N collapsed amid the bushes. Sticks snapped underneath his weight. He did not know if he could continue any longer.

Hot sweat coated every pour; shivers raked his body. Pain came in pulses from his shoulder, blurring his vision with tears. I must find Luna.

He was dimly aware that police officers were chasing him, brought by the distant wailing of sirens, flashlights in hand. They were getting closer; he could hear their shouts and calls. His arms shook as he picked himself to his feet. Must continue.

The faint, scattered moonlight was his only illumination from which to see. The undergrowth at his feet seemed as hands that gripped his ankles, tripping him, trying to pull him to the ground. The night closed in around him. It was like he walked through a nightmare, progressing forward but never gaining any ground, for his blurred vision could not tell any difference in his surroundings as he went. The shouts grew louder.

Somewhere in the forest was the clearing where he was to meet Luna. Surely she had heard the sirens and gone looking for N. Surely; she could help him. He did not want to go to the Sages, not because he didn't like them, but because he was afraid they would use Ghetsis' disappearance to their advantage, seizing control within Team Plasma. That could not happen, not to his father.

A branch snapped somewhere nearby. N slowed to a standstill, glancing around him, but saw no flashlight to indicate that it was a policeman.

"Luna?" He whispered, voice cracked and hoarse.

There came no response, but N thought he saw something move in the darkness. He squinted. The figure was not human. He saw a towering, erect form, with an arched back, and many wiggling claws near its neck that felt at the air.

A scolipede.

N smiled, wavering on his feet. "Ah, hello there. I am… sorry to disturb you."

I hunger, the Pokemon said.

N swallowed hard. His smile faded. He knew that not all Pokemon were friendly, and it was only their nature that some attacked humans."I… see. I apologize. I have no food for you."

You.

The scolipede skittered toward him. N shouted, falling onto his back, the wound on his shoulder screaming in protest. Legs writhed over him. Mandibles snapped, claws lurched, reaching for him. The weight pinned him to the ground, and he could do nothing as-

Suddenly its body was gone from atop him. A tree splintered and crashed to the ground, falling from the impact of the large Pokemon hitting it. Curled into a ball, scolipede did not rise.

A sawsbuck stood beside N. It stamped a hoof and nodded at him.

He gaped at it. "You saved me," he breathed, grinning, and stretched out a hand to pet the creature.

His arm never went very far. Another figure ran out of the trees, breathing heavily.

N could not believe his eyes. He shook his head, desperately wishing that what he saw was a dream. It did not go away. He blinked once, twice, three times. Still, it was there. No. No, no, no!

Luna. With a Pokeball in her hand.

The world spun. Not Luna. Please, not Luna. She cannot be a trainer.

"N?" She crouched at his side. "You're hurt. Let me help you."

She touched his shoulder. He ripped his arm away, jaw clenched, and glared at her.

"A trainer!" He hissed. "All this time, you have been a trainer!"

Luna is my trainer, said a voice in his mind. N whipped his head to gape at sawsbuck. I would not have it any other way.

N's jaw unhinged. Luna said nothing as she flipped him over onto his stomach and tsked at the wound on his shoulder.

"Sawsbuck, use Aromatherapy, please."

A green mist filled N's vision. To his amazement, the pulsing red pain in his shoulder began to subside. Something tumbled out as the wound closed, and N scrambled to his knees, rolling his shoulder. The cuts searing the flesh of his hands were gone, as well.

"Your sawsbuck…" N whispered.

"Let's go, N," Luna said, standing. "We have to get out of here. They're coming. I can see them from here."

"Why did you not tell me you were a trainer?"

She tried to grab his hand. He pulled away.

"Why, Luna? Why?"

"I promise I'll tell you everything later. Right now, we have to get out of here."

He glanced over his shoulder. The flashlights of police officers shone bright circles on nearby trees.

Luna is my trainer. I would not have it any other way.

N staggered after her as she and her sawsbuck sprinted away. As he watched her bound alongside her Pokemon, a heavy feeling of sadness welled up within him.

A Pokemon had said something similar to N when he had first arrived at Nimbasa City. He had dismissed it, once, but now another Pokemon had said the same thing. But there was not a single right to being a trainer. N fought against those types of people, had killed someone for that go, and now…

He dodged past trees, fighting to keep sight of Luna, continually glancing over his shoulder. The flashlights were but spots in the distance like a dozen stars shining through an inky black sky. The policemen had not seen or heard them, but they would find the fallen scolipede, and N and Luna had no doubt left a trail in their haste.

When they had a far enough lead that he could barely see the lights at all, Luna pulled him to the side. They both panted hard - N's clothes stuck to his skin - and waited until they regained their breath to speak.

"Where is your father, N?" Luna asked. "They didn't find him, did they?"

N sunk to his knees. "They have captured him, Luna. I do not believe they have ever seen his face, but they knew I was in that house." He buried his face in his hands. "I do not know what to do! What if they torture him? Make him reveal Team Plasma's plans?"

"Don't worry," she said, sitting next to him. Sawsbuck watched the way they had come. "Let me help you, N."

"No," he said, turning away. "Thank you for healing me, but no. Not anymore. The Seven Sages will aid me, Luna; you…"

"I'm a trainer. Yes."

"Why?" He demanded. "Why did you not-"

Luna leaned forward and kissed him. A warmth spread through his chest as though a fire had ignited within it. His cheeks flushed. His eyes went wide. He wanted to pull away but instead melted into her touch. When she did finally release him, he felt an acute sense of longing.

"N," she said, hands on his chest. He was sure she'd be able to feel his raging heartbeat. "I'm sorry. I should have told you, but I didn't want you to think of me differently. Let me show you what being a trainer means."

Her eyes, blue like sunlight shimmering through a pool, pleaded with him. "Please."

Sawsbuck stamped the ground, snorting. The shouts were coming closer.

Luna led N to his feet.

"I can help you save your father," she said, taking his hands. "But the only Pokemon I took with me when I left was sawsbuck. We need to go back to Accumula Town. I don't keep them in the PC, N; I let them stay at my home where they can roam free. Please. Give me another chance."

She is a trainer; his thoughts hissed to him. Father told you all humans were evil, and Luna is no exception to that.

Sawsbuck fidgeted again. The police were almost upon them.

I can't, N thought. I can't! Luna is still Luna. She was a trainer, but N did not know yet why she chose to take that path. He looked into her eyes. How could such beauty be evil?

A chance. He could not deny the feeling that stirred inside him when he looked at her. She was risking her life to help him. He would give her a chance.

He nodded. They fled further into the night, away from those chasing him. Away from his father.