Blair has dreamed of a dragon ever since he was little. A great beast that roared and beckoned, haunting his dreams with thunderstorms.
"Come, tell me your ambitions," it would purr. "Let us weave a new reality, and reshape this land."
Blair always shivered, and always the creature smiled. "Step closer, little hero. Won't you trust me?"
He would always answer the question differently. Sometimes he would nod and hesitantly proceed, as she—he always thought of the dragon as a she—would gently surround him with her aura, the air seeming to crackle a little as the hairs on his arms and neck prickled. Sometimes he would shake his head and she would sigh, either fading away to end the dream, or lightly shock him out of frustration, which always woke him up.
And sometimes, he would talk.
As a child, he'd ask her questions. "What's an ambition? Who are you? Why are you calling me a hero?" But the passing of time led to the growth of self-doubt. "I'm not a hero, so why do you insist on choosing me?" He'd argue.
She'd sigh, as she always did. Their conversations always came back to the same question. Do you trust me?
One day, he answers yes, and awakens to the clap of thunder.
His mother sighs as she passes him the syrup to pour over his breakfast. The newscaster on the television drones about the unexpected storm, and he can't shake the feeling that his dreams were related. "Looks like it'll have to be pushed back." And she'd answer his questioning look with a playful, secretive smile.
The clouds crack and flash brilliant, electrifying blue over their tiny hometown for seven days and seven nights. And in the ink of those seven midnights his guardian and patron whispers her own dreams as she asks to know of his.
His dreams no longer take place in the shadows of curiosity, but rather he finds himself soaring above the skies every night. The wind presses him low against her as they roam the clouds of the region. Some nights he sees the lights of the cities, and some nights there is only darkness, and the shadows of ancient castles long gone.
"I have dreamed for millennia of the world I wish to bring forth." She confides. "I have long awaited your coming, your reincarnation. My king's return."
"King? Reincarnation?"
She smiles with her cryptic reply. "You will remember, all in due time. Do not fret, Touya."
"I'm Blair—" His protests are interrupted by a weary sigh.
"I have known you by a thousand names. But you were originally the young prince of that name, bound to me by our dreams and desires. And today, you still carry that same aura about you. Blair or Touya, there is no difference to me." Deep within his soul, somehow, he knows she speaks the truth.
On the eighth morning, the storm clears.
All children leave someday, but that doesn't mean you can't call or visit! He thinks of his mother's words, lying awake with a small serpentine reptile curled atop his chest.
He knew it would happen eventually. The traditional coming of age story, a bid to challenge gyms before returning home to be crowned an adult. The once-in-a-lifetime journey that everyone would take.
He had grown fond of referring to the little Snivy as Valerian, a name he hoped he would grow into.
And, almost unsurprisingly, Valerian had followed him into his dreams.
"Ah! A young emperor to accompany a young hero! A fine choice." She rumbles approvingly.
He gives the dragon a haughty glare as Blair rubs the top of his head. "What's it to you?" He snarks.
The Nuveman winces, anticipating outcry at the disrespect, but instead hears a sincere laugh. She does not answer the question, opting instead to merely respond with, "Grow proud, Valerian, like the many little emperors that have preceded you. The three of us shall reunite again to reshape the world." And the dream ended.
She had called him a king, but he certainly felt rather unlike the king he had met the next day.
"I hear Pokémon." The king with his tea-green hair proudly declared. "And your young emperor tells much to me, he claims you are a king greater than I...But I am destined for a greater calling than you." He sighed, as if he were genuinely sorry for the two of them.
Valerian snorted at the self-declared king and his cat before giving Blair a look that seemed to say, C'mon.
Feeling a bit emboldened by the silent look, Blair stepped forward in challenge. "I can't say for sure whether or not I'm any sort of royal, but I wouldn't count us out of the greatness thing too soon."
Valerian leapt off from his shoulder to meet the Purrloin on the pavement, the vines on his shoulders fluttering in the wind.
