Fanfiction I Never Wanted to be the Hero (Long Way to Fall original version)

Why, oh why I am reposting this..? *clears throat* So, welcome anyone who decided to torture themselves by clicking on this. As you could probably tell from the title of the thread, this is Long Way to Fall's original incarnation, I Never Wanted to be the Hero. I'm posting this to LV SOLELY for archival purposes, because as much as I'm not proud of this, I still did put a lot of work into it, and I didn't want it to disappear off the internet never to be seen again. Before you read any further, know that these chapters are being posted raw and as-is, with no editing done to them, explaining all the wonky dialogue punctuation early on. The early chapters (I think between 5 and 7 of them) were written all the way back in 2015, and while this eventually, VERY eventually, does pick up and get better, you'll have to sit through a parade of blandly-written battles, outright wrong dialogue punctuation, and a plot that follows the game waaay too closely for its own good to get there. For those of you scared off by that, click the back button NOW. For the masochists out there... well, I guess I can't stop you. I'll be releasing three chapters of this per day, give or take, and seeing as how I wrote 29 chapters and a bit of chapter 30 before hitting the reset switch, this won't take too long to post all of it. With all that done, do your best to enjoy.

P.S: Ya wanna know the really shocking part, though? As bad as this was, it was STILL one of the better novelizations of Pokémon Black and White out there. Scary, and really goes to show how low the bar on FFN truly is.

I Never Wanted to be The Hero​

By: Rylek196

Prologue 1: Forced Evolution​

“Is everything ready?” A man with green hair asked.

“Yes, sir,” a scientist wearing a lab coat and sitting in front of a control panel answered. “The laser is good to go. We can begin any time.”

Another scientist sitting next to him was not so confident. “This is insane,” he muttered fearfully. “Once we do this, that thing's gonna evolve, get loose and kill everything. Everything being us.”

The green haired man simply pulled a Poké Ball from his belt, and clicked the button on its front twice, opening it. In a flash of light, a deadly-looking Pokémon appeared. It was red, humanoid, and just over five feet tall. Its body was clad in armour resembling a traditional samurai, with an axe-like blade adorning its head. Wickedly sharp blades were also present on its forearms and stomach. The Pokémon took a fighting stance as the offending scientist cowered in fear.

“Bisharp, as you will. Night Slash.” Said the green haired man. The poor scientist could only watch as the Bisharp, moving so quickly it was a blur, dashed toward him. The man didn't even have time to scream before the Pokémon cut open his throat with its arm blades.

With a gurgle, the scientist's body tumbled out of its seat, his blood pooling on the floor. The other one gave an uninterested grunt as the green haired man recalled Bisharp to its Poké Ball. That was Ghetsis for you, the scientist thought. All business, all-committed to his goals, all the time. There was no room for those who were uncertain. And that was a fundamental rule of Pokémon. While the creatures themselves could not kill each other, they could very easily kill humans.

“Shall we... bring it in sir?” He asked, not even giving the corpse a second glance.

“Yes,” Ghestis replied. “Get someone down here to replace the incompetent, and... have guards posted outside the room with Fighting-types, just in case.” The scientist nodded, calling someone over the intercom in the lab. Two more workers hustled into the room, one dragging the body away, while the other sat down, preparing to monitor the energy levels of the Pokémon they were about to bring into the adjacent room.

Through a glass panel, they could see a scientist wheel a cart on a track into the room behind the control panel. Strapped down thoroughly to the cart, was a black-and-blue coloured, quadrupedal Dark/Dragon- type known as a Zweilous. (A/N: pronounced ZV'AI-liss). Zweilous was a very unique Pokémon, to say the least. The middle stage of the Deino line, it could evolve into its final form, the deadly pseudo-legendary known as Hydreigon, one of two ways. The first was to get both of Zweilous's two heads to like each other. This would trigger a split personality merge, leading to evolution into Hydreigon. However, this approach came with significant downsides, particularly where time and training were concerned. Getting the rowdy Zweilous's heads to like each other took many months, and Ghetsis did not have that much time, not now. On top of that, training a Zweilous was a herculean task, one that only the most skilled of Trainers could do.

Fortunately, there was another way. The second way was dismissed by experts worldwide as, “barbaric,” “inhumane,” and that, “only the insane would try it.” Ghetsis didn't consider himself insane, but he was pressed for time. In hindsight, it was an error on his part to leave such a crucial part of his plan to the last minute, but now there was no other choice. Once two guards armed with Fighting-types- one of the Zweilous line's few weaknesses- were posted outside the door to the room the Zweilous was in, Ghetsis gave the order.

“Fire up the laser. Make sure to keep it steady, and watch for any signs of that thing's energy levels fluctuating.”

“Yes, sir.” Replied the first scientist, turning to his control panel and pressing a few buttons. The other one kept a close eye on a monitor in front of him.

Through the glass panel, they could see a machine hanging from the ceiling in the Zweilous's room whir to life. Various lights of different colours on it blinked on. Slowly, it began to move along its rail in the ceiling, until it was about a foot from the Zweilous. The Pokémon thrashed against its restraints, but they were simply too strong.

“Its energy levels are steady, despite how much it's struggling,” the scientist watching the monitor reported.

“Good,” said Ghetsis. “Ready?” The other scientist nodded. “Then do it.”

The man flipped a switch, and the machine began to fire a red-hot laser from its tip, scorching the floor. It slowly moved closer to the unfortunate Pokémon, until the heat beam was slicing into one of the Zweilous's two necks.

There was no blood, gore, or anything of the sort as the Zweilous had a head sliced off, nor had anyone expected there to be. Pokémon were unlike any other beings in the universe, comprised of solid energy, and nothing more. This was why they were unable to kill each other. Even a Legendary, such as the fabled Hoenn deities of the sea and land, Kyogre and Groudon, could not kill a measly Caterpie. In fact, as the decapitated head fell to the floor, it dissolved into a white mist.

“That's all we need to do,” said Ghetsis. “Shut it down.” With the turn of a knob, the laser was slowly powered down. Beginning at the stump on its neck, a white glow began to envelop the Zweilous's body. The whiteness spread, until it had completely covered the Pokémon. Its form then began to shift and change, growing larger, more fearsome, more deadly. To everyone's horror, as this happened, the restraints holding the evolving Zweilous down began to snap due to its changing body shape.

“Be ready,” said Ghetsis warily. He had heard of a Hydreigon's destructive power, but had never witnessed it, and he didn't want to.

He was destined to be disappointed.

The glow around the Zweilous faded. In place of the Hostile Pokémon, was the tri-headed, six-winged terror known as Hydreigon. A freed, and very, very angry Hydreigon. The Pokémon started to rip apart the laser, tearing it to bits, and smashed its body against the walls, denting them severely. Nervously, one scientist called the two guards with Fighting-types over the intercom. “We could use some help subduing that thing, please,” he said. Two men entered the room cautiously, each throwing out Poke Balls which opened to release humanoid Fighting-types- the squat, red skinned Judo expert called a Throh, and the lean, blue skinned Karate master known as Sawk.

The rampaging Hydreigon whipped its heads towards the intruders. It let out a roar that Ghetsis and the other scientists could hear even behind the thick pane of one-way glass. The Sawk's Trainer made the first move. “Sawk, use Rock Smash!” The blue Pokémon leaped into action, hitting the crazed Dark/Dragon type with a pressure point striking punch. The Hydreigon screamed as it was hit with the super-effective attack, flying across the room and hitting the wall hard. It was far from finished, though, getting right back up. It swooped, but not towards the Sawk, but rather, towards its trainer.

“Power-Up Punch, Throh!” The Throh's trainer commanded. The red humanoid Pokémon flanked the Hydreigon, hitting it in the side. Again, the dragon yelled in pain, being sent to the floor. Despite being hit with two super-effective attacks, the beast was not down for the count. It got back up, knowing that if it took one more hit, it would faint. When it attacked this time though, it truly showed its power, unleashing a devastating Dragon Pulse at the Sawk.

The blue Pokémon didn't have a hope in hell to dodge the energy beam. It was struck hard, and due to Sawk being a glass cannon defensively- that was, it could hit hard, but couldn't take a hit- it went down, condensing back into the energy it was.

The Hydreigon then turned its attention to the Throh. “Seismic Toss, Throh!” Its Trainer yelled. Throh jumped up on the Hydreigon's back, attempting to piledrive it into the floor, only to get grabbed by the Hydreigon's head-like hands and tossed off itself. Before the Pokémon could recover, the Hydreigon was upon it, biting and attacking with savage blood lust. “Throh!” The Trainer yelled. “Dammit, get outta there!” At the sound of the human's voice, the Hydreigon stopped trying to gore the poor Throh, and fired what looked like a five-pointed star made of fire at him.

He was killed instantly as the Fire Blast made contact, and also turned the sealed room's temperature up several hundred degrees in a second. The Sawk's Trainer shrieked as he was cooked alive. Everyone in the adjoining room, even Ghetsis, watched in shock, Ghetsis backing away towards the door. The other two scientists were rooted to their seats in fear.

Without warning, the Brutal Pokémon started to gather energy around it, congealing it into a sphere.“It's charging up a Focus Blast!” One of the scientists yelled. “Everyone, DOWN!!” In spite of the glass being designed to withstand heavy impacts, it was no match for the Hydreigon's sheer power. The pane shattered instantly as the bolt of kinetic energy hit it, sending deadly shrapnel flying at the three men. Ghetsis dove to the floor, but not quite fast enough. Several stray pieces of glass hit his right arm, tearing the sleeve of his lab coat and drawing blood, while one sliced across his eye, blinding it immediately. Unfortunately, no adrenaline had entered his system yet, so he felt the pain quite acutely.

One scientist had managed to duck and avoid most of the shards, but the other had not been so lucky. His body was slumped forwards, pierced in dozens of places by razor-sharp glass. The man pressed the intercom button on the still functioning control panel and began to yell frantically. “WE NEED BACKUP DOWN HERE! WE NEED-” He never finished his sentence, as another Focus Blast turned him into meat juice, sending blood flying everywhere.

“Gah...” Clutching the bleeding side of his face, Ghetsis stood, pulling his Bisharp's Poké Ball from his belt and releasing the Sword Blade Pokémon. “Bisharp, X-Scissor!” Another weakness of Dark types was Bug, for whatever reason, and X-Scissor was a Bug-type move. The Bisharp ran at the Hydreigon, crossing its arm-blades in an 'x', ready to slash, but the Dark/Steel type was cut down in a heartbeat by another Fire Blast from the insane dragon.

Despite his fear, Ghetsis looked at the Hydreigon with a twisted sense of awe. The beast was truly a perfect killing machine, and it would have no trouble doing what needed to be done when the time came. The snarling Pokémon advanced towards him, causing his heart rate to skyrocket. He couldn't die here, not before his plan had really even begun! Adrenaline was now coursing through him, evidenced by the fact that he could barely feel his eye wound, and by how heavily he was breathing. He heard multiple footsteps in the hall, coming closer. Apparently the dead scientist's final message had gotten through. He just needed to survive a bit longer until help arrived....

The Hydreigon let loose another Fire Blast right at him. Ghetsis almost dodged the fiery five-pointed star, but it caught him on the right arm, setting it ablaze. He screamed in pain, rolling around on the floor, trying to smother the flames. As the monstrous dragon opened its mouth for one more Dragon Pulse, a blur came out of nowhere and smashed into the beast. The Hydreigon slammed into the wall on the far side of the room, finally knocked out. In shock that he was still alive, if wounded, Ghetsis passed out, and everything went black.

 

I Never Wanted to be The Hero​

By: Rylek196

Prologue 2: The Crowning​

Unknown location, 10:00 PM​

The torches were lit, illuminating the great throne room hall.

The banners that bore the organization's emblem were hung. The sages were gathered.

All was ready.

Holding a small pillow upon which a golden crown sat, Ghetsis walked through the hall towards an ornate throne. He had changed out of his lab coat, now wearing a fancy cloak more suitable for the ceremony- the crowning of the king of Team Plasma. “Today!” he announced, “Is a glorious day! After many years, the king is finally ready to bear the honour of the task of Liberation!”

The six sages, and a large gathering of the lesser members of the organization, standing back further in the hall, all cheered. Ghetsis held his hands up to silence them, then called, “Bring forth the king!”

On cue, a young man, clothed in elegant robes fit for royalty, appeared at the end of the hallway. He had tea-green hair, much like Ghetsis himself, but his was much longer and trailed down his back in a long ponytail. He was flanked on either side by two women; his caretakers, Anthea and Concordia. The young man slowly, and almost reverently, began to walk down the carpeted floor towards the throne. Ghetsis moved aside briefly to let the youth stand in front of the ornate chair.

Ghetsis held the crown high above his head with both hands, revealing his badly burned right arm. Thankfully, a skin donor had prevented the need for amputation, but the wounds were still visible. As the crown was lowered slowly onto his head, the young man closed his eyes, thinking of his childhood. He remembered being alone, with no one to raise him except for Pokémon. Feeling the weight of the crown on his head, he opened his eyes, the reminiscing over.

Cheers of, “Long live the king!” broke out in the hall, while Anthea and Concordia looked on from the sidelines. The young man raised his left arm to call for silence once again, preparing to give a short speech, but Ghetsis tuned him out, thinking instead of the events of a few days prior. He had been saved by an Accelgor, a lightning-fast Bug-type, as he later found out. The Hydreigon had been confined to a special Poké Ball that would only open if its central button was pressed three times. He had been warned to never open it until it was time, and to recall the crazed dragon immediately after the deed was done. Surgeons had operated on his right eye, but there was nothing they could do, and it had to be removed. Ghetsis now wore a red monocle of sorts to cover the injury.

The room in the P2 Laboratory where the Zweilous had forcibly evolved suffered heavy damage, and as a result, project GENESECT had been put on hold, at least for two years. Still, in the grand scheme of things, these were minor setbacks. Ghetsis noticed the young man was almost done talking, and allowed a small smile to cross his face. Yes, everything was going according to plan...

 

I Never Wanted to be The Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 1: Your First Pokémon!

​

14-year-old Hilbert 'Blake' Touya had definitely had better months.​

For one, he had been having nightmares that often left him awake and screaming in the middle of the night. In them, a red-haired young man climbed and killed creatures bigger and more fearsome than any Pokémon he had ever seen by stabbing them to death in specific places on their bodies. They were terrifying, and he dreaded closing his eyes each night because of them.

For two, they'd been happening once a night, every night, for the past fifteen nights. As one could imagine, as he rolled out of bed on the fifteenth morning, he was very grouchy. Then again, he supposed while taking his daily shower, it wasn't all bad.

A few days before the nightmares began rearing their ugly faces, his mother had filled and sent out a forum to the Pokémon League, in order for him to become an official Pokémon Trainer. Two days before, a package arrived at his house containing his Trainer Card- a piece of plastic that would serve both as his Trainer I.D. and bank card. The card came pre-loaded with 3000 Pokedollars, and included a pixelated full-body picture of himself. The package also came with a blue Gym Badge case, to hold all the Badges in the region (assuming he ever won any to begin with).

If he was being honest with himself, Hilbert really didn't care about winning the Pokémon League and becoming Champion, or even winning Badges, for that matter. As he saw it, the purpose of the journey was to have fun and adventure with the Pokémon he would be receiving that day- in the words of Nuvema Town's resident Pokémon expert, Professor Juniper, “To grow as a person.”

Hilbert stepped out of the shower, dried himself, and changed into his favourite outfit: black jeans with a black t-shirt, and a jacket in two shades of blue over that. He laced up his black shoes, and to put on the finishing touch, he grabbed the white-and-red baseball cap with a Poké Ball logo on the front off the back of his bedroom door, and placed it on his head. He frequently got hat-hair from wearing the cap, and was teased about it somewhat by his two close friends, Cheren and Bianca, but he didn't care, the hat was a gift from his father before the man abruptly left him and his mother when Hilbert was young.

Hilbert was distracted from his melancholy train of thought by the doorbell ringing. He bounded down the stairs, but his mother, who was already awake and making breakfast, was faster. She had already opened the door, and was chatting with Professor Juniper, who was standing just outside the door.

