Pokémon Darkness

Part 1: Unova

Chapter 2: Reunion

A thousand questions simultaneously formed in White's mind, among them "Why are you here?" "Who is that girl?" "Where have you been?" "What's going on?" and "How did you know I was here?" Each attempted to escape through her mouth before the others, and so after a moment of shocked silence, she stupidly spluttered "Are you real?"

N chuckled softly at her words. White thought he rather sounded as though he hadn't laughed in quite some time, and had partially forgotten how. He smiled at White as he answered.

"Yes, I'm definitely no dream, White," he half laughed, half sighed. "But it's so good to see you! Are you okay?" he added, noting her apparent lack of coherence.

He held out his arms to her, but White merely stared. Her brain seemed to have gone numb, preventing her from articulating a response. N had appeared… N had found her… N had found her here… N had arrived in the middle of the night and found her here… After all this time… She couldn't make sense of it. How, why, could N be right here, right now?

But after just over a second of utter shock, something slid into place in her mind, and she came crashing down back to earth. N was right here, right now; he had finally come back. She looked up at N's slightly concerned face, saw his arms still extended, and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck.

"N! Oh I'm so glad your back N! What's going on? You must tell me everything! Where have you been? What have you been doing?" she gasped, rapidly working herself up again. "How did you even know where to find me? Oh but you arrived just in time too; if you had been a second later Reshiram would've been…" She trailed off, suddenly alarmed. "Reshiram! N, he got hurt, very badly, we need to-"

But at this, N placed a finger to her mouth.

"It is okay, White, we have potions," he whispered, smiling at her regained ability to articulate. "Claire can heal him up quickly. Right, Claire?"

For the first time, White had an unimpeded view of the source of the small voice as it slid off Zekrom's back. It was a small girl, no older than eight or nine. Her coppery-blonde hair fell in ringlets halfway down her back. Her eyes were a startling bright pink, though her left one was blackened. She wore a pink hat with a black brim and half-Pokéball logo, pale blue Capri's that had been slashed in more than one place, and a white and pink long sleeved shirt with what looked horribly like a dried blood stain on the back. She pulled several potions from her bag as she silently crossed to Reshiram. With great care, she examined Reshiram's wounds and applied potion to each, occasionally stealing nervous glances at White. Relieved that Reshiram would be okay, White looked at N again. Having noticed the girl's injuries, she realized that N looked rather worn too; the right side of his face was bruised, he had a barely scabbed cut on his right arm visible through a gash on his sleeve, and what looked unpleasantly like a bite taken out of his lower left pant leg, with a scar discernible beneath this as well. She began to interrogate about their injuries, but N spoke before she had a single word out.

"White, this is Claire," N introduced, in a tone that suggested they ought not to discuss the harsher points of their journey with the young girl. "She can be quite shy, but she is very kind and caring, and brave when it matters most. Rather like you once were, now that I think about it."

At this point, finished with Reshiram, Claire timorously made her way over too N and White. She promptly hid behind N, not quite looking at White. N tried to move out of the way but she clung to his leg. He sighed as he spoke to her.

"Claire, this is White. You've heard a lot about her. She is very friendly; I promise you have nothing to fear from her."

At this, N managed to step out of the way, and pushed Claire gently towards White. Claire looked up at White with large pink eyes. She held eye contact just long enough to mutter "Hi White" before she dashed back behind N.

N smiled down at her for a moment before turning back to White. The happiness seemed to fade from his face a little as he spoke again.

"Unfortunately, White, the reason I'm back is not such a good one," he sighed. "Horrible things have started happening far west, in Orre and Hoenn. We need to unite strong trainers to help us stop them, and you, of course, are the most important. No other trainer is as incredible as you," he finished with a smile.

The gash that had opened up in White's heart at hearing that N was merely seeking out strong trainers mended completely the instant he essentially called her the most incredible person he knew. Her glowing joy was diminished, however, as she wondered what could have happened that was so horrible that N would travel so far to try to stop it. N's saddened sigh cut off her speculations.

"I would… rather not have to tell the whole story more than once… so I hope you will forgive me for not explaining everything that's happened yet. But I won't keep you in the dark; I will just summarize everything as best I can."

He stopped, looking at her for any sign of sadness or anger. But White understood his desire to recount his entire tale as little as he could, as the memories clearly pained him. She nodded at him to continue.

"About six months ago, the Orre region fell into complete isolation. No one outside could contact anyone inside, and apparently vice versa. Anyone sent there either were attacked before they could reach the shore (as this was from Hoenn, a few miles off its coast) or simply did not return. Concerned about the Pokémon and people of the region, I set out on Zekrom, but encountered a shadowy storm and was forced to turn back.

"Not long after that, brutal trainers with strange Pokémon began to appear in Hoenn. They claimed to be a part of an organization called Cipher, and used their Pokémon, which they called "Shadow" Pokémon, to take out gym leaders and police. These Shadow Pokémon were relentlessly strong, and seemed indifferent to their own or other's pain… It was clear they had been abused… corrupted by something terrible… But it seemed there was nothing that could be done for them…

"Soon, these Shadow trainers attacked the Pokémon League, and defeated the Elite Four and the Champion. Their apparent leader declared that the region of Hoenn was under Cipher's control. I was furious at them… furious at the way they treated their Pokémon. I challenged their leader, but his Shadow Pokémon were too much for me. Defeated, I knew I had to flee, so I escaped on Zekrom before I could be tracked.

