What have we learnt from this experience? Pokémon battles have a lot of words in them. Yep.

Also, we finally see the whole of Black and White's Pokémon teams. They're based on the teams I had in my (first) playthrough of both games, besides Galvantula, since I used Zebstrika in both BW and BW2, and didn't want two of the main characters in this to have the same Pokémon due to it being confusing to read... also, Arcanine is the only female Pokémon on Black's team, White's team was half-and-half but now there's no Zekrom, 3/5 of them are female. Girl power!


"Okay, rules."

"Your favourite thing, eh, Cheren?"

"Shut it, Black, I'm trying to announce here!"

"Sorry."

Cheren gave a huff, straightening his tie out of habit. Not long after Black had accepted White's challenge of a Pokémon battle, Cheren and Bianca had finally turned up. Cheren had insisted on being a judge for the battle, slightly emphasising his title of a gym leader. Deciding that it probably wasn't a good idea to have a full-fledged battle in the middle of town, the four of them had ventured out to a clearing on Route 3. There weren't many people around right now, so hopefully they wouldn't be getting in anyone's way.

"Anyway, so as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," Cheren continued, casting an unimpressed glance at Black. "The rules of this battle are simple. You can choose which of your Pokémon to send out, but no substitutions or items allowed. The winner will be whoever defeats all the Pokémon on the other team."

He must be really confident in White, Black thought to himself, not wanting to say so out loud. After what happened to Zekrom, she only has five Pokémon on her team…

Still, at least that means I have an advantage.

"Okay, so that aside, choose your first Pokémon," Cheren ordered. He was standing on one of the boulders at the side of the clearing, where he had a clear view of the battle. Watchog was stood next to him, observing everything intently.

"Cheren, you know that some of our Pokémon can use Earthquake, right?" Black said pointedly.

"…Good point," Cheren muttered, climbing down from the rock. "Bianca, if I were you I'd keep to the edge of the clearing."

"Yup," Bianca chirped, going over to sit on one of the rocks, Musharna floating around beside her. They knew that Black and White wouldn't attack them, but Watchog and Musharna were there just in case.

Black took a moment to plan what he was going to do. Who should he send out? He knew that besides Zekrom, the Pokémon White seemed to use most often in battles was Emboar – he'd probably been her first Pokémon. So there was no point sending Lucario out; he was weak to both fire- and fighting-type attacks…

Then again, this was going by an assumption… but what was there to lose?

"Chosen your first Pokémon?" Cheren asked.

They both nodded.

"Okay. Let the battle begin!"

The second those words were spoken, Black took Braviary's Pokéball from his belt. Light split through the air from both sides of the clearing as the two Pokémon were sent out.

Braviary appeared in the air, giving a loud screech and ruffling his feathers slightly. Yet Black was somewhat surprised by who White had chosen to fight.

Zebstrika!?

The zebra let out a snort as she appeared, her mane flashing yellow with electricity, pawing at the ground with one hoof. It was almost as if White had predicted which Pokémon he'd expect her to send out. Yet her face showed no signs of triumph or relief. Right now she looked almost expressionless – and quite frankly, it was beginning to make Black feel slightly unnerved. She was probably just concentrating on her battle strategy…

Now then. How am I going to do this…?

"Braviary!" he called. "Use Fly!"

"Zebstrika, use Thunderbolt."

Zebstrika was amazingly fast. Before Braviary even had a chance to move, the electric Pokémon let out a loud shriek, summoning a bolt of lightning down from the sky. Braviary let out another screech as he was hit by the attack. Luckily, however, the flying Pokémon managed to withstand the electricity. He flew up into the air, disappearing within the clouds.

Knowing that she wouldn't be able to attack Braviary while he was in the sky, White looked towards the clouds for a moment. "Use Charge. We'll get 'em next time."

Zebstrika nodded, electricity sparking around her as she stored it in her mane.

A few moments later, the clouds were split apart slightly as Braviary soared back down. He shot towards Zebstrika.

The zebra let out a shriek as Braviary smashed head-first into her.

"Zebstrika, now! Use Discharge!"

