If you've read my deviantART journals, then you'll know how really really sorry I am that this update took over a month. I would ramble more about it, but if you want the details, check out my dA page, a link to which is on my profile.

Pokémon Darkness

Part 1: Unova

Chapter 6: Falls, Friends, and Fights

"Claire, I don't think now is the best time to have Februa out!" White called out, jolting Claire out of her trance. She quickly muttered an apology to Februa and recalled him to his Pokéball. Her gaze flickered between N and White, silently beseeching them for some sort of plan. After a moment, N began whispering very rapidly, seemingly to himself as much as to Claire, White, and Alder.

"This direct assault is ominous. They normally work subtly until they begin their actual takeover. I doubt that is there intention here, which means they likely have a more elaborate plan behind this. I hate to suggest this, but I think… I think the best plan would be to split up and go to different cities."

"No way, N!" White objected forcefully. "We aren't going to divide now, it would be too-"

"We don't have time to argue!" N shouted. White looked very taken-aback, and a bit hurt, and Claire instantly understood how she felt. She vividly recalled the first close call they had had with Cipher, and how N had yelled at her, for the first and second-to-last time, when she had objected to leaving him behind. For the most part, everything had been okay, and N had apologized very sincerely as soon as they were safe again, but in that moment, she had felt confused and hurt by her friend's vehemence, even in such danger.

"…I'm sorry, White," N sadly murmured as he watched her dismayed expression. "I didn't mean to yell. But we really can't afford to argue right now. Cipher will likely try to discredit us as soon as possible, so it's important we spread the word about them as quickly as we can, and that means splitting up. Now listen closely. Since none of Bianca's Pokémon can fly, why don't you take her to Castelia City on Reshiram, and then fly ahead to Nacrene? Once Bianca has informed Burgh of Cipher's activities, she can move on to Nimbasa to warn Elesa. Meanwhile, you can warn everyone in Nacrene, Striaton, and Accumula. Claire can come with me on Zekrom to Driftveil and Mistralton, and Cheren can go to Lacunosa, Undella, and Black City. That leaves Opelucid and Icirrus for Alder. Once finished, we can all meet in Nimbasa City. Can you all do that?"

Before so much as a breath passed, Alder had jumped onto his Volcarona and whooshed past Claire with a brief "good luck to you all." In perfect unison, N and White released their dragons, and Claire gathered with the other four trainers between them.

"Well, good luck, White, Bianca," Cheren mumbled, only facing his two friends. Bianca whimpered slightly and flung her arms around Cheren's shoulders, sobbing softly for a moment before pulling White into the hug as well. Cheren looked startled as he gingerly patter her on the back, and White hugged her back with a worried expression.

"I'm so worried, guys, with these Cipher people everywhere… What if something goes wrong and we don't see each other again?" she sniveled.

"Erm," Cheren murmured, somewhat awkwardly. "…It'll be fine, Bianca. We'll meet up in Nimbasa in a couple hours. Cipher can't have many agents here anyway."

"Yeah, don't worry!" White exclaimed with a kind of forced cheer that to Claire seemed to indicate that she needed to follow her own advice. "We've got a head start, and I'm sure people are more likely to believe us than Cipher's people. Unova'll be safe. Come on, we really ought to get going!"

With that, White nimbly leapt onto Reshiram. Bianca hastily followed as Cheren climbed onto his Unfezant. Claire turned to see N sitting on Zekrom, gazing at White. White turned to him, and the barest fraction of a second passed in silence.

"…Good luck, White," N whispered. "Be safe."

White's face lit up, and she nodded in a happy-yet-solemn sort of way. Something invisible seemed to run between them in that moment. Then a gray-and-blue blur flew between them into the sky, severing the invisible something, and in a second Cheren and Unfezant were a blot in the pale gray heavens. The two Tao dragons each took off in pursuit.

As they flew southward, Claire considered the situation, and was vaguely worried; how much had Cipher done already? Did they really have a head start? What if Cipher already had agents waiting for them at every town? What if they were all headed straight into traps, in which they would now be alone? What if they would-?

