Journal Entry 10: The Happened Upon Key Of Hope
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
Black rises to the surface, swimming over to Lucas and carrying him over to dry land. After tossing the guy to shore he climbs out, breathing hard. White goes to Lucas' side and checks his vitals, giving out a sigh of relief upon realizing he's still alive. But her body gives out a shiver feeling his cold skin. "He's freezing up!"
"We gotta take him to the hospital! He might have the Benz!" Elesa says as she helps Lucas up onto White's shoulders. Black helps with carrying Lucas and the twins go off to take him to the hospital. As she follows them Elesa notes Black's arms have healed. "Black, your arms!"
"Huh?" Hilbert looks down at his arms, and sees that the burn marks from earlier have healed. "Huh. What do you know?"
"How did that happen?" she questions out of shock.
"Let's deal with that later; Lucas is hurt!" Black tells her before he and White continues to the hospital.
That Night...
"Let's begin this meeting," Date says after sitting down on his seat.
"Weren't we supposed to wait until next week for a meeting?" Leangle asks him.
"We can't wait another week. Team Plasma is making their move!" Zeros tells them. "They've awakened Reshiram from the Light Stone!"
All the Pokemon gasp hearing this, as none of them have been able to see him. In the last meeting Zeros told them about the legendary Pokemon Reshiram and Zekrom and their history, having lived long enough to hear about them. Sir C asks, "What can we do though? I doubt even you're strong enough to stand up to them, right?"
"I'm not," he tells him. "Reshiram's single fire attack took me out. Now she's with that guy N."
"She?" Date asks.
"Reshiram is a woman," Zeros explains. Everyone goes 'ah'.
"So, what can we do? Will the five of us be strong enough to stand up to them?" Date asks Zeros.
"Doubtful. It isn't enough to fight a legendary with any other legendary. We're gonna really need his help, Zekrom," Zeros says in a sad tone. "N has challenged Black to find Zekrom if he plans to stop him. Those two are the strongest in Unova."
"We can't just give up," Elesa's male Emolga says.
"Where is Zekrom's stone?" Elesa's female Emolga asks.
"I have no clue," Zeros says. "I was trapped in that place for so long, humans might have found and/or moved it."
"Maybe...we can...just...become stronger..." Tirtouga says in a slow tone.
"We could just eat N." Sir C's suggestion shocks everyone, especially considering he's the one who said it. "What?"
"Sir Crocodile, just because you're a carnivore doesn't mean we all are," Date tells him.
"I am." Archer steps into this conversation.
"You couldn't even bite off a Sewaddle's head let alone a human's!" Raika shouts at him.
"Hey, watch it! I'll bite your head off!" Archer exclaims angrily.
"Is that your answer to everything?" Sir C questions him.
"Stay out of this you criminal to nature!" Archer yells at him.
"Fuck you!" Sir C soon begins the arguments, with all except Date of Black's team yelling at eachother.
"Will you guys stop fighting?" Leangle shouts at them.
"Don't get involved!" White's Emolga says.
"I say we try to resolve with N!" Scolipede suggests.
"SILENCE!" Date yells, swinging his sword to get his point across. Everyone quiets down, leaving nothing but silence. "OOO, do you have an idea of where the Dark Stone last was?"
All the Pokemon look at eachother. "That's you Zeros."
"Oh yeah..." Zeros scratches his head sheepishly, remembering where Black got his name from. "I was able to read Elesa's mind before taking her Pokeballs, and I discovered something called Relic Castle. It might be there... I also found out these guys had a really weird night earlier this week."
"Well, here's the thing," Date begins before cracking his neck. "Whether we like it or not, we can't just tell Black what to do, mostly because humans can't understand our speech. What we can do is stand by his side and work together with him... That reminds me... You mentioned something last night about Black feeling different, right?"
Everyone turns to Zeros. "Well, it was probably just me. But he did seem a little different. It's like there's another person inside of him."
"It's probably nothing, but let's keep a good eye out on him," Date says as he thinks of Black. "No matter what this Team Plasma is planning, I'll do whatever it takes to protect Black. He's risked his life for us more than once, like that time he protected Joltik and Hana and was put in the hospital, or just earlier today when he caught Zeros despite being burned."
"Yeah. I like Hilbert; he's the reason I'm out of that room," Zeros adds.
"I like being with him. He knows the kind of food I like," Sir C says.
"He's the only person Elesa likes enough to trade me to. That shows how good a person he is," Raika adds.
"I personally don't care for Black," Archer says, causing scowls to shower over him. "But, as long as he's around Date will be, and I will surpass you as the strongest!"
"Yeah right. Just because you've grown stronger by the Pokerus doesn't mean you could beat me. Everyone here has it," Date tells him, pointing at the first bird with his sword. "Let's end this meeting already; the cold is getting to Sir Crocodile."
"Yeah, thanks for reminding me!" Sir C says while he holds his arms shivering.
Elsewhere...
Lucas stumbles along a dark road covered in fire and electricity. As he walks, everything his feet steps off of leaves a frozen trail. His eyes pick up two people standing at the end of the road. He couldn't tell who they were, but the left has a black silhouette while the other is a white one.
The black figure has a male shape while the white figure is that of a woman's. They both turn around and leave, but Lucas wouldn't have that. "Wait!"
Lucas chases after them, his trail of ice also conjuring up a storm. He finally catches up to them, but that's when they turn around. Their eyes are shown to be glowing brightly, his red and hers blue. Not long afterwards they vanish into thin air. "What's going on?"
Before he could ponder anymore, he hears a loud growl just behind him. Turning around he sees a ghostly face made of snow. It glares at him with bright yellow eyes before flying at him with an open mouth, devouring him in a second.
"Gaah!" Lucas suddenly wakes up from his nightmare. Looking around, he sees his friends White and Black by his beside fast asleep. "Just a dream... What was that about though? I haven't had something like that since that night I spent with Cheryl after Riolu came from the egg."
He looks at the floor and notices Black's belt on the floor. "Why is that on the floor?"
Lucas rises up from his bed, his body completely in top form. He flexes and moves about to see if there's any pain. 'I feel a little cold though.'
Elsewhere...
"Is it ready?" Ghetsis asks a member of the Shadow Triad.
"Yes, the experiment was a success," he says to him, prompting a grin from the green haired villain.
That Morning...
Dawn breaks into the eastern sky. In Icirrus hospital, Black, his sister and Lucas wake up from their long night's sleep. Well, actually just White wakes up. The free spirit yawns as she walks into the bathroom to get ready for the day.
Later, Lucas wakes up and rises up from the bed, yawning before going half minded into the bathroom. His eyes focus and allow him to see what's in front of him, White on the toilet. Angry, Hilda kicks him square in the face out of the bathroom. "That better wake you up!"
Bleeding, Lucas grabs his nose in pain and begins crying out in pain. This wakes up Hilbert, who gives out a big yawn. He looks down at Lucas and asks, "You okay?"
