To be the Very Best (Pokémon X Male Reader)

Black & White Part 2 Chapter 5 - Nightmare 002 - Hypno's Lullaby

The wind howled through the barren streets of Ecruteak City as I left the ghostly remnants of what once was. Gretal's fate still lingered at the edges of my thoughts, but I shoved it aside. It was all a part of the plan; Team Rocket would have their hands full with her, and if she could throw a wrench in both their plans and Team Plasma's, it would be all the better. I had more pressing matters to attend to—like finding the Rainbow Feather.

Making it past the border of the city centre in the aftermath of the war, Rocket and Plasma were fuelled with laid waste. Everyone has fled to the Pokemon League; at least, they would try to. It wouldn't make a difference in the end. I made my way down the cracked, weathered path, Mimi perched on my shoulder, ears twitching at every creak and groan of the empty city. The further I walked, the more suffocating the silence became. It wasn't unusual for me, but still... It hit hard knowing what was to come in the coming days.

And then, there she was.

A little girl stood alone, her back to me, in the middle of the deserted street. She was the first living soul I'd seen since leaving the city's outskirts. My instincts told me to keep walking, to leave her to whatever fate had in store. She wasn't my problem. She was as good as dead anyway. But Mimi, ever the conscience I tried to ignore, glared at me with that look that said, "You know you can't just leave her."

"Damn it," I muttered under my breath. I had no choice but to bite the bullet.

I approached cautiously, the unease settling in my gut like a lead weight. The girl didn't move, didn't even acknowledge my presence as I circled to get a better look. Her eyes—those empty, milky grey eyes—stared ahead, unseeing, into nothingness. It was like she wasn't really there, just a shell of a person.

"Hey," I called out, waving a hand in front of her face. "What are you doing out here? Where are your parents?"

No response. It was like talking to a statue. I knelt, getting closer, hoping to snap her out of whatever trance she was in. But as soon as I did, those lifeless eyes snapped onto me, sending a jolt of shock through my spine. I stumbled back, nearly losing my balance.

For a moment, just a fleeting second, she looked terrified, as if she had just woken up from a nightmare. But before I could say anything, a low, echoing sound reverberated through the air. It was faint at first, barely noticeable, but it grew louder, more insistent. The girl's expression went blank again, and she stared straight into my eyes.

"Found you." She whispered, her voice hollow and distant. "Help me."

I hesitated, unease gnawing at the back of my mind. But before I could ask what she needed help with, she turned and began walking towards the forest at the edge of the city. I watched her go, torn between every instinct I had to run the other way and the nagging sense of responsibility Zorua had somehow instilled in me.

"Everything you're looking for is this way," she said, her voice just loud enough to carry over the wind.

I should have walked away. I knew something was wrong—terribly, horrifically wrong. But there was something about the way she spoke, the certainty in her words, that gnawed at my resolve. Still, I wasn't stupid enough to follow her blindly. I took a step back, ready to turn and leave, but that sound—the one that had echoed through the air—returned louder this time, clearer.

It was the sound of a pendulum swinging back and forth, its rhythm digging into my skull like a drill. At first, I shook it off, chalking it up to my imagination. But the longer it went on, the harder it was to ignore. Something in the back of my mind whispered that I couldn't just leave her, that I had to follow.

My feet moved before my brain had the chance to argue. I followed her into the forest, the sound of the pendulum growing louder with each step. It was maddening, like a clock ticking down to something I couldn't see. Mimi whined softly, clearly sensing the same wrongness I did, but I couldn't stop myself.