Claire's concerns, however, were here interrupted by a cold, unearthly cry from somewhere close behind. A sudden shadow passed over Zekrom and Reshiram, and they came to an abrupt stop in midair as their flight path was suddenly blocked by a gigantic icy dragon. Claire didn't know which was more frightening: the dark aura that enveloped Kyurem, or the familiar blue-haired man who rode it.

"Enemies of Cipher!" Ardos proclaimed. "You interference shall end now!"

"N…" Claire whispered faintly. "N, that's a Shadow Pokémon…"

N barely had time to open his mouth in horror before they heard "Kill them with Freeze Shock!" and a huge mass of shadowy ice blasted Zekrom backwards, very nearly throwing Claire off. Before Kyurem could strike again, however, Reshiram rushed in between the two.

"N, that was a Shadow move," Claire said weakly. "Freeze Shock… isn't normally a Shadow move… is it?"

N's expression was confirmation enough, even though his words were drowned by the shouts of the combatants. Half of Claire's mind watched Reshiram's Fusion Flare collide with another Shadow Freeze Shock, while the other half contemplated the horror of Shadow Pokémon that didn't need Shadow moves…

"Crush these fools with Ice Burn!"

"Keep up with the Fusion Flares, Reshiram!"

Rather than charging another giant flame, however, Reshiram merely mimicked Kyurem and inhaled deeply. At precisely the same moment, Kyurem blew a shadowy, violent, freezing wind and Reshiram exhaled a jet of brilliant blue fire. The attacks collided, but Reshiram's Blue Flare quickly overcame the Ice Burn and engulfed Kyurem. This provided N with enough time to give Zekrom a few potions so he could fly forward into the battle.

"Hit it with a Dragon Claw, Zekrom!"

"Awesome, Reshiram! Another Blue Flare!"

"Enough of this!" the Cipher Admin called. "Deoxys! Fend the black one off with Psycho Boost! End the white one with Outrage, Kyurem!"

To Claire's horror, Ardos sent out a red-and-blue tentacle-waving creature cloaked in a black aura who let out an eerily familiar shriek that seemed to leave a static ringing in her ears. Now, at the very least, they could confirm the cause of the widespread electronic failure.

N frantically ordered Zekrom to defend Reshiram, but his path was instantly cut off by the DNA Pokémon, whose Psycho Boost attack blasted the great black dragon off course. Kyurem simultaneously charged forward in a mass of shadows, enduring the Blue Flare with apparent ease, and viciously bit, slashed, and tore at Reshiram. With one last claw swipe across the face, the vast white dragon plummeted from the sky.

"White!" N shouted, a frightening note of panic in his voice. His momentary distraction filled the few seconds in which Deoxys and Kyurem recovered from their exhaustively powerful attacks, and before he or Claire could begin to get over the shock of Reshiram's fall, the boundary dragon was upon them, brutally hacking and beating Zekrom. Claire heard N shout something, and vaguely noticed that Zekrom seemed to soaring downwards at an alarming speed as Kyurem attacked him. Claire clung to his back with all of her strength, but a particularly powerful strike from the ice dragon threw Zekrom spinning backwards, and Claire's grip failed to endure the momentum.

The velocity of the fall dulled all senses; the air stung her eyes closed, the roaring wind deafened her, the horrible cold numbed her skin, and thoughts came slowly and sluggishly. Then, instinctively, she suddenly recalled researching with N about what to do if they were attacked in midflight and fell from a high altitude.

Spread your arms and legs out wide, she heard herself and N reciting. Wait until the ground is close, then turn and land on the balls of your feet, with your knees bent. If you can find soft, flat ground or deep water, land there. Most importantly, stay calm.

It had been at her suggestion that they study this, given the frequency that they flew and were attacked, and had carefully learned the information. But now, as she actually plummeted from the skies, she realized how much easier it was to memorize a series of actions than it was to actually do them. With some difficulty, she forced her frozen limbs out. The icy air drying her eyes made it very difficult to see, but thought she could see water a ways ahead of her. She frantically attempted to thrust herself towards it, but her struggles yielded nothing. Rather than panic as she failed to reach the water, she instead relaxed as best she could and attempted to clear her mind. Slowly, she closed her eyes, breathing deeply…

Then, after an indefinite period of time that felt more like several hours than the few seconds it likely was, a sudden impulse told her that she needed to prepare to land. Without opening her eyes, she flipped forwards into a vertical position, bent her knees just slightly. Before she could think any further, a horribly sharp pain rent through her legs, extinguishing all memories and plans. The complete and total pain was unlike any she had ever felt. For a just moment she felt herself collapsing in utter agony, but a second later her mind was drowned in sweet darkness.

...

...

...

The first thing N felt was the cold floor beneath him. It was cool and smooth, like stone. He inhaled deeply, and immediately recognized the dank scent of a cave with flowing water. This knowledge eased his mind back towards unconsciousness, because caves meant safety. They were hidden, concealed from the eyes of Cipher…

Then, rather abruptly, he was inundated with memories that wrenched him into full consciousness: leaving Kanto on Zekrom in the middle of the night, landing in Nuvema, following his friend White to the Giant Chasm… going to the Unova League with White and her friends, defeating the Elite Four, talking to Alder… Cipher's attack on the League, and their subsequent plan and flight and fall…

Here, however, things got somewhat cloudy. What had happened after the fall? How had he possibly managed to survive? Where had he landed, and where was he now? But then, with a horrible stab of panic, he realized the most pressing question of all… Where was Claire? He knew she had fallen shortly before him, so they must have landed near each other, although they had certainly not just landed in this cave…

Then, with a rush of sweet relief that was gone as quickly as it came, he found his answer. There she was, curled up in a ball under a blanket in a corner of the cave, small and fragile, apparently unconscious, or… but he could not think that.

He quickly rushed over to her and examined her closely. He sighed with relief as he saw that she was breathing, albeit quickly and shallowly. But again he almost instantly panicked again when he noticed her legs. Both were utterly disfigured, with a few jagged bits of shattered bone protruding through her skin. His poor, poor friend… She looked unlikely to walk again…

As though sensing his consciousness, Claire's eyes flickered open. She shuffled sleepily, but let out a horribly pained yelp and stirred no more. After a few seconds, she spoke in the faintest of whispers.

"Wh… Where are we, N?"

N wondered that himself, and began trying to recall what events had succeeded the fall. As he worked it out in his mind, he slowly whispered to Claire.

"I believe… that we are in a cave in the Twist Mountain Range," he began. "Do you remember where that is from the maps?" She made a faint affirmative sound, and N continued, whispering primarily to himself. "I… definitely landed in water… so we would be somewhere on the east side… I went ashore and found… Zekrom!"

His panic fully resurfaced, accompanied with a surge of guilt. He had misled Zekrom and allowed him to get hurt very badly. His hand instinctively found his dear dragon's Pokéball and clicked it. Zekrom emerged from it in a sort of stumble, filling nearly half of the cave. His whole body went slack, and he fell to the floor, softly calling N's name. Another sharp pang tore through N's heart. He slowly laid a hand on his old friend's heavily scarred and burned back.

"Zekrom…" he whispered, tears forming in his eyes. "I am so sorry Zekrom."

"No," the dragon softly growled. "I'm sorry. I allowed my brother to win. I failed you, N, and I'm sorry. You were relying on me."

"Do not blame yourself!" N sobbed. "I should not have told you to fight. Sadly, Kyurem and that Deoxys are now Shadow Pokémon. I believe in your strength, my friend Zekrom, but you were really no match. I misled you, and I am sorry. Here, I shall get you some potions."

"I… can't deny that I would enjoy that…" Zekrom sighed as he settled down on the cave floor. However, as he said this, horror flooded N as he realized that their bag of supplies was gone.

"Claire…" he began slowly. "Do you… still have the supplies?"

As he looked in her direction, N saw Claire curled up with her own legendary Pokémon, having apparently returned to unconsciousness. Februa gazed at her face with nervous concern. The touching sadness of the scene melted N's heart, momentarily alleviating him of all his worries. With a sigh, he turned back to his other injured friend.

"Zekrom…" he whispered apologetically. "We do not have any supplies or money. Our bag is gone."

Zekrom let out a soft moan as he attempted to stand again. After a few shaky moments, he collapsed to the ground again with a pained grunt.

"Do not worry about me, N," he murmured. "You know I have endured far worse. I can recover from this. It is Claire you should be more concerned with."

N sadly realized the truth in these words and recalled Zekrom to his Pokéball. Not in a long time had N felt so helpless. They had no means of healing injuries of any kind in the cave, but Claire was far too grievously wounded to travel anywhere. He could take Zekrom to a Pokémon Center nearby via Pokéball, but doing so would require temporarily abandoning Claire. While he could simply leave some of his Pokémon behind with Claire's own to defend her in an emergency, he was wary of traveling anywhere without his full team, especially since Zekrom was already out of commission for battles. If he were to be attacked, and never returned to the cave, what would become of Claire, who couldn't even walk?

And yet… he had two very badly injured friends in desperate need of medical attention. Something had to be done, but he truly could think of nothing. His horrible helplessness began to stir panic. There was nothing he could do but sit here and watch his friends suffer while the entire world was dominated by Cipher until they found tracked them to the cave and finished them off and he could do nothing about it and his friend White was probably dead somewhere and he missed his mother very badly and wished that she was there to help and he didn't know what to do…

As tears of sorrow and fear welled in his eyes, he looked again upon Claire and Februa in the corner of the cave. Attempting to distract himself, he wondered how they had all ended up here. Through a daze, he could vaguely recall finding Claire after Zekrom, but he really had no idea how they had come to be in the cave. He suspected he had brought her here, but he couldn't remember doing so in the slightest.

As he pondered this, Februa caught his attention again. He was quietly contemplating Claire's legs with a puzzled expression. N gave a saddened half-smile as he crossed to the purification Pokémon.

"Yes, sadly, Februa, her legs are badly broken," N lamentingly told him.

"Why?" the small, curious Pokémon asked with a frown.

"We were attacked in midair, and she fell very far. The force of the fall broke her legs. Thankfully, she learned how to land from long falls a while back, and that was only the extent of the damage. Now that I think of it… she likely saved my life by teaching me that."

Februa did not respond to this, but merely continued to gaze intently at Claire's legs. Just as N's thoughts began to drift back to the mountainous problems looming ahead, however, Februa spoke again.

"Wh-why can't we use p-potions to make her better?"

This question puzzled N. What if they were to have potions readily available? Would they heal Claire's legs? Although they were intended for Pokémon injuries, what would stop them from working on human ones? It was a question he was surprised to find he had never contemplated before. And yet, at the moment, it was irrelevant; even if a single ordinary potion would mend her legs completely, she would still be no better off than Zekrom.

"We lost our bag in the fall," N quietly explained. "So we do not have any potions. Even if we did, I do not know how well they would repair human wounds."

Februa made a small, thoughtful noise and turned back to Claire. Then, to N's utter astonishment, he closed his eyes and let out a high, soft note, glowing with bright yellow light. As he held the note, waves of light flooded over Claire, gently pushing the fragments of her bones back into place. The pieces mended back together, and the cuts in her skin where they had torn through resealed themselves, all apparently without disturbing Claire's slumber in the slightest. N incredulously stared, his mouth open in awe, hardly daring to believe what he saw.

"Februa…" he said in a barely audible whisper. "Was that… Heal Pulse? Did you just learn Heal Pulse?"

"I… I think so…" the pale serpent slowly responded, seeming even more surprised than N was himself. "B-but I didn't know that I c-could do it until just now…"

The sheer joy that overwhelmed N shone brightly next to the panic and despair that had plagued him for the past week-long hour that had started from the moment Claire returned from her battle with Triton. He rushed over to Februa and seized him in his arms.

"Thank you, thank you, Februa! You have saved her, saved us all! Thank you very much, my friend."

Februa squirmed embarrassedly at the praise, so like his trainer. Realizing this, N set him back down above the cave floor. N felt very much in the small Pokémon's debt, and began to wonder how he could possibly repay him.

"I… guess I'll j-just heal Zekrom then…" Februa whispered. "If you just let him out…"

"Yes, yes! Thank you! I cannot thank you enough, Februa. I promise to repay you in some way," N excitedly said as he clicked Zekrom's Pokéball open again. The electric dragon stumbled as he emerged before turning to face N.

"What is it, N?" he asked. "Have you decided what we are going to do now?"

"Februa has saved us, Zekrom!" N happily exclaimed. "He has learned the move Heal Pulse! Look, he has already completely mended Claire's injuries!"

"Really, Februa? That's amazing!" Zekrom cheered, his delight at his young friend's progress shining clearly across his face. "I told you you'd get a good move soon, didn't I? But Heal Pulse! Plenty of Pokémon can inflict harm, but not many can heal. That's really something, Februa. Remember that."

As Februa sang again to heal his draconic mentor, N's thoughts turned to problems beyond their cave, and he began to worry again. What had become of his friend White, and Reshiram and Bianca? Had they survived their fall? But surely they must have, they simply could not be… But he would not allow himself to even think of that. Assuming they were not severely injured, had they managed to evade Cipher's agents? Were they hiding, as he and Claire were, or were they fighting more agents of Cipher? Or, perhaps, had they escaped the assassins and had made it to their destinations, and were rallying trainers against Cipher at this very moment?

There was only one thing to be done. As much as N wanted to find his friend White, he held the responsibility of spreading the word about Cipher. He resolved to proceed with the plans they had made and hope for the best.

"N?" came Claire's soft voice from her corner. "Wh-what is going on?"

N turned to see Claire slowly rising. He moved to help her as she stumbled a bit, but she maintained her balance, apparently without much difficulty. She walked over to Februa and lifted him into her arms, gently stroking his head.

"Where are we? What happened? What is going on?" she asked again. With a sigh and a smile, N replied.

"We fell off of Zekrom when Ardos attacked us with Shadow Kyurem and Deoxys. I was rather dazed after the fall, but I managed to find you and Zekrom and get us to this cave before losing consciousness. I am fairly certain that Cipher does not know we are here. Anyway, you and Zekrom were in very bad shape, and we lost all our supplies in the fall, so things were looking rather hopeless. Then, however, Februa saved us all, for he learned Heal Pulse, and completely mended yours and Zekrom's injuries!"

At this, Claire's deep magenta eyes widened with pride at Februa. Rather than shower him with praise, though, as N himself and Zekrom had, she merely hugged him and whispered "Thank you, Feb. I love you." N could sense that a lot of unsaid understanding went with those words, something neither he nor Zekrom nor anyone else could give to Februa. It reminded him vividly of himself and Zorua, so long ago. He smiled up at Zekrom and placed a hand on his leg, causing him to look down and laugh softly.

"Anything for you, Claire," Februa responded very quietly. Though she would only have heard a soft cry, Claire could clearly see the meaning behind it. Holding her friend in her arms, she turned back to N.

"So now what? What happened to White? What do you think we should do?" she inquired in a whisper. "Do you think we should and find White and everyone? Or should we just go on like we planned?"

N let out a saddened sigh. He knew what he had resolved to do, and intended to do it. He knew Claire would understand, and not object or argue, but a part of him wished that she would. Deep down, however much it pained him, he knew he could not place his friends above the Pokémon and people of the entire world.

"We… need to go on like we planned…" he finally answered. "White is a very strong trainer; I know she and Bianca will be okay. They are probably already in Castelia and Nacrene, alerting the gym leaders. We need to focus on stopping Cipher before they become too influential here."

"That's what I was thinking, too," Claire said, nodding solemnly. N was glad to have as clever and understanding friend as Claire, but she nearly always agreed with his more responsible side that was dedicated to defeating Cipher, rather than his instinctive, childish side that wanted only to protect his friends. He knew this was for the better, but at times like this he wished she would insist otherwise.

"We should probably leave now," Claire whispered after a few moments of silence. N cleared his thoughts with a shake of his head and turned to the cave exit.

The sky outside was the dark gray of an impending storm. N carefully crept out around the trees, surveying the area. A small river flowed through, forming something of a small marsh. Seeing no one nearby, he walked out to the edge of the water with Claire, Zekrom, and Februa.

"N!" Claire called. "Here's a Pokéball! And here's a Super Potion! I think some of our stuff fell here!"

N was glad to know that they had recovered some supplies, but decided not to waste time searching the area for everything. Instead, attempting to assure that no Cipher agents were hidden anywhere, he knelt at the riverbed and spoke to a nearest Pokémon, a Shelmet.

"Hello? Miss Shelmet? May I ask you something?"

The Shelmet flipped her shell open, saw N, and immediately slammed it shut again.

"Ah! Go away! Don't hurt me! J-just leave me alone!" she cried.

"It is okay! I am not going to hurt you! I just wanted to ask you something."

"No! No! Leave me alone! You'll hurt me, too!"

N pitied the poor, frightened girl, and had just decided to ask another Pokémon when Claire stepped up next to him with Februa.

"You're too big, N, and she's too little. It's scary to her," she explained. "Let me try!"

N realized that she was probably right, and stepped back to allow her to calm the Shelmet down. She knelt down and whispered soothingly to the frightened Pokémon.

"It's okay, Miss Shelmet; we won't hurt you. I know my friend N is really tall, but he's not scary. He just wanted to ask you something. We'll leave you alone if you want, but we'd really appreciate it if you would help us. Will you help us, or do you want us to go?"

"I… I guess I'll try to help…" the Shelmet muttered, calming down slightly. "If you won't hurt me…"

Again, although Claire could not understand the words, she seemed to know that she had successfully eased the Shelmet's nerves. N proceeded forward and stooped beside the Shelmet girl again.

"Hello, Miss Shelmet. I'm sorry for scaring you. I just wanted to know, has anyone else passed through here recently? Say, in the past twenty minutes?"

The Shelmet whimpered softly before beginning a slow explanation. "There… there was one guy… with blue hair and a some kind of robe… who came charging through here on a dragon…he crushed a lot of my friends… but that was over an hour ago, just a few minutes after you went into that hidden cave…"

This news shocked N very badly. There was no way; they could not have been unconscious in that cave for over an hour. Struggling to remain calm, he quickly spoke to the Shelmet again.

"An hour? Over an hour? Are you sure, absolutely sure, it has been that long?"

"A-about…" she stammered. "B-but I'm not sure… maybe a little less…" Then, suddenly, her eyes widened, and she looked very confused.

"W-wait…" she began curiously. "H-how can you understand me?"

"I can understand all Pokémon, miss, it's a gift I have," N quickly explained. "But this is bad; we need to leave, straight away! An entire hour lost…"

"I-I'm sorry!" the Shelmet exclaimed nervously. "D-don't be mad at me, p-please…"

"It isn't your fault, Miss Shelmet," N assured her quickly, without much thought. "But come on, Claire, Zekrom, we need to leave!"

N quickly leapt onto his deep black dragon and turned to help Claire up, but Claire had stopped halfway to Zekrom when the Shelmet called out "w-wait!" She rushed back to the snail Pokémon and knelt by her side.

"What is it?" Claire asked kindly. "Do you want to come with us?"

"If… if you don't mind… I don't want to be alone…" Shelmet responded almost inaudibly. Claire smiled widely and quickly pulled the Pokéball she had found on the ground out of her pocket.

"Yay! Welcome to the team, Shelmet!" she cheered, softly clicking the Pokéball on her newest friend. N was happy for Claire, but the continual passing of time still worried him, and he was grateful that Claire dawdled no further and, returning Februa to his Pokéball as well, she quickly climbed onto Zekrom.

"All right, Zekrom," N rapidly whispered. "Let's go south, to Driftveil, as quickly as you can, but please don't overexert yourself. Try to fly as low as possible, just to be safe."

"I'll be fine, N, don't worry," Zekrom insisted, before soaring into the air, just a few feet above the treetops. After a few moments, N turned around to see Claire talking to her new friend.

"Hi there, new friend!" she happily said. "I would introduce you to the rest of the team, but there's not a lot of room up here, so how about we just get to know each other?"

"Th-that sounds good," Shelmet muttered timorously. Claire beamed at her and launched into a series of questions about Shelmet and comments about herself.

N was truly impressed with how well Claire understood Pokémon. N had, in a way, an unfair advantage in that field, since he had learned at a very young age to speak with Pokémon, and yet Claire could communicate with her Pokémon quite as well as he could. She didn't need to actually hear the words; just by their cries and movements, she could easily decipher what they were saying. N had no doubt that she was to become one of the greatest trainers in the world.

Zekrom flew with incredible speed, and they did not encounter a single obstacle; thus, in less than ten minutes, they landed on the outskirts of Driftveil on Route 6. N slid off of Zekrom and recalled him to his Pokéball for some well-earned rest. Claire, let Shelmet stay on her shoulder as they entered the city.

It was immediately obvious that something important was happening. A large crowd was gathered at the far end of the street, just in front of the gym. N quickly but cautiously approached the multitude of people, attempting to discern who or what they were gathered around. As he pushed his way through the throng with Claire, he was shocked to find Bianca, Ardos, and the gym leader Clay arguing at the center.

"B-but I'm telling the truth!" Bianca was shouting. "He r-really did attack us! H-he's one of those Cipher people!"

"Mr. Clay, I must insist that you listen to reason," Ardos countered. "Is she not acting precisely as I told you she would? I can prove that she was at the Pokémon League at the time of the explosion. I insist you not be swayed by the lies she has been fed. At the very least, permit her to be taken into custody, so we International Police may ascertain the location of the terrorist known as N."

At this point, N knew it was time to intervene. He hastily stepped forward, out of the crowd, directly behind Ardos.

"You won't have to look far," he muttered. Ardos spun around and leapt back in surprise. After a few moments of shock, he recovered himself and quickly withdrew a pure black Pokéball. Over the frightened shouts of the crowd, he called out:

"This is the man who blew up the Pokémon League! His young cooperative, too! Help me capture them, Clay!"

"No! Clay, please!" Bianca cried out in distress.

"'old yer Ponytas, Mister Ardos, an' Miss Bianca," Clay yelled. "I ain't so sure I buy these accusations a' yers. I may never of met this 'ere man 'fore, but I am familiar with the old Team Plasma 'e used t'be in charge of, an' blowin' up buildins ain't their style. Furthermore, I still ain't seen this proof a' yers that this 'ere lady and this 'ere man were at the League. I ain't callin you a liar, but I ain't about t'let you attack these people till I see some real proof."

"Leader Clay," N rapidly whispered, relieved that Clay was not yet hoodwinked by Cipher, yet somewhat dismayed that he was giving Ardos consideration. "This man is a Cipher Admin known as Ardos. Cipher is an evil organization that has taken over the regions of Orre and Hoenn, and-"

"I am familiar with this tale, Mister N," Clay interrupted. "This 'ere lady has already told me. It's an awful lie, so awful that no one with an ounce a' sense would use it. Though this 'ere Ardos man's story makes sense, y'all don't strike me as liars. Now, I am gonna-"

"Mr. Clay, you are wasting time we do not have," Ardos emphatically insisted. "With or without your assistance, I will arrest this terrorist here!"

"You'll do no such thing," Clay flatly stated. "If you attack these 'ere people without givin' me any proof that they did what you said they did, I will do everthin' in my power to 'elp them. You understand me?"

"If you wish to be arrested for obstructing justice, so be it!" Ardos venomously spat, pulling another black Pokéball with his free hand. Thoroughly incensed at Ardos's blatant lies, N's hand instinctively fell to Zoroark's Pokéball. As he sent out his oldest friend, Bianca resolutely released her Emboar, and Clay his Seismitoad. At his side, Claire courageously sent out Zweilous.

"You are fools!" Ardos vehemently shouted. "Complete fools, if you dare to fight me!"

And, with that, he threw both Pokéballs, unleashing his Shadow Kyurem and Shadow Deoxys.