"

"Good," Calem said. "The sooner we do this, the sooner I'm rid of you brats."

Froakie looked at Calem rather uneasily. This was Froakie's first battle, and he had to fight both Fennekin and Chespin?

"Just trust me and follow my commands exactly," Calem told his partner. "We'll win this."

Froakie looked a little disbelieving, but complied nonetheless.

"Alright, Kinniekins! Time for our battling debut!" Shauna exclaimed as Kinniekins got in front of Shauna.

"M-Marisso!" Serena exclaimed, as Marisso got in a defensive stance.

"You can have the first move," Calem said as Froakie took a fighting stance.

"Alright then, Kinniekins, Tackle!" Shauna swiftly commanded.

Kinniekins complied quickly and charged at Froakie.

"Jump and use Pound when it gets under you," Calem simply commanded.

Froakie complied and jumped to the air, dodging Kinniekins completely, then pounded Kinniekins with his hand as she passed under him.

"Kinniekins!" Shauna cried. "C'mon, Seré! Help me out!"

"Wah! S-Sorry!" Serena squeaked. "Marisso...uh...use Tackle!"

Marisso complied and charged at Froakie as the frog landed on the ground.

"Growl," Calem commanded.

Froakie let out a growl, discouraging Marisso somewhat and making him slow down a little during the Tackle.

"Now intercept with Pound."

Froakie then smashed his hand at Marisso as the hedgehog charged at him. Froakie managed to push Marisso back, causing the Grass-type to tumble back. Froakie landed back in front of Calem, genuinely surprise that he's able to fend off two opponents with ease.

"What?" Serena asked, somewhat confused.

"Growl lowers your opponents attack," Calem explained. "So it weakened your chespin's Tackle, allowing Froakie to overpower it."

"Kinniekins, use Ember!" Shauna yelled.

The fox got back up and spewed small flames at Froakie from behind.

"Turn around and use Bubble."

Froakie made a quick 180 turn and spewed a stream of bubbles at Kinniekins, erasing the Embers and blasting Kinniekins with bubbles.

"-Kyaaa!?-" Kinniekins yelped as she was hit with the water attack.

"Kinniekins, no!" Shauna cried.

"Shauna!" Serena gasped. "Marisso...uh...what do you know...?"

As it in reply, thin vines came out from Marisso's collar as he ran at Froakie and unleashed them at the frog.

"Grab them," Calem commanded.

Froakie turned around as the vines headed for him and grabbed them right before they were about to hit.

"Eh?!" Serena blurted.

"Your attack was lowered, remember?" Calem reminded her. "At least you're using a type advantage though."

"Why can't we land a single hit on him!?" Shauna yelled. "Ember!"

Kinniekins got back up and spewed more flames at Froakie while he was still occupied with Marisso.

"Hurl Chespin at Fennekin," Calem commanded.

Froakie mustered up enough strength to yank at the vines and pull Marisso towards him, then hurled the Grass-type at the incoming Embers, using him as a shield from the fire and a projectile that crashed into the fox.

"Marisso!" Serena cried.

"Sorry!" Shauna said to Serena.

"Finish Fennekin off with Bubble."

As the two mammals got back up, Froakie spewed another stream of bubbles. They had no time to react, so the bubbles hit them head on, making the fox faint from the impact.

"Oh no, Kinniekins!" Shauna cried.

"One down, one to go," Calem muttered.

"-Kinniekins!-" Marisso cried.

"Now, what're we gonna do with you?" Calem asked Serena. "You can always back down."

"H-Huh?" Serena asked as Shauna rushed over to heal her partner.

"You were dragged into this," Calem said. "So it's only fair that you get the choice in the matter. Do you want to quit now? Or do you want to continue?"

Serena looked somewhat shocked at Calem's offer. She was about to call off the battle, until she saw Shauna tending to her partner. She couldn't let her friend down, but how was she to win this? Even if Marisso had the type advantage, it was clear that Calem was far more experienced than both of them, utilizing Froakie's superior speed to outmaneuver both of them. It was a losing battle.

"So?" Calem asked. "What'll it be?"

"I-I..." Serena mumbled, before making up her mind. "I won't concede!"

"Well now," Calem said, somewhat impressed by her sudden courage.

"Seré?" Shauna asked, surprised by her friend's declaration.

"You entrusted me to help you win this battle," Serena said to Shauna. "And I don't want to let you down!"

"...Interesting," Calem smirked as Froakie took another fighting stance.

"Can you go on, Marisso?" Serena asked him.

