Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. I'm just using characters, games, materials, etc for the purpose of this story.

Pokémon Z – The Kalos Chronicles

Chapter Two

Calem sat in the middle of his room, hiding underneath his duvet on the ground. His clothes were in a pile on the ground as he threw on his light blue pyjamas as soon as he got home. The curtains were pulled, leaving no light in. The former Champion sat there, deep in thought. He knew he shouldn't have ventured outside. The lure of adventure and the thrill of battling almost made him forget how scary the world could be. How scary the media was and how scary it was when he couldn't defend his Pokémon from the paparazzi. He couldn't ever let anyone suffer through that again, even if it meant that he never battled again.

There something about that Froakie though. Calem couldn't help but feel a desire to train alongside him. There was a spark in his eye that Calem had felt before. It was something he had felt when he was having so much fun competing back in the day. The thrill of winning, of coming up with strategies, of facing insurmountable odds and having all your hard work and efforts pay off.

A soft thud on his bedroom window snapped Calem out of his thoughts. The sound happened again and again. 'Guess Serena is here to talk to me again,' he thought to himself, 'I owe her an explanation I guess.'

He pulled back the curtain expecting to see Serena in her usual spot outside but instead came face to face with a small blue frog. "Fro!" He yelled before grabbing more of his frubbles and throwing that at the window again.

"What are you doing?" Calem asked, recovering from his initial shock. "I can't be your trainer. You should see if one of the others will be your trainer instead. I can't."

This just seemed to anger the frog. "Froakie!" he yelled, before flinging more frubbles at the window.

Calem just sighed. "Fine, be like that then. I'm just going back to bed." Closing the curtain, Calem sat back down on the ground. "He'll get the hint eventually and go away. Just have to wait him out."

After a few minutes, the noise stopped. Calem smiled a sad but relived smile. As much fun as training that Froakie would have been, this was for the best. He would go find a trainer who could properly raise him and protect him. Getting up to check the window, Calem fell backward at the sight outside his window before he rose to his feet to check his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

The entire roof was covered with frubbles as Froakie stood there making a snowman out of some of it. The sight was so bizarre that Calem couldn't help but almost chuckle at the Pokémon's antics. The water starter looked up into time and locked eyes with the teen. Calem dropped down out of sight. He couldn't let Froakie see him laugh. That would give the poor Pokémon some false hope.

Calem hid underneath his windowsill for a few moments. Something compelled him to check back in on the Pokémon again. He lifted his head up to see the roof empty of any Pokémon. He stood up fully smiling that Froakie finally gave up. What he didn't expect was to see the frog making snow angels in the frubbles on the ground. This time Calem couldn't hold in his laugh. He had to lean on the window for support, accidentally pushing it open.

Seizing this opportunity, Froakie hopped up onto his feet and jumped in the window before Calem could react. The boy turned quickly to see his visitor sit on the ground beside his blanket. He couldn't help but smile ruefully. 'Well played, Froakie,' he thought, 'well played.'

Serena stood out in the front yard of her house watching the scene with a smile. It had been the first time Calem had laughed in years. It felt like there was a massive weight slowly being lifted off her chest. This Froakie might finally get Calem out of his shell and back to the trainer he once was. Moving on, she made her way to her house, softly scratching the resting Fennekin in her arms behind the ears.

When she pushed open the front, she saw her mother working on that evening's dinner. She briefly looked up from the pot she was gently stirring. "Oh. Hi, sweetie."

"Hey, mother," Serena replied. There was an awkward silence in the room. "So, this is my new partner Fennekin. I got her from Professor Sycamore."

Her mother, Grace the famous Rhyhorn race, looked up properly this time. "Oh, well isn't she a cutie! So, you're going to become a Pokémon trainer then?"

Serena knew where this was heading. "Mother, can we please not do this again? Not tonight."

Grace started scowling. "What do you mean? I'm just asking you a question?"

Serena took off her hat and placed it on the counter. "It's never just a question with you though. We both know what you're really trying to say."

