"Come on, Reshiram! Just get back inside the Pokéball already!" Black ordered impatiently, holding the sphere up to the dragon.
Reshiram just let out a huff, turning her head away.
"If you don't, Team Plasma is more likely to find you," he pointed out. "N nearly got himself killed trying to protect you last time, geez!" He rolled his eyes. "Fine, if you're just going to be an annoying stuck-up dragon, go ahead."
At the mention of N, Reshiram glanced at the ground for a moment. Then she looked back over at the Pokéball.
"Geez, he keeps you out of this thing way too much. It's no surprise you managed to break out," Black tutted. He glanced past the dragon. "Hey, what's that?"
Reshiram glanced around, letting out a grumble as she tried to see what he was looking at.
"Ha!" Black shouted, throwing the Pokéball at her. Reshiram looked pretty surprised as she was pulled back into it. Once the Pokéball landed on the ground, Black went to pick it up. Then he glanced back over at the others.
They'd heard the roar from all the way on the other side of the city, and instantly they'd known that something was wrong. Black, Cheren and Bianca had hurried to the Dreamyard to find a couple of Team Plasma grunts running for their lives, and Reshiram standing next to White who had been collapsed on the floor, crying.
Right now, Cheren and Bianca were sat with her on a wide tree stump at the edge of the clearing. White was still crying, unable to stop the tears rolling down her face. Bianca hugged her tightly, almost like a mother trying to comfort their child.
"Those Team Plasma grunts didn't hurt you, did they?" Cheren asked, looking concerned.
For a moment, White didn't reply. Her eyes were swollen from crying and when she finally spoke her voice still wavered slightly. "One of them hit me in the stomach, but… I-I'm fine now…"
"Aw, cheer up, White!" Bianca said kindly. "I know something's upsetting you; it's okay, you can tell us. We're your friends!"
"It doesn't matter. You wouldn't understand."
"If it's about Zekrom—" Cheren started, but he didn't get to finish his sentence.
"It's not just Zekrom! I know he's not coming back and there's nothing I can do about it, and if that was all I had to deal with I might be able to manage, but…" she broke off, sobbing.
Cheren let out a quiet sigh, resting his hand on her shoulder. "White, it's okay…"
"No! Nothing's okay!" she wailed. "I-It's all my fault… I was the one who suggested we go and fight Team Plasma… and when Black and N got hurt, I… I couldn't even do anything, I… a-and then Zekrom… I can't do anything right…!"
Cheren and Bianca exchanged a glance.
"C'mon, White, don't be ridiculous!"
"Black," Cheren warned, fixing him with a stern glare.
Black ignored him. "It's not your fault we got hurt! If anyone's to blame, it's Team Plasma. Besides, we all decided to try and fight them; it's not as if any of us knew what was going to happen."
"But I—"
"And don't beat yourself up for not doing anything to help either. I doubt there's anything anyone would be able to do in a situation like that. Besides, I'm okay now, and N will be fine once he stops sulking."
"Not Zekrom. And I nearly got Reshiram captured too…"
"But you didn't, right? Reshiram's still here. It's not your fault if you get attacked by Team Plasma."
White let out a long sigh. At least she seemed to be recovering from the shock at last. "I should be able to defend myself, though. I'm not strong enough to beat Team Plasma."
"I don't think anyone is anymore. Not since all their Pokémon became crazily overpowered…"
"Wait, that's it! I got it!" Cheren said suddenly.
"Huh?" Black exclaimed. "Got what? Whatever it is, I don't wanna catch it."
Cheren gave him an unimpressed glance. Then he looked back at White. "I know how we can defeat Team Plasma."
"What? Really?" Bianca gasped.
"It won't work," White sighed. "Like Black said, nobody can beat them."
"It will work, I promise," Cheren said confidently, giving her a quick hug before standing up. "Come to the fountain in Castelia City tomorrow afternoon, all three of you. If anyone else can help, bring them along too. 2PM sharp, okay?" With that said, he raced away.
"Hey, Cheren, wait!" Black called. "You still haven't told us what the plan is…"
Too late. He's already gone.
White just watched him leave, still not looking totally convinced.
"Cheren's plans usually work," Bianca added confidently. "I'm sure we can defeat Team Plasma… um, probably…"
"Free at last!" N cheered as he finally left the hospital after two and a half days. He stretched, wincing slightly, although his injuries didn't seem to be bothering him too much anymore. That was probably why they'd finally let him go. Either that or they'd got fed up of him trying to find a way to break out.
