Journal Entry 11: The Elite Four

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.


"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. Fraxure runs through the smoke towards Archer, preparing a second Dragon Pulse.

"Dragonbreath!" Archer opens wide and releases Dragonbreath upon the dragon, who couldn't use his own attack in time. "Use Acrobatics!"

"Block using Dragon Claw!" Fraxure combats Archer's attacks using his claws, which seem to work well. "Follow up with Dragon Pulse!"

Archer takes flight to avoid Fraxure's attack, but receives the blow to the stomach. Archer crashes to the ground, and Fraxure charges at him. "Archer, return!"

Black retrieves his battered Pokemon before things could get worse. "Let's go, Date!"

Black sends out his starter Date, who draws both swords with zeal. "Dragon Pulse!"

"Blow it away with Scald and follow up with Slash!" Date knocks the sphere out of his direction with boiling hot water and charges at Fraxure.

"Return!" Drayden retrieves his Pokemon before Date could do some damage. "Let's try, Haxorus!"

His next Pokemon steps out to the field, Haxorus. Black takes out his Pokedex and scans. "Haxorus, the Axe Jaw Pokemon: These Pokemon are kind, but will act fierce when defending territory. Their sturdy tusks will stay sharp even when cutting steel beams."

"Wow, that strong huh?" Black comments.

'Keep Date in play and use Scald on the arena,' a voice says in his head.

"Huh?"

'Trust me.' Its statement gives a suspicious look on Black's face, but he decides to go with it. 'This better work.'

"Date, use Scald on the ground!" Date, trusting his partner, opens fire on the ground to heat it up.

"Nice. Limiting Haxorus' movements with Scald... Haxorus, use Dragon Pulse!" Haxorus opens fire at Date.

"Block it using Megahorn!" Date aims with his horn and headbutts the sphere with it, causing an explosion. Falling on his back though he couldn't react in time when Haxorus rushes through the heated field. It burns, but Haxorus continues.

"Dragon Tail!" Haxorus spins and smacks Date with his tail, and it transports back into Black's Pokeball.

"Eh?"

"Dragon Tail forces a Pokemon back into its ball," Drayden tells him.

"Damn. I didn't know that!" Black complains. Another ball opens up, and out pops Zeros. "Eh? Zeros?"

"A legendary, huh? Assurance!" Haxorus roars before charging at Victini.

"Zeros, dodge and use Flame Burst!" Zeros takes flight to avoid Haxorus and fires a ball of exploding flames, but does nothing to deter it. "I guess fire attacks are useless."

"Dragon Dance!" Haxorus begins to stomp on the ground hard, as energy surrounds him.

'Black, you have to stop Haxorus! Dragon Dance increases its attack and speed!' says the voice in his head. 'Use Confusion!'

"Uh, use Confusion!" Haxorus's dance is interrupted as Zeros begins to lift him up. "Now use Flame Burst!"

Zero fires a second blast at Haxorus. "Dragon Tail!"

Haxorus knocks it away with his tail, but still receives damage. "Zeros, return!"

"Haxorus, return!" Drayden retrieves his Pokemon as well.

"Go, Archer/Druddigon!" Black sends out Archer while Drayden chooses Druddigon.

"Dragonbreath!" Archer takes flight and releases Dragonbreath.

"Night Slash!" Druddigon uses his claws to cut through the breath and attack Archer.

"Ancient Power!" Archer fires rocks at Druddigon, who begins to slash them apart too. "U-Turn!"

Archer flies towards Druddigon and tackles him, before he returns to Black's Pokeball. "Alright, now Date, use Scald!"

"Dragon Tail!" Druddigon uses his tail to block the scald.

"Slash!" Date charges at Druddigon and begins to hack and slash at him, pulling off successful critical hits.

"Night Slash!" Druddigon grabs hold of one of the blades and begins to rub his skin on the otter, damaging him.

"Rough skin... Date, use Scald!" Date opens his mouth wide, but instead of hot water out shoots a tremendous stream of water that completely blasts Druddigon away. He faints after wards. "Wow... That was Hydro Pump."

"Nice going." Drayden retrieves his Pokemon, and holds out another ball. "Let the battle resume."

He sends out Fraxure. "Dragon Pulse!"

"Knock it back using Slash!" Date draws his blades and slashes at the sphere with one sword, using the dull side to deflect it. Fraxure ducks underneath the attack. "Hydro Pump!"

"Dodge and use Dragon Claw!" Fraxure leaps over the powerful water stream to come down upon the samurai. Date raises his arms to block the attack, using his scabbard arms to deflect his claws.

"Megahorn!" Date jabs Fraxure in the face with his attack, sending him back a bit. "Date, return!"

Black retrieves his Pokemon once more. "Let's finish this up, Zeros," he says as his next Pokemon Zeros appears to the battle. "Flame Burst!"

"Fraxure, Dragon Pulse!" Fraxure attacks back and counters using his own attack. "Fraxure, Dragon Dance!"

"Like I'll let you! V-Create!" Victini collects flames on his ears and flies towards the dragon in a tackle.

Drayden smiles, saying, "Gotcha. Fraxure, Dragon Tail!"

Fraxure cancels the Dragon Dance and smacks Zeros away, sending him back to his ball. Out pops Archer, who seems a little upset being forced out like that. "I'm not ready to send out Archer yet. Archer, return!"

"Dragon Pulse!" Before he could retrieve his Pokemon, Archer gets blasted by Dragon Pulse. The smoke clears, revealing the first bird has lost.

"Archer!" Black calls out in concern. He retrieves is Pokemon and sadly pockets the ball. "He led me right into a trap."

"Both of our remaining Pokemon have taken powerful hits. It'll be decided in these last few rounds," Drayden says to Black.

"He's right..." Black sends out his next Pokemon, Zeros. 'We're gonna have to decide this quickly.' "Zeros, do you trust me?"

Victini turns back at Black, and using psychic powers reads his mind. He shrugs, knowing that would be the easiest way to win. "Alright, let's do it!"

'What's he up to?' Drayden thinks. "Fraxure, Dragon Dance!"

"Zeros, charge straight in using Zen Headbutt!" Zeros flies towards Fraxure, keeping his eyes peeled on the dragon's tail.

'Gotcha!' "Dragon Tail!" Fraxure cancels the dance and spins quickly to attack Zeros with his tail.

"Combine Zen Headbutt with V-Create!" The psychic aura of Zen Headbutt combines together with the flaming ears of V-Create. Upon colliding with Dragon Tail, it captures them both in a huge explosion. Both Drayden and Black cover their eyes upon impact, along with White. Lucas does no such action, mostly because the vision he has is as messed up as a dog's.

The smoke clears, viewing Zeros on top of a defeated Fraxure. Both have fainted from that impact. "I'm sorry, Zeros," Black says to his Pokemon as he retrieves it. "I'll treat you to your favorite later."

'He combined two attacks into one...' Drayden thinks in his head as he eyes Black.

'That's my apprentice! He's already combining attacks,' Lucas thinks with a grin.

"And now we're done to one," Drayden says as he calls back Fraxure. He sends out his ace, Haxorus, who roars upon exit.

"Let's go, Date!" Black chooses his own ace. Date stands on his hands and feet, aiming his horn directly at the dragon. "Date, use Slash!"

"Slash!" Haxorus charges at Date, clashing his tusks with his blades.

"Hydro Pump!" Date opens wide and fires a jet stream of water at Haxorus, who opens his mouth to drink it. "EH?"

"It's still just water, and Haxorus is dragon so it's not so much a threat to it," Drayden tells him. Haxorus finishes his drink and pushes forward, knocking Date to the ground. "Dragon Pulse!"

"Roll underneath Haxorus!" Date rolls under the dinosaur to avoid the pulse. "Use Slash!"

Date, with one blade, cuts Haxorus in the stomach and sends it flying over two feet away. Haxorus lands, feeling the wound left behind. Date collapses to one knee, breathing heavily. The dragon on the other hand has no problem.

Blue energy surrounds Date, who glares ahead at the dragon. "Date?"

"His ability is activating," Lucas says. "Torrent increases Date's water power when his health is low; an ability similar to Blaze and Overgrow."

"Really? Alright, a power boost!" Black says with a grin. "Hydro Pump!"

Date opens his mouth and fires a a powered up blast of water that manages to push away Haxorus. Haxorus slips off the edge of the battlefield. "Haxorus!"

