"Thank you for your help, friend. I think we'll be able to find our way from here," N kindly said to the Pokemon flying alongside them. He had never met a shy Braviary before, but this one meekly nodded before banking back towards land. N smiled, musing that Braviary's unusual silence was likely because of his traveling partner.

Seemingly unaware of the effect of his presence, Reshiram spoke with his gravelly voice, "My brother is nearby." The great dragon Pokemon fell back into silence as the two continued their flight.

"So Hilda has returned as well," N softly said. It had been about a year and a half since he'd last seen the Hero of Ideals, though he had heard that she had likewise left Unova not long after their final conflict. He briefly considered making a detour to find her since they had left on friendly terms, but decided against it. While the two Heroes had been friendly, the same could not be said for their dragons, so it was probably best to keep them away from one another.

With his mind made, N returned his full attention back to the small island that they were quickly approaching. Before the island had even appeared on the horizon, N had known where Braviary was leading him and Reshiram. Back when N was the King of Plasma, there had been a laboratory known as P2 on the island, but N had shut it down. He was disappointed, but not surprised, to learn that it was once again in use.

The lab's reopening might have stayed beneath N's notice, but several Pokemon had come to petition him to do something about it. Every one of them had the same story. A Pokemon that they were friends with had been captured by the humans on the island, which usually was a sad, but not uncommon, occurrence. However, when they saw their friend a few weeks later, that same friend had mercilessly attacked at the trainer's orders.

While N would admit that there had been something to Hilda's Ideal, he still held to his own Truth: Pokemon are frequently exploited and harmed by humans.

And that was something he would not stand for.

They had gotten close enough that N could make out the surface of the island and judging from the movement upon it, they had likewise been spotted. There was much more activity on the island than there had been on his last visit, with five small boats docked on the shore and a newly constructed second building. Humans streamed out of both buildings with Pokemon following behind them. Oddly, while the humans were clothed in white, they didn't appear to be Plasma.

The humans and their Pokemon didn't accost Reshiram as he finished his approach, allowing him to land in front of the two structures and away from the water's edge. N slid off of Reshiram's back with practiced ease, taking the opportunity to more closely examine those surrounding him. A glance confirmed that they weren't wearing Plasma uniforms, but instead white armor, complete with helmets. Frowning slightly at the unfamiliar humans, N turned his attention to their Pokemon and was barely able to keep his footing when he had a horrific realization.

He couldn't hear their voices.

N was still reeling when a man with long sea-green hair wearing similarly colored robes emerged from the crowd. An Aggron and a Sandlash dutifully stood at his side, but they were as quiet as all of the other Pokemon. "What business does the King of Plasma have with us?" The man asked calmly.

"What have you done to these Pokemon?!" N demanded to know, the first time he had raised his voice in more than a year. Reshiram punctuated N's shout with a roar.

The robed man was unphased by their rage and simply stood quietly for several long seconds while N and Reshiram glared at him. Eventually, he spoke with the same tone as before. "It appears Ghetsis has misled us. Take them down."

"Fusion Fl-" N started to tell Reshiram, though he was interrupted when dark purple and blue ribbons emerged from Sandslash and flew towards N and all of the Pokemon in the clearing. N and Reshiram both tried to dodge out of the way of the ribbons, but the ribbons hit unerringly, making them cry out as they felt their strength drain. While he tried to recover, N's attention turned towards the other Pokemon, and he saw that they had been similarly affected by the ribbons.

N had never seen a move like that before, but he didn't have a chance to consider it as the robed man's Aggron charged Reshiram. While the white dragon still looked off-balance from the ribbon attack, he still breathed a massive ball of flames directly at Aggron. N had been about to start assessing the other Pokemon surrounding them, but he was distracted by the fact that Aggron didn't even try to dodge Reshiram's Fusion Flare. After the powerful-looking Pokemon charged right into the fireball, it only managed to take a few more steps before falling to the ground. Even then, it started crawling on the ground, still trying to reach Reshiram.

N stared with horrified awe at the Pokemon's determination for a second before turning his gaze back towards the robed man. He seemed completely unconcerned about his Pokemon's injury and his full attention was instead on N, giving him a calculating look.

