Author Notes;

I can imagine Black being teased when he was little by Cheren – who did it just because it was in his nature – about being inept and not training Pokemon or knowing what to do to train them, etc, but it affected Black more so because he was an impressionable kid. So he looks to his Pokemon for strength and whatnot, since they're kind to him.

All of my team ended up being female, which was the strangest thing, but whatevs lol.

Also, in his free time, N thinks about Black. I don't think I mention it a lot, but he does because one, he finds him attractive but he doesn't realize it – because he hasn't felt that kind of thing before since he's been cooped up around Pokemon and Plasma grunts that all look the same – and two, as he's mentioned in the game, he takes a liking to him (Black). Both because I believe that he's drawn to Black because of his personality, since part of him is fascinated and in awe sort of that all trainers aren't total douchebags lol, and also because he seeks comfort in that same fact. To know that he isn't alone I suppose, and that Black likes him even though he was all 'lol I am king of team plasma' and Black was just like 'k' then he's more inclined to come back.

Even though he's kind of a giant dick whenever he gets Zekrom and Black is all 'wat no stop /me creys'. I mean what.

Enjoy~ (wow these were really long author notes fft)

..

The second meeting was in the Chargestone Cave, just outside the exit Mistralton City. Hypotenuse had long evolved into a Serperior, but she still remained outside her ball; all five foot someodd number of inches of muscled snake was at his side almost every waking moment. She hissed at offending Pokemon, always slithering around his ankles loosely in a protective stance.

The Plasma grunts took their toll, moreso on Black it seemed than any of his Pokemon – he would fidget and squirm and worry himself half to death when either Factorial – a decently large Scolipede that had been caught happily in the Pinwheel Forest as one of the smallest Venipedes that Black had ever seen – or Hypotenuse got even the slightest bit of damage. He would rush to check them over, hustling them away in order to inspect and heal with a potion or a berry that had been cut in half for the juice inside.

Factorial had bristled venomously when N had approached and sent out his Boldore, poison seeping from the claws lining her neck.

"Hello, N." Black smiled barely, pulling on one of the curved tails protruding from the Scolipede's armor, "Er… what brings you here?"

"You, of course." the taller male replied, and Black had to fight the pinkness in his cheeks and shading his ears. "And your Pokemon. They're so curious – the things that they say are so much different than what I've heard before."

"Factorial, shh." the shorter trainer cooed, running thin fingers under his Pokemon's chin, "He's okay. And the other things you've heard?" curious coffee eyes focused on N's stature after flickering to the patient rock type that sat calmly beside him, "From other trainers?"

"Pokemon, of course." N tipped his hat slightly with a secretive smile before ordering the Boldore to attack quickly.

"F-Factorial, dodge it!" Black almost shrieked, heart lurching violently at the thought of his Pokemon getting injured, "Use Poison Tail! O-or Steamroller..! Be careful, don't get hurt!" He was beginning to very nearly hyperventilate it seemed, his face ashenly pale with a thin bottom lip between his teeth out of fear. N felt a bubble of concern for the boy, returning his fainted Joltik and watching pensively when Black stumbled over his own feet to check on his Scolipede while the Serperior – Hypotenuse, his mind automatically said – waited amusedly in the background.

"I'm alright." tittered Factorial, "Just a scratch or two. Black, really."

"He won't listen." Hypotenuse laughed back, nuzzling the boy when he scurried back over with the large bug in tow before returning her to her warm Pokeball, "He is much too concerned about us."

The battle lasted no more than ten minutes afterwards, and N found himself stunned at the moment he released his Pokemon – Black had dumped out the contents of his bag and rushed over to them with berries and Super Potions.

"Such an… interesting boy." the green haired trainer murmured, a smile subconsciously creeping onto his face.

"Hey, ow!" yelped Black, recoiling from the little Joltik with a whimper and wince. "Please don't bite me, I just was trying to help!"

Hypotenuse had begun to bristle from her coil, and N had tensed up in preparation for the for what had to be coming next; the spider would end up getting hit or something, just like all the other Pokemon that were with him as a child.

"Look, see? It's an Oran Berry." Instead, Black lowered his voice to a quiet whisper and had broken an Oran Berry in half, currently holding it out invitingly. "You must be a timid one, yeah? Ahah, hey – you tickle!" Having deemed the trainer acceptable, Joltik had lept into the large collar of Black's jacket and nestled in with excited clicks and whistles.

"You'll want to disinfect that." N spoke after a moment, masking the shock in his voice while kneeling beside the smaller teen, "Since it's a young Joltik – "

"I want to name her Equation." cut in the brunette with determination, earning a small chuckle.

" – since she's young, her venom isn't that bad yet but still needs to be treated."

"W-will it hurt…?" Almost impossibly wide brown eyes turned to N with a nervous glint, and the latter of the two caught a quiver of chapped lips at the prospect of pain.

"It depends." N shrugged barely and Black looked at the small punctures on his hand forlornly, "What all do you have in the way of healing?"

"Uhm… I used my last Antidote on your Boldore. It had a spot where Factorial's Poison Tail attack caught the claw or something, and it was getting poisoned and it didn't look comfortable." admitted the blue clad male with a sheepish smile, "And I'm afraid I don't really have any berries either…"

A large sigh escaped the taller of the two, and N stood, digging around in his pocket for a few moments before producing a decently sized Pecha Berry. "This should fix it." He explained slowly, and Black stared a few moments at the pink fruit.

"Do I eat it?" He queried after a silent minute, laughing quietly when Hypotenuse slid up and curled around his midsection loosely. "Hypotenuse silly, you're not so tiny anymore. You're even bigger than I am."

Red eyes focused up to N and the snake rose to its full regal glory, tongue flickering out between his eyes slowly. A quiet hiss rolled from Hypotenuse's throat, and his mind automatically translated the speech as if the Serperior had spoken as humans do. "You know how to use berries, yes? Help him, please; Black never has been well versed in caring for himself."

A quiet, almost flustered huff came from the brunette before N had the chance to respond, following with a gentle, playful tug on the leaves attached to the snake's back. "I can so care for myself, Hypotenuse…" He mumbled, flushing when wide green eyes focused onto his form, "I-I mean, I just… I'm not really good at it. Clumsy, but I can get the job done. Most of the time I mean but –"

The crunching of pieces of rock had cut him off when N took a seat instead of standing as he was previously. "It's okay." He said quietly, taking Black's injured hand and resting it on his own knee, "I'll do it if you're so inept."

Silence reigned the second after the last syllable left his lips, Black's head hanging while N busied himself with cutting into the berry to pull out a piece to rub against the bites. Joltik stirred barely from her perch, nestling even more into the warmth of the crook of Black's neck which earned a small smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"There." The contact was broken in moments, with white bandages wrapped around a smooth palm lightly, "Leave it for about a day. Then it should be fine."

N did not miss the quiet, irate hiss that was aimed to his retreating form via Hypotenuse followed by a soothing sound that he knew was directed towards Black.

"Pay no attention to him." She assured, rubbing her head against Black's midsection, "You are not inept."

"I guess not." came the murmured response, and the shuffling of feet when the trainer stood, "But I'm not good either. Oh, it's late isn't it? We should get going; we can rest in the Pokemon Center and then go earn our badge tomorrow morning."

N also did not miss the saddened look that had overcast the once happy expression upon Black's features when they passed him on their way out. How strange it was for Black to have such a large mood swing that quickly. He dismissed it – as well as the mildly remorseful pang in his chest – to nothing as he exited as well, adjusting his cap over his eyes to shield them from the light drizzle that greeted him.