At last, the final chapter of the story. Sorry if the finale is a bit long and sentimental, but I tried to go out with a bang. I hope you all enjoyed this story!

"Now, use Hi Jump Kick!" Grunter's victory against Drayden rested solely on the success of this final attack.

As the oldest Gym Leader, and a man specializing in the use of Dragon-type Pokémon, it was no surprise that the ex-grunt's battle with Drayden would be very intense; indeed, both of them were brought down to their final Pokémon.

Grunter's Pokémon readied itself, but the Gym Leader refused to back down, and he commanded, "Haxorus, Dragon Tail!"

The large dragon Pokémon, which looked as though it was clad in a steely, golden armor, turned to lash its thick sturdy tail at its opponent. However, it had barely missed, as Grunter's Pokémon leapt high to execute its attack. As it descended, it extended one leg forwards, crashing into Haxorus with force and speed. In spite of the dragon Pokémon's armor-bolstered defense, the Hi Jump Kick was strong enough to knock Haxorus out.

"…Unbelievable!" Drayden declared in surprise, returning the defeated Haxorus to its Poké Ball. Grunter couldn't quite believe it either; his Scrafty was the fifth and most recent addition to his team, yet the lizard Pokémon overpowered the fearsome Haxorus, the strongest of Drayden's team. The white-haired man then presented to Grunter an impressive-looking badge of black and white colors. "Well done, young Trainer! It is with great pride that I give this Legend Badge unto you."

Eagerly, the ex-grunt took out his Badge Case and placed the Legend Badge inside. However, as he paused to admire the collection of badges he had earned, he noticed that there was still one empty slot to fill. He panicked, wondering if he had somehow dropped one of the badges on his journey.

Drayden craned his head over to examine the problem. "Hmm? How could you have missed the Trio Badge? For many trainers, it's the first badge they obtain!"

"Trio Badge?" Grunter asked. He couldn't help but feel slightly insulted by what Drayden was saying.

"The badge you earn in Striaton City," explained the bearded Gym Leader. "Getting to there from here would be no easy task… but you cannot enter Victory Road without all eight badges."

Victory Road… The final challenge for an aspiring trainer. Grunter could clearly see for himself just how far he had come from being a lowly Plasma grunt, and saw no reason not to push on a little further. Perhaps he could even become Champion of the Unova region… an ambitious goal, but what did he have to lose by trying?

The ex-grunt snapped out of his fantasies of greatness when he realized that he still needed the Trio Badge in order to reach Victory Road. Redundant as it seemed, the rules had to be followed by the book… or did they?

%%%

After leaving the Opelucid Gym, Grunter spent a good part of the day inside the city's Pokémon Center, relaxing in preparation for what was to come. In addition to his Pokémon team of five, he was also joined by Cheren and Bianca, the latter napping as she lied upon a cushy sofa.

"So how is it?" the glasses-wearing boy asked, breaking the calm silence as he faced the ex-grunt.

Grunter's face displayed confusion. "…How is what?"

"Being in his shoes," Cheren answered.

Looking down, Grunter studied his feet, covered by a fashionable and practical pair of red shoes. "Comfy, I guess."

"Hmph," Cheren turned his head back to stare out the window. "I hope Hilbert's having fun in Team Plasma. He certainly seemed eager to leave behind everything he ever cared about… His old home, his family, his friends. How annoying of him."

"Um… well, I better go now." Grunter quickly gathered his Pokémon back in their balls and headed out north, on his way to Route 10.

It wasn't until a while later that Bianca woke up, yawning lazily as she got off of the sofa. "Heeeey, Cheren," she turned to the black-haired boy, before noticing that something of hers was left lying on the tiled floor. "Hey, how'd my Badge Case end up there? Was I sleep-walking or something? How weird!"

"Or maybe it just fell out of your pockets," Cheren remarked. "You're lucky nobody stole it while you were asleep."

"Hmm… Oh nooooo!" Looking inside the case, Bianca gasped. "One of my badges vanished! My precious badge must be all lonely now without its friends! How did that happen?!"

