Undella Town, Day 2 of 60, 11:15 P.M.

Lotte

Lotte hurried down from the cliff where the whole of the town was crowded at. Many of them looked annoyed, having been woken up from the meteor impact. When Lotte approached, Caitlin hurried out from the crowd, worry evident on her face. She threw her arms around Lotte and began speaking so fast that even N would barely be able to keep up.

"Lotte! What happened!? There was this crash and the whole ground shook and you weren't here! Everyone had been hearing these strange sounds to the north and-"

Lotte put his finger on her lip to quiet her. She looked up at him; her eyes were on the verge of tears. Lotte spoke up so everyone could hear. "A strange dragon was approaching from the north, and when Zekrom and I went to investigate, it attacked. I don't know what it was, but it certainly wasn't friendly. We had to use Draco Meteor to push it back away from the town. That was the crash you all heard. I'm sorry for all the commotion, you can go back to sleep now."

As the town cleared out, Caitlin and the rest of her group stayed. For the first time, he could see who all was with her. He could see the Gym Leaders Elesa, Skyla and Iris, as well as fellow Elite Four member Shauntal. He went over to Iris and asked, "Can you get a hold of Drayden, I want to ask him about this dragon."

Iris nodded, "I'll get a hold of him tomorrow morning."

"Thank you."

Caitlin put her hand on Lotte's shoulder, "Do you think that this dragon will come back?"

Lotte shrugged, "I hope not, but I'd like to be able to fight it if it does."

Caitlin's eyes began to water again, "I wish you wouldn't throw yourself in situations like this. What if something bad happens to you? What if Zekrom isn't able to help you? You're the only family that I have left, and I don't want to lose you."

Lotte hugged his older sister, and started humming the song from their childhood. As he did, he could feel her crying quiet down. "Don't worry about me, sis. If that thing attacks again, I want you to get out of here."

"But Lotte-"

"Caitlin, I would be able to keep myself safe better if I knew that you were safe. You want me to be safe, right?"

Caitlin looked down, "Yes." She said quietly.

"Then do that for me, would you?"

Caitlin nodded. Lotte could tell that she wasn't too thrilled with the idea, but Lotte was like her, she was the only family he had, and he didn't want to lose her. He hoped that the dragon wouldn't attack again, but it was a necessary precaution.

Skyla walked up to Lotte, she looked worried herself. "If it's an Ice-Dragon type, then it may be hard for Zekrom to defeat it. Even getting close sounds like a bad idea."

Lotte nodded, "That's why Zekrom and I want to have a teammate if we have to fight it again. Anyone would do, even N and Reshiram, which considering types, may even be preferable."

Skyla nodded. Lotte knew she understood how much Zekrom and Reshiram despised each other, and if this opponent was enough to make Zekrom willing to fight alongside Reshiram, then it was obvious that it should not be taken lightly.

Elesa came up next, "It may be best for you to get some rest, Lotte. Even if the battle was short, it sounds like it took a lot out of you."

Lotte nodded, "You're right Elesa, I am tired. I'll see you all tomorrow." He waved good-bye to the Gym Leaders, hugged his sister, and said good-bye to Shauntal, who was busy writing all of the conversation down, saying something about it being "a great subject for a novel" before she looked up, smiling and saying goodnight.

As Lotte walked away, he shivered once again, still feeling a little cold. He entered the Pokémon Center, where a couple of trainers were still awake. He waved at them as he passed, and they responded with a chorus of "Hey, champ!" and "What's up, Lotte?"

He threw himself on the bed in his room, not bothering to take off his jacket or even his shoes. He lay in the bed, thinking about what had just happened, before he felt his eyes close, taking him away to the land of dreams.

…

He felt his older sister hold his hand tightly as the two big boxes were put into the ground. A tear strolled down her cheek. Instinctively, he reached up and brushed it away. He didn't know why she was crying, but he didn't like seeing her cry.

She looked down at him, smiling weakly. She bent down and hugged him tightly, like their mom usually did after one of them got a cut from playing in the yard. Lotte found it strange that, while everyone their parents knew were here, their parents weren't. Everyone looked so sad, and they were all dressed in black, even Miss Holmes, who was always so cheerful-looking whenever she was out watering her garden, was crying.

Lotte thought that when a group of friends gathered, it was supposed to be a happy occasion, but nobody was smiling. Was it because he and Caitlin's parents hadn't shown up? Lotte was a little sad when they didn't, but he didn't let it keep him down. He was going to tell them all about the gathering when he and Caitlin went home.

Lotte watched as two big men started throwing dirt on the big boxes. He wondered what was in them, they looked big enough to hold people in them, but that would be silly, after all, who would want to be put in a box and be buried? He bet that they held a bunch of old items that people didn't want anymore, so they put them in a box to give to whatever Pokémon lived underground.

After the boxes were completely covered, Caitlin pulled him away. There were even more tears on her face than before, and Lotte went to wipe them off again. Before he could however, they stopped, and a strange old man in a black suit was standing before them. "Caitlin and Lotte Howell?" he asked.

"Yes." Caitlin said.

"First, let me say that it is a most terrible thing that has happened, and you have my condolences. Second, I would like to say congratulations to you, Caitlin, as you have been chosen to be the next Lady of the Battle Castle. I must say that the timing is certainly incredible, as this will keep you and your little brother out of an orphanage for sure."

Lotte didn't pay attention to what the man was saying, it seemed like he wanted to talk to his sister anyway, and he didn't need to know his sister's business. He watched as the crowd disappeared until the only people present were him, Caitlin, the two big men with shovels, and the strange old man.

Lotte wished he would stop talking; he wanted to go home and see his parents.

…

Lotte woke up, his alarm blaring. He sighed. He wanted to forget that day.