Last edited: 07/01/2020

★👑★

White~

'Lucario! Use Bone Rush on Garbodor's arms when it's in the air,' I told him.

Lucario summoned his light blue bone-like staff and waited for Garbodor to attack. Garbodor extended its arms again in another attempt to attack Lucario, with the latter dodging without much effort. Lucario attacked Garbodor with his staff, which Garbodor dodged the exact same way I predicted. With all of his might, Lucario swung his staff towards Garbodor's arms with a massive amount of physical force.

Garbodor stumbled and lost balance, as the large Pokémon began to fall from the air. Lucario jumped in the air, beneath it, and placed his hands together, summoning a dark blue sphere of energy between them. After a second, Lucario fired an Aura Sphere towards his opponent. While it was in the air and with its arms damaged, Garbodor was a sitting duck.

The impact caused a small explosion. Lucario used Extreme Speed to force his body to move—kicked his foot in the air and using the energy from its body and legs to push himself back. He stood in front of me, while Garbodor fell to the ground, defeated and exhausted.

I looked up to Roxie who stood there in utter shock as if what she saw was something that shouldn't have happened. However, I knew this victory was mine. I released a sigh of relief and proceeded to stand next to Lucario, patting his shoulders for a job well done.

'We did it,' I said to him.

'We sure did. Nice thinking,' Lucario responded.

Lucario and I hugged in satisfaction, as I knew from the bottom of my heart that it was truly Lucario who deserved this victory. I'm sure he was exhausted since he had to use his speed to win the match. However, I knew Lucario loved battling.

His strong endurance pulled him through.

"So the rumours were true..." Roxie muttered as she approached us after sending Garbodor back in its Pokéball.

"You battled well, Roxie. If Lucario had not been fast enough to dodge your attacks, I'm sure you would've won the battle," I commented.

Roxie nodded. "Your Lucario's something else—Seriously! You and Lucario must've trained extra hard. I saw it! You guys were giving each other some quick glances."

"We naturally do that. Lucario just knows my battling style," I responded, half-lying but also truthfully.

Lucario trained very hard while my friends and I explored the other regions Professor Juniper informed me on, willing to battle the majority of my opponents along the way. He tackled through the harsh obstacles that stood in our way, from the everlasting change in temperature to the relentless weather conditions from different areas. I was proud of him and happy he stood by my side—as well as my other friends—throughout my journey.

★👑★

After I received the Toxic Badge from Roxie, I recalled the promise I made with Bianca to visit Cheren. Reshiram helped me and Lucario by taking us to Aspertia City, where Cheren was battling his challengers. If I also remembered, Cheren became a teacher at a Trainer School.

He was very intelligent and offered advice throughout our journey. I'm sure this was the perfect occupation for him. Hopefully, the children weren't too hard on him—actually, Cheren's capable of withstanding whatever stood in his way, from calmly to rashly.

I'm sure Cheren hadn't changed over the years.

When I entered the city, I was pleased with how peaceful it was. The Gym should be near the Pokémon Center, right? That's also where the Trainer School Cheren worked at was.

Maybe I should surprise him.

With the thought in mind, Lucario and I headed to the Aspertia Gym.

★👑★

Some of the children were wandering around the hallways. Apparently, the class wasn't in session at the moment. My plan to surprise Cheren became more difficult, the more I thought about it. However, I was partially glad the kids didn't notice me as the Champion of Unova.

Maybe it was the wardrobe change...

I learned he was at the Pokémon house, where some Pokémon were living in and where they utilized their features to help students learn. The Pokémon weren't trapped in the school. After what happened two years ago, Cheren wouldn't allow Pokémon to feel that way—I was confident in my belief.

With the assistance from the other teacher, which I introduced myself as Cheren's friend, I managed to find the Pokémon house that took the appearance of a large greenhouse, excluding the plants and garden inside.

I opened the door and entered the place, scanning around the room at the nice sight of a comfy habitat. There were Pokémon running around happily, chasing one another in a simple game of tag. I smiled at how much energy they all had.

I managed to spot Cheren showing a few children the pack of Minccinos huddled together. With my plan in mind, I rushed up to Cheren and hugged him from behind, as my arms immediately wrapped around his waist.

