Thanks for reading this far. If you have any feedback or ways in which I can improve, please let me know.

And here: some fan art I found of my favourite rival. Artist is Redpoppy on Zerochan.

http:/static (dot) zerochan (dot) net/full/01/41/612051 (dot) jpg

A week had passed since that eventful day at the Unova Elite Four. Ghetsis and the Seven Sages had all been arrested. They were currently in a top security prison in Northern Unova and awaiting trial. N had been revived, but not arrested. Ghetsis admitted that he had nothing to do with any of it. In his words, N's only crime was being 'too gullible for his own good'. This, coupled with a testimony from Hilbert, had kept him out of jail. No criminal charges were pressed on him and none were likely to be pressed, but he was still shaken from the entire ordeal.

It was a hot, humid morning when the Elite Four, N, Hilbert, Cheren, and Blue had gathered at the Pokémon League at the edge of Unova. They sat round a table that had been rigged up and placed in the centre of the main room, all four staircases branching off from it. The castle was still there, looking over them. N didn't know how to remove it. The entire debacle had been engineered by Team Plasma's scientists, all of whom had managed to escape from the police along with the Ninja Trio, N's secretive guards.

The room was silent, then Alder sighed and leaned forward, resting one elbow on the large table. "So let me get this straight," he said gruffly. "This girl- Leaf, was it? This girl was from Kanto, did the Indigo Leage there eight years ago, then went missing. Nobody heard from her until she turned up here a month ago. Then, she waltzed through all of Unova, taking on the Pokémon challenge here and passing it easily. She waits up here for N and Hilbert to arrive, knocks Hilbert out, then steals his Dark Orb. She follows N, defeats him as easily as blinking using that one Espeon of hers, catches the legendary Pokémon, Zekrom, and terrifies Ghetsis into giving himself up. Then she steals Reshiram, knocks N out and disappears again? Is that everything that has happened?"

A series of nods flickered around the table.

"I can't trace her. She's not answering her phone any more," Blue sighed. He had been calling her every few hours but she hadn't answered. Still, it had taken her eight years to answer last time. Perhaps it would take eight years this time, too. He wouldn't stop until he managed talked to her again.

"Well, I've been contacting the other regions Champions," Alder said. "And I have a little news. It turns out that this girl's been going from country to country taking every Elite Four challenge. She's in Halls of Fame across the land." Everyone exchanged glances. That wasn't at all surprising, given her strength. They looked back round again when Alder continued to talk. "And that's not all," he was saying. "It turns out that our girl's a collector."

"What does she collect?" This was Cheren, who'd been following the events of the last few days with a feeling of mild annoyance that he'd been left out for so long.

"In short: Legendary Pokémon." The Unova Champion smiled slightly. "Yes, it turns out that Reshiram and Zekrom are the last in a long string of Pokémon."

"What?" Blue's eyes were narrowed as he spoke, leaning across the table to Alder. "What's been happening?"

Alder spread his fingers. "I can't be sure, but there have been sightings of a girl with various Pokémon. Skinny, with brown hair, and an Espeon. Someone saw her with Moltres in Kanto. A researcher named Eusine witnessed her catching Suicune in Johto. A group named Team Galactic attempted to capture three Legendary Pokémon from the Sinnoh Lakes, but she is reported to have caught them all before any Galactic members had a chance. She was seen leaving the scene each time. She was also seen with what appeared to be Groudon in Hoenn. Those are only the ones which have been witnessed, who knows how many more she caught."

Blue was smiling slightly. He gave a small laugh. "So, she's hunting the Legendaries? That's why she's been gone so long. Chasing up a dream of power."

Alder's eyes narrowed. "Blue. She is also a thief."

N jerked slightly. He had been hunched over the table, his hair hanging into his face. He had not been in the best of states lately, what with everything that had happened. He'd been mostly on the verge of catalepsy, only speaking a few snatches of words every now and then. Now though, he raised his head to peer out with bloodshot eyes. "She took Reshiram."

"And many more besides," Alder nodded. "She has stolen Mew, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Dalgia and Kryogre. Trainers reported that they fainted and when they were roused their Pokémon had been stolen. Exactly the same as what happened to Hilbert and N."