Behind the Pokémon expert, with his arms crossed and tapping his foot impatiently, was Cheren. The raven-haired, glasses-wearing teen was dressed in his usual attire, a white t-shirt with a red stripe down the middle, black pants that were a tad tighter than Hilbert's somewhat baggy jeans, and a blue jacket, though Cheren's was a bit fancier compared to Hilbert's.

Despite his somewhat nerdy appearance, Cheren actually had a thicker build than Hilbert, as he had lost many an arm-wrestle to Cheren. He pushed his glasses up, the lenses glinting in the early morning sun upon seeing Hilbert standing in the house. Meanwhile, Hilbert's mother was just finishing up her conversation with Juniper, who walked back to her lab, Hilbert's mother doing likewise to the kitchen.

“Finally,” Cheren huffed as he marched into Hilbert's house uninvited. “I thought they'd never be done talking.”

Hilbert chose to ignore Cheren's quite rude comment, instead asking, “What've you got there?” In Cheren's hands was a large cardboard box, a fancy green ribbon on top and sealed shut with tape.

“What I have here, Hilbert, is our future,” said Cheren dramatically. “I was coming over here anyways, but I bumped into Professor Juniper on the way, and she asked me to help deliver this.”

Hilbert's eyes widened. “You don't mean..?”

“Oh, I mean, my friend,” smirked Cheren. “In this box lies the three Pokémon that will lead us to our destiny! Let's go upstairs and open it right now!”

“Slow down there, you two,” called Hilbert's mother from the kitchen, overhearing her son's conversation. “Have you even had breakfast yet, Hilbert?”

“Now that you mention it, I haven't,” mumbled Hilbert. “You go on ahead, Cheren, get everything ready.” Cheren groaned in frustration.

“Fine,” he said in a lower, almost threatening voice, “Just don't take too long.” With that, he walked up the stairs, out of sight.

Hilbert sighed and walked into the kitchen, smelling freshly made scrambled eggs. “What has gotten into Cheren these days?” Asked his mother, turning off the stove. Hilbert shrugged, getting a plate out of a cupboard.

“Beats me. Ever since he got his Trainer Card, he's been a little more, uh... intense. He's been over the moon these past few days waiting for the eggs the Pokémon in that box were to hatch. He told me he was gonna beat the Pokémon League Champion someday.”

“Well, I can't fault him for being ambitious,” said his mother. “But this is your big day too, and for that...” She walked over holding the frying pan, scooping scrambled eggs onto Hilbert's waiting plate. “I made you an extra-large amount.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Congratulations on becoming a Trainer, honey.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

Beginning to dig into his food, he was barely halfway done eating when Cheren's voice yelled, “HILBERT, COME ON! I'M GETTING OLD HERE!”

“Fuck,” hissed Hilbert under his breath, so low that his mother couldn't hear it. “No food for the hungry, I suppose,” he muttered. “Sorry, Mom, but apparently 'destiny' is a little impatient.”

“Oh, it's fine, sweetheart,” his mother responded. “I'll just have the rest of them myself!” Hilbert chuckled as he walked out of the kitchen. He walked up the stairs to the second floor, down a hallway, and stopped in front of his bedroom door. The house he lived in was a small, two story, two-bedroom one-bathroom arrangement, ideal for a small family. Oddly enough, his mother had given him the master bedroom as soon as he was old enough, presumably to get away from the memories of her long-gone husband.

Sighing again, Hilbert opened the door, walking into the room. A pissed-off Cheren was not high on the list of things he wanted to deal with today, and Cheren had a surprisingly short fuse. “What is it, Cheren, you interrupted my perfectly good breakfast,” he said. It was scrambled eggs just the way I like it, too... he added forlornly in his mind.

“Oh, nothing, just the fact that you were taking so damn long, and I got bored of waiting,” replied Cheren pointedly. “I can't wait for Bianca to get here so we can open that box. Imagine, adventuring all across the region, meeting all kinds of different people and Pokémon, and most importantly, getting stronger like only a few ever have been. One day, we could be spoken of in the same breath as Brendan Ruby, or Gold... or even Red!”

“Okay, whoa, slow down there, tiger!” Hilbert put his palms up in a 'halt' gesture. “Assuming that happens- which isn't likely by the way- it won't happen overnight. On top of that, do you know the hell they had to go through to be recognized as... 'Legendary Trainers', I believe the term is?”

“Who cares?” Cheren shot back. “So long as they became famous and strong and known worldwide, what else matters?”

Hilbert pinched the bridge of his nose. Cheren could be so shortsighted and narrow-minded sometimes.... “Whatever, man. Let's just watch some TV while waiting for Bianca. I think the Hero of Time is on right now.”

“Sounds good. You know I'm a sucker for that movie.”

Hilbert turned on the big-screen TV against the wall, and they sat on the floor, flipping through channels until they found it.

As the minutes dragged by, however, Hilbert found himself tuning out the movie, thinking instead of the various so-called 'Legendary Trainers' Cheren had made reference to: Brendan of the Hoenn region, Gold 'Ethan' of Johto, and Red of Kanto. All three regions were far away from his home country, the Unova region.

Brendan Orlando Ruby had, at age twelve, defeated the two maniacal Eco-terrorist organizations of Team Aqua and Team Magma, saving the world from their plans to radically and apocalyptically alter the planet's weather. Not only that, he had beaten the Hoenn region Champion, Wallace, and now ran a place called the Battle Frontier with his newlywed wife, May Anna Ruby, formerly May Anna Birch. One of his childhood friends, a Trainer named Wally, had become one of the 'Frontier Brains', intensely strong Trainers who were in charge of challenging other Trainers.

Gold was a child prodigy. At the tender age of eleven, he had taken down once and for all the infamous criminal syndicate called Team Rocket. He also had trekked across his home region of Johto and the neighbouring Kanto, defeating all the Gym Leaders of both countries, and had faced Red atop the hallowed, freezing peak of Mount Silver. The lights from their battle were said to be so bright, they turned the night into day for several kilometres around, and could be seen from Indigo Plateau, the site of the Kanto-Johto Pokémon League. (In truth, the former Champion, Lance, actually had).

As for Red- ding-dong. For the second time that day, Hilbert's train of thought was cut off by the doorbell. “I'll get it!” They heard his mother yell from downstairs.

“That must be Bianca,” said Hilbert, shutting off the television. Sure enough, less then a minute later, Bianca walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Bianca wore an orange tank top over a white, puffy-shouldered shirt, a white skirt that went down to her shins, orange tights on her legs, and a green hat in the style of a beret.

“Am I late?” She asked somewhat sheepishly.

“Yes, you are,” answered Cheren with a slight edge to his tone, but then sighed. “For the love of Arceus, Bianca, I've always known you had no sense of time, but really? Today of all days?”

“Well so-oooo-orry!” Bianca shot back sarcastically, “It's not my fault I forgot to pack!”

Cheren muttered something under his breath that sounded almost like, “Yes it is,” before Hilbert stepped in. He was usually the peacemaker between his friends, sometimes to his annoyance.

“Just leave her alone, Cheren. It doesn't matter how late she is now, right? Now we can open the box.”

“Oh, right! Yes!” Bianca squealed, pointing to the box. “The Pokémon are right there, right?”

“Yep,” Cheren said. “C'mon, Hilbert, open it!”

“Alright, alright!” Hilbert set the box down on a small table next to the wall farthest from the TV. “Oh?” He noticed something was taped to the box's lid. “There's a note here...” He took the note off the box and read it aloud.

“I've brought three Pokémon, one for you and one for each of your friends. Please settle your choices politely. Enjoy your Pokémon! -Professor Juniper.” Hilbert finished reading the note, then peeled off the tape holding the lid in place with his thumbnails, and opened the box.

Cheren and Bianca both crowded around him as the lid came off. There, inside a foam inlay, were three red-and-white Poke Balls, polished to a mirror sheen. Cheren broke the stunned silence first. “They look so awesome... Finally, I'm going to be a Trainer...”

“Um, guys?” Bianca spoke up. “This is great and all, but how do we pick the Pokémon we want if we don't even know which ball has what in it?”

Cheren's look of awe instantly deflated. “...Good point. Hilbert, check the inside of the lid. Maybe there's something we missed.”

Hilbert nodded, picking up the lid from the floor. He flipped it over, and sure enough, there were pictures of each Pokémon, which ball contained what, and their genders. “Yeah, the info's right here,” he informed his friends. “Good call, Cheren.” He pointed to the ball on the left. “That one contains Snivy, the Grass Snake Pokémon. It's a female.” Snivy was a small, green, reptilian creature, with large red eyes, a cream-coloured belly, and a tail that resembled a three-pronged leaf. In the picture that had been taken of it, it looked rather snobby and almost arrogant. If Cheren was a little more harsh, it'd be a match made in heaven, Hilbert thought to himself.

He then pointed to the middle Poké Ball. “That one has Tepig, the Fire Pig Pokémon. It and the last one are both male.” Tepig was a quadrupedal, orange... well, pig. It had a curly tail tipped with a pink ball, a thick yellow stripe on its black snout, and curious-looking eyes. Hilbert actually thought it looked rather cute in its picture. Bianca apparently thought so, too.

“Oh my gosh, that thing is absolutely adorable!” She squealed in a high-pitched tone. Wanting to be nice to his friend, because she obviously wanted Tepig, he ruled out picking it.

Hilbert pointed to the last Poké Ball, the one on the right. “And last but not least, we have Oshawott, the Sea Otter Pokémon.” Ohsawott seemed to be an otter-like creature. Its body was light blue in colour, while its arms were and head were white. Two small, dark blue ears, the same colour as its feet and rudder-like tail, were present on its head. The most notable thing about Oshawott though, was the pale yellow seashell on its belly. In the picture, Ohsawott was smiling cutely towards the camera, revealing two pointed teeth in its mouth.

“So,” Bianca spoke up, “If the Pokémon were delivered to Hilbert's house, I guess that means he gets first pick, right?”

“Okay, that seems fair,” said Cheren. “Just hurry up, will you?”

“Don't worry, Cheren, I've already made up my mind,” said Hilbert confidently. “I think I'll choose... Oshawott!” He picked up the ball on the right and held it up to his face, seeing his reflection in the polished metal. “Looks like you're comin' with me, buddy!”

“Ooh, ooh, then I get Tepig!” Exclaimed Bianca, snatching up the middle Poké Ball. “That one's yours then, Cheren!”

“But-,” the glasses-wearing boy said, about to protest, but then seemingly thought better of it. “Oh, whatever. I wanted Snivy from the start anyways.” He picked up the left-most ball. “Just one thing, you guys. Why'd you choose the ones you did?”

“Simple,” replied Hilbert. “I saw some potential in this thing. Plus, look at the picture and then my jacket. We match, see?”

Cheren sighed in exasperation.

Bianca's reason, on the other hand, was even more shallow. “Um, I just chose Tepig 'cause I thought it looked cute...?” Both Hilbert and Cheren face-palmed.

“You should never pick a Pokémon based on looks alone, Bianca!” Cheren berated her. “Stats and type are what matter! For example, I already know that my Snivy, when it evolves, will have superior defences and speed, so that's why I was hoping I'd get it.”

“O-oh yeah!?” Bianca stuttered, insulted. “Then why don't you put your money where your mouth is, Mr. Know-It-All! I'll battle you right here, right now!”

“Uh... in my bedroom?” Said Hilbert, unease in his voice. “I don't know if that's such a good idea, guys... You could, y'know, end up trashing the place without meaning to...”

Cheren turned towards Hilbert. “Then why don't you join in?” He challenged.

“Yeah!” chimed in Bianca. “It could be a nice three way free-for-all! And I'll get to make Cheren eat his words when I kick his butt.”

Cheren simply growled. “We'll see about that.”

“Not giving me a choice, are you?” sighed Hilbert. “Okay, I guess I'm in. Let's just try to not destroy my room, alright?” “Deal!” Cheren and Bianca said simultaneously.

Cheren clicked the Poké Ball's central button. The ball opened, and in a flash of bluish-white energy, Snivy appeared. “Sni-vy!” It cried.

“Weren't you supposed to throw the ball?” asked Bianca.

“No, that's not strictly necessary,” replied Cheren. “The throwing motion opens the ball, true, but the reason it's even thrown in the first place is get the Pokémon as far away from you as possible before the battle starts. These things are quite dangerous when fully evolved, and no one wants to get caught in the crossfire of a battle.”

“Yeah, that makes me feel so much better about doing this in my room,” muttered Hilbert, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

“Relax, Hilbert, I said when they're fully evolved. The ones we have are still weak, so they shouldn't do too much damage.” Cheren reassured him.

“Okay, Tepig!” Said Bianca, clicking the button, “Come on out!” There was another flash of energy, and the Fire Pig Pokémon materialized with a cry of, “Tep-tepig!”

“Awww!” Bianca squealed, “It's just as cute as it looked in the picture!”

As Bianca showered her Tepig with praise, Hilbert clicked his Poké Ball's central button. “Alright, Oshawott, let's show 'em what you can do.” There was a third flash, and the blue otter-like Pokémon appeared.

“Oshawah!” The starter cried.

“Alright, Bianca, you stand over there,” said Cheren, pointing to the left wall. “Hilbert, take the right; I'll get the TV wall.” Everyone did as they were told, their Pokémon following them. “Ready?” Hilbert and Bianca nodded. “Then let's do this!”

“Okay, Tepig, go straight for Oshawott! Use Tackle!” Bianca cried. Tepig made a beeline right for Oshawott, who cried out in fear and dove to the side. Tepig rammed into the wall, narrowly missing Hilbert, punching a hole in the drywall and getting its head stuck.

“Holy crap!” Hilbert yelled. He whipped his head in Cheren'a direction. “I thought you said these things wouldn't do any damage!”

“I said they wouldn’t do too much damage,” Cheren shrugged. “Besides, it's not my bedroom. Snivy, attack Tepig while it's open, then go for Ohsawott!”

“Oh, no! Tepig, come on!” It was too late, the Grass Snake Pokémon had slammed headlong into Tepig. The Fire Pig let out a squeal as it was struck in the side, but that had the side-effect of loosening its head, allowing it to it to rip it free, making the hole in the drywall even bigger. Tepig shook the dust out of its eyes, dazed. “I won't let you get away with that, Cheren!” Bianca cried. “Tepig, go after Snivy! Take it out!”

Snivy, however, had already moved on to attack Oshawott. It slammed its large head into the Sea Otter Pokémon, sending it flying onto Hilbert's futon bed, which was in the corner of the room. You bastard, Cheren, Hilbert thought, but then finally ordered his Pokémon to do something. “Oshawott, get up! Tackle Snivy!” Snivy yelled as both Tepig and Oshawott ran for it.

“Do something, Snivy!” Cheren commanded, but could only watch as his Pokémon took a simultaneous Tackle from the other two starters, sending it into a wall, denting the drywall. Hilbert winced at the beating his room was taking. The sheets on his bed were dishevelled, there were holes in two separate walls, and he had a feeling the battle was far from over.

“Grr,” Cheren growled, “Snivy, get up!” The Snivy unsteadily got to its feet, shaking its head. “Use Tackle again! Go for Tepig!”

The battle kept going for nearly ten minutes, and it was a complete seesaw, with someone on top, but then quickly being knocked off that precarious perch. It all ended when Oshawott was cornered with its back to a bookshelf. Tepig and Snivy both ran at the Water-type, expecting an easy knockout, but Oshawott leapfrogged over Tepig, causing the other two to crash headfirst into the shelf. It teetered, shook, and began to tip forward. “Oshawott, get outta there!” Hilbert yelled. Too little, too late. The bookshelf slammed down on the three Pokémon, knocking them all out instantly with an almighty CRASH.

“Uh, oh,” Hilbert gulped. Everyone was stunned into silence for a second, then they all ran towards the bookshelf, lifting it off their precious starters. All three Pokémon were okay, if battered and unconscious, and would be fine when returned to their respective Poke Balls and given a Potion. Cheren let out a low whistle of admiration.

“Damn,” he said, returning Snivy to her Poké Ball, “Maybe I underestimated the power these things have.”

“Gee, ya THINK!?!?” Screamed Hilbert, gesturing to the utterly trashed room. The Wii, however, wasn't even scratched. “I can't believe I let you two talk me into this! If I had known-”

“Hilbert, what was that crash?” His mother's voice from downstairs cut off his diatribe-to-be.