He was clearly startled, as his body shook for a slight second before turning around and noticing my presence. The children he was with turned their attention towards me. Their eyes widened when they noticed Lucario who stood next to me, his aura being noticeable to them.

"Whoa! Mr. Cheren, what Pokémon is that?" one of the male children asked, pointing directly at Lucario.

"That is a Lucario. He is a Pokémon from a different region, very rare in Unova," Cheren responded.

"Are there different regions outside of Unova?" a girl asked.

"Yes, there are many regions besides Unova. When all of you grow up into strong trainers and after you ask your parents for permission, you can explore this Pokémon world and meet all kinds of Pokémon."

"Like that Lucario?"

Cheren nodded, confirming the boy's question.

"Can I hold Lucario's hand?" another boy asked me.

With Lucario's permission, the boy walked up to Lucario and grabbed his paw. Lucario glanced down at the boy who held his paw, where he noticed the child with admiration and fascination in his eyes. With a smile on his face, he averted his attention to Cheren.

"Mr. Cheren, this Pokémon looks so strong! I want a Pokémon like it!"

"I want a strong Pokémon too!" another child exclaimed.

"Well I want a cute Pokémon!" a girl countered.

Strong Pokémon, cute Pokémon... I saw what N had predicted, how people classify Pokémon by separating them in different categories. However, this was the purity of children. Even Cheren knew that, as he unwrapped my arms around his waist and crouched down to the children's level.

"A Pokémon can be cute or strong, but it depends on how the trainer sees it. Remember: beauty lies on the inside, not the outside. The strongest Pokémon can be the cutest and the cutest can be the strongest. Never focus on one aspect. That's what I've learned when I was on my journey to become a strong trainer."

"Did she teach you that?" a boy asked, pointing directly at me.

"Who is she?" another child asked.

Cheren nodded, standing up to pat on my shoulder.

"Indeed. Everyone, I would like to introduce my very close friend and the current Champion of Unova, White. She was the one who defeated Alder two years ago and became the Hero of Truth."

Everyone's eyes widened at Cheren's statement. I gave them a small wave with a smile on my face.

"Hello everyone, it's nice to meet you all. I hope everyone treated Cheren kindly and respectfully. Don't worry though; he can be a bit stubborn sometimes."

"I've changed since the last time we saw each other," Cheren informed me.

"We'll see. Your intellect persona definitely hasn't changed."

"Miss White, are you going to challenge the Gym? Mr. Cheren is the Gym Leader here" someone asked.

"But she's the Champion, right? Does she still need to battle him to get the badge?" another child questioned.

I had already received the Basic badge from Lenora, so battling Cheren would've been a battle of pride rather than a regular Gym Battle. Cheren knew that too. Although we hadn't seen each other in a while, it's best to tone things down a bit.

Actually, it's usually Cheren who asks me to battle him, rather than the other way around. Cheren strived for power, but his spirit must've shattered when he realized Alder lost and that pursuing raw strength wasn't the way to go. I wondered if N's words meant anything to him.

"Oh, I'm not here to battle Cheren. I wanted to drop by and say 'hi' to him since I was in Virbank City not a while ago."

"Did you battle Roxie?" Cheren asked.

"Yeah. She was really something, but Lucario swiped the victory," I replied.

A teacher arrived in the Pokémon house, informing Cheren that it's almost time for the next class. Before Cheren followed them out of the building, the teacher stopped him and suggested that he and I have a moment together, after the two years we've been apart.

I wasn't objecting to the idea, nor was Cheren. He didn't mind at all. I noticed his former Pokémon here—his friends that accompanied him on his journey to the Pokémon League. I believe Bianca's Stoutland was here if I remember correctly.

"So it's a Normal-Type Gym, right?" I questioned.

"Yeah, I became the Gym Leader here, after Lenora retired. Pryce was the one who suggested being the Gym Leader in Aspertia City to me."

"So what's it like being a Gym Leader?"

"It's going along well. There were many strong trainers who challenged my Gym. I won most of the battles but lost to a few. It's not really about win or lose. A Gym Leader's job is to test a trainer's strength and bond with their Pokémon."

