Notes

Welcome to the last chapter. I originally started this story and its companion story (New Hero of Ideals) with the idea to eventually bring them both together with a sequel which would deal with the Zekrom Vs. Reshiram conflict. This was written and eventually posted, but I deleted it due to person dissatisfaction with the fanfic as a whole. I hope you readers can find "New Hero of Truth" alone satisfying as well.

10
New Hero of Truth

Bianca placed her bag carefully on the nightstand. Then she went outside with the flashlight to help Professor Juniper carry in the rest. "Thank you, Bianca," Professor Juniper said. "Did you enjoy meeting with everyone?"

"Yes," Bianca said with a nod. Meeting Professor Juniper's father and his colleagues had been interesting. Everyone seemed so much smarter than her, but they were much more experienced. Talking with them was interesting though. They all had a different perspective on the appearances of the legendary pokemon. Everyone's perspective brought something different to the table. Even Gary's, and he wasn't familiar with Unova's legends at all.

"It could be just some unfamilar pokemon from another region flying around. They know people are interested in them, and they love the attention," Gary had suggested. "Lugia's white and can fly, and there are some larger known black-colored pokemon too."

"However Gary, you must know that there can been a lot witnesses to the various appearances. They aren't really isolated incidences anymore," the younger Professor Juniper had pointed out.

"Yeah, a lot of them don't know what they saw, like my buddy Ash," Gary had said.

"Iris knew exactly what she saw," Bianca had said.

"Yeah, so she says," Gary had said. Bianca had frowned. Gary could be nice, but sometimes was arrogant and condescending. "Well, that's why we're here, right?" Gary had said. Indeed, they'd been there all day, setting up various surveillance. But there had been no sign of Reshiram. "Well, some ghost types have been known to cause illusions, just like the munna around here do, except a little different."

"Oh! That might explain a lot!"

Everyone had been impressed with Gary's deductions. Well, then shouldn't they find traces of those ghost pokemon here, or at least traces of dream mist or something? Bianca knew their observations there would help them solve the mystery. She believed in what Iris had told everyone, and it was a great clue. They'd only find out more by coming where Iris had seen the legendary pokemon.

But right now, she was exhausted. Bianca lay down on the bed, hugging the pillow. "Bianca?" Professor Juniper called.

"Yes?" Bianca slowly sat up and looked at the professor.

The professor smiled, then sighed. "Oh, I'm feeling tired myself. But it's been an exciting day, hasn't it?"

"Yes!" Bianca said. She was eager for tomorrow, to see what else they'd find. "I'm really interested in this pokemon research. Thanks for letting me come with you, Professor."

"Oh, no, I'll have to thank you again and again. I may have to hire someone to take your place permanently."

"Take my place?" Bianca asked.

"Well, the job would be your's if you wanted it," Professor Juniper said. Bianca beamed. "It's a relief to have someone to help with all of the menial jobs, and I can also see that assistants like Gary have helped my father."

"I see," Bianca said, beginning to think of how fun traveling with the professor might be.

"What do you think of Gary, anyway?" the professor asked.

"Oh," Bianca said, then paused a moment. She didn't dislike Gary, despite his quirks. She also didn't know him well enough to think much about him at all. "He's interesting," Bianca finally said to the professor.

"Oh, really?" the professor said with a wry smile. "Why don't you ask him on a date while we're here? I'm sure there would be enough time for that for both of you after we've finished," Professor Juniper said.

"Oh, no," Bianca said, blushing. She'd had enough of that kind of thing for the moment. She wasn't even sure she was into boys, or girls, or maybe both. In any case, she'd decided that she'd rather concentrate on other things. "He's too old for me, isn't he?" she said.

"Not really. He started training fairly young. They do that in Kanto. Right now he's fifteen. That's only a little older than you, isn't it, Bianca?"

Bianca nodded. There was maybe about as much age difference between her and Gary as there was between her and Iris. It didn't really mater that much, anyway.

"So why don't you ask?"

Bianca frowned. There was a lot of emphasis on her dating boys, from her parents and now even the professor. "That's not what I'm here to do," Bianca said.

The professor nodded. "So you're just like me, Bianca. I was too wrapped up in my research for any of that."

Bianca smiled and nodded. It wasn't exactly like that, but it was a good way to get out of this topic of conversation. "What will we be doing tomorrow, Professor?" Bianca asked.

"Just more of the same. But you know, you'll think it's silly, but I've put up heat sensors throughout the tower. Reshiram was likely a fire-type, you know. I'm hoping if it does come, it will set something off. Thought it's more likely to just pick up wild pokemon."

