Another step, another ache.
Another step, another whimper.
Another step, another pinprick of despair seeping into the poor boys mind.
But he keeps going; he keeps walking, running, whatever he needs to do. He won't stop, he refuses to stop, until he finds what he's looking for.
He takes another step, he takes another breath, waiting, hoping, begging for a sign; any kind of sign, to show his friend is alive. To show his friend didn't leave on his own free will, that he only left because someone forced him to.
Yeah! That's it! Ghetsis forced him to leave. Ghetsis pressured the boy into leaving, he didn't want to leave, he didn't. He only left to protect his friends! That's what happened! And when he finds him, the boy can tell his friend that he doesn't need to be protected, he only needs him.
With a new found hope, the boy marches onward, ignoring the worried look of the Emboar trotting behind him. He treks through the forest, until the faded blue sky turns into inky black, blurry gray clouds covering the would-be full moon.
But still, the boy keeps going, determined to find his friend. His Emboar has since returned to its pokeball, accepting the warmth and rest with open paws, unlike his stubborn trainer. The stubborn trainer that is on the verge of collapse.
He has been searching day and night, nonstop, for days. And for all he knows, his friend could be hiding under the illusion of his partner. Is that even possible? For a Zoroark's illusion to hide people? The boy ponders this for a while, continuing his journey across his region. He decides, it is possible.
Because this is his friend, his friend is the world, the universe to him. And the universe can do anything.
He hears a ringing from his wrist, and he tries to contain his squeals of joy as he fumbles with the buttons, trying to turn on the small device, hoping to be met with the image of a familiar green-haired teen, smiling and telling him he's coming home.
But he's met with the distressed face of his adopted sister, the girl's chocolate brown hair in its usual ponytail. The boy frowns, reaching for the off button, but the girl has other ideas.
"Don't you dare hang up on me again!" her voice cracks, something the boy can hear even through the tiny speaker. He doesn't listen, ending the call as she says something about coming home, something he won't do until he finds his friend.
The device on his wrist rings, and rings and rings, but he knows it's not his friend.
He knows it's not N.
And he cries. He stops walking for the first time in days, and he collapses. He lies on the ground, defeated and helpless, crying as his lungs burn with pain, and he screams. A scream so full of pain and sorrow, that it makes the surrounding Pokémon cringe with sympathy. A scream so heart wrenchingly sad, that even the trees start to sag, seemingly devoid of energy.
Eventually, his voice leaves him, tired of making his sorrow known. Eventually, the boy falls asleep, his breathing ragged as he shivers violently, sprawled across the faded green grass blotches.
Eventually, the poor boy wakes up, murmuring one thing over and over; "where is he..?"