A Brand New Journey: When it All Fades to Black

▪︎A Strange Dream▪︎

"N?"
"I know it's a bit odd, I just prefer it over my real name."
"N- no! It's not that, I actually really like it."

The green haired man chuckled softly.
"You do? That's a first."
Malerie could tell he was different from others she had met. As soon as he approached her she knew this wouldn't be the last time she would see him.

"You seem like a rather nice person... So you said you could hear my pokemon right?" She asked, looking him in the eyes.

He let out a soft 'mhm' "Mostly from Audino there." Malerie glanced down at the pastel pink and yellow Pokemon, who simply looked up at her trainer in awe.
"You can hear them?" She asked, trying her best to sound polite.

"Yes, but I suppose that means you can't... Such a shame. They really seem to adore you..." He responded, his eyebrows furrowed slightly as if he were confused, Malerie didn't question it that much. To be honest the fact that he could talk to pokemon was the most confusing part of the situation.
Malerie moved her gaze to the ground as she spoke
"I- that's very sweet of them... I always wanted to know what they thought of me if I'm being honest." She scratched the back of her head nervously.

The tall man simply smiled at her.
"So my pokemon's adoration for me is what intrigued you?" She asked.
"In a way yes," he replied his smile fading as he continued. "Although, I feel as if Pokemon and humans should be separated. You know how harmful some can be. So I feel as if Pokemon would be safer without us... Although I don't expect you to agree."

Malerie stared at him for a moment, attempting to figure out what to say.

Swiftly turning her gaze away she found the words she felt were right.
"In a way... I suppose you are right. Although, I see plenty of Pokemon who are happy with their trainers. But I won't deny that there are horrible people who do abuse their pokemon."
She bit the inside of her cheek before returning her gaze to meet his.

He looked at her for a moment, and then smiled softly.
"I'm sure in due time you'll understand." He said quietly, turning away from her.
She stood still for a moment, before speaking again.

"I really do want to understand where you're coming from. But, I don't know if my answer will change..."
He turned his head slightly to look at her.
"That's fine... This is all you've ever known, isn't it?" He soon walked away after that.

Malerie stood in the same spot for a moment. She had this odd feeling that this wouldn't be the last time she saw this mysterious N. In fact she felt this was just the beginning of the wild rollercoaster.

She soon walked back to the Pokemon center, where she noticed Bianca and Hilda sitting down in the lobby.
She walked up next to them, noticing the glances the two gave her.
"I thought you two would've gone to bed by now." She said quietly, taking a seat next to Bianca.
"... I'm a bit to nervous to sleep..." The blonde replied, shaking her head.
"Same, Cheren is probably asleep by now though." Hilda murmured, crossing her arms.
Malerie chuckled, and started playing with her hair.

"So tell me, what did that guy want?" Hilda asked, looking over at Malerie.
"Oh um, he just battled me. And kinda went on something similar to what that Ghetsis guy said earlier. But... It felt much more genuine." She replied, scratching her head.

Bianca looked at her, a slightly worried look on her face.
"What's that look for Bianca?" Malerie asked, looking the worried girl in the eyes.
"I... I really don't know, but those Plasma guys give me the creeps." She huffed.

"That's fine, it's okay to be worried." Malerie replied, standing up.
"Anyway, I think I'll head to bed now... I'm tired." She chuckled, waving slightly as she walked to the room she had rented out earlier.

As she entered she let out Audino and Servine. Both pokemon quickly climbed onto the bed. "I figured you two were tired." She chuckled, petting the normal and grass types.
The two didn't respond in any way, but Servine started dozing off a little.
"Anyway, I suppose we should all go to bed. That battle wore me out."

Malerie changed quickly and then laid down leaving room for her two pokemon.
Soon afterwards she felt herself falling asleep.

Her dream was odd though, she was met with a blazing white dragon.
The Pokemon didn't speak, but merely nodded at her. It turned around and flew away. Although the dream wasn't over yet.
Rather she turned around and was met with another dragon. This one being black, electric sparks flying out of it.

It did something similar to the other one. Although after it flew away it revealed Hilda and N. Oddly calm expressions on their faces as they faced each other, a Pokeball clenched in their hands. Although neither of them moved.

"What is happening." She mumbled, although after muttering those words both trainers turned their heads to look at her.
Hilda's expression changed to one that looked slightly scared.
N still remained calm, although she could tell some other emotion took him over on the inside.
"Guys?" She asked.
N was the only one who responded.
"Tell me Malerie, which do you choose?"

She didn't know how to respond. What did he mean? Did she have to choose between the two? Was there a choice she was met with earlier that required her to answer this question?

She stood still, Hilda shook her head softly.
The blonde girl bit her lip. "I- I don't know what you mean..."

"I'm sure in due time you'll understand." The green haired man replied, a soft smile on his face.
She was familiar with those words. Those were the ones he said to her earlier, before he left.
Although she soon felt herself waking up.

And when she did the first thing she noticed was Audino staring at her.
She quickly noticed her heavy breathing and her heart beating rather fast.
"Audi?" She heard her pokemon say softly.

"I'm fine... I think. That dream just caught me off guard." She responded, smiling softly.
She looked out the window, the sun had just risen.
She thought about her dream for a moment... It was... Different from what she experienced before.

Was it a nightmare?

It didn't feel like one, mostly just an odd dream.

Although what confused her the most were the dragons.
And why was N making her choose between something?
Her head hurt a little just thinking about it

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1260 words

Currently editing a couple of chapters do they will appear different from the original ones!

Peace out and stay safe fam ~ ❤️