"I knew I had to stop them, but couldn't do so alone. I decided to rally other strong trainers to help defeat them. Alternating between flying on Zekrom and Altaria, a new friend I met in Hoenn, I started making my way east along the southern coast. I didn't dare try to approach Orre, instead resting on islands to the south until I reached Johto. I attempted to start gathering allies there, but, although they were yet to seize control, Cipher still had a presence in Johto, and planted the rumor that I was a dangerous terrorist. I had to flee before long. I tried again in Kanto, but the rumors eventually reached there too. I was stuck there for quite a while, and things did not at all go well. The most that can be said is that I met up with Claire there, whom I believe will be invaluable to stopping Cipher.

"As I was so far east already, I decided that the best plan would be to fly across the sea to Unova. I knew that, even if Cipher's rumors managed to reach here, people who actually knew me would be able to quash them before they grew too great. Also, I already knew of at least one person who I knew I could count on to help me."

He finally paused, smiling at White. She was both fascinated and somewhat amused by the detail of his "summary," yet still yearned for a complete explanation of his battles and travels and doubtlessly narrow escapes. She knew better than to ask, however; she could clearly see the seriousness of the situation, and knew they would have to start warning people as soon as possible.

Even as she thought this, she felt a slight twinge in her gut. Optimally, N's return would have meant days spent traveling to the far regions of Unova together, meeting new Pokémon and camping out in the wild, and, in between these trips, spending their time hanging out and training with her friends Cheren and Bianca. It would not have meant leaving home to convince Pokémon trainers to prepare for a war against an evil organization. And yet, as she thought this, she felt a surge of excitement. It really would not be so bad; it would be just like her original quest against Team Plasma so long ago, but this time, N would be on her side. In that moment, she resolved to do whatever it took to help him stop this Cipher.

"What should we do now, N? Who should we tell?" she rapidly asked after a brief silence, and began answering herself without waiting for N. "Alder and the Elite Four, obviously, and Cheren and Bianca could help. We'll definitely want to alert the gym leaders, too. I know of this one strong trainer I met in Undella Town, I'm not sure if she's still there, but it's worth checking, and that's a good start. When should we go? As soon as possible, definitely! Why are we still standing here? We've got to start now if we're going to-"

But here, N again placed a finger to her mouth.

"I'm very glad you're so willing to help, White," he whispered softly, smiling. "But everyone is probably asleep, and I think it would be best not to wake them in the middle of the night, even for this. Beside, Claire and Zekrom and I are tired. Do you think…Could we go sleep at your house tonight, and begin tomorrow?"

In the midst of her excitement at N's return and the prospect of a new quest, it had completely slipped White's mind that it was still just past four o'clock in the morning. She flushed red at her impulsiveness, feeling very foolish. N seemed to notice, for he then reassured her.

"Don't be embarrassed White; your haste and resolve are very good things. They're part of what make you such a great trainer. I wish we could start immediately too. I did, after all, go to find you in the middle of the night," he chuckled, smiling at her for the umpteenth time. "But I knew you would understand right away; I am less confident in others. So, if you do not mind, can we please go to your house to sleep?"

Coming from anyone else, White would have taken much of this, particularly the last sentence, as insulting and sarcastic. But from N, she did not doubt that every word was absolutely sincere. Feeling much less stupidly spontaneous, she agreed to return home for the night. N smiled and beamed at her.

"Oh, but there's just one thing. Zekrom has flown a long way, you see, and I'd like to give him a rest. The only problem is that Altaria isn't big enough for both Claire and me to fly on; we've already tried. Do you think Reshiram is okay to fly back?"

White's honest answer was "no," but she felt saying so would be tantamount to saying her tired Pokémon was more important than N's tired Pokémon. Archeops could fly too, obviously, but she was uncertain that she could carry both of them. As she was contemplating a kind way of saying this, she turned to look closely at Reshiram. He had certainly healed up significantly after Claire applied the potions, but White was still wary of letting him fly almost all the way across Unova after taking such brutal hits from Kyurem. White faced N and opened her mouth to say so, but Reshiram let out a determined roar. Surprised, White turned back to him.

"You think you can make it okay?" she asked him.

Reshiram gave a clearly affirmative roar. White smiled at him; she could hardly believe she had doubted his fortitude, even as concerned a trainer as she was. Reshiram was a powerful dragon; he could certainly make it back just fine.

"All right," she told N and Claire. "We're ready, let's go! I'll help you up, Claire."

Claire seemed to deliberate from a moment, but decided she didn't have much of a choice and approached White to allow her to boost her up onto Reshiram's back. She didn't once look at White, and hastily crawled to the other side of Reshiram as White climbed up. White hoped, as she could clearly tell N did, that she would be able to befriend Claire on the way home.

White glanced to the side and saw N mounting his blue phoenix-like Altaria. He nodded at her, and indicated that she lead the way. She nodded back and spoke to Reshiram.

"Take us back home, then? But don't hesitate to let me know if you get too tired," she added, her anxiety returning.

Reshiram gave an indignant cry at her excess concern, and took off into the air at once, with N's Altaria in hot pursuit. White glimpsed back at the ground, looking at Kyurem's unconscious body. She wished she had been able to capture it; it certainly would have been helpful. Just as she began to turn back, however, she saw the ice dragon stir. Suddenly, she heard its cold and eerie cry as it opened its eyes to glare up at them. The sight and sound made her shudder. Had they left just a moment later…

Fortunately, the dragon did not seem to want to give a chase. White looked away from Kyurem, and, attempting to put all thoughts of it from her mind, she turned to face the young girl beside her.