Reshiram suddenly cried out in pain and N spun around to see a Galvantula, Magmortar, and Beheeyem firing orbs that looked like black ink stains. Reshiram fired another Fusion Flare at the trio, but like Aggron they stood stubbornly still. They each managed to fire one more orb apiece before they were completely covered by the legendary Pokemon's flames.

A Machamp and Excadrill were the next to attack with a dark purple aura cloaking them as they charged. Reshiram met the two with a Slash, but they continued their charge, uncaring about the injuries they received from the claws that N knew were extraordinarily sharp. Even in the face of their grievous wounds, all of the mysterious Pokemon stayed completely silent. Unable to take it anymore, N shouted, "What are you doing?! Please, stop!"

The moment the words left his mouth, N felt a sharp pain in his side and was driven to his knees. Through his blurry vision, he saw an Ariados firing another one of the black blots at him. Reshiram instantly moved in the way of the move before blasting the Ariados with another ball of fire. Suddenly, N's right shoulder felt like it had been frozen and he fell forward onto the grass. Struggling to keep consciousness, he weakly repeated himself, "Stop…"

Reshiram suddenly flashed white, blinding N and everyone else in the clearing. When the sunspots finally cleared out of N's eyes, he saw that there was a smooth white stone sitting on the grass where Reshiram had been standing moments before. No longer able to win the struggle to keep his eyes open, N slumped and started fading into unconsciousness. The last thing N heard was the robed man's voice. "Get me Ghetsis on the phone. We have things to discuss."

With that, N fell unconscious and knew only darkness.

Four months later.

"As we start our descent, please make sure your tray tables are in their full upright position. Make sure your seat belt is securely fastened and all carry-on luggage is stowed underneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead bins. Thank you."

Eleanor didn't think that the announcement from the flight attendant was really necessary since there were only four total passengers on the plane and all of them had already done the requested tasks. She shrugged and returned her attention to the plane's window she was seated next to. When they dropped beneath the cloud line, Eleanor strained to get a look at the beleaguered region that would be her home for the near future. Unfortunately, they were approaching from the northwest, so all she got to see was the wilderness at the region's edge. Oddly, she did spot one small town that was completely surrounded by wilderness, but the plane was still too high up for her to make out any details on the ground.

It didn't take much longer before the plane touched the ground, and the moment that the seatbelt light turned off, Eleanor unbuckled and jumped to her feet. She did her best to massage her legs, which were horribly sore after the twelve-plus hour long flight. Wincing slightly at the pain, she didn't even want to think about sitting down again anytime soon. Once she felt a little better, she retrieved her bag from beneath the seat in front of her along with her suitcase from the overhead compartment.

Being in the back of the plane, Eleanor was the last to disembark, though she caught her fellow passenger's grim expressions as they left. Other than when they'd received their in-flight meals, the cabin had been completely quiet. Everyone had looked like they'd been resigned to their presence on the plane, which was a sentiment that Eleanor couldn't blame them for. She'd volunteered to come to Unova and she was still nervous about it.

When she stepped off of the plane's ramp and onto the tarmac, Eleanor moved out of the way while musing that it was about the same time of day that it had been when she boarded on the plane. Traveling halfway around the planet was weird.

Once she'd figured that she wouldn't interfere with anyone's work, she turned her attention to the town she'd arrived in. Most of the land that made up Mistralton Town was taken up by the landing strip and hangars. To the east were a good number of buildings that mostly looked residential. There was also a large red building that was instantly identifiable as a Pokemon Center despite the slight differences from the ones that she was used to. Eleanor was a bit surprised when she couldn't spot a matching blue Pokemart until she remembered that the two services were located within a single building in Unova.

With her quick survey of the town completed, Eleanor frowned when she realized that she didn't actually know what she was supposed to do next. She'd been told that someone from the Unovan league would meet her after landing, but there was no one in sight. Everyone else from the plane had already left, leaving her as the only passenger still hanging around. She sighed, too tired to put much thought into it after she'd barely gotten any sleep on the plane. After a bit, she decided she would go to the Pokemon Center to get some rest and then figure it out later.

