Before I begin, I just want to say that this story is and probably always will be incomplete. I was collaborating with a friend two years ago and we never finished, plus I have college responsibilities now, so...anyway, I decided to just go ahead and publish what I have. Hopefully the story will gather some interest.
This is not a character, ship, or region specific story. Most of the Pokemon universe has to join together and stop an evil organization, so there are characters from all regions interacting together. The first chapter features the Unova gang. I use the Japanese names Touko and Touya, mostly because I just don't like Hilda and Hilbert or Black and White. The Unova shipping consists primarily of a love triangle between N, Touko, and Cheren.
There's more than just this first chapter, so enjoy whatever random thing I'm able to put together from my collab notes.
Chapter One - N's Return
Touko stood on top of a high ledge beside a mountain stream, which fell as a chain of waterfalls down the mountainside. She turned her gaze to Undella Town and sat down beside her Serperior.
"I don't get it, Ivy," Touko sighed. "I've done everything there is to do. I've beaten the Champion, saved the world from Team Plasma, and raised you to level 100. Why do I feel so...incomplete?"
Ivy nudged Touko comfortingly. She lay back in the flowers underneath a tree and pulled her hat over her face. "I'm going to take a nap, Ivy. Wake me up in a few hours, okay?"
The long green Pokemon nodded obediently. She wasn't sleepy, so she would stay awake and watch over her Trainer. As Touko drifted off to sleep, Ivy remembered the first time she met Touko. Tepig and Oshawatt had been behaving terribly in the gift box, and Snivy had been eager to escape them. Touko had opened the box and immediately Snivy leaped into her arms, complaining loudly about the other two Pokemon. Then suddenly she realized what she'd done. She stared at the human girl curiously. They both knew right away they would become friends. Now, almost two years later, Ivy was the most powerful Serperior in the Unova region thanks to Touko. Ivy would give her life for her Trainer.
Suddenly, the sound of wings alerted Ivy. She looked to the sky and saw two dragons, one gleaming white and the other pitch black, flying toward the ledge. There wasn't enough room for both of them. The Trainer called the black dragon back into its ball and the white dragon he was riding on landed gracefully and quietly on the ledge.
"Hello, Ivy. It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
Ivy blinked at the green-haired young man. "Why have you returned? You know Looker is after you."
N slipped down from Reshiram's back and smiled at Touko's favorite Pokemon. "I missed you."
"That's not true. You missed Touko."
"Well, you're always together. Touko without Ivy is like...like me without Reshiram and Zekrom; an incomplete image." He went over to the sleeping Touko and knelt beside her, amused by the hat covering her face. "She's napping. Shall I wake her?"
"I'm sure she'll be pleased to see you. Maybe you should try to be...theatrical."
N laughed quietly. "Theatrical? Well, all right, I suppose that would create the desired effect."
He looked down at Touko, smiling tenderly at her, and carefully lifted the hat from her face. She looked so peaceful and innocent lying there, so unlike the usual strong and feisty girl she was. Ivy watched with satisfaction as N leaned down and softly kissed her, just a brush of lips.
"Touko..." he whispered. "Touko, wake up. Your prince has arrived to take you to the ball."
She stirred. She opened her eyes, blinking as she became aware of her surroundings. N smiled at her.
"N?" she gasped. "What are you doing here? Do you want Looker to catch you?"
He laughed out loud, a happy, innocent sound. Touko blushed. Why were her lips tingling?
N pulled her into his arms, holding her tight against him. "Oh, Touko, I missed you." Touko didn't know what to think, mostly because that strange feeling she'd felt earlier had disappeared. Was N the reason?
After a moment, he released her. "Now, we must get you ready for the ball, princess. You can't go looking like that."
Touko gave him a confused frown. "What are you talking about?" she asked.
N smiled. "Just what I said. We're going to your house so you can get ready. Would you rather ride on your old friend Zekrom or on Reshiram with me?" He glanced at Ivy. "Ivy says you'd like to ride with me. She says you missed me."