"Well, that was great timing," Black commented. He'd only just arrived, but at least he wasn't going to have to go back inside the hospital building again. By now he was pretty much sick of that place. "Here, thought you might want this back."
N blinked in surprise as Black held out Reshiram's Pokéball. He took it, looking somewhat relieved.
"Just don't let her out just yet," Black warned hastily. "I mean, we're still right next to the hospital and there are still other patients in there, and Reshiram is kinda… loud…"
"Yeah, yeah, I know," N rolled his eyes.
"Right. Now let's go." Black turned and started to walk away.
"Wait, where are we going?"
"To find out where White is," Black shrugged. He hadn't seen her since yesterday morning; she'd told him to give Reshiram back to N when he got out of the hospital and then she'd just vanished. Already he'd tried calling her twice, but there was no answer. After her breakdown yesterday, Black had to admit he was at least slightly concerned…
"Why? Where did she go?" N asked, hurrying after him.
"If I knew that, I wouldn't be looking for her," Black said pointedly. He decided it would probably be best not to tell him about what had happened yesterday with Team Plasma. "Anyway, Cheren seems to have come up with some master plan to defeat Team Plasma. He hasn't told me what it is, he just said for us to meet him by the Castelia fountain this afternoon."
"Oh, okay…" N blinked. "Do you think it'll work?"
"I wouldn't know. I guess we just gotta hope Cheren knows what he's doing."
There was a long silence.
"So… where exactly are we going?" N spoke up at last.
"I have absolutely no idea," Black shrugged. "I'll try ringing White again."
He stopped walking for a moment, looking up the number on his Xtransciever. Once he found White's number he tried calling it, but like before it rang for ages and she never answered.
"Well, she's not answering," he sighed. He checked the time.
10:00; we've got four hours to try and find her…
"Hang on, I'll try calling Bianca," he muttered. He didn't know where Cheren had vanished to yesterday either, but he doubted the gym leader would be of much help right now.
Luckily, Bianca answered the call after only a few seconds. "Hello? Oh, Black!"
"Hey, Bianca," he greeted. "Do you know where White is?"
"Hmm? Oh, I haven't seen her this morning," Bianca shrugged. "I think she went back to Nuvema Town yesterday."
"Oh, okay. Thanks."
"See ya!" Bianca gave a quick wave before hanging up.
"Well then," Black stated, turning to face N. "Looks like we're heading to Nuvema Town."
It didn't take long for them to fly to the outskirts of Nuvema Town. As soon as Black hopped off of Braviary, Bianca hurried over to greet them.
"Hey! I was looking out for you guys," she smiled. "I thought you might come here since you were asking about White."
"Yeah," Black shrugged, returning Braviary to his Pokéball. "Why, do you know where she is?"
"I think so, but I thought I'd wait for you first," Bianca admitted. "C'mon!" She turned and hurried away towards the main part of the village.
N jumped down from Reshiram's back, casting a quick glance at the small settlement. Even he had realised that bringing a dragon inside the village would probably attract unwanted attention. "Reshiram, just stay here for a while, okay? Let me know if there's any trouble."
Reshiram nodded, letting out a quiet grumble.
Typical N, not wanting to put Reshiram in her Pokéball for even five minutes, Black thought silently. "We'd better catch up to Bianca."
The two of them headed deeper into the village. Bianca had initially vanished from sight, but once she realised that she'd left them behind she waited for Black and N to catch up. She led them to one of the houses at the edge of the village and knocked on the door.
While they waited for someone to answer, Black glanced around at the surrounding area. There was a view of the sea at the south of Unova from here, which reminded Black of his home in Aspertia City…
The door was opened by a woman who looked to be in her late thirties. She cast unrecognising glances at Black and N, but she clearly knew the blonde. "Oh, hello, Bianca. Are you looking for White?"
"Yup!" Bianca smiled. "Is she around?"
"She is, but she's been in her room all morning. You're welcome to come in, though," she held the door open for them. "See if you can get her to come down for breakfast, would you?"
"Okay," Bianca nodded. "Oh, by the way, this is Black and N."
"Hi!" Black waved.
N just gave a nervous smile, not really sure what to make of the situation.
"Nice to meet you," White's mother said politely. "I'm assuming you're friends with my daughter?"