"Date!" Date slides towards Haxorus across the water, grabbing hold of his tail to save him. Date pulls back, saving Haxorus from a probably fatal fall. Haxorus stands up on two feet, giving Date a thankful nod before preparing himself. "Good. Date, finish this battle with Razor Shell!"

"I thank you for that. Haxorus, this is the moment of truth," Drayden says to Black and then his Pokemon. "Slash!"

Date, with one single blade, slides towards Haxorus. Haxorus stomps on the ground, causing the otter to slip a bit. He then takes this moment to charge at him, using his sword to leave a slash horizontally along Haxorus' body. The dragon is lifted off of the floor by the attack, and crashes to the ground lying on his back.

Haxorus has fainted.

"ALRIGHT! HILBERT WON!" White shouts happily.

"Good job," Lucas says.

"Yeah! We did it!" Black cheers, along with a tired Date.

Drayden gives a small smile. "This intense feeling that floods me after a defeat... There's nothing like it!"

Drayden walks towards Black after retrieving his Pokemon. "I'm glad I got the chance to battle you. Your fighting style has earned you this badge."

Drayden digs into his coat pocket to take out the Rising Badge, the last one for Black's collection. "So, this is the last badge."

"With the Rising Badge you are now qualified to challenge the Elite Four," Drayden says to the black protagonist. "Now, there is something I would like to ask you."

"Yeah?" Black looks up to him.

"I want you to go after Alder," Drayden says to him. "The Pokemon League is close by beyond Route 10, which is connected to Victory Road. I know of Alder's strength, but not the depth of N's power."

"You don't? Didn't you battle him?" Lucas asks him. "I thought that a trainer must have all eight badges of a region in order to face the correspondent champion."

"That is true..." Drayden tells him. "But, there is a chance he may have collected them due to his status as leader of Team Plasma. They could easily gather the eight badges and hand them to him."

"That makes sense," Black says.

"Let's go then, and stop N from making a huge mistake!" White says as she grabs both Black and Lucas and heads for the warp panel which would take them to the front door.

Heading out Black and his friends leave the gym, and spots the lovely professor Juniper outside. "Hey, how was the battle?"

"Uh, great... What brings you here?" Black asks her.

"I came to report on how to resurrect Zekrom," she begins.

"It's okay, I know. Zekrom will come out when he wants to," Black tells her, to which she nods.

"That's about it... I thought I should tell you in person instead of through the Xtransceiver," Juniper says to him. "Zekrom will arise when it sees someone worthy... Speaking of which, aren't you amazing? Winning all 8 badges within the course of a month!

"You and your Pokemon have grown so much stronger... You probably don't even realize it, but you've changed so much since you left Nuvema." At that, Black couldn't help but smile; being praised by the professor isn't something he'd expect to get. "I assume you know where Victory Road is, right?"

"Uh... Up there?" White asks, pointing northeast of their position.

"Exactly, Route 10," Juniper says to her. "Once you arrive at the Badge Check Gate you'll be asked to present your 8 badges at each gate, using it to actually open them. Once you reach the Victory Road and pass through, you'll be able to challenge all the members of the Elite Four."

Juniper turns to Black and his sister with a concern look. "Black, White, do either of you regret setting out on this journey?"

Black and White turn to eachother and then back at the professor, saying in unison, "Of course not."

"If I had stayed, I never would have met wonderful guys like Date and Zeros, nor would I've met Elesa," Black says. "Even if there's a dragon in my head I'll still be glad I left Nuvema."

"I'm glad to have left too. I miss being in Nuvema, but I've loved being out in the world and being around others..." White says with a smile.

"That's good... Thank you for your answer," the professor says as she prepares to leave. Before she does she takes out two balls and hands them to Black and White. "Here, these are Master Balls."

"Eh?" Lucas snaps.

"Master balls?" Black takes his and examines it.

"Are these even better than Ultra Balls?" White asks her.

"They're the ultimate Pokemon catching system. One try is all that's needed to capture a Pokemon," Juniper tells them. She then closes her eyes to say, "This is all I can do to support you... Except I can tell you to be true to yourself... No matter what happens, stay strong and keep going with your Pokemon!"

She then leaves, letting the trainers go about their way. Black takes in a deep breath before sighing, and says, "Thanks professor."

Later That Day...

"Ah, what a great meal!" Lucas says as he finishes eating. 'Now if only I could enjoy it.'

"I could literally feel the flavors kicking my taste buds' ass," Black complains as he drinks a glass of water. "Ah, better."

"Well, if we left now we could probably reach Victory Road by nighttime, but then we'd be stuck inside for who knows how long," White says as she looks at the map while stirring her soup.

"Then we can go tomorrow," Black says as he looks to the sky. He scratches the table a little, and a little static electricity releases that causes metal objects nearby to come closer. Noticing this he stops, and the objects halt in place. "I need control over these powers."

"If that's the case then I'm heading inside to take a nap," Lucas says as he takes his plate up to the counter. Black and White do the same, and watch as Lucas heads to the rooms for rest. The twins don't seem to notice someone following him.

"I'm going to go catch a new teammate," Black says as he pockets his hands and heads for the door.

"Good luck," White tells him, sighing with worry as he disappears into the distance.

Black wanders through the half high-tech, half civilization city. As he does his mind wanders to certain events that have happened: becoming a trainer, meeting N, becoming a couple with Elesa, partnering up with Victini, having Zekrom hitch a ride with his body, and being forced to battle N to save the world, sort of.

"It is allot to take in..." Black says as he sits by a building. He strokes his head back, giving off a little electric spark as he does. "Weird, I still feel kind of hungry."

"How about an ice-kabab?" a voice says. Black's eyes drift to the side to spot several flavors of ice cream balled up into dango and attached to a wooden kabab stick. The flavors consist of strawberry, cookies and cream, sea salt, mint chocolate chip, and vanilla bean. His eyes go up to see the person holding it is Elesa. "Hello, Black."

"Elesa? What brings you here?" he asks, even though he could probably guess the answer.

"I'll tell you, but first let's share the kabab." Following her words Black begins to bite on the first dango, the strawberry. Elesa eats the vanilla first and goes for the mint chip, while Black devours the cookies and cream. Upon reaching the blue sea salt ice cream, Black's tastebuds skyrocket.

'It's so salty! But it's really sweet too!' These are his thoughts as he bites into it again. Elesa does so as well, and by the time they finish off their halves, they end up kissing. Knowing they're kissing Elesa begins to kiss back as much as she could, placing her hands onto his cheeks. Hilbert places his hands on her hips, bringing her closer.

They part after a while, and look into eachother's eyes. Elesa then says, "Black, I was going to tell you this before, but I couldn't let you know when you were still upset... Back at that night when we were drunk, I found out that we did have sex with eachother, and Skyla."

Black grits his teeth hearing that, but gives out a sigh. "Fine, we did it. I'm sure we've had enough time to move on from that."

"...It's much worse than that..." she says, surprising the teen. "I was hoping to keep this secret so I could get this fixed... But we're married."

Black's eyes widen in shock. Looking at the girl he deeply cares about, his mouth falls open. "Eh?"

"You got married that night... To me and Skyla." Her words bring a huge blush to the teen's face.

He soon falls backwards, forcing Elesa to grab him. 'I knew this would happen.'

After a while Black manages to wake up again, noticing he's outside at an outside table placed by a restaurant. "Huh?"

"Oh, you're awake," Elesa says as she sits by him with a cup of tea. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah... I think I heard you say I was married to two women, you and Skyla," he says to her with a chuckle, not believing it to be true.

"I did say that, you are," she says, causing him to repeat his actions. Before he could pass out, she hands him the tea, and he immediately drinks it. "Feeling better?"

"..." After he sips the tea he places it on the table and shouts, "How is that possible? How did we get married? How did I get married twice at the same time?"

"Bigamy is apparently legal in Nimbasa," Elesa tells him, upsetting him more. "I knew I shouldn't have told you... I was planning on getting an annulment the moment I found out and let Skyla know so she would do the same, but then I began having second thoughts."

"What? Why?" he asks.

Elesa looks up into his eyes, giving this intense warm feeling he's felt before in small doses from her. "Because I'm falling in love with you..."

This causes Black to freeze cold, unable to make a movement or even utter a sound. "Y-Yeah?"

"Yeah..." Elesa reaches out and places her hands on his left one. "I know this is crazy, and I probably wouldn't have thought about it before, but I was wondering if it's such a bad idea to stay married to you... I figured I would give it a shot and see if we can really make it work..."