N smiles in a self-assured manner. "I'd really rather not fight, but if you two really want, I'll oblige."
The scuffle is quick, outwardly friendly, but both looking for an undeniable victory. Claw against vine, as the sun sets with a vibrant red glow.
The Snivy trips N's partner with one craftily placed root, and moves in to tackle before N concedes, his confidence missing as he shrugs, paying Blair for his victory. "Perhaps she doesn't follow my truths." He murmurs, for nobody to hear.
The little emperor scoffs as he hops up Blair's outstretched arm and back onto his shoulder. "Don't underestimate us." He says, smiling at the win as he rubs Valerian's head in their shared pride.
N was born to be a Hero-King, to pursue the truth above all else. He wished to rule justly with the legendary dragon by his side. He would be fair and proud, leading Unova towards the future with the guidance of his advisors and love of the people.
Yet when Blair stands against him before the ferris wheel, he can't help but feel insulted, wounded even.
The runic bird perched atop his shoulder trills anxiously, sensing his inner panic at the loss and attempting to soothe it.
"Well, that's to be expected when Valerian's declared you a king yourself." He says, trying to shrug off his defeat.
Blair's eyes narrow. "Quit calling me that. I battled you because you challenged me. Enough with—"
"She's chosen you, hasn't she?" He asks, the realization hitting him like thunder.
The skies turn overcast all of a sudden, and Blair freezes. "I don't know what you mean." But the hesitation tells the truth.
Sigilyph's calming aura finally settles in, and N inhales deeply before responding. "Very well then. But know that I will not hesitate to burn you down if I must. There can only be one king in Unova, and only one king for the legendary dragon."
Unova's promised ruler departs, the whispers of blazing snow in his ear, singing praises.
Blair's breath fogs up in the chill of Driftveil's storage containers. Clay and his men round up the Plasmites, who scowl and gripe about the cold and the heavy losses.
Valerian sighs and climbs up to his shoulder, tired from the fighting. The emperor was constantly growing larger, and it was harder and harder for him to comfortably perch on Blair with every day. Every day came more growth, more strength, and another step towards the future that the dragon had predicted so long ago.
Her visits became rarer and rarer, before they stopped altogether. Blair would find himself constantly braving stormy weather that seemed to follow him, and a familiar voice would sometimes echo in the corner of his vision.
He follows Clay out as the Plasma members are taken away by the rest of the workers, and the Miner King graciously rewards him with a gruff, "Come challenge the gym."
He gazes at the badge between his fingers as it glints in the light. A little pin, one that symbolized his fifth triumph.
Valerian chirps proudly, he had blown through every other trainer and almost fell to Clay's partner for that badge.
The tycoon nods approvingly as his fifth proof is gently slotted into the case given to all travelers. "It was an admirable fight. Even with your partner's advantage, mine still gave ya helluva trouble, huh?" He chuckles before giving out the directions for Chargestone Cave, as is customary to tell to any trainer taking the classic route from Striaton to Opelucid.
"And be careful, some kid passed through the other day. Seemed a little deranged, or maybe I'm jus' gettin' old." Blair thanks the businessman and heads out towards Mistralton, apprehensive at the impending encounter.
Blair's Serperior haughtily coils around the young king-to-be as he rings the bell atop the Celestial Tower. The note resonates through the thin air and fog, and seems to echo all through the region.
She whispers to him when it fades from the air. A pure and brave sound. You've grown so much, my liege.
He feels Valerian tense around his neck and shoulders at the pops of static they both hear. His tail flicks at a stray spark that seems to materialize out of nowhere, as the skies turn dark and overcast.
Skyla nervously calls her Swanna to her side, not wanting her to be caught out alone in the sudden storm. "Maybe we should both get back to town before we get hit by some lightning?" She suggests with a chipper tone and a brilliant smile.
