Wow this chapter took too long to finish. But hey, here it is! Sorry about that. I'll try to update regularly now.

Read, review, and enjoy!

I pulled out my town map the second I got into Striaton City. It was really annoying to unfold, because it had to be small enough to fit into my bag, and large enough to show the entire Unova region. So it was folded in half as many times as possible.

"Okay…" I said, scanning the map. "If I go through Route Three, I should reach Nacrene City in no time at all…"

I smiled. This was going to be a lot easier than I thought it would be. I ran onto Route Three, which was to the west of Striaton City. I wasn't really paying attention to my surroundings because I was trying to refold the map. Which was a lot harder than unfolding it.

I didn't even notice when I wandered into the Tall Grass. Suddenly, something flew out from the grass. I fell backward, shocked. I accidently dropped the map, and it fell to the ground next to me.

"Gah!" I exclaimed. "What was that?"

A Pokemon swooped down on me. I ducked, so it didn't hit my head. But it flew so close that it knocked my hat off. I looked up to see a tiny, gray Pokemon flying above me.

"Aw!" I said. "A Pidove! It's so cute! Ooh, I've just gotta catch it!"

The pidove landed on the ground a few feet away from me. I shoved my hat back on, then slowly got to my feet, trying not to scare away the Pokemon.

"All right!" I whispered. "Leila, come on out, and use Scratch on that Pidove!"

I threw my Pokeball to the ground, and Leila emerged from it. She charged at the pidove, and hit it with a Scratch attack. The pidove was knocked back a few feet.

"Perfect!" I said. "Pokeball, go!"

I threw an empty Pokeball at the pidove. A red light engulfed it, and the Pokeball beeped three times before clicking.

I grinned. "Yes! It worked! Good job, Leila! Return!" After recalling Leila, I ran to pick up Pidove's Pokeball. I immediately called out Pidove. It looked up at me. "Hi there! I'm Calanthia. I hope we can be friends! Now, let's see what moves you know…"

I pulled out my Pokedex, and pointed it at Pidove. The Pokedex told me Pidove knew Gust, Growl, Leer, and Quick Attack. Again, only two of them were going to be useful, but Pidove would eventually learn new moves. The Pokedex also said Pidove was a boy.

"A boy, huh?" I said, staring at the Pokeball. "Let's see… a male flying type… I think I'll call you Aeolus. Welcome to the team."

Aeolus chirped happily, and started to fly around my head. I giggled. "It's nice to meet you, too. Now let's get going! Return!"

Aeolus chirped again before returning to his new Pokeball. I shoved it into my bag, and started running across Route Three again. At that point, I didn't even notice I left my Town Map lying in the Tall Grass.

The rest of the journey to Nacrene City wasn't very eventful. Route Three was pretty straightforward, so it was easy to find the Town Gate.

But when I reached Nacrene City, I realized there were going to be a few problems. One, Nacrene City was huge. Two, I had no idea what the museum looked like. And three, it was starting to get dark out. While there were some street lights, it would've been much easier to see in the daytime.

I wandered around the city for a while, until I stumbled across a giant, white building. There was a sign next to it. It read, 'Nacrene City Museum and Gym.'

I smiled. I finally found the museum. Also, I knew where the gym was, now! Even though I wasn't going to challenge it that night, I was still glad I knew where it was.

I walked over to the doorway of the museum. There was a sign on it that said 'Push', but when I reached for the door, it swung open. So I ended up falling into whoever opened the door.

"Sorry!" I said, immediately stepping back a few feet. "The door kinda disappeared, and I…" I laughed feebly.

"Don't worry about it," a male voice said. The boy was talking really fast for some reason. "I was the one who opened the door, after all."

Wait… that voice… why did it sound so familiar?

I looked up at the boy I crashed into. A tall boy with long, green hair was smiling at me.

It was the boy from Accumula Town!

"Hey, your name's N, right?" I said, smiling.

N's smile widened. "That's me. It's nice to see you again, Calanthia."

"It's nice to see you, too," I said, politely. I twirled my hair. "So, what brings you to Nacrene City?"

"I want to see things no one else can see," N said. "The ideals of Pokemon inside of Pokeballs. The truths of how Trainers should be. A future where Pokemon have become perfect… a future where they are free from human control. Humans have done so many bad things to Pokemon. And I believe they should be free from human control. Do you feel the same way?"

I hesitated for a second, before saying, "Well, I don't know how that answered my question, but I'll admit your points are valid. Although, not all humans treat their Pokemon badly. In fact, some people don't even use their Pokemon to battle. You see, my dad has been doing research in the Hoenn Region, and he told me stories of Pokemon Contests, where Pokemon show off their skills instead of battling."

"Even if they aren't battling, humans are still forcing Pokemon to do things for them." N paused for a second. "You saw the speech in Accumula Town, right?"

I nodded slowly, wondering where N was going with this.

