Black was waiting outside for the ship to let on passengers as the winds picked up. It was still fairly warm and sunny out, but the ports had a tendency for moderate winds. He looked up at the huge ship that he would be boarding. It was supposed to have come all the way from the Kanto region and had made its voyage to the Unova region for the first time. S.S. Anne was written out in giant letters that were easy to see against the base color of the vessel. Black was almost giddy as the time drew closer and closer when he would be on his way to the Johto region and onward to see N. Sure, he probably could have just flew on his Zekrom Yin, but then they'd all miss out on the fun of riding on a luxury liner, and Yin would be exhausted after such a long flight.
The whistle blew, signaling for passengers to begin loading onto the boat. Black got in line and waited for his turn. A grin was plastered on his face and the man checking tickets gave him an odd look before smiling back. Black held out his ticket and the man quickly checked it.
"Cabin 244. That's located on the second floor and down the south side of the hall and it should be on your right." Black nodded and thanked the man. "Have fun." the man replied.
Black easily found his way to his cabin and let out all his pokémon. Well, not Yin or his Charizard Zuko, because they were too big and the room was way too small. He did, however, set them on his desk so they could watch from their pokéballs. Black settled into his bed, still feeling to hyped-up to rest for long. Yin and Zuko made small whining noises from inside their pokéballs and Black grabbed them and-after telling the other pokémon to stay in the room-walked to the ship's deck.
A few people were outside with their own pokémon, but it was still breezy enough to keep others inside. He released Yin and Zuko from their respective pokéballs and told them they could fly around as long as they came back before sunset, when he would return for them. Both pokémon flew off, happy to stretch and be free for bit before having to return to their pokéballs for the night. The cruise was supposed to be only a few days, four to five before it reached port in Johto. Unova was very far away from the other regions, but the ship was moving at an alarming rate. It would slow down after they began nearing the other regions, but until then, it'd be moving pretty fast. N went back to his cabin and lied down in his bed, excited about seeing the different regions and then being able to see N. He fell asleep with happy thought of the green haired man.
There was a crash and the boat lurched sideways, knocking Black off his bed and to the floor. The other pokémon woke up and wondered what had just happened. Black told them to remain in the room as he ventured out of his cabin to see what had happened. There were a few people standing out in the hallway, mumbling to themselves and one another. Black made his way past them and up onto the deck. At first he could hardly see anything due to the lack of lights and it being well into the night, but his eyes adjusted. He saw a figure flying up in the sky, moving in a winding pattern. It emitted an earsplitting roar, causing Black to clutch at his ears and double over, trying to block out the pain. The figure dropped down and crashed against the side of the ship. It was then that he saw two other figures flying; Yin and Zuko were flying around the other pokémon. Black didn't know exactly what he was seeing before it fully sank in; his pokémon were in a battle against a Rayquaza. They circled around the Rayquaza and they charged it, trying to push it away from the ship. Black couldn't even think to shout out a single command, even when Zuko and Yin had yelled at him for any sort of direction. The large dragon had crashed into the side of the ship again, knocking Black out of his trance. He began thinking of a way to stop the distressed pokémon without anyone getting hurt.
"Zuko, come here!" he shouted, then hoisted himself onto the Charizard's back. They took off into the sky after Rayquaza. "Yin, use Ancient Power! Zuko use Dragon Pulse!" They attacked simultaneously, hitting the other pokémon. It roared at them, but didn't make a move to attack in turn. Instead, it looped back around and growled lowly at Black, looking him in the eye, and then snorted as if impatient for something. Black made Zuko and Yin land on the deck and the Rayquaza followed suit, only it stayed suspended a foot or so off of the actual surface. Black slowly approached it and it hummed in the back of its throat. He looked over to Yin and Zuko, who looked suspiciously innocent, but returned his attention to Rayquaza.
"Well, puny human, it seems they were telling the truth." It lowered its head to look Black in the eyes, snorting again. "But what they failed to tell me was that it would not be a battle, but more like a beating." Rayquaza looked over at Zuko and Yin. "These two said you were a trustworthy trainer, and a powerful one at that." Black glared over at his pokémon before returning his attention back to the one in front of him. "And I was so looking forward to an actual fight." Black was still confused as to what the legendary pokémon was doing here in the first place. He voiced said thoughts, trying not to offend the dragon-type.
"If you don't mind me asking; what are you doing here and why were you attacking?" Rayquaza snorted again; it seemed to be a habit of his.
"I am here to see about having a bit of fun. And to find a possible trainer, I suppose." Black was a bit taken aback; what was he saying? Zuko and Yin approached the other two and crouched down to face Black. He looked back at them expectantly. "We may have wondered a bit too far and ran into Rayquaza." Yin stated. Black folded his arms over his chest, demanding more of an explanation. "And then we talked and told him about you. He wanted to meet you." Zuko finished. "He's been waiting for a strong enough trainer to capture him." Yin added; Rayquaza nodded and started humming again. Black looked at him in understanding. "You want me to be your trainer?" Rayquaza nodded and hovered closer to Black. "That is, if you are strong enough to capture me." Black was in disbelief, but pulled out a pokéball. "Are you sure?"
"I have been lonely for some time in my tower. I think it's time I see the world with a partner and friends." He pressed his nose to the pokéball. Black opened it, allowing Rayquaza to go inside. It moved for a few seconds, then stopped. His heart stuttered for a beat; he'd really just got a Rayquaza that easily. It was his; he had been chosen to be his trainer.
"Black released Rayquaza from his pokéball and smiled. The dragon looked down at him and waited. "Well," He peered at him with his golden eyes. "Aren't you going to name me?" Black jumped and then thought for a minute before coming up with a suitable name. "How about Akasa?" Rayquaza tilted his head. "What does that mean?" Black smiled reassuringly. "It means 'sky' in Bengali." Rayquaza thought about it for a second, them hummed again. "I suppose that will do for a proper nick name." Akasa stretched and yawned. "When shall we retire? I'm quite sleepy." Black placed the three pokémon back in their pokéballs and headed to his room.
All of the passengers had retreated back to their cabins, so the hallways were empty. Black walked quickly back to his room and sat the pokéballs down on the cushion on top of the desk. The others had woken again upon his return, curious as to what had happened. Black waved them off, telling them he would explain in the morning. Black rolled over and fell asleep, as did Rei, Ace, Reinie, Yin, Zuko, Zoroark, and Akasa.
While Black dreamed about soon arriving in the Johto region, N was lying in bed. He wondered if he had made the right choice in coming to the rescue facility. He thought about Black and the last time they had spoken and the look on his face as he walked out the door. N felt a tight clenching in his chest where his heart was. Funny, he thought that the expression "broken heart" was not to be taken literally. It still hurt, though. Maybe he should have given Black a chance, let him try to change his mind about leaving. But if Black really had meant what he said about him being in love with him, he would have gone after him. Right? And since he hadn't, then N should not dwell on thoughts of the other boy; he should forget him and focus on his work. No matter how hard he tried though, thoughts of what had happened and "what could have" or "should have" swirled around in N's restless head. At least Black still had a part of him: Zoroark. They had traded awhile back; Black got his Zoroark, N got Black's Luxray. N let said pokemon out of it's poke ball and snuggled into his fur. The Luxray purred and curled up next to his trainer as N cried for his friend.
AN: Nothing too important this chapter besides Black going after N and capturing a Rayquaza…and finally introducing N in Johto. Review please, so I can know what you think of it. Thanks to those who've read/favorited/alerted.