The blocky train raced around the colorful track. N watched it with happy eyes, adding a "Woo woo!" sound for the whistle as it went by him. He was lying on his belly on the cloudy blue floor, right next to the track. When he reached out and pulled a bright red section of the track out, the train didn't stop. It just went backwards, then forwards, then backwards again, avoiding the missing piece. N laughed at the silly train.

He got bored of watching fast. He frowned at the trainset, then rolled his tiny body over to lie on his back. There was a blue sky under him, but a dark and starry sky up above. Sometimes he stared at the stars. Sometimes he tried to count them. This time, he just looked. They were large and yellow and spiky, and they made him sleepy. Anthea always carried him out when he fell asleep. Thinking of her warm arms made his eyelids heavy.

"N," said a voice, heavy and deep. His father's voice. N sat up, rubbed his eyes with his little fists, and opened them tiredly. Ghetsis stood in the doorway of his playroom, all violet robes and mint green hair. Concordia was beside him, a black bundle in her arms. They towered over him, like his basketball hoop did.

"Hi, Connie. Hi, Dad," N replied, offering Ghetsis a sleepy smile. He kept looking at his long hair. N's hair was just like it. The shared their hair and their faces. At least, that's what Concordia told him. 'You'll look just like your father when you grow up.' Every time she said that, she frowned.

Ghetsis gave him a sharp look, the kind that made it feel like he was poking holes in N's heart. His disappointed look. "Do not call me that. I am Ghetsis. Not... that."

N picked at the carpet. When he was tired, it was hard to remember all of his father's rules. His face felt hot as he said, "Yes, Ghetsis."

The violet robes swished in the air, and N lifted his head. Ghetsis had turned to Concordia. "Show him," he instructed her. Her blonde pinwheel hair moved with her nod.

Concordia stepped closer to N. She gave the bundle in her arms a sad look. He realized that it was furry and breathing. "N, we've brought you another Pokémon friend," she told him, her voice rich like honey. Concordia held out the Pokémon for him to take, and he saw one of its teal eyes peering back at him. "One who was mistreated by its owner."

Nervously, N stood up and reached out. His hands were shaking. Concordia passed the Pokémon into his arms and it layed limply against his chest. It wasn't very big, but it still filled his arms. He petted its dark gray fur gently, until his small hand felt wet. The Pokémon was bleeding. N's eyes widened. "Why is it hurt?" he asked them, voice cracking. The other friends had been hurt, too, but not like this.

Ghetsis stared at him, eyes the color of the blood on N's hand. They dug into him, forcing him to pay attention. "Because its owner abused it," he explained. "All Pokemon kept by people are being tortured. They are called into battles they can't win, and they are hurt by other people's Pokémon. They are used as tools."

Concordia knelt down next to N. Her long braid curled on the floor by her feet. "Its name is Zorua," she said softly, petting the fox Pokémon on its head, on the red-tipped tuft of fur. "It can transform into other Pokémon." It growled weakly.

N recognized the look it gave him: suspicion. Zorua was suspicious of him, because he was a human, too. It thought it would be hurt again. That hurt N, because Pokémon were his friends. They were his only friends, and he would never abuse them. "Why don't they care about the Pokémon?"

"Because people are selfish," Ghetsis boomed. "They control Pokémon, not treat them like friends. They are not like you, N."

The Zorua shuddered in N's arms. It tried to growl again, but only sounded like it was crying. N felt like his chest was being squeezed. He swallowed painfully. "Like me?"

Concordia smiled. "You are special." She lifted her hand off Zorua and stood up. She wasn't scary when she stood over him, like Ghetsis was. Her soft white dress and pretty face made her look like an angel. He wanted to cling to her and have her make him feel better, but he had to be strong for Zorua.

"But why am I special?" he asked.

Ghetsis moved closer. N took a small step back. "You have the power to change the world," Ghetsis explained to him. "You can keep people from hurting Pokémon. You can make them free. You'll be... a hero." He raised his arms into the air and spread them wide, like he was waiting for a hug. But he didn't like it when N touched him, so N didn't understand why.

"A hero?" N repeated. He ran his hand over Zorua's soft fur. He could save his friends, and all the Pokémon in the world. He could do it, all by himself, and Pokémon wouldn't hurt anymore. Both Concordia and his father believed in him. "How can I do that?"

Suddenly, Ghetsis was smiling at him. He never smiled at N. It wasn't sweet like Concordia's, but it was still a smile. It made N so happy. "If you work hard, it will be easy. You simply have to become the new hero of Unova, and befriend the legendary dragon, as the king of..."

Zorua adjusted itself, pressing its tiny, warm body against N's thin arms. Ghetsis kept talking, but N forgot to listen. He looked down at it, fighting the tears filling his eyes. He had to be strong for Zorua. For all Pokémon. He held Zorua closer, wanting to protect it from everything. The blood on N's hand smeared on its fur. "I won't let them hurt you any more," he whispered, cradling the abused Zorua in the center of his brightly colored playroom. "I won't let them hurt you ever again."