Hello there and welcome to chapter 5! This one is just a bit of a filler, I needed to shove some information in there so I decided to do it all in one chapter! I'm very sorry for the long breaks in between updates, I'll try to have them be shorter from here on out!

Also, before I end this I just have to share a review from last chapter by YinYang9000. Her fakedex entry for Reshiram just cracked me up.- "Reshiram, the Troll Pokemon. It likes to sneak up on its owner and startle them while they are looking at their X-Transceiver. They have been known to think of themselves as Pokemon who are right very often." Lol! I just loved that.

Tee hee, anyway, I hope you enjoy! :D

Chapter 5: A Wave of Changes

The ground around Zekrom shook as he landed to the side of the Marvelous Bridge. The bridge swayed slightly from the impact but steadied quickly as I slid down Zekrom's wing and onto the ground. I returned my Pokémon quickly, turning my attention to the red haired man leaning on the side of the bridge, peering down at the crystal clear water below.

I walked over to him carefully, thoughts and curiosities as to what he had to say floating through my mind. I leaned on the bridge next to him, waiting for him to speak up first.

"You've got quite a dragon there," he said, turning his head to grin in my direction.

I smiled and nodded, brushing aside the statement. I only had an interest in what he had called me here to say. Then I was off to Kanto; and I couldn't wait.

Alder sighed, realizing I was in a pinch for time. "So you got some information about N?" he asked, figuring that was the reason why I was in such a hurry.

I nodded quickly, my heart again beating a little faster at the notion.

"Good for you, kid," Alder said, patting me on the back and successfully knocking the air out of me.

I coughed, my eyes watering as I tried to regain my air source. "What'd you call me here for?" I wheezed out.

Alder's cheery expression faded instantly. "I thought maybe you'd already heard…" he trailed off, again looking out at the water.

"Eh?" I asked. He had lost me completely.

Alder sighed and straightened up, facing me head on. "Iris challenged me two days ago and won."

The statement seemed to linger in the air as shock coursed throughout me. Alder had been the Champion of the Unova region for as long as I could remember. When I was a toddler my mother used to watch a nightly talk show and I remembered seeing him as one of the guests. My eyes had sparkled when I had finally seen the man that everyone in the region aspired to be like. I hadn't ever thought about that one man being dethroned.

Alder nodded, "I figured you'd be surprised."

"That's an understatement!" I practically yelled, a feeling similar to betrayal flowing through my veins. This couldn't be happening. Alder, the Champion, the most powerful trainer in our region couldn't have been beaten out by some Gym Leader who I had beaten easily to win my eighth badge. I had figured my battle for Championship against Alder would be legendary. With Iris it would be a piece of cake if it was anything like my gym battle had been.

"What the hell happened?" I hissed, my hands in fists. Had he not tried his hardest? Had he willingly given up the Championship? For a moment I felt guilty for yelling at the man I had grown so close to during my stay in the Champion's quarters, but it was the shock that was talking, not me.

Alder shook his head, "She's strong, White. I don't know what they've been feeding that girl but I do think even you might have trouble beating her."

My fists unclenched immediately, "What?"

Alder nodded, "She's got some powerful ones on her team. It's crazy. It was close, but in all reality I don't see a way I could've ever won against her."

My face held disbelief for only a moment before I felt a maniacal smile creeping across. There was actually someone in this region who could beat Alder. I knew I could, but I didn't think, rather than N, that there was anyone else. Yet another road block had been placed in my path. And I felt invigorated by it.

As I smiled up at Alder and he let out a booming laugh, I almost felt bipolar. Anger and disbelief to excitement, all in less than a minute. My emotions were going haywire.

Alder again patted me on the back, this time a bit softer.

"I can't wait to see your battle against her, White. It should be a good one."

I gave him a nod. "So is that all you wanted to say?"

Alder nodded, "Yep that's about it. Iris should be sworn in this week. At least Sukizo's happy to finally have an official Champion."

I smiled. Alder had just been shoved back into his position as Champion after I had declined. He hadn't earned it. But I didn't figure anyone protested against the fact that he deserved it.

