The frigid air of the snowed-over city froze my innards as I exited the gym, Erin flexing her arms tentatively, making sure they still worked after getting her splint removed. Despite the fact that she had performed flawlessly against Brycen's Pokemon, she still seemed to be hesitant when fighting. Then again, after almost a month of no battling, I couldn't blame her for wondering. A beribboned stone pendant, carved from a half of Cyan's own pendant, swung from her neck – a Christmas gift from Cyan to her, I had guessed.
The Christmas season had come and gone, leaving Unova (and the rest of the world) soon to enter another January - today was New Years Eve, actually. The thick snows of the morning and occasional nighttime hail of December had been replaced with gentle dustings of snow almost every day, but the holiday spirit that had permeated the region still remained. After a difficult trek through the beautiful Spiral Mountain (and a long session of training there afterward), we had found our way to Icirrus City, which itself was covered in thick snow and slippery ice. Small wonder the gym focused on Ice types.
As for my Pokemon, much had changed – Setzer had evolved into an Archeops, and had finally gained the ability to fly. Eiko had evolved into a Cinccino. Erin, the little trooper she was, had also finally gotten out of that splint, and her arm seemed to work just as well as it did before – in fact, the break she had taken from training had seemed to have somehow made her even stronger. Cyan had grown stronger as well, and I had gotten worried that he hadn't evolved again yet… until I realized that his and Erin's twin pendants were Everstones, which had shocked me. I wasn't sure why Cyan didn't want to evolve again, but perhaps the matter was best left alone.
"You did well in there, Erin." She looked at me with bright eyes, obviously happy that she could fight with us again. "At this rate, we'll get to the League in no time at all!" I flipped open my badge case and handed her the Icicle Badge, which she looked at in glowing fascination. She plopped herself down in the snow and began to play with it, twisting it through the air as if it was an airplane, and I laughed at her childish antics. She nearly attempted to bite it, but I swiped it from her grasp before she could. Wiping it off on my sleeve, I slipped it back into my badge case before beginning to walk forward. I only took a single step before stopping in my tracks.
"Bianca! Cheren!" I said in surprise, as the blonde girl and the dark-haired boy ambled towards me. Cheren noticed my badge case, and his eyes flashed.
"So, you've already got the Icicle Badge…" He shivered, and I noticed that he was wearing a bright, mint green sweater that clashed with the rest of his clothes. Bianca seemed to giggle as he pulled it tighter – it was probably a gift from her. "I'm going to challenge the gym now." He stepped forward to move past me into the freezing-cold building, but a bright-blue clothed figure blocked him from entering.
"Who's out here?" He whispered in a hushed tone. I immediately tensed at the sound, and Bianca looked at Brycen with a confused look. I was about to 'shhh' at her when she spoke quite loudly.
"What are you talking about? There's Bill, there's me, and there's Cheren…" Brycen's eyes darted from side to side, taking us in, then pointed to two different place and stared at a third.
"I know you're here… show yourselves!" As soon as he had spoken, three white-haired, dark-clothed men appeared out of thin air. Bianca screamed, collapsing onto her rear in panic, and Cheren's hand instinctively went for his Pokeballs. I ducked down into a fighting pose, and Erin did the same, ready for whatever the Dark Trinity would throw at us. But the trio of ninjas didn't move – instead, they simply looked at me from all sides and pointed, brandishing a blade garlanded with Pokeballs towards Brycen.
"Well done, Brycen of Icirrus. Only a master ninja could have seen through our concealment." They spoke sincerely, and I heard Cheren growl at them in disgust. Brycen, however, remained very calm.
"What issue do you have here, Plasma? State your business or else leave." He said, with a quick tongue and a sharp bite to his tone. Erin had gone into a more casual position, although she still eyed the ninjas with great suspicion. The Trinity was silent, then began to talk again.