Letting out a furious snort, Zebstrika sent electricity sparking out in every direction. It was a good thing that Black and White weren't standing too close to the Pokémon; Black considered that getting caught in that attack would be painful. Yet having only just made an attack on the zebra, Braviary couldn't escape in time and was hit by a majority of the attack. This time he fell back, landing on the ground, defeated.

"You did good, Braviary," Black praised as he sent the fainted Pokémon back to its Pokéball.

"It's 'did well', Black. Incorrect use of grammar."

"Shut up, Cheren!"

So then, what now… someone who can resist Zebstrika's electric-type attacks would be helpful. We're nothing compared to Team Plasma's overpowered Pokémon, but White's Pokémon are still pretty damn strong…

"Galvantula!" he called, sending out the large spider Pokémon. Galvantula gave a happy chirp as he appeared, scampering around excitedly. He'd been in his Pokéball for a while now and was ready for a good battle.

Not seeming phased at all, White cast a glance at Galvantula. "Zebstrika, use Flame Charge."

Uh oh."Galvantula, Sucker Punch!"

The electric spider's attack allowed it to move first, and Zebstrika was thrown back slightly as she was hit. Yet she quickly righted herself, letting out an angry shriek, flames swirling around her. Then she charge forward, smashing into Galvantula, who was launched across the clearing.

Once he landed, Galvantula blinked a couple of times before getting up and brushing dust from his face with one of his forelegs, letting out an annoyed chattering noise.

Wow. That's one temperamental Zebstrika. Black thought for a moment as to what to do next. It would probably only take one more hit, super effective or not, to bring Zebstrika down. The problem was, that thing was so fast… would Galvantula be able to manage being hit by another Flame Charge? That last attack would have increased Zebstrika's speed even more…

"Galvantula, let's do this! Use Signal Beam!"

"Zebstrika, Flame Charge!"

Zebstrika reared onto her hind legs this time, letting out a fierce shriek as flames swirled around her once more. Then she shot forwards, charging straight into Galvantula who didn't get a chance to attack.

The spider was thrown across the clearing once more. As he landed, six legs splayed out around him, this time he didn't get up.

"Galvantula, come back," Black sighed, sending him back to his Pokéball. He'd expected White to be a strong trainer, but this was a lot more difficult than he'd first imagined…

It looked like the only way to defeat Zebstrika would be to try and attack before she could.

"C'mon, Arcanine!" Black shouted, the large dog appearing next to him with a bark as she was released from her Pokéball.

Arcanine glanced back at Black, tail wagging as she waited for him to tell her what to do.

"Let's go! ExtremeSpeed!"

Letting out a howl, Arcanine shot forward so fast that it was difficult even to see where she was. Zebstrika looked somewhat confused as well as suddenly Arcanine hit her three times with no time to retaliate. As Arcanine finished the attack, hopping back over to Black's side of the clearing, Zebstrika fainted.

It's about time! Black thought, slightly relieved. He'd finally defeated one of White's Pokémon; now there were just another four to go…

He also made sure to pay close attention to White as Zebstrika was defeated. It still wasn't entirely clear to him why she'd challenged him to a battle in the first place. There was just the slightest hint of worry on her face, although it was difficult to tell whether it was over the battle or her Pokémon.

"Excadrill!"

Light split from the Pokéball and the ground-steel mole appeared, nose twitching.

Hmm. Excadrill is part steel, which means she's weak to fire… but on the other hand, Arcanine is weak to ground…

"Arcanine, use Flamethrower!"

Before White even had the chance to state a move, Arcanine let out a loud growl, sending a pillar of fire shooting from her mouth. Excadrill snarled as she was hit by the flames, backing away slightly. Even after the attack, the metal on her head and claws took a moment to fade from a bright red colour.

Excadrill had been severely weakened by the attack. Yet it hadn't been enough to defeat her.

"Hang in there, Excadrill!" White pleaded, the concern starting to show in her voice now. "Use Earthquake!"

Roaring, Excadrill jumped into the air, smashing the ground hard with her hind paws as she came back down and sending a massive shock wave through the area. The attack was so strong that Black lost his balance. Arcanine let out a yowl as the ground vibrated furiously beneath her, and a moment later she fainted.

Climbing back to his feet, Black called Arcanine back to her Pokéball."Good job, Arcanine." She defeated Zebstrika and weakened Excadrill; I'd say that's a pretty amazing feat considering the situation.

