Note: Hilbert and Hilda (Black and White) will be referred to by their Japanese names, Touya and Touko.
So close, yet so far away. It's a timeless cliché, but a true one, in the case of Cheren. He came within inches of becoming the Unova League Champion, but it wasn't enough. Alder was just the more powerful trainer, and the man worthy of being called the Champion of the region.
He had spent weeks upon weeks training for his battle with Alder – it came down to their last Pokemon, and unfortunately, the teenage trainer from Nuvema Town came up just a little short. Regardless, this left him, for lack of a better term, heartbroken. To use an analogy, it was like Cheren was in an ongoing game of chess, and no matter what, he was in a perpetual state of checkmate.
Cheren became somewhat of a recluse in the days after the battle – all that hard work, and he didn't win. He didn't really talk to anyone, not to Bianca, Touya, Touko, or even Professor Juniper. It wasn't until two weeks after the battle that he was able, once again, to socialize. He had spent a few days in Castelia City with Touya, and a few days in Opelucid City with Bianca, but he wasn't that content with that time spent. He was burned out, and had lost his passion and interest. Something needed to re-spark the flame in his soul, but in a twist of fate, that something turned out to be someone.
It had been a few months since Cheren's loss to Alder, and the group of four had gone their separate ways once again, roaming across Unova, still looking to carry out Professor Juniper's task to complete their Pokedexes; it wasn't easy, but the group knew that it had to be done. They had all stayed in touch with their Xtranceivers, but the four of them really had no chance to contact one another, face-to-face.
During their time apart, Touya had climbed his way up the ranks of the Unova League, and was preparing to take on the Elite Four, for he, too, wanted another shot at Alder's title. Bianca had decided, inevitably, that being a trainer wasn't for her, so she decided to become a Coordinator, in which she had decided to travel to Hoenn and Sinnoh to further her craft. Touko had been taking her time training her Pokemon, since she had a bit of a late start compared to the other three, but she still managed to win the first three badges of Unova in an impressive fashion, in less than ten days.
As for Cheren, he hadn't done too much activity – he trained his Pokemon every now and then, but mostly, he just explored the region, staying in the cities and towns, just for the sake of traveling.
This is where our story begins… stay tuned for the first episode.