"And I guess I'm off to Floccesy Town then."

"What?!" I coughed. I had figured Alder would stick around the League to at least just keep things up and running. He had a small cabin out there that he lived in anyway.

He nodded, "Yep, just built myself a house. My grandson lives out there and wanted to train with me so I thought, 'hey, why not'?"

My jaw had already hit the floor and with some effort I willed it to close. So Alder was officially out of the Pokémon League business. No more Championship, and no more living near the League. It was a huge change for the man and yet by the look on his face he seemed thrilled.

"What about my Pokémon?" I squeaked. I had left them in his and the Elite Four's care. However I didn't know if I would feel as safe with them staying there if Alder was gone.

"Don't worry," Alder said with a wink. "I already sent them to Juniper and she said she would send them to Oak."

I sighed in relief, thanking Arceus that they would be safe and with my other Pokémon.

"So, how's the search for some new little ones going?" Alder asked, his eyes trained on my bag.

I shook my head, "I haven't found any yet. Been too busy searching for Sages."

Alder laughed, "I bet you were. I heard you caught the last one yesterday?"

I nodded.

"Good job, kid."

There was a lengthy silence between us as I mulled over all I had learned. Alder would be moving to Floccesy Town, one of the new towns in the Unova region, Iris was the new Champion, and my Pokémon were at Professor Oak's; the place I was headed to after my meeting with Alder.

"Well that's all I've got to say," Alder said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

I nodded, "Me too."

He gave me one knowing nod before walking past me, his way of ending a conversation.

"Oh, White, good luck finding N. You two kids go good together," he said, not bothering to turn back.

I smiled, "Thanks Alder. Good luck training your grandson!"

I heard a laugh before a bright white light formed into his Braviary, and before I knew it both him and his bird were long gone. I started into the sky for a while, not really searching for anything in particular. So much was changing. I just hoped in the end it would be for the better.

I sighed and leaned over the bridge again, watching a few stray Basculin silently swim beneath the water, seemingly without a care in the world. I couldn't wait to feel like them. I knew one day I would finally hold the Champion title, and one day N would be back, and then everything would be right again. I knew it with my heart, but my brain just wasn't getting the message, sending doubts and worries every few seconds. What if I never found N and he never came back? What would I do then?

I grunted and shook my head, straightening up and shoving myself off of the railing. All I could do was keep trying. Kanto was next, that was all I needed to think about. At least that was what I believed until I saw three very familiar men standing to my right, blocking my exit off of the bridge.

I stumbled backwards, a hand on my heart as I tried to calm myself from the scare. The Shadow Triad always had been very quiet; it appeared they hadn't changed in the least.

The three men stood perfectly still. One member out in front with the other on his flanks, forming a triangle. They never failed to frighten me with their appearance. Their harsh stares and otherworldly white hair was borderline creepy; adding in their teleportation they almost seemed to be ghosts.

"You," I whispered to no one in particular. Their appearance stirred up some feelings I hadn't felt in a while. The most dominant being anger. I was angry at Ghetsis, the Sages, the Shadow Triad, hell, just Team Plasma in general for all they had done and the way they had treated N. Even though I had taken them down, stripped them from everything they had, it would never make up for the way they had deceived N. And as I stared at the Shadow Triad's calm looks all I wanted to do was punch them. And if I thought I wanted to punch them then, I definitely would after they spoke their next sentence.

"Lord Ghetsis is gone." The leader didn't move as he blurted out the four words, no emotion in his tone.

My eyes slowly widened, "What?" In all reality I had a feeling deep down as to what he meant, and I was right. That green haired bastard had outsmarted me once again.

The leader of the Triad sighed, "After he escaped from jail, he went somewhere on his own."

My hand reached out for the railing, steadying myself as the news slowly sunk in. Ghetsis had escaped from jail. The most guarded prison in Unova. But when?

The Triad member seemed to read my mind. "Only a few hours ago."

"W-where is he going?" I squeaked, the shock still evident in my tone. I for a moment wondered if I should even believe them. For all I knew they were lying. But when the Shadow Triad presented their answer to my question I knew by the looks on their faces they weren't.