She'd only taken a few steps off of the tarmac when a woman's voice called out, "Wait!" Eleanor paused mid-step and turned towards the sound to see someone that she recognized as Skyla slowly jogging over to her. Eleanor noticed that Skyla's hair was down and she was wearing casual clothes instead of the unusual aviator outfit that she'd been wearing in the pictures and videos Eleanor had seen her in. When the gym leader got closer, she gave a tired-looking smile and asked, "Eleanor, right?"

"Yes," Eleanor confirmed with a smile of her own and gave Skyla a small bow. The gym leader looked a bit surprised by the gesture before clumsily returning it. Eleanor mentally kicked herself for already forgetting that people in Unova shook hands when they met.

Thankfully, Skyla's smile had actually brightened a bit when she straightened. "Thank you so much for coming. I'm sorry for being late."

"It's fine," Eleanor assured, trying to move past her embarrassment. "I was just taking a look at your town."

Skyla's eyes flicked towards the town and her expression dropped slightly. "How about we talk in the gym?"

Eleanor wished that she could go straight to sleep, but didn't want to ask the gym leader to wait. "Sure. Lead the way."

With Skyla walking a half-step ahead, the two started walking towards the largest hangar. After a few seconds, she asked, "So what Pokemon do you have? I heard you're a dark specialist like Grimsley."

"I wouldn't say I'm like Grimsley," Eleanor quickly said, daunted by the idea of being compared to one of the members of Unova's Elite Three. Skyla gave a light nod to show she understood what Eleanor meant, making her realize she should probably answer the actual question. "Um, anyway, my starter is Devo, who's a Honchkrow. I also have Inno the Umbreon, Honor the Drapion, and Patty the Sneasel."

"That sounds like quite the team," Skyla said with another small smile. "I've been thinking about training up a dark type like Vullaby, but lately I haven't had the time to even think about training a new Pokemon." Skyla finished with a sad tone and the two were quiet for the rest of the walk to the hangar.

When they got near the hangar, Eleanor saw a sign out front denoting it as the Mistralton gym, which made sense as to why Skyla had her office in the large building. However, when they walked inside, Eleanor was astonished to find that the gym appeared to take up almost the entire hangar. It dwarfed all of the Sinnoh gyms that she'd been to, though Crasher Wake's had come close. And while his gym contained a fairly relaxing puzzle of raising and lowering the water level in the gym, the Mistralton gym contained a frankly worrying number of cannons.

As Eleanor opened her mouth to ask about them, Skyla gestured to a door off to the left. "My office is right this way." Eleanor snapped her mouth shut and decided the gym's decorations ultimately weren't relevant to why she was there. She quickly followed Skyla into her office, though Eleanor couldn't help but give the cannons another baffled look before they were out of sight.

Skyla's office was fairly messy with her desk being completely covered in loose papers, and the gym leader shifted some of them around as she took a seat. There were a couple of chairs on the near side of the desk so Eleanor sat, glad that she at least had some room to stretch her legs here. Once Skyla was content with the state of her desk, she looked back up at Eleanor and said, "Before we get started, can I get you something to drink?"

"Some water would be great," Eleanor answered gratefully. She'd heard it was common to get dehydrated after long flights and if nothing else, she figured that some cold water would help her stay awake.

"Sure thing!" Skyla said and reached beneath her desk to retrieve a water bottle from a minifridge that Eleanor assumed she had down there. The gym leader lightly tossed the bottle to Eleanor, but she fumbled the catch and the bottle dropped to the ground next to her.

Eleanor hastily leaned down to pick it up, flushing with embarrassment. In an effort to distract from her failed catch, when she sat back up, asked, "So do you meet with all of the volunteers?"

Skyla flashed Eleanor a smile and winked. "Only the VIPs."

"I'm a VIP?" Eleanor sputtered, narrowly avoiding choking on the water she'd started taking a sip of. "I only earned six badges back home."