Marisso nodded in response, motivated by his trainer. But as they were about to continue, a buzzing noise came from the trees around them.

"What was that?" Shauna asked.

The buzzing sound grew and grew, until finally a swarm of large bipedal wasps, angrily surrounding them.

"Wah!" Serena cried.

"What the–?!" Shauna gasped.

"Tch...A horde of beedrills," Calem muttered. "We must've stepped in their territory."

The beedrills began to attack them one by one. The three of them made a run for it back to town, with the beedrills in pursuit. One of the beedrills shot several streams of white orbs at them.

"Duck!" Calem yelled, where they all dropped to the ground, managing to avoid the steams. "Pin Missile..."

"Can't we stop them!?" Serena asked.

"We could if you hadn't taken down Kinniekins!" Shauna yelled at Calem, holding her unconscious Fire-type.

"Bubble!" Calem yelled to Froakie.

Froakie spewed his stream of bubbles at the beedrills, but the wasps swatted them away easily with their long stingers.

"Tch...These guys won't do..." Calem muttered.

Another beedrill's stinger began to glow a sickly bright purple, as it aimed it at Marisso.

"Crap, it's aiming Poison Jab at Chespin!" Calem yelled.

Before Serena could do anything about it, the beedrill lunged for Marisso. Marisso managed to dodge the attack barely, while another beedrill aimed its stinger at Marisso and fired another set of Pin Missiles.

"Marisso duck!" Serena yelled.

Marisso ducked and avoided the missiles, but they were now headed for Serena.

"Seré!" Shauna cried.

Marisoo looked behind to see the attack heading for her way and pushed her down, avoiding the Pin Missiles barely.

"Th-thanks, Marisso..." Serena said.

Marisso gave a weak smile, before facing the beedrills.

"-You bullies!-" Marisso yelled. "-Go pick on someone your own size!-"

The beedrills looked at Marisso as if they were analyzing him. After a while, the beedrill aimed its stinger at Marisso and lunged for him. Marisso tried to retaliate with Vine Whip, but the beedrill swatted it away and stabbed him with his stinger.

"-Agh!-" Marisso gagged.

"Marisso!" Serena cried as she rushed over to his aid.

The beedrills began to gather around Serena and Marisso, as she held Marisso in her arms.

"Are you alright?" Serena asked.

Marisso groaned in pain, as he tried to get out of her grasp to face the beedrills to no avail.

"Stop! You can't fight anymore!" Serena yelled.

The beedrills began to buzz some more, seemingly communicating with one another, until one of them formed another Poison Jab and aimed it at Serena.

"Seré!" Shauna cried.

The beedrill stared at Serena, then lunged in for the kill. Seeing no way out of it, Serena could do nothing but brace for the incoming attack, closing her eyes and shielding Marisso with her own body.

"Looks like that's your limit."

Serena expected the needle to pierce her body, but nothing happened. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see what had happened.

"Eh?" she asked.

In front of her was Calem holding a pokéball that was completely red and somewhat glossy, and in front of him was a large bipedal avian-like creature with a primarily red body with accents of beige, yellow and gray, holding the beedrill's stinger in place with its talon-like claws. Behind its head were beige hair-like feathers that continue down and surrounded its chest and abdomen.

"...What...?" Serena asked.

"-Whoa...-" Marisso said in awe.

"What is that...?" Shauna asked, having never seen such a Pokémon before.

Serena snapped out of her shock and activated her pokédex and scanned the Pokémon in front of her.

"Entry data does not exist in current version of the Kalos Central Pokédex," it read.

"What?" Serena asked.

"Blaziken isn't part of the Kalos Pokédex," Calem explained. "Hell, he isn't even native to this region."

"Blaziken?" Serena asked, looking up to the Pokémon in question.

Blaziken didn't respond and was simply staring at the beedrill he was holding. The beedrill began to panic and tried to break free from its grasp.

"Eliminate the targets in front of you," Calem ordered.

Blaziken nodded in response as fire began to exhaust from his wrist, burning the beedrill's stinger. Crying in agony, the beedrill tried to desperately break free to no avail. Blaziken decided to grant its wish and hurled it at the other beedrills.

"Flamethrower."

The fire around Blaziken's wrist began to surround his fist, as he aimed his arm at the beedrills. He then released an intense stream of flames from it, blasting the wasps with extreme flames. As he scorched the wasps in the fire, a blue spark emitted around Blaziken.

"Whoa!" Shauna gasped.