Grace stopped stirring the pot on the ring at that. She turned and faced her daughter fully know. "Is it so bad that your mother is worried about your future and your lack of direction so far?"

"See?" Serena shot back, "This is all about me not wanting to become a Rhyhorn racer like you."

"Well, what do you plan to do instead?" Grace yelled red in the face with anger.

"I-I'm working on it…" Serena weakly offered in response, "You wouldn't understand…."

The argument settled down and the two ate their dinner in an awkward silence. As soon as Serena finished, she went up to her room. She collapsed on her bed after she set Fennekin down gently beside her bed. She knew what she wanted to do, but how could she tell her mother? It would completely crush her. Serena didn't get along the best with her mother, always feeling pressured into following in her footsteps as a Rhyhorn racer, but she didn't want to hurt her either.

How could she explain that she wanted to be a Sky Trainer? This was a class of trainer that looked down heavily on Rhyhorn racers. They saw them as "crawling around on the dirt where they belonged". It would devastate her mother to hear that her own daughter wanted to join this snooty bunch after she worked so hard to make Rhyhorn racing so respectable in both the Sinnoh and Kalos Regions.

She looked out her window at Calem's window. There was a light on in his room, casting his silhouette against the curtain. She remembered a conversation that she had with him when he first moved in. Even as a small child, he knew what it was he wanted and how to inspire others to follow their dreams. She really hoped Froakie could find that person she knew was still there, deep down.

Calem was sitting down on the ground, watching Froakie hop around the place. 'Can this guy every just stay still for a minute?'

The energetic frog Pokémon had been a non-stop bundle of energy since he got into Calem's room. Jumping from desk to shelf, he was clearly showing off his athleticism. Calem quickly deduced the two key reasons for his actions. One, he wanted to try to impress Calem enough with his skill to convince him to be his trainer. The second was to try to get Calem to laugh again. This Pokémon was apparently a real clown.

Calem felt a strong connection to the frog Pokémon, even before he visited him. As much as he tried to fight the urge, he couldn't stop thinking of cool strategies and battle plans to use alongside the Pokémon. However, Calem knew that it would be selfish of him to the Pokémon involved with him. The paparazzi would never leave him alone if he did. It wouldn't be fair on Froakie.

BBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!

A sudden shock erupted from nowhere. Judging from the fact it came from behind Calem's house, he guessed something happened on Route 1. Froakie stopped needlessly jumping around and came to a stop on Calem's shoulder. He looked him dead in his eyes, completely focused. He kept pointing out the window, indicating the fact he wanted to investigate. Calem was also curious, rushing down the stairs and running to the gateway.

Darkness has started to settle down over Vanville Town as the sun had set. The normal calm air of the peaceful town was suddenly thick with tension. Various Flying-type Pokémon could be seen flying overhead, while several Bunnelbys were scampering out of the grass. 'What in the name of the Llama God Arceus just happened here?'

"Cal!"

The black haired trainer turned to face his friends who were rushing towards him. Trevor was completely wrapped up in a futon, making it a wonder he didn't trip up. Shauna was wearing a pink frilly dressing gown, her hair down out of her signature pigtails. Tierno was in a vest and shorts, looking like he had been dancing when he heard the noise. Serena gracefully leaped down from her bedroom window to meet them, wearing a little purple sleeveless hoodie and pink shorts, with a pink ribbon tying her hair back from her face.

"What's going on?" Trevor asked, "I was just reading through Professor Rowan's latest publication as a bit of fun, light reading when I heard an explosion."

"Wait! Light reading?" Shauna asked perplexed, "How do you consider that stuff to be light reading?"

Calem shook his head. "Forget it. One mystery at a time. It seemed like the explosion came from Route 1."

"Then we better check it out," Serena said as she took off running down the pathway.

"Serena!" Tierno yelled at her, "Wait up for us!"