"...We got married through an accident!" Black tells her.

"I know!" she shouts back. Elesa then frowns and says, "I've told you before that I've dated other guys, and they've all been macho chuds who only care about themselves and the stock they've gained by being with me."

"Stock?"

"It's another way of saying one's popularity and worth," she says to her. "But when I'm with you, I feel much happier... Having fallen in love before, I know exactly how it feels, so I know what I'm talking about..."

"...I guess... You really do love me, do you?" he asks her.

"Of course... It's probably a shock to you, especially after all that's happened, but I've wanted to tell you this... These are my honest feelings... Do you accept them?" Elesa looks into Black's eyes as she says this, allowing him to see just how emotional her words are.

Black, finding himself speechless for a moment, places his right hand on her hands. He says, "I do."

Elesa becomes overwhelmed with happiness, smiling while tears fall from her eyes. "Thank you for understanding."

"It's okay..." He's okay with it outside, but on the inside his thoughts are still on if being married so soon is such a good idea. 'I guess it's not such a big deal... I do like her, and there is a part of me that feels empty when she leaves... Maybe that's what she feels too... I'll give it a shot.'

"But what about Skyla?" he asks her.

Elesa's eyes go wide in shock when she remembers Skyla. 'Crap! I forgot about how she'd react.' "We'll tell her, and hopefully she'll take it better than you did."

"Hey, I wasn't that bad!" Black shouts at her. She chuckles a bit and leans forward to peck him on the cheeks. "What's so funny?"

Elesa gives a content sigh and says, "It's weird. You're still the same Black I met back in Fennel's lab. I had feared Zekrom would change your personality, the one I fell in love with."

"Don't worry. No dragon is gonna control me," he says to her. "I'll stay the same, no matter what."

"Good." With that Elesa leans in to give him a hug.

"Black!" a voice can be heard calling out to him. Looking to his right, and her left, they spot Iris coming towards them. "Black! Good, you haven't left yet!"

"Iris? What brings you here?" he asks her.

"Here." Iris hands Black a small Premier Ball. "This is something from Drayden, as a gift for saving Haxorus from that fall."

"Really?" Black takes the ball. "Who's inside?"

"A female Axew. He personally trained her while traveling with this childish guy who had silver hair," she says to him. Black takes out his Pokedex and reads the Pokemon's info.

'Level 36, has a lonely nature, has the ability Mold Breaker, and knows Dragon Claw, Dragon Dance, Taunt and Swagger.' He finishes reading the info on Axew and smiles. "He looks like a hard worker."

"I know!" Iris smiles and places a hand on the Premier Ball. "Please take good care of her."

"Don't worry, I will," he says to the little girl. "Thanks Iris."

"Just remember to beat N incase you have to," Iris says with a grin.

Elsewhere...

"So cold... So cold..." Lucas complains as he tries to snuggle as much covers over himself as he can.

As he shivers, someone from afar can be seen watching him. Before he could make a move, he notices Nurse Joy walking by. Thinking fast he runs off, and a flash of light from the nearby window reveals his face; he looks like Lucas.

Tomorrow Morning...

N walks up towards a throne, turning around to face the masses that had congregated for his coronation. Most of them are the loyal grunts of Team Rocket. Beside him is his father, Ghetsis, who steps forward and speaks in a commanding voice that echoes throughout the halls, "Attention everyone! As I await you all to stop staring at my hair I thank you today for joining for such a momentous occasion. You now bear witness to the crowning of a king: the new king of Team Plasma, the only one fit to lead this world to peace, and my one and only son! As a trainer who understands Pokemon more than anyone in the entire world, he is the only one fit to bring the truth to all those foolish humans who misuse humans so!

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you your new ruler, N Harmonia!" After his impressive speech, Ghetsis raises the crown and places it upon N's head as a throng of applause erupts throughout the halls. Every member of Team Plasma cheers loudly for their new king, feeling as if all their blood, sweat and tears will finally pay off. Two women watch N amidst the crowd, one with blue hair and the other with red. They look at eachother with unease, feeling as if there might be something N doesn't know.

'It begins! I'll make sure all those humans discover the truth! Pokemon are not tools to be used, and they'll all realize that!' These are N's thoughts as he waves to all the grunts before him.

"N?" a voice speaks to him. Opening his eyes, he looks up to see the face of a white, long haired woman with blue eyes and attire as blanc as her hair.

"Reshiram... So this is your true form?" he asks her.

"...This is my current form," she tells the human.

"It's weird... You remind me of my sister... She has long hair like that..." he says to the white dragon. He then gains a concern look and says, "Come to think of it, I haven't seen her in a while."

"What does she look like?" Reshiram asks N as she sits down beside her.

"Well, she has green hair like me, and infact wears a lot of green clothes," he tells her. "Her name is Cheryl too."

"Cheryl..." she says with interest. "I see... She must be able to talk to Pokemon like you..."

"Yeah. I actually didn't know I had a sister, not until my father told me she existed months ago in Sinnoh. So I traveled there," he tells her with a smile on his face. "Months later, earlier this spring, I was crowned the king of Team Plasma, and we began searching for you."

"...That's interesting..." Reshiram says to the king. "I would like to ask though, why do you plan to have this person Black find Zekrom and battle you? Not that I'm worried because I could crush him, but what does it matter to you?"

"...That's personal..." he says to the dragon girl. "It's something I can't speak of."

Reshiram stares at N for a moment, before grinning. "So that's it... Whatever. As long as I can fight Zekrom, I don't really mind."

N stands up from the bed and heads forward to the door. "Let's go. It's time to face the Elite Four."

While he heads for the Pokemon League challenge, four trainers are beginning to wake up. Black arises from his bed with Elesa in his arms, who couldn't pull herself away from him after her confession of love, while Lucas remains asleep. White wakes up soon after the couple, and kicks Lucas out of his bed. After a meal, with Lucas and Black being unable to enjoy it normally, they head for Route 10. As they do, a hooded figure follows them.

Leading the way, Black brushes his hair back into an electric sleek, which gains a light blue shine. Looking up ahead he sees a bridge leading across to where the Badge Gate stands. "Not far now."

"Black! White!" Bianca's voice calls out to them. Turning back the group spots Bianca and Cheren heading their way.

"Drayden and the professor told us; you're going to challenge the Pokemon League, right?" Cheren asks him.

"Yes," he answers.

"Since it's Alder, the champ, it'll be alright. The worst-case scenario would simply be you facing off against N, just as he wants," Cheren says, taking out a Pokeball. "I need to know if you can handle it!"

"A battle?" Black asks curiously.

"Go!" He sends out Simipour and Unfezant.

"Double battle, eh?" Black chooses his Pokemon without thinking, sending out Raika and Axew. "Let's go, Kinsaurus and Raika!"

"Kinsaurus?" Elesa asks in confusion. Cheren, Bianca and Lucas are confused at the name too.

"Because Haxorus is yellowish and becomes like a dinosaur," he explains to them, getting an 'oh' in response.

"Scald and Razor Wind!" As Unfezant prepares a storm to slice Black's team in four, Simipour fires a jet of hot water at the ground.

"Raika, avoid the hot water and use Thunderbolt!" Raika steps away from the water and fires a bolt of lightning at Simipour.

"Razor Wind!" Unfezant fires, diverting the bolt's directly to a mountain wall.

"Kinsaurus, use Dragon Dance!" The tiny dragon begins doing a little dance, raising her speed and strength.

"Don't let it finish; Air Slash!" Unfezant releases a shockwave of wind at Kinsaurus.

"Raika, use Flame Charge to block the wind and protect Kinsaurus!" Raika does exactly that, charging flames around her body to guard the dragon. It works better than he thought, and Kinsaurus gains her powerups. "Now, Dragon Claw and Thunderbolt!"

Raika charges lightning and fires at Unfezant, while Kinsaurus runs over to Simipour. The thunderbolt misses the bird, but Kinsaurus manages to scratch Simipour in the face. Simipour grabs hold of Kinsaurus' hands. "Lick!"

Simipour licks the dragon's face, causing her to fidget about. "Raika, Spark!"

"Unfezant, grab Simipour and use Detect!" Unfezant grabs hold of the little monkey and takes flight, avoiding Raika's attack. The zebra tries Thunderbolt, but Detect allows the bird to dodge.

'Need a way to distract that bird...' "Kinsaurus, Taunt!" Kinsaurus looks Unfezant in the eyes and begins taunting it. Angered, Unfezant comes in for an attack. "Spark!"