After getting dressed, the nurse comes in and gives out a report on Lucas. Having recovered from his coldness he can now leave the hospital. So they head off for the Pokemon center where their friends are. Black stops for a moment though to take in the surrounding area with his eyes.
"Guys, you seeing this right?" Black asks them.
"Huh?" White and Lucas look around, and to their shock they see that all the snow is currently melting. White then says, "Huh? How is this... The snow is all melting."
"Must have been temporary," Lucas says as he looks at the snow. As his eyes check the area, he notices certain areas have darkened a bit. Blinking his eyesight corrects, and everything's back. 'What was that just now?'
Getting it back together, the trio enter into the building. The group spots Elesa with plates of food, enough for four, waiting for them. Black says, "Elesa, nice to see you're up."
Elesa turns around to see the trio, and although she's glad to see Lucas okay inside she's worried about Black. What with what happened last night and the challenge placed on him, she can't help but feel he'll get even more hurt. So even though Black smiles at her like nothing's wrong, inside she's suppressing any sad emotions that could be unleashed.
"It's good to see you guys up... We're going to go through a lot of stuff today," Elesa says as she watches them take their seats. She stares into Black's eyes as he looks down at the food, and notices an unease feel in them. "Is something wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing," he says before taking a fork to the sausages and devouring them slowly. Slowly being the word, because the flavor is too strong for him.
"Now that Lucas is okay, we can focus on the task at hand," White says before eating her oatmeal with fruits and nuts.
"So, what happened while I was out?" Lucas asks as he plays around with his scrambled eggs.
"Well, long story short," Black begins after he swallows the meat in his mouth. "N wants me to find Zekrom's form, the Dark Stone. But I have no idea where it could be."
"Alder told us to head for Relic Castle," Elesa says, gathering their attention.
"That place we went to chase Sir C?" Lucas asks Black.
"Yeah, that's probably it," he replies.
"Good. We'll fly to Nimbasa on top of Archer then." With Lucas' advice in their ears, he begins to eat. But after a few chews he suddenly stops, looking with a strange expression on his face. 'What the?'
"Lucas, is something wrong with the food?" White asks him, having noticed his unease expression.
"N-No, I'm fine," he lies, not wanting them to worry about. Whatever it is he doesn't need to add to the piles of anxiety already in the air. "It's just nice to eat something warm. I've been feeling a little cold since I woke up."
He continues eating, ignoring the weird feeling he's been getting as he does. After staying in the center for a while, since White had to change her Pokemon roster up a bit, they leave, only to be caught up in another problem. The sound of cameras clicking and lights flashing in their eyes are just the things they deal with the moment they exit the center, as per the paparazzi.
"Elesa, how is your marriage working out?"
"Is it true that you're pregnant?"
"Do you plan to dump him like you did Jason Silverbrook?"
These are just some of the many questions these parasites ask of the four trainers, who are just completely bamboozled by the cameras themselves. Elesa, being used to paparazzi, shouts, "None of your business," before running off with Black. White and Lucas take this to follow them, but their pursuers give chase.
"Archer, take us to Nimbasa!" Black shouts as he sends out his first bird's ball. The Pokemon flies out and grabs Black and Lucas, while the girls hop on his back. As Archer takes off, Black breathes a sigh of relief as he climbs to Archer's back.
"Let's not all fly on Archer too often. He's too small for all of us." Hearing this and taking it as an insult, Archer exerts more energy to prove him wrong.
As they fly though White remembers something she heard. "Wait, one of those guys said that Elesa was married... What does he mean?"
"I'm not sure." Elesa laughs at the idea of being married to someone. It would be impossible for that to happen without her knowledge. "I know for sure I never got married before, and I haven't ever since I've been together with-"
That when she gains a horrified look on her face. Black asks, "What's wrong?"
"There is something, isn't it?" White states.
"Maybe it happened during that night in Nimbasa with Skyla, and I got married to someone..." Elesa claps her face in horror thinking of who it could be. A thought popped in her head thinking it could be Black, and a calmness purges her fears for the moment.
"That would make sense," White says.
"You can just check your records," Lucas says as he watches everything from the talons of Archer. His vision blurs into static for a moment, but quickly clears back up. 'What the hell is going on?'
After two hours they land in Nimbasa by the Pokemon center, and Black retrieves his tired Pokemon. Elesa immediately says, "You guys head for the Relic Castle. I'll wait here."
"Thanks!" Black says before he takes off for the desert. White and Lucas follow after him, leaving Elesa alone to do her own work.
Heading for a counterlady at the Nimbasa Hall of Records, she receives unfortunate information that she couldn't help but be shocked at. "I see..."
Back with Black and the others, they're currently rushing through Route 4 to reach the Desert Resort, going the same way they went before. They manage to cross the desert with little trouble, even considering the sand storm going on. Black and Lucas lead White and eachother to the castle using only their memories to bring them.
"We're here!" Black says as he notes the statues by an underground entrance.
"Hold it!" a voice calls out. Turning back the trio spots Cheren, who brushes sand out of his hair. "So, you guys made it here before me."
"Well, we came here before," Lucas says to him.
"Cheren, do you know what's inside this place?" Black asks his dark haired friend.
"Alder's inside. He'll tell you," he says, moving past the group to walk down the stairs. "Let's hurry."
The teenagers head into the castle, slipping by the sandy floor to reach the stone stairs. Their only obstacle is a patch of quicksand that wouldn't suck them down if they walked slowly. They continue until reaching another set of steps which takes them lower, only occasionally seeing a Yamask floating about.
Upon reaching the bottom floor they come before what appears to be one of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma. Lucas says, "Alright, who are you?"
"I am Ryoku of the Seven Sages," the old man says, chuckling afterwards. "Ghetsis told us that you once again must be tested to see how much power you have. Defeat Team Plasma if you can!"
He then steps aside, revealing a Plasma grunt waiting for him. "So, this is the punk who works Pokemon hard, huh?"
The grunt sends out Watchog. White steps before Black, saying, "I got this. It's time My newest addition took to the stage."
White sends out her Pokemon, the Automaton Pokemon Golett. Lucas goes, "Eh? What's that?"
"Golett, the Automaton Pokemon: The energy inside of Golett burns to allow it movement, but no one knows what it is. It is said they were created by an ancient civilization." Black's Pokedex reads Golett's information, explaining its abilities to Lucas. "She caught it during the training in Icirrus outside of the tower."
"Gerdus, Mega Punch!" Golett stumbles towards Watchog to punch it.
"Confuse Ray!" Watchog jumps in the air to avoid Golett and flashes bright lights in its eye. Of course, since it wasn't looking Golett didn't get affected.
"Mega Punch one more time!" Golett turns around and slugs Watchog as he lands, knocking it out in one hit.
"NOOOOO!" The grunt yells angrily. "She's as strong as him!"
"Very good. You may go further to the bottom by diving into the quicksand," Ryoku says to them.
