Chapter 1

Nimbasa City / 15 Years Later

N had arrived at Nimbasa City. Pokémon were everywhere in this metropolitan community of humans, seemingly living peacefully with very few boundaries, if not any. Despite what he had experienced up to this date, growing up with one ideology and living with another was far from easy.

As he was walking, N heard very quick and small footsteps. Suddenly, a young girl bumped into N's feet. N stepped back at the small impact, but the girl fell down. All N could do was stare at the little girl. The girl didn't seem to get hurt in any way, and she stood up and gazed up at N with her brown eyes. N gave the girl a tiny smile, but the girl looked at N and skipped towards her mother who was calling her from nearby. N looked at the girl walk, seeing her talk with her mother and giving her a smile, unlike when she didn't smile back at N. He didn't know what it was, nor did he even see the point in reacting to such a tiny event, and yet somehow, not getting a smile back from the little girl hit him. The Pokémon he would be surrounded by would always smile at him, and always give him comfort. But how could he expect any comfort from any human being? Did he even need any?

N walked along the bustling city for another 15 minutes, when he noticed a young boy who seemed barely at the age when he can have a Pokémon of his own. The boy was gleefully hugging his Pichu and smiling. What N overheard him saying was shocking and heavy in his unique mind.

"You're my best friend Pichu! Will you always be with me? Always?" N wasn't able to hear Pichu's response, and he was rather disappointed that he wasn't able to, but it was another shock for N that it didn't seem like he had any hesitation to say "No."

That little boy "owned" that Pichu. Pichu was not free; he was possessed by another human being, but Pichu didn't seem to want to run away. If anything, it seemed like the Pichu wanted to be with the boy forever itself….

"UGH!" N grimaces at his own thoughts. He thought he had gotten over this, years ago, when his flight with the Legendary Pokémon gave him some time to think about his entire life, and how all of it was a lie.

But maybe that was exactly why he couldn't set himself free from his new mind. He was afraid of being betrayed and lied to again. He wanted the truth, and the truth only. He released all of the Pokémon he and his team had taken away, and he thought he had moved on, and he certainly has to some extent. Unfortunately, too much of N's life was trapped in that forest of new knowledge, and he was undeniably lost for a very long time, all by himself…

As N kept walking, he saw a group of younger boys who were laughing at each other's jokes and pushing each other jokingly. N wondered if he had ever experienced anything like that in his entire life, even with his own friends that he and only he was able to communicate with. He was able to answer his own question rather quickly. Pokémon will always be his friends, and he hardly ever considered having that sort of friendly interaction with anybody else. As he listened to the crowd screaming and laughing, it was one of the many moments that N was forced to realize that he was a lot more secluded than he had imagined. It was one thing to have only a few human interactions, but it was another to realize that he didn't have anyone, Pokémon or human, beside him either. In a way he was neither human nor Pokémon. Maybe he was indeed the "Freak" that Ghetsis said he was. But he was still engulfed in his own ideology, hardly ever trying to move towards what he truly was. He could relate to the Pokémon, those that were hurt, and abused, and lied to, but he was still human, with a human brain, human hands, and a human heart. But not being able to relate to him justified Ghetsis' words even more… Every time he saw a Pokémon and its trainer together, he focused on the Pokémon. Every time he went to a Pokémon Center (which he hardly ever did, not being able to stand some of the things he had to see) and saw both a Pokémon and its trainer injured, he hardly felt any sympathy towards the trainer. In fact, two years ago he would have felt anger and hatred towards them.

How dare they put their Pokémon in such a dangerous situation? Let them suffer. It serves them right…

"Excuse me?" N was released from his own mind when he heard somebody talk to him. The man was rather old and he was walking with a cane and old brown hat. At the same time looked very kind and approachable.

"Do you live in this city? This city has changed and I've become so old that… I got lost at my own hometown." He looked rather embarrassed and continued his one-sided conversation. "I'm looking for a street that goes to a small teahouse, and I can't seem to figure out how to get to the street. I was doing some errands for my wife, but I've never been to this area before and…"

"No, I do not live here." N cut him off, not really knowing how to embrace anything that the old man was talking about. "I don't know of any teahouse either." N replied. The man smiled and nodded.

"Ah… I apologize. You wouldn't be interested in the lament of an old man like me. But thank you anyway. I appreciate it."

N didn't know of any quiet areas in this city. He thought he had known the entire region quite well, but obviously the world was much larger than he had ever imagined. He simply knew too little in more ways than one. He also wondered what the teahouse even was. Obviously a place that served tea, but, what was the big deal? Tea was everywhere and he had a cup every once in a while. Why couldn't the old man have gone to another teahouse or even a café nearby? But it wasn't moments later when yet again his thoughts were interrupted by a voice; but this time it wasn't a human.

"Wow... I want to go to the forest sometime…"

"Hmm?" When N heard the voice, he looked around and noticed the Ivysaur and his owner looking at a big picture of the forest. The Ivysaur was being held by his trainer, and both were looking at the array of pretty pictures of a certain forest in awe. In fact, there seemed to be a relatively large crowd around the pictures. The folks in the city seemed to crave views of nature once in a while. As N walked close by, the middle-aged male vendor, who was clearly the one presenting those pictures, looked over at N and smiled.

"Have you ever been to Arborville Forest? It's very far away but it's beautiful, and I just wanted to share my experience with everyone!"

N has heard of Arborville Forest before. He tried to remember when he originally heard the name of the forest. Oddly enough, all he could remember was his rage that boiled inside him when he heard about it for the first time, whatever the cause may have been.

"I make crafts out of wood, and I travel around the world to find the best wood. Oh, I don't chop down trees of course! Anyway, all of this was made from Arborville wood! Here, do you wanna take a look?" N comes closer to the vendor's booth. The booth was surrounded with wooden crafts, many of them depicting different shapes of Pokémon, particularly those that would live happily in a forest or a similar environment, which N was rather amused by. Noticing the little smile N let out, the vendor seemed to be satisfied. Who wouldn't be happy to see someone else appreciate what they have created?

All of the crafted wood, along with the incense that was used by the vendor to set up the mood even more had invited the crowd as well, providing them with an olfactory treat. N breathed in the aroma that was all around the booth...

Don't worry… it's okay… I won't hurt you…

"!?"

N looked around and wondered who that was. But it wasn't a human, nor was it a Pokémon. In fact it wasn't even what he heard, but rather what he remembered. It was such an odd feeling, and N quickly walked away from the booth and looked up at the sky, trying to remember the scent of the wood and forest and those gentle words. He used to live nearby a forest but it was definitely not the same, and yet it wasn't far away from the castle he once lived in. N shook his head, actually believing that he would be able to take all of the confusion out of his mind.

N had to sit down from the exhaustion from thinking, let alone the fact that not one part of it made any sense. All of it was triggered by something that was hidden in the corner of his memories that he hadn't absorbed in years.

"Let me go! Let… me.. go!"

There was the voice again…