Touko blushed and shot a look at her Serperior. "Thanks for telling him that, Ivy. It's not like my thoughts are private and I wouldn't like them shared with anyone." X /
"Why not?" N asked. He looked genuinely confused.
Touko sighed. "Don't worry about it, N." She stood up as he did and asked, "What are we doing exactly?"
"Something wonderful," N replied enigmatically.
Ivy immediately returned to her ball without being asked. N took Touko's hand and pulled her to Reshiram, who rumbled happily at them.
Touko greeted the dragon, "Hi, Reshiram. Oh!" She turned to N triumphantly, "I made friends with Kyurem the other day."
N looked surprised. "You're kidding!"
"It was really tough, but I did it. That thing has a nasty temper. Once he realized I wasn't going to try to catch him, he settled down."
"You'll have to introduce me sometime," said N, impressed. "I'd really like to talk to this ancient dragon."
A few minutes later, Touko was having a hard time getting up on Reshiram, so N quickly moved to help her. He pushed her foot up, but she slipped. N caught her so that she was sitting in his hands. To put it bluntly, his hands were on her butt. Touko blushed furiously and managed to scramble up the rest of the way. N climbed up almost effortlessly, laughing quietly.
"Shut up," Touko grumbled irritably
"I'm sorry, but the look on your face..."
Reshiram took off into the sky, its white body gleaming in the sun. Touko held on tight to N's waist, trying not to look down as Undella Town grew farther and farther away. They were heading south, to Nuvema, though N's reasons were still very vague to Touko.
"I didn't finish my sentence," N yelled over the rushing wind. "I was going to say the look on your face was very amusing."
"Yeah, I kind of figured that out."
He glanced at her over his shoulder. "It was also very adorable. Next time you look so cute and embarrassed, I might not be able to stop myself from kissing you."
Touko waited until he turned around before she let herself look embarrassment. Reshiram let out a soft rumbling noise, sort of like a chuckle.
The sun was low in the sky. Cheren was pacing around Nuvema, unable to reach Touko on her X Transceiver. He was getting worried. She'd gone somewhere on Swanna early this morning and hadn't come home.
Frowning, Cheren called Bianca. When she came on screen, she was wearing a rainbow dress and a top hat.
"Hi, Cheren!" she sang. "I'm at a musical!"
"Fantastic," he said sarcastically. "Have you heard from Touko today?"
"Um, nope, don't think so. Why? Are you worried about her?"
"Her mom's looking for her."
"Sure..." Bianca didn't believe him for a minute. "Seriously, though, I haven't heard from her. She's been acting weird lately, hasn't she?"
"Yeah," Cheren agreed quietly.
Bianca looked thoughtful and a little mischievous. "Well," she said, "maybe Touko has a boyfriend."
A boyfriend, Touko? No way. It wasn't possible. Touko didn't date anybody. There were only two people Cheren could picture her with, and one of those people was N, as much as he hated to admit it. The ex-King of Team Plasma hadn't been seen in months. Unless he'd returned to Unova, it wasn't likely that Touko was with him.
Right?
Bianca beamed at Cheren from the little screen. "Aha! You're jealous! It's written all over your face."
"Oh, shut up and do your stupid musical, Bianca." He hung up.
Immediately he felt guilty. He'd been ruder to her than usual. He thought about calling her back and apologizing, but she probably wasn't too mad at him. Bianca was one of the lucky people who forgot more than they had to forgive.
Then a shadow passed over Cheren. He looked up and saw a huge white dragon circling Nuvema, preparing to land.
"Reshiram," he murmured. "So N has returned..."
Reshiram crouched low beside Touko's house, folding its wings in. N slipped down easily from the Pokemon's back, but Touko hesitated, afraid. Cheren watched from behind his house. His eyes narrowed. N held up his arms to her and she fell right into them. He didn't put her down right away. She seemed to be irritated with him, but he just laughed. Touko's mom came out and greeted them cheerfully, hugging N affectionately as Touko struggled, red-faced, out of his arms.
Touko's mom doesn't hug me like that. Cheren thought, frowning.
He waited until they were inside the house before he let out his anger.