"Scald!" Raika charges at Unfezant, but instead of a small field of electricity around the zebra she transforms into a lightning bolt and tackles them.

"Unfezant! Simipour!" Raika lands next to Kinsaurus, having taken recoil damage.

'That was Wild Charge.' Elesa thinks in amazement.

"What was that? Oh well, great job!" Black says to his team. Cheren retrieves his Pokemon.

"Yep. You really are something else. That taunt screwed up my plans," Cheren says as he pockets his team. "Black, right now there's no way I can compete with you. If there's anything you need in your battle against N, just let me know."

"Black, there's not much I can do to help either, but I want you to have these." Bianca steps forward and hands Black three Max Revives. "These Revives can restore a fainted Pokemon to full health."

"Thanks," he says, pocketing the revives before he retrieves his Pokemon.

"Still, I think it's kind of funny, how everyone's so different," Bianca says with a chuckle.

"Funny?" White adds.

"What's funny about that?" Cheren asks her.

Bianca turns to four eyes and says, "You really need to smile more. Taking everything so seriously all the time isn't going to change the situation anyhow," she then turns to Black, White and Lucas. "Allot of stuff has happened ever since we took up Pokemon and walked the same roads together... We've all changed allot too! We found out that the things we want to do and the things we can do differ for each of us! That's what's made our journey so worth it, and that makes me happy."

Cheren sighs a bit. "So that's what you meant."

"She's right, you need to chill more," Black says as he pats his friend's shoulder. "You tend to lose some of your battles because you're too serious about it."

"...I guess. We are all different, and we should do the things that we can," Cheren says, finding himself mustering a smile. "There are as many truths and ideals as there are people and Pokémon. The most important thing is that we help one another out...That's why people and Pokémon are always by each other's side. That's what I've come to think lately...

"Black, if anything happens to you or Alder, I'll do everything in my power to help you." At the end of his speech, Cheren turns around and prepares to leave. "Try not to be reckless, k?"

"Eh?" Cheren walks off for Opelucid City.

"He's fast," Bianca says as she watches her friend jet off. "Cheren's right though. I'm going to do the best that I can as well..." Bianca begins scratching her head a bit. "Now if only there was something inspirational I could say... Try to keep your best foot forward!"

Black and Elesa tip their heads to the side hearing that. White then laughs, saying, "That's something I should say to you!"

"Right, of course!" Bianca grabs the back of her head while laughing sheepishly. Her face turns red out of embarrassment. "Well, good luck Black."

The girl's eyes turn to Elesa for a moment, and after wards to Black to say, "Please be okay. Elesa nor I would be able to take something happening to you."

"Eh?" At that Bianca walks away, while Elesa grabs hold of his arm.

"She's right, take care of yourself," she says to him. "Just remember that no one is strong enough not to rely on others, so don't be afraid to ask for help."

Black pauses for a moment thinking about her words, and smiles a little. "I won't forget, thanks."

"Anyway, let's get going. The sooner we reach the Pokemon League the sooner Black can challenge them," Lucas says before walking over to the badge gates. His vision messes up again, causing him to grab his face. 'This is starting to seem serious.'

"Lucas, is something wrong?" White asks, noticing his sudden flinch.

"No, I'm fine. My eyes just hurt a little," he says, rubbing his eyes as he continues walking.

White turns to Black and Elesa, asking them, "Have you guys ever noticed that Lucas' been acting weird lately?"

"You mean weirder than normal?" Black asks jokingly. The group soon walks after Lucas, keeping a close distance behind him.

"I mean, he's been rubbing his eyes a lot more often lately, and then there are his taste buds," White says to them, keeping a whispering tone so Lucas wouldn't hear. "He hates onions in his meals, but last time he ate a burger it had onions in it. Plus there was that time when we left the hospital and he ate. It felt as if he was eating something weird..."

Black and Elesa look at eachother for a moment, and then Elesa says, "Now that you mention it, he does seem a little different than normally. He's been wearing allot of gray and lite blue lately."

"So?" Black exclaims.

"Black, you're wearing allot of black and red. I thought it was just your personal fixation, but then I remembered that Zekrom was in a black stone. Your clothes are probably reflected upon by the dragon." Elesa's explanation causes White to widen her eyes in shock.

"That makes sense..." she says.

"Well with that logic it sounds like a dragon possessed Lucas too," Black says to her.

Elesa nods to him, and then says, "That's what I thought, since Zekrom is increasing your senses and influencing your attire, but then I figured it couldn't be the same because I was told that there are only two of those dragons, Reshiram and Zekrom. There can't be a third, can there?"

"I never heard of this legend before, but maybe there could be something we missed," Black says before crossing his arms over his chest. "Still, there's no reason to believe Lucas is in my situation, so let's just keep an eye on him before we jump the gun."

"Got it." After the girls agree, they continue after Lucas. Soon the four reach the gateway and enter inside, where they come before a deserted area. In front of them is another gate, with a man standing next to it.

"Those who are unqualified shall not pass. Prove that you own the Trio Badge!" The man says, gesturing to the hole placed between the connecting portion of the gates.

Black steps forward and places the Trio Badge in the slot, making a perfect fit. The gate opens up, and reveals a grassy meadow with a bridge over a stream.

"Holder of the Trio Badge, challenge all that you face!" says the man as he allows them to pass.

After he takes back the Trio Badge, the quartet walk through the next area, which resembles the gym where Hilbert faced Dent. Coming to the next gate the guard says, "Reveal the Basic Badge to pass!"

Black takes out the Basic Badge and places it in the slot. The gate opens up. "He who holds the Basic Badge, show the knowledge you've obtained!"

'What a ham,' Lucas thinks.

The four move forward, through a grassy plain. The normal types roaming it remind Black of Lenora. He comes before the gate, where the man guarding it says, "The key is the Incest-I mean, Insect Badge... Yeah, Insect."

'Talk about a slip,' White thinks as Lucas opens the gate with the Insect Badge.

"Holder of the Insect Badge, fight valiantly like an insect!" Black and the others move forward, going over a giant bug.

'Burgh and his insects, huh?' These are Lucas' thoughts as he goes over the beetle.

They come before the next gate, where the man says, "The key to passing is the-"

"-Bolt Badge," Black says, interrupting him. He takes out the Bolt Badge and together with Elesa they place it inside the gate's key lock. It opens up.

"Oh, holder of the Bolt Badge, unfurl a shocking battle!" Black, with his friends, heads forward with hidden zeal.

They cross over a bridge with fancy lights and such attached to it. Smiling, Elesa says, "I would have chosen the same stuff."

"Next is the Quake Badge," Black says, taking it out ahead of time.

"The key is the Quake Badge!" the man says, although Black isn't even listening. He has already placed the badge inside and opened the gate. "He who wields the Quake Badge can make their foes' hearts tremble."

'Unlike Clay,' White jokes in her head.

They walk through a valley of stones to reach the sixth gate. Black takes out the Jet Badge. "The key is-"

"-the Jet Badge, we know," Lucas says to him in an annoyed tone.

"Hey, I'm just doing what I have to. It's part of the job!" he says to them, the guard pissed at Lucas for his rude outburst.

"...My bad," Lucas says.

"Here." Black places the badge in the slot, opening the gate.

"Holder of the Jet Badge, blast ahead with tremendous force!" Black and the others head through the gate.

On the other side stands a gap between them and the other side. The only way to cross seems to be the tremendous wind blowing up from the fissure. Black complains, "Whose idea was this?"

"Don't be such a worry wart!" Lucas jumps over the gap, shocking everyone. The wind manages to lift him all the way over to the other side, where he lands without harm. "See? They wouldn't have put that there if someone would get hurt."

"I guess..." Black crosses over next, barely managing to make it over. White jumps across next, and then Elesa. When she lands Black manages to catch her in his arms, bringing a blush to both of their faces.

"Next gate," Lucas says as he points to the gate.

"This gate won't open unless you have the Freeze Badge," the guard says to them. Black takes it out and places it in the slot, opening the gate. "Oh, holder of the Freeze Badge, show the sharp edge of an icicle!"

"What does that even mean?" Lucas asks. The guy simply shrugs before they pass through.

This field is covered with ice, forcing them to skate along carefully. White manages to slip twice, much to Lucas' humor. Once reaching standing land, the guard says, "You cannot pass without the Legend Badge."

"Got it," Black says, taking out the last badge. He inserts the key inside and opens the gate.

