-Mairin-

Astrid gripped the Key Stone she had for an earring and yelled, "Absol, Mega Evolve!" Her blonde hair shook in the wind, which sped up as the rainbow energy of Mega Evolution was released. Her Absol seemed to grow wings out of its fur before facing the redhead before it.

"Wow! Never saw a Mega Absol before! Ready, Garchomp?" asked Mairin, glancing at the dragon beside her. She had cut her hair short prior to this, and styled it with two spikes, similar to Garchomp's two nubs on its head. She turned her gray hat, with a yellow star-like marking on the front, and planted her feet in the ground. Her amber eyes burned with a passion to battle, and she showed it. After all, she had barely scraped by with what money she had won to buy even affordable trainer clothes, like the ones they saw in Laverre City. Granted, that may have not been the best place to go shopping, but it was the closest at the time, and had lower prices than the Xerneas-forsaken Boutique Couture in Lumiose. She had a dark gray shirt with an orange parka, as they had planned to make a route towards Snowbelle eventually. She had the same shade of orange for her shorts, and their voluminous pockets contained the Pokemon she had caught, other than Garchomp.

"Keystone! Let our hearts open a path! Beyond Evolution, Mega Evolve!" It was a familiar phrase she had insisted on saying each time she Mega Evolved, even with Garchomp's obvious protests. However, it was a sort of catchphrase at this point, and nobody really cared.

An ethereal energy surrounded the Garchomp, and the familiar light, shrouded in many sparkling colors, signaled the Mega Evolution working. Spikes started to form along the edges of Garchomp's chest, and appeared on its legs as well. Its jaw stretched out, snapping as it got used to the sensation. Finally, to indicate the closing of the transformation, the rest of the energy melted the tips of its arms into the arm blades, making them humongous scythes. As soon as the light faded, before the two trainers were two Mega-Evolved Pokemon, raring for a battle.

"Mega Garchomp! So that's what it looks like!" mused Astrid. "Alright, ready? Absol, let's start off with a Future Sight!" Absol's horn started to glow purple, and sent chunks of psychic energy into the sky, storing them in some other dimension.

(NOTE: Pokemon can learn more than four moves. Why? It just seems impractical not to.)

"Now, Garchomp!" Mairin swept her hand to her side, commanding a single move. "Dragon Rush!" Garchomp obediently rushed forward, and tackled Absol, releasing the draconic energy coated on its body. Absol was pushed back, before standing up again.

"Sol!" it roared as a challenge to the ground-type dragon. At Astrid's command, it released an Ice Beam from its mouth, aiming at Garchomp.

"Dodge, then use Stone Edge!" commanded Mairin, and Garchomp used its scythe-like wings to leap up into the air, raising a series of stones from the ground. Absol leapt up on one of them, and called down the Future Sight from earlier, it crashing into a pillar of stone before a second burst of energy came through and hit Garchomp. Garchomp was sent flying back, using its scythes to anchor itself.

"Interesting tactic you've got there," noted Astrid. "You blocked part of the Future Sight with a Stone Edge. You planned farther ahead."

"All part of the game, sister," said Mairin as she smiled, lips pressed together thinly. "Earthquake!"

-Alain-

Much to the fire-type's dislike, water was splashed all over it as its trainer fell into the stream they had been trying to cross. Keyword, trying. The ground shook again, this time with much more force. Getting out of the stream to try and dry, the Charmeleon's trainer shook his head, clearing his mind.

Alain had been traveling for not three months, and had already evolved his Charmander into a Charmeleon. He grinned to his Charmeleon, laughing while running his hands through his black hair. "That's… unlucky."

Another tremor.

"Do you wanna go check that out?" asked Alain, straightening up and crossing the ankle-deep water. Although he was already fourteen, he had insisted to continue studying at school and working part-time for the professor. Charmeleon grunted in agreement.

After going through a bit more forest, the two came across the source of all the clash and tremor-two Mega-Evolved Pokemon.

"That's what the professor talked about! Remember, Charmeleon?" That was true, in the fact that Professor Sycamore had gone over Mega Evolution a few times. However, only the Beedrill they had at the greenhouse and refuge were capable of that, after he gave away his Gible. Alain was very curious about this newly discovered aspect of Pokemon, and wanted to learn more. Thus, he started on a journey with his Charmander.

The two's eyes darted back and forth between the Mega Absol, which had its energy from a small necklace, and the Mega Garchomp, which had its stone on the end of its tail, very discreetly clamped on. This was no regular battle, for sure.

-Mairin-

Hailing from the skies were the last of a Draco Meteor, dying down as the last of Absol's energy faded away. It transformed back into its regular form, its wings disintegrating. Garchomp transformed back as well, earning a well-deserved berry from Mairin.

"You're really good, Mairin," said Astrid as she called Absol back to her Pokeball. The two shook hands, and Mairin happily skipped away with Garchomp.

They arrived at a secluded area, with a waterfall adding to its aesthetic quality. Mairin rushed ahead, only to be caught by Garchomp's fin as she tripped over a rock. "Haha! Silly me!" Suddenly, she stopped splashing water with her hands as she heard a sudden twig snap. Garchomp's head swiveled around to the area of the noise, and Mairin smiled. "If you want a rematch, I'm welcome to do so."

"O-oh! I'm not…" Putting his hands up, a boy around Mairin's age, if not older, crawled out of his hiding spot in the bushes, along with a Charmeleon. "Uh, hi?"

Mairin put her hands on her hips. "You were watching our battle, weren't you? Pleased to meet you, I'm Mairin." She walked up to the two, not realizing how much shorter she was than Alain until offering her hand, then realizing she was only about chest-high to him.

"I'm Alain." The two shook hands, and their Pokemon each nodded in acknowledgement to each other.

"Did you just begin your journey?" Mairin nodded to the Charmeleon playing with Garchomp, the latter a bit distressed that it couldn't pick up rocks like how Charmeleon could. "Seems like you got a Kanto Starter."

"Y-yeah. That and a Weavile."

"Going well balanced, I see." Mairin laughed.

Alain promptly flushed. "How long have you been training?"

"Oh, I was probably around eight when I first met my Garchomp. Running amok at the Lumiose lab, you see. Professor Sycamore wanted me to take it instead of a regular starter." Mairin smiled at Garchomp, then gestured for him to come forward. It slowly did, abandoning a cutely stacked rock pile in the center of a stepping stone, though most of the work was Charmeleon's.

"Well, with that I'll be taking my leave." Alain stood up, about to take out Charmeleon's Pokeball to recall it, but was stopped by Mairin.

"Wait! Don't you want a travel buddy or something? I might be experienced, but it's lonely with no humans! No offense, Gar." Her affectionate name for Garchomp, a shortened version, made 'Gar' roll its eyes before nodding.

Alain thought for a while, the Charmeleon looking up at him and conveying the same message as an increasingly insistent part of his mind was saying - "Take her, she's a strong trainer. Any sort of danger, it's good to have a travel buddy. Buddy system." He sighed. "You can come, I guess. Though, I thought I would be saying that to you. I mean, you're stronger."

"And I'm still a human! Can't wait to become friends with you, Alain!"

This was the beginning of a fierce rivalry, whether it looked like it or not.

A/N: Hello! Thank you for stopping by to read this Pokemon XYZ Swap Fanfiction! This starts off with the Mega Evolution Specials, then goes to the regular XYZ anime season's plot. Only Alain, Mairin, Ash and Serena have switched, along with a few minor characters. I'll be at the end of the chapters, giving thanks, notes, and whatnot. Thank you again!