Blue leant backwards, running his fingers through his hair. What had happened to Leaf, that quiet girl from Pallet Town? His rival's little sister? The girl who'd followed him everywhere, who'd begged for help with her Pokémon training? She was a thief, now?

It was impossible.

He buried his face in his hands. This was too much, he needed to go back to his Gym. Whatever his childhood friend was doing could wait another day.

000

Deep underground, Leaf had returned to her family. She strode through the corridors, her path lit by buzzing fluorescent lights set into the roof. The floors and walls were bare, cold concrete. Her feet clunked with every step she took. Ahead of her, a face appeared from a doorway. Young and fleshy with dark red hair and eyes to match.

"You're back," he said, stepping out into the open. He was wiry and a head taller than Leaf. He fell into step beside her. "Did you get the last ones?"

"If I didn't then I would not have returned."

The boy smiled. They turned a corner. Ahead of them, a group of people turned their heads at the approach. Leaf stopped to survey them.

"Have the devices been placed?" she asked them.

A short woman at the front gave a nervous head-bob. "Yes. One in each town across the world."

Leaf nodded. Then she and the red-haired boy carried on down the corridor. "Things have been progressing, then?" she asked.

"Rapidly. We will be able to begin in sixteen hours."

She raised one eyebrow. "Blue is not currently at his Gym. Give him time to return and then start the proceedings."

The boy switching on a device that looked like a walky talky. He muttered Leaf's instructions into it before flicking it off. They were now standing outside a large metal door covered in rivets and thick bars. There was a lock requiring a fingerprint scan as well as three different 10-digit codes. When these were entered, there was a loud grinding of barricading slabs being pulled back into the wall. The door swung open.

From the cavernous room beyond the door came electronic beeps, the sound of bubbling liquid, and the occasional, muffled cry of a Pokémon. Leaf smiled. The plan was almost complete.

"I shall be in here for the foreseeable future," she said. "Please ensure that the rest of the plan is enforced. I will be back out when my research is through to instruct you further."

The boy gave a crooked smile. "I will ensure nobody disturbs you."

She nodded. "Thank you, Silver." With that, Leaf stepped into the darkness and let the door swing shut behind her. There was the sound of bolt locking the door against intruders and she was left alone in the darkness.

000

Blue's mind was still reeling as he prepared to leave for Kanto. His Pidgeot was standing a few feet away from him, idly pecking at the ground, but he couldn't bring himself to mount. He was still trying to come to terms with what he'd heard about Leaf.

"I rescued you from Team Rocket when you were held prisoner," he muttered to himself. "Now you're a thief, just like them? You knock trainers out and steal their Pokémon? What happened to you, Leaf? What the fuck happened?"

Pidgeot nuzzled its beak against Blue's shoulder. The Gym Leader sighed, patting the bird's neck as he did so. It was time to move. He'd been away from his Gym too long and had received a call that morning saying that someone was waiting to challenge him. It was definitely time to go. Now.

"Come on," he said, walking round to stand the other side of Pidgeot. "Another long flight back. You up for it?" The bird gave a small coo, making Blue smile. He stepped onto a nearby rock, preparing to lever himself onto the Pokemon's back.

"Wait."

The small voice made Blue stop and glance over his shoulder. Just behind him, his head bent and his hands in his pockets, stood N. Blue turned round to face him.

"I... I was wondering if..." He tailed off, looking nervous. Then, so quickly Blue was surprised he managed to understand, "I-was-wondering-if-maybe-I-could-come-with-you-to-Kanto-please!"

The two boys stood in silence. N was staring at his feet, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Blue was standing with one hand on Pidgeot, watching N curiously. He'd never met anyone quite like this guy. N was the same age as Blue, he might even be a little older although it was hard to tell. And yet, he had a strange air of someone incredibly young. Like that a child of five or ten. He always looked a little lost and confused, and reminded Blue of a kid on his first day at school who hadn't made any friends yet. It was odd. Blue didn't know if N had always been like this, or if it was a result of losing Reshiram. If it was, then Leaf had a lot of explaining- He shook his head, trying to stop thinking of Leaf's actions. Unfortunately, N saw this and, thinking it was a denial of his request, began to deflate.