“Nothing, Mom!” Hilbert called. He groaned, then jabbed his index finger at Cheren. “If she makes me clean this up, so help me...”

“Just calm down, Hilbert,” Bianca said. “Let's just go apologize, and I'm sure she'll forgive us. Right?”

Hilbert took a few deep breaths to calm himself. “Fine.” He said finally. “But I'm not going first.”

With that, Cheren and Bianca both walked out of the room, heading downstairs. Hilbert held the ball up to his face again. “You did great out there, Oshawott,” he said to his starter. “But still...” He looked around the room. If this was what three unevolved Pokémon who were basically babies could do, he didn't want to know what the aftermath of Gold and Red's battle looked like.

Again, his thoughts drifted to the 'Legendary Trainers'. No one talked about how Brendan had nearly starved to death, lost inside of Hoenn's brutal and gruelling Victory Road, he knew. Nor did anyone talk about what happened to Red. Or how Gold actually had died, frozen to death on Mount Silver after his battle with Red. All everybody ever talked about was how amazing they were as Trainers.

Sighing one last time, Hilbert followed Cheren and Bianca downstairs.

 

I Never Wanted to be The Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 2: The Journey Begins
​

Hilbert could hear his mother's voice as he walked downstairs. “-at's fine, Bianca, I'm sure it's not too bad.”

“Well, actually, it kind of is,” Cheren said. “I assume you could hear the Pokémon from down here?”

“Well, of course I could,” Hilbert's mother replied. “Even so small, Pokémon have so much power!”

“Heh, well, someone kinda underestimated just how powerful they could be,” Hilbert said, glaring at Cheren, who gave him an apologetic look.

“Hmm,” his mother said. “Maybe I should go take a look.” Grimacing, Hilbert stepped aside- there was no point in delaying the inevitable, after all. His mother ascended the staircase, each of her footsteps sounding to the three friends like a death knell.

They heard her open the door to his room. For a moment, there was silence. Then, “HILBERT TOUYA! GET UP HERE!”

They all winced.

“Thanks, guys,” Hilbert said venomously. “Coming, Mom!” Hilbert followed in his mother's footsteps to his room, expecting the verbal lashing of a lifetime.

“What the hell happened in here!?” His mother yelled as he entered the room.

“Like Bianca said, w-we, uh, had a battle with our Pokémon,” Hilbert stammered nervously, but upon seeing his mother's expression darken, he quickly added, “It wasn't my fault, okay!? They wanted to test out their Pokémon, and I tried to stop them, but they forced me into joining in!”

His mother looked around the room. Almost every piece of furniture that could possibly have been dirtied in some way was, there were holes in multiple walls, and a bookshelf was laying on its side. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to feel angry anymore. Her son was more than likely telling the truth, and he really had just cracked under the peer pressure. She looked up at the ceiling and began to laugh slightly.

“Oh, Hilbert, what am I going to do with you? Come here.” She drew her child into a hug. “You're fourteen now, you can't let what other people say get to you or affect your choices. Plus, you've got a Pokémon now, that's a big responsibility; even more-so if you plan on having a team of them.”

“Sorry, Mom...” Hilbert said, his voice muffled from being pressed against her chest.

She let him go, remembering something. “Oh, before I forget, I have a present for you!” She reached into her back pocket, pulling out a watch-like device. “No Trainer in Unova would caught dead without their 'Cross-Transceiver', now would they?”

“A Cross-Transceiver? Really?” Hilbert said, suddenly excited.

“Yes, it's for your journey. Try it on!”

Hilbert slipped the thick wrist strap around his wrist, buckling it into place. The Cross-Transceiver, or Xtransciever, was an essential communication device for Unova Pokémon Trainers. Basically a wearable webcam, it had four small screens, and a camera, allowing for up to four people to have a real-time video chat. The model Hilbert's mother had gotten him was a fairly standard blue, but they came in all kinds of colours.

“Thanks, Mom!” Hilbert said. His mother gave him one more hug, one that he returned this time. “I'm gonna miss you, honey. Just remember,” she pointed to the Cross-Transceiver, “I'm only a screen away.”

“I'll miss you, too,” Hilbert said, fighting back tears and holding on a little tighter. Eventually, they broke apart.

“Your bag's all packed, right?” His mother asked. “You've got the essentials: toiletries, enough food to get you to Accumula Town, some water?”

“Yeah, it's all good. What about my room?”

“Don't worry, I'll clean it up as best I can.” She gave him one last kiss on his forehead. “You just enjoy the adventure. Now go on. I'm sure your friends are getting impatient.”

Bidding their final farewells, during which his mother playfully called him 'Hilbillybert', a nickname he hated, Hilbert went downstairs to meet up with Cheren and Bianca again.

“About time,” Cheren said as Hilbert came down the stairs. “I had enough time to go home and get my bag while you were up there.” It was true, around Cheren's shoulders were the straps of a backpack.

I probably should have too, now that he mentions it, Bianca thought.

“Let's just get going,” Hilbert said, grabbing his blue messenger bag from by the door. He pulled the strap around his chest. The three friends then stepped out the door into Nuvema Town, a flock of bird-like Pokémon called Pidoves scattering as they did so. Hilbert took a deep breath, enjoying the familiarity. From the dirt paths under his feet to the guy down the way who ranted about the power of science, Nuvema Town was home.

Nuvema Town was a tiny hamlet of only seven or eight houses, not including Juniper's lab, tucked away in the southeastern corner of Unova. The Unova region itself was really three strips of land separated by massive rivers that fed into the ocean. The pieces of land, then, were stitched together by many bridges, the noteworthy ones being the Sky Arrow Bridge, Driftveil City's 'Charizard' Drawbridge, Tubeline Bridge, and Marvellous Bridge. There were other bridges, too, going to the southwestern tip of Unova, but for now, that place was largely uninhabited, with it only housing a few logging companies. Developers had expressed interest in building there, but it remained nothing more than talk and dreams at the moment. Perhaps in a few years, though, work would be started.

“Does everyone have what they need?” Hilbert asked as they walked through the town. His, Cheren's and Bianca's houses were placed in an almost perfect triangle formation, the other houses clustered around them.

“Um, not exactly...” Bianca said in a quiet voice. “I was in such a rush to get to your house, Hilbert, that I didn't bring my bag or Cross-Transceiver...”

They stopped in front of Juniper's lab. “Then go get them!” Cheren gently urged. “We'll wait here. Just don't take too long, got it?” “Okay,” Bianca nodded, rushing back to her house.

Two minutes passed. Then five. Impatient to get going, Hilbert simply said, “Wait here,” to Cheren, and went off towards Bianca's house to fetch her. As he opened the door to her home- everyone in Nuvema left their houses unlocked 24/7 anyways- he could hear her father shouting. “No! Absolutely not! I forbid it! A thousand times no!”

“B-but Dad...” Bianca snivelled, “I've already gotten my Pokémon, and had a battle with it, too! I'm ready for-”

“You WHAT!?” Her father shouted. “Don't you remember what happened to your cousin five years ago!?”

This caused Hilbert's mind to go into overdrive trying to remember the details. It was true that something had happened five years ago, and Bianca did have a cousin on her father's side. But what was his name? Hilbert thought. Harry, Larry... something like that.

“Now, dear,” Bianca's mother said to her husband, “Don't you think you're being a bit unreasonable?”

“No, I am not!” He shot back at his wife. He addressed his daughter again. “You're not going on some ludicrous quest around the region!” Seeing Bianca's eyes welling up with tears, his expression softened, if only just. “This is for your own safety, Bianca,” he said firmly. “I don't want what happened with your cousin to happen with you, too.”

Bianca, though, was resolute. Shaking her head and fighting back tears, she said, “No! I'm going, and you can't stop me! Just watch me, Dad! I'll become a great Trainer, and prove you wrong!” With that, she ran to the door, brushing past Hilbert with a murmured, “I'll wait by the lab,” and went outside.

“Bianca...” Her father said, but it was too late, she had already slammed the door shut.

Finally, Hilbert felt it was the right time to say something. “Um, not trying to be intrusive,” he walked over to Bianca's father, “But what was that all about?”

Bianca's father sighed. “It's just that... I don't want her getting into similar trouble as Lucas and Barry did, that's all.”

Barry! That was his name! With that one name, all the pieces came together in Hilbert's mind, like a Rubik’s Cube being solved in record time.

Five years ago, in the Sinnoh region, a Trainer named Lucas Diamond, and his hyperactive friend Barry Cedric, had, by chance, been given Pokémon and went on an adventure. During their travels, they had several run-ins with a criminal organization called Team Galactic. This Team, and its leader, Cyrus, had much bigger goals than just stealing Pokémon to make money. Cyrus's ambition was to destroy the whole universe, and make a new one in his image, one without emotion. By the skin of their teeth, Lucas and Barry had defeated him atop the sacred peak of Sinnoh's Mt. Coronet. Lucas had then gone on to defeat Cynthia, the Sinnoh Pokémon League Champion. The reason Bianca's father was acting so overprotective, then, was because he didn't want his daughter to potentially get in the same kinds of life-threatening situations that Barry and Lucas had.

“Oh, it's fine,” Bianca's mother said. “All children leave home someday on a Pokémon journey. It's part of growing up. Besides, it said so on TV.”

Yeah, my ass it did, Hilbert thought, but left the house without another word. He met up with his friends in front of Professor Juniper's lab.

“Are we ready to go inside?” Cheren asked.

“Yep, I'm good to go!” Bianca said with obviously forced pep, but there was no hiding the slightly bitter tone in her voice.

Cheren put his hand on her shoulder. “Bianca, just so you know, if you need help at any point, remember, myself and Hilbert are here.”

“Thanks, Cheren,” Bianca said, blushing a bit.

Hilbert just shrugged; if he became the dreaded third wheel, so be it. He opened the door to the large orange roofed building, and they all filed inside. Juniper looked up from some paperwork as she heard the the door open. “Oh, hello, you three! I've been waiting!” She got up from her desk and walked towards the three friends.

Professor Aurea Juniper was a pretty young woman in her mid-to-late twenties. She had her hair done up in an elaborate bun. She wore a green skirt, a white shirt, and an off-white lab coat.

Juniper was only one of many Pokémon Professors around the world. The others were Professor Samuel Oak, of Kanto, Professor Allen Elm, of Johto, Professor David Birch, of Hoenn, Professor Ronald Rowan, of Sinnoh, and Professor Augustine Sycamore, of Kalos, whom it was rumoured Juniper had recently started a long-distance relationship with. There was also Professor Krane, in the very remote and rarely talked about desert region of Orre. More than once, Hilbert had wondered why all the Professors except Juniper were men, and much more importantly (with the obvious exception of Krane), why all their last names were trees or parts of them.

Hilbert stood in between Cheren and Bianca as Juniper began to speak. “Let's get down to business, shall we? My name is Aruea Juniper.”

Cheren merely rolled his eyes. “We know who you are, Professor,” he said condescendingly. “We've lived in this town since we were in diapers.”

Hilbert's eyes narrowed, and he elbowed Cheren in the ribs, causing the boy to let out a pained grunt. “Don't be rude,” he said sharply. “She's the reason we're going on this adventure in the first place, right? So show some respect!”

“Thank you, Hilbert,” Juniper said, smiling sweetly at him. She gave Cheren a dark look that had don't interrupt again written all over it, then continued speaking.

“As I was saying, my name is Aruea Juniper, the Pokémon Professor of the Unova region. I gave you three those Pokémon for a very special purpose, which I'll get to in a minute.”

“Um, Professor?” Hilbert asked, shuffling his feet in embarrassment, “Not to interrupt again, but about the Pokémon...”

“Hmm?” Juniper seemed concerned. “What about them?”

Hilbert then explained exactly what happened with their starters, and why they were all currently fainted. Juniper sighed. “It's fine. They just need to be healed up. Here, let me see them for a second...” Everyone handed their Poke Balls to Juniper, who took them to a machine in the back of the room. She put them in the machine and activated it, causing the spheres to glow for a few seconds. Taking the Balls out and handing them back, she said, “It's incredible you three have already had a battle! I knew I chose right in trusting these Pokémon to you.

“Now,” she went on, “As for that special purpose....” She went back to her desk and picked up three electronic devices, holding one out to show them. Hilbert immediately got a queasy feeling in his gut looking at it, having a feeling he knew what it was. “This is it. I want you to help me with my research in exchange for giving you those starters. My field of expertise is studying the origins of Pokémon. Lately though, I've found I'm in need of help. I can't do everything myself, what with how many Pokémon have been discovered. So, I want you three to gather information on the Unova region's Pokémon. And to do that, I want you to fill in pages on this... a Pokédex!”

That confirmed it. While Cheren and Bianca gasped in awe, Hilbert almost recoiled in horror. “What are you two gasping about, for the love of Arceus!?” He hissed. “You've both heard the stories, you know what trying to complete that thing did to Red!”

Red... the best, like no one ever was. The greatest Pokémon Trainer the world had ever seen. And the first one to complete a Pokédex... or rather, almost. There was one Pokémon, Mew, that had driven him to destruction. While Red was the strongest, he was also terribly naive and uneducated about the world's Pokémon. He did know about other regions, but simply assumed that the Pokémon there were the same as the151 species from Kanto, when nothing was further from the truth.

He searched Kanto up and down, and left and right for three years, finding nothing about Mew's whereabouts. This was also around the time that Gold was collecting the Kanto Gym Badges. According to eyewitness reports, they had come close to meeting several times... but every time one got sidetracked or distracted. Eventually, Red found himself lost inside Mt. Silver, where he found Pokémon he had never seen before.

The discovery that he had been trying to fill what was essentially a bucket with a hole in the bottom drove Red to the brink of madness. When Gold had found him alone, standing on the peak of the mountain, he attacked in a rage. After he lost, Red disappeared, and hadn't been seen for nearly eight years.

It was this story and more that made Hilbert say simply, “No. I'm not doing that. There's no way in hell.”

“Hilbert, be reasonable,” Juniper said.

“No!” Hilbert cried. “Do you think I want to end up the same way that Red did? Emotionally destroyed, and nearly insane? 'Cause if you do, you're the crazy one, Professor.”

Juniper seemed taken aback by that last statement. After a pregnant silence, she simply said, “Fine. But have fun figuring out what the moves on your are Pokémon without this.”

“Wait, what?” Hilbert asked.

“The Pokédex is for far more than just recording data on Pokémon, Hilbert,” Cheren explained with a bit of smugness to his tone. “It also lists the movesets of the Pokémon in your party, and when they're about to learn a new one. The Pokédex is your only way of seeing what Technical Machines your Pokémon can learn, as well.”

“Well, you seem to have done your research, Cheren! That's exactly right!” Juniper praised him. Cheren only smirked. She turned her attention back to Hilbert. “One last thing is that a Pokédex costs a lot of money for other Trainers to get. In fact, it's the main thing holding some people back from going on a journey- their families can't afford one. And I'm offering you one for free. Take it or leave it.”

Hilbert gave it some thought. The options seemed to be take the Dex, or blunder around not knowing what his own Pokémon's moves were. Damn, he thought. She's got me by the balls. He looked down at the Poké Ball containing his Oshawott clipped to his belt. Both kinds, too.

Finally, he resigned himself to his fate. “Fine, I'll take it,” he said bitterly. “But just don't expect me to complete it.”

“Glad to hear it.” Juniper said as she handed him the dreaded device. She gave the other two to Cheren and Bianca. She then went quiet, as if trying to remember something. “Oh, yes, I almost forgot. Would you three like to give your Pokémon nicknames?”

“Okay, sure,” Cheren said. The three let their Pokémon out.

“I think I'll call you Tara, Snivy,” Cheren said. The Snivy beamed in approval and admiration.

“Hmmm... Tepig, would you like to be called Toshiro?” Bianca asked her starter. The Tepig squeaked in happiness.

“As for you, Oshawott,” Hilbert said, “I'll name you... Maru.” “Osha!” The Sea Otter Pokémon cried out jubilantly.