"I hope it picks up Reshiram too," Bianca said. She smiled, then straightened her hat before finally taking it off. It was time to go to sleep.

When Bianca awoke the next morning, there was little light shining in. She heard the door to the bathroom shut. "Professor?" Bianca said, rubbing her eyes.

"Oh, Bianca, I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Professor Juniper said.

"Yeah, it's alright," Bianca said sleepily. "Are you getting started already?" she asked.

"Well, I wouldn't push it, but if you're up to it, I'd definitely like to," the professor said.

"I'm up to it," Bianca said. She got up, feeling a little groggy. After getting dressed, she soon caught on to the professor's excitement. She was up for the repetitive work. They arrived at the tower as the sun was barely rising. Bianca took out the large lamp. She tried not to trip and she and the professor climbing up.

They really did need to be careful, Bianca knew. The old building was falling apart, and had a lot of obstacles. She had learned her way around pretty well during the past few days, and knew exactly where to go, even with the limited light. They were headed right to the top, where most of the monitoring equipment had been set up. Bianca sighed as she saw the last staircase. They were almost there.

Something began to beep. Bianca peered behind herself and looked at Professor Juniper. "What was that, Professor?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," the professor said, then began to dig in her pockets. She pulled out a device, and her eyes widened.

"Professor?" Bianca said.

"This is really abnormal," the professor said. She began to dig in her pockets again. "Bianca, let me borrow your Xtransceiver. I can't find my phone."

"Okay," Bianca said, quickly pulling off the device and handing it to her. Then Bianca listened carefully. Professor Juniper was calling the emergency line, asking to be forwarded to the mayor. Apparently the mayor of Icirrus City, Bianca got from listening. Just what was going on?

Bianca looked over at the final stairs to the top. There look to be flickering light from there. Well, Dragonspiral Tower wasn't the kind of tower to light on fire, being made completely of stone, was it? But Bianca thought it was definitely a fire up there, so something might be burning.

The professor was too busy to ask, so Bianca just began to ascend to the top herself. She'd just be able to put her head up and peek. The top was open to the sky, so maybe it was some kind of light phenomenon from the sunrise. She hadn't seen anything strange before looking through the other windows, though.

Bianca heard shouting as she got closer to the top. She got scared, and threw out two pokeballs. "Pignite! Musharna!" she addressed them as they appeared.

"Pignite?"

"Musha?"

Both pokemon looked to her for directions. Bianca looked at them seriously. "There's something going on. I need you both on alert to help," she explained. Her pokemon nodded seriously. Bianca let them lead the way, though she followed close behind, able to see between the two.

As she got to the top, Bianca gasped. The room was covered in flames. As they cleared up, Bianca saw the large white pokemon. This had to have been what Iris had seen, she thought. Bianca had no doubt that it was Reshiram herself. The pokemon roared, and Bianca supposed she really ought to run before it attacked.

"Pikachu!" another pokemon shouted. Bianca looked down at it, and it pointed over at the person on the ground. A human and two pokemon were strewn around the ground, defenseless. Reshiram's eyes began to glow, and it tensed up again, seemingly preparing for another attack.

"Wait!" Bianca shouted. She ran forward, her pokemon following her. Bianca looked at the crumpled form of the person, an adult man, and the two pokemon, both of species she didn't really recognize. She couldn't drag them out and away alone as quickly as needed, even if her pokemon helped. "Please," Bianca begged. "Calm down, Reshiram."

Reshiram did back down, getting out of its fighting stance. Bianca breathed in relief, then jumped in surprise as Reshiram spoke to her. "I only meant to defend myself."

"B-But that's enough, isn't it?" Bianca said. "They don't look like they're ready to battle you."

"So, you'd defend this person? I recognize you from his heart. He's a despicable person who's hurt you and others for his own gain with no remorse."

Bianca was confused. She hadn't recognized the person at all. But looking closer, she realized she did. He was part of the gang that had stolen her pokemon. He was in such a state that he was no threat at all, not to her, and certainly not to Reshiram. "It's alright," Bianca said. "I guess you've defeated him," she said, giving a reassuring smile to that scary, powerful pokemon.

Reshiram looked away, giving a sound of its own. Bianca thought it might even be amused with her observation. "I suppose you're correct."

Bianca nodded. She then turned to Reshiram again. "Excuse me, Reshiram? Are you really Reshiram?"

"I am," Reshiram confirmed.

"But wouldn't you be really ancient then?" Bianca asked.

"From your perspective, that could be true."

"Oh," Bianca said. "You've been gone for a long time. Where did you go?"

"I've always been here," Reshiram said.

