Truth & Ideals

One

I was standing in a crowd, listening to a man named Ghetsis talk about releasing Pokémon back into the wild, and a boy about my age seemed to be hanging on his every word. He had long, mint green hair that reminded me of the mane of the Pokémon Zoroark, and his green eyes were fixed on Ghetsis. Then, in the middle of the speech, he seemed to realize that he'd heard Ghetsis make the same speech multiple times before, and he looked around for something else to focus his attention on. When his green eyes met my blue eyes, he stopped and stared at me curiously, then he made his way over to me. "Hello. I am N. What's your name?" He said. "It's Leslie," I said. "Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?" He asked me. "I've heard it, yes," I said honestly, but the way that he said it made me feel different than it had before, and I could feel my face begin to heat up. I felt something lightly brush the side of my face, and I realized that it was N's hand gently brushing some locks of hair out of my face. "You seem anxious," I said, noticing that he kept opening and closing the fingers of his right hand restlessly. "Yes, but I'm used to it," he said. "I have something that might help with that," I said, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a cube-shaped object, handing it to him.

"Thank you. I think this is just the thing for me," he said, tossing it in the air and catching it in his hand. "You're welcome. If we don't see each other again for a while, you can use it to remember me by, if you want," I said. "Hmm... you're not like the other Pokémon Trainers that I've met," he said, then he appeared to be studying the Poké Ball that held my chosen starter, Snivy. "Interesting... so you like being with Leslie... perhaps not all Pokémon Trainers are cruel to their Pokémon..." he said so quietly that I could barely hear him. I didn't ask him about it, because I didn't want him to think of me as nosy. That was the day my life was turned upside down...

Four Years Later...

I stood behind him, protecting him from anyone who might attempt to harm him. My hair was no longer a soft shade of blonde, but rather a bright orange, as was normal for a Team Plasma grunt like me. Ghetsis had always seemed like an imposing man since I first saw him four years ago, and he could be very scary when he was angry. Strangely, no one had ever seen his right arm, which was always completely covered by his heavy robes that identified him as one of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma. When we arrived at our base of operations, we were dismissed from duty for the day, and I began to make my way to the room that I shared with three of my fellow grunts. I didn't make it halfway before someone ran into me from behind at full speed, knocking both of us to the floor. "Watch where you're going!" I snapped in irritation, getting to my feet right away. When I saw who had run into me, I felt my heart leap into my throat. "Oh... my lord N, I apologize. I didn't know it was you," I said, bowing my head. "It's okay. You're right, I should have been watching where I was going," he said, and then he paused as our eyes met for the first time in four years. "Don't I know you?" He asked. I was too shocked by his question to answer, and I noticed that he was fiddling with the same cube that I had given him when I noticed he was anxious.

"I... with all due respect, I believe that you're confusing me for someone else," I said after a few moments. He tilted his head to the right, and I realized that he was studying one of the Poké Balls on my belt. A few moments later, I realized that he was studying the Poké Ball that held my starter, which had evolved into Serperior since the last time we spoke to each other. "Wow. I've never seen a Pokémon have such a relationship with its Trainer before," he said. "I make sure that my Pokémon know that I care about their wellbeing. I treat them as my friends," I said. "Fascinating. I treat my own Pokémon the same way. I don't like Pokémon battles very much. They're cruel and harmful to the Pokémon," he said. "I find that I can strengthen my bond with my Pokémon through battle, but also through spending time with them. Like I said, I treat my Pokémon as friends," I said. "Hmm..." he said thoughtfully. "It's nice to see you again after so long, Leslie," he said. "Likewise, lord N," I said, and we went our separate ways.

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I hope you enjoy this story. N has been one of my favorite characters in the Pokémon games for as long as I can remember. Until next time!