Although, this did mean he only had three Pokémon left. This was more difficult than he'd first thought…

Was that why White had challenged him? To show how strong her Pokémon were?

Strange… he hadn't seen her as being that type of person.

"C'mon, Samurott!"

As he appeared, Samurott gave a brisk shake, causing the long fur around his muzzle to ruffle slightly. He gave a grunt, as if to say now that was out of the way he was ready to fight.

"Samurott, use Surf!"

Letting out a roar, Samurott sent a wave of water into the air, crashing down on Excadrill. Already weakened, she fainted.

White was starting to look slightly more worried now as she sent Excadrill back to her Pokéball. Black couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"Haxorus!"

Black watched the dragon Pokémon appear, thinking carefully. What was White trying to do? The dragon had no type advantage over Samurott. Then again, her other remaining Pokémon probably didn't either…

But, at least Black still had a good move against them. "Samurott, use Ice Beam!"

Haxorus snarled as he was hit by the fiercely cold beam of ice. Once the attack was over he smashed the ice that had frozen on him with one arm.

"Haxorus, use Draco Meteor."

Oh snap! Black instinctively jumped back as a bunch of rocks plummeted into the earth. Samurott tried to dodge them, but there were too many and he was hit, getting thrown across the clearing.

"Samurott!" Black cried. That looked painful…

For a moment, Samurott lay still. Then he gave a snarl and climbed unsteadily back to his feet.

"C'mon, Samurott, just hang on for a bit longer! You're doing great!" Black encouraged.

Haxorus glanced back at White, giving a quiet grumble. Yet the trainer wasn't even looking at him. Almost as if she was avoiding trying to…

She's thinking of Zekrom, Black realised. I don't know who I feel sorrier for, White or Haxorus…

"Okay, Samurott, let's finish this. Use Ice Beam again!"

Samurott let out a fierce growl, sending another beam of ice shooting at Haxorus. This time, the dragon didn't put up much of a fight against the attack, and he fainted. After hesitating for a moment, White sent him back to his Pokéball.

"Sigilyph!" she called. "Let's win this battle!"

The Pokémon appeared with a chirp, floating in the air, her colourful feathers bright against the dull surroundings. Black considered using Ice Beam again, but he didn't even get a chance to give the orders.

"Sigilyph, use Energy Ball!"

Giving another chirping noise, Sigilyph sent a ball of green energy shooting towards Samurott. As he was hit by the grass-type attack, Samurott fainted. Black sent him back to his Pokéball.

"They've both got two Pokémon left now!" Bianca gasped, doing a little jump of anticipation. "This is exciting!"

"I'm supposed to be announcing things here!" Cheren protested. "But you're right, on both occasions."

Black thought for a moment as what to do next. Sigilyph is part Psychic. Lucario isn't weak to Psychic-type attacks thanks to being part steel… but hopefully this will work anyway.

He took one of the Pokéballs from his belt. "Go, Lucario!"

The blue-grey Pokémon appeared, flicking his tail slightly and letting out a grunt.

I'll give them a chance to attack first. Now I just hope she chooses the right move…

White blinked, obviously confused as to why he wasn't telling Lucario to attack just yet. "Sigilyph, use Psychic."

Yes! She fell for it!

Sigilyph released a wave of psychic energy that floated quickly across the clearing, heading straight for Lucario. Yet as the wave hit him, he didn't seem to be affected at all.

"What!?" White exclaimed in surprise.

Black couldn't help but grin. "Lucario, Night Daze!"

'Lucario' jumped forward slightly, slamming his forepaws onto the ground. Waves of dark energy spread through the clearing and Sigilyph let out a cry as she was hit by it. She nearly fell to the ground before righting herself at the last minute and flying back up.

"Hang on, Sigilyph!" White pleaded. "Use Air Slash!"

She'd seen through the trick this time. Sigilyph landed a fierce slash on Lucario, and he was thrown backwards. Falling to the ground, Zoroark gave a snarl as his illusion vanished.

"Ooh, sneaky!" Bianca commented, hugging Musharna tightly in anticipation. The psychic Pokémon let out a cooing noise; even she seemed to be watching the battle.