"That's fine," he said with a weak smile. "I know you must be busy. And there probably isn't enough room on your Pidgeot for two anyway-"

"No!" Blue stepped forward, clapping N on the shoulder. "No, that was about something else. I- Sure, you can come to Kanto. Might be fun to have someone to talk to on the way back."

N looked up, his eyes wide. Then he gave a smile so dazzling that Blue couldn't help but smile himself. "Thank you!" N said, rushing up to Pidgeot. Then, to the bird, he added, "And thank you. I'm sorry if it's too much of a strain for- Oh, really? Okay then. Thanks anyway."

Blue raised one eyebrow, watching N scramble onto his Pokémon's back. "So... You really can talk to Pokémon, huh?"

N nodded. "Since I was a kid. Father used to bring me all these Pokémon to talk to." His smile flickered and faded. "They'd always had such horrible lives."

Blue swung himself up behind N, nodding as he did so. "I guess that's why you thought it was detrimental for Pokémon and trainers to be together?"

"Yes."

There was a silence. Blue broke it by saying, "Fly."

Pidgeot spread its wings and pushed upwards into the sky. N yelped and wrapped his arms around the bird's neck. "I've never been flying before!" he called over the rushing sound of Pidgeot's wings.

Blue laughed. "Well then, you're in for a treat."

000

An impatient man sat on the steps outside Viridian Gym, drumming his hands against his thigh. He was short and squat, with a crooked nose and slicked back hair. He wore a line of battle-worn Pokéballs at his belt and was, at that moment, tossing one ball from hand to hand as he looked up at the sky. The Viridian Leader had been away on business and was yet to arrive. He had been waiting there for almost an hour.

Beside him, a female Ace Trainer was waiting for the Leader as well. She was one of the Gym Trainers who trained under Blue and was growing rather impatient also. Blue had been gone for almost ten days and he'd left without saying anything and without any explanation. What he was doing was a mystery to her and all the other trainers. He'd yelled something about a phone call as he'd ran out of the door, but that was it and a fat lot of good it did them. What on earth were they meant to tell challengers like this guy? 'Sorry sir, but you can't challenge the Gym Leader. He ran away yesterday for no reason, but he might be back any moment so just wait here for a bit.'

The man, whose name was Gord, got to his feet and pointed at the sky. "Is that him?" Just appearing from the distant sky was a speck which got larger and larger. A bird, carrying something on his back. Salma squinted at it, trying to make it out. Finally, she nodded.

"Yes, that's his Pidgeot. Finally, he's back." She got to her feet and moved to the Gym Door. "Will you wait inside or outside?" she queried, her hand on the door knob.

Gord got to his feet. "I think I'd like to meet this guy as soon as possible. Outside."

Salma nodded and pushed her way through the door. The Pidgeot grew larger and larger. Then, with a great fluttering of wings that whipped dust up from the ground, it landed. Two people slid off it's back.

Teenagers, roughly eighteen. The taller one with brown hair and eyes, who seemed to own the Pidgeot. Then a shorter, scruffier one, with green hair in a ponytail and an incredibly nervous expression. Gord marched to stand in front of the brunette.

"You're Blue?" he asked tetchily.

The boy nodded. "Yes. I take it you're the one here to challenge me?"

Gord nodded. Then he glanced at the other kid who hastily looked down at his feet. "Who's this one?"

"A colleague from Unova." Blue stepped up to the door. "Now then, are we going to stand here bickering or are we going to fight?"

000

Silver stood in the control room, surrounded by computer screens, keypads, wires and switches. The screens showed the interiors of Gyms across all four Regions of the world, as well as the Elite Fours. In front of him, a line of scientists were ready on keyboards to flick switches and put the plan into action.

There were a line of lights along the top of the screen: forty-four in all. At that moment, only forty three were switched on, showing a dim red glow. Then, the final light flickered to life.

Silver raised a microphone to his lips. When he spoke, his message was carried down through optical cables, bouncing across the globe at the speed of light. It branched into forty-four different signals and reached forty-four different ears and carried his instruction to forty-four different brains.

He said only one word. "Initiate."

Forty-four people reached for a Pokéball.

In that room, sixteen people sprang into action, their fingers flying across the keyboards. Lights flashed, screens flickered, wires snapped with electricity.

It had begun.