"We don't know," the leader stated bluntly, a look of almost pain flashing across his face in an instant.

In the course of five minutes my world had been turned upside down. Alder was no longer the Champion. I could live with that fact. It might take me a while to process it completely but it was something I'd be used to in a few days. But Ghetsis escaping? That was a smack in the face. I had worked my entire journey through to take Team Plasma down and I had assumed that when they all were in jail that I was free to live my life without worrying about them. Apparently however I had underestimated Ghetsis, and I wasn't quite off the hook yet.

I for a moment wondered what would happen. What was Ghetsis thinking? Was he planning on trying for domination again or would he take his newfound freedom as a ticket to get out of Unova? Once again the Shadow Triad seemed to read my mind.

"We do not know where he is or what he is planning. But, from my own predictions… he won't be causing Unova any more harm," the man said, again a look of pure agony flashing across his face.

I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. If there was anyone who would know what Ghetsis was planning it would be the Shadow Triad. Even if he hadn't told them directly they seemed to know him very well.

"Also," the leader said quickly, reaching around behind him to pull out a small black velvet bag. He stepped forward, holding out the bag to me. "He wanted us to give this to you."

My hand was reaching toward the bag the moment he held it out but with that statement I retracted my arm quickly, looking up to the Shadow Triad member in panic. Ghetsis no doubtedly still hated me as much now as he did back then, perhaps even more. There were so many possibilities as to what could be in that bag, everything from a bomb to poison and I didn't exactly want to come in contact with either one.

"Don't worry, we checked, it won't harm you," the man said, a small trace of humor in his voice.

I took the bag hesitantly, never breaking eye contact with the Triad member until I had the bag close to me. I opened it and reached my hand inside, feeling something cold before taking a breath of courage and pulling it out.

"An, Ice Gem?" I asked in nearly a whisper, holding the gem up toward the sun as the rays sparkled on the gem's crystal clear surface.

When the Shadow Triad didn't respond I looked back down and realized the three members were gone without a trace. I whirled around, looking for any clues as to where they had gone but as I had expected, I didn't find any. Their teleportation was flawless.

I sighed and looked at the Ice Gem again, twirling it around in my fingers. It was only about the size of a tennis ball but weighed a ton and was freezing to touch. I quickly slipped it back in the bag, moving my now freezing fingers around, making sure I still had full mobility of the digits. When I was satisfied with their temperature I again focused on the main question: why had Ghetsis given me the gem?

I must have stood on the bridge for a good ten minutes contemplating the answers to that very open ended question. Really there were thousands of explanations, but knowing the man fairly well from the few times I had met him and the speeches I had heard from him I settled on the one that made the most sense to me: he was giving me a clue. It wasn't a clue to a mystery or something to send me on a wild goose chase to find him; it was just a warning. A warning as to what he was thinking about next. I had no idea what an Ice Gem would insinuate but with a heavy heart I realized that quite possibly sometime soon I would figure it out.

I shook my head, throwing the Ice Gem in its sack into my bag. I didn't have time to waste thinking about Ghetsis' odd gift. I could spend weeks thinking about it and I had a feeling I wouldn't be any closer to figuring it out than I had been when I started, so instead I focused my mind on what I had planned on doing after my meeting with Alder: going to Kanto.

I smiled, pulling out Zekrom's ball, again invigorated by the idea of finding N. I had waited four months for a lead like this and I wasn't going to let it pass me by.

Okay so there it is! I hope you liked it! White is finally off to Kanto! And Alder is being an old man and retiring early. XD

I want to send a big thank you to everyone who reviews/favs/follows. They all make my day and you can tell when I get one because I do a super awkward happy dance. XD

Oh, and real quick before I forget. To reviewer: RandomFemale, and anyone else who had a question about this. Reshiram and Zekrom are genderless Pokemon, but I hate saying 'it' all the time instead of 'he or she' so I always say 'he' for genderless Pokemon, even for Klinklang in the story that came before this one. So when I say 'he' just pretend I said 'it'. XD

Okay! I hope you have a wonderful week!