"Let's keep going!" White says as she goes past him into the quick sand. Once she and Golett reach the middle of the quicksand and sink instantly.
"White!" Hilbert, Cheren and Lucas all go after her, sinking into the quicksand. At the next level she's shown to be completely fine.
"Hey guys," she says with a smile.
With that they continue forward, battling the many Team Plasma grunts that stand in their way. White would use Gerdus and Scolipede, Cheren would occasionally choose Liepard and Snively, and Black would pick Date and Sir C. These are relatively easy battles for them, so they would move on rather quickly.
By the time they reach the nearest bottom level, two more grunts stand in their way. These two send out Krokorok and Liepard. Cheren and White stand before Lucas and Black, and she says, "We'll handle these two."
"You two go on ahead!" Cheren says, adding to what White just said.
"Right!" Lucas heads for the quicksand before Black, and one after another they sink away to the bottom floor.
Upon reaching the last floor, Black falls on top of Lucas. There stands Alder, who is darting hateful glares at Ghetsis. Lucas says, "Him again."
"That old guy never mentioned him being here," Black speaks with the utmost poison in his lips thinking about Ghetsis.
"You two, come over here," Alder says to the teens. They immediately head for his side.
With them there Ghetsis says to Alder, "Well, it seems everyone's in place. I can see you're working hard to resurrect Zekrom aren't you? But unfortunately, the Dark Stone isn't here."
"It's not?" Cheren's voice speaks out of disappointment. The four of them turn to see Cheren and White have made it to the bottom floor.
"Well then, congratulations are in order!" Ghetsis shouts, throwing his arms up into the air. His eyes dart to Black before saying, "Hilbert, you were chosen by our king as the one person who can change his mind... If you truly desire to keep the world as it is, then you're gonna have to stop him. But to do that you'll need to bring the other dragon spoken of by legend and defeat him.
"Failure will mean Team Plasma will steal every Pokemon from every person in the world, and release them." His statement shocks Alder, White and Cheren. Black and Lucas knows that's exactly what they were planning so it has less of an effect.
"Release? Do the Pokemon who live with their trainers actually want that?" Alder's questions only make Ghetsis laugh. "Don't laugh! This liberation is simply just stealing!"
"Oh?" Ghetsis grins as he takes a few steps towards Alder. "The Champion, even though illness took the Pokemon that had been your partner for the entirety of your career and hasn't had a serious battle in so long... After you left the Pokemon League and left the Elite Four in charge to wander Unova alone... Even now you want to protect a world where Pokemon and humans are united?
"Our king will show the world he is stronger than any Champion who keeps Pokemon bound, and once he gives the order, 'Trainers, release your Pokemon,' they will have to listen," Ghetsis takes a moment to pause. After clearing his throat and spitting out mucus, much to everyone's disgust, he continues, "For this, we've prepared a suitable castle for Reshiram and our king."
"I won't lose!" Alder shouts, stomping the sandy dirt hard. "I'll fight, for all the trainers who love Pokemon and the Pokemon who believe in humans!"
Ghetsis waves his hand in a bored manner. "Victory against you is assured. He only cares about facing Zekrom and Hilbert."
"So what, you stayed here just to tell me I would lose?" Alder clenches his fist tight to through a punch at him.
"It's merely out of kindness..." he replies, angering the champ even more. "There's no reason the champion should get hurt... Although seeing people fall into despair is fun to watch! So, farewell."
"Wait a second!" Alder charges at Ghetsis in blind furry, but he disappears. Apparently, he's a hologram the entire time. As small robotic insect flies off, but only Black notices. "He was an illusion?"
"A hologram," Black says, in a deep voice even he didn't think he could pull off. Everyone turns to him like he's crazy, and he asks, "What?"
"That would make sense, but how would you know for sure?" White asks him.
"I...just knew?" he says in a guessing tone, shrugging his shoulders.
"Alder, what do you plan to do now?" Cheren asks the champion.
Alder remains silent for a moment. "All I can do now is return to the Pokemon League, and prepare to battle N. Though I hate doing what Ghetsis wants, I will stop him. The other thing though is what will we do about the Dark Stone and Zekrom... Just where is it?"
"Let's just leave this place for now," Lucas says as he places a hand to his left temple.
"I can't believe N has to get help from that jerk," Black mumbles, his face gaining this intense look of anger as he thinks about Ghetsis. His eyes flash red for a moment.
"Yeah, this place is annoying me." Following Alder, the teenage trainers leave the Relic Castle through the stairs just up ahead.
Outside, the sandstorm continues to grow worse. Alder complains, "What's with this storm?"
"It's times like this I'm glad to have glasses," Cheren says as he adjusts his specs.
"Ah! Sand got in my eye!" White shouts in pain.
"Stupid sand, stupid Plasma, stupid Ghetsis..." Black continues to mumble angrily, even as he walks along the sand.
"Black, where are you going?" White asks him.
Instead of answering her, Black yells out to the sky. As he does an electromagnetic pulse releases from his body, and a sphere forms around them. This sphere causes the sand from the storm to freeze in mid air, as if time has stopped.
"What... What's going on?" Cheren questions.
"Look!" White shouts, pointing to Black. Everyone turns to the black protagonist, where a black sphere can be seen glowing in his stomach.
Black turns to the others, revealing his darkened raven hair and crimson red eyes. "Let's go," he says before walking towards the exit to the Desert Resort.
Without question, the four of them follow after Black outside of the Desert Resort, whatever power he's using now deflecting the storm. Once they leave the resort, the sphere of electricity cancels out, and his features return to normal. He also passes out, collapsing to the ground. White goes running towards her brother, shouting, "HILBERT!"
Some time passes by after his super power episode. The group is now inside of Nimbasa's nearest hospital, standing by Hilbert's bedside. Whatever power he unleashed, he hasn't woken in the 3 hours he used it before. Now the five of them, including Elesa, Alder and Cheren, are waiting for the doctor to come back in.
"Thank you for waiting." Speak of the devil; dark skinned beauty Dr. Julia Heartstalker walks inside of the room with a yellow envelope. She pulls out an X-ray photo of Black's abdomen and chest. "Alder."
"Thanks for doing this for me," Alder says as she places the photo up to the window, the light giving a clear view. It shows Black's bones and other stuff that should be there, but not the thing that shouldn't. "Huh?"
"There's nothing there," Cheren says in shock.
"But I saw a black orb inside of him!" White shouts, trying to convince herself she isn't crazy. She turns to Lucas and says, "Lucas, you saw it too before, right? That black orb that disappeared when it hit Black didn't disappear! It went inside of him, didn't it?"
"I believe you White," Elesa says, her eyes darting at Black. "But then why?"
"We couldn't find anything out of the ordinary," Julia says to the group. She then walks over to Black as she says, "We also performed a blood test. Whatever that was you explained about, I can't really explain it. Still, I'd have to say he's in perfect health.
