New Beginnings

   As I drifted into consciousness, I had a strange feeling.  The smell in the air seemed strangely familiar, and the noise seemed to bang against my memories.  I sat up, and slowly opened my eyes.  Still half-awake, my mind was still fuzzy, but I knew something was oddly familiar.  As I continued to gain consciousness, I began to recognize more things.  The blowing of leaves through the trees, the sound of several Pidove chirping, the smell of autumn leaves...I had been here before...but where is here?   I reached back to scratch my head, and then stopped.  The spikes on the back of my head were gone...

   My mind instantly came to.  The attack on Opelucid City.  Team Plasma.  The Battle.  My Secret.   I brushed my hair with my hands.  How long had it been?  Two years?  Three years?   I lost count.  It had felt like a lifetime, I'm not gonna lie.  Pretending to be someone else for a day isn't difficult, but two to three years?  I had days where I almost wondered if there really was another me before, or if that was all somehow a dream, and I had always been this person.

  Why had I done this?  Oh yeah, Porygon Z.  The ultimate program.  I had to hide him, I had to protect him.  If the government found me, they would have taken him, and...

   "I see you're finally awake.  I'm glad to see your 2.10965874 years of hiding didn't cause any mental trauma or other unfortunate side-effects".

   I turned around, recognizing the voice that could only come from the one person I knew who could figure out such precise details.  I stood up and instantly shook his hand. 

  "It's been a long time, Brandon."

  "It could have been longer.  But yes, it's been awhile."

   I laughed.  "You haven't changed a bit, Brandon."  Brandon's face stayed the same.

  "Yes, I don't really change.  You on the other hand...you seem quite different."

  "Well, I did just perform a costume change...."

  "No, I meant from when I saw you last."

  "Oh...really?"

  Brandon sat down in a nearby chair.  "Last time we met was the day you told me you were going into hiding, you were incredibly depressed.  In fact, you were that way for quite some time before that too.  Ever since the final battle with that witch, you've been quite silent and down.  But now, you seem just as happy and chipper as I remember you once were."

  I stared at my hand. Yes...I had gone through a long period like that hadn't I?  Brandon still looked like he wanted something.

 "You hid something from me then, as well as you are hiding something from me now.  When you told me you were hiding because of Porygon-Z, but I knew that was not the entire reason.  Not just because you could have done it a different way, but because I could tell by your facial expressions, the paleness of your skin, and many other details that you were hiding something."

  I sat there for a second, trying to remember my other reason.  I looked down at my Pokeballs, wondering if the Pokemon inside them had any clue, when suddenly it hit me. My other reason.

  "My other reason...was strength."

  Brandon actually showed a little bit of surprise for a split second, then hid it quickly.  "Strength?"

  "Yes...even before that battle, something began to occur to me.  Before, I was the Champion, and not just in the literal sense.  I won in just about every battle I fought in, and was near unbeatable."

  Brandon began writing in his notepad.  "Yes, I remember that period.  But then you became too predictable."

  I nodded.  "Exactly.  That was the problem."

  He looked up.  "What?"

  I sat down on the bed and relaxed.  "I got too attached to my Pokemon."

  "Explain."

  "I had noticed it before...I would begin to cringe when my Pokemon got hurt, and have moments where I would constantly apologize for what happened...but then..."

  "The battle with the witch?"

  "Yes.  When she turned into the being we call Death Arceus...I felt weak.  Ahead of me was this gigantic being of darkness, something with the capabilities of taking everything I knew and loved away from me."

   I hung my head down.  "I noticed it as it happened.  I sent each one of my team out, but at the same time, I felt like I was sending each of my Pokemon to their deaths...I would cringe at every hit, and even cried at a couple times."

  "That's not too uncommon.  You have quite the care for your Pokemon."

  "Once again...that's the problem."

  "Explain."

  "Later...after the fight, I thought back over it.  I honestly was a wreck."

  "You are still not getting to the point."

  "The point is Brandon, that I am the Champion.  Townsfolk, Gym Leaders, and even the Elite Four count on me to be the best that there is.  I can't be a Champion if I stayed the way I was."

  Brandon stopped writing notes, put his stuff down, and stood up.  "So part of your plan was not just to protect the ultimate program, but to regroup yourself, in a sense.  You sent each of your Pokemon off in their own way, telling them to enjoy the rest of their lives as they please.  Then you configured an entirely new team, and then changed your looks.  It only helped your disguise, because not only did you look different, but you had entirely different Pokemon.  Most would have assumed that you loved yours so much, you would never part, and thus did not even question it."

  I couldn't help but laugh.  "How did I know that you would figure it all out before I finished?"

  "Because you have your head back in the game.  As odd as this probably sounds coming from me, it is good to have you back."

  "Haha, you needed someone to challenge your brilliance, huh?"

  "You have no idea how tough it is to go through two full years of nothing but pathetic strategy.  I almost missed losing."

  "Whoah...that's not you at all."

  "Yeah...I know."

  Brandon stuck his hand in his labcoat pocket.  "Now that you are back, I have a location on Team Plasma."

  I stood up.  "Really?"

  Brandon rolled his eyes.  "Who does not?  They parked their ship in a completely unconcealed spot, in a popular area.  Honestly...Cyrus had more reasoning in his crazy skull than this..."

  "Gotcha!"  I put on the jacket I always used to wear, healed my team, and flew off to the location noted on the piece of paper.  Look out Team Plasma, Brennan's back again, and is stronger than ever!!!