7/29/13 Edit: Hey everyone! If you're a fan of this story, then you might like my semi follow-up story "An unexpected reunion." It takes place many years after these events take place. Please check it out if you can!

12/15/14 Edit: Hello again! It makes me a bit sad that I still see so many views for this story. Why, you ask? Because I'm working on editing it! That's right, stay tuned for major edits that won't change the overall storyline :) They'll just make it flow better and feel less rushed. I hope you don't read this un-edited version and hate me for how childish it sounds. You'd be surprised how much writing style can evolve over the course of a few years!

Anyways, this should be updated in a matter of time and I hope you come back and read the edits! That's not meant to stop you from reading it now - just be warned that it's nowhere near as good as it's going to be.

Hello everyone! I hope you enjoy this :)

I don't own anything but the story, blah blah blah...

"You don't have to do this!" White cried, trembling. N looked down and shook his head. Zekrom roared, shaking the very foundation of the room. Crumbled pillars and cracked floor tiles were just some of the debris scattered in the aftermath of the battle between the two heroes.

"It's what I have to do… Pokémon are suffering. They need to be free from their enslavement." N said. White sighed. "But Pokémon aren't our slaves. They're friends and we all work together."

N shook his head sadly and called back zekrom. White did the same with reshiram. The sound of slow clapping rang through the room, causing the two to look toward the source. It was Ghetsis. "Very good," he began, slowly walking toward them. "But now I hope you realize that I have to stop you. I can't let you mess with my plans for world domination," he continued, flashing both of them an evil grin.

N gasped. "World domination? What about Pokémon liberation?" he asked fearfully. Ghetsis cackled. "Truth is, N, I only wanted people to free their Pokémon so that I was the only person who still had them. This is all a very carefully planned scheme for me to achieve supreme command of the world."

N frowned and began to protest, but he was cut off.

"The best part?" Ghetsis continued, "I needed someone pure of heart with a strong sense of truth and ideals. Someone who is very convinced that the liberation of Pokémon is the right thing to do." N's heart clenched. "He was only using me…." He thought to himself. N shook his head in denial. "Then how do you explain all the abused Pokémon from my childhood? I heard their voices cry out in pain. They told me how much they were hurting, how they were suffering. Pokémon don't lie." He said, beginning to sound frustrated.

Ghetsis let loose a hoarse throaty laugh. "I fed you lies from the day you came under my care. Did you really think every Pokémon felt that way? I hand-picked the ones who were suffering and made sure that you only saw the bad side of things. I knew you had potential." He explained.

N's eyes widened in shock. "So it's all a lie?" he asked, sounding hurt. Ghetsis leaned on his staff. "Of course it was, stupid boy, and you believed every word of it. And of course, no REAL son of mine would have lost to some idiot girl from Nuvema town. You should be ashamed. You're just a freak without a human heart."

N looked down, the brim of his hat hiding his eyes. White swore she saw a tear running down his cheek. She clenched her fists. "You're gonna pay for that, Ghetsis," she said, her voice seething with anger.

The battle ended, and White was victorious. It was a close match, but her trusty archeops managed to take down his hydreigon with one final rock slide. Ghetsis, taken aback by such pure strength, fled the scene. He knew he was defeated. White leaned over, panting. "I… I did it," she said breathlessly. She turned around and saw N, whose face was still hidden by the shadow of his hat. White walked over to him and tentatively touched a hand to his trembling shoulder.

"N…? N, are you ok?" she asked gently. N shook his head and looked at her with watery eyes and tearstained cheeks. "It was all a lie…" he said in disbelief. "My whole life is a lie. Who am I really? Why am I even here? I don't know who to trust." He fretted. White put her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "You can trust me," she reassured him.

N looked at her for a second or two, as if he was analyzing her face for truthfulness. "Thank you," he said softly, pulling her into an unexpected hug. White ran her hand through his soft green ponytail, comforting him. His silent sobbing violently shook his entire body. "There, there… it's ok, shhh…" White quietly shushed him. "I'm here, it's ok…"

"For a teenager, he sure is sensitive…" White thought to herself. "Then again, he was raised by a manipulative psycho who just told him that his whole life was one big lie. Poor guy…" N pulled away from the hug, wiping a tear from his face. "This is so silly," he criticized himself. "I barely know you, and here I am crying on your shoulder. I'm so stupid."