"Oh, holder of the Legend Badge, pass through this Victory Road and you'll reach the Pokemon League at the top," he says, bowing to the trainer. The trainers go through the gate. As they leave they could hear him shout, "Prove that you, too, can become a legend!"

Leaving the gate they come before Victory Road, which appears to be a cave like last time. Black walks towards the cave, electricity sparking around his left hand suddenly. Inside he blinks in surprise to see that he can actually see. His eyes could pick up the moisture dripping from the spiked ceiling.

"Huh. It's not as dark in here as I thought," Black says as he crosses his arms.

"It's really dark in here!" White complains as she enters inside. She approaches Black, and bumps into him due to the clothes he wears being a perfect camouflage. "Oh, sorry."

"White, watch where you're going," he tells his sister.

"How can I? I can barely see you!"

"Black, how well can you see in this cave?" Elesa asks him. Lucas tries to see deeper in, but his eyes are still too messed up to see properly.

"I can see great. I don't know what's wrong with...Wait, Zekrom, right!" Black slaps his forehead realizing his senses are better than theirs.

"Aura Sphere," Lucas whispers, using his powers to create a light for them. But rather quickly his powers short out, and all that's left is a tiny ball of light. 'Eh?'

"What's that?" Black asks in disappointment.

"You call that an Aura Sphere?" White asks him, bringing him down even more.

"That's what happens when you try to show off," Elesa tells him.

"Shut up!" Lucas shouts at them.

"Maybe we could follow the color of his clothes! They're so bright we can see the bottom of an abyss-"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Lucas shouts again, blushing out of embarrassment. The others laugh at his predicament.

"Lucas and I will lead the way. I can see better, and Lucas can make a light... Sort of..." Black says, walking ahead into the cave. Lucas follows in a shameful walk, while the girls trail behind.

They come to another room inside the cave, this one lit much better than the last one. Black blinks a little to adjust his eyes, and Lucas cancels his aura powers out.

White walks forward, seeing their path has conjured a fork in the road. Looking down on path she says, "It's dark to see what's down here."

"We could split up and check each one," Lucas says. No one manages to notice a Pokemon crawling over to White.

"Let's not. It might be harder to regroup," Black says to the group.

"You guys are scared over nothing-AH!" White suddenly screams out, falling to the ground.

"Hilda! What's wrong?" Black and Lucas run over to her, and stop when they see a Pokemon biting on her leg. Black kicks the Pokemon in the head, shouting, "Hey! Let go of my sister!"

He grabs the Pokemon's jaws and pulls as hard as he could. Thanks to Zekrom's influence he manages to free her, but then it begins biting his left arm. "GAH!"

"Hilbert!" Elesa and White cry out. Before it could bite down harder, another Pokemon comes out of nowhere and kicks it in the head, freeing Black and leaving a scratch along his arm.

Elesa approaches Black and holds his arm, asking, "Black, are you okay?"

"Yeah, it just really hurts," he says. Elesa takes out a first aid kit from the parcel she carries, and prepares to treat him. "No, get Hilda first. I'll just heal on my own."

Nodding, Elesa takes the first aid to White and begins treating her leg, starting with alcohol to disinfect the wound. The others look out to the Pokemon that saved Black, a Scrafty. Both it and the other Pokemon are fighting one another.

"What's a Scrafty doing here?" Lucas asks.

Black takes out his Pokedex and scans the other Pokemon. "Deino, the Irate Pokemon: Deino have no eyes, so they will bite and tackle anything they come across. Omnivorous, they can and will eat anything without a second thought."

"That explains why it attacked White and me. They can't see, so they don't know any better," Black says as he reads the Pokedex.

The Scrafty kicks Deino in the head with a Hi Jump Kick, forcing it to retreat. Of course it hits a few walls along the way, but manages to escape. The Scrafty then turns to White and walks towards her, before bowing.

"Eh? Uh, thank you?"

The Scrafty then begins speaking to White. Using his aura powers Lucas tries to read its mind. "This is interesting. This Scrafty met us before, back at the Dragonspiral Tower."

"Eh? It's that girl Scrafty I treated?" White asks in shock. Scrafty nods in response. "Ah, so you want to join my team? Well, I gladly accept your offer!"

White takes out an Ultra Ball and taps Scrafty's head with it, capturing the Pokemon. The ball shakes a bit before calming, and soon Scrafty is caught. "That was nice of her. Scrafty wanted to join me, so she followed us all this time."

"Well, good thing Scrafty showed up. It felt like it was trying to chew my arm off," Black says, gripping his slowly healing wound. "Let's get going."

Before they could move forward, another Deino comes out from the same hole; or maybe it's the same one. As Elesa carries White away, Black takes to stand, holding out Kinsaurus' ball. "Kinsaurus, use Dragon Claw!"

After being summoned, the tiny dragon attacks the blind dragon, clawing the side of its head. Deino bites at Kinsaurus, trying to get a good grip on Kin. "Use Swagger!"

Instead of using Swagger, Kin opens her mouth and fires a ball of dragonic energy at Deino point blank, causing an explosion. Deino crashes to the ground, fainting, while Kin lands by Black. "Wow, that was Dragon Pulse."

"Well, at least we know it's safer there," White says with a sheepish chuckle.

"Let's go the other way," Black says to her. Before he could Kinsaurus begins glowing brightly. "Eh?"

"It's evolving?" Lucas asks in shock.

Axew begins to grow in size, until it becomes appropriate and is revealed to be Fraxure. Black takes out his Pokedex and scans the Pokemon. "Fraxure, the Axe Jaw Pokemon: Since their tusks don't grow back, they sharpen them all the time. Most are extremely territorial."

"A Fraxure... She's gonna be a Haxorus really soon," Black says with a grin. "That reminds me, I had better train for the Elite Four."

"We can do that when we leave," Elesa says as she looks down the other pathway.

After retrieving Kinsaurus, Black and the gang head into the passageway, with Black's eyes and Lucas' 'light' leading the way. Very soon they reach the end, at the top of the mountain. They cross over to the other side of the bridge, where they see a series of buildings, the most prominent being the Pokemon League itself.

"We're here. We're finally here." Elesa states.

"Let's get going. As soon as I heal up my team I'm heading back down to train," Black says to them before heading to the Pokemon center.

"Well don't expect to go alone. I'll be coming with you!" White says to her brother as she prepares to follow him. As she does she falls to her knees, unable to walk on her feet at the time being. "Or, Elesa can go with you."

"You were hoping to spend time with your bro, huh?" the gym leader asks her.

"D-Don't be ridiculous! We've spent so much time together lately, and besides he's better off with someone watching. He'll just get into trouble," White replies, her face giving off an apparent blush. Elesa snickers a little.

"Sure, sure. I'll keep an eye on him," Elesa says with a smile. "You get that leg checked out. I would hate for my sister in law to get an infection or lose that leg."

"Yeah, thanks," White says to her as Elesa begins to carry the girl over to the hospital near the center. Reaching it, White realizes what Elesa said. "EH? Sister-in-law?"

"Yeah, it turns out me and Black are married," Elesa says, sounding happier than she's ever been.

"Wow. You sound really happy," White comments, noticing her tone and how she said it.

"I am... I can't believe it, but I actually am!" she says.

After White is checked in, Black soon has his Pokemon healed. Afterwards he heads for Victory Road to train his Pokemon, alone. Lucas, being the only one who could watch him, follows after the brown haired trainer. Although two seconds in Lucas loses track of him, and ends up outside of the cave.

"Damn it! I got lost!" he complains. He then heads back inside the cave, only to be blocked by someone. "Eh? Excuse me, but I need to go in."

"Oh don't worry. Zekrom won't let anything happen to him," the person says, surprising the teen.

"How do you know that?" Lucas asks him, getting into a defensive pose. But just as suddenly he grabs his arms, shivering. "Why is it so cold?"

"It's just you, or that body of yours," he says to the diamond protagonist. "I want you to keep pretending nothing is wrong, and make sure your friends don't know about what you really are."

"What are you talking about?" Lucas asks him.

"What do you think?" The man walks towards Lucas, who throws a punch at him. The man grabs the fist, and suddenly his arm turns into ice. Frantic and shocked, Lucas grabs his stiff ice arm and screams.

"MY ARM! WHAT DID YOU DO?" Lucas falls on his behind.

"That arm of yours is mine, as you can see," he says, tapping the teen's arm lightly twice. His arm converts from a humans to a dragon's. "Your friends were whispering before about how they thought you might be possessed by a dragon... The truth is, you're possessing my body."