“Well, okay!” Juniper said. “It seems they all like their names. Good job, you three! Thank you for accepting the responsibility of the Pokédex, too. Meet me at Route 1 next, okay? I want to teach you all how to catch Pokémon.”

With that, she walked out the door. The trio of friends all stared after her as the door closed. “She seems... nice, I guess,” Hilbert said.

“Yeah, a little short-tempered, but nice,” Cheren added.

Remind you of anyone, Cheren? Hilbert thought.

“G-guys?” Bianca stammered, “Since the Professor asked us, it's OK to go on this adventure, right? Like, that counts as consent by an adult, and our parents won't get mad?”

“Sure, I guess,” Cheren answered, a bit confused at Bianca's nervous tone. Hilbert gave him a 'don't ask' look.

An awkward silence followed, one that was broken by Hilbert saying, “Well, let's not stand around here all day. I'm going to Route 1.” The three exited the lab, only to bump into Hilbert's mother right outside the door.

“Oh!” She exclaimed. “There you three are! I was afraid I'd missed you.” “Mom, haven't we already said our goodbyes?” Hilbert said, at this point almost frothing at the mouth with impatience to leave Nuvema. “Yes, we did, but there's one more thing I forgot to give you three.” His mother said. In her hands were three objects that looked like small laptops. In reality, as Hilbert and his friends found out as they opened them, they were electronic maps of the region.

“Thank you, Mrs. Touya, I'll take good care of this.” Cheren said politely.

“Me, too!” Bianca added.

“Well, my work looks about done here, so I'll go back to trying to clean Hilbert's Grumpig sty of a room.” She gave a look to Cheren and Bianca as she said this, then walked back to her house.

“Bye, Mom!” Hilbert called.

The three then made their way over to the start of Route 1. Located directly east of Juniper's lab, which was in the northwest corner of the town, Route 1 was a kilometre and a half long path that connected to Accumula Town to the north. Patches of flowers grew on either side of the path, their petals in blooming pink due to it being spring. A light breeze kicked up, sending some petals flying through the air. All in all, it made for a very picturesque scene.

Packs of puppy-like Pokémon called Lillipup and swarms of bipedal rodent-like Patrat played in the ankle-high tall grass on this Route. This grass grew on nearly every Route in Unova, and the world, for that matter. Different species of Pokémon could be found depending on the Route, and even the season.

Hilbert was in the lead, and had almost taken his first step onto the Route, when Bianca spoke up. “Guys, wait! I have an idea.”

“What is it, Bianca?” Hilbert asked, stopping. Cheren did likewise.

“Well, since we're all starting this journey together, I figure we should take our first step onto Route 1 together.”

“We've all been to Accumula Town before, though, Bianca,” Cheren said. “This is really nothing special.”

“No, I think it's a good idea!” Hilbert said. “True, we have been to Accumula Town before, but we've never gone beyond that. Besides, this is under different circumstances. We're gonna see the world this time!”

“Well, when you put it that way...” Cheren thought for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, let's do it.”

They all stood side by side, and one Bianca’s count of, “One, two, three...” took their first step onto Route 1.

“Oh, this is so exciting!” Bianca exclaimed. “I feel like I'm a mile from home already!”

“I wonder what will happen to us on this journey...” Hilbert thought aloud, however unintentionally.

“Beats me, but I see the Professor up ahead,” Cheren pointed a little ways up the road. “Let's go, I'm sure she's waiting.”

“Sorry to have kept you waiting, Professor.” Hilbert said as soon as she was within earshot.

”It's fine, Hilbert.” Juniper replied. Around her shoulder was a backpack. “Now, to get down to business. Have you three ever seen a Pokémon being captured?”

“Only on TV,” Hilbert answered slowly. “Other than that, no.”

“So, you do know how to capture one, right?” Juniper said. “You weaken it with your Pokémon, throw a Poké Ball once you think it's weak enough, and what have you?”

“That part, we know.” Cheren said. “So, you just need to see it in real life, right?” Juniper asked. The three nodded.

“Well, there's a first time for everything, no?” Juniper smiled. Just then, a wild Patrat scampered out of the treeline and onto the Route. “Oh, well speak of Giratina and it shall appear! Go, Minccino!” Juniper reached into her pack and pulled out a Poké Ball. Clicking the button once to enlarge it, she threw it. It opened in mid-air, and in a flash of blue light, Minccino appeared.

Minccino was a light grey chinchilla-like creature with white tips on its ears and a fluffy tail. It faced off against the rodent-like Pokémon with bulbous red eyes. “Minccino, Pound!” Juniper yelled. The Patrat squealed as Minccino dashed for it, hitting it hard with its tail. Due to the Patrat being much lower in level than the Minccino, it flew backwards a few feet, stunned. “Okay, you three, watch closely.” Juniper took out another Ball- this one empty- and threw it at the downed Patrat. A red light beam shot out of the Poké Ball's button, absorbing the Patrat into it. The Poké Ball shook as everyone watched in anticipation. Once... twice... and with a third shake, the Ball let out an audible click, and flashed black. The Patrat had been caught.

“And that is how it's done.” Juniper said, seemingly satisfied with the catch. She returned her Minccino to its Poké Ball and went over to pick up the Patrat's.

“What are you going to do with it, Professor?” Bianca asked.

“I think I'll have this little guy help me around the lab,” Juniper responded. “Now, I'll be around the Route for today to help, so if you need any assistance, just call for me. Oh, and so you can catch Pokémon as well, I've brought five Poke Balls for each of you.”

She put her backpack on the ground, handing out the red-and-white spheres. Poke Balls in Red and Brendan Ruby's time were large- about the size of a baseball- and heavy, requiring a good arm to throw. However, a recent innovation had come from the Sinnoh region to improve Poké Ball technology. They were now much lighter, but the real Arceus-send was that they could be shrunk down to the size of a ping-pong ball, making storage and transporting them on your person much easier.

The three friends then split up to search for the Pokémon they wanted to catch. At Bianca’s suggestion, and to help Professor Juniper, they decided to have a bit of a competition. The goal was to catch as many different species of Pokémon on the Route as possible. “And whoever has the most by the time the Professor says for us to move on to Accumula, wins!” She had said. Hilbert really wasn't concerned with the little contest, as he had no intention of even trying to complete the Pokédex. He would be catching the Pokémon he would use on his team- no more, no less. If Juniper didn't like it, too bad. He had done a bit of research in the middle of his many sleepless nights on what Pokémon he wanted to use. His main goal on the Route was to catch a Lillipup, as he heard those made for reliable Normal-types once fully evolved.

The problem was, though, he couldn't find one. “Just my luck,” he grumbled to no one in particular as he trudged through another patch of grass. There was one thing he had found, however: his lack of fitness. Embarrassingly, Hilbert found he couldn't sprint more than thirty feet without stopping to catch his breath. Man, if I caught Pokémon as often as I caught my breath, he thought, I'd have completed the Dex by now. He kept Maru in his Poké Ball, bringing him out only to battle the occasional wild Patrat that got in his way. Bringing a Pokémon out of its Poké Ball in any circumstances other than a battle was illegal in Unova. On the flip side, in other regions, like Johto, it was encouraged.

Suddenly, he heard Bianca's voice yell, “P-professor! Come quick! I-I did it!” Hilbert turned around and followed where Bianca's voice had come from- about the middle of the Route, where a river leading to the ocean began. Professor Juniper and Cheren were both running to the same location, as well.

“What is it, Bianca?” Juniper asked.

“I caught this.” Bianca said, her voice shaking slightly. In either one of her hands was a Poké Ball. She opened the one in her left hand, and, much to Hilbert's dismay, a Lillipup appeared.

“Oh, congratulations, Bianca!” Juniper praised her. “Check your Pokédex, it should have its information in there now. It'll tell you that Lillipup's gender, as well.”

“Okay,” Bianca said. She took her Dex out of her purse, scrolling down to Lillipup's entry and read it out loud. “Lillipup, the Puppy Pokémon. The long hair on its face provides an amazing radar that lets it sense subtle changes in its surroundings. And apparently, it's a female.”

“Would you like to give it a nickname?” Juniper asked. “You can give any Pokémon you own or catch a nickname as soon as you get it.”

“Sure,” Bianca replied. She thought for a second before saying, “I'll call her Pepper.” The Lillipup yipped, happy with its name. After another round of congratulations, Hilbert and Cheren both went off to find themselves something to catch. By now, it was nearing noon, and Hilbert was starting to get worried. Juniper wanted them to move on to Accumula Town by the end of the day, and after that, they would all be on their own. He stopped to take a rest, eating a granola bar from his bag and taking a swig of water.

Another ten minutes went by with no sign of a Lillipup when Cheren's voice called, “I got something!” Groaning, Hilbert went to where Cheren's voice had called from, a little down the way from where he was. Juniper and Bianca had gathered as well.

“What did you catch, Cheren ?” Juniper asked.

“This.” Cheren said proudly. He took a Poké Ball off his belt. He opened it, and a purple and white cat-like Pokémon called a Purrloin appeared. Unlike with Bianca, however, Juniper gasped in horror. “What is it, Professor?” Cheren asked. “Is this not a good Pokémon?”

“No, no,” Juniper said, still in shock. “There's always potential, depending on the Trainer, but wild Purrloin aren't even supposed to live on this Route! They only appear past Accumlua Town!” She shook her head. “This is very serious, Cheren. You might have prevented an invasive species by catching that thing, but there might be more.”

Juniper turned to Hilbert and Bianca. “I'm sorry about this, but we have to get going to Accumula Town now. I need to inform wildlife authorities, just in case this wasn't a fluke.”

“But I haven't caught anything yet!” Hilbert complained.

“There's nothing I can do about that, Hilbert,” Juniper said sternly. “Maybe you'll run into something you want on the way, but if not, you'll have to wait until Route 2.”

“Dammit,” Hilbert cursed.

Cheren recalled Purrloin to its Poké Ball. As they walked, he held it up to his face, trying to think of a nickname. “Could be a potentially invasive species, and it's a Dark-type,” he thought out loud. “Wait, I know! I'll name you Interloper!”

“Not bad, Cheren,” Juniper said. Hilbert, meanwhile, was looking down at the ground, a dejected expression on his face. He had badly wanted to catch a Lillipup, but that didn't seem like it would be an option just yet. Accumula Town was in view, on top of that, and Route 1 was coming to an end.

“Alright, remember that little contest we were having?” Bianca said as they neared Accumula Town. “It's time to tally the results.”

“Well, obviously we both have two Pokémon, Bianca,” Cheren said, smirking. “So that means that Hilbert-”

Just then, they heard a canine-sounding yipping coming from behind them. Hilbert turned and ran back down the path, Cheren, Bianca, and Juniper following him. It wasn't long before they came across a Patrat and Lillipup fighting- and it looked like the Patrat was winning. The Lillipup yowled in pain as the Patrat Tackled it. Hilbert pulled Maru's Poké Ball from his belt. “Maru, attack the Patrat with Tackle!” The Patrat whipped its head in the direction of the human's voice, but didn't have enough time to react before Oshawott slammed into it, knocking it back a few feet. It growled, getting back up. The injured Lillipup, instead of fleeing, looked at the Pokémon who had saved it with interest.

The Patrat ran at Maru, intending to Tackle him into submission just as it had done with the Lillipup. “Maru, dodge!” Hilbert commanded. Oshawott just barely jumped out of the way as the Patrat barrelled past it. “You know what to do, Maru, keep at it!” Hilbert yelled.

Juniper blinked, impressed by Hilbert's unwavering confidence and skill at commanding his Pokémon. He is gifted, I'll give him that. She thought. He has potential to go far.

With one more Tackle from Maru, the Patrat went down. “Okay, Lillipup,” Hilbert said, pulling a Poké Ball out of his bag, “You're mine.” The Lillipup squealed, but it was too late, the Ball was already flying at it. It was absorbed inside, and due to its previous injury, it couldn't escape the Ball. It shook three times, and clicked. Smirking, Hilbert turned his head towards his glasses-wearing friend. “You were saying, Cheren?”

Smiling, Hilbert recalled Maru, and picked up the Ball containing his new Lillipup. “I think I'll call you Logan.” He checked the Pokédex, and sure enough, it was a male.

“Excellently done, Hilbert!” Juniper clapped. “But we really do need to be going.” With that, they walked back, this time, into Accumula Town.

“So...” Hilbert spoke smugly, “Two for two, on all of us?” Cheren just groaned.

 

I Never Wanted to be The Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 3: The Child of Pokémon, N
​

It was around high noon when Juniper and her young proteges walked into Accumula Town. The town in question was a fairly small but charming place. It held several apartment buildings, and a Pokémon Center, a boon for all Trainers, both new and veteran. It was also the beginning of all roads in Unova, with one behind the Pokémon Center going directly north to Striaton City.

However, walking on these roads, at least the ones that connected the towns and cities, was illegal, and this law was enforced with almost draconian strictness. If you were caught walking on any road going between towns, you would, depending on your age, face a hefty fine, jail time, or both. The reason for this was because the roads were vital in keeping the Pokémon Centers of Unova supplied, as well as how dangerous walking on them was due to traffic.

Despite the Pokémon Center, there really was no good reason for people to visit Accumula. It had no Gym, almost no points of interest, and aside from the Pokémon Center, only a small, family-run grocery store, which was where residents of both Nuvema and Accumula got their food, next to no opportunities for jobs. Put all these factors together, and you had a recipe for a slowly shrinking population. More and more people, as they became adults, moved away from Accumula to find work in other cities, such as Striaton, or the massive Castelia.

All of these problems, though, did not concern Hilbert. It was none of his business what happened to the town; he was only one novice Trainer, how could he change the world? “Okay, you three, keep up,” Juniper said. “Our first stop is the Pokémon Center.” She led them to a glass building that was several stories tall and painted with red accents. Walking through the automatic doors, they entered the Pokémon Center for not the first, and certainly not the last, time in their lives.

“I assume you've all been in here before, or at least know how the Centers work?” Juniper asked.

“Yes, we've been inside before, Professor,” Cheren said, nodding.

“Yeah, once,” Hilbert added. “We might need a refresher, just in case.”

“Well then, I'll give you the fifty-cent tour,” Juniper said. The interior of the Accumula Town Pokémon Center was identical to all others with the exception of Castelia. Off to the left was a large lounge/cafeteria area cordoned off with glass panels. Benches and tables could be found there. Juniper wasn't really concerned with this, though, leading the three Trainers to the desk at the back of the room. Behind the desk, a nurse staffed a machine similar to the one they had seen Juniper use in her lab. “This lady here will heal your Pokémon. It's an essential government-run service. Hilbert, why don't you go first?” Juniper said.

“Welcome to our Pokémon Center!” The nurse said as Hilbert stepped up to the counter. “Would you like me to heal your Pokémon?”

“Yes, actually,” Hilbert said, handing her his Poke Balls. “My Lillipup got really beaten up.”

The nurse took them and put them in the machine behind her. “Okay, just wait a few seconds, and they'll be as good as new.” The Poke Balls flashed brightly a few times, then the nurse handed them back to Hilbert. “Here you go! We hope to see you again!”

Hilbert thought that was a bit of an odd thing to say, but nevertheless stepped aside to let Cheren have his turn.

As his friend handed the nurse his Pokémon, Hilbert's curiosity got the better of him. “Um, can I ask you something?”

The nurse turned her head to look at him. “Yes, what is it?”

“I was wondering how that machine works.”

“Oh, this?” The nurse gestured to the healing machine behind her. “It basically works by injecting the Poke Balls with a special type of Full Restore medicinal spray.” At Hilbert's alarmed expression, she giggled. “Oh, no, it doesn't actually penetrate the Ball with a needle, just uses tubes to spray the Ball.”

Taking Bianca's Pokémon next after saying the requisite 'we hope to see you again' to Cheren, she asked, “Are you a new Trainer?”

“Yeah, I am,” Hilbert replied.

“I can tell,” the nurse said. “New ones usually ask that question.” She handed Bianca her Pokémon back.

“I remember everything else in here, so I don't need to shown around,” Cheren said, and walked to the door. He bid goodbye to his friends and Juniper, then headed out the door.