"We originally planned to tell this message to Bill and Bill only… but by now we see no problem with telling all of you." The middle ninja turned to face me with a piercing gaze, and I shot back a confident look of my own. "Ghetsis has instructed us to send you to the Dragonspiral Tower. There, at its pinnacle… Lord N has a message for you."
Brycen and Cheren gasped, and I sucked in my breath. Bianca looked confused, but the Trinity ignored all but me. "If you do not come… then the world will face the consequences." And with that, their figures disappeared, not even leaving tracks in the snow. Brycen dashed forward, suddenly and uncharacteristically losing his cool.
"Wait…! What did you mean by the Dragonspiral Tower…" We stood for a while, trying to understand the cryptic words of their message. I rubbed my stubble again, and thought hard.
"The Dragonspiral Tower… The oldest building in Unova…" Where had I heard about that building before? "Wait… wasn't that where that Plasma grunt was headed with the Dark-"
Realization hit me like a truck as the ground shook slightly, and Erin screamed loudly. I knelt down to comfort her.
"Erin… Erin… the earthquake's over, don't worry…" I patted her back as she yelled into my scarf, and she soon stopped, pointing over my shoulder, letting out a 'Mien'. I turned to see a great big clump of pure black thunderclouds gathering at the top of a tower.
My eyes widened, I gasped in horror, and I dashed off through the snow towards the Dragonspiral Tower north of the city. I could hear Cheren and Bianca yell after me, "Bill! Wait!", but I didn't stop. I couldn't stop. I had to get there and stop what was going to happen at all costs. If he was able to befriend the legendary Pokemon… then the world would truly be on the brink of destruction.
I hacked and wheezed, my breath short as the thin, windy air of the top of the Dragonspiral Tower entered my lungs, and a whole croud of Pokemon followed behind me – Cyan and Erin appeared first, then Eiko riding on top of Setzer, then Vivi and Refia. We trudged forward, and I chanced a quick look off the edge of the tower. My heart dropped and splashed into my stomach as I saw how high we were, and I felt lightheaded, falling to my knees. I crawled away from the side of the tower, my vision darkening slightly.
"Ugh… we're so goddamn high…" I breathed in hard, taking in as much oxygen as I could, and I soon stood up again, panting. My motley crew of Pokemon and I looked up, and what I saw nearly made me faint again.
There stood N, his green ponytail whipping in the wind as the thunderclouds filled the pinnacle with darkness. A single lightning bolt flew down from the sky as he held up the Dark Stone, the onyx sphere glinting with a blue tone, and the bolt smashed into the tile with a mighty roar – a roar that wasn't just one of thunder, but one of a Pokemon as well. A bright flash lit up the room, blinding us all, and I heard Eiko cry out in alarm.
"Stand your ground!" I ordered, and I heard six different cries at once. The bright light soon dissipated, and we unblocked our eyes to see the fruits of N's labors. "No…!"
Now, in front of N, there stood a great, black dragon. Its torso was hard and scaly, almost like plate-armor, and three tiny claws poked out from under each of its large and menacing hand-guards. Its shoulders were adorned with moderately-sized black wings, and its generator-shaped tail glowed a bright, menacing electric blue. The creature growled, its mean, beady red eyes glaring straight at me, and above it the thunderclouds crackled with electricity. N turned to me, his hair flapping in the wind, his cap struggling to fly away if it hadn't been held down by his hand. His voice carried even above the raging wind and incessant thunder.
"Oh... oh my god..." I could barely muster the words.
"There… don't you see now, Bill? Zekrom had befriended me… he considers me to be a hero!" The look in N's eyes wasn't insane with power, like it had been with Cyrus – it was full of another emotion instead, one much purer. It was full of innocence, of naïveté. "And now, with both my power and Zekrom's power, we shall go to the Pokemon League!"