"Well, great!" Cheren yelled, kicking the ground. "Just great, Touko! Invite a dangerous criminal into your home without so much as batting an eye! Oh, wait, you're batting your eyes all right - you liked it when he held you! You like him!" He clenched his fists, trying to control his emotions. "You like him..."
It infuriated Cheren to no end. N and his twisted ideals had nearly destroyed the world. How could Touko be friends with that guy? How could she like him like that? It wasn't right. It wasn't natural. What was right, what was natural, was the friendship they had. Cheren and Touko had been friends since they were little kids. They'd grown up together. Didn't that mean anything to her?
Cheren sat on the ground and glared at the little house. Just wait until N came out. Cheren wasn't going to give up so easily.
Touko felt strangely nervous as N entered her home, following her cheerful mother. He looked around the little house with surprised interest.
"This is where you live? It's so...normal."
Touko laughed a little. "Did you expect me to live in a castle?"
"Princesses do tend to live in castles, Touko."
The look in his eyes when he said it made Touko's skin tingle. Her mom, oblivious as ever, mentioned something about tending the garden. She left them alone.
She never did that. Not even with Cheren, and Touko trusted him way more than she trusted N. Even though the green-haired boy was generally very naive and childlike, he had a side of him that was much more man than child, a side that only revealed itself when he was alone with Touko.
Wonderful.
"Aren't you going to give me the grand tour?" N asked, completely innocent.
Touko quickly showed him the kitchen, the living room, the bathroom, and mom's room.
"What about your room?"
"I don't think that's such a good idea..."
"I want to see it. Please? I'll be good."
He gave her the look, the one that was the most difficult to resist and that first made her wonder if he was really a bad guy or if he was just under the wrong influence.
Reluctantly, Touko consented. She led him upstairs. Her room looked the same as it always had, except that N was in it. He seemed positively fascinated by everything from the walls to the stray sock on the floor.
"You're weird," Touko told him.
"You're beautiful," he replied.
Dang. How could she be prickly when he was making her melt?
She watched N sit on her bed. He touched the covers almost reverently. Then he lay down and grabbed her stuffed toy Snivy, breathing in the scent. "Would you ever turn me in, Touko? Tell Looker where I was?"
"No, of course not."
N smiled. "Why not?"
Touko shrugged.
"Come here."
She sat on the edge of the bed. N looped an arm around her waist and pulled her down beside him, burying his face in her hair. Touko didn't know whether to freak out or relax in his arms. She wanted to do both. "Touko, I don't want this to be the last time we see each other. When I leave, I want you to leave with me."
"Where?"
"Anywhere. There's a whole world out there that we've never seen. Aren't you eager to test yourself in other regions? You could be the best Trainer in the world, better than anyone."
Touko thought seriously about it. She'd done everything in Unova, but the journey wasn't over yet. She could go anywhere, do anything, with N and her Pokemon by her side. She knew her mom would be happy for her.
Touko looked at N to give him her answer. His eyes were so beautiful, intense and soft, dark and light, seductive and innocent.
"What's going on in here?!"
Touko shot up so fast she almost fell off the bed. O.O Cheren stood in the doorway, furious and wide-eyed with disbelief.
"Cheren! We weren't doing anything, we were just -"
Touko's weak explanation faded quickly. Cheren was glaring at N, fists clenched, angrier than she'd ever seen him. It was a little scary. N's expression was unreadable. He relaxed on the bed with his arms under his head and met Cheren's gaze steadily. "Hello, Cheren."
"Don't play nice just because she's in the room, N. Why don't you tell her about our little conversation a few months ago? You planned to trick her into leaving the Unova region with you."
N was suddenly standing inches away from Cheren, his gaze fierce. "You're twisting my words, Cheren. I don't appreciate that."
"Well I don't appreciate you trying to steal Touko!"
"I'm not stealing her, and I'm certainly not tricking her. She has a choice."
Touko went and stood between them, one hand pushing N's chest and the other Cheren's. She glared at them both.
"Cheren, you're acting like an idiot. And N, you're acting like you own me. Both of you stop right now."