Some of the beedrills managed to avoid the Flamethrower and unleashed a storm of Pin Missiles at Blaziken. Blaziken simply opened his claw, making the Flamethrower spread out into a sort of shield, protecting him and everyone behind him from the Pin Missiles with a shield of fire. While Serena, Shauna and Marisso were in pure shock and awe, Calem still had his icy and uncaring look, unimpressed by the spectacle in front of him. All while another blue spark emitted around Blaziken. Once the storm was done, one of the beedrills turned to see Shauna by herself, and made a mad dash for her, brandishing its stinger in the process.

"SHAUNA!" Serena screamed in fear.

Calem simply gestured to Shauna, where Blaziken dropped his shield and seemingly vanished, then reappeared in front of Shauna before the beedrill got close and smashed his foot into the Bug-type's head, sending him crashing into a tree.

"How is it so fast?" Serena asked.

"Blaziken has a Hidden Ability that most of his species don't possess," Calem revealed.

"A Hidden Ability?" Serena asked.

"Speed Boost," Calem explained. "After every move that Blaziken does, whether they be an attack or defense, his speed will increase by one stage until it reaches its peak."

The beedrills got enraged, and they all aimed their stingers at Blaziken, charging up a massive amount of energy.

"Oh no, that's Hyper Beam!" Shauna gasped.

"Pathetic," Calem simply scoffed as Blaziken raised his arm.

They all fired their Hyper Beams at Blaziken, who in response slammed his claw into the ground, causing a huge spiked rock to shoot out from the ground and shield him and everyone behind him from the Hyper Beams. The beams were unable to break through the stone and dispersed to the sides.

"Woah...!" Shauna gasped.

Serena just sat there as she stared at Calem and his Pokémon in awe. The man just stood there with his arms crossed; a calm, somewhat bored gaze written all over his face upon the one-sided battle in front of him, showing absolutely no sign of worry or anxiety.

'His expression shows no worry...no fear...just an absolute sense of confidence with absolute power...' Serena thought. 'This is it...the kind of courage...the kind of confidence that can help me overcome my own fears...'

"This is becoming a waste of time," Calem muttered. "Blaziken, end it."

Blaziken nodded in response as he shattered the stone, sending the debris at the wasps. The Fire-type then sprung into the air at a startling speed and height.

"Brave Bird."

A fiery aura surrounded Blaziken as he curled up into a ball, quickly breaking out soon after while releasing a harsh cry. Fire began to form behind him, looking like they were bursting from his back and formed two blazing wings.

Blaziken then descended to the earth and charged straight for the bees, ramming and annihilating every single one of the beedrills, one at a time in a red blur of flares.

With only one left, Blaziken stopped his onslaught and glared at the bee. The beedrill, fearing its life, made no hesitation to flee, but the Fire-type zoomed past the bee and unleashed a nasty lariat, sending the poor Bug-type flying. Once the last threat was neutralized, Blaziken stopped his aura and landed on the ground, blue sparks harshly covering him from the recoil.

"-Target neutralized,-" Blaziken reported.

"Nice work, Blaziken," Calem said.

Blaziken nodded in acknowledgment. Calem then turned to the two girls, who were still awestruck from the onslaught that his Pokémon just unleashed.

"...Do you get it now?" Calem asked the two, which snapped them out of their stupor. "This is our difference. This is why I work alone. If you get that, then don't bother me."

As Calem turned around, he noticed Froakie, who was still in a similar stupor as the girls. "If you want out, then now's your only chance."

Froakie snapped out of it and looked up to his trainer. The power his Pokémon unleashed was unbelievable. Not to mention the trainer's skill was top-notch; he was definitely no amateur. The fact that his coordination allowed Froakie to outmaneuver two opponents at once, with relative ease, was proof enough. A spark lit up in the frog. The froakie wanted to see just what kind of path the boy would take; and was planning to take, that made him and his regal companion so strong.

By following him, surely he too would be able to obtain such power.

Fortunately for Froakie, Calem noticed the flare in his eyes.

"So that's what you want," Calem said, before smirking. "You better not regret it then."

Calem took out Froakie's pokéball and recalled his Water-type partner, adding him to his party. He glanced over to the two girls, rummaged through his bag and took out two potions, which he tossed to them.

"Here. Use them to heal your Pokémon," Calem said.

"T-Thank you..." Serena said.

Saying nothing more, Calem turned around to leave.

"Ah–Wait!" Serena yelled.

Calem stopped and glanced at her.

"W-We just wanted to thank you for saving us..." Serena mumbled. "And w-we also wanted to apologize for troubling you before."

"Wait, what–?!" Shauna yelled, before receiving a glare from Serena, shutting her up. "Yeah...we're sorry."