Bianca was puzzled even more. "You were just hiding?" she said.

"My concentrated presence is necessary more than ever at this point in history to protect this region," Reshiram explained.

"I see. Thanks for you help, Reshiram," Bianca said. She met Reshiram's eyes, then felt various memories pulled to consciousness. She couldn't really take the time to remember any of them before they were taken away. Bianca blinked with confusion. Several things floated in her mind as she came back to the present. Her pokemon especially concerned her.

Bianca looked to Pignite and Musharna, who still observed her for her instruction. They were concerned, but still followed her this far. They'd likely defend her against this extremely powerful pokemon, at their own peril. Her pokemon worked so hard, even for someone like herself. She was such a burden to everyone, including them, wasn't she?

But now wasn't the time to think about something like that, even though it was something that was on her mind constantly. Bianca turned back to Reshiram, giving the pokemon her full attention. "I'm sorry, I-"

"I've looked into your heart," Reshiram informed. Bianca didn't respond, so it continued. "Your heart does seem strong, and I wonder if you're really a person with the courage to seek the truth."

"What do you mean, Reshiram?" Bianca asked.

"The truth! It's something that firmly exists. So many wander around the world without ever finding the truth. Those who seek it, face, and embrace it have the firmest hold on this world. Are you one of those people, Bianca?"

Bianca had to think about that. The truth. Whatever was true was something she wanted to know, though it was fairly illusive at times. Still, she'd faced the truth a lot on her journey. She'd realized she wasn't the best trainer from the start, and had it confirmed over and over. That had been painful. But she wasn't as talented as people like Iris, Hilda, and Cheren. That an unpleasant fact.

But even though it hurt sometimes, she'd still wanted to know the truth. Only then could she discover what she really could do, and what her life could really be like. "I think I am," Bianca answered Reshiram casually.

"You can accept the truth, even knowing you're a burden?"

Bianca was surprised to hear the pokemon say that. She'd had the fear that she was a burden quite often before. She'd been thinking she was only a moment ago. But hearing someone say it aloud to her somehow put it in perspective. Even if it hadn't been a legendary pokemon saying so, having it brought to the surface rather than be a fear in the back of her mind allowed her to realize just how wrong it was. "I'm not a burden," Bianca said calmly, looking directly at Reshiram.

"How can you deny your inability to depend on yourself?"

"I wouldn't deny that," Bianca said. "But there are a lot of people like me. Lots of trainers need to ask for help. A lot of them never become powerful enough to just go on their own right away, or even ever."

"So, they all need to burden others."

"No!" Bianca insisted. "It's true I was thinking I might be... But that was just a selfish of me." Bianca paused. Yes, what would her friends think if she sat around talking about what a burden she was? They'd just tell her to stop. "It's not a burden to accept help your friends want to give you. I can't thank them by calling myself a burden. I can only do that by helping others myself when I can."

"Is it the truth that you're even capable of that?"

Bianca nodded. She'd helped others in her own way along her journey. There had been little things, such as helping people find their way, or allowing kids to play with her pokemon once they'd been properly trained. She'd also helped out in big ways. Professor Juniper had honestly thanked her profusely for her help. The professor had even said she might need to hire someone as an assistant to replace Bianca's help. She wasn't someone who just sat aside while others did things for her, she supported her pokemon the same as they supported her. It wasn't fair to her friends or her pokemon just to decide she was a burden.

"I am," Bianca affirmed. "I'm not a burden just by not being the very best. I can depend on others, and they can depend on me when they need it. Just like my pokemon work their hardest for me, I just need to do my best to them and others."

Reshiram was silent again. Bianca felt the same disorienting sensation ad before, and various memories swished around in her head. "So then Bianca, would you help me?"

Bianca was surprised, and it took a moment before she realized it was something that Reshiram had actually asked her. "I would," Bianca said, though she furrowed her brow, unable to think of how she might help the incredibly powerful pokemon.

"Good," Reshiram said. "My hero no longer exists. So I require the assistance of another."

"I'm not like a hero or anything," Bianca said sheepishly. "I'd help you how I can, though."

"You can become my hero. Long ago, the word used for humans that pokemon chose to follow was hero. These days, 'trainer' might be used."

Bianca nodded, starting to understand what Reshiram was asking her.

"It doesn't mean exactly the same. My hero will take on different responsibilities."

"I understand," Bianca said. "But being your hero will allow me to do a lot more to help myself and others, won't it?"

"Yes. In order to protect Unova, I'll require a hero with a heart like your's," Reshiram said.

