Calem/Serena

Calem/Serena
Species	Human
Hair color	Black (Default - Calem) Honey (Default - Serena)
Eye color	Gray (Default)
Age	14 (Black/White)
Base	Vaniville Town
Relatives	Grace (Mother - as Protagonist) Parents (as Rival)
Voiced by	Zach Aguilar (Calem, 2019) Jackie Lastra (Serena, 2019)
Debut	Pokémon X and Y

Calem and Serena are the potential identities of the protagonist and rival characters of Pokémon X and Y. As in most Pokémon games, X and Y begin with asking the player's gender. Calem is the name designated for the male character, while Serena is the female character. After the player chooses a gender, the character of the other gender appears in the game as a rival character. In order to distinguish the two versions of the character, the protagonist shall be referred to as "Calem/Serena", while the rival version shall be called "Serena/Calem".

Background

Protagonist

Calem/Serena was the child of two Pokémon Trainers, one of whom was a well-known Rhyhorn Racer named Grace. At the start of X/Y, Calem/Serena had just moved to Vaniville Town in the Kalos region from parts unspecified. Professor Sycamore decided to sent the trainer on a journey to help them feel less like a stranger within Kalos. Their neighbor Serena/Calem and Shauna came to tell them about Sycamore's offer, and they then went ahead to Aquacorde Town, where each of the three new trainers received a Pokédex and got to choose from one of three starter Pokémon. The Pokédexes and Pokémon were dispensed by Trevor and Tierno, two other trainers who had been chosen by the professor.

The trainers then set off on their journeys. At Lumiose City, Calem/Serena finally met Professor Sycamore in person. After beating the professor in a battle, he allowed them to choose one of three starter Pokémon from Kanto to take as an additional Pokémon and also gave them the Pokémon's corresponding Mega Stone. The professor expressed his hopes that they became the best trainers that the could be and also asked them to look into the secrets of Mega Evolution. Calem/Serena set off on a journey in which they defeated the Gym Leaders of Kalos in order to collect eight gym badges that were necessary to compete against the Elite Four and become the champion. Along the way, Calem/Serena constantly met up with the other young trainers, who worked together with them and/or occasionally battled them. Out of the group, Serena/Calem most consistently battled them as a rival. At Shalour City, they visited the Tower of Mastery to learn about Mega Evolution from Gurkinn and his granddaughter Korrina. He had only one Mega Ring to give out, so Calem/Serena and Serena/Calem battled each other to decide who would get it. Afterwards, Calem/Serena battled Korrina twice to prove himself worthy of the Mega Ring. The trainer not only earned the Mega Ring, but Korrina's second Lucario chose to join the trainer as well.

Throughout the journey, the trainer also battled members of Team Flare on several occasions. Ultimately, Lysandre revealed himself as the leader of Team Flare and set his plans into motion to unleash the ultimate weapon on the Kalos region that would wipe out most life in the world except for members of Team Flare. Calem/Serena found the hidden entrance to Lysandre Labs and battled Lysandre as well as various other Team Flare members. They also met AZ there and learned the history behind the ultimate weapon. Calem/Serena was unable to stop the weapon from activating, but they did travel to Team Flare's Secret HQ in Geosenge Town. There, with help from Serena/Calem and Shauna, they freed the Legendary Pokémon (Xerneas in X or Ylvetal in Y) that was powering the weapon and stopped the weapon before it could be activated. They battled Lysandre again, at which point he tried setting off the weapon on the young trainers. In X, the weapon was supposed to curse the trainers with eternal life, while in Y, it was simply supposed to wipe them out. Regardless, Calem/Serena and their friends were able to escape from the headquarters before the weapon fired, which caused the HQ to collapse and left Lysandre's fate unknown.

After collecting all eight badges, Calem/Serena traveled to the Pokémon League of Kalos. There, they defeated the Elite Four and Diantha to become the new champion of Kalos. A parade was held in Lumiose City to celebrate Calem/Serena's achievements. There, Professor Sycamore awarded them with the Honor of Kalos for their role in defeating Team Flare. Afterwards, he gave them a TMV Pass, which could be used to access Kiloude City, where further challenges awaited. In Lumiose CIty, Calem/Serena also acted as an assistant to Looker in solving various cases which involved stopping the last active Team Flare member.

Pokémon Roster

As this character acts as the protagonist, their Pokémon roster is a variable based on which Pokémon the player chooses to catch in the game. Only some of the Pokémon they obtain are set. They receive Chespin, Fennekin or Froakie as a starter Pokémon and later receive Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle from Professor Sycamore. They also receive several Pokémon as gifts, such as a Lapras and Korrina's Lucario.