Any mirth that had been on Skyla's face faded and she sighed. "Six is a lot more than most of the volunteers. I'm grateful to everyone of course, but most of them only have one or two badges so all we can do is assign them a gym leader to work with. On the other hand, with six badges, the league is confident that you can take care of yourself. That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

Eleanor was still having trouble processing Skyla's claim. Before the gym leader could continue, Eleanor asked, "So you're saying I'm one of the strongest volunteers?"

"You're the most qualified volunteer. At least when it comes to badges," Skyla confirmed with a sad smile. "Most trainers aren't willing to uproot their lives and travel halfway around the world to help some region that they have no ties to. It doesn't help that every region is understaffed after what happened to the rangers." Skyla's gaze drooped as she spoke, but then her eyes turned back towards Eleanor and seemed to gleam. "And that's why I can't thank you enough for coming."

Eleanor smiled slightly at Skyla's thanks, but her nerves were steadily increasing as the conversation went on. She'd expected to be solidly in the middle of the pack when it came to the volunteers, not to be the strongest. She'd thought that at least one trainer along the lines of Volkner, Cynthia, or Dawn would have answered the call and it made her nervous to find that wasn't the case. Now unexpectedly feeling the pressure, Eleanor swallowed and asked, "So what do you need me to do?"

Skyla hesitated and glanced down at her desk instead of answering. Apparently what she was looking for wasn't on top since she started digging through stacks. While she searched, she asked, "What do you think is the biggest problem Unova is facing?"

Like everyone else in the world, Eleanor had watched the news over the last year when reports had started coming in that the two dismantled teams had reappeared in Unova. Plasma showing back up hadn't been all that unexpected since a good chunk of the organization hadn't been caught the first time they'd been defeated. However, Cipher had been a real surprise. There had been nothing in the news about Cipher in the almost six years since they'd been defeated, only for them to suddenly reform on the other side of the continent. Eleanor was pretty sure it was a trick question but went with the obvious answer anyway. "Cipher and Plasma?"

Eleanor's suspicions about the question were confirmed when Skyla shook her head with a sad smile. "Despite everything, Unova still has the same single biggest problem a region can face: a lack of talented young trainers. They're their region's future. With Plasma and Cipher running amok, many trainers have quit and the number of prospective new trainers is almost zero." Skyla's expression hardened as she continued, "I'm sure those bastards will be dealt with sooner than later, but we need to make sure that Unova still has a future when they're gone. And who knows. Maybe one problem will solve another. Did you know that it was a young trainer that beat Plasma back the first time?"

Eleanor slowly nodded, both considering what Skyla was saying and thinking about her home region. A similar thing had happened there when Dawn had been the one to defeat Galactic even though she was still a relatively inexperienced trainer at the start of their conflicts.

Having finally found what she was looking for, Skyla placed two printouts on her desk so that Eleanor could see. One of the sheets showed a cheerful-looking girl with long brown hair and the other pictured a boy with a dour expression and messy blue hair. Skyla nodded down at the sheets. "These two still want to start their journeys even with everything going on. But the league, and their parents, are worried about sending them off on their own."

"So you want me to travel with them?" Eleanor asked with no small amount of hesitation. "And help train them up to take on Cipher and Plasma?"

Skyla blinked owlishly for a couple of seconds before waving her hands animatedly, quickly amending, "I shouldn't have said that before. Ideally, we wouldn't want them anywhere near Plasma and Cipher. And we already have another volunteer to travel with Hugh so you would just be helping Rosa."

Feeling significantly better with those clarifications, Eleanor said, "I think I could do that." She'd definitely expected to be assigned to a gym leader like Skyla had mentioned the other volunteers were doing, but this seemed doable as well. Her only real hesitation was that she wasn't sure that she was remotely qualified to teach a new trainer.

Skyla's smile returned in full force and for the first time, she looked like the person that Eleanor had seen in pictures and videos. "Thank you again! Now, Rosa and Hugh both live in Aspertia Town, and-" The gym leader was cut off by a loud ding that came from the Poketch on Eleanor's wrist.