The group chased after her, Froakie leading the group. After a few moments, they came to the sight of the explosion. Thick black clouds were surrounding the trees, rising from a blackened hole in the ground. Serena was making her way over there to check on a figure in the clouds. Froakie leaped in front of her, to make sure no one could sneak attack her in the darkness.

As the clouds started to disappear, two figures came into focus. A blue and black bipedal Pokémon was gingerly on one knee, slowly trying to get to his feet. Behind him was a petite, blonde girl. She was wearing a white t-shirt and skirt, her look was completed with rollerblades and a helmet. Quickly, she rushed forwards to check on her Pokémon, who was rather unsteady and looked like it might collapse at any time.

"Lucario!" she yelled out.

Quickly the group made their way over. Calem went to check on the hurt Lucario, hating to see the Pokémon suffering. Serena checked the blonde girl for injuries. Besides, a few cuts and small bruises she was OK. It appeared that the Lucario had taken most of the impact. Trevor was scanning the area and found bits of mud splattered around the place, it must have been from the blast.

"T-Thanks for the help and everything…" the blonde muttered, coughing slightly, "but we can't wait around here."

Tierno gasped once he got a look at the girl's face. "Y-Y-You're Korrina, right?"

Serena looked back at Tierno with confusion, "You mean the Korrina? As in the Shalour City Gym Leader? But what would you be doing so far away from your gym?"

"That's me," Korrina replied, stumbling forward. "I'll answer your questions later. I have to hurry. A thief stole one of my Pokémon eggs."

Calem's attention immediately switched to Korrina. "What? What way did he go?" Korrina weakly raised her hand and pointed in the direction of Aquacorde Town. Calem took off sprinting without another word. Froakie chased after his desired trainer. The former Junior Champion wouldn't let any Pokémon get hurt while he could do something about it. He'd find the thief.

"Come on, Calem!" Serena yelled after him, giving chase. "Don't go running off on your own like this. We should stick together. After all, we don't even know what the thief looks like."

"Ha. Letting a bunch of kids bail me out like this. Hardly the most glamorous look for a Gym Leader." Korrina ran after the two, taking a moment to yell back at Lucario, "Don't worry, I'll make that red suit weirdo pay."

Calem quickly made his way to Aquacorde Town. He started shifting his eyes around in every direction as he ran to the centre of town. All of a sudden, he bumped into a tall man, knocking the cups he was carrying onto the ground. The burly man yelled in frustration.

"Oi. Watch it, kid." Calem recognised him as the owner of the local Inn. "I needed those lattés for a special guest!"

"Sorry, I'll pay you back later," Calem shouted as he took off running again. He made his way to the opposite side of the Town square when something caught his eye.

Just before the bridge to Route 2, Calem saw a man in a red suit pass on under a street lamp. Beside him, was a large Diggersby. What was interesting to Calem though was what was in the Diggersby's ear/hand: a Pokémon egg. No doubt about it, it was the thief.

"Hey, thief!" Calem yelled. "Stop!"

The man in the red suit turned around, "Do you honestly think yelling at me to stop will make me stop?"

"You just did!" Serena replied, making up the ground between her and Calem. "Along with being unstylish, you're not very bright are you?"

"What did you say about Team Flare's suit?" The man's face turned as red as the suit at the insult. "Diggersby! I think we have to teach this brat some respect."

Serena took out the Pokéball from her pocket. "Go, Fennekin." The small yellow fox appeared before her. Froakie jumped in front of Calem in a similar manner.

"We have to be careful here." Calem whispered to Serena, "That Diggersby is still holding the egg. We can't cause him to drop it."

"Good point." Serena nodded along, "Me and Fennekin will focus on distracting Diggersby. You and Froakie focus on getting the egg back."

"Like I'll lose to a couple of brats!" The Team Flare Grunt yelled. Diggersby! Mud Shot!"

"Fennekin! Dodge it and hit back with ember!" The small fox evaded, barely avoiding the dirt landing on her fur, before shooting off a small spark of fire. Diggersby recoiled from the heat, picking up a slight burn on its left ear-arm.