Lucas looks up into the man's eyes, who pulls his hand back up to reveal his face. The teen gasps in shock seeing that he's him. "What? But how is that-"

Fake Lucas laughs, interrupting him. "What you're in right now is my body, one fashioned to resemble your original one. I on the other hand am possessing your body, something I stole after I ate it back at the Dragonspiral Tower."

"What? ...So, that was you! You were that growl that kept following me!" Lucas shouts at him. "Give me back my body, whoever you are!"

The imposter laughs again, before tapping Lucas' arm to return it to normal. Taking out a bar of icecream kept in his jacket he unwraps it, takes a bite and says, "I can't. I haven't experienced enough. I can take back my body at any moment and add it with yours, but that would kill you. It wouldn't affect me at all, but I need you because of how close you are to Zekrom's host."

"What do you want with me?" he asks.

Fake Lucas grabs him by the head and says, "I want you to kill the host of Reshiram and Zekrom and bring them to me. Once I eat them you can have your body back."

"What?"

"See you soon!" Fake Lucas causes a snowstorm to escape in. Lucas pulls himself up to his feet, and sighs.

"This can't be happening... Who is that thing?" Lucas questions himself as he flexes his arm. "This is the worst..."

Evening...

Black comes out of the Victory Road cave with a big yawn. Parts of his clothes seem tattered and worn, but otherwise he's okay. Black heads for the Pokemon Center and places his team in for healing. 'I might have put Kinsaurus through a lot of training, but I hope she'll be okay. Still, they're ready to face the Elite Four, and if need be, N.'

As he awaits their healing, he heads for the sleeping quarters, where he finds Lucas sleeping silently. 'Lazy.'

Black's next stop leads him to the next room, where he finds Elesa with White. "Girls."

"Hey Black," White says, looking down at her leg. "The doctor says my leg will be fine. I should heal up in time tomorrow for your match against the Elite Four."

"Where's Lucas?" Elesa asks him.

"He's asleep," he says.

"I see..." she says, standing up from the bed to stand by him. "Black, I just want you to know that we're glad for your bravery."

"Where's this coming from?" he asks her.

"In the off chance that you do face N, I just want you to know that we're all here to support you. Remember to trust in yourself and your Pokemon, just like I do," she says, placing her arms around his neck and hugging him. Black blushes a bit before hugging her back.

"Get a room!" White jeers.

"This is our room. You're sleeping with Lucas," Elesa says to her.

"EH?" Without warning, Black and Elesa carry White to the other room, much to her displeasure. With her gone they undress in private rooms and sleep in the same bed. "Just because they're married doesn't mean they get to throw me out..."

The next morning starts as a rather normal day for them; Black and Elesa wake up, White storms into the room and kicks Black out, and Lucas laughs as he watches. Afterwards they eat, including the Pokemon, and head for the Pokemon League's building.

A man stands before them, who says, "The Pokemon League is a place where you both pursue strength and express it. How to express it is simple, just defeat the Elite Four and the champion!

"There are four rooms, each leading to a member of the Elite Four. You can challenge either one of them, but you can't stop to return to the Pokemon center at any time until it's over. If you lose a single challenge, then you have to start all over. Do you accept?"

"Yes," Black says.

"Then, proceed!" The man steps to the side, allowing the four passageway. In order, Black, White, Elesa and Lucas head in. Standing in the middle of the area is a statue, with four stairways beside it in an X position.

"So, which one?" Elesa asks.

"Each one has a trainer stronger than Drayden," White syas.

"This one," Black says as he heads for the south east stairway.

Entering this part he comes to what looks like a mechanical gym. In front of him stands a tower, where he believes to be the battlefield. "Up there, huh?"

"Let's try this?" White walks to a platform standing in front of them, and the others follow her. The platform takes them around the tower, until they reach the top.

When they reach the top they step out onto a fighting ring. There a man with yellow hair and a dojo outfit on stands before them. Lucas, Elesa and White step to the side, allowing Black the space to battle. "Greetings challenger, I am Marshal."

"I'm Hilbert, your challenger," Black says as he holds out a Pokeball.

Marshal grins, before saying, "In order to master the art of fighting, I'm training under my mentor, Alder. My mentor sees your potential as a Trainer and is taking an interest in you. It is my intention to test you-to take you to the limits of your strength. Kiai!"

"Uh, kiai?" Marshal sends out the Muscular Pokemon, Conkeldurr. "Conkeldurr, the Muscular Pokemon: Having the ability to create concrete, it constructs blocks to use to support its upper body. It knows techniques to freely use each block in fights."

"I was planning on sending out Mienshao, but she's still resting from that last challenger I took on," he says to him.

"Fine by me. Go, Kinsaurus!" Black sends out his Pokemon Fraxure, who stands before the Muscular Pokemon with a brave look in his eyes. "Let's show off the results of your training!"

Fraxure roars out to the sky, initiating a battle cry. But that's when it glows brightly, shocking the trainers. The dragon grows in size, and gains several familiar features. Soon the light stops, revealing the Axe Jaw Pokemon Haxorus. "Alright! I knew she was just about ready!"

"How much training did they go through to reach that level?" White asks in shock.

"Black is just full of surprises," Elesa says with a shrug and a chuckle.

"Now this is a battle! Conkeldurr, prepare for battle!" Conkeldurr gives out a low growl.

"Kinsaurus, let's show your new power to the Elite Four! Dragon Claw!" Kinsaurus charges at Conkeldurr, aiming her ax tusks at the old 'mon.

"Time to show your stuff! Dodge and use Stone Edge!" Conkeldurr tosses both of his blocks into the air and leaps over the dragon.

"Eh?" Black couldn't believe what he's seeing.

'Fast!' Lucas exclaims in his head.

"How is a Pokemon that looks so old jump so high?" White asks no one in particular.

Conkeldurr, while midair, conjures up concrete sharp edge stones to fire at the dragon's back, knocking Kinsaurus to the ground. "Kinsaurus!"

Conkeldurr lands behind the dragon, easily catching the concrete blocks and using them to hold himself up. Lucas says, "Be careful, Black! This Pokemon has been trained to use its slow body to its advantage!"

"Yeah, thanks for telling me that at the last minute!" he says sarcastically. 'Date has faced off against Timburr and his evolution before, but Kin isn't fast enough.'

"Conkeldurr, Arm Hammer!" Conkeldurr swings the left block at Kinsaurus and the other in the air, having the former spin along the ground like a disk.

"Kin, crush the block with your foot and use Dragon Pulse!" Kinsaurus stomps back onto her feet and jumps in the air, but Conkeldurr comes before Kin and pounds her to the ground. Luckily though Kin has bitten onto the fighting type's arm. "Now, use Dragon Pulse!"

"Arm Hammer!" Conkeldurr prepares to slam Kin with his other arm, but Kin blows him away before he could. Conkeldurr grabs hold of his concrete block still in midair and lands with it.

Kinsaurus stands up to her feet, and stomps hard on the other block to destroy it. "Rock Slide!"

"Grass Knot!" Grass rises up from the steel ground and wraps around Kin's legs. "Now, take it out with Stone Edge!"

Conkeldurr generates a second stone block out of thin air. It then creates a series of stones to fire at Kinsaurus. "Make a path with Dragon Pulse!"

Kin fires a sphere of dragonic energy forward, creating a path for it towards Conkeldurr. He blocks using one of his canes, which explodes into pieces. "Now's your chance! Rock Slide!"

Kinsaurus stomps hard on the ground, summoning rocks from another dimension to crash down onto the Pokemon. Conkeldurr falls to the ground, pinned down by the rocks. "What?"

"Dragon Pulse!" Kin fires a ball of energy at Conkeldurr, but the attack also destroys one of the boulders around him. This allows the Pokemon to break free.

Conkeldurr creates a new cane for him to walk with. 'So he can make those as many times as he wants... I have to get in close to destroy them both.'

"Dragon Pulse, and aim at Conkeldurr's left side!" Kin fires as her trainer directs.

"What's he up to? Block!" Conkeldurr blocks using his cane, which is destroyed. "Stone Edge!"

"Dragon Claw!" Kinsaurus charges at Conkeldurr before it could create more concrete, forcing it to grab the dragon's head with his free hand. 'He's strong indeed, but this works in my favor too!'

"Toss that dragon in the air and use Arm Hammer!"