"I don't own you any more than I own Pokemon," said N, meeting her eyes.
Cheren looked forlorn and somewhat panicky. He was usually so cool and calm that all these crazy emotions he was showing were staring to freak Touko out. It wasn't like him at all.
"Touko," he said, "please don't go with him. I wouldn't be able to stand it if you were halfway around the world with him."
"Well I have to do something with my life, Cheren, or I'll go crazy."
The dark-haired boy looked stricken. "Do you love him?"
Touko hesitated. "I - I barely know him." Sad, but true.
"It's the same with me," said N, "but I love you."
Touko stared at him, wide-eyed and heart pounding. "You do?"
He smiled. "More than my own life."
Cheren looked defeated. He sank to his knees. "Touko...?"
She glanced from one to the other, distraught. It was true that she barely knew N, but she felt like they'd known each other for years. He was only a few years older than her, but he had the heart of a child and the mind of a much older man. He was painfully innocent, yet at the same time, arrogantly seductive. However manipulative he was, she knew he felt very strongly for her. How could she resist the temptation? On the other hand, there was Cheren. There were lots of words for him - cool, calculating, organized, aloof, sensible, kindhearted, attractive. He was her best friend, and she knew him better than anyone. When they were little kids and they played hide-and-seek, whenever Touko caught Cheren she would tackle him and kiss him just to freak him out. The look on his face was so adorable. She wondered whether he would look like that if she kissed him right now.
If she kissed N, his intensity would consume her, like a warm flame in the dead of winter. Touko didn't really know how she knew that. She just knew. Strangely, though, she wasn't sure what kissing Cheren would feel like now that they were older.
The two boys were still waiting for her to speak. N kept his cool, believing she'd choose him, while Cheren was falling to pieces, also believing she'd choose N. Touko wanted both of them.
"I...I can't choose."
They stared at her, shocked.
"I'm sorry. I just can't. I care about both of you too much."
Cheren collected himself and got to his feet. He looked more like himself again, calculating and serious. "You have to decide whether you're going with N or not, Touko. That's unavoidable. If you go with him, then you're choosing him."
"I know," Touko replied. "That's why we're all going."
N looked confused. "All?"
"You, me, Cheren, and Bianca. All of us."
"Bianca's in Nimbasa," said Cheren, frowning. "If she doesn't go, then I'm not going. The three of us traveling together isn't going to result in anything good."
"I'd be delighted to have Miss Bianca along," N beamed. Cheren glared at him but said nothing.
And that's how they ended up flying to Nimbasa City on Reshiram, N in front, Touko behind him, and Cheren behind her. Touko felt like a sandwich. A very confused sandwich. She liked holding onto N's waist, the feel of his warm body beneath the thin shirt. She also liked having Cheren's arms around her, hanging on tight because he was afraid of heights. Maybe Bianca could help her decide...?
"Touko," said N, "I'm afraid we'll have to postpone the evening I had planned. I'm sorry."
Touko smiled. "It's okay. We can do it some other time."
Too late, she realized she'd just accepted a date with N right in front of Cheren. Oops. He leaned closer against her back as if by doing so meant he had more of a claim on her. Touko really hoped they landed soon...
It wasn't long before they did, thank goodness. Touko got off Reshiram without help and took off for the theater, leaving N and Cheren staring after her.
Cheren sighed. "We're freaking her out."
"You're the one who squeezed her like a corset on the way over here," N said airily.
He started walking to the theater. Cheren grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.
"Cut the crap, N," he growled. "Do you really care about her, or are you just screwing around?"
"What do you think?"
Cheren glared at him for a moment before roughly shoving him away. "I think you're a spoiled, selfish little prince who thinks he can just take things away from people. You don't know anything about love because no one's ever loved you in your whole life. Now you think you can just manipulate Touko and make her think she's in love with you."
N loomed over him, cold and terrifying, but Cheren stood his ground. If it came to a fight, he was ready, but he knew Touko wouldn't appreciate violence from either one of them.