White frowned. "No you're not. I told you you could trust me, and besides, friendships have to start somewhere, right?" N paused for a second. "Do you really think we could be friends?" He asked. White smiled warmly. "I do," she said firmly. N's face lit up and fell again. "I'm sorry I cried…" he apologized. "I know it's unacceptable to cry, but I just couldn't hold it in."

White frowned harder. "Who told you it was unacceptable to cry?" N gave her an exasperated look. "Oh…" she replied softly. N sighed. "If father – I mean - Ghetsis saw how I was acting right now, he'd kill me. I just know it." He said. White raised an eyebrow. "You mean figuratively, right?" she asked. N began to shake again.

"This is obviously a tender subject…" White thought. "I need to get out of here," N said quickly, turning and walking toward the big gaping hole in the wall. As he reached for zekrom's pokeball, he felt a hand placed firmly on his shoulder. He turned around to see White's big blue eyes. "Don't go…" she pleaded.

"Why shouldn't I?" N asked with a frown. "You heard Ghetsis. I'm just a 'freak without a human heart.' Unova doesn't need me." White looked to the side, unable to reply. Yet N did not leave.

"You don't really want to go, do you?" White asked cautiously. N sighed. "There's nowhere for me TO go…" he said, sounding defeated. White's mind was made up. "Come with me," she said imperatively. N looked at her in disbelief. "Would you want me to?"

White chuckled. "That's a silly question, isn't it? I'm the one who suggested it." N's pale blue eyes lit up as the corners of his mouth stretched into a rare smile of excitement. He looked like a kid in a candy store. "Come on," he said, taking White's hand and leading her somewhere.

"Where are we going?" she asked between short breaths. N was walking very fast, and she had to basically run to keep up with him. They finally stopped in front of a doorway. "Go in," N said, sounding excited. White was unsure of what she was walking into, but she stepped into the room anyways.

"Whoa…" she uttered breathlessly. N walked in right behind her. "What do you think?" he asked enthusiastically. White giggled. N was suddenly acting like a completely different person from before. "What do I think?" She repeated. "I think this place is amazing!"

N chuckled. "It's my room," he exclaimed. White's jaw dropped. The room had toys all over the place: among them was a train set sprawled over the floor, a skateboard and ramp in the back of the room, and a basketball hoop. The floor was sky blue and had a cloud pattern, and the walls were checkered pale blue and purple. "This is your room?" White cried in disbelief. "Mmhm," N hummed in response.

White never really thought much about what N's room looked like, but she had expected it to be more like a typical teenage boy's room. The two looked around the room silently; for White, it was amazement that brought about the silence, but N was silent for reasons otherwise.

"This place is everything I dreamed my room could be as a child…" White thought to herself. "I don't know how I pictured N's room would look, but it certainly wasn't this… Cheren's room is so dark and messy, and the bed has lots of dirty magazines underneath. I thought maybe that was how most teenage boys lived. "

N broke the silence and interrupted White's silent conversation with herself. "But anyways, this is where I spent a good majority of my childhood. This was my one safe place where Ghetsis couldn't come get me. The bedroom in the back, however… that's another story." White winced at the thought. "Ghetsis… hurt you?" she asked.

N nodded. "Why is that a surprise? He said all parents need to treat their children that way, especially when they were bad, like me." White frowned. "I'm having a hard time believing that you were bad…" she said. N shook his head. "I was very bad, and I deserved punishment. Sometimes I left my room when I wasn't supposed to, and sometimes I even talked when I wasn't supposed to, but most of the time it was because he was already punishing me and I cried. Good children don't cry, no matter how much it hurts."

White felt saddened. Well, saddened wasn't the right word at all. Her heart was breaking little by little after hearing the words that came out of his mouth. She opened her mouth to say something, but she found no words of comfort that could console him. "It's ok to cry though," she said finally, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Sometimes we just need to let it out. So cry if you need to, and I'll be here for you no matter what."

N blinked away the tears that were forming. "I can't," he said, sounding pained. "I'm not supposed to cry." White gave N's arm a quick little squeeze. "Nonsense," she began, "Ghetsis isn't here to hurt you." N looked at her, his eyes watering. "I - *sniffle* I already… I told myself I wasn't gonna…" he said, stuttering. White reached up to dry a tear, standing on the tips of her toes to reach. "He's tall," she realized.