"That seems accurate. I'm sure your Pokémon friends are proud of your progress. I'm happy that you're doing well."

Cheren and I were wandering around the area, while Lucario was chatting with Cheren's Haxorus and Liepard. We settled on a large rock in the middle of the Pokémon house, sitting together on the smoothly rigid surface.

"I could say the same thing for you. I heard you've been challenging the other Gyms in the other regions. You've grown since the last time I saw you. You're more mature and you take more responsibility."

"Are you saying I was immature two years ago?" I questioned sarcastically.

"Well as much as I care about her, Bianca was way more immature than you back then. I can't say you weren't naive though but then again, which one of us wasn't..." Cheren commented.

"That's something I can't disagree on. Bianca's doing quite well at the moment. She's learning a lot while under Professor Juniper's wing," I added.

"I actually haven't seen Bianca in a while. Perhaps it's because I'm focussed on the children here and my role as a teacher and Gym Leader that I haven't visited Nuvema Town in a while."

"You should. I'm sure your parents would love to see you once in a while," I suggested.

"I will when I can; not now, though. There are still things I have to do here."

Just as Cheren was about to continue, Lucario rushed to where we sat with a Minccino in his arms. I was shocked to see that the Minccino appeared very sick, making me extremely worried.

"What happened?" Cheren asked frantically.

'The Venipede nearby accidentally poisoned her when it tried to greet Minccino. There's no Pecha berries or an Audino here,' Lucario informed me.

I directly translated Lucario's words to Cheren, who understood the situation and rushed out of the Pokémon house with the Minccino in his arms to the infirmary. I met the Venipede who caused it, who appeared very guilty and began muttering things that would lower one's self-esteem. I crouched down to their level, on one knee and faced it eye to eye.

"It's alright, Venipede. I know it wasn't your fault. You just wanted to say 'hi' to that Minccino, right?"

The Venipede nodded.

"Don't worry, Minccino will be fine. Cheren's really nice and I'm sure the nurses here can help Minccino."

'I hope so,' I heard it muttered.

"I hope so too," I responded.

I heard the children hastily running closer to me. The teacher nearby was flustered as the children crowded around me, asking me a lot of questions simultaneously. Even Lucario couldn't help my situation.

"You can understand what a Pokémon is saying?"

"How did you know what Venipede was thinking?"

"Are you able to hear the voices of Pokémon?"

"Can you talk with them?"

"That's so cool! Can you teach me?"

"Children, please don't bombard her with questions at the same time. I'm sorry White if you feel uncomfortable. The children are always full of curiosity," the teacher apologized, with an exasperated voice.

"It's alright," I replied. Although this was one of the few concerns I had previously; I was able to communicate with Pokémon and was seen as someone gifted, but N had this ability too and was seen as a monster, a freak, an outcast... it was very hypocritical and ironic, how I'm the one getting praised while N gets persecuted.

I couldn't change the past. What's done is done. However, all I can do is find N and hope he can forgive all that happened to him. Having a dream and having opinions were the purest concepts any human could have, whether it's good or bad.

"I'm going to check on Cheren. I'm sorry that I can't answer your questions now."

Along with Lucario, we said our farewells to the children and Cheren's former Pokémon friends before leaving the place to find Cheren.

★👑★

The Minccino recovered completely, thanks to the efforts of the staff in the Trainer School, along with Nurse Joy from the Pokémon Center nearby.

I had received a call from Bianca to meet her in Nimbasa City for something urgent. Lucario and I had already exited the Trainer School, after saying goodbye to Cheren. However, I couldn't get his last words out of my mind.

"You remind me of N, you know? You're both so oblivious to what's in front of your eyes until someone tells you... However, it's not a bad quality to possess. I'll see you soon, I hope."

It wasn't going to be our last goodbye, right? I can just visit Cheren or vice-versa, right? It's not the end of the world. Well, I assumed it was just typical Cheren, taking this a tad too seriously.

However, who knows what's in store for me in the future. I sure didn't and I didn't plan on knowing, or else I would regret it until that time came. 

★👑★

Be sure to vote and comment on the story. Also, correct me on any mistakes during the story.

Hope you enjoyed it and are looking forward to the next chapter~

~Lisa