Chapter One: Pokemon Trainer Snowe
The sun hung over the sky like a mother attending to her child, bathing the earth in warmth and energy. In any other setting, Snowe would have appreciated the heat, but in the middle of this desert there was no need for the sun to be an overbearing parent. As a hot gale whipped by, peppering her body with sand, the young trainer slid her cap over her face. While this saved her eyes, Snowe knew that she was going to have a hell of a time washing her hair that night. That was trivial compared to the task at hand. Through the sands, she pressed on, as time was ticking by faster than the wind could blow.
The sandstorm died down, and the girl made double-time towards the top of a great dune. From there, a dark speck stood out in the distance. Relic Castle. It was only a few miles away. If she picked up the pace, she might be able to reach the ruins before Ryoku caught wind of her and could slip away.
For almost three weeks now, Snowe had been assisting Looker with locating and capturing the six remaining Sages. So far, they had all been wise enough to go without a fight. She wondered if this one would follow suite. As she considered this, her Joltik emerged from her bag, crawled up her arm, and nudged her jaw, urging her to get moving again
"You're right," she muttered. "We need to go." Quickly, she threw her head over her shoulder. "I wish Looker would hurry up..."
Carefully, Snowe continued to shuffle across the desert. She should have learned her lesson the first time she travelled to the Relic Castle. Don't wear shorts. By the time she reached the shelter of the ruins, her shins were red and raw from the blasting sand. Unfortunately, this wouldn't be the last of the it. Now she would have to jump into those damn sand pits and fall down to the lower levels. Even Joltik didn't feel thrilled at the prospect prospect of total immersion in sand; he desperately tapped at his Poké Ball to let Snowe know he would have none of it.
"Okay buddy," she conceded. "I'll see you at the bottom." She recalled her fuzzy, yellow friend and stared down the nearest pit. With only a slight bit of hesitation, she made a running start and jumped into the sand. Slowly, she felt herself being sucked downward, pinched her nose, and forced her eyelids shut. Within moments, she tumbled downwards to the floor below. Cursing, she tried to shake the sand from her hair and stood up. The good news: she only had to do it four more times. The bad: the total darkness implied an electrical shortage. Grumbling, she pulled a flashlight from her bag and began to look for the next pit.
The rest of the mission went smoothly. Looker eventually arrived, and Ryoku went quietly. As he hauled the old man away, Looker informed Snowe of his next assignment. Allegedly, someone in another region spotted a man matching N's description accompanied by a dragon Pokémon. Looker was close to tracking down Team Plasma's leader, and from the tone of his voice, he intended to take N down.
Simply bringing up his name made Snowe's stomach flop. Though she merely thought he was merely strange when they first met, as time went on she realized the insanity of his methods. But he was misinformed, his tragic childhood fueling his grave misunderstanding of people and Pokémon. In the entire world, only N could simultaneously send chills down her spine and inspire intense empathy. Hopefully, when he was captured and the saga of Team Plasma was no more, the inner conflict would end, and the yoke of responsibility Snowe felt would fall away.
Snowe bought a single ticket and boarded the ferris wheel. Slowly, she rose over the lights of Nimbasa City, high enough to see the lights of Castelia City across the scorched sands. Frost began to grow from the metal frame of the windows, proclaiming the arrival of the winter night. It was hard to believe that only a few months ago, in this very amusement park, N had been going on about circular motion and formulas, both terrifying and fascinating her. It wasn't until he announced that he was in fact the king of Team Plasma that he paralyzed her, and she began to think of him as a villain.
But now Plasma was no more, and N was long gone, no doubt in hiding out in a faraway region. There was no longer a reason to worry about him. Joltik peeked over the brim of her hat and stared at Snowe with his four, lilac eyes. She wasn't just lucky because he was alternately colored; the little bug Pokémon always knew how she really felt.
"I don't know if he deserves to be jailed," she admitted. "He isn't like the rest of them." Joltik dropped down into her open palm and hugged her thumb. "I don't even think he could handle prison." The more she thought about it, the more it ate away at her. Like a helpless girl, there wasn't much she could do, and that sent a bolt of dread down her spine. If only she could warn him, if she could find him. Joltik, sensing Snowe's melancholy, nudged her fingertips.
The ferris wheel made a final rotation, gears roaring, and Snowe soared up into the sky. The cold metal bench forced a chill down her spine. For a moment, she thought she felt someone take her free hand, the one that sat idly on the seat beside her. Yet there was no one else there, just her Joltik, and a ghost born of guilt and longing.
Despite the cool weather to the North, the thermometers in Castelia City rose to levels unseen in recent memory. To alleviate the heat wave, Casteliacones were making a rare winter appearance. The novelty of this situation forced a reunion of sorts between a young man and a pair of girls on Mode Street. When Snowe caught sight of her friends, a peppy blonde named Bianca and a reserved young man named Cheren, she caved in to the urge to surprise them. Weaving her way through the crowded street, she snuck up behind the two and threw herself between them, her arms wrapping their shoulders. Bianca let out a shriek, but Cheren remained unfazed.
"Snowe, you haven't surprised me since the first grade," he remarked. Bianca's panic turned into joyful surprise and she threw her arms around Snowe.
"Speak for yourself, Cheren," she replied. "I love Snowe's surprises. I hope she does this until we're eighty."
"Ninety," Snowe corrected, breaking away to give Cheren a quick hug. "I know it's only been a few weeks, but I fricken' missed you guys."
