My mind has to go totally blank…

White noise turns to black… totally black…

And then…

Nothing.

Black opened his eyes with a start. He was clearly inside a house, but nothing seemed familiar and when he sat up he winced at the sharp pain in his head. What had happened to him? "Boss?" he called out but there was no answer. The had subsided so he began to explore the house but in addition to being unfamiliar there was no one else around leaving him no choice but to go outside.

"Where am I?" he asked aloud scanning his surroundings, but not even the city looked familiar. At least he clearly recognized the red roof of the Pokémon Center.

Taped to one of the large windows on the front of a building was and advertisement for the Pokémon Musical featuring a Servine and a Deerling with their trainer, a girl with long that hung over her visor. She wore a white shirt with a Pokéball emblem and a yellow skirt with black stockings but Black recognized her right away. His migraine suddenly returned, why couldn't he remember anything else?

He finally noticed his own reflection when he looked back up and realized he didn't even recognize himself! The blue jacket was familiar enough, but it was a different style then he remembered and he was also wearing a red visor instead of his usual hat with baggy white pants and leggings that were also new. A small chime ringed as the door to the Pokémon Center opened giving Black a new source of pain from behind. "OW!"

He turned around to see a boy with Black hair and a red shirt. "You shouldn't stand in front of doors like that." He said with a raised eyebrow then walking right past Black without apologizing.

"Hold it!" he barked reaching out his free arm while the other held the back of his head causing the other boy to stop and look back at him. "Where…exactly am I?" Black repeated awkwardly.

"Aspertia City." The strange boy replied with clear annoyance. "Look, I don't have time to help some tourist with the sights; I'm supposed to meet one of Professor Juniper's assistants to get my first Pokémon."

This triggered Black's memory of his own Pokémon. He instinctively reached for his bag and felt around franticly but there was nothing leading to a third jolt in his head. Maybe Professor Juniper's assistant, or better yet, Professor Juniper herself would be able to answer his questions but he had no idea where Nuvema Town was from wherever he was now, though that other boy seemed to… "So, uh, what's your name anyway?" Black called from behind as he quickly caught up.

"Hugh" he replied dryly, suddenly pushing ahead in an attempt to get away from Black, but he matched his pace.

"That's still in Unova, right?"

Again Hugh sped up. Still Black persisted and the cycle continued until the two were actually running until they reached a stone staircase that lead to the top of the observatory where someone was standing.

Black stared at the girl as the two slowed to a stop; the blond hair and green hat were unmistakable. "You are…" he grimaced again at the headache.

"Aah…" Bianca turned with a smile, though she looked different too. The long skirt she had worn before had been changed to a pair of green pants and the orange vest was replaced by a longer jacket and she now wore glasses. "I'm glad we could meet up!" she beamed approaching Black and Hugh with a cylindrical capsule. "Ta-da! The Pokémon that will become your partner is right inside here!" Bianca chirped "But who is this?"

Hugh groaned with a shrug "I don't even know! He's just some kid who followed me here. "

"That's fine; Professor Juniper gave me three Pokémon for you to choose from and from the looks of it he doesn't have his own Pokémon yet either so you can both pick one." Bianca gave a wink

She pushed a small green button on the side of the capsule and it opened releasing a small cloud of gas, exposing the three Pokéball that contained a Snivy, Tepig and an Oshawott respectively. Black already knew this, but he still couldn't take his eyes off the Fire Pig Pokémon, it wasn't just the same species as his Emboar had started as, something told him it was the same Pokémon.

"…Tep?" He shook away yet another headache and took the Pokéball in the center

Bianca grinned "I thought you might take that one, my friend had a Tepig just like it. Actually, you look a lot like him…"

But Black wasn't listening; he had made his way past her and to the edge of the observatory's roof. Something else had come back to him once he had seen Tepig and It was an uncontrollable urge that he could no longer hold in. "I am going to the Pokémon League! And I am so, totally, absolutely going to win that tournament!" he shouted out into the distance, cupping his hand around his mouth like a megaphone to amplify the sound while the other two had covered their ears.