Bianca went into her bag. She had an empty pokeball. Pulling it out, she looked at Reshiram hesitantly. It nodded at her. Bianca threw the pokeball toward the legendary pokemon, and as it opened up, Reshiram was brought inside. The pokeball shook a moment before going completely still.

Bianca leaned down and picked it up. She looked up and took a deep breath. All of the tension in the atmosphere seemed to have disappeared. A cool breeze blew in through the columns. Bianca fells to her knees in relief. Pignite and Musharna both came over to her. "It's okay," Bianca assured. "It'll be good to have Reshiram as our ally, won't it?"

"Pignite!"

"Musha!"

Bianca smiled and gave them both a hug in turn. She wasn't sure about everything that had just happened, but allowed herself to feel some relief for the moment. She looked at her pokemon, then at her pokemon, patting them on the head to continue to reassure them.

"Bianca!" Bianca put her head up as she heard the professor calling. "Bianca!" the professor repeated as she came into view and met eyes with Bianca. "You really shouldn't have come up on your own. Are you alright?"

"Yes, professor," Bianca confirmed.

"That's good. What happened?" Professor Juniper asked. She looked around at the scenery, seeing nothing out of place other than the fainted human and pokemon nearby. "Something did happen, right? I'd hate to think that I called everyone in a panic for nothing."

"Yes," Bianca said.

"Oh, good. From my readings, I know what I'd like to think went on. But go on! Tell me everything!"

Bianca nodded and began the story. She wasn't going to spare the inquisitive professor a detail.

Bianca finally managed to breathe much later in the day. Professor Juniper and others who had come to question her were talking among themselves. She'd barely had time to take this all in herself before everyone began asking to see Reshiram and for her to take it out. Bianca politely refused in the commotion, though she was sure she'd show the professor later.

"Bianca! Bianca!" Iris called. As she saw Bianca, she ran up to her happily. Bianca reached out her arms to give Iris a hug, but Iris stopped herself just in time. Bianca also pulled away, realizing why. She and Iris didn't have that kind of loving relationship anymore. She'd chosen to end it, so things weren't exactly the same as when she could just open hug Iris like that. This was also part of the truth that she had to deal with.

But though more distant, Iris still smiled at her. "Drayden told me! Is it true? You have Reshiram?" Iris asked.

"Yes," Bianca said.

"So, you're Reshiram's new hero?" Iris asked.

"Reshiram called me it," Bianca said. "So I guess it's true, isn't it?" She looked at Iris, who seemed to get excited, but looked away, her smile falling. "Well, I really don't want to make that big a deal of it. I guess Reshiram just needed anyone to help it."

"No!" Iris insisted. She frowned, but then looked up again, putting on a forced smile. "Bianca, I know why you dumped me. I still love you, and you still love me too, right?"

"Well," Bianca began, then paused, looking away. "Yes, I do. You're an amazing person, Iris."

"And you are too, Bianca. Don't think anything else. I know Reshiram picked you because you'd be an awesome hero. You're way more brave than me, and lots of other people."

Bianca sighed. She leaned toward Iris. Iris leaned toward her as well, hugging her. After a while, Bianca let go, then put her arm around Iris. "Thanks," the new hero said.

"Yeah. So what are you going to do now, Bianca?" Iris asked.

"I'm not sure," Bianca said, pausing to consider it. "There's a lot I can do now, isn't there?" Bianca thought of how much easier it would be to travel with a powerful pokemon like Reshiram. And also, she would be able to help Professor Juniper and other researchers find out a lot about the pokemon. Thinking about what she wanted to do, with all she could do, that was a little overwhelming.

So she didn't think about it any more. Spending even a little time with Iris might be fun. "Do you want to be the first to see Reshiram?" she asked.

"Yeah! You bet!" Iris exclaimed happily. Both girls stood up. The researchers didn't notice as they ran away from the tower and toward the open field. Bianca threw out the pokeball, and Reshiram flew out into the air. Iris gasped and shouted happily as she saw it. The pokemon flew up into the air, and then swooped down.

Iris looked at Bianca, who smiled back at her. Her smile was as clear and bright as Reshiram's presence in front of them. Even though Zekrom had told her that Reshiram and its fight for truth were detestable, Iris didn't really believe that. It was impossible to, with Bianca, one of the most pleasant people she knew, standing there as Reshiram's chosen hero.

Bianca had been able to face the pokemon, which was kind of scary, even Iris had to admit, and survive calmly like this. She made it seem like the truth wasn't all that insurmountable. Iris tried to stand up as tall next to Bianca as they faced Reshiram. One day, the young gym leader hoped her heart would carry the truth just as capably.