He'd been thinking.
Thinking more so than he often did.
Every time he closed his blue eyes, he could see her own- shining with fierce determination. As her Pokémon loyally followed her every move, they didn't question her, they saw her. They trusted her. They loved her.
He was confused, confused when he heard the small Pokémon saying that it wanted to stay with her. It didn't want to be on its own.
He'd never heard of it.
He'd only ever grown up around the Pokémon whom were constantly abused; they were his friends, because he didn't hurt them. He listened to them. He listened to them cry, listened to them fight. Listened to him fall, as his so called subjects who fought for his ordeal made the Pokémon suffer. It broke his heart, he couldn't stand to see his Pokémon friends who he knew more than people go through that pain. They all hated humans.
All the ones he knew any way.
But then she came. Walking down into the small town; accompanied by two others.
He watched as his father proclaimed to the public, the liberation of Pokémon was nigh. Pokémon must be free, not subjugated to human slavery. Not used as common tools to further humans goals as we so often did. Pokémon were superior. Not pets.
But then she came, she and her Pokémon. Their voices ringing out loudly from inside their snug little capture devices.
"No. I like her. I like them. I want to be with her, stay by her side! And grow stronger together!"
He didn't believe it.
So once his father had left, he approached the female. She'd looked agitated with the speech, her face of utter disbelief. Her eyes conveyed the truth of her emotions like the parchment of a book. She thought that his beliefs were foolish as he spoke to her, trying to convince her.
As they battled, he watched her. The way she cringed when her Pokémon took a blow, the way she'd congratulate her partners as they ended a battle, albeit won or lost. He saw her tears. He saw her pain; her pain for their pain.
She was like him.
But he was nothing like her.
He'd been defeated for the first time that day. But he could hear the Pokémons voices louder once they were in his sight.
"We love her. We don't want to be separated!"
They could hear her, she couldn't hear them. But she could sense their determination, their love. And they could sense her caring devotion- making them strong.
They frequently crossed paths, each time he would try to convey his ideals onto her, and she would only fight with the truth of her emotions. Though she didn't say it, her eyes spoke it. Much like her Pokémon cried when they both battled.
"We want to stay together. We love each other. I love them, they love me. I won't leave them."
Her actions spoke louder than her words, as she progressed, as she became stronger, because of her Pokémon. Her Pokémon, becoming stronger because of her. Because they believed in one another.
She was like him.
Indeed she was.
But her view was different.
And he was a fool.
Each time, he looked forward to challenging her, looked forward to see her eyes. To see her. Fight, for what she thought was right. What she knew to be right. And what he was beginning to think was the truth.
His father had manipulated him.
The reasons why zekrom chose him. His ideals were pure, they were whole hearted. He believed it was his truth. He needed to change the world. So Pokémon would be happy, would be free, unharmed, and happy.
But her Pokémon were happy. They were happy to be with her, to fight for her, to stay beside her.
Much like the Pokémon who fought beside him were, towards himself.
His heart nearly stopped when the light stone responded.
When Reshiram arose, and accepted her. In the short time she had held the stone, and carried it with her. The legend itself had come to respect her, to want to help her, to stay by her.
Much like zekrom was to him.
The Pokémon had bonded to her, almost instantly. It was happy when she caught it. He couldn't understand why. Only he knew Pokémon.
And after he had admitted defeat, he wanted to scream and cry as he learnt of his father's betrayal. His own hopelessness, his twistedness. He wasn't as pure as his father led him to believe. His father was warped, evil, manipulative. And he had warped and manipulated him. N. the king of team plasma… made him a puppet.
It was his father who Pokémon should be kept from.
Not people like her, or her friends, the gym leaders, the elite four, the champion, the professors.
They all cared for and fought for their Pokémon. And their Pokémon fought for them.
She had a dream… she said she did. She would make it come true, her wonderful dream would become reality, and it would become her truth.
If anyone could- it was her.
He told her that… he told her that as he departed on zekrom to find himself. The look of despair in her eyes as he left. The look of wanting, longing, care… and hope. Hope that he would do well, that he would find himself. That he would become a greater person. That he would fight for truth. That his ideals would be truth. After all- He was the hero, alongside herself.
And he loved her.
Much like her Pokémon did, much like her friends loved her.
He missed her.
But he didn't know how to interact with her.
The wind tousled his hair as he lay in the grass of an island. Zekrom breathing softly with his head rested beside him. The legend seemed peaceful. Though he could sense a longing under his partners emotions.
He wondered what she was doing now.
It had been well over a year. He couldn't get her out of his thoughts even in that amount of time.
What did she look like, had she changed? Was she stronger? Had she defeated the champion? Was she befriending more Pokémon, was she reaching more people's hearts like she had his?
He could feel zekroms gaze on him as he stared up at the clouds in thought.
"Do you miss your brother?"
The legend shifted, not answering, because N knew all too well his Pokémons thoughts.
He longed for his other half; he could feel the tug for his brother beckoning him. He did miss him.
As much as N missed her.
Did she miss him?
Did she long to see him like he did her?
He'd grown more in the past year.
To understand Pokémon more, to understand people more.
So he could be like her.
Because she was like him.
But he wasn't like her.
And he didn't understand how that worked.