Rival

Pokémon Roster

• Chespin/Quilldan/Chesnaught, Fennekin/Braixen/Delphox or Froakie/Frogadier/Greninja: The rival chooses a starter Pokémon that has a type advantage over the one chosen by the player (such as picking Fennekin if the player chose Chespin). This Pokémon is never used in battle while in its first form. It evolves into its second form before the double battle against Tierno and Trevor, and it evolves into its final form by the Route 14 battle.
• Fletchling: Serena/Calem uses this Pokémon for the tutorial on catching Pokémon and for the battle against Tierno and Trevor. They do not use this Pokémon again afterwards.
• Espurr/Meowstic: They first use Espurr for the double battle against Team Flare grunts in the Glittering Cave, and it evolves into Meowstic by the Tower of Mastery battle.
• Absol: Absol is first uses during the double battle against Team Flare grunts in the Glittering Cave. During rematches at Kiloude City, Serena/Calem uses an Absolite to Mega Evolve it into Mega Absol.
• Vaporeon, Jolteon or Flareon: They use one of these Pokémon starting with the battle at Anistar City, depending on the starter Pokémon chosen. They use Jolteon if the player's starter was Chespin, Flareon if it was Fennekin or Vaporeon if it was Froakie, possibly to complement the typing of the trainer's respective Delphox, Greninja or Chesnaught.
• Altaria: This Pokémon is used starting in the Victory Road battle.
• Clefable: Clefable is added to the roster starting with the Kiloude City battle.

Serena/Calem also catches a Bunnelby while providing the game's capture tutorial and receives one of the Kanto starters (Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle) from Professor Sycamore as well as whichever fossil (of Tyrunt or [[Amaura) the player did not take, but never uses any of them in battle. It is never established which of the Kanto starters they chose.

In Other Pokémon Games

In Pokémon Masters, both Calem and Serena have appeared as parts of playable Sync Pairs that could be recruited in the game. Calem's sync partner was an Espurr that could evolve into Meowstic through a Sync Pair Story (in which he had to battle Nanu), and he was unlocked through Chapter 20 of the Main Story. Serena's partner was a Fennekin, and she could be unlocked at random through the game's Sync Pair Scout feature. Her Fennekin could evolve into Braixen and Delphox through Sync Pair Stories in which she had to battle Hilda and Elesa, respectively. Calem was featured in Chapter 20 of the Main Story, where he helped Scottie/Bettie to attack a Team Break hideout after coordinating with Cynthia and ultimately asked to join the player's team for the Pokémon Masters League tournament. As for Serena, she was featured in the "Serena's Dessert Party" Story Event, where she decided to work with Jasmine and Scottie/Bettie to throw a big dessert party.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• Both trainers have been referenced in Super Smash Bros. games. The two of them appeared together as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, where they were referred to simply as "Pokémon Trainer (X and Y)" (similar to the way Red was simply called Pokémon Trainer in the series). They have also been referenced through alternate costumes; starting in the 3DS/Wii U game, Pikachu and Jigglypuff each have an alternate costume featuring headwear based on that of Calem and Serena, respectively; and the male version of Pokémon Trainer (Red) has an alternate costume with coloration evocative of Calem's default outfit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Other Media

• In the Pokémon anime, Serena was featured as one of the main characters of the X/Y-based series. She was the daughter of Grace, as in the games, but instead of becoming a Pokémon Trainer, she was an aspiring Pokémon Performer. She traveled with Ash, Clemont and Bonnie while competing in Pokémon Showcases. Ultimately, she competed in the Gloire Showcase Master Class for the title of Kalos Queen, but she lost to the reigning queen, Aria. At the end of that series, she departed to Hoenn to take part in the Pokémon Contests there. Serena was also shown to have originally met Ash as a child at a Pokémon Summer Camp and to have a crush on him. Her starter Pokémon was a Fennekin, which evolved into a Braixen, and she also had a Pancham and an Eevee that evolved into a Sylveon.
• In the Pokémon Adventures manga, the protagonists of the X/Y arc were based on Calem and Serena. X was based on Calem and started the arc as a shut-in. Y was based on Serena and was an aspiring Sky Trainer.
• In Pokémon Generations, Calem was featured in the final episode. Based on the ending scenario of the game, the episode depicted the celebration of Calem's championship and his battle with AZ.

Trivia

• As in past games, the protagonist's name is chosen by the player, while the rival character's name is set as Calem or Serena. Calem is known as Calme in Japanese, while Serena's name is the same. Their names reference the similar-meaning words of "calm" and "serene".
• Calem and Serena are the first trainers who the players could choose alternate appearances for. with each of them having three possible appearances. Calem's hair could be black or blonde, while Serena's hair could be honey, blonde or black, and both characters could have gray, blue or brown eyes. The choices also alternated in terms of skin color. Additionally, the player's fashion could be changed throughout the game as the player could acquire different clothing and accessories for them.
• As Serena/Calem appeared on Victory Road, this indicated that they must have collected the eight gym badges, as it is a requirement for entering Victory Road. Despite this, the trainer never makes reference to taking part in gym battles and their name was not inscribed in any of the gym's statues (which was done for other trainers taking part in gym challenges in other games).