"Keep him on the back foot, Froakie, with bubbles!" Calem yelled. The small frog jumped out of the dust that rose up from the Mud Shot. Diggersby was unable to track his movements and took the burst of bubbles head on.

"Damn it!" Flare muttered, realising the situation he found himself in, "That Froakie is fast and Diggersby used up most of his energy fighting Lucario…. Even that fight he only won with a sneak attack…. I have to think of a way out of this…. It's tough for Diggersby to fight while holding the egg…"

"Fennekin, follow up with Tackle!" The small fox rushed recklessly into battle with the much bigger Pokémon.

"Quick, use Dig!" Diggersby tossed the egg back to the Flare Grunt to catch, before burrowing into the ground. Fennekin came to a halt, confused where its opponent disappeared to.

Calem immediately seized the opportunity to act. "Froakie, shoot a constant stream of bubbles down there." After this, he rushed at the Grunt hoping to catch him off guard. Running across the battlefield, Calem dove at the man as Diggersby popped back up struggling to stand. The man dodged as he stood on the edge of the bridge, holding the egg close to his chest.

"Damn it….. I didn't expect to be run into a corner like this…" He mumbled under his breath, glancing over his shoulder to see the steady stream of the river. "I know the Leader wants the egg and all, but it's better to have a tactical retreat….."

"You won't get away that easy!" Calem yelled, picking himself back up off the ground. He moved closer to the Grunt before he suddenly held the egg over the edge.

"Not another step or I drop this egg, brat!"

Calem immediately froze. Behind him, he could feel Serena do the same although Diggersby was also stationary. "That's right. Don't get any funny ideas, Hero." The man held out his Pokéball, "Diggersby return. Now here's how this is gonna go…."

Without warning, the man let go of the egg and ran. Calem ran up to the ledge and jumped after the egg. He couldn't let the Pokémon be hurt. He had to protect it no matter the cost. Grabbing the egg, Calem pulled it in close to his chest before his back broke the fall and he was dragged under the water.

"Calem!" Serena shrieked, running to the edge to dive in after him when she found herself being held back by Tierno, "Let me go. I have to save him."

"Siri! Calm down." Tierno shouted, slightly muffled by the flailing fist hitting him in the face. "We have to be calm and try sort this out."

Calem's head popped back up as he started being carried downwards by the stream. He was still clutching the egg close to his chest. Gasping for breath, he struggled to keep afloat and hold onto the egg. He had to think of a plan quickly. He looked up the stream to see a series of rocks sticking out of the water. If he wasn't careful, he'd bash into all of those rocks. The egg would be destroyed and he could be injured.

"Think! Think! Think!" He yelled out loud hoping for an idea. Looking back at the bridge, he saw his friends and all their Pokémon watching him. Serena was relentlessly trying to escape Tierno's grip, Shauna silently praying and Trevor frantically looking through one of his note books. The stones were getting closer and closer with every passing second.

'This is a sticky situation alright.' Calem thought to himself, 'Wait! Sticky! Of course!' "Froakie, on the count of three, throw some of your frubbles at me!" The small frog frowned slightly, clearly confused by Calem's strange order, "Trust me. One….. Two… Three!"

Froakie threw bits of frubbles at Calem, who quickly raised one of his arms. The frubbles attached itself to it and bound his arm to the first rock. The former Junior Champion flinched as his arm hit the rock; however, it kept him attached and afloat. Calem tightened his grip on the egg to keep it secure when cracks started to form. Slowly, the egg started shaking. A glowing light appeared around the egg as a small Rilou popped his head up, out of the egg.

"Hey there, little guy." Calem softly whispered, not wanting to scare him. "Everything will be just fine. Hold tight someone will save us." The small Pokémon locked eyes with Calem before he gave a nod and grabbed onto Calem's shirt.