"Maybe Team Plasma is right," N said. "Maybe liberating Pokemon is the only way to ensure their happiness."

"That speech was certainly thought provoking, but I don't think we should take it too seriously," I replied. "And a stupid speech by some creepy dude in a weird cape thing shouldn't lead to thousands of people releasing their Pokemon."

N's smile faltered slightly. "So you cannot see this future, either… I expected more from you."

What did he mean by that? This was the second time he had ever seen me, how could he have expectations?

"Calanthia, I would like to have a battle with you," N said suddenly. "Maybe then you will be able to see this future I envision."

I blinked. Was he actually being serious? We were kind of in the middle of the town. "Is this really the best place for a battle?"

His smile faltered again. "So you don't want to battle me…"

I cringed. I did not like seeing N upset. I sighed. "No, I'll battle you. There's probably enough space here for us to not break anything."

N's smile returned. "Excellent. Let's begin, then. Does a three on three battle sound good to you?"

I nodded.

His smile widened. "Pidove, let's go."

N threw a Pokeball into the air. So he had a pidove, too. Might as well show him mine, too!

"Okay! Aeolus, go!" I said, also throwing a Pokeball. Now we were just kinda standing across from each other with birds. Totally worth it.

"Pidove, use Gust!" N said.

"Aeolus, you heard him. You use Gust, too!" I said.

Both Pidoves started flapping their wings, making small tornados. They flung the tornados at each other, and when they collided, there was a giant gust of wind. I held down my hat to make sure it didn't fall off again.

"Aeolus, use Quick Attack!" I shouted over the wind.

Aeolus charged toward Pidove, and slammed into it. Pidove flew back a few feet, but was able to recover pretty quickly.

"Impressive," N said. "Pidove, use your Quick Attack, too."

"Dodge it and use Quick Attack one more time!" I said.

Aeolus flew up, avoiding Pidove's Quick Attack at the last second. He then dive downed with his own attack, slamming Pidove into the ground.

"Yes!" I said. "Great job, Aeolus! You were amazing!"

Aeolus turned to me, and cried out cheerfully.

N's eyes widened slightly. I looked up at him, still smiling brightly. "What?" I asked.

N shook his head. "It's nothing. Pidove, you fought well. Return."

He recalled his fallen Pokemon, and pulled out another Pokeball. "Timburr, it's your turn."

A gray Pokemon emerged from his Pokeball. It was carrying a large piece of wood for some reason. Since I really didn't want to use my Pokedex in front of N, I just kinda dubbed it as a Fighting Pokemon because of it's human-esque figure. Well, if that thing was a Fighting Pokemon, Aeolus would be great against it!

"Aeolus, use Gust again!" I cried.

Aeolus flew up into the air again, and shot a tornado at Timburr.

"Timburr, use Bide," N said calmly.

The Timburr started glowing with some sort white light thing right before the tornado hit him. At least, it looked like a him to me.

Anyway, even though the Gust looked like it did a lot of damage, the Timburr didn't go flying or anything. Instead the light around it got brighter.

"Now!" N said.

Timburr fired a white beam at Aeolus. It made a direct hit. Aeolus fell to the ground.

I stared at N. "What was that?" I asked.

"Bide," N said simply.

I sighed. Well that was helpful. But, once again, I really didn't want to pull out my Pokedex in front of N, so I let it slide.

"Aeolus, you did a great job," I said. "Return."

I put Aeolus's Pokeball back in my bag. I really didn't know who to bring out next. Even though Aeolus's Gust didn't faint the Timburr, it certainly did a lot of damage. So I would probably be able to take it out with any of my Pokemon.

"Um… Pavati, let's go!" I said, throwing her Pokeball into the air. That was just random enough to work!

"Use Water Gun!" I said.

Pavati shot a stream of water at Timburr. After all of the damage it had taken from Aeolus's attack, the Water Gun was just enough to knock it out.

"You fought well, Timburr," N said, a bit sadly. "Return."

As N reached into his pocket for another Pokeball, I noticed a few people had gathered on the side of the street to watch our battle. I guess that's what we get for having a battle in the middle of the street…

"Tympole, come on out," N said, throwing his last Pokeball. There was a flash of red light and a small, blue and tan Pokemon flopped onto the ground. It was basically just a head with a fin. It was actually kinda adorable.

"Well, that thing has to be a Water Type!" I said, taking out Pavati's and Shuman's Pokeballs. "Pavati, return! Shuman, it's your turn!"

Shuman appeared in another flash of red light, ready for battle.

"Use Leaf Tornado!" I shouted.

Shuman nodded, and shot his tornado toward Tympole. Since it was a water pokemon, and obviously was not made for battling on land, it had no hope of dodging. The tornado sent it flying into the air, and it slammed into the wall of the museum. I was really glad it didn't do any damage to the wall, because that would've been annoying to deal with.

I noticed a few people watching the battle were cheering, so I smiled at them over my shoulder.