"Dragon Tail!" Kinsaurus pulls back, forcing Conkeldurr forward and almost making him lose balance. Kin then turns and swinsg her tail, destroying the other cane and causing the fighting type to fall to the ground.

"Dragon Claw!" Kinsaurus slashes into the Pokemon with her left axe slash, taking it out for the battle. Conkeldurr falls to the ground, having fainted.

"Alright! We won!" Black cheers happily. Kinsaurus roars triumphantly.

"Not bad," Marshal says as he returns his fallen Pokemon. "There is no single strongest Pokémon or sole best combination... That's why it is difficult to keep winning. However, I think a heart that desires strength and strives to grow stronger is a precious ideal. That is why I respect you-because you have these things."

"Thanks man," he says to him.

"I'm your first challenge, right? Well then you can go to the other staircases and challenge them. They're all as tough as me though," Marshal tells him. He points to the side, where a teleporter rests.

Black retrieves Kinsaurus and heads into the teleporter, along with his friend and family. Upon leaving his place, they come to the plaza, where they see the other places. White then asks, "Which one do we go to next?"

"I guess next could be that one!" Black heads straight for the south west stairway. This leads him to a room with another tower, and immediately notices the haunted tower theme. "Huh. This is weird."

"Let's get this over with," Lucas mumbles as he pushes Black forward. Near the steps he's about to go up, when a blue flame appears before him and carries him up to the top. Elesa, Lucas and White are brought up in the same way.

Sitting at the top is a woman with dark purple hair, which matches her tight shirt and short skirt outfit, along with black stockings. With a book in hand she writes, "'Eyes brimming with dark flame, this man rejected everything other than himself in order to bring about one singular justice...'"

"What's that?" Black asks her. She raises herself from her book and stares at him.

With a smile she says, "That's part of a novel I'm writing. I was inspired by the challenger who was just here, and somehow I got a little sad... Excuse me. You're a challenger, right?"

"Yeah, I'm Hilbert. I'll be facing you," he says to her.

"I'm the Elite Four's Ghost Type Pokémon user, Shauntal, and I shall be your opponent." Shauntal takes out a Pokeball and sends it out, calling forth her Pokemon Chandelure. "The rules will be one Pokemon at a time."

"Don't worry, I know. Let's go, Raika!" Black sends out his electric type, surprising the others who expected him to use Date.

"Black, shouldn't you send out Date?" Elesa asks him.

"Can't rely on type specialties. Besides, I want Date to save his strength for the next one," he tells her. "Raika, Thunderbolt!"

White takes out her Pokedex and scans the Pokemon. "Chandelure, the Luring Pokemon: The swaying fire of one of these Pokemon can hypnotize a person, allowing it to absorb their soul. They then afterwards burn it up, leaving the body an empty husk."

"Chandelure, Shadow Ball!" Chandelure fires a ball of condensed darkness at Raika's thunderbolt, causing the attacks to cancel out. "Psychic!"

Chandelure's eyes glow brightly, surrounding Raika and lifting her off the ground. "Thunder Wave!"

Raika releases an electromagnetic wave at Chandelure, causing it to be paralyzed. "Wow. You know, they saw the first move is always the most important."

"Then you'll love the next; Wild Charge!" With Raika free from Psychic, she surrounds herself with electricity and bullrushes the chandelier Pokemon. Chandelure falls backwards, before spinning and relevitating. Raika lands and takes recoil damage.

"Chandelure, Fire Blast!" Chandelure summons flames around its body and fires it off at Raika.

"Fight fire with fire! Nitro Charge!" Raika surrounds herself with flames and takes on the Fire Blast. Her fire manages to push away Chandelure's, and only a slight burn on her left side. "Charge forward and use Thunderbolt!"

"Will o' Wisp!" Chandelure fires several balls of blue fire at Raika.

"Raika, dodge if you can!" Raika stops at the last second and jumps away to avoid the fireballs. She then fires at Chandelure, doing critical damage. "Wild Charge!"

"Fire Blast!" Raika charges forward at Chandelure, and takes the blast head on. Covered in explosion smoke, Raika continues, until she strikes the chandelier and knocks it out of the air.

Chandelure spins along the ground, until tilting to the side and fainting. "Chandelure!"

"We did it!" Black cheers, hugging the triumphant Raika.

"Wow. I'm dumbstruck! I know a lot of words, but I can't accurately describe this I want to say... Maybe if I express the feeling I have," Shauntal says as she retrieves her Pokemon and cups her chin. "...My feeling is that you're a great trainer."

"...Wow, thanks," Black says, feeling a little happy to be complimented.

"How many of the Elite Four have you faced before me?" she asks him.

"Just this other guy, Marshal," he tells her.

"Then you only have two more to face. Remember, no repeating Pokemon," she tells him with a wink.

After leaving her room they head for the plaza, where the statue stands. Black comments, "Only two more to go."

"Where do we go next?" Lucas asks him.

Black looks at the two stairs in the back, and eyes the one just north of Shauntal's room. "I'll go there."

The group heads for those sets of stairs, leading all the way up to what appears to be a library. Black steps on the red carpet, and like an escalator is pulled all the way to the top.

After he and everyone make it to the top, Black approaches the man standing there. He's a blue haired man wearing dark clothes with blue eyes. He says, "Man, oh man. What's up today? Two challengers in one week?"

"Must be N," Lucas says, stating what appears to be the obvious.

"Oh well, no matter," he says, taking out a Dusk Ball. "I, Grimsley of the Elite Four, am duty bound to face you in battle. Go, Bisharp!"

Grimsley sends out his first Pokemon, the Sharp Sword Pokemon Bisharp. Black takes out his Pokedex and scans it. "Bisharp, the Sharp Sword Pokemon: Bisharp will lead a group of Komatana in the wild and lead, occasionally giving the killing blow to prey, but it will be kicked out if it shows a moment of weakness."

"They get more gruesome with each day," Lucas mumbles to himself.

"I guess I know the perfect guy to face you..." Black takes out a Pokeball, and tosses it out to call forth Date.

"This out to be interesting. Bisharp, Metal Claw!" Bisharp's arms become sharpened, and it rushes forward at Date.

"Block using your Scalsword!" Date draws the left sword, and stabs it into the ground to block Bisharp's cross slash. "Fight back with Slash!"

Date draws his second blade and slashes horizontally at Bisharp, who blocks with his arms and slides along the ground. Bisharp charges in using Metal Claw, forcing Date to block and dodge. He jumps in the air to avoid his next assault, but that's when Bisharp leaps in the air at him. "Metal Claw!"

"Slash!" Bisharp and Date swing in the air, their attacks causing them to spin like grinding gears until landing and sliding apart. Bisharp dashes towards to make a sliding slash, but Date blocks using his forearm guard. He then slashes, crossing his blades with Bisharp's arms. "Don't give up! Megahorn!"

Date jabs Bisharp in the face with his horn, knocking him on his back. "Hydro Pump!"

Date fires his strongest attack at Bisharp, sending him a few feet away. But that's when he suddenly stops, and stands his ground. ""Metal Burst!"

Bisharp absorbs the Hydro Pump in a sphere covered in metal shards, before firing it off at Date. His attack covers the otter in a massive water explosion, one strong enough to knock away Black and the others. He manages to pick himself up, and help the others as well, before his mind goes to that last attack. "Metal Burst?"

"Metal Burst is an attack that absorbs the damage a Pokemon takes and shoots it back at the opponent," Lucas tells him.

The smoke clears, revealing Date being scraped up by that attack. "Date!"

"All trainers change their strategy whenever they take the Metal Burst, knowing hitting too hard would cause great harm to their Pokemon," Grimsley says to himself. "Let's see how he adapts. Bisharp, Aerial Ace!"

Bisharp's right foot is surrounded by a torrent of wind, which edges into an energy cross. He then runs towards Date. "Date, prepare to block using the Scalsword! When he's close use Razor Shell!"

Date holds his blades up in a cross formation. Bisharp leaps in the air and mounts a flying side kick to him. Date makes an X slash at Bisharp, whose leg pulls him over the otter. Date turns around to face Bisharp, his eyes following the flying Pokemon. Bisharp circles around the otter until coming up behind him with his kick.

Date raises his left sword to block, struggling to push away the steel type. Bisharp grabs hold of the ground and pulls to the ground, forcing Date to slash his sword and lose balance. With the same foot, he kicks Date into the air. "Night Slash!"