"Zoroark, use Night Daze again!"

Zoroark nodded, climbing back up. He sent another dark wave through the clearing, and this time Sigilyph fainted.

White was starting to look increasingly worried now. She took the last Pokéball from her belt. "Go, Emboar!"

Emboar landed heavily on the ground as he appeared, letting out a ferocious roar. Flames billowed from his neck fur, and smoke spread from his nose as he snorted.

Here we go; the final battle, Black thought to himself. "Zoroark, use Dig!"

"Emboar, Flamethrower!"

Zoroark's claws scrabbled on the ground as he hurriedly dug a hole under the clearing. Emboar unleashed a stream of flames towards him but Zoroark managed to dig his way under the ground in time and avoid the attack.

For a moment, everything was silent in the clearing. White was watching the ground carefully, waiting for Zoroark to re-appear.

Then suddenly there was an explosion of earth right next to Emboar. The fire Pokémon let out a snarl as he was hit by Zoroark.

"Emboar, use Arm Thrust! Quickly!"

Zoroark let out a yelp as he was punched by Emboar. Just one hit was enough to bring him down, and he collapsed on the dusty ground, fainted.

"Zoroark, get back!" Black called, sending him back to his Pokéball. Well, only one option now. "Let's go, Lucario!"

The real Lucario appeared this time, giving a quiet grumble and twitching one ear as he watched Emboar curiously.

"They both have one Pokémon left now," Cheren announced. "It looks like it's all come down to this."

Bianca let out an excited squeal. Musharna gave a quiet wail of protest as she hugged her Pokémon even tighter.

"Emboar, use Arm Thrust!"

Ack! No! "Lucario!" Black shouted.

Emboar sped towards Lucario, swinging his arm, ready to attack the smaller Pokémon. Lucario was weak to fighting-type attacks. It looked like this battle was over.

Yet just as Emboar was about to hit him, Lucario jumped to avoid the attack, and Emboar ended up punching the air instead. He let out an irritated snort as he regained his balance.

"Yes!" Black cheered. No time to waste. "Lucario! Use Earthquake!"

The aura Pokémon was still mid-air from avoiding Emboar's attack. Upon hearing Black's words he gave a quick nod, and as he landed he slammed his hind legs on the ground, causing a shock wave to vibrate through the clearing.

"Emboar!" White cried.

The fire Pokémon didn't stand a chance against the powerful ground-type attack. As soon as the earthquake stopped, he fell heavily to the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust.

Black just stared at the fainted Pokémon for a moment. It took a moment for this to sink in.

I won? I actually won!?

"White has no more Pokémon able to battle," Cheren announced, returning Watchog to his Pokéball now that the danger of accidentally getting hit by an attack was over. "Therefore, Black is the winner!"

"Lucario… that was amazing!" Black grinned, holding up his hand. Lucario reached up to give him a high five.

Now that he'd had his moment of victory, Black glanced over at White. Wordlessly, she returned Emboar to his Pokéball.

"Hey," Black said, walking over to her. He held out his hand. "That was a good battle. You're amazing!"

"I…" White blinked, looking somewhat surprised. "Thanks…" she shook his hand, forcing a half-hearted smile.

Yet Black was confused. There was still something wrong; he just couldn't tell what. She still looked… depressed. Not the kind of defiance someone had for just losing a Pokémon battle, something else…

"White?" he asked. "You sure you're okay?"

For a moment, she didn't reply. Then she drew her hand back, looking up at him with such a frustration-filled glare that he had to step away. "Why does everyone keep asking me that?" she snapped. "I've already told all of you, I'm fine!"

With that said, she turned and stormed off.

"White!?" Black called, dumbfounded. "Hey, wait—"

He was about to go after her, but Cheren grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.

"Just let her go," he sighed. "She'll calm down if we leave her alone for a while."

"I don't get it," Black muttered. "What's the matter with her? Is she just mad at me because I won…?"

"No. White isn't like that," Cheren shook his head. "She's not mad at you; she's mad at herself. I have a hunch that the reason she challenged you to a battle was because she's lost a lot of self-confidence after what happened with Team Plasma."