"Don't assume you know anything about me," N said, his voice dangerously calm. "You know nothing. Touko knows everything, because I told her. She knows who I am and what I'm capable of, and yet she still accepts me as I am. No one else has ever done that. It's no trick or manipulation, Cheren. What I feel for her is as real as what she feels for me, and you couldn't even begin to comprehend the strength and purity of those feelings."
With that, N turned and left, leaving Cheren standing there alone and silent.
Touko practically ran into the musical theater, anything to get away from those two. They were driving her crazy! If they were going to fight it out, let them do it far away from her. Bianca was just coming out of the performance hall, dressed in a rainbow dress and a top hat, her little Tepig, Ellie, wearing similar attire. Ellie had come from an egg after Bianca left her Emboar, Buster, at the Day-Care with Ditto.
"Touko!" Bianca yelled, happily plowing into her. "Cheren was looking for you earlier!"
Touko winced as the blond girl released her. "Well, he found me. Come on, I have to tell you what happened -"
A little while later, Bianca shrieked and clapped her hands, delighted. "That's so scandalous! Cheren caught you in bed with N, and now they're probably fighting over you in the middle of the city!"
Touko blushed. "You make it sound dirty, Bianca."
"It's so dirty, it'll never be clean again. Touko, you're a bad girl!"
"Noooo! I'm not a bad girl!"
"You're bad, Touko. You're bad, bad, bad!"
"I don't want to be a bad girl!"
"You should have thought of that before you let a boy in your bed."
"Don't say that so loud!"
Bianca was giggling hysterically while Touko buried her face in her hands and prayed for the ceiling to collapse on top of them.
"Am I interrupting something important?"
N was standing right behind her. He'd probably been there the whole time.
"Kill me," Touko groaned. She was beginning to regret her decision to invite Bianca to travel with them….
A little while later, they were leaving the theater when suddenly Bianca shrieked and tackled someone.
"Aaahh! Bianca, get off me!"
Touko tilted her head, confused. "Touya? Is that you?"
"Hilbert!" Bianca squealed.
"I told you not to call me that!"
Laughing, Touko went over and pulled Bianca off him so he could breathe properly. Touya got up and dusted himself off with a flustered, exasperated frown. "Dang it, Bianca! I hate it when you attack me out of nowhere like that...we're in public, for goodness sake!"
"What are you doing here, anyway?" Touko asked.
"Juniper called and said you guys looked like you were going somewhere, so I was curious."
"You mean nosy." Cheren came over with that usual stern look on his face, still a bit miffed from his argument with N earlier. Touya gasped happily and tackled him. "Cheren!"
"Hey, why can you do that to Cheren and I can't do it to you?!" Bianca protested. Touko just patted her on the head.
"Cut it out, Touya - " Cheren stopped short when he saw that N was staring at him and Touya with a smug expression. Embarrassed, Cheren struggled out of his friend's grasp and started fussing at him about being weird in public. Touya just laughed at him. N moved over to Touko and wrapped an arm around her shoulders in a possessive gesture.
"Have they always been like this?" he asked her casually.
Touko giggled. "Touya's just weird. He does this to everybody, but he hates it when someone does it to him."
"So he didn't do that to Cheren because he likes him?"
Touya heard the comment and yelled, "I like girls!"
"Me too!" said Cheren.
Touya bounced over to a pretty girl walking by with a basket of fruit, said something to her, got slapped in the face, and came back looking as if nothing had happened. Everybody looked at him strangely.
"What? Oh, that was just a random stranger. I told her I wanted to touch her melons and she got mad for some reason. I guess some people are really possessive of their fruit...sheesh...anyway, what were we talking about?"
When she was able to think properly without being confused over Touya, Touko asked, "Do you want to come with us, Touya?"
He blinked. "Sure. Where are we going?"
Touko glanced at N. He shrugged. "Uh, Sinnoh?"
"Yay!" Touya exclaimed, glomping Cheren again. "We're going to Sinnoooooohhhh!"
"GET OFF ME YOU IDIOT!"
So that's chapter one! Now the Unova gang is headed to Sinnoh...wonder what happens next?