"Sorry!" Eleanor practically yelped as she rushed to quiet the device, but stilled when she saw the message on the screen. Quietly she said, "Oh Arceus. I forgot to call mom." Her eyes darted back to Skyla and she quickly said, "I need to call home right away before they think something is wrong."

Skyla just giggled at Eleanor's predicament. "That's not a problem. I'll send all of the information you need over to the Pokemon Center. Why don't you spend the rest of the day resting after your flight and we can talk some more tomorrow?"

"Thank you!" Eleanor said as she hopped back to her feet. She automatically gave Skyla another small bow before grabbing her luggage and the water bottle Skyla had given her, then rushing out of the gym. She immediately made a Beedrill-line towards the Pokemon Center she'd seen earlier.

Eleanor started out at a jog, but as she moved through Mistralton Town, she started slowing down. She was in fairly good shape after traveling around Sinnoh, so her reduced pace wasn't because she was tired; rather, she felt her feet drag when she started to realize what bad shape the town was in. The view from the airstrip hadn't given her a clear picture, but being in the middle of town made it clear that many of the houses had been badly damaged or even abandoned. There was even a couple that had the tell-tale burn marks from wood being hit by an electrical attack. Skyla's tired demeanor and her reaction when Eleanor had mentioned the town suddenly made a lot more sense.

Now thoroughly sobered by her short walk through town, Eleanor arrived at the Pokemon Center and went through the automatic doors. Like every Center she'd ever been in, the first thing that she saw was the nurse behind the front desk, but there was one awful difference from the usual. While normally the on-duty nurse greeted trainers with a bright smile, the Mistralton nurse tensed up as the doors opened and the sight made Eleanor's heart break a tiny bit. To make things worse, there were two other trainers in the lobby who turned to give her a suspicious look before finally returning to their quiet conversation.

Meanwhile, the nurse had relaxed after a moment and gave Eleanor a smile, but it was still a pale mirror of the usual. "Eleanor, right?" Joy asked when Eleanor approached the desk, and for the second time in a half-hour, she was surprised that someone recognized her. Likely spotting her reaction, the nurse continued, "Skyla called to let us know that you would be coming. She also mentioned that you had a call to make. Our phones are right over there and here are the keys for your room for when you're done." As she spoke, Joy pointed towards a secluded corner of the Center and then slid a key across the desk.

"Thank you," Eleanor said with yet another instinctive bow as she picked up the key.

"No, thank you," the nurse stressed.

Not sure how to respond, Eleanor nodded tightly and hurried over to the Center's phones, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with the expectations being put on her. She shook her head as she sat down. She had a feeling that this conversation would be the toughest thing yet. She entered the number for her parents' house and with a sigh pressed the final button to make the call go through.

The phone had barely started its first ring when her mom's frantic expression appeared on the video screen. Before Eleanor could get a word out, her mom rushed, "Are you alright? What happened? Did your plane get attacked? Do we need to come-"

"Mom!" Eleanor interrupted. "I'm fine! Nothing happened."

"But your plane landed more than a half-hour ago… We've been worried sick."

"I was going to call, but Skyla needed to talk to me first," Eleanor explained. She decided it was best not to mention that she'd completely forgotten about the promised call.

Luckily, that piece of information was enough to shock her mom out of distress. "You met with Skyla?"

"Yeah, I was surprised too. She wanted to talk about what the league wants me to do here." Eleanor could see the start of panic forming in her mom's eyes at the idea of a job that was worthy of a gym leader's attention and she quickly continued. "It actually sounds like I'll be safer than any of the other volunteers. I'm going to be mentoring a new trainer named Rosa. They don't want her anywhere near Cipher and Plasma so we'll be perfectly safe."

"Won't that mean that you two will be on your own?" Her mom asked with a hesitant tone.

"We'll be fine," Eleanor said, doing her best to sound confident and reassuring. "They don't have any reason to go after two trainers on their own. And even if they do, Devo will get us out of danger right away."

This time, her mom simply took a deep breath before slowly nodding. "I'm just worried about you being all by yourself when you're so far away." When Eleanor opened her mouth to protest, her mom amended, "I know you have your wonderful Pokemon with you. Just please stay safe honey."

