AN: I love this shipping hehe! This is set 5 years after Pokemon B/W where Cheren is a Gym Leader and thus matured quite a bit. But not enough to make the OldSoulShipping any...less...age gap-ish...LOL. Please point out any errors! Thanks for reading! I listened to the theme, "Unwavering Emotions" while typing this. So beautiful!
Standing on the balcony of his home squinting slighting in the sun and clutching a glass of lemonade, Cheren awaited the arrival of Alder. Outside, his Pokémon frolicked in the grass. Smiling as he sipped his drink, memories flooded his mind. After all, it has been a while since he saw the red-haired man.
"Strength is not everything Cheren."
He still remembered the day Alder said those words to him. It felt like just yesterday when he met the former wandering Champion. In the beginning he couldn't fathom how a Champion would say that strength in Pokémon wasn't the most important when that is the very thing they represent; the strongest of the region. He blew him off, set in his path.
Thinking back, it all changed when he kept on meeting with Team Plasma. At first he thought of them as annoying, but as time went on he realized the very thing they stand for. Separation of Pokémon and trainers. As his journey continued on, his Pokémon slowly became an essential piece of his heart. One that he can't remove, not even through death. Late night musings with his Liepard, or the rush of freedom with his Unfezant, he became dependent on them. They were his friends, ones he leaned on and travelled through life with.
Once he realized it was impossible to separate with his lifelong partners, he came to realize that was how everyone must feel too. Teaming up with Bianca, Hilbert, and Alder, he tried to put a stop to the nefarious group. Their intentions may have been good but he would never want to separate with his Pokémon, and his Pokémon expressed their unwillingness to part with him countless times.
N's castle was where he truly saw the light. Alder was defeated by N not because N was stronger. No, it was because N's dreams shone brighter. It was all a blur as he met deities, flew onto debris and arrested Ghetis for being a lying schemer. What stood out the most that day was the battle between Hilbert and N. Young and full of dreams, Hilbert stood his ground and clashed with N. Battle after battle, they both were covered in cuts and scrapes but neither relented. After all, they had a dream to fight for. To be honest, he let out a deep breath when Hilbert won. It was a close fight, but in the end Hilbert's will was stronger.
Staring into the slowly declining sun, he took another sip and his mind wondered more about his younger years. He was so lost in his thoughts he didn't see Alder going through his front door. He was midway through with Bianca's changed personality when thick arms wrapped around his middle. Startled slightly he looked down and saw familiar hands.
Cheren relished in the feel of comfort and haven in Alder's embrace. "When did you get here?"
"If you weren't daydreaming, a while ago." Replied Alder with a smirk.
With a faraway sigh, Cheren stared his snoozing Gigalith. "I was just feeling nostalgic."
Alder buried his face in Cheren's hair. "We've all came a long way since then, huh."
Cheren smiled and leaned into his lover.
"Yeah."
Somewhere far away, Cheren hoped that one day N could realize that a lot of humans cherished their bonds with their Pokémon, and vice versa.