"What are you talking about?" Hugh let out another exasperated noise "The League Champion Alder disappeared two years ago after the Pokémon Kyurem appeared and nearly froze Lacunosa Town. All of Unova would have become a wasteland if he hadn't shown up but he lost his life during the battle and there hasn't been a League Tournament in Unova since."

Black froze; he remembered the Giant Chasm that had been covered in ice where he and Alder had been, witnessing the terrible transformation Kyurem had undergone after it had been merged with Zekrom, the unimaginable cold of the attack that followed and the man responsible for it all; a researcher named Akuroma who had become obsessed with a desire to bring people and Pokémon closer together by using the human strength of technology to increase the natural strength of Pokémon through fusion.

"It was Team Plasma who once said it. They realized the potential of Pokémon and claimed it was best to free them from humans. I however… disagree."

"And anyway…" Hugh continued, bringing Black back to reality "just saying that you're going to be the next Champion doesn't make it so." He stepped forward and grabbed Oshawott's Pokéball then released the Sea Otter Pokémon. "A small thing like a type disadvantage shouldn't matter to 'the next League Champion', so if you're taking Tepig I'll choose Oshawott. Now, show me how strong you really are!"

"That's enough of that..." A third male voice came from the stairwell belonging to a tall young man with dark hair that had grown to a length nearly touching his shoulders. He wore a white blouse that was neatly buttoned with a red tie and jeans that were also exceptionally well kempt and in the past he had been the one who had worn glasses.

Bianca's face lit up "Cheren!" she greeted

"Professor Juniper called me after you left and said that you forgot these when you left the Lab." He pulled the black box he had been carrying out from under his arm and opened it to reveal three small black devices, a Pokédex to go with each of the Pokémon. "But it looks like it's a good thing I showed up when I did because, if I remember correctly, it was a reckless test of the Pokémon's power that caused our journeys to get off to such a rough start." Cheren turned his gaze towards Hugh "What would you have done if the Observatory became damaged during your little battle?"

Hugh looked away with a grumble as Cheren approached and placed a Pokédex in his hand. "Fine, we'll settle this later" he said nonchalantly calling Oshawott back to the Pokéball and turning to leave.

"And as for you…" Cheren turned towards Black "The Professor didn't say anything about a second trainer, but if you're serious about taking the Pokémon League challenge one day you should start by testing your skills against the Gym Leaders first. I can't promise there will be another League tournament, but I'll be waiting at the Nacrene City Gym if you do." He smiled hand Black the second Pokédex and turning to leave as well.

"…Gym Leader?" Black repeated

Bianca stepped forward and stood next to him "That's right, me and Cheren got our first Pokémon at the same time with another friend and after his journey Cheren became certified as the Gym Leader of Nacrene City just last year after Lenora retired so she could focus on running the Museum with her husband. As for me, well, my father never really approved of me being a trainer to begin with but Professor Juniper was still kind enough to hire me as one of her assistants. That way I could still be close to Pokémon without ever being too far away from home" she explained "Our other friend was really the only one of us who went on to challenge the League Champion, the one you reminded me of… but he disappeared along with Alder just before the tournament was set to begin and with no Champion the tournament was first postponed…then canceled altogether."

"Wow…"

"There was someone else too, another girl who also really liked our friend. She seemed to take it harder than any of us, but it seems like she's recovering because she's head of the BW Talent Agency and with no Pokémon League the Pokémon Musical has never been more popular." She continued "Anyway, Cheren has a point, it's possible that anew Champion will be named soon to reinstate the League so it might not be such a bad idea for you to challenge the Gyms in the meantime." Bianca smiled again "But I should probably be going, too. I'm sure that Professor Juniper is wondering where I am by now."

And she also left but Black remained, staring in the direction they had all gone. A lot of his memories were still unclear and he still did not know what had caused his appearance to change but maybe retracing his steps through Unova would answer his questions. At least he knew his friends had been doing well while he had been gone and now that he had been reunited with Tep he at least wouldn't be alone. He made another pledge but unlike this dream of beating the Champion he wouldn't shout this one out to the world "Cheren, Bianca, Boss… no, White…I'll see you again soon. All of you, I promise."