Cheren didn't sound nearly as concerned. "Have you ever heard the saying, 'you snooze, you lose'?"

The girl in the hat nodded with a sigh. "I wouldn't have lost, if only I hadn't snost…"

%%%

It had taken Grunter the better part of two arduous, painful hours, but ultimately he had managed to successfully brave the trials of Victory Road. Together with Liepard, Krookodile, Garbodor, Scrafty, and his very first Pokémon, Watchog, he had overcome all the wild Pokémon and trainers that stood in his path – though the ordeal had left all six of them very exhausted by the time they had reached the summit. The ex-grunt didn't even know if he had enough strength left to face the Elite Four.

The Pokémon League site was but a short distance away, and Grunter took notice of the four stairwells that led to the rooms of each of the Elite Four members. Before he could decide which room to enter first, however, he was suddenly detained by a mysterious trio.

"Sup," said one of the three masked men.

Another wagged his finger in a playfully scolding manner. "Sorry, bro, but you're wasting your time. The Elite Four all got totally annihilated, bro."

"Aww, snap!" the last of the three interjected.

"Hey, bro, you wanna see our new Champion up close? You're just in time, bro!"

Grunter felt helpless as he was forcibly escorted to the pedestal in the middle of the area, which began to descend like an elevator once he and the Shadow Triad stepped within its boundaries. Even after the pedestal had stopped moving down, the three men refused to let the ex-grunt move freely as they began to direct him up a huge, huge flight of stairs, leading to a small temple… surrounded by what looked like a castle that attached itself to the smaller building with a series of staircases.

"No need to thank us, bro," was the last thing Grunter heard before the masked trio suddenly disappeared into thin air. Catching his breath, the man in the cap entered the temple to see N, accompanied by the huge, black Zekrom.

"Hello, Hilbert," N waved to the ex-grunt, casually as could be. "It looks like Alder, the so-called Champion of Unova, has failed to appear before me to accept my challenge. After I, with the help of Zekrom, had so easily defeated the Elite Four, there is no question that I should be considered the Champion by default, no?"

The green-haired man had spoken so fast that Grunter hadn't properly heard half of what he said. "I… I dunno."

N shook his head. "That's okay, I didn't expect you to understand." Pausing, he regarded Zekrom, who remained unmoving, even as its body pulsed with an electric blue tinge. "But I suppose you came here to present Reshiram to me? Then let us head to my castle for this fated battle."

At N's command Zekrom flew out of the temple, and the green-haired man left shortly after, by way of one of the staircases leading inside the castle. Grunter reached into the bag he was carrying, and pulled out that white sphere, the Light Stone said to contain Reshiram. With a storm of emotions brewing within, he followed N along the staircase, as ready to face the legendary Pokémon trainer as he could possibly be.

Along the way to N's throne room, Grunter encountered a fair share of Plasma grunts. Surprisingly, they didn't seem too interested in the intruder, and some of them were in fact gracious enough to direct him to his proper destination. There, in the huge extravagant room, he saw N sitting at a gaudy, ornate throne, sitting proudly like the king he proclaimed himself to be. Zekrom stood by, looking on, and Ghetsis was present too, observing the scene with a menacing smirk.

"Now, Hilbert!" N declared, raising his arms dramatically, "Go and awaken the dragon of truth! Awaken Reshiram!"

Grunter brought out the Light Stone, holding it out in the open, to no effect. The ex-grunt panicked as he shook the stone, tapped it, and even rolled it on the ground in a fruitless attempt to make something happen. N curiously raised an eyebrow at the antics, while Ghetsis's expression intensified. Zekrom, as usual, remained ambivalent. After a full minute of this, N simply shook his head again, swaying his tea-green hair.

"So you have failed to summon Reshiram," he lamented. "I guess you are not the one I was looking for…"

"But I am!"

Grunter swiveled around, to see a certain brown-haired boy in the Plasma uniform. Calmly, Hilbert approached Grunter, in an attempt to obtain the Light Stone. The man in the blue jacket refused to relinquish the Light Stone, but N was able to keep him in line.

