Chapter Text
Unova had not always been cold.
It used to have all four seasons: warm spring, hot summer, cool fall, and chilly winter. People and Pokémon alike would enjoy or at least expect the yearly routine, and plan indoor and outdoor activities accordingly. Spring was always a popular time: comfortable temperatures, outdoor festivities beginning again, new baby Pokémon to spot in the wild… They were joyful times, a celebration of life. Even natural disasters or teams of bad guys could not change that.
Then Ghetsis came along. His first plan, to rule Unova with the dragons of Truth and Ideals, fell through due to his idiotic 'son' and a rogue Trainer who stood in opposition. It was only a few years later, when Ghetsis found the husk that remained of the dragons, the Pokémon Kyurem, that his plan of domination came to fruition. Now the whole region was covered in a frozen wasteland, locked in eternity, until Ghetsis deemed otherwise.
The powerful Trainers, gym leaders, and even Elite Four went up against the maniac but somehow, the power of a legendary Pokémon was too much for them all. Ghetsis declared them an example of what would happen to those who dared oppose him and none had attempted to overthrow him since.
The evacuation was only partially completed before Ghetsis' Neo Team Plasma captured all exit points and effectively held the entire region hostage. Everyone else lived in perpetual cold and fear of what their new overlord would decide next.
There was, however, a small glimmer of hope. The people who had not fully escaped the region or been captured by Neo Team Plasma had found refuge in an unlikely place: the region's Battle Subway. The system was quite extensive and acted as normal transit anyway so several entrances provided the perfect escape from the perpetual cold above. Hundreds, perhaps thousands even, of people and Pokémon alike (though there were few of the latter) had fled to the underground tunnels and begun to form a community. And this community was not without leadership: Emmet, one of the twin Subway Bosses, had led the charge for organizing all groups and supplies that came through, creating camps and smaller teams of other subway employees to keep people together and calm in the horrible disaster.
Only a few people knew why Emmet was working alone. Not long before Ghetsis attacked, the other Subway Boss, Ingo, had vanished without a trace. An official search had almost been organized, but bad guys don't wait for good people to be found, so the search never began. That left Emmet as the main individual in charge of the entire subway system, now repurposed into a massive refugee camp.
In one aspect, Emmet was glad for the task. It usually kept him too busy to mourn his brother (though he knew in his heart that Ingo was not dead) and forced him to remain focused on the present. These people needed him, here and now, there was no time to search for people who were not there. On the other hand, Emmet felt like he worked better with his twin beside him and often wished Ingo was at least home to help manage the new crisis. Then he scolded himself for thinking such because who knew if Ingo was even okay? How could Ingo be here helping if he himself needed help? Emmet missed his brother dearly, and though he had Ingo's team to help protect the civilians, he could tell they missed their Trainer, too.
Emmet was not truly alone at the top, though - he had a secret weapon. Amongst one of the earlier waves of refugees, a certain teenage boy had appeared, with quite the calm demeanor despite the situation. He was not a Pokémon Trainer, but worked with them so well, it was as if he could speak to them. He said his name was N, and though he never said where he came from and Emmet never asked, Emmet was close friends with the Nimbasa City Gym Leader, Elesa, who had helped save Unova from Ghetsis the first time. A peculiar detail she had shared afterwards was the presence of a young boy, Ghetsis' own son, who was supposed to help his father rule Unova but had had a change of heart near the end. Emmet never heard what he looked like or even his name, but this N bore an undeniable resemblance to Ghetsis, from his hair the same green and eyes just as piercing.
There was one major difference, however. N was incredibly kind. He was always the first to volunteer in distributing food and blankets, and often offered words of comfort to anyone struggling. Emmet had the feeling that, in any other situation, N would have gladly kept to himself, but something was driving him to go out of his way for this. When Emmet began suggesting small ideas to the subway employees on how to fight back against their icy dictator, N approached him almost immediately with an offer to help in any way he could. Emmet had no idea exactly how N had heard this, as it was strictly kept between employees and they all swore they'd never breathed a word to anyone else, but somehow this green-haired boy had found a way anyway. He seemed very determined to do everything in his power to stop Ghetsis, and Emmet realized that… he admired that. Most people were either too distressed to even think about fighting back or too angry to think up an organized effort that had a chance of working. But N's level-headedness, his unique connection with Pokémon… They could be a very useful asset indeed.