The pilot hurries down into the safety of the tower, not really waiting to hear a response.
Blair shivers involuntarily as a gust of wind nearly sends his cap flying off his head. "Where is she? Why did she leave us?" He wonders aloud, murmurs that only his partner can hear.
A minute passes, and he relents, descending the rain-slicked stairs with worry. His other partner had disappeared, and left cryptic whispers and storms in her wake.
Valerian lunges forward, loosening razor sharp leaves at the Pokémon in their way. Blair sprints behind, shoving aside the Plasmites that try to block their advance. A rumble shakes Dragonspiral tower, and he collapses from the impact. As the grunts rush to descend on him, a weak wave of static bursts out around him, giving him enough time to slip away from their stunned reach.
Blair climbs to his feet, unfazed by the sudden appearance of electricity. He hurries after the serpent, who roars at the reinforcements before them.
Another earthquake strikes, more powerful than the first, yet he still manages to stay upright. "Let us pass!" He shouts, the hair on the back of his neck standing from the faint electric aura around him.
Valerian snarls, when a thunderbolt crashes down through the tower and lands in the space between them. The screams of an untamed dragon cry out from above, and the guards look among each other. Silently, they separate, and the pair ascends.
At the top of Dragonspiral Tower, stands N with his dragon, white as snow and hot as the distant stars. He spreads his arms, a king and deity, united in pursuit of the truth.
"Come, Blair." He declares. "Come challenge us at the League. And there we will see which of us is superior."
They warp away, leaving the trainer and his partner in their wake, stunned and alone. "Were we too slow?" He whispers aloud.
His transceiver buzzes, as she finally whispers to them for the first time in months. The hour of our reunion draws near.
His mother had come to see him off before, and she had come to see him off again. "You're setting out! To imagine that my son's headed off to challenge the League!"
He smiles sheepishly and nods. "Yeah, I'm gonna try my best up there."
She smiles warmly as she rubs Valerian. "You've both grown so much compared to who you were two years ago. Are you sure you'll be alright?"
Blair swallows nervously as he pats his bag. "I think...I think this is my destiny. In Dragonspiral Tower, she protected me. But even so—"
She cuts him off with a hug. "It'll be alright. I've heard how everyone says you're a hero, and I'm sure that's a lot of pressure. But you'll always have Mom, and I know you'll be okay."
"I love you." He mumbles into her cardigan. It smells like home.
Zekrom stands triumphant alongside Blair, both of them exhausted as they look upon the defeated king. N smiles weakly as he gazes up at them. "Your ideals won out in the end." He stares off into the night sky through the open wall, knocked to dust during the clash.
"I was always told I was a king. I was raised into the role of a hero. And my heart was pure enough to win Reshiram's favor."
"I was chosen in my dreams." Blair confides. "She said I was of the same soul as one of the brothers." He sits down next to his equal. "She told me I was destined to become the king I am. That Valerian was one of many emperors that had already stood by me."
"You and I are not so different, we were united to them in pursuit of dreams." N muses. "I dreamt of creating a world where all could live, equal and free. But perhaps I was wrong.."
"I dreamed of a simple life. I didn't expect I'd really become a hero." He glances behind him, at the two legendary dragons that stand, attentive and peaceful. "I wanted peace. Maybe that isn't a bad dream to share with everyone."
N pushes himself to his feet and beckons his partner to his side. "I think it's time we leave. There is much to reflect upon, and so much I still do not know. It's up to you to guide Unova now."
The hero-king smiles. "I'll do what I can. But at the end of the day, I'm still human."
His brother turns before climbing atop Reshiram's back. "Blair!" He declares. "Your dream...Make your wonderful dream come true! Make your ideals a reality!"
A/N: i'll keep this as brief as possible. this is a love letter to pokemon b/w, i wanted to tell the story in a similar way to how i viewed and experienced it for the very first time. this story has been over a year in the making, and i hope i did the game justice. thank you for reading.