"Whatever," Calem said.

"And also..." Serena said. "W-We never got to finish our battle...but I know I can't possibly take you on now."

"True," Calem said. "You two combined couldn't take on a froakie that just started battling. If I had unleashed Blaziken on you two, it wouldn't even last for five seconds."

His dry wit still managed to tick off Shauna, where Serena kept her from lunging at the boy, even though he was right.

"...If that's the problem, then get stronger," Calem simply said. "Become strong enough to take me on then. I'll gladly finish our battle then."

With that, Calem headed for the woods beyond the route they were on, leaving Serena and Shauna with their own partners, as they quickly healed their Pokémon with it.

"Man, he still manages to pull off being a jerk," Shauna grumbled. "Even if he did save our lives..."

Shauna looked up to Serena for a response, but all she got was her staring at Calem's retreating form.

"Serena...?" she asked, but still got no response.

"Serena! Shauna!"

The two girls turned to see Tierno and Trevor racing up to them.

"Are you two alright?!" Tierno asked as he caught up to them.

"Y-Yeah," Shauna said.

"Huh...? Where's Calem?" Trevor asked, looking around to find that the boy was not here.

"He went on ahead," Shauna said. "So get this!"

As Shauna explained to the two boys of what had happened, Serena stared back at where Calem had headed off. She picked up Marisso, who was glancing at Serena curiously.

"Marisso," Serena said. "Do you think we can become as strong as him?"

"-Of course!-" Marisso squeaked, encouraging his master with a thumbs up. "-We just have to work hard!-"

Despite being unable to understand what Marisso said, she could tell that he was answering 'yes', encouraging her to go for it.

"Serena!" Shauna exclaimed, getting her attention. "C'mon, we're heading back!"

"Okay!" Serena called back, as she and Marisso headed back to their group.

The girl rushed back to her friends, contemplating on becoming as strong as Calem. Definitely not today, would she be able to become that, but maybe, just maybe. If she trained hard, and never give up, then maybe she could become as strong as Calem.

Hopefully, she would be able to shed her timid self on the path to become a strong, more confident trainer.

"Pound."

Froakie jumped over a zigzagoon, avoiding its tackle, as he landed on the raccoon's head, knocking it out.

Satisfied, Calem nodded in approval, as he looked around the depths of Santalune Forest. He lifted his arm to a certain direction, where the strange stone on his wrist ring began to glow brilliantly. He slowly shifted his arm to the other direction, where the stone dimmed slightly, before retaining the initial luster.

"So there's two of them..." Calem commented, as Froakie returned to his side.

Calem pointed to the first direction, ordering Froakie to search for a certain item, which his frog complied. As Froakie was searching for what Calem had instructed him to find, Calem went to the other direction, searching for something. Using the brilliant light from his wrist ring as an indicator, Calem quickly found a small stone with a blue, orange and red swirl crystallized in it. Picking the stone up, Froakie returned to him.

"Did you find it?" Calem asked.

"-Yeah,-" Froakie responded, placing a similar stone with a light brown, orange and dark brown swirl crystallized in it.

"So there were two of them..." Calem commented, examining the two stones in each of his palms.

Froakie curiously examined the stones in Calem's hand along with his trainer.

"...Heracronite...and Pinsirite..." Calem commented.

Calem examined the two stones, before carefully putting them in his bag.

"...We got what we came here for," Calem told Froakie. "...Let's go."

"-Got it,-" Froakie nodded in response, as he rested on Calem's shoulder and the boy ventured on ahead.

To be continued

AN:That should be a good place to end it off. Hopefully this was a good start off for the journey through Kalos, starring our timid heroine aspiring to become a strong trainer, Serena, and the cold, elitist and not-rookie rival, Calem.

If you liked what you read, then that's great. Make sure to favorite and follow this story to stay up to date on when it gets updated. If you don't, well thanks for stopping by. Again, reviews, comments and critiques are welcome, just keep them classy and civil.

Also I will warn you ahead of time, don't expect fast updates like other stories. Especially since I'm juggling at least 2 other stories, and there's at least one more to come (a story based off of Platinum, which has been highly requested). So some patience will be needed. Sorry about that, but I have a life too y'know.

And speaking of Platinum, a story for Platinum is currently under development, so stay tuned for that. Following me would help so you would be informed of when it comes out and you don't have to wait for an indefinite amount of time or fish through the myriads of stories in the site. i mean you don't have to, but it seems like the easier route.

Okay, that should be everything, so I'll see you next time. Thanks for coming, and take care.