"I will," Eleanor promised with utter sincerity. The two fell into silence for a few seconds until Eleanor asked, "Is dad asleep already?" She knew it was very late back in Sinnoh so she wouldn't be surprised.

Her mom smiled wryly at that. "He's taking care of Duchess. She's in one of her moods again." Eleanor returned the smile at the mention of the family's pet Glameow who definitely lived up to her name. "Do you want me to go get him?"

"That would be great."

Her mom nodded and then stood up. "I'm glad you're safe. Love you."

"Love you too mom," Eleanor responded. The reply was automatic, but that didn't make it any less sincere. As her mom moved out of sight of the camera, Eleanor shifted her attention to her Poketch and absently flipped through the different apps. The team status app confirmed that all of her Pokemon were at full health, but otherwise the apps didn't have any useful information for her.

She was still looking at the device when her dad's voice came through the speakers, "Hey kiddo. How was the flight?"

Eleanor's gaze snapped back up to the screen and saw that her dad was now seated where her mom had been. She brightly returned the greeting before complaining, "It was long and I barely got any sleep."

He nodded sympathetically. "Your mom mentioned that you met Skyla. What's she like?"

The smile she'd gotten upon seeing her dad faded. "She seems really nice, but she just seemed so exhausted. Everyone does."

Her dad nodded contemplatively and was silent for a few seconds as he thought. Finally, he said, "But that's why you're there, right? Your mom also told me about the mission they gave you."

"Babysitting duty isn't exactly what I expected when I volunteered though," Eleanor pointed out. "Skyla said I'm apparently one of the strongest volunteers," she added, with a hint of the panic that she'd been trying to stop her mom from feeling a couple of minutes ago.

"Six badges is nothing to scoff at. Especially as a specialist," he pointed out. When Eleanor hummed noncommittally, he added, "I mean it." Suddenly, the phone picked up a loud meow in the background and he sighed. "I better go help your mother. I'm so proud of you for helping people like this. Love you."

"Love you too dad."

As he was standing up, Eleanor's dad paused and as if an afterthought said, "Oh, and Ellie?"

"Yeah, dad?"

Eleanor wilted when her dad suddenly gave her a stern look. "Don't forget to call again."

"Yes, dad," she replied, much more meekly this time.

His expression switched back to a kind smile in an instant. "Bye kiddo," he said before hanging up.

"Bye," Eleanor quietly said to the black screen in front of her. She sat there for a bit longer before finally standing back up, wincing as her sore legs protested sitting down again. Realizing that she'd missed a vital piece of information, Eleanor made her way back to the front desk. When the nurse asked if there was anything she needed, Eleanor held out the key that she'd been given. "Umm, where are the trainer rooms?" Even from her quick look around, there were some definite differences in the building's layout than what she was used to and she didn't feel like wandering around until she found her room.

Joy looked puzzled for a moment at the question, then said, "Of course. I'm sorry." She swiveled in her chair and pointed to the hallway to the left of the counter. "They're right down there. Yours will be the third room on the left."

"Thank you," Eleanor said and this time she was able to stop herself from bowing. "I'm going to get some rest."

"Of course dear. Come back here when you're feeling up for it. Skyla said that she would be sending some things over for you."

Eleanor nodded tiredly and thanked the nurse again before shuffling down the hallway to her room. Thankfully, she found it without any issues and when she opened the door she saw that it was virtually identical to the ones she'd stayed in back in Sinnoh. Oddly, that made her feel like she was at home.

Even though she knew full well that it would destroy her sleep schedule, Eleanor retrieved her pajamas from her suitcase and changed into them, yawning all the while. As an afterthought, she sent Inno out of her Pokeball and within a minute Eleanor was lying in bed, cuddled up with the Umbreon. She was so tired that despite everything, she fell asleep instantly.

A/N: Welcome to a very different version of Unova than you're used to. I've been working on this story for a long time and I can't wait to show everyone what I've cooked up for it.

Thanks to Star for both betaing and sanity checking the massive number of worldbuilding things I wanted to get figured out before posting this. Next up is Chapter 2: Night Flight