"Let him sleep and he'll wake up on his own," Julia finishes before walking over to Alder to retrieve the photo. "Thank you for your time."
Julia then exits the room, leaving the five humans unable to comprehend what's going on. Elesa breaks the 60 second silence by saying, "Black, I want to know what's happening to you, so I can help you."
"That was the Dark Stone," Lucas says, gathering everyone attention. "Wouldn't it make sense for it to be that thing we were looking for this entire time?"
"So you're saying, instead of searching the whole world for it, it turns out to be in our hands the entire time." Alder states as he crosses his arms and looks out the window.
Before anyone could make a move, a familiar ringing goes off. White looks at her Xtransceiver, only to find it isn't hers. She turns to Black, noticing the ringing's coming from his. She turns it out, and Professor Juniper's face appears. "Hilbert? Hilbert? Hello? HILBERT!"
"Professor?" White exclaims.
"Where's Black? I need him to get to Nacrene City yesterday!" she says in a frantic panic.
"Uh, but I don't think..." White tries to scramble for words to properly explain the situation.
"Ugh, what's with all the noise..." Black complains as he sits up.
"Hilbert!" Elesa says out of relief.
"Huh? What are you guys doing here?" he asks them.
"Black! I need you to get to Nacrene as soon as you can! Now even!" Juniper shouts before she cuts the connection.
Alder walks over to Black and says, "I could hear her voice over there... I can get us all there within an hour."
"But Black's still injured!" White says as she hugs her brother.
"White, I'm fine. I just passed out I guess," he says as he gets up out of bed. "Besides, I want to find out what's so important."
"But...!" White is about to tell him to stay put, but Lucas places a hand to her shoulder. "Lucas..."
"Let's go. He needs to change," Lucas says as he drags her out of the room. Elesa, Alder and Cheren leave as well.
"I'll go to Opelucid City and keep track of Team Plasma," Cheren says as he heads for the exit.
White pushes Lucas off of him. "Why are you letting him put himself in danger? He could still be hurt!"
"The professor might know what to do," he says, pointing to his stomach. He's really talking about Black's stomach, where the Dark Stone is. "We can't ignore this problem."
"Lucas..."
"I'm ready!" Black comes out of the room with all his stuff ready.
Not wasting anymore time, they walk outside the hospital. There, Alder takes out a Pokeball. "Go, Volcarona!"
He sends out his strongest Pokemon, the moth Volcarona. White, Black and Lucas look up in awe at the high level Pokemon. The twins take out their Pokedex and scan it. "Volcarona, the Sun Pokemon: The fire created by Volcarona can be seen as a substitute for the sun. Its embers are also released with each flap of its six wings."
"Hop on! Volcarona can carry all of us," Alder says as he climbs up his Pokemon. After the four travelers climb aboard, Volcarona takes them to their destination in Nacrene City.
Time passes by as they fly towards the city, and before long the reach Nacrene. After landing they dismount the Pokemon, and Alder retrieves it. Black then looks around for the professor.
"Where is she?" he asks while searching for her.
"There you are!" They could hear her voice just close by. Black and White look north to the museum, where they see her waving at them. The twins and Lucas run towards the woman, and as they near her they also see the gym leader of Nacrene Lenora, her father Cedric, and Bianca. "Hilbert, Hilda, I'm afraid you're caught up in something serious."
"Bianca? Professor? What are you guys doing here?" White asks them. She didn't notice Alder and Elesa joining up with them.
"I did some research into the Dark Stone what happened yesterday, and I found out that it used to be on display here in Nacrene," Cedric says to the teens.
"Apparently, Team Plasma hadn't noticed the stone when they stole the dragon skull, believing they could revive the legendary dragon Pokemon with it," Lenora explains to them. After a moment she frowns, saying, "But apparently someone else did. A mysterious figure stole the stone while Team Plasma was active here. We didn't notice because it was an old stone, so we didn't think it was important."
"We don't have to look for it anymore," White says to the professors and Lenora. She then turns to her brother, saying, "It's inside his stomach."
"What?" Everyone else, including Black, says in shock.
"The stone took refudge inside of Black's body. We don't know why, and we can't prove it either," Elesa says in support to White. "We tried to get an X-ray scan, but it didn't."
"I see," Cedric says in excitement. "The stone is actually Zekrom, so it's a living being and not just a rock! It must have fled whoever stole it and picked Black!"
"But why? Why Black?" White asks, but she receives no answers. Sadden, she lowers her head.
"White, let's try to think positive. We have the dark stone, so we can awaken Zekrom," Black says to her, trying to cheer her up. "We can still stop N."
"Wait Black." Alder steps in now. "You do realize what you're saying, right? If Zekrom does awaken from the stone, that means you'll have to battle N in the off chance that I lose. Are you okay with that?"
Black pauses for a moment to think. Everyone looks at the young trainer, who feels unsure what to say. Shaking his head suddenly, he finally says, "Yes... N challenged me, and no one else. So I have to be the one to stop him."
"Thank you then..." Alder says, patting Black's head.
"But first we have to get it out of you," White says as he looks down at his stomach.
"White, quit worrying. That's my job, remember?" Black tells her.
"How can I not worry when you're doing something reckless? It's just like the time you jumped into an attack and got hospitalized!" she says to him.
"White, let's trust in him. I'm his trainer, so you don't have to worry about a thing," Lucas says with a grin, giving her a thumbs up. White scowls at first, but couldn't help but give a quick grin.
"Then it's settled; you'll be plan B," Lenora says as she pats Black's shoulders. "You've really changed a bit from the time we met before... Protect this ideal world and the true future for us and Pokemon."
"I will..." Black says before nodding.
"...But, how do we wake the dragon Pokemon?" Cedric asks. This raises questions amongst the group, who had no clue either.
"Uh..." Audrea turns to Lenora and asks, "Anything?"
"...Ooh! We can ask those two!" she shouts in a sudden tone. "Drayden and Iris are dragon experts!"
"She is?" Lucas and Black ask.
"Who's Drayden?" White asks. "For that matter, who's Iris?"
"Drayden is the gym leader of Opelucid City," Elesa says to her. "Sometimes though he lets his daughter Iris battle challengers too. She's about as strong as him."
"EH?" Lucas and Black exclaim.
"I'll head for Opelucid myself. You guys can meet me there," Alder says to him as he takes to the skies with Volcarona.
"Goodluck Black, we're all counting on you," Audrea tells him.
"Don't forget that you always have Pokemon right by your side," Cedric says with a grin. "Me and my daughter will go do more research on these dragon legendaries to try and help you."
With that the two professors leave the scene. Once they're gone Black gives out a heavy sigh, saying, "I'm not sure if I'm really good for this..."
"Don't worry, you've got us, remember?" Lucas tells him, wrapping his left arm around his neck and hugging him. White, deciding to act like herself now, joins in on the hug.
"This sounds serious, but good luck Black!" Bianca says as she heads after the professors.