“Well, alright then,” Juniper said. She turned to Bianca and Hilbert. “Next, I'll show you two the PC.” Next to the counter, on the left, was a computer with a huge monitor. “This is free for any Trainer to use. An account for this was automatically created as soon as you got your Trainer Cards. You can store Pokémon in your PC boxes or select Pokémon stored in your PC boxes to take along with you.”

Yeah, like I'll use this ever, Hilbert thought, rolling his eyes. Bianca booted up the PC by pressing a button on its keyboard. Noticing something about the menu that appeared, she spoke up. “Professor, it says 'Someone's PC' on the screen. Who's Someone?” She asked.

“Good observation, Bianca,” Juniper said. “'Someone' is the person who made the Pokémon Storage System for Unova. I'm sure you'll meet her on your travels.”

Next, she pointed to the second floor, which was more of a mezzanine above the front desk. “Up there leads to the rooms Trainers can stay in. It's free, but only for twenty-four hours after you first check in. The rooms aren't the greatest, either, but they get the job done.” She led them over to the right, where a counter was. On the far wall behind the counter, a shelf packed with various goods stood. “This is the Poke Mart. This is the place to buy items you'll need for your travels, as well as sell the ones you don't need anymore.”

Juniper gave Bianca and Hilbert a serious look. “Are you sure you'll be good from here on out?” “Don't worry, Professor, we'll be fine,” Hilbert said. “Okay, I'll be heading back to Nuvema Town then,” Juniper said.

As Juniper turned to leave, she remembered something. “Oh, yes, when you get to Striaton City, be sure to meet an inventor named Fennel. She's a friend of mine from years ago, and she'll help you along.” With that, Juniper exited the Pokémon Center, going back to Nuvema Town.

“Well, since we're here, we should probably buy some supplies for the road,” Hilbert said to Bianca. He purchased two Potions from the man at the counter, but Bianca only bought one. While Bianca stayed behind to check out a few rooms in the Pokémon Center, Hilbert decided to explore the town a bit.

Accumula Town was mainly built like an upside down and sideways 'L', with the grocery store to the north, along with some apartment buildings also in that direction. A flight of stairs to the southwest led to a lower courtyard, where a couple of apartment buildings were. The direct opposite of that was a house on a man-made concrete hill next to the road. Hilbert could hear pleasant music wafting out of the house as he walked into the grocery store.

He bought a bag of gummy worms for the Route to Striaton City- not the most healthy snack, but it would do nonetheless. Exiting the store, he overheard two of Accumula Town's residents talking. “It looks like something's going on in the plaza!” One man said to another. “Well, let's go see what it is,” the other responded.

Intrigued, Hilbert followed them both south, to an open area that over looked the courtyard. “What the hell..?” he said as he got closer. A large group of people had gathered in front of the plaza, with Cheren already there. Spotting Hilbert, he waved him over. Hilbert took a spot beside Cheren to get a look at what was causing all the commotion. The answer was quite simple: a line of seven people dressed in what looked like medieval garb standing in the plaza. Their outfits were unlike any clothing Hilbert had seen before in his life. They wore grey-blue boots and gloves, hooded shirts with short, cone shaped sleeves, and over that, they had somewhat apron-like tunics with a shield emblem on the chest. This same emblem was also on two flags they had set up on either side of their formation. The emblem consisted of a half black and half white shield with a zigzagging blue line through it, and blue capital letter 'P' over that.

Just like when Juniper had shown him the Pokédex, Hilbert got a bad feeling just looking at the emblem. More eye-catching (and intimidating) than the strangely dressed people, however, was the man who stepped out in front. He was massive, easily over six feet tall, with odd green-coloured hair, and an outfit that put his followers to shame in strangeness. It was a complex purple and yellow cloak or robe, with eye-like designs on either side. The top of the robes had a huge metal ornamentation that resembled the battlements of a castle, and looked very heavy. The man didn't seem bothered by the weight of his clothes, however. He also had a red glass patch covering his right eye, presumably to hide an injury.

The crowd quieted as the man began to speak. “First of all, I would like to thank everyone who is here today.” He began in a deep, yet not overly threatening voice. “You may be wondering who I am, and what I, and my colleagues, are doing here. The answer is quite simple. My name is Ghetsis, and I am here as a... representative of Team Plasma.”

“Team Plasma!?” Came a voice from the crowd. “You mean, like all the other Teams such as Team Rocket?”

Ghetsis merely gave a warm smile. “Yes, and no. While it's true our organization has the word 'Team' in its name, criminals we are not. In fact, we exist for the betterment of the creatures whom we humans use as... partners.” He seemed to spit the last word out with revulsion. “The reason we are here today, ladies and gentlemen, is to discuss the idea of Pokémon Liberation with you.”

Pokémon Liberation? Hilbert thought. What is this guy talking about? The crowd seemed to agree, as discontented murmurs broke out.

Ghetsis walked to the left a few paces as he continued. “I'm sure most- if not all- of you believe that we humans and Pokémon are partners that have come to live together because we want, and need each other, correct? However...” Ghetsis paused for dramatic effect, “Is that really the truth? Can it be that we humans... only assume this is the truth?”

Hilbert opened his shout something along the lines of, “That's ridiculous!” but stopped when Cheren grabbed his arm.

“Don't,” Cheren whispered, “You'll make of a fool of yourself.”

Ghetsis paced down to the right this time before he kept going. “Pokémon are subject to the selfish commands of Trainers... they get pushed around when they are our so-called 'partners' at work. Can anyone say with confidence that there is no truth in what I'm saying?” Ghetsis then went quiet, allowing everyone to mull over his words. It was true that abusive Trainers existed, particularly in the aforementioned Teams like the Rockets, but no such criminal empire was in Unova. At least... not that anybody knew of.

Ghetsis paced down a couple more steps, turning to face roughly where Hilbert and Cheren were standing in the crowd. Though he was still addressing everyone as a whole, Hilbert couldn't shake the feeling that Ghetsis was speaking directly to him. “Now, ladies and gentlemen, Pokémon are different from humans. They are beings that contain unknown potential. They are living creatures from which we humans have much to learn. Now tell me, what is our responsibility toward these wonderful beings called Pokémon?”

There were whisperings amongst the people as they debated about the points that Ghetsis had made. However, Ghetsis gave them the answer before anyone could raise their voice. He walked to the left, back to his original position. “That's right!” He shouted. “We must liberate the Pokémon! Then, and only then, will humans and Pokémon truly be equals. Everyone, I end my words here today by imploring you to reconsider your views on the relationship between people and Pokémon... and the correct way to proceed.”

With a small nod of thanks, he ended his speech, saying simply, “We of Team Plasma sincerely appreciate your attention.” The two underlings nearest to the flags picked them up, then with military-like precision, the grunts formed a protective formation around Ghetsis, and walked out of the plaza to exit the town.

As soon as they were out of sight, the people, including Hilbert and Cheren, immediately began conversing about what they had just heard. “About that speech...” One man said, “What do you think we should do?”

“Liberate Pokémon?” another muttered, “That's not even possible!” Still wondering about the speech, the crowd disbanded. Hilbert and Cheren stayed put, not even noticing the person approaching them.

“Your Pokémon...” He abruptly cut in to their conversation, “Just now, it was saying...” Both friends turned to look at this newcomer. He was tall, at nearly six feet, Hilbert estimated, with very long green hair, just like Ghetsis, except his was trapped under the cap he wore. He wore tan pants, a white shirt, and a black undershirt beneath that. A necklace that looked a planet with two rings was around his neck, and hanging off his belt was what seemed to be a gold coloured Rubik's Cube with all its centre pieces missing.

“Huh?” Cheren questioned. “Slow down, you talk too fast. I just barely caught that.”

“Yeah, and what's this about Pokémon talking?” Hilbert added. “They can't talk, at least not like we can. They can only say their names.”

“Oh, I suppose I should introduce myself,” the green-haired teen said, not slowing his speech patterns one bit. “That's what people do when they meet, isn't it? My name is N.”

“What kind of a name is N?” Hilbert whispered to Cheren, who only elbowed him in the ribs.

“Don't be rude.” Cheren whispered back, clearly happy to get revenge for Juniper's lab. Cheren stuck his hand out to shake N's. “It's nice to meet you, N. My name is Cheren, and this my friend Hilbert.” N merely stared at Cheren's outstretched hand, making no move to shake it. “O-kay,” Cheren said slowly, lowering his hand.

“So, you can't hear the voices of Pokémon either... how sad.” N said.

“Well... no, we can't.” Hilbert said.

“We were asked to complete the Pokédex by Professor Juniper, and we just left on our journey a few hours ago,” Cheren explained. “My main goal is become the Champion, though.”

“The Pokédex, eh?” N asked. He gave them a look that some would say was almost accusatory. “So... you're going to confine many, many Pokémon in Poke Balls for that, then?”

“Um, for the record, I won't,” Hilbert said, giving an innocent little wave. “I don't even want to complete the Dex, to be honest.”

“But, you both are Trainers, are you not?” N asked. Hilbert and Cheren both nodded.

“I am, too, but I can't help but wonder if Pokémon are really happy that way. They know nothing but conflict as soon as they're caught by Trainers.” N said.

“You're sounding like those Team Plasma weirdos now.” Hilbert chuckled.

Anger quickly flashed across N's face. “Those 'weirdos' as you so callously put it have, in my opinion, the right idea,” he said. “It's true that while I am against battling Pokémon, I've found that's the best way to hear their voices. If that's what it takes to hear yours- Hilbert wasn't it?- then that's what I'll do.”

N pulled a Poké Ball out from behind his back and pressed the central button. A Purrloin appeared, the same Pokémon Cheren had caught. “O-okay,” Hilbert said tentatively. He wasn't sure of N's skill level, nor the level of the Purrloin, but there was no backing out of or refusing another Trainer's challenge.

He pulled out Oshawott's Poké Ball from his belt, releasing his starter. “Okay, Maru,” he said to his starter, “The fight in my room was just practice. This is the real deal, understand? Do your best.” The Pokémon nodded. N and Hilbert both took a few steps back, giving their Pokémon some room to fight.

“Start off with a Tackle!” Hilbert yelled at Oshawott. The Sea Otter Pokémon dashed towards Purrloin, trying to smash into it. Without even needing a command from N, the Devious Pokémon dodged out of the way with speed befitting its cat-like appearance. Seeing that it had missed, Oshawott tried to stop, but tripped on its own feet and fell flat on its face.

“Counter while it's down with Scratch!” N commanded. Popping sharp claws out of its paws, Purrloin raked them across Oshawott, who cried out in pain.

“Maru!” Hilbert screamed. “Come on, get up! Go for Tackle again!” Oshawott pushed itself to its feet, again running for Purrloin. Propelled by anger, it managed to get in a hit. Purrloin was knocked back a few feet. “Keep at it, Maru! Don't let up!” Purrloin raised its head in time to see Oshawott running right for it.

“Growl, Purrloin!” N yelled. Purrloin opened its mouth and let out a piercing cry that stopped Oshawott in its tracks.

Purrloin again, without a command from N, Scratched Oshawott. Hilbert could tell that Oshawott was getting weaker, and seemed like it could take only one or two more attacks before it went down. There's no use, Hilbert thought. That thing's just too fast and too high-levelled. He glanced down at the Poké Ball containing his Lillipup. I could send Logan out too, but I'd forfeit the battle 'cause that's an illegal tactic. Hilbert let out a growl of his own in frustration. If Oshawott couldn't defeat Purrloin, there was no way Lillipup, who was lower-levelled, could.

N didn't seem to know or care about Hilbert's predicament, and just sighed. “I'll never hear the voice of your Pokémon when you battle like this.” He shrugged. “I guess-”

“Maru, Tackle!” Hilbert cried, cutting N off. Oshawott rammed into Purrloin, sending it reeling back. Okay, it was a cheap move, Hilbert admitted to himself, but he had to win. N looked shocked that Hilbert had resorted to such a dirty move, but regained his composure quickly.

“Purrloin, Scratch!” He instructed.

“Maru, dodge it!” Hilbert commanded. Oshawott just barely got out of the way as Purrloin slashed empty air with its claws. “Maru, use Tackle one last time!” Hilbert yelled. Oshawott slammed into the Purrloin, finally knocking it out. It condensed back into its energy form, returning to the Poké Ball N held in his hand.

Breathing heavily, Hilbert ran to his starter, picking it up in a hug. “We did it, Maru! You were fantastic out there!” The Oshawott cried out in joy, throwing its arms in the air.

N suddenly looked shocked. “I never imagined a Pokémon would say that...” He mumbled. Taking a Potion out of his back pocket, he pressed it to the Poké Ball's button, administering the medicine. “You did well, my friend,” he said to the Pokémon. He clicked the button four times, activating the Ball's release mechanism. “Go free, Purrloin. You've earned it.”

With that, the Purrloin appeared, then dashed off towards Route 1. “Hey!” Cheren cried. “You can't let it go that way! It's an invasive species!”

“And being trapped in a Poké Ball is better?” N snapped. “As long as Pokémon are confined to these,” he threw the Poké Ball away in disgust, “they will never become perfect beings.”

“Then why did you catch that Purrloin in the first place?” Hilbert asked.

“The same reason other Trainers do,” N said, “For protection on Routes. The difference between me and them, though, is I always let my Pokémon go.”

N then seemed to remember something. “Oh, yes, you did beat me, Hilbert, so I guess an exchange of prize money is in order.” He pulled a wallet out of his pocket, and took out his Trainer Card. Hilbert grabbed his from inside his jacket. Tapping small electronic chips on the cards together, an amount of money was transferred to Hilbert's account stored on his card.

As they pulled the cards apart, Hilbert was able to get a glimpse of N's Trainer I.D. number: 00002. “I wouldn't get used to doing this, even with other Trainers,” N said. Hilbert looked at him, noting a slightly malevolent look in N's grey eyes. “I have to- and will- change the world. I'll create a world for Pokémon without Poke Balls. I have to, because they're my friends.”

N turned around and walked away, heading to the exit of Accumula Town. “Weird guy.” Cheren said once N was out of earshot.

“Yeah, really weird.” Hilbert agreed.

“Do you think we should go after him?” Cheren asked.

“Nah, there's no point,” Hilbert said. “It's a day's walk on foot to get to Striaton. At least we solved one mystery, though- where your Purrloin probably came from.”

Just then, Hilbert's Pokédex chirped from inside his jacket. He took it out, and looked up Oshawott's entry. “All right, Oshawott learned Water Gun!”

“See?” Cheren said. “I told you that Dex would be useful.”

That night, Hilbert lay awake in the top bunk in his, Cheren's and Bianca's room in the Pokémon Center. He could hear Cheren's even breathing on the bottom bunk as he slept, while Bianca was in another bed across the room. For once, his nightmares were not the reason he stayed awake, as terrified as he was of them. Rather, it was the speech he'd heard that day, as well as N. What was that Ghetsis guy really up to? He thought. And N? Could he be part of Team Plasma, as well? I've got a bad feeling about all this, and what's worse, my bad feelings have been right lately.

Closing his eyes, Hilbert fell into a not quite restful, but surprisingly dreamless, sleep.

 

I Never Wanted to be The Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 4: Route 2​

The next morning, Hilbert awoke to find Cheren and Bianca already packing their bags for the hike to Striaton City. “Is there a reason you didn't wake me up, or am I just that deep of a sleeper?” He asked, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

“We tried, Hilbert, but when you're not having those nightmares you told us about, you sleep like a corpse,” Bianca said.

“So I guess this is where we all go our separate ways?” Hilbert asked.

“Well... yeah, pretty much,”

Cheren replied. “We haven't checked out of the room yet, though, so they won't kick you out of the room right away.”

“Great, I feel so loved,” Hilbert said sarcastically. “Can you two at least get out of the room so I can get dressed?”

“Fine, we're leaving,” Cheren said, a hint of irritability in his tone. “Come on, Bianca.” The two exited the room, allowing Hilbert to hop down off the top bunk. He ran a hand through his hair, finding it to be somewhat greasy, but not enough to warrant a shower. Besides, he could take one when he got to Striaton. He put on his pants, shirt, and jacket, then grabbed his bag and Poké Ball belt and headed out of the room.