"Oh…" Black said, realisation hitting him like a slap in the face. "Um… maybe I should go apologise…"

"I'd wait ten minutes if I were you," Cheren said wryly. "Well, that's if we can find where she's run off to."


White let out a long sigh. After shouting at Black – she'd have to apologise for that later – she had made her way across the city, trying her best to avoid everyone. Now she'd arrived at the Dreamyard. Thankfully there was nobody else here. For a while at least, she just wanted to be alone…

It was just as quiet here as she remembered. Just like before, the whole area looked slightly run-down, but as far as she was concerned that only made the place even more peaceful.

Right now, White wasn't entirely sure how she felt about the battle. Mainly she was just disappointed. When they'd been fighting Team Plasma, she'd seemed to be having the most trouble out of the three of them. She thought that if she could defeat Black in a battle, maybe it would have just been bad luck… but no, even without overpowered Pokémon like Team Plasma, she still couldn't beat him. She couldn't beat Team Plasma simply because she was too weak.

Even N had managed to beat a member of the shadow triad, and he only had Reshiram with him. Although she didn't dare challenge him; she'd only be faced with a lecture of all the reasons he was against 'pointless' Pokémon battles…

Noticing some movement in the corner of her eye, White glanced over at the gap in the crumbling wall to see a Munna watching her curiously. Once it realised she'd noticed it, it let out a surprised cooing noise, floating back slightly. Then it bravely ventured out, realising she wasn't going to hurt it.

"Hey there," White said quietly, holding out her hand. The Munna floated over to her, giving her a wary glance at first. Then it nudged her hand, letting out a happy chirp. White couldn't help but smile.

Then suddenly the Munna glanced around, giving a quiet eep and darting away, as if something had startled it.

"Huh…?" White blinked. She hadn't done anything to scare it. Wait…

She gasped as suddenly someone grabbed her arm. White glanced around quickly, half expecting to see Black. Yet instead she saw someone wearing a dark outfit, glaring at her.

One of the Team Plasma grunts.

"Hey! What—" she started, but broke off as she was pulled back and restrained.

"Got her!" the grunt called.

A moment later another grunt appeared from somewhere nearby. "Good job."

"What do you want!? Let me go!" White cried, struggling to escape. Despite how harmless they seemed, the grunts were stronger than they looked. Why hadn't she healed her Pokémon before coming out here?

"Shut up, brat!" the second grunt snapped, hitting her in the stomach. The whole world went black for a moment and her legs gave way beneath her, but she managed to force herself to stay conscious.

Once her senses returned a few seconds later, she realised that the second grunt had taken something from her bag. It took a moment for her to register what it was.

Reshiram's Pokéball!

"No, wait!" White shouted, but she couldn't do anything. She was still partially dazed from being hit. N will never forgive me if I let Team Plasma steal Reshiram!

"What the—" the grunt said suddenly as the Pokéball started to shake madly. He dropped it out of shock as light split from it.

Reshiram broke out of her Pokéball, letting out a furious ear-splitting roar at Team Plasma. It was almost as if she'd sensed that there was danger nearby.

"Ack!" the first grunt gasped, letting go of White at last. Still dazed, she collapsed on the ground. Both of the grunts backed away from the dragon, looking petrified.

Taking a step towards the grunts, Reshiram gave a threatening growl, the turbine in her tail blazing with fire.

"What should we do now!?" the first grunt asked.

"I'm not crazy enough to actually try and fight that thing!" the second one cried. "Let's get out of here!"

And with that, the two of them raced away.

Once they were a safe distance away, Reshiram gave a snort of contempt, blue eyes narrowing for a moment. Then she reached down and nudged White's shoulder, letting out a quiet grumble, as if to check she was okay.

"No!" White screamed, burying her face in her arms. "Stay away from me!"

Reshiram backed away slightly, blinking in confusion.

White couldn't even look at her. Not after what had happened to Zekrom. The pain was still too fresh, and there was nothing she could do to make it go away…

And now she'd nearly let Reshiram get stolen by Team Plasma. How much more useless could she get?

"White!"

She heard Cheren call her name from nearby, footsteps heading towards her, but she didn't make any attempt to reply. She didn't even know if she could. Right now, the only thing she could do was lie here, choking on the tears she'd kept inside for far too long.