Once Lenora and Bianca leave, Elesa joins in on the hug too. "When you want to reach Opelucid then you'll have to go from Icirrus to the Tubeline Bridge."
"Don't you mean we?" White asks her. At this moment everyone moves off of Black.
"I can't. I have to return to Nimbasa for my career," Elesa tells them.
"Good luck at your work Elesa," Black says to her.
Instead of giving an answer, Elesa grasps Black in a hug and kisses him passionately. Black returns the kiss, and that familiar spark hits her senses. Leaning out of the kiss, her tongue sliding under his upper lip, she looks at him with a face flushed with redness. "Good luck in the last gym battle."
Elesa then walks away, heading for Nacrene's western exit. White watches as Elesa leaves, saying, "She was crying inside."
"Eh?"
"Nevermind," White says as she grabs both of the boy's arms. "Let's get some training done before we go."
"You two really should," Lucas says as he gazes at the scenery. His vision messes up a little, but then it fixes up rather quickly. 'Why are my eyes messing up? Everything's turning blurry and dark...'
"Yeah right! You've been out of training so long you don't know how to throw a Pokeball anymore!" White says, finding herself cheering up as she taunts Lucas.
"Hey, shut up!" Lucas shouts, fuming from the ears. "I may be a little out of practice, but I didn't get to become the Sinnoh Champion by a fluke!"
The two trainers stare at Lucas for the longest time, with these shocked expressions. "EH?"
"What?"
"You used to be a champion?" Black asks him.
"Yeah... Didn't I tell you?" he says with a tilt of his head.
"NO!" shouts the twins.
"...Oh yeah... Well my rank has probably been revoked since no one remembers me, but oh well. I'll just win it back," says the diamond protagonist with a shrug. "Let's get to training."
"Sure thing, champ," Black says with a small grin. As they head for the field, the twins notice him slapping his forehead a couple of times. "Something wrong?"
"Nah, just my ears hurt a little," he says, digging into his ears. 'Is there something seriously wrong with me?"
As they leave to train, Elesa can be seen spying on them exit. Before leaving she says, "I'll tell him later. There's too much going on to tell him about us and Skyla."
After spending time in the fields surrounding Nacrene training their Pokemon, enough time has rolled by for the day to end. Lucas and his friends then head off for Icirrus City, courteous of Archer. Black treats him to his favorite meal for his trouble, otter meat.
Around the evening Black can be seen standing outside of Icirrus's center, staring out into its landscape. His eyes take in the snow just hours away from fully melting. "My body has Zekrom in it... It's weird thinking about it..."
"Yeah, freaky ain't it?" a voice speaks to him. Looking around Black tries to find the source of the voice. "I'll speak to you later."
"Wait! Who are you?" Black receives no answer. 'Was that Zekrom talking to me?'
"Black!" Looking off to the side he spots Bianca coming up to him. She trips and falls, knocking him over.
"Ow! You need to learn how to walk!" Black complains as he helps her up.
"I'm sorry," she says, her heart beating fast as she feels his hands together around her. Bianca pulls out soon and stands next to him. "Anyway, I came to see you..."
"Really?" he exclaims.
"As I've been traveling lately, I've been thinking about things," she begins, staring deep into his brown eyes. "Things like what I can do with my life, and what I want to do, but... I'm thinking about how cool it would be to be a model like Elesa, and then how cool it would be to do Pokemon research like the professors... There's so many things I can't stop thinking of, so to end it, I will just focus on what's in front of me... So, please battle me."
Black takes a moment to think over what she said, and smiles. He then takes out a Pokeball, saying, "Yeah."
"Go!" Bianca sends out Stoutland. Black almost immediately takes out his dex and scans it. "Stoutland, the Big-Hearted Pokemon: This extremely wise Pokemon excels at rescuing people stranded at sea or on mountains."
"Alright, I choose you, Sir C!" Krookodile appears before the dog, both of them growling with anticipation. "Brick Break!"
"Retaliate!" Stoutland pounces at Sir C, dodging his karate chop.
"Block and strike back with Brick Break!" Sir C grabs hold of Stoutland's head to block the attack, before slamming a karate chop down at him.
"Roar!" Stoutland regains its composure before giving out a huge yell. Sir C is soon forced back inside of his Pokeball.
"What the?" Black looks down at Sir C's ball.
"Roar forces a Pokemon to retreat. Pretty slick, huh?" she says with a grin.
"Damn... Let's go, Date!" Black sends out his Pokemon Date, who draws both his blades with eager. "Razor Shell!"
"Crap! Work up!" Stoutland rouses itself for battle, but that doesn't prepare it for a slash coming from Date's blade. Being knocked down, Stoutland rolls over the ground until she faints. "Stoutland!"
"Is she okay?" Black asks her.
"Thanks for working so hard. You deserve a good rest," Bianca says as she retrieves her Pokemon. She takes out another ball and sends it to battle, calling out Simisage. "Seed Bomb!"
"Deflect them with your swords and go in for Slash!" Date begins blocking the seeds with his blades, but with each explosion his surroundings are covered by smoke.
"Fury Swipes!" Simisage sneaks into the smoke to give a flurry of scratches. After a few hits Date kicks him back and slashes at him, missing unfortunately. "Seed Bomb!"
Simisage tosses a small seed at Date, catching him in an explosion. Date falls backwards from the hit, but manages to stand back up. "Date, return!"
Black recalls his Pokemon, feeling he might be totally outmatched. He then sends out a new ball, revealing Raika. "Raika, Flame Charge!"
Raika charges at Simisage with all her speed, who dodges at the last minute. "Use Flame Charge again!"
Raika charges at Simisage once more, who evades at the last minute this time. 'Raika's getting faster?'
"Stomp!" Raika appears behind Simisage, stomping hard on his back and pummeling him to the ground. "Thunderbolt!"
Raika releases one hundred thousand volts throughout Simisage's body, who tries to push the zebra off of him. "Seed Bomb!"
Simisage tosses a bomb to the ground, using its smoke to escape the startled zebra. "Seed Bomb again!"
"Raika, Thunderbolt!" Raika manages to expel the bombs again, before firing in all direction. "Wait, that's too much!"
"What's going on?" Bianca asks, backing away to avoid an electric stream.
Black's eyes turn red for a moment, his hair becoming black as well, and he releases black electricity to protect him and Bianca. Raika's electricity manages to hit Simisage, paralyzing him successfully. Black's features return to normal, although Bianca doesn't notice, and he returns his attention to the battle.
'Was that the stone's power at work? Oh well.' "Raika, Flame Charge!" Raika dashes at Simisage as fast as her current speed could take her, surrounding herself in flames before tackling the grass monkey. Simisage rolls along the ground before stopping. He glances at Raika and faints.
"Alright!" Black shouts proudly. Bianca smiles looking at him, her eyes giving a soft look to the boy she cares deeply for. "Okay, I'm two for three. One more!"