Right on cue, two long, slimy arms gently wrapped themselves around the teen. The Vanville trainer looked up to see a Goodra reaching over to pick him up. The frubbles gently came off as the slimy Dragon Pokémon lifted Calem out of the water and carried him back to the bridge. There were two more figures on the bridge now. Korrina, and a purple haired lady wearing a large white coat and sunglasses.

As soon as Goodra let Calem down, Serena pulled him in for a hug. "Jeez, what were you thinking doing something so reckless?" She muttered, burying her face in his chest, "You could have been hurt…. or worse."

'Too close!' Calem thought as he felt his cheeks go red. "S-sorry. I didn't really think things through. I just acted."

"Well, well. What a scene we have here." The purple haired lady teased, smiling at the sight of the two teens embracing. "If the cute couple is done, we have the matter of the Rilou to deal with, right?"

"C-Couple?" Serena stammered, pulling her head back to look at Calem.

"That's the part you focus on, Siri?" Shauna sighed, looking exasperated.

"Right," Calem mumbled, clearly uncomfortable with the attention on him. He awkwardly escaped Serena's hug before staggering to his feet. Rilou was still holding onto his arm. "Here's you Pokémon." He murmured holding his arms out to Korrina.

The blonde smiled as she gently picked up Rilou. The little black paw of his was reluctant to let go of Calem's arm. Slowly, he released and turned to look at the beaming face of the Shalour City Gym Leader. "Thanks, Calem. You really helped me out here."

Calem started pulling his fringe down, shifting his feet as he looked at the ground. "No problem. I didn't do much."

Tierno threw his arm around his friend. "You were so cool, Cal. It was like you were Red from that episode of Adventures."

"You certainly have some talent as a trainer with that Froakie of yours," Korrina commented.

"He's not mine," Calem mumbled. "And I'm not a trainer. Not anymore….."

The purple haired lady removed her sunglasses as she looked at him.

"You wouldn't happen to be the Calem who was once Junior Champion, would you?" Her light purple eyes analysed him as she saw her answer on the boys face. "You had a real talent as a trainer. It's a shame you quit."

Calem flinched at her words. "Not like I had much of a choice."

"There's always a choice." The ladies voice was friendly, but stern like a scolding mother. "I know your story. You can't let other make you give up something that you love. Not without a real fight."

"You think I didn't fight?" Calem snapped back, glaring at the woman.

"I think others forced your hand." She retorted. "I can sense your love for Pokémon. You wouldn't have risked your life for Rilou if you didn't. This Froakie clearly believes in you and wants you to be its trainer. You still have that fire burning inside of you, no matter how deep down in your chest you hide it. Do you deny the thrill of battle?"

Calem merely lowered his head. He knew the answer. He knew he wanted to be a trainer.

"Then listen up." The lady's entire presence changed around her. "I'm challenging you. Fight for your dreams. Become a trainer who fights alongside his Pokémon. Become someone who is worthy to face the Elite Four. Then once you've done this, I will face you. I will face you at my full power as Champion. That's my challenge. Do you accept?" She held out her hand.

An awestruck silence fell over the group as they realised who they were talking to. The Champion. The Movie Star. The one and only Diantha.

Calem felt a fire burn inside his chest. A fire he hadn't felt in a long time. It was a feeling he had taken for granted. He glanced over at his friends. In his head, the media and paparazzi no longer hide them from view. He could see his friends once again. Tierno and Shauna were giving eager thumbs up. Trevor was a stunned silence. Serena was gave a single nod, trying to hold back a smile and tears. Froakie was anxiously looking at Calem.

Finally, Calem could feel a light at the end of the tunnel. He reached out and shook Diantha's hand. His journey was finally starting.

{A/N}

Hey. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. Thanks to anyone who favourited, followed or reviewed this story. I appreciate any reviews so I can tell what's working and what isn't. I didn't want Calem to come across as edgy or too much of a loner, but his manga counterpart is really depressed and reserved at the start of the story, so I wanted to capture that. Let me know if you have any suggestions for the Pokémon names or anything. Thanks for reading. Best wishes.