So when N proposed his unique skill set, Emmet put him on a small trial of sorts. N could, in his own words, "understand the hearts of Pokémon," so Emmet put that to the test. He assigned a handful of extra Joltiks to the boy and told him, "Find out all you can about the situation topside in three days' time." It was too risky to send human scouts, because they risked being captured or worse. But Pokémon, in the eyes of Ghetsis and Neo Team Plasma, were meant to be free from humans, so individual or grouped together, some 'wild' Joltik shouldn't raise any suspicions.
However, this was the first amount of power that Emmet was giving to N, and with that came trust. Trust to not betray the most powerful Trainer in the region outside of Ghetsis' control and the remaining survivors. Few Pokémon Trainers made it to the subway, and less had even a single Pokémon on them. If Neo Team Plasma were to magically find out where everyone was and launch an attack, they didn't stand a chance. So Emmet was trusting N not to let this happen and to instead make himself useful, like he promised. He didn't say this directly to N as he handed off his precious Joltik, but something in N's gaze told Emmet he understood. So he left N to his own devices and went back about coordinating supplies and generally being a leader.
Emmet saw even less of N during those three days and almost forgot about the assignment given, until N returned early on the fourth day with the exact number of Joltiks loaned to him perched atop his shoulders and hat. The look on N's face was troubled, however. "I sent them to scout for information, as you asked," the teenager began, "and they found several things. First, some areas above ground are even more dangerous than usual because the weather god Pokémon are outraged by the constant ice. They are tearing up entire sections of cities and forests in an attempt to reverse the cold. Neo Team Plasma is trying to capture them but the Pokémon have proven too quick. For now." N scowled as he spoke the last part. "However, Ghetsis is having the same scientist that designed his flying ship to spread Kyurem's ice now design something large and powerful enough to capture Landorus, Thundurus, and Tornadus. It may only be a matter of time before they are disposed of as well."
"How do you know what Ghetsis' scientist is doing?" Emmet couldn't help but ask.
N's expression lightened considerably. "I sent this little one-" the Joltik perched on his left shoulder jumped onto N's offered finger, "to follow any agents he found back to their base and follow Ghetsis around without being spotted. There were a few close calls, but no one suspected a simple Joltik to be a spy." The Joltik in question jumped and spun excitedly, looking very proud of itself. Emmet couldn't resist reaching out and giving it some congratulatory one-fingered head scratches.
"Where exactly are the legendaries attacking?" Emmet asked. N then listed off a few very specific areas on routes and near cities. Even small towns like Accumula were not spared. However, Emmet was impressed: he'd been keeping a mental note of where people and Pokémon had ventured out to for whatever they could scrounge up and tended to come back more battered and with less in certain areas, all of which were on the list of places N described.
Which meant he must have been telling the truth.
"Keep those Joltik with you for now," Emmet declared. "I may assign you a few more shortly, when my Galvantula's most recent batch hatches. I know you said you were not a Trainer, but I would like to see your prowess in battle."
N raised an eyebrow. "With… only Joltiks?"
Emmet's perpetual smile grew mischievous. "I never said it would be easy. Yes, I would like to battle you with only the Joltiks you have worked with thus far. It will prove how strong your bond is and how well you all trust each other."
N shook his head slightly but he wore a small smile. "I have always been able to understand Pokémon, and I once dedicated my life to helping them. I once denounced the barbaric rite of battling and hated humans for it. Now… now, I realize you cannot have one without the other. Pokémon and humans both need each other. Without them, they cannot realize their full potential." N raised his chin slightly, defiant. "I accept your challenge. And I will also continue to help the people here in any way I can." He turned to leave, Joltik crawling happily through his long, thick hair, when Emmet called out after him.
"And what do you think of it now?"
N stopped and turned back towards Emmet. "Of what?"
"Of battling."
N smiled broadly. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
For the first time in a long time, Emmet felt excited. Maybe he could do this without Ingo after all.