"You already had your chance. Now why don't you play fair?" Grunter wasn't intimidated by N's words, until Zekrom began to charge a ball of energy within its jaws, aiming for the ex-grunt. Its attack was small and only intended to coerce the man, but the impact of the blast still left a crater in the ground, and Grunter had to jump well out of the way to avoid it, dropping the Light Stone as he did so. Hilbert then picked up the white sphere, and held it close to his face, whispering something in a voice far too faint for anyone else to hear.

It seemed like Hilbert had unlocked the artifact's secret; the Light Stone started to leave the boy's arms, levitating in the air. A bright light began to emit from it, glowing so intensely that Hilbert had no choice but to shut his eyes. When he re-opened them, the Light Stone was gone, replaced by a giant dragon Pokémon, white as the object it had replaced.

"Reshiram…"

The white dragon unleashed a skyward roar, surrounding itself in a veil of bright orange flames. As its counterpart, Zekrom emitted a similar roar in response, cloaking itself in electricity.

"Now," N smiled, "our battle begins. Come, Zekrom. Lend me your strength."

Reshiram turned one of its brilliantly blue eyes to look down at Hilbert. All along, the brown-haired boy considered the possibility he would be the one to summon the legendary Pokémon of truth, yet he was still caught off-guard; he didn't know if Reshiram would obey him.

"G-go, Reshiram… We can do this."

Listening to their trainers, the two dragons advanced forward, drawing closer to one another. Both Reshiram and Zekrom began to radiate with a strong elemental aura; Hilbert could almost feel the raw energy trying to seep into him. And then, for but a brief moment everything fell silent.

A deafening crash resounded as both legendary Pokémon charged forward to create a massive collision, throwing sparks in the process. Imbued with their respective powers, they both appeared evenly matched at first glance, locked in what looked like a high-scale pushing war.

N appeared calm, but Hilbert was starting to sweat; it felt like the two Pokémon had been going at it for a long time, neither side with a clear advantage. Finally, the ground beneath them started to crumble and break, and the throne room was filled with a bright blast of combined red and blue light, followed by a booming explosion that created a thick cloud of dust, obscuring the vision of everyone present.

The dust screen had thinned enough to show only the silhouettes of the aftermath: one dragon remained, while the other had reverted to stone form.

"At last, the fate of Unova has been decided," N mused.

"Oh no…" Hilbert murmured.

"Muahahahaha!" Ghetsis laughed maniacally.

"…"Grunter said nothing.

Once the air was completely cleared, Hilbert and N both gasped at the outcome of the battle.

"SHAAAAAH!"

A black stone rested upon the war-scorched ground, while a white, feathery dragon roared to the skies in victory; Reshiram had defeated Zekrom. The legendary Pokémon of truth was not without injuries though, shortly after, it too began to shrink and revert back into the Light Stone.

"I… I don't understand," N looked completely dumbfounded, as if he was completely lost in an unfamiliar place. "Were my ideals flawed? What of my vision, of a new world?"

"N…" Hilbert began, but he couldn't figure out what to say.

"You're right, Hilbert." continued the green haired man. "All this time, my plans came to less than the sum of their parts… Ideals alone were not enough." Facing Grunter, who remained speechless, N's voice became a little harsher. "And as for you… you had attempted to impersonate my dear friend Hilbert! Now that the truth has been revealed, I demand that you set right what you have made wrong!"

Hearing N's words, and remembering Cheren's harsh reprimanding of the boy, the ex-grunt decided that it was due time for things to go back to normal. Approaching Hilbert, the man once again traded outfits with the boy, piece by piece until Hilbert was once again in his favorite clothes; the feeling of wearing his original clothes felt unusual after being without them for so long, but it felt right.

On the other hand, Grunter refused to don the Plasma uniform. Even as it was slightly chilling and embarrassing to stand there in his underwear, he had had enough of Team Plasma.

"…I'm sorry," Grunter couldn't fix all of the damage he had caused during his stint, but he could at least show some remorse for his actions.