"No, that's enough. You win," she says with a smile, retrieving Simisage. "I'm really impressed with your skill..." Bianca pauses for a moment to adjust her hat. "In Castelia City, my precious Pokémon was stolen by Team Plasma. So I really, really understand! If Team Plasma forces everyone to liberate their Pokémon, there will be nothing but sad people! ...Black, stop Team Plasma!
"Pokemon shouldn't be stolen from people who love them!" she finishes, walking closer to him. "Isn't that the true, er ideal, that you've been searching?"
"...To be honest, I think N may be right," Black says to her, shocking the woman. "The truth is, there are people who will mistreat Pokemon. But that's not the whole truth; there are also people who love to be with Pokemon, and even if that may be a lie I'll make it true!"
"Black..." Bianca steps forward and hugs Black, causing him to blush a bit. After a while she realizes what she's doing, and pulls back. "Kya! What am I doing? I was just trying to help you relax, and ended up making you uncomfortable... Anyway, you'll be fine. Just be yourself, okay?
"Bye!" With that, Bianca leaves as fast as she could, hiding the blush on her face.
Black watches as she leaves, turning his eyes away once she's out of sight. He smiles for a moment, thinking about what she was doing. "...Thanks Bianca... I guess I was kind of bumming out about this duty."
"Black!" White calls out just north of his position. Black heads to join her and Lucas, just as she says, "I just saw the battle from here. Was that Bianca?"
"Yeah. She's getting better at battles," Black says as he scratches the back of his head.
"Aw... I was hoping to speak with her before she left..." White complains, giving her worse frown.
"Let's turn in. It'll be dark soon," Lucas says as he turns to the Pokemon center south west of their position.
"Nah. Let's get going to Opelucid City," Black says with a grin.
"Eh?" Lucas exclaims.
"What, don't have the energy?" he says, taunting the teenage champion.
He falls for it, adjusting his hat and storming for Route 8. "Let's go!" White shrugs as she follows the two boys towards Route 8. She doesn't have to heal her already full-at-health Pokemon so it's okay to travel a bit more.
The trio head through the murky swamps littering the pathway to Opelucid City, occasionally running into a Shelmet here and there along the way. They soon reach what appears to be a long bridge, connecting their location further east. Without worry they cross over, ignoring the cars and trucks driving underneath them.
Halfway across the bridge, Black's eyes pick up someone just up ahead. "Who's that?"
"You see someone?" White asks him.
"I don't," Lucas says, but with his messed up eyes he could hardly see close up.
Black's eyes manage to focus in, and he sees that it's Ghetsis. "It's him, Ghetsis!"
"Ghetsis?" White exclaims.
"That old man again?" Lucas mutters.
Before he could do anything, the Shadow Triad show up around Black. As if on cue, the left one says, "Come," before they grab him and drag the teen over to their leader.
"We've brought the boy," the Shadow Triad say, dropping Black to the ground.
Ghetsis looks down at the boy, shaking his head with disappointment. "So I've come to hear that you possess the Dark Stone."
"That's right... What's it to you?" Black asks him just as his friends come up to join him.
"It is my lord N's thought that the two holders of the legendary Pokémon should put their beliefs on the line and strive to find which is the true hero," Ghetsis says, crossing his arms under his chest. As he speaks he walks to his left and then his right. "This is not necessary, however. From his infancy, I provided him with the education required to become the hero of legend. Indeed, he has been so acknowledged by the legendary Pokémon.
"...Such purity of purpose is his," Ghetsis continues, giving an evil chuckle. "The liberation of Pokémon of which I...I mean, Team Plasma speaks is the separation of Pokémon from foolish people! That's the truth! All Trainers will become helpless to resist us! We alone will be able to use Pokémon...
"The preparations are complete; when my perfect plan is set in motion, first a few gullible Pokémon Trainers who are unable to resist Team Plasma will release their Pokémon." As he speaks he uses his fingers to resemble numbers, further emphasizing his point, "Then that number will become a hundred, then a thousand... In no time, even the Gym Leaders and the Champion will become unable to fight us. Having a Pokémon will be considered a bad thing! Even people like the sad little Bianca, whose Pokémon was stolen in Castelia, will be unable to face public opinion and will release their Pokémon! That's the kind of world we'll make!"
As he finishes all three teens grow angry at Ghetsis. Lucas takes a few steps forward, but Black grabs him by his shoulder to stop the Aura user. Ghetsis then finishes by saying, "It doesn't matter if you have the stone! There is no way in hell that the dragon will accept an ordinary human like you! It'll simply use you as a host until it finds a better one!
"Goodluck finding whatever courage you'll need to lose!" Ghetsis then leaves, giving an evil laugh as he does. The ninjas follow after him.
"...I really hate that guy," White says as she crosses her arms. "All he does is talk and insult others like he's some stuck-up king!"
"How does he seem so sure you won't be able to awaken Zekrom?" Lucas questions as he stares at the black and white protagonists.
"Because he's an asshole," Black says suddenly. He shakes his head for a second, before saying, "Let's keep moving."
They continue, leaving the bridge to reach the next route. On the other side they could see a shopping mall just north of where they were walking. Looking up at the skies they could see that time has passed, enough for twilight to have turned into night.
"Let's hurry." Lucas' suggestion is heavily taken, as the three protagonists head straight for Opelucid City. They didn't even bother stopping to check the Pokemon in the area. From experience Lucas knows full well not to camp out; even though it did give him some intimacy with Cheryl, they couldn't sleep well knowing Pokemon that were wild and possibly carnivorous were around.
Eventually they reach the city, it being so dark the lights have gone up. They book a room in the center, the last one at that, and go to bed without even taking a bite to eat. Lucas didn't like that either.
That Morning...
"Attention trainers! If you can stop looking at my hair for a moment I must speak with you!" a voice shouts out on a loudspeaker.
The volume of the voice wakes up Black, White and Lucas. Dressed in their pjs, the protagonists leave their bed with drowsey eyes, walking outside of the center to see what's going on, even as the loudspeaker continues. Black even complains, "Sheesh, what's with all the noise?"
They head for a crowd of people in the middle of town by members of Team Plasma. White grumbles, saying, "It's Ghetsis again..."
"Guys, over here," a voice speaks to them. Black turns to the left to see Alder standing just outside of the crowd. "Ghetsis, that liar... Desperately trying to con everyone with his speech..."
"What's he doing now?" White asks in a whiny tone.
"That's correct! Our lord N has combined his power with the legendary Dragon-type Pokémon and intends to create a new world. We herald the return of the hero of Unova, founder of this region," he speaks, causing worry and murmer to plague the crowd of people listening. Even people in their homes and buildings along with Pokemon nearby are listening with intent.
"Hero?"
"Dragon?"
"Legend!" These are just some of the words that could be heard by the group of heroes aiming to stop Plasma.