After getting into the nearly city-long line for ice cream, the three began to catch up. Snowe recounted her hunt of the remaining Plasma sages and Cheren bragged about a new battle technique he had been working on. Bianca had little to contribute, but she did manage to find a dusk stone to evolve her Lampent into a Chandelure. All of this talk made Snowe feel like a normal teenage girl for the first time in months. There was no tension left, no pressure to stop Team Plasma, no intimidation while facing down Zekrom, no hassle to track down six old men...
"What do you plan to do next Snowe?" Cheren asked, paying for the girls' ice cream. The trio crossed the street and found an empty spot in the shade to enjoy their treat.
"That's the real question, isn't it?" she replied. "I'm not sure yet. I'd like to work on the Pokédex, but I feel like I've seen everything in Unova. I'd be too bored."
"Maybe you should travel to another region," he suggested. "That should be new enough for you." She had thought about it occasionally. New regions meant more leagues, more battles, new and exotic Pokémon, new and exotic young men...
"I'd have to think about it," Snowe mused. "It would be fun but—"
From the corner of her eyes she spotted a flash of bright green. Though it was instantaneous, it was bold enough to catch her attention. Snowe's gaze drifted towards it, but stopped dead as the image in question came into focus. Towering above a group of businesswomen as he passed through them, a young man pushed his way across the crowd. Beneath his black and white cap was a cascade of long, emerald hair, allowing Snowe to easily recognize him.
"Hold this," she commanded, handing her ice cream to Bianca. Swiftly, Snowe began to walk through the crowd. Just as she was about to catch up with him, the man looked over his shoulders. His lime-colored eyes caught her face and grew wide in horror. He began to jog in a vain attempt to put distance between them, but Snowe merely sprinted towards him in return. Shoving people aside, he ran faster, forcing Snowe to push herself to catch up. His long legs gave him more distance, but she was sure that she had more stamina. Snowe watched as he made a poor attempt to escape by ducking into an alleyway. She followed, but stopped suddenly. The long, narrow alley was silent. Still, she made her way down it, kicking at garbage and overthrowing trash cans as she went along. He had to be hiding; she was no simpleton.
She felt herself thrown against a wall as she passed by a dumpster. A hand slammed itself against her mouth, muffling a scream. Unable to catch his breath, N remained speechless at first, his raspy breath the only sound between them. Snowe's bright eyes locked on his sweaty face, and she glared. She had underestimated his cunning.
After an uncomfortable staring session, he leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Where's that foreign detective? I'm sure he isn't far behind you." His voice, although hoarse, remained as quiet and fast as her memory recalled. Carefully, he moved his hand from her mouth to her shoulder, keeping her pinned.
"I don't work with him anymore," Snowe growled. "But he's probably in this city, and I know he still has agents all over Unova, waiting for you to turn up."
"Damn," he muttered, dropping his gaze to the side.
"Why did you come back?" she demanded, ignoring the fact that she was in no position to ask questions. "This is the last place you should be."
"I— never mind," he sighed. "I'm leaving tonight anyway." N refused to look at her, keeping his face down. "Are you going to turn me in?"
"No," she answered. "Actually, I wanted to warn you. They're looking harder for you now."
"Why would you help me?" he asked, distrust in his voice. "After what I tried to do..."
"I—," she began, not sure how to explain herself. "I don't think you're a bad guy." N finally met her gaze as he stepped backwards, releasing her. Snowe remained against the wall, watching as he decided his fate. "Where are you going?" she asked.
"I can't tell you that," he said. "It wouldn't be wise."
"Please," she spoke quietly, "watch your back."
Silently, N's eyes ran from her feet to her head. He readjusted his hat before speaking. "Goodbye Snowe. Remember what I told you. More than ever, I believe that you can make your dreams a reality."
With that, N took a few more steps back, his gaze fixed on Snowe, and began to run off towards the end of the alley. Dumbfounded, Snowe stood for a moment, staring at her shoes, listening to his footsteps fade into the bright summer light.
The sun began to fall beneath the waves of the ocean. Snowe, Cheren, and Bianca leaned over a railing at the end of the pier, watching a school of Alomomola frolic in the water. Snowe was enjoying her second Casteliacone, or at least trying to. Her meeting with N had upset her stomach, making her just as apprehensive as she had been the night before. Watching Snowe let her ice cream drip into the sea, Bianca spoke up.
"W-what are you thinking about, Snowe?" she asked timidly.
N, you idiot, you're thinking about N, even though he can take care of himself.
"I think," she began, then let out a heavy sigh. "I think I want to travel to a new region."
Bianca smiled. "That'd be so good for you Snowe. You should do it." Snowe couldn't help but grin at the stupidly happy expression on her face. Even Cheren was smiling privately. To ignore N for a moment, she dearly missed her friends. Though she was seriously thinking about going after him, Snowe didn't want to give up moments like this. Why couldn't she have her cake and eat it too?
"Come with me, both of you," she proposed. Cheren and Bianca shared a look of shock, then looked at each other and smiled.
"I-I don't see why not," Bianca replied joyfully. "We all went on our first adventures separately. Wouldn't it be fun to all be together?"
"Well, if you ladies are going, someone is going to have to go with to keep you two from getting lost," Cheren grumbled, trying to downplay his excitement. "I guess I'd have to go too."
Snowe beamed. It was decided. They made their plans right then and there. In two weeks, they would depart for a faraway region. The excitement kept Snowe awake for the next fourteen nights. However, occasionally a wave of shame lapped at her. She wasn't being truly honest with Cheren, Bianca, or even herself. This trip was less about them and far more about N.
With luck, they would never know.