Zekrom began to fly up in the air, soon disappearing in the clump of thunderclouds, and another lightning bolt crashed into the spot next to me. I yelped out loud in extreme panic, and hopped away, my nerves utterly shattered. Eiko made an angry face at the thunderclouds and attempted to use a Thunderbolt of her own, but the attack was sucked up by the clouds and rendered ineffective.
"If you want to stop me… seek out Reshiram! And come to the Pokemon League!" Another thunderbolt came crashing down near me at Reshiram's name, and I collapsed to the ground, my fist slamming hard into the tile. "Only then can things be in balance! Only then can we fight as equals!"
"And if you decide not to... then this will be the greatest New Year that Unova has seen yet!" My eyesight began to go dark as Zekrom flew out from the side of the tower, grabbing N, and I heard its roaring cry from the distance… I felt myself fall to the floor as one final lightning strike hit the tower dead center.
"Kkrrrrrrkkrash!"
I felt a very pleasant feeling all over my body. It was a tingly feeling, sort of like getting lightly brushed from head to toe. I let out an "Aahhhhhhh" as I let the brushing take over my being, and I leaned back to rest. The feeling wouldn't stop, though, as it began to grow much heavier near my face. It began to tickle me, and I couldn't help but laugh as the brushy feeling focused on the area under my nose. The lack of air was too much, and I sniffed a little, breathing something in. "Ah… ahhh-"
I sneezed loudly. "CHOO!" I rubbed my nose, snorting something, and I coughed in a vain attempt to get the something out of my throat. As soon as I felt better, I opened my eyes to see a bright silver pair staring back unnecessarily close into mine. "Eiko?"
The little chinchilla let out an overjoyed cry and dug into my clothes, tickling me all over, and the tingly feeling came back again as I exploded into uncontrollable laughter again. "Eiko, stoppit, haha... stoppit, that tickles!" I swerved back and forth on the bed until she finally hopped out of the neck of my shirt, doing a flip and landing on her tiptoes. I breathed in softly, and then I heard clapping.
I looked up to see a veritable procession of people standing in my room: Professor Juniper, her father, Bianca, Cheren, Brycen, and Champion Alder. My face turned beet-red at the realization that they had all just witnessed Eiko's merciless tickle-attack and my subsequent reaction, and I hid myself under the covers. The whole room burst into laughter, including a few loud squeaks that were obviously from Eiko herself.
"Hey, c'mon... guys..." Slowly, I uncovered myself to see their smiling faces, Bianca wriggling with held giggles. I felt a pain in my neck and reacted, reaching back to caress it.
"Ugh... what happened? The last thing I remember..." N, Zekrom, and the Dragonspiral Tower. The room's mood turned noticeably somber, and my face fell. "I was too late to stop him..."
Mr. Juniper stepped forward and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Kiddo, don't lie to yourself. By the time we knew they were in the spire, none of us could have stopped it. Besides, he told ya to search for another dragon Pokemon, right?"
I nodded. "He talked about a Pokemon called 'Reshiram'... does anyone know what he meant?" Mr. Juniper stepped back, and Brycen stepped forward, dropping a large, white stone into my lap with a 'thud'. I let out a grunt as it put its weight on me, and I lifted it up to examine it. My fingers probed the three notches hewn into the block. I looked a little closer.
"This... this is a beautiful slab of marble..." Cheren let out a "Tch." at that, and I examined it again. Pure white marble... my mind clicked into gear, and I snapped my head upward. "N spoke of two stones - the Light and Dark Stones. Could this be...?" I asked hopefully. Brycen nodded, and I nearly exploded in excitement. "Then this is the stone that contains Reshiram?"
Alder came around and sat down on the bedside table, not minding the fact that he knocked over the alarm clock. He bent down to pick it up, but thought better of it and faced me.
"You've been unconscious for a few days now." He began. I checked my Pokegear - it was 8:30 in the morning of January 2nd. "While you've been sleeping comfortably, we've been hunting for everything we could." He gestured towards Cheren. "Cheren and I went to the Ancient Castle to see if we could find anything of interest. We didn't find anything interesting, but we did find Ghetsis." He sighed, averting his gaze to a painting on the wall.