"As you all know, Pokemon are different from humans," he continues, beaming his eyes further into the crowd to spot Lucas and his friends. "They are living beings with unknown potential, living beings from whom we humans have much to learn... Their greatness should be acknowledged!" Ghetsis extends his left hand out. "They are beings who should be freed from our oppression!
"We of Team Plasma invite you to join us!" he continues, glancing at the people who each have doubts in their hearts. "Let's all create a new world, where people and Pokemon are both free! That's why I ask of you to release your Pokemon.
"Thank you for your time..." With that the other grunts of Team Plasma roll up the scrolls and leave the city with Ghetsis.
Upon exit, Alder smacks his forehead with disbelief. "That guy's pissing me off!"
"Is he right? Have we been making Pokemon suffer?" asks an older man as he looks to his daughter.
"I just can't believe it," a teenager their age speaks.
"Maybe we should release our Pokemon like they said..." A woman in white states.
"No way! I'll be lonely and sad without Pokemon!" A hiker states.
Soon the crowd disperses, to discuss their thoughts in private, leaving only the three color protagonists, Alder and two others behind. Lucas recognizes one of them as Iris.
"What was that about? That speech was off-the-charts weird!" She states.
"The cooperation of people and Pokemon is how Unova, and pretty much the entire world, came to exist in the first place. If Pokemon hated being with humans, they can just leave... A Pokeball doesn't capture a Pokemon's heart, the trainer does with their actions." These words Iris speaks give an impressed smile on Black's face.
"Iris! Drayden! It's been a while!" Alder speaks as he walks over to them. Next to Iris is an older man with white hair and a beard; his beard looks like a jaw though.
"Ah, Mr. Alder! ...And Lucas!" Iris says, noticing the boy who helped her and Bianca that time.
"Ah yes, Alder. What brings you here?" Drayden asks him.
"Actually, I have something to ask of you..." Alder places a hand onto Black's shoulder. "We need info on the legendary dragon Pokemon."
"...Do you mean Reshiram, or Zekrom?" Iris asks him.
"That troublemaker Ghetsis... He mentioned someone named Reshiram has reawakened Reshiram..." Drayden says as he crosses his arms over his chest.
"That's right! That trainer N wants Black here to-"
"That wouldn't make sense," he speaks, looking off to the side. A look of confusion swarms the teens.
"Why's that?" Lucas asks.
"Because Reshiram and Zekrom were reduced to stones in the past because their bodies were destroyed...the only way they could ever hope to ressurect would be by possessing a suitable human host and using their body to reconstruct their forms." Drayden's explanation brings worry to White as she turns to Black. "I'd feel sorry for whoever was picked by Reshiram."
"What happens to the host?" White asks.
"As long as Reshiram remains inside the host body it has control over their it. Once that person dies they gain full control of that body, so they might try to doom the host," Drayden explains to them, bringing worry to the trio.
"So then... Zekrom might try to get you killed Black!" White tells his brother.
"What?" Drayden questions.
"Wait, why did he protect him those times then?" Lucas asks her. "If Zekrom was inside of him those times and if this thing wanted to kill him, then all those times he was in danger would have been much worse."
"...That's right! Zekrom healed my arms, and protected me from the rocks during my last gym battle!" Black says in realization.
"You're the host?" Iris asks out of shock.
"Yeah. I was chosen for some reason by Zekrom same as how Reshiram might have done it," Black tells him.
"N probably didn't know this, but he challenged Black to find Zekrom and battle him," Alder says to the two dragon masters.
"So, this N person wants to pit the two dragons against one another to test his convictions?" Drayden asks, summing up everything he's heard.
"But the dragon types get along so well!" Iris states.
"I know...The ones who make Pokemon battle are the trainers..." Alder speaks, before turning towards Black and the others. "I'm going to the Pokemon League... Or should I say I'm returning to the Pokemon League! I'll defeat N, and teach him about the beauty of this world, where Pokemon and Trainers live together in harmony.
"I'll wait for you too, Black." He darts his eyes towards Black with a grin. "Once you've obtained the Opelucid Gym Badge, come to the League! These guys are tough though. Take care!"
With that, he releases Volcarona and flies off to the Pokemon League. Iris cups her chin, thinking out loud, "Is he okay? He looked really scary for a moment."
"He isn't the strongest trainer in Unova for nothing..." he speaks, clapping his right fist with his left hand. "Anyway, Iris take them to our place."
Drayden then walks off to his home, with Iris taking Black's hand. "This way," she says as she drags him off to their home.
"It's funny watching that happen to someone else," Lucas says as he follows after them.
"This isn't funny Lucas. Black might be hurt at the end of this!" White speaks to him. "And as much as I like to see him in embarassing situations this is too much!"
"Like I said, Zekrom might want him alive," Lucas says before jogging to pick up with the others. White sighs and joins up with them.
Inside of Drayden's home, where Iris leads the teens to, Drayden stands before the younger trainers. "I'll explain everything; Zekrom, who will awaken from the Dark Stone likely, and Reshiram, who already awoke, were once the same Pokemon."
"EH? THEY WERE?" White exclaims.
"Can you please hold your comments til later?" Iris asks her with an annoyed tone.
"Sorry."
"That single dragon, along with twin heroes, brought together a new region," Iris says, continuing his story. "And humans and Pokemon flourished together peacefully."
"But one day-" Drayden picks up where Iris left off. "-the twins, the older brother who sought truth, and the younger brother who sought ideals, started infighting amongst eachother, and attempted to decide who was right. The dragon's body became rigid because of their fighting, and its soul left before it split in two."
Iris then says, "The white dragon Pokemon wanted to pursue truth and usher in a better world with the older brother. The black dragon Pokemon wanted to find ideals to bring a world of hope. The former was Reshiram, and the later Zekrom."
"Because they were the same entity their battle raged endlessly and neither one won. Realizing neither was right, the brothers ceased the conflict... For a moment."
"Shortly after they fought again, and Reshiram and Zekrom destroyed Unova with fire and lightning!" Iris looks down with a sigh. She regains her spirit and says, "But, but... If people work with Pokémon in the right way, we don't have to worry anymore about the world being destroyed. I mean, Reshiram and Zekrom worked hard for everyone and made a new region! So, it should be all right, I think."
"She's right," adds Drayden to the lecture. "Pokemon can't talk, and people may hurt Pokemon even more by forcing their selfish thoughts on them, but another piece of truth exists within ideals. No matter what, Pokemon and humans believe in eachother, need eachother, and will continue to live together."
"And that's why I'm never gonna forgive Team Plasma for trying to separate Pokemon and us!"
Drayden coughs to clear his throat, causing Iris to blush for her outburst. "That's everything. Unfortunately, I don't know how to awaken the dragon without causing you harm. The way I see it, Zekrom will arrise when he wants to, and you'll just have to try and reason with him."
"I see..." Black sighs and places his hands into his jacket. "Oh well. I guess I'll just defeat N without Zekrom if I have to."
"How can you seem so calm about this?" White asks him.