To his relief, Hilbert smiled.

"If you ever show your face to me after this, I'll make you regret it."

From the Xtransceiver on the boy's wrist, came a woman's voice. "Well done, Hilbert! The plan worked!"

Grunter grabbed Hilbert's arm, facing the screen to see Professor Juniper's smug face. "What plan?!" he asked.

The woman laughed heartily. "Well, you see, when Drayden told me the secret to the Light Stone, all I had to tell the real Hilbert was-"

"ENOUGH OF THIS NONSENSE!" Ghetsis suddenly bellowed, outraged. Professor Juniper immediately hung up, and everyone turned their attention to the sage, whose face reddened with anger. Leering at N, he began to rant, "How dare you fail me, N?! You were supposed to use Zekrom to obliterate all that opposed you! You were supposed to make Team Plasma feared across the world! And you were supposed not to lose to this… this… imbecile!" He pointed a thin finger to Hilbert.

"Obliterate? Feared across the world? Imbecile?" N questioned. "But… how will that help Pokémon?"

Ghetsis couldn't help but cackle in a broken, haunting way. "So naïve you are, you idiot! Everything you did was all part of my plan to take over Unova! Nobody would have seen it coming!" While N started to cry, the man's eye turned to Hilbert, who continued to stand before the villain.

"And you," he hissed, "Since you know the truth, not to mention you were the vile dirge who ate my rightful dinner before, I'm going to have to kill you! Without the power of Reshiram, you are naught but a pathetic blemish upon the world who must be eradicated!"

From within his robes, Ghetsis pulled out six Poké Balls in an attempt to summon all of his Pokémon at once. Before he could do so, a fireball was launched his way, and he was forced to dodge the attack.

"Did I miss the party?" announced a man with fiery-red hair, and a string of Poké Balls draped around his neck. He was flanked by a large moth Pokémon with white, fuzzy skin and six wings that scattered tiny embers as they flapped.

Ghetsis growled. "So, you finally arrive, Alder! Unfortunately for you, my anger is far beyond control now, and all who oppose me will suffer the consequences!"

Calmly, Alder approached the sage, pushing Hilbert and Grunter back to the entrance of the throne room. "Stand back, kids. I'll take it from here."

%%%

Even as Ghetsis's Pokémon had attacked Alder's Volcarona six-against-one, the moth Pokémon easily felled its opponents with its combination of Bug and Fire-type moves. The livid sage didn't even bother to recall his defeated Pokémon, and he began to rant again.

"NO! NO! THIS CANNOT BE! I AM PERFECTION! YOU ARE JUST… WORTHLESS, INSIGNIFICANT… IDIOTS! ALL OF YOU, IDIOTS! I WILL DESTROY YOU… DESTROY… YOU…"

Ghetsis had completely broken down.

Alder took the opportunity to take Ghetsis in for arrest. "You there, guy with no clothes," he said, pointing to Grunter, "help me out, why don't you? I'll find you something to wear if you help."

For the entire duration of Alder's battle against Ghetsis, the ex-grunt had watched in awe at how the red-haired man had battled against the sage so flawlessly. He was very impressed, and eagerly accepted Alder's offer; the promise of new clothing was only a bonus. Together, the duo took Ghetsis out of the castle, even as the defeated man continued to babble angrily.

With Alder's help, the ex-grunt was on his way to pursue a new life… this time, without needing to take someone else's.

%%%

Hilbert watched from outside the throne room as N took his Dark Stone, and brought Zekrom back into dragon form. The green-haired man mounted the black Pokémon, and the two took to the skies. The brown-haired boy didn't know what N was planning or where he was going, but after Ghetsis had let slip the truth behind Team Plasma, he had a feeling that Unova would be peaceful now.

For the boy, however, the peace would not last were he to run into Cheren or Bianca, both of whom did not know the whole story behind the entire debacle with that Plasma grunt. Hilbert realized it was up to him to help them see the truth.

It wouldn't be hard… especially now that he had the power of a legendary dragon Pokémon of truth at his disposal.