Darkness sharpens the edges of Bisharp's blades. With this he charges at the otter and leaps, slashing and passing by him. While still in midair he uses Aerial Ace to propel himself at Date again, allowing him to use Night Slash again. This continues until a total of five hits strike the otter, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Finish him off with Metal Claw!" Bisharp dives at Date for the finishing blow.

"Now!" Date rises up from the ground and blocks with his swords, before falling back down and sliding along the ground thanks to his back armor so Bisharp's hands get stuck. "Megahorn!"

Date picks himself up onto all fours and charges at Bisharp, jabbing Bisharp in the chest and sending him crashing along the ground. Bisharp manages to pick himself up, but falls backwards before fainting. "Bisharp!"

"We did it!" Black cheers proudly as he and Date slap hands. "You were awesome in this battle!"

"How did Date survive that Night Slash?" Lucas asks the black protagonist.

"Simple; he blocked those attacks using his forearm guards," he says, pointing to Date's arms. The plated guards are shown to have been scratched by Night Slash.

Grimsley retrieves his Pokemon, and approaches Black and his Pokemon. "Whether or not you get to fight at full strength, whether or not luck smiles on you-none of that matters. Only results matter. And a loss is a loss. You see, victory shines like a bright light, and right now you and your Pokémon are shining brilliantly."

"That's rather deep," Elesa says as she stares at Grimsley. "But I guess it's words of wisdom expected from an Elite Four member."

"Nah, right now I'm simply the guy who lost to the challenger," he says as he looks to Black.

"Don't be such a downer!" White says to him.

Ignoring her, Grimsley says, "Now take your strength and face the rest of the Elite Four."

"I'll do that," he says, heading for the teleporter with his friends.

With that challenge finished, Black turns his eyes to the last room. Lucas comments, "I wonder who's in there?"

"Maybe it's a cool guy who uses Rock types!" White says as she crosses her arms over her chest.

They head to the last set of stairs, and come before a spacial room with what looks to be glass stairs. Black says, "Okay..."

"How do we get across this?" White asks, already feeling that this person doesn't use rock types.

Stepping on the glass floor, a bright light surrounds Black and carries the man up to the top by the three pillars. There he sees a young girl resting in a bed. The girl raises her head and gasps, before falling out of bed. She franctically grabs something from her bed and hides it underneath, blushing red.

"Was that porn?" Black asks her.

She glares at him and shouts, "D-Don't be ridiculous! Like I'd ever read something like that!"

"It was, wasn't it?" As he says this, White and the others are brought to the battlefield. "Whatever, what you do in your free time is your thing, let's just battle!"

"What was she doing?" Elesa asks her.

"Dang. It's a girl," White complains.

'Isn't that... Caitlin?' Lucas eyes the woman curiously, recognizing her better than everyone else.

"How impudent you are to disturb my sleep," she says to Black. "And it was such a good one too."

"I bet," he mumbles. "Look, I'm here to challenge you, and I'm sorry for disturbing you. My name is Hilbert."

"Hmph... You appear to possess a combination of strength and kindness," Caitlin says as a Pokeball levitates before her. "Very well. Make your best effort not to bore me with a yawn-inducing battle. Clear?"

"How are you doing that?" he asks her.

"She has psychic powers," Lucas says to his apprentice. Everyone turns to him in surprise, except Caitlin. "What, I guessed!"

"Correct, I do possess powers. I can also see that you two do as well," she says, her eyes pointing to Black and Lucas. "Go!"

She sends out her partner, the Astral Body Pokemon Gothitelle. White takes out her scanner and scans the Pokemon. "Gothitelle, the Astral Body Pokemon: It possesses powerful psychic powers allowing it to see the future, including a trainer's lifespan. It's powers can also distort space and make stars light years away to be visible."

"Wow, that strong...No ifs, ands or buts about it!" Black sends out his own Psychic Type, Zeros.

"Why didn't he choose Sir C? A dark type can resist psychic moves!" Elesa asks Lucas.

"Don't ask me. I can't read his mind," he says to her.

"Don't worry, Black and Zeros can handle this," White tells Elesa, a smile present on her face.

"Gothitelle, Psychic!" Gothitelle releases her psychic power upon Zeros.

"Combat with Psychic too!" Zeros fights back, evening the psychic struggle between them. "V-Create!"

"Calm Mind." Gothitelle gathers her psychic powers to herself, increasing her abilities. Zeros strikes the Astral Body Pokemon, but it barely moves from the strike. Flames surround Gothitelle, leaving the burn mark on her status. "I see, that's the legendary Pokemon Victini. You must really be something for you to catch it."

"I didn't catch Victini. I asked him and he wanted to come with me, and it's made our friendship even stronger," he says to her as he and Zeros make a V.

"Let's see how strong it is. Gothitelle, Calm Mind!" Gothitelle increases her stats once more. The burn status takes effect.

'Calm Mind increases special attack and defense... Maybe I can use that!' "Zeros, Psychic!" Zeros concentrates psychic energy into a ball of lite blue energy and fires at Gothitelle.

"Calm Mind one more time!" Gothitelle takes the hit, but receives little damage. "Your special attacks won't harm Gothitelle anymore. Zeros has no way of harming her."

"Psych Up." Zeros releases an energy wave that surrounds his body. His eyes release a flash of lite blue energy.

"Ah, clever." Caitlin states with a smile.

"What happened?" White asks.

"Zeros used Psych Up and increased his stats equal to Gothitelle," Elesa says, hoping to explain it to her.

'That's what it does?' Lucas thinks in shock.

"Stored Power!" Zeros releases a powerful ray of light from his ears towards Gothitelle, giving great damage to the Pokemon. "Stored Power increases in power when Zeros' stats are raised, and Calm Mind raised his special power, so it's even stronger than it ever could have been!"

"What an interesting boy. Shadow Ball!" Gothitelle fires a ball of darkness at Zeros.

"V-Create!" Zeros takes the hit, and falls to the ground. But he manages to land on his feet and charges at Gothitelle with all his might. This creates an explosion that captures Gothitelle in flames. The psychic type falls backwards after flailing about in pain. She then falls, collapsing to the ground.

"Gothitelle!" Caitlin exclaims in shock. 'He managed to break through Gothitelle's high special defense... That burn really helped him out...'

"We did it!" Black cheers as he hugs his Pokemon Zeros.

Caitlin retrieves her Pokemon and smiles. "As a Trainer, I can see you are both excellent and elegant. Your Pokémon have class, and it actually pleases me to have battled you."

"That was really smart using Psych Up and Stored Power," Elesa says to him.

"Yeah, thanks," he says before he calls back Zeros. "Alright, that's all 4. What's next?"

"Since you've defeated all four members of the Elite Four, I suggest you head for the plaza. The statue in the center will take you to your destination, Alder," she says to him.

With her words in mind, Black and the others head for the teleporter and appear in the plaza. The guard from earlier tells them, "If you wish to face the champion, step on the platform attached to the statue."

"Really?" Black heads for the statue, and as if on cue it descends like an elevator.

"Hey, wait up!" Elesa says to him as she and the others join him in time. They continue to descend until reaching the bottom floor, right before a set of stairs.

Black looks up at the top of the stairs, where a temple can be seen, and that's when he feels something churning inside of him. 'This feeling... Is it Reshiram?'

"Let's go!" Black runs up the stairs as fast as he could.

"Black, wait up!" Lucas shouts at him.

"You still haven't healed your Pokemon!" White reminds him.

The trio chase after Black up the stairs.

Ten Minutes Later...

Black collapses as he reaches the top of the stairs, tired from all that running. The others can be seen sprawling along the steps, having run out of gas running up the stairs too. "Who...put all these stairs here..."

He manages to stumble inside the temple, and gives a loud annoyed grunt when he sees more stairs to climb. After crawling up them he comes face to face before Alder, who is kneeling before N.

"IT'S OVER!" N shouts proudly, a la Tear-away-face Clown. "Never again will Pokemon be made to suffer or be held captive by humans!"

"This...can't be..." Alder says in a low voice, his face compiled with sweat.


Count za Mons! Currently, what Pokemon do Black and White carry on them now?

Hilbert's Team: Date/Samurott, OOO/Victini, Sir Crocodile/Krookodile, Archer/Archeops, Raika/Zebstrika, Kinsaurus/Fraxure

Hilda's Team: Emolga, Gerdus/Golurk, Scolipede, Druddigon, Scrafty

Julia: The final battle with N begins next chapter. Lucas also makes his own stand, against the true leader of Team Plasma, and makes a decision when he meets Cheryl.