N smiled as well as he recalled his fallen Pokemon. "You've met my expectations after all, Calanthia."

I turned back to him as the crowd dispersed.

"But it seems the world is still to be determined…" he said.

I walked back over to him. "What do you mean?"

"Right now, my friends aren't strong enough to save all Pokemon," N said. "Maybe I can't solve the equation that will change the world. So, I need power… power enough to make anyone agree with me. Even someone like your friend from Accumula Town."

I laughed. "Good luck with that. Cheren's really stubborn. You would need something really impressive to convince him."

"You're right…" N said, his smile returning suddenly. "Something impressive… now I know what power I need! Zekrom!"

"What's Zekrom?" I asked. Was that a Pokemon? I had never heard of it before…

"Zekrom is the legendary Pokemon that, along with the hero, created the Unova Region," N explained.

"Wow…" I breathed. "I can't believe a Pokemon created the Unova Region…"

A Pokemon that created the entire region… that certainly was impressive. A Pokemon like that might even be able to impress Cheren.

"So… how are you going to find Zekrom?" I asked.

"I will become the new hero!" N declared. "Using Zekrom, I can change the world for the better! And then you and I will be friends!"

N ran off before I could say another word. Was he actually being serious? I mean, it was cool that he was following his dream and stuff, but this was a bit weird. I really didn't get N. But I wanted to. There was something about him that was so… intriguing. Maybe someday I would understand. But I supposed this wasn't really the time to think about it. Instead, I walked into the Nacrene City Museum.

Before I could get a good look at the museum, a man walked over to me, smiling. It was actually a little bit creepy.

"Welcome to the Nacrene City Museum!" he said. "My name is Hawes. I'm the assistant director." Oh okay that was slightly less creepy.

"It's nice to meet you, sir," I said. "I'm Calanthia, and I'm a Pokemon Trainer."

"A Pokemon Trainer, huh?" Hawes said. "Then you must be here to challenge Lenora's Gym."

"Kinda," I replied. "I'm probably going to challenge it tomorrow. I just wanna look around the museum for today."

"Well, I know a lot about the exhibits here," Hawes said. "If you have any questions, just ask me."

I smiled. "I will. Thank you."

I started to wander around the museum. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be, and there were a lot of different exhibits. There was a meteorite, a Pokemon fossil, and even a giant Pokemon skeleton in the middle of the room! I didn't know what the Pokemon was, and the plaque on it didn't say, but it was still really cool!

But there was one exhibit that really stood out to me. In the far corner of the museum, there was a small, glass case with a shiny, white stone inside. It was really pretty. But for some reason, there wasn't a plaque on it or anything.

Without even looking away from the stone, I said, "Hey, Hawes."

"Yes, Calanthia?" Hawes said, walking over to me. "How can I help you?"

"What's this stone?" I asked. "It's really pretty."

"Oh, that?" Hawes said. "It's just an ordinary old stone. The Gym Leader of Driftveil City, Clay, found it near the desert. It's only on display because it's pretty."

Before I could reply, my Xtransceiver started ringing. Very loudly. The other people in the museum glared at me.

I laughed feebly, then glanced at my wrist. Cheren was calling. I looked up at Hawes.

"Um, I should probably take this. But I'll see you tomorrow!" I said, running out of the museum. Ugh, why did Cheren have to call me right then? That was really awkward.

I answered my Xtransceiver the second I got outside. "Thanks a lot, Cheren."

"What did I do?" Cheren demanded.

"You were the one who told me to go to the museum, why would you call me?" I asked. "It doesn't make any sense."

Cheren rolled his eyes. "Well, It's not my fault you forgot put your Xtransceiver on silent!"

"You can do that?" I said. "Cheren, why didn't you tell me?"

"You've had that thing forever, I thought you would know! Are you really that hopeless, Calanthia?"

"Guys, stop fighting!" Bianca's voice shouted. She pushed Cheren over a few inches so she could get in the picture. "Calanthia, it was my idea to call you. Cheren and I were wondering if it would be okay to stay in Striaton City another night. After all, it is pretty late."

"Oh," I said, glancing at the clock on my Xtranciever. Wow, it was already 9 PM. I had no idea it was so late! "I guess that would be fine. Did you manage to find a munna?"

Bianca smiled. "Yes! She's sooooooooo cute!"

"And she only took a couple of hours to find," Cheren added, annoyed.

I laughed. "Well, at least you found one. So I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow?"

Cheren nodded. "We'll meet up with you in Nacrene City. Hey, maybe we can even watch your Gym Battle!"

I grinned. "That would be awesome! See ya guys tomorrow!"

"Bye, Calanthia!" Bianca said. "Tomorrow is gonna be awesome!"

I pushed a button on my Xtranciever, hanging up. I kind of wanted to check out the museum a bit more, but instead I headed toward the Pokemon Center for the night.