N stopped everything and gave White a puzzled look. "What?" She asked, suddenly nervous. "You… wiped my… tear…?" he said, sounding confused. It came out as more of a question than a statement.

White was afraid to answer. "Did I do something wrong?" She asked. N shook his head no and smiled. "Not at all, I'm just surprised you're showing me such kindness," he said. White rolled her eyes. "And why wouldn't I?" She replied, sounding ever so slightly frustrated. "Do you really think I'd be mean to you? Jeez, you act like kindness is a new concept or something…"

Crap. Did I really just say that?

N was silent. "You're my only human friend. I'm still trying to be human…" he finally said. His voice was strong and determined. "I'm trying to see the good in humans. I'm trying." White's facial expression softened a little. "N… I – "

"Can't you see? I'm trying to understand, but it's so hard." He continued, visibly upset. "N, I'm so sorry, that was really insensitive of me. I know that you're not exactly familiar with normal human interaction. I'll try to be more patient with you, I promise." White said. A ghost of a smile formed on his face. "Promise?" He asked, still silently refusing to meet her gaze.

White nodded. "I promise," she confirmed. N's stomach growled loudly. He quickly placed a hand over it in a feeble attempt to stifle the sound. "Hungry?" White asked. N sheepishly nodded. "I am too…" She admitted. "Are you opposed to going somewhere to eat? It's a little too late to be flying all the way back to Nuvema town, and it's certainly too long of a trip to make in one night." She said. N agreed. "I'm sure we could at least make it to Opelucid before it's too late…" he reasoned.

White pulled out her archeops' pokeball. "Hope you're ready for quite a flight…" She muttered, pressing the button in the center of the pokeball. Archeops appeared in a blinding flash of white light. "Hey buddy! How are you feeling?" she asked it. Archeops cawed and preened its feathers a little. I'm feeling kinda beat… we just battled, remember? White frowned, seeing that it was holding its wing at an odd angle. "You're in no state to fly…" She said, concerned. She crouched down to look at archeops at eye level.

Archeops nuzzled her affectionately. I'm ok, really! I can fly you anywhere! …Next time, that is…

N watched this entire scene in amazement. He'd never seen such a heartwarming display of friendship between a trainer and a Pokémon… besides his own interactions, of course. He smiled as White gently kissed archeops on the top of its head, scratched its neck feathers, and sent it back into its pokeball to rest. "I guess flying's out of the question…" White reluctantly admitted, standing up. "Archeops is in no shape to fly."

N hummed thoughtfully. "We could either stay here for the night and risk starvation or we can fly on reshiram to Opelucid. I'd rather not stay here, but it's up to you," he said. White raised an eyebrow. "Why not zekrom?" She asked.

"It's still exhausted from our battle, remember?" He responded. "You beat us good"

White giggled. "Yeah, I guess we did," she admitted.

The two quickly headed back to the room where they battled. White pulled out reshiram's pokeball and pressed the button in the middle. Reshiram appeared in a bright flash of light. "Do you think you could fly the both of us to Opelucid city, reshiram?" She asked it gently. Reshiram looked at her. Of COURSE I can.

"Hehe," she chuckled. "Sorry, it was silly of me to ask. I know you can," she said, patting its side. It bent down and let her climb onto its back. She looked down to see N still standing in the same place he was before. "You coming?" White asked him. N stood there. "You can understand reshiram?" He asked in bewilderment. White smiled. "I don't know how, but I think we have a special connection, right reshiram?" she said, petting reshiram's neck. Reshiram called out powerfully. You can understand me too, right N?

N smiled and gently rubbed its side. "Yes, I can," he said softly.

Come on then, we're flying to Opelucid.

N climbed on, but was immediately faced with the dilemma of where to sit. He shrugged and sat down right behind White, wrapping his arms around her to hold on. White snapped her head around. "What are you doing?" she cried in shock. N flinched. "How else am I going to stay on?" he asked. "True…" White sighed. N seemed to have no respect for personal space, but it was forgivable. After all, he didn't know any better.

"Let's go, Reshiram! To Opelucid city!" She called good-naturedly. Reshiram flapped its wings and flew out toward the quickly darkening sky.

So that's it for Chapter 1! N's in good hands now :) Please review if you can! I'd love to hear your feedback.