"Yeah," Black replied. She didn't seem to know anything about what had been happening with Team Plasma lately. If that was the case, he definitely didn't want to be the one to tell her… otherwise White would have to put up with a worrying mum like he did.
"Hey guys, this way!" Bianca called, already standing by the staircase.
You can tell they're childhood friends, Black thought to himself with a smile as he followed her.
Once they reached the top of the stairs, Bianca practically burst through the door. "White!"
"What the hell, Bianca…?" White sounded tired, as if she'd only just woken up. She was still in bed. "What time is it…?"
"Time to get up; it's halfway through the morning," Bianca told her, sitting down on the edge of the mattress. White let out a groan of protest as that made the whole bed shake. "And besides, we need to go meet Cheren this afternoon."
"No. I'm not going."
"What!?" Black exclaimed.
"Okay, what the heck are you guys doing in my room?" White muttered, sitting up at last. Black couldn't help but notice that he barely recognised her; she looked a lot different with her hair down and without her hat on.
"Going to find you, that's what," Black stated innocently, holding up his arms in defence. "But what do you mean you're not going?"
"I mean I'm not going!" White huffed. "Isn't it obvious enough?"
I guess even people like White are grumpy when they've just woken up. "But Cheren has supposedly thought of a way for us to defeat Team Plasma; we need your help!"
"No you don't," she sighed, glancing away. "I won't be any use. I'll just screw something up again."
"Oh for the hundredth time, it's not your fault that we got hurt!" Black walked over, grabbing White's shoulders to look her in the eye. "And you won't screw anything up. We need your help, White. You're one of the strongest trainers there are."
For a moment, there was a clear look of shock and distress in White's eyes. After a few seconds she pushed it away. "I… there's no way you can know that for sure. But fine, if you're just going to keep going on at me then I'll go. Even if it's just to find out what Cheren's idea is."
"Okay!" Black cheered. He let go of her shoulders, stepping back and running a hand through his hair in embarrassment. "Ehe… sorry…"
"If you want me to go with you guys now though, you'll have to go away first," White added meaningfully. "Just go wait outside; I'll be there in twenty minutes."
"Okay then," Black said simply. "C'mon, N, let's go." He grabbed his arm as he walked past.
"Huh? What?" N blinked somewhat obliviously as he was dragged out of the room.
Black couldn't help but laugh. "N, you are far too innocent."
White quickly checked her reflection in the window as she left the house. She'd guessed that her mother would practically force her to have breakfast before she left, so hopefully she wasn't much later than she'd said she would be.
It didn't take her long to find the others. Bianca had vanished by now, but Black was standing by the entrance to Route 1 waiting for her. Nearby, N and Reshiram were resting in the shade of one of the trees.
"Okay, I'm here," she said plainly as she reached them. "Now what?"
Black checked the time on his Xtransciever. "Well, it's half ten. We need to be in Castelia in three and a half hours, so for now we might as well kill some time. I have to go do something, though, so I'll meet you guys in Nimbasa City at twelve, okay?"
"Um… okay?" White blinked as Black released Braviary from his Pokéball, climbing onto the bird's back.
"See ya then!" Black waved as Braviary took off into the sky.
White watched him go until he was out of sight, still slightly dumbfounded.
"I think he's gone to meet his friend or something," N shrugged as he walked over to her. "I don't know, but that's what he was saying just now. C'mon, let's go!"
"What? Where?"
"Nimbasa, of course," N smiled. "I mean, I know Black said to meet us there in a few hours, but we might as well go there now."
"Oh… okay," White shrugged. She couldn't tell if everything was happening fast today or whether that was just because she hadn't even been awake for half an hour yet.
N called to Reshiram and the dragon wandered over, letting out a yawn. He climbed onto her back, patting the dragon's feathers and glancing over at White. "Coming? Reshiram won't mind; I doubt you're that heavy."
"I-I…" White stammered, taking a step back. She couldn't do it. Yesterday she hadn't even managed to be near Reshiram without completely breaking down. She couldn't fly on the dragon's back. "No, it's okay… I'll just walk…"
"Oh… o-okay… that's alright, I guess," N glanced away, sounding slightly disheartened. Yet White couldn't tell him that it was Reshiram that was the problem… that'd probably just upset him even more. "Well, I'll see you there then. C'mon, Reshiram."
Giving a quiet grunt, Reshiram took off into the air.
Great, White sighed as they vanished over the trees. I can't even avoid upsetting my friends. How am I supposed to help defeat Team Plasma when all I do is let people get hurt?