"It's not a problem, no big deal," he replies, walking over to the door. "Hilda, you're worrying over nothing... That's something I'm suppose to do."
"Hilbert..." White follows after her brother as he heads for the exit.
Lucas begins to go after them, but stops to grab his head again. His vision messes up again, before fixing rather quickly. Drayden asks, "Are you okay?"
"Uh, yeah. Just having these attacks now and then..." Lucas says as he rubs his forehead.
Drayden continues to look at him curiously, thinking there may be more to it than he lets on. Still, he doesn't mention anything about it, instead saying, "I want you to tell your friend that I intend to battle him to keep my promise to Alder."
"I'll let him know," Lucas says with a grin. He follows after his friends, who have already begun to return to the Pokemon center.
After some time passes, Black and the others have changed into their proper clothes. White notices that her brother is starting to wear a lot more black than ever, whether that's a conscious thing or not it's interesting for her, and Lucas has grey pants and a light blue(diamond blue) shirt on. Deciding to mimic them she wears more white.
"Yo, what's with all the white?" Black asks her after they leave the bedrooms.
"What's with all the black?" White asks back.
The brother pauses for a moment, before shrugging and saying, "I don't know."
"Let's get going. You have a gym match with Drayden, remember?" Lucas says to remind them.
"I know!" Black replies as he rushes out the door.
"Wait, I want to have a battle first!" White says to him.
Later Outside...
"Go, Sir C!" Black sends out Krookodile to the battlefield.
"Go, Gerdus!" White chooses Golett for battle.
The twins have decided to battle just as White wanted, right in the middle of town. A bunch of people watch with intent, hoping to see who will win, and Lucas sits by in the stands with interest. "This outta be good," he says, before slapping his face again when his vision messes up.
A little girl walks up to him and pulls on his pant legs, saying, "Mister, your eyes are cool."
"Eh? Why are they cool?" he asks her.
"Because I can't turn my eyes yellow fast like that," she says, pointing up at his eyes with a smile.
"Eh?" Lucas takes out his Pokedex, the outdated one he brought with him due to sentimental values, and uses it to see his reflection. To his surprise, he sees his natural eye color gray. "No they're not."
"Oh poop! You can't do it anymore!" she grumbles in disappointment, walking away and leaving him there.
"Gerdus, Brick Break!" Gerdus charges as fast as it could, which isn't saying much, at Sir C.
"Crunch attack!" Sir C opens his mouth to bite the karate chop, bringing pain to the golem. "Now toss Gerdus away and use Rock Tomb!"
Tossing the golem into the air, Sir C stomps the ground to surround it in rocks. "Break out using Night Shade!"
Its bright light turns dark purple before Golett fires a purple electric beam all around in a pulse wave. This destroys the rocks surrounding it, and even pulverizes Sir C once. "Use Rock Tomb once more!"
"Night Shade!" Gerdus releases Night Shade once more, repelling the crocodile and lowering his health as well. "Brick Break!"
Gerdus then charges towards Sir C and pounds it in the face, taking him off guard. Sir C falls to the ground, fainting from that lucky shot, aka critical hit.
"Sir C!" Black runs to fallen Pokemon, using a Revive to help him out.
"Way to go, Gerdus!" White says with pride for her Pokemon's victory. She runs over to it and leans over it, patting its head. "Keep this up and you'll become a great Pokemon in no time!"
Gerdus nods in response to her words, before the light in its body glows brighter. Before anything else could happen, Gerdus becomes surrounded with the bluish glow as well, growing in size and lifting the girl with it. Lucas and Black both look in amazement at Gerdus' new form. Once it stops glowing its new appearance is revealed; Golurk holding White in its arms.
"Amazing! Gerdus evolved!" White exclaims proudly. Black takes out his Pokedex and scans it. "Golurk, the Automaton Pokemon: It is said that Golurk was created in ancient times to protect people and Pokemon. Even though it can fly at mach speed, if the seal on its chest is removed its uncontrollable energy would go berserk."
"Seal?" White looks down at the bandage like seal on its chest. Pulling on it the seal loosens a bit, and soon its body begins glowing bright red. "Oh my god!"
"Put it bad!" Black shouts.
As if on cue, Gerdus slaps its chest to fix the seal. All three trainers sigh seeing that everything's fine, and White retrieves her Pokemon. "I've trained enough. You guys ready to hit the gym?"
"Will Sir C be okay how he is?" she asks him.
"I gave him a revive, and besides I'll only send him into battle if it's necessary," he says to her.
"Well, good luck I guess," White says.
Together they head for the gym just north of where they are. Inside they find a set of dragon statues planted around them. Up above them there's a platform that rests in front of them. An adult appears before them from the side, who says, "Good to see you're here. Welcome to the Opelucid Gym, the Unova region's strongest and biggest trial. Here's a brief explanation; The path around this gym is shaped like two dragons."
"That explains that..." Black mutters.
"This path changes when you step on the switches on the dragons' arms, so pay attention to how the dragons' necks move." he says with a nod.
"Got it." Black walks towards the only statue with a pathway upward. After climbing up it with his friends behind him, they manuever across the statue to reach the top of their heads. There they find a button festered inside of the head. Pressing it the head along with its next moves over to the second dragon statue. After crossover over to it they continue along the statue until reaching the head once more, and pressing a button on that statue's head. This leads them to the top floor, where Drayden awaits.
"Be careful Black. This guy holds dragon types," Lucas says to his friend.
"Because of the statues?" he asks him, receiving a nod in response.
"Dragons are the most rare and powerful types. They're only weak to ice and other dragon types, and fire, water, grass and electric types are weak to them," Lucas tells them, explaining about the powerful dragon types.
"Then I only have two Pokemon that could stand up to them," he says while clutching his chin. He approaches Drayden's battlefield, prepared for all of his battles.
Drayden takes out a Pokeball. "Welcome. Thank you for coming. I am Opelucid Pokémon Gym's Leader, Drayden. As the mayor, I've given everything to developing the city. As a trainer I've simply been pursuing greater strength. But what I'm searching for now is a young Trainer who can show me a bright future. Perhaps you can show me that future, the way Iris has?
"Go, Fraxure!" Drayden sends out his first Pokemon Fraxure.
"Let's go, Archer!" Black chooses the first bird.
"Good choice! Most of his other Pokemon don't have a type advantage over dragons, so this works in his favor," Lucas says as he looks at his Pokemon choice.
"Ancient Power!"
"Dragon Pulse!" Their attacks collide, creating an explosion.
Count za Mons! Coincidentally, what Pokemon do Black and White carry on them now?
Hilbert's Team: Date/Samurott, OOO/Victini, Sir Crocodile/Krookodile, Archer/Archeops, Raika/Zebstrika
Hilda's Team: Emolga, Gerdus/Golurk, Scolipede, Druddigon
Julia: Next time Black battles Drayden, and then the Pokemon League. He adds an Axew to his team, which evolves rather quickly into Haxorus.