He put his belt around his waist as he went down the stairs to the Pokémon Center's first floor. Handing back the room key to the nurse, he bade goodbye and thank you, and walked out of the Center. Cheren and Bianca were nowhere to be found as he exited the Center. Deciding he would go in the direction his friends had presumably gone, he made his way to the Accumula Town gate.

These gates were short, hallway-like structures with roofs painted a distinctive shade of green. The reason they existed in the first place was to protect towns. In the case of a mass wild Pokémon outbreak that headed for a city, these gates would seal themselves shut, keeping wild Pokémon out. They also served as information booths to tourists, as electronic screens displayed scrolling text about the region.

Striaton Gym is a restaurant where meals- and battles- are served. The text read as Hilbert entered the gate. His shoes made squeaky noises on the recently waxed dull-orange floor tiles as he passed through, nodding to the attendant.

As soon as he walked out into the fresh air of Route 2, his Cross-Transceiver started ringing. He pressed a button on the side of the device to accept the call. To his surprise, the face of he last person he expected to see appeared on screen.

“Mom?” he asked.

“Hi honey,” his mother said. She seemed slightly out of breath, and her screen was moving, as if she was walking somewhere. “How are things going? Enjoying the journey so far?”

“I really can't call it a 'journey' yet, seeing as how it's only the second day, and I've only just now gotten to Route 2,” Hilbert said. “Why'd you call so soon, anyways?”

“Oh, just to talk, but I'm going to hang up now,” his mother replied.

“Wha-? Mom, wait-” Hilbert's mother had already terminated the connection. Well that was weird, Hilbert thought. Not to mention rude. Just then, before he could continue walking, he heard his name being called.

“Hilbert!”

He turned around, seeing his mother walk out of the gate. “Mom!? What are you doing here?” He ran to meet her.

“I finally caught up to you...” she said, letting out a breath. “Look how far you've come already! I left Nuvema at around seven to get these to you.” Around her shoulder was a bag. “What is it?” Hilbert asked, panting somewhat himself, even from a run as short as ten feet.

“Well, I know you've never been in the best shape,” Hilbert's mother said, earning a glare from her son. “What? It's true. Luckily, when I was cleaning your room, I found these!” She put the bag on the ground and pulled out a box. Handing it to Hilbert, he opened it. Inside was a pair of shoes. They looked similar to the ones he wore now, only instead of being black, they were a much more flashy shade of fire-engine red.

“Um... thanks I guess?” Hilbert said. “I figured you'd say something like that, but these aren't any ordinary shoes,” his mother said. “They're specially made running shoes. I'd explain how they work, but I think it'd be best if you just tried them out yourself.”

Still somewhat skeptical, Hilbert unlaced his black shoes, and put on the red pair. “Now try running.” His mother urged him. Hilbert took off into the gate. As soon as his foot touched the ground, a burst of air came out of the heel of the shoe, propelling him along. He ran full-tilt through the gate, back into Accumula Town, and then sprinted back to where his mother was standing.

The fact that he wasn't out of breath didn't hit him until he was standing in front of her. “These are incredible!” He exclaimed. “Where'd you get them from? How do they work?”

His mother smiled. “They work, as you saw, by propelling the wearer along with bursts of compressed air created by your own footfalls. The mechanism is located in the heels. The instructions say someone wearing these can run for kilometres without getting tired, since they're designed to take the strain off the leg muscles.”

“I love them already,” Hilbert said. “Thank you so much!” He gave her a firm hug.

“Just take care of them,” she said as they broke apart. “These don't come cheap, plus I think they were meant to be a gift for... your father, before he left...”

“Oh...” Hilbert looked down at the footwear with new found reverence. Then he nodded. “Don't worry. No matter what happens, I won't replace these.”

His mother gave him one last look. “Remember, no matter how far you get from home, you'll always be in my thoughts.” She turned around, walking back to Nuvema Town. Hilbert looked ahead to Route 2.

Long but linear, Route 2 was an unpaved, dirt path that connected Accumula Town to Striaton City. It was clear of tall grass, but if anyone wanted to train their Pokémon, tall grass was cordoned off to the sides of the Route. Even going through the grass, the path led to the same place. Deciding he badly needed to train his Lillipup, Hilbert walked off the the beaten path into the tall grass.

Immediately spotting a Purrloin, he sent out his Pokémon. Given how his Lillipup was much lower levelled than the wild Pokémon, coupled with his limited number of Potions, led him to adopt a very cautious style of battling. He mostly relied on Leer to keep the Purrloin in place for a few seconds, then had Logan rush in and Tackle before quickly retreating. With this tactic, he was able to get out of that battle, and a few more, with Lillipup unscathed. In the process, Logan learned Odor Sleuth, which Hilbert doubted he would ever have Logan use.

To his good luck, he also found a Potion in the tall grass when his foot bumped against the plastic container. “Looks like my luck's changing,” he said, picking it up and storing it in his bag. The small shoulder bag could only hold a total of ten healing items of any kind, as well as fifteen Poke Balls, plus whatever he could fit in his jacket pockets.

He continued on, defeating more wild Pokémon like Patrat, other Lillipup, and a few more Purrloin. Maru gained one more level in the course of a few more battles. The tall grass ended soon enough, and he came back out into the dirt path.

Hearing something that sounded like a scuffle up ahead, he used his new shoes to propel himself along in record time. The sounds he was hearing was actually Cheren, in a battle with another Trainer. He watched in mild interest for a few minutes as Cheren handily beat out the Trainer's Patrat with his Purrloin.

“Darn it...” The losing Trainer muttered, tapping his Trainer Card to Cheren's.

“Nice match, Cheren,” Hilbert said, walking up to him.

“Thanks,” Cheren replied. “It wasn't much of a challenge. All there are around here are Trainers even more wet behind the ears than us. In fact, once we get to Striaton, do you want to battle me again?”

“Sure,” Hilbert said. “By the way, where's Bianca?”

“Oh, she's probably farther up the path,” Cheren said. “She was in a huge rush to get to Striaton City, so she ran ahead of me, and I lost her. Speaking of which, I gotta get going, too. Just one last thing: If you see Trainers, fight them. Other Trainers' Pokémon give a hell of a lot more experience than wild ones.”

“I'll keep that in mind. Bye, Cheren.”

As soon as Cheren was gone from his sight, Hilbert kept going. After another half an hour of following the path, his stomach started rumbling. Realizing with a groan that he hadn't eaten breakfast before leaving Accumula, Hilbert pulled his bag of gummy worms out, and munched on them as he continued on.

He almost dropped his bag of candy when a female voice yelled, “Hey, you! Wanna battle?” Turning around, he saw a girl, about his age, running up behind him. Fumbling with putting his candy back in his bag, while simultaneously reaching for a Poké Ball, he replied, “Oh, uh, yeah sure!”

The girl stuck her hand out to shake his. “My name's Mali!” She said enthusiastically. “What's yours?”

“Hilbert,” he answered, shaking her hand. Mali wore an off-yellow shirt, a grey skirt that left her legs exposed, and knee-high socks under her shoes.

At his name, Mali gave him a look. “Hilbert, huh? Weird name. Either way, get ready to lose!” She pulled the Poké Ball off the belt at her waist and backed up.

“Go, Selina!” Mali threw out her Poké Ball, and in a flash, a Purrloin appeared.

Hilbert simply smirked. “If you think I'm scared of that, think again. Let's have a dog-against-cat battle, shall we? Logan, let 'em have it!”

“Selina, Assist!” Mali called. Purrloin's paw glowed white, while Logan braced himself for an attack. However, nothing happened, and the glow around Purrloin's paw simply fizzled and faded.

“Um, alright...” Hilbert said, thoroughly confused. He didn't waste the opportunity to attack, though. “Logan, Tackle!” The Lillipup ran at Purrloin, slamming into it. Purrloin was flung backwards, landing hard near Mali.

“Selina!” Mali cried. She knelt by her fallen Pokémon, checking to see if it was okay. Purrloin opened its eyes wearily, looking at its Trainer. “Are you alright?” The Pokémon weakly got to its feet, standing on its hind legs, which Hilbert wasn't aware Purrloin could do. “Yes, we're back in this fight! Use Scratch!” Purrloin popped its claws, racing for Lillipup.

“Use Leer, then go in for the Tackle!” Hilbert commanded his Pokémon. Lillipup's eyes glowed a demonic shade of red briefly, causing Purrloin to take pause in attacking it. Lillipup then ran towards the stunned Devious Pokémon, slamming into it.

This time, when Purrloin went down, it did not get back up. “Aw, no!” Mali cried. “We lost!” She returned her fainted Purrloin to its Poké Ball.

“Good match,” Hilbert said, recalling his Lillipup.

Mali looked at the ground with a dejected expression on her face for a few seconds, then pulled out her Trainer Card. “Well, you won fair and square, so I guess I owe you some prize money, right?” She tapped cards with Hilbert, sending just over a hundred Pokedollars to his account.

“Thanks,” Hilbert said.

Pulling out a Potion, Mali healed her Purrloin. “Good luck farther down the road!” She said, before dashing off in the direction of Accumula Town.

“You, too!” Hilbert called, then continued on.

The sun climbed higher in the sky as Hilbert kept going. The path was starting to curve gently west, close to the road- Hilbert could see the occasional truck on-route to Striaton City's Pokémon Center through the trees. Eventually, the path split into a fork; one path led through some tall grass, while the other stayed on the dirt path. Wanting to train up a little bit more, Hilbert chose to go through the grass. However, thanks to the noise of the trucks on the road, no wild Pokémon appeared.

Disappointed, he followed the path some more. As he got to the top of a small hill, the tall apartment buildings of Striaton came into view. While still several kilometres off, at least he had a destination to look to now. After trekking along for about another twenty minutes, he came across Bianca and Cheren.

Bianca was fighting another Trainer, while Cheren looked on from the sidelines. Surprisingly, Bianca was doing fine on her own, and defeated her opponent with relative ease. Bianca tapped Trainer Cards with the boy, saying, “Thanks for the battle, Roland. You did your best.” Roland thanked her as well, then dashed off. Cheren congratulated Bianca as Hilbert walked up to them, clapping.

“Nicely done, Bianca. I can see you're coming along.” Both Bianca and Cheren looked in his direction.

“Oh, hi Hilbert!” Bianca greeted him. “How much of that did you see?” Hilbert shrugged. “Not much, honestly. I saw about the last two minutes of it. But that was more than enough.”

“She's actually really good, Hilbert,” Cheren informed him. “She got through that battle without a scratch on her Pokémon. I think you two would be about evenly matched in a fight.”

“Say... that gives me an idea,” Bianca said. “Hilbert, could you have a battle with me? Please? I want to see if I really have become stronger. If your Pokémon didn't take too much of a beating from the other Trainers, that is...”

“No, it's fine,” Hilbert replied. “My Pokémon are good to go.”

“Alright then,” Cheren piped in. “This'll be an official battle, and the loser owes the winner prize money. Clear?”

“Cheren, who died and made you king?” Bianca snapped.

“Not to take his side, Bianca, but those are the rules,” Hilbert said. “Trainer battles aren't for friendly sparring- they're serious affairs with your money on the line.”

Bianca thought for a moment. Then she nodded and grabbed a Poké Ball off her belt. “Fine,” she said determinedly, “Let's do this.”

Figuring Bianca would lead with her Tepig, Hilbert threw out Maru. To his surprise, however, Bianca tossed out her Lillipup. “Okay, Pepper, go straight for the Tackle!” She commanded.

“Maru, dodge it!” Hilbert said. Oshawott tried to throw itself out of the way out of the charging Lillipup, but Pepper was faster, slamming into Maru. The Sea Otter Pokémon was flung back, but quickly got to its feet again. “Keep up the pressure, Pepper. Use Tackle again!” Bianca yelled. “Maru, Water Gun!” Hilbert cried as Lillipup barrelled right for his starter. Oshawott opened its mouth and shot a high-pressure stream of water at Lillipup. Force met force as Pepper collided with the attack, but water won over momentum.

Pepper was sent flying back, landing hard near Bianca. “Don't let up, Maru! Keep using Water Gun!” Hilbert called.

Pepper wearily got to her feet just in time to see another Water Gun headed straight for her. With no time to get out of the way, she was hit again. “Pepper!” Bianca cried out in alarm. “C'mon, get up! We're not out of this fight yet!” The Lillipup, sensing its Trainer's desire to win, got back up, though it was unsteady on its feet, and it looked like one more attack would make it faint.

Obviously, Hilbert took advantage of this. “Maru, Water Gun!” “Pepper, get out of the way! Duck!” Bianca commanded. Pepper immediately ducked, causing the stream of water to go over its head, grazing its ears, but causing no other adverse effects. “Now Tackle, Pepper!”

Bewildered that its attack had missed, Oshawott took the Tackle full-force. Damn, Hilbert thought, That was a good move. Oshawott got to its feet again, shaking its head to clear the Joltik webs. “Let's finish this, Maru! Water Gun one more time!” Hilbert said. Given how Lillipup was close to Maru, it had no chance of dodging the Water-type attack.

“No, Pepper!” Bianca cried, returning Lillipup to its Poké Ball. Hesitant, but not willing to give up, she sent out Tepig next. “Um... am I in trouble?” She asked Cheren.

“At this point, I'd say yes.” He replied. “That is not a good matchup, typewise, by any means. I'd be careful, if I were you.” Despite the advantage Hilbert had, Bianca decided to attack anyways. “Ember, Toshiro! Try to burn it!”

The ball at the end of its tail glowing white, Tepig shot a small burst of fire out of its nose. “Water Gun, Maru,” Hilbert said, sounding almost bored. Another high-pressure stream of water shot from Oshawott's mouth, dousing the flames heading for it, and striking Tepig full-on. The Fire Pig Pokémon squealed as it was hit with the super-effective attack.

With one more Water Gun, it was over. Hilbert recalled Maru, Bianca doing the same with her fainted Tepig. “And that's the match!” Cheren said. Bianca took out her Trainer Card and walked over to Hilbert. “You're really tough, Hilbert,” she said, tapping cards with him. “But... what am I doing wrong? Is there anything I need to improve on?” Hilbert opened his mouth to reply, only to be cut off by Cheren.

“I'd advise not focusing so much on attacking, Bianca.” He said. “That one move where you had Lillipup duck? Use more tactics like that. Use more countering moves like Tail Whip and Leer, stuff like that.”

“O-okay, I'll try to keep that in mind.” Bianca said. She used the only Potion she had to heal her Tepig. “Now, are we ready to get going?” Hilbert asked. The three friends kept walking down the path to Striaton City, where their first Gym battle awaited.

 

I Never Wanted to be The Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 5: Beginnings of a Rivalry


​

Striaton City, Hilbert thought, was more like it. From shops, to a vintage-looking movie theatre, to restaurants, the place dwarfed Accumula Town. It was currently the day after he, Cheren, and Bianca set foot on Route 2. They had arrived in Striaton just as the sun was going down, and so had sought accommodations in the Pokémon Center for the night. This was easier said than done; they had just barely gotten a room before someone else took it.

Making sure to wake up at the crack of dawn this time, he showered, then went for a stroll around the city, catching Cheren walk into the famous Trainer's School. At one point, without meaning to, he walked into a shady-looking back alley and was approached by a man. However, instead of robbing him or doing any number of horrible things, the man had given him a Dusk Ball- a special type of Poké Ball that worked better in a dark environment, like a cave, or at night.

While Hilbert hadn't given much thought to his future, if he ever got married and settled down, he would definitely pick Striaton to live in. After having breakfast at a small cafe, he went looking for the city's Pokémon Gym.

Gyms were very important structures for any city to have. They guaranteed a steady stream of visitors and Trainers, and defeating one was a milestone for any Trainer. On top of that, the Gym Leaders served not just as obstacles to overcome, but as the mayors for the city or town their Gym was in. Why, if a Gym Leader decided to shirk his or her responsibilities to travel with some nutcase Trainer, they would be immediately arrested and thrown in jail, likely without trial.

However, this particular Gym was not so accepting of challengers at the moment.

“What do you mean, 'closed!?'” Hilbert exclaimed to the man standing outside the Gym.

“Yep, sorry kiddo, but this Gym has been closed for over a week,” the man blocking the doors of the restaurant-like building said. “Some Trainer brought in a pretty rowdy Excadrill. Did a number on the interior. Luckily for you, repairs are almost done. Come back in about an hour, and it should be all good.”

Hilbert mentally cursed. While he had wanted to challenge the Gym first thing (at least after breakfast) this development had dashed his plans. Sighing, he was about to walk away when he remembered what Professor Juniper had said about Striaton.

“Do you know where someone named Fennel lives?”

The man responded he didn't know, he was just the Gym guide, forcing Hilbert to ask around town. Striaton was a bit of an oddly-shaped city, covering a decently large area of land. Basically a giant rectangle with semicircles on either end, the main part of Striaton had all the shops, eateries, and apartment buildings one could expect out of a city, with the Pokémon Center located near the exit to Route 2. The road from Accumula Town came into Striaton about fifty feet away from the Route, going directly beside the Pokémon Center, and spread out across the city from there. Small suburb-like areas were situated in the semicircles, consisting of many small houses clustered together.

Hilbert decided he'd check the Trainer's School out later, after he had spoken with Fennel. Someone finally pointed him in the right direction, and he found himself in front of an apartment building near the city's entrance. He spoke to the receptionist at the front desk to let them know why he was there, and asked what floor Fennel lived on.

She told him Fennel was up on just the second floor in room 7, so he went there. He knocked on the door, only to hear a female voice yell, “We're busy!”

Talking as loudly as he could without trying to disturb anyone, he replied, “Professor Juniper told me to find you. She said you could help me?”

Hearing footsteps approaching, and a lock being undone, the door opened a bit, held in check by a short chain. A woman with long jet-black hair and a lab coat appeared in the gap. “Professor Juniper?” She asked.

Hilbert nodded. “That's right. I'm one of the Trainers she chose to give a Pokémon to. She said to come meet you when I got here. You are Fennel, right?”

“Yes, I am,” the woman replied. “Unfortunately, you came at kind of a bad time. I'm right in the middle of important research, and I think I'm almost at a breakthrough! Isn't that exciting?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Hilbert said. It'd be more exciting if knew what you were researching, though, he thought.

Another female voice, higher-pitched than Fennel's called out then. “Sis, come quick! The images are starting to appear on the monitor!”

Fennel glanced back into the room, then looked at Hilbert. “I'm really sorry about this, but I'm gonna have to ask you to come back later, okay?” Before Hilbert could say anything else, she closed the door.

“Son of a bitch,” Hilbert cursed, walking down the hallway. He exited the apartment building, heading back out into the Striaton City streets. With no other options open to him, he let his feet carry him towards the Trainer's School.

Located northwest of the Pokémon Center, in front of a fountain, the Trainer's School was just that- a place for novice Pokémon Trainers to learn the basics. Every region, even Orre, had one, though Orre's was known as the Prestige Precept Center. They were usually two or three floor buildings, teaching about Pokémon battles, Pokémon healing, and Pokémon Contests. Unova did not hold Pokémon Contests, however, so there was no floor for that.

As he walked up to the doors, someone opened them before he could touch the handles. A man with green hair that spiked up into a fringe at the top stepped out of the building, nearly bumping into Hilbert. Oddly enough, he was also dressed like a waiter, with a black vest over top a crisp white shirt, a white apron around his waist, and a dark green bow tie adorning his neck.

“Oh, uh, sorry,” the man said as he exited the Trainer's School, realizing he had almost run into Hilbert. “Were you, um, going to check out the School?”


“Yeah I was,” Hilbert said. “Given how everything I've wanted to do in this city is unavailable, I figured I might as well.”



“Then go on in,” the man replied, gesturing at the doors. “I hope you learn something, well, useful.”

The man then walked down the street towards the gym. Hilbert stepped into the school, finding it to be a bit smaller than he expected. The first floor was a single large classroom, with a huge blackboard on the far wall. The walls were painted a shade of light, almost baby blue, while the blackboard wall was painted a cream colour. Bookshelves were present along some of the walls, and a staircase leading up to higher floors was in the corner of the room.

Students were busily writing notes, chatting with each other animatedly, or reading silently as Hilbert walked toward the blackboard, trying his best to blend in. Trainer's School's all over the world had a rather lax 'learn at your own pace' attitude, with the teacher giving advice or help only when explicitly asked, or when a new student enrolled.

Despite Hilbert's best efforts to appear inconspicuous, said teacher noticed him. “Ah, a new face!” He said, looking up from a book he was reading. “Come to learn a thing or two, young man?”

Crap, Hilbert thought, hesitating a second before responding. “Umm, of course.” He walked over to the teacher's desk.

“Well, first of all, we give new students three Oran Berries,” the teacher said, reaching into a drawer in his desk and pulling out a few blue berries, each about the size of a grape. He handed them to Hilbert, who looked at them with an incredulous expression.

“...What am I supposed to do with these?” he asked.

“You have no idea how many times I've been asked that question,” the teacher sighed. “Those restore a Pokémon's health whenever it drops below half, but only if held by a Pokémon. If I can have one of your Pokémon for a second, please?” Hilbert handed him Maru's Poké Ball, as well as an Oran Berry. “Now watch this.” The teacher said. He held the Berry up to the Poké Ball's central button. A thin blue beam of light shot out of the button, enveloping the fruit. In an instant, the Oran Berry had been turned into energy and sucked inside the Poké Ball. “And now, whatever Pokémon is inside this Ball is now holding the Oran Berry.” The teacher concluded. “Any more questions?”

“You bet I have more,” Hilbert said, still partly in awe. “How does that happen? And more importantly, what happened?”

“It's rather simple, actually,” the teacher replied. “There are many items in the world-Berries included- that are made up of a similar energy to Pokémon. Simply hold up the item to the Poké Ball containing the Pokémon you want to have hold the item, and Bob's your uncle! The items most times aren't even Berries, just objects that would otherwise be useless or strange.”

“But... how will I know which items I can let my Pokémon hold, and which ones I can't?” Hilbert asked.

“The same way you know what Pokémon are in which Poké Ball, despite them having no markings to differentiate them,” the teacher said. “Call it 'Trainer's Sense', if you will. If you'd like, there are lessons on the blackboard to read up on.”

“Alright, thanks.” Hilbert walked over to the blackboard, reading up on the lessons written down on it. Currently, there were teachings about the five (non-volatile) status problems: Poison, Burn, Frozen, Paralysis, and Sleep. Out of all of them, Hilbert found Sleep and Poison to be the most insidious, as Poison gradually wore away at a Pokémon's health, even when it was in its Poké Ball, while Sleep kept it from attacking, period.

Glancing to the right, he spotted Cheren. The black-haired boy was currently reading about another lesson, so Hilbert decided to go see what it was. “So, an attacking move's power goes up by 1.5 times if it's the same type as the Pokémon using it... fascinating.” Cheren muttered to himself.

“What're ya readin' about?” Hilbert asked in a friendly tone, startling Cheren, who hadn't noticed his approach.

“Wha-? Oh, Hilbert, I didn't see you there,” Cheren said. He pointed to the blackboard. “This is a lesson on something I didn't know, which is the Same-Type Attack Bonus, or STAB, to use its acronym. Basically, if the type of move used by a Pokémon matches the type the Pokémon is, its power goes up. For example, your Oshawott knows Water Gun, and it's a 40 base power move, right? Well, according to this, when it uses that move, the power goes up to 45! Isn't that cool?”

“Actually, yeah, it is,” Hilbert said. No page he had read on the Internet had mentioned anything like that. It would be useful to remember when he was teaching his Pokémon moves. “Oh, by the way, one of the Gym Leaders was in here a few minutes ago talking about status problems,” Cheren said. “He wrote about some of them on the blackboard.”

“Well, I did run into someone coming in here,” Hilbert replied. “Maybe that was the Gym Leader?”

“Did he have green hair, and was he dressed like a waiter?” Cheren asked.

“Yep,” Hilbert said.

“Then that was him. The Gym Leaders of this city are three brothers named Cilan, Chili, and Cress,” Cheren explained. “The whole point of their Gym is to teach novice Trainers like us the basics of type matchups and what have you. If someone more experienced comes into the Gym, they use a fully balanced team.”

“The guy out front said the Gym was closed for repairs, though,” Hilbert said. “Bit of a letdown there; I wanted to challenge the Gym first thing.”

“Well, then why don't we have a battle to kill time?” Cheren suggested.

“What?” Hilbert hissed. “In here!? Are you nuts!? After what happened in my room!?”



“It wasn't that bad...” Cheren said.

“Yes, it was!” Hilbert cried, his voice raising in volume and pitch with every word. “We fucking destroyed it!” He was about to say more, but stopped when he realized just about everyone in the room had gone silent and was staring at him, including the teacher. He got up from his desk and walked over to the two boys, a stern look on his face.

“What's going on here?” He asked. His eyes were slightly narrowed as he glared at Hilbert. “What did you- to put it in your vulgar terms, which was completely uncalled for, by the way- 'fucking destroy'?”

Hilbert looked down at his feet like a child being scolded- which he essentially was. “My room, sir. We- myself, Cheren, and another friend of ours named Bianca- had our first Pokémon battle in my room a few days ago. You can guess how that ended. And now the someone next to me just suggested we have a battle in here.”

The teacher looked at them, his expression blank. After a few moments, he simply said, “That's it? That's the whole reason you got so worked up?”

“Kinda, yeah... it was pretty bad.”

The man was silent for a few seconds, seemingly thinking. “Well, you weren't wrong about one thing. It is a foolish to have a Pokémon battle in a confined area, especially this classroom. But there's nothing saying you can't have it outside. In fact, the students here haven't really seen a true Trainer battle, and I think it'd be a good experience if they did. If it's all right with you, can they watch?”

“As long as they stay out of the way, it's fine by me,” Cheren said. “Same here, I guess,” Hilbert added.

The teacher grinned. Turning to the class, he said, “Everyone, we're going to be doing something a little different today. These two Trainers will show us how a Pokémon battle is done. Follow me outside, please.”

Cheren looked to Hilbert, who just shrugged. Everybody filed out of the school, which caused a bit of a stir on the streets when fifteen students walked into the fountain plaza. They formed a rough, gappy circle around Hilbert and Cheren. Cheren took up his position with his back to the fountain, almost too close, in fact. Hilbert stood opposite to him. “Are you both ready?” The teacher asked. Neither Hilbert nor Cheren responded, only pulling out a Poké Ball.

“Go, Interloper!” Cheren yelled, sending out his Purrloin.

“Get out there, Logan!” Hilbert threw out his Lillipup. “Interloper, use Assist!” Cheren commanded. Just like in the fight Hilbert had with Mali, a white ball formed on Purrloin's paw. Hilbert had learned from that experience, though, and wasn't scared.

“Logan, use Tackle while it's vulnerable!” Lillipup dashed toward Purrloin, but to Hilbert's shock, the white glow on Purrloin's paw soon enveloped its entire body, and it too raced for Logan. The two Pokémon smashed into each other headfirst despite their Trainer's cries for them to dodge. “How!?” Hilbert cried. “I fought a Trainer on Route 2 who used that exact move, and it didn't do anything!”

“That's probably because they only had one Pokémon, Hilbert,” Cheren informed him. “It's something else I learned in the school. Assist works by choosing a random move from another Pokémon in your party. On that note, Interloper, use Assist again!”

The white glow formed on Purrloin's paw again.“Logan, try to dodge whatever it throws at you!” Hilbert yelled. Lillipup began zigzagging frantically, trying confuse Purrloin. This time, a thin, green vine came out of the glowing orb. Purrloin slashed it down, narrowly missing Logan, and leaving a green mark on the concrete.

“Did I mention my Snivy learned Vine Whip?” Cheren smirked. Hilbert grit his teeth. The only other moves Lillipup knew were Odor Sleuth and Leer. Odor Sleuth was completely useless in this situation, but Leer... As if on cue, Cheren had Purrloin use Scratch to do some more damage to Lillipup. “Logan, Leer, now!” Hilbert called. Lillipup's eyes glowed red, freezing Purrloin in place. “Now go in for the Tackle!” Lillipup smashed into Purrloin, knocking it back.

Not about to let up, Hilbert had Logan go in for another Tackle, which Cheren's Purrloin countered with Growl and Stratch, damaging Lillipup. Hoping for a Vine Whip, Cheren had Interloper use Assist, but only got Leer, another move his Snivy knew, and was easily countered and defeated by Hilbert's Lillipup.

“Interloper, return!” Cheren recalled Purrloin to its Poké Ball. “Not bad, not bad,” he praised. “Thanks-” Hilbert was cut off as Cheren continued. “Even if you only got the KO by luck. But Tara won't be taken down so easily!” He threw out Snivy's Poké Ball, and the Grass Snake Pokémon appeared with a flash of light.

“Tara, Vine Whip!” With speed befitting its stats, Snivy grew a green piece of foliage out of arm, and slashed it towards Lillipup. The Puppy Pokémon squealed as it was hit with the attack.

“Logan!” Hilbert cried. “Come on, try to get a hit in!” In desperation, Lillipup rammed into Snivy, knocking it back some. However, this damage ultimately didn't matter, as Snivy then began to glow. It got to its feet, appearing to be almost fully healed. “Oh, yeah, I almost forgot about that Oran Berry!” Cheren said.

“Uh, oh,” Hilbert gulped. This was seriously not good. If Logan went down, he'd be at a severe type disadvantage against Snivy. “Vine Whip, Snivy!” Cheren yelled, intending to finish off Logan fast and then simply sweep through Oshawott. At the last second, as Snivy was dashing towards Lillipup, Hilbert yelled, “Logan, Leer!” Once again, Lillipup's eyes glowed red, and Snivy cowered in fear, stopping its advance. “Now Tackle!”

“Get outta the way, Tara!” Cheren yelled, but it was too late. Though the attack was not a knockout hit, far from it, it undid the healing the Oran Berry had given Snivy.

Inevitably, with the next hit, Lillipup went down, leaving Oshawott as Hilbert's only Pokémon left. Hilbert held Maru's Poké Ball up to his face. “I'm countin' on you, Maru.” He threw out Oshawott, the Water-type looking understandably nervous after it realized it was up against a Grass-type. Going for the best option he had that wasn't Water Gun, Hilbert commanded Maru to use Tackle.

Cilan walked out of the Gym, feeling satisfied. Dealing with the aftermath of the 'Excadrill Incident' as he and his brothers were now calling it, had been very annoying, but now the repairs to the Gym were finally done. He couldn't help but feel a hint of jealousy towards the Elite Four- what with their technologically advanced battling rooms, capable of automatically fixing anything short of a bomb blast within seconds.

He headed towards the Trainer's School to let everyone know the good news, but when he got closer, he could hear shouting and Pokémon cries. Seeing a small crowd gathered near the fountain, he picked up his pace to a slow jog. Once he got close enough, he saw the cause of the commotion: two boys having a Pokémon battle. He recognized them both. One, the black-haired boy, had sat in on his lecture about status problems, while he had bumped into the other while walking out of the school.

The black-haired boy currently had the upper hand with his Grass-type Pokémon, Snivy, versus the baseball-capped boy's Oshawott. The Snivy was running circles around Oshawott, using Vine Whip over and over again whilst the Oshawott struggled to dodge, though it was doing a decent job of it. He noticed the expressions on each boy's face: a sheer desire to win, mingled with adrenaline. The baseball-capped boy, however, seemed to be the slightly more desperate of the two, so he decided to help out.

He made his way over to the baseball-capped boy, much to awe of the crowd, who whispered, “It's Cilan!” or, “What could the Gym Leader be doing here?”

Hilbert was deaf to all this, however. His mind was totally focused on winning the battle, but it didn't seem like that would be feasible at this point. Oshawott had already used its Oran Berry, and was low on health- two more attacks would take it out. Suddenly, he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned his head around, coming face-to-face with the same man he had seen walk out of the Trainer's School earlier. “Um, if I may, I have some advice for you,” the man said. Hearing Oshawott cry out, Hilbert whipped his gaze back to see the Water-type get hit with Vine Whip.

“Okay, any advice, I'd love to hear it!” Hilbert said. In the heat of the moment, he forgot who the man was.

“Well,” Cilan said, “Your Oshawott seems to very low on health, and that should have activated its ability, um, Torrent.”

“What good is that!?” Hilbert shrieked, then immediately called for Oshawott to dodge another Vine Whip.

Cilan just sighed. “It boosts the power of Water-type moves when your Oshawott is low on health. Even if that Snivy is in good health, one Torrent boosted Water Gun should do, uh, significant damage, if not get the KO outright.”

Well, what have I got to lose? “Alright, Maru! Use Water Gun!"

“Vine Whip, Snivy! Stop that thing!” Cheren called.

Oshawott opened its mouth and shot an incredibly powerful stream of water at Snivy. Even though the attack was not very effective, it propelled the Grass Snake back with so much force, it slammed into Cheren's chest and sent them both tumbling into the fountain with a splash.


“Oh, no.” Hlibert immediately ran up to the fountain, along with some people in the crowd, helping Cheren out of the fountain. The black-haired boy coughed and sputtered, water dripping off his now soaked clothes. “I am so sorry, Cheren,” Hilbert said quickly, mortified.

Cheren merely scoffed. “Save it,” he muttered darkly, taking his Trainer Card out of his jacket and tapping it against Hilbert's.

He then hastily ran off to the Pokémon Center to avoid any more embarrassment. “Well, that certainly was a heated match,” the teacher said, walking up behind them. “Congratulations on winning... wait, did I ever get your name?”

“It's Hilbert,” Hilbert said, shaking hands with the teacher.

“Well, Hilbert, you certainly put up a good fight. A hard-earned victory, to be sure.”

“Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without his help,” Hilbert replied, pointing at Cilan.

“Oh, think nothing of it,” Cilan said humbly. “The reason I'm out here in the first place is to tell everyone the Gym is, well, re-open for business. And I'd love it if you,” he spoke directly to Hilbert, “would be our first challenger.”

Hilbert was about to reply, but his stomach beat him to it by rumbling loudly. “Someone's hungry,” Cilan noted. “Don't worry, our Gym also doubles as a restaurant! Uh, follow me.” Seeing no reason to argue, Hilbert followed Cilan down the street to the Gym... unaware that a fuming, and still dripping-wet Cheren was watching from a distance, his hands clenched into tight fists.

 

I Never Wanted to be The Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 6: The Triple Leaders of Striaton
​

The food that Striaton Gym served was excellent. Hilbert hungrily dug into his lunch- a bagel BLT served with a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice. Not only was the food great, it was inexpensive, at least for him, as all Gym challengers received a 50% discount.

The Striaton City Gym was set up like a four-room restaurant. Each room was separated by a curtain with a symbol of a Pokémon element embroidered onto it. In the room Hilbert was sitting in, the symbol was fire. Hilbert gulped down the last of his orange juice as a waitress came up to his table. “Enjoy your meal?” she asked, taking his empty plate away.

“Oh, man, it was fantastic,” Hilbert said. He chuckled, “I could eat here every day for the rest of my life.”

The waitress just smiled, “Why thank you. Ready to begin your Gym challenge now?”

“Absolutely,” Hilbert said.

“Okay, then. Simply- well, no, I won't spoil how this Gym's puzzle works. Have fun, and good luck!” She then walked off to a side door, presumably leading to kitchen, and disappeared inside.

Hilbert took several deep breaths to calm himself as he stood up. He took stock of his supplies and the moves his Pokémon knew. He still had the Potions in his bag, and had given Oshawott and Lillipup his remaining two Oran Berries, as an insurance policy. On top of that, Lillipup had learned a new move after the battle with Cheren, the Dark-type Bite, that rounded out its moveset. It was more powerful than Tackle even without STAB, at base 60 power, so it would be Logan's main attack until it learned something better.

In front of each curtain were three large buttons set into the floor. On these buttons, was a water symbol, a grass symbol, and a fire symbol identical to the one on the curtain. “So,” Hilbert muttered to himself, “This is obviously about type matchups, but is it testing me on advantages, or disadvantages?”

Figuring he'd just pick the water button and hope for the best, he gingerly stepped on it. A loud ding was heard, and the curtain began to move, folding up as it split apart, revealing itself to be on a track in the floor, probably to make sure people couldn't cheat by just walking through it. “That's it?” Hilbert said. “If that's the whole puzzle of this Gym, then getting the Badge will be piss easy.”

Beyond the curtain was another room with tables placed here and there. The three buttons on the floor were also present on the far end. The curtain in this room showed a raindrop symbol. He entered the room, only to nearly jump out of his skin as someone said, “Ah, a challenger!” He looked left, seeing a waiter walking towards him, Poké Ball in hand.

Heart still beating wildly from the shock, he grabbed Maru's Poké Ball off his belt, readying it. “Would a warning be too much to ask for?” he snapped, a little more harshly than he intended.

The man shrank back a little. “Sorry. But you didn't think getting to the Gym Leaders would be easy as stepping on a few switches, did you? Here at Striaton Gym, we serve up a three-course meal of Pokémon battles, and I'm the first!”

He backed up to give his Pokémon some more room, then threw his Poké Ball. “Go, Lillipup!” The Puppy Pokémon that Hilbert had grown used to seeing appeared in a flash of light.

Hilbert took a moment to decide what Pokémon he wanted to use, but ultimately chose to keep Maru in reserve, throwing his own Lillipup into the fray.

The waiter began the battle with an unusual tactic. “Lillipup, use Leer!”

The enemy Lillipup's eyes glowed a fierce shade of red, freezing Hilbert's Lillipup in place. “Now go in for the Bite!” The other Lillipup opened its mouth, revealing fangs that looked surprisingly sharp, and raced for Logan.

“Logan, shake it off! Tackle that thing!” Hilbert called, having no desire for some part of Logan's anatomy to end up in the other Lillipup's jaws. Logan shook his head, the effects of the Leer wearing off, then yelped as the enemy Lillipup clamped its teeth around the sensitive hair on Logan's face. Logan yowled in pain.

“Logan!” Hilbert cried. “Get outta there, shake it off!” Logan shook his head back and forth, but the offending Lillipup merely growled, refusing to release its hold.

Okay, time for some unorthodox tactics, Hilbert thought. “Logan, run headfirst for a wall! Slam into it!”

Wanting to get rid of his attacker by any means necessary, Logan ran for the far wall, the bewildered enemy Lillipup still holding on. Its Trainer, however, wasn't as dumb.

“Lillipup, let go, now!” The attacking Lillipup immediately released Logan from its jaws vice-like grip, only to be on the receiving end of a Bite attack itself as Hilbert commanded his Lillipup to use the move.

“Get back, Logan!” Hilbert said. Logan let go of the other Lillipup, quickly backpedalling.

“Use Bite!” The waiter commanded.

That's exactly what I was hoping you'd do, Hilbert thought. “Logan, Leer!” Logan's eyes glowed red, freezing the charging Lillipup in place. “Now Bite!” Logan raced for the helpless Lillipup, snapping its teeth on the opposing Pokémon. The other Lillipup was higher levelled than Logan, though, and was able to shake him off.

“Leer!” The two Trainers commanded simultaneously. Both Lillipup's eyes glowed red, freezing them both in place.

“Shake it off, Logan! Bite!” Hilbert called.

“Come on, Lillipup!” The waiter yelled. Logan, however, recovered just before the waiter's Lillipup, and ran towards it, biting ferociously. The Bite attack proved too much for the enemy Lillipup, and it fainted, returning to its Poké Ball.

“Dang,” the waiter said. “I thought I could beat you.” He took out his Trainer Card, tapping it to Hilbert's.

“You did give it your best shot,” Hilbert said. “Am I allowed to leave the Gym and go to the Pokémon Center to heal up?”

“Of course,” the waiter replied. “We'll have to reset the puzzle, though. It's standard operating procedure. Good news is, you won't have to fight me again.”

“That's a relief,” Hilbert sighed. “I'll be back soon.”

He ran out of the Gym, heading towards the Pokémon Center, and was back within ten minutes. He once again pressed the water button, and walked through the adjacent room, saying hello to the waiter, and pressed the green button with a leaf on it to open the blue curtain.

Being much more cautious, he poked his head into the next room, seeing a waitress seated at one of the tables. She was probably another Trainer employed by the Gym, he thought. Seeing no reason to be stealthy, he simply walked into the room. The waitress's head perked up at the sound of his footsteps.

“Oh, well hello again!” she said. “So you made it past Maxwell, hmm?” She stood up and walked over to him.

“Yeah, I did,” Hilbert said with a bit of pride underlying his tone. “Say, aren't you that same waitress that served me earlier?”

“That I am!” she said. “Name's Tia.” She offered her hand out, which Hilbert shook. Her expression then turned more serious as she backed up, grabbing a Poké Ball. “Now, as much as I enjoyed serving you, and the complements you gave me, I still have to keep you from getting to the Gym Leaders. And to do that, I have to kick your ass in a Pokémon battle. Go, Patrat!” She threw out her Poké Ball, and the red-eyed, rodent-like Pokémon appeared.

“Okay, then, challenge accepted! Go, Logan!” Hilbert once again sent out his Lillipup.

“Logan, use Bite! Let 'em have it!” Hilbert yelled.

“Bide, Patrat! Quick!” Tia cried. Patrat tensed its muscles, enduring the hit. The attack took off a chunk of its health, but it wasn't down.

Logan backed off as Hilbert yelled, “What are you making that thing do? It's not even attacking!”

Tia smirked. “You'll see. Just try to attack, I dare ya!”

Hilbert didn't like the sound of that, but couldn't ignore the possibility of an easy KO. “Logan, Bite again!”

Logan bared his fangs, racing for Patrat and chomping down on it. Though Patrat endured yet again, it was getting noticeably weaker. As Logan backed off, Tia yelled, “Now, Patrat! Double the damage!”

A yellow glow surrounded Patrat for a split second, then with speed that Hilbert swore broke the sound barrier, charged towards Logan, ramming into him so hard he shot across the room and left a large dent in the far left wall.

“WHOA!” Hilbert yelled. “Logan, return, now!” He quickly recalled the Lillipup to his Poké Ball, then whipped his head in Tia's direction. “What the hell was that!?”

“That,” Tia smiled, “Was Bide. It's a rather useful move, at least on lower-levelled Pokémon. The Pokémon that uses it can't attack until it's been hit twice, but in return, it inflicts double what it's been hit with.”

“Wow,” was all Hilbert could say. However, he was now in a bit of a tight spot. He could see another Poké Ball on Tia's waist, and he only had Maru left to try and sweep.

“Go, Maru!” In a flash of light, the Sea Otter Pokémon appeared. “Use Water Gun!”

“Patrat, dodge it!” Tia yelled, but it was too late. The Scout Pokémon had already been hit with the high-pressure stream of water, taking it down.

“Seems we're both down to our last Pokémon,” Tia said. “Go, Purrloin!” She threw out her second, and last, Poké Ball, opening to reveal the purple-and-cream cat creature. “Purrloin, use Growl!” Purrloin opened its mouth and released a cry that distorted the air, freezing Maru in place. “Now Scratch!”

Purrloin popped its claws, dashing for Oshawott, scraping it up, then quickly backing off.
“Maru, Water Gun again!” Hilbert commanded. Using its nimbleness, Purrloin was able to twist out of the way of the high-pressure stream.

“Go in for another Scratch!” Tia yelled. Purrloin ran towards Oshawott, zigzagging as it went.

“Maru, keep using Water Gun! It doesn't matter where!” Oshawott began spitting water bursts out of its mouth in random directions, hoping to hit its assailant. Purrloin desperately tried to avoid the onrush, but was hit with a burst, sending it back. “Water Gun one more time!” Hilbert yelled.

Maru spat a stream of water out of its mouth. The stunned and waterlogged Purrloin didn't have a chance to dodge the attack. It was hit, and went down. Heart pounding, Hilbert recalled Maru to his Poké Ball, Tia doing the same with her downed Purrloin.

“Good match,” Hilbert said, tapping Trainer Cards with Tia. “You gave me a run for my money there.”

“If you think I'm tough, then just wait 'til you take on the Gym Leader,” Tia said.

Saying goodbye, Hilbert left the Gym to heal at the Pokémon Center yet again, then solved the Gym's button puzzle for the last time (the last room's correct button was fire) and entered into the Gym Leader's room. It was modelled after a high-class dining area, in contrast to the other room's more cafe-like atmosphere. Fancy tables decorated with faux candles that were actually lights were placed around the room, while still keeping a clear arena for battle. The other source of illumination came from four wall scones, with one on the left wall, its twin on the right, and two on the back wall. Between the lights was a giant screen, but what purpose it served, Hilbert could not say.

At the back of the room, the three Gym Leaders were huddled around an open panel in the wall, fiddling with what looked like wiring. They took no notice of his presence, so he decided to announce himself. “Um, hello?” he said. “I'm here to challenge you.”

One of the Leaders, the one with dreadlocks-like blue hair, turned around, walking towards Hilbert. “Ah, I see we have our first challenger now that the Gym is open again,” he said in a smooth voice that reminded Hilbert of flowing water. “Just wait one more minute, we're having some technical difficulties with the screen.”

“Relax, Cress, I think I've got it,” the red haired one barked sharply. “Y'know, we wouldn't have to do this in front of a challenger if SOMEONE- not that I'm gonna name any names- hadn't been so eager to invite challengers back now that the reno's done.” He placed the panel back in the wall. “There, that should do it.” He flipped a switch, and the screen lit up, showing a three-dimensional image of a Poké Ball with lines swirling in orbit around it.

“Now, I don't think we've been properly introduced,” Cress said as the other two walked over. “My name is Cress. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

The red-haired one spoke next, jabbing a thumb at his chest. “I'm Chili!”

“And I'm uh, Cilan, but you knew that already,” Cilan said.

“Alright, let's cut to the chase,” Chili said. “Is this your first battle with a Gym Leader?”

Hilbert said that it was, and Chili went on to explain how Gym Leader battles worked. Apparently, Gym Leaders did not battle using all their skill, instead holding back somewhat depending on the number of badges a challenger had; the fewer they had, the easier they would go on them. “Now what starter did you pick, and lastly, what's your name?” Chili finished.

“I picked Oshawott. And it's Hilbert,” Hilbert replied.

“Then that means you'll be fighting me,” Cilan said. “I have to say, you handled your Oshawott well in battle against that other boy, but he didn't look so happy about losing.”

Hilbert sighed. “That's just his personality, I'm afraid. His name is Cheren, and he's been one of my best friends since we were toddlers. He's always had a short temper, and hates to lose at anything. I'm just scared that losing in front of all those people might have set him off.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Cress said reassuringly. “Pokémon journeys change people, so perhaps he'll mature and grow out of it. Anyways, should we get this going?”

Hilbert took a few seconds to respond, thinking about Cress's words. “Okay,” he finally said. “I'm ready.”

“Man, I was all fired up for a battle, too...” Chili muttered as he walked to the right end of the room with his brothers, Hilbert taking the other side. Cilan wasted no time, grabbing the first of two Poke Balls on his waist and throwing it out. “Go, Lillipup!”

Hilbert snatched up Maru's Poké Ball and tossed it out. “Maru, let 'em have it!” The two Poke Balls opened in mid-air, and the creatures materialized on the floor. The screen on the back wall came to life, displaying images of each Pokémon above their names, but what was most curious of all, was the presence of a green bar for each Pokémon, one Hilbert could only describe as a health meter.

“If you're at all curious about the monitor, it's displaying exactly what you think it is,” Chili called. “As each Pokémon takes damage, those green bars go down in real time. Takes a lot of the guesswork outta battling, but only Gyms and the Elite Four's rooms have them. So don't get used to it.”

“Go straight for the Bite, Lillipup!” Cilan commanded. Lillipup, moving as fast as its stubby legs could carry it, dashed for Oshawott. Unfortunately for it, the room was much longer than it was wide, so it had plenty of ground to cover, and that meant Oshawott had plenty of time to use Water Gun on Hilbert's orders.

Lillipup was hit, and the attack took a small chunk of its health out according to the screen. Lillipup got to its feet, dripping wet and stunned. “Ah!” Cilan cried uncharacteristically. “My Pokémon! Lillipup, don't stop, keep going! Bite!” Lillipup shook briefly, getting the water out of its coat, then bared its fangs and ran for Oshawott.

“Maru, use Water Gun