To be the Very Best (Pokémon X Male Reader)

Black and White Part 2 Final Chapter - Onwards to Our Own Future

When Gretel returned to the Giant Chasm, it felt like she'd been gone for a lifetime. In reality, only seconds had passed in this world, but she was different now. She had seen and done so much—faced death, defied her own past, and fought battles she never imagined. But as she stepped into the cavern, the weight of those experiences bore down on her like a heavy shroud.

Her eyes locked onto the still form of her world's Y/N, the one who had been lying there motionless since she left. Mimi was still by his side, her cries echoing off the walls of the chasm as she tugged desperately at his shirt, pleading for him to wake up.

Gretel's heart twisted painfully in her chest. The other Y/N had sacrificed himself so she could have this chance, so she could save this version of him—the one who still had a future, who could still fulfil the dream he was so desperate to make real. But now, standing over him with the Pokéball containing Ho-Oh in her hand, doubt flooded her mind. What if it didn't work? What if she had failed, and everything she'd done, everything the other Y/N had given up, was for nothing?

She swallowed hard, her throat tight as she struggled to find the right words. "Hello again..." she began, her voice trembling. "Sorry I took so long... I... I'm sorry... I promise I will make this right."

Taking a deep breath, she called out Ho-Oh. The legendary bird materialized in a blaze of light, its majestic form glowing with a radiant, almost divine energy. Gretel's hands trembled as she looked up at it, her voice breaking as she begged, "Please... bring him back. Bring back my friend."

Ho-Oh let out a soft, melodic cry, its eyes filled with understanding as it flew over Y/N's body. The world seemed to hold its breath as the legendary Pokémon circled above him, and then, with a blinding flash, it released its sacred power.

I gasped, my lungs burning as I was suddenly pulled back to consciousness. My whole body felt like it had been through hell and back—weak, aching, barely able to move. But I was alive.

Mimi's cries broke through the haze, her little body pressing into mine as she sobbed against me. I could hear her voice in my mind, clear as day, and it tore at my heart.

"You left me. I thought you left me."

I wrapped my arms around her, holding on as tight as I could. "I'm here, Mimi," I croaked, my voice barely audible. "I'm right here."

Everything was spinning, the world around me a blur of colours and shapes. I blinked, trying to focus, and then I saw her—Gretel, standing there with Ho-Oh by her side. She looked like she'd been through just as much as I had, if not more. I tried to push myself up, but my body gave out, and I fell forward, catching myself on my hands.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice rough and unsteady.

Gretel turned away, wiping her eyes, a shaky breath escaping her lips. "It worked," she whispered, relief flooding her voice. "Thank Arceus, it worked..."

She approached Ho-Oh, placing a gentle hand on its beak as she steeled herself, the weight of what she was about to say clear in her expression. She took a deep breath, then turned back to me, her eyes filled with a strange mix of sorrow and determination.

"I have no right to ask for your forgiveness," she began, her voice steady despite the tears brimming in her eyes. "Acting as you understand... Up until now, you trusted me, and then... I threw it away over our beliefs. Yet despite that..."

She paused, her gaze distant as if she was looking back on everything that had led to this moment. "I want to talk to you about something. When I first met you in the Nature Preserve, I was shocked when I saw the sort of trainer you were. How calm and collected you were, how strong. I tried everything to be strong like you, but I couldn't understand it. The way you and Mimi were together, your bond... I couldn't believe there were Pokémon that liked people. I had seen the way Ghetsis treated them... how Team Plasma did... and I thought that was the norm."