"He said... or rather, instructed... me to return to the Pokemon League to fight N. I've been avoiding it with the excuse of waiting for you to wake up, but I'll have to fight him eventually - it's one of the Champion's duties, after all." I nodded. Having worked with Champion Cynthia before in Sinnoh, I knew how involved a Champion was in a region's politics. They were one of the most influential people in an area.
"As for Professor Juniper, Mr. Juniper, Bianca, and Lenora, they searched around in the Nacrene Museum and found that stone you have there. We aren't sure if it's the Light Stone, but there's a damn good chance it is." I nodded, going over the information in my mind. "However, none of us really know much about this other dragon. Only two people devote all their time and research to the ancient legends of Unova, and that'd be Leaders Drayden and Iris, who live in Ophelucid City to the east."
"Well, what a coincidence. After all, I need my eighth badge to come to the League anyway, right?" I joked, and Alder let out a hearty bellow of a laugh.
"Your resolve is impressive, to say the least." He continued to chuckle, and he patted my shoulder. "When you get to Ophelucid, I'll bring you to Drayden and Iris. As such, I'll wait there for you." He hopped off the bedside table with a thud and walked out. I heard a rush of wings, and I saw him flying away on his Volcarona, a blazing trail of flames left in his wake. Professor Juniper walked up to me, her hair slightly messy, as if she had pulled an all-nighter researching.
"Bill... this is a very serious issue that you..." She shook her head. "...that we've all gotten into." She rubbed Eiko's forehead, eliciting a cry of contentment from the chincilla, and she smiled. All was silent for a while, and I looked in her direction.
"Yes...?" I asked tentatively. She let out a sigh of defeat, then looked down at me with determination.
"Never mind. I believe you can do it. I spoke with Rowan a while ago, and he told me all about what you've done before... if anyone can handle this, then you can." I smiled back at her.
"I appreciate the vote of confidence." And with that, the professor and her father left the room, leaving only Bianca, Cheren, and Brycen, the last of which stood in the doorway.
"I shall take my leave as well. I must heal my Pokemon from the battles I had against Plasma, and then I will wait for Cheren's challenge." His smooth, authoritative tone had returned to his voice, and he was gone as quick as his message was, leaving just Bianca and Cheren.
"Bill..." Bianca's voice flowed into my ears, and I looked at her. "You know how to get to Ophelucid City, right?" I shook my head no, and she sighed. "East of Icirrus City, there's Cylinder Bridge. Past there, there's a short route with a mall, and then Ophelucid City." She took a few baby steps forward.
"I... I don't really know what's going on, other than the fact that it's major bad news, but..." Mirage the Mushanna floated out from behind her. "I know what it's like to have a Pokemon stolen by Team Plasma... and I don't want that to happen to anyone else! So..." She leapt out and hugged me, and my breath caught in my throat.
"Oh, Bill, just be careful..." She whispered in my ear. "Find the truth and then win!" She stepped back, then ran out of the room. Cheren sighed, and the two of us just stayed there, silent for god-knows how long. After what seemed like hours, he straightened his glasses, tugged on his mismatched sweater, and gave me a sideways glance.
"I guess that means I'll have to go talk Bianca back to being happy again..." He spoke as if it wasn't worth his time, but the concerned look in his eyes betrayed his voice. "Bill, I don't know whether Alder will really be able to stand up to N and Zekrom..." He began. "But what I do know is that I'm going to battle you again, one more time, before this is all over." The concern in his eyes boiled over to reveal a steeled determination, and he turned to the door.
"And I look forward to when that happens." He left the room, leaving me alone with Eiko, and I saw him trudging towards the Icirrus Gym from my window. I smirked.
"Like I said in Mistralton... I wouldn't have it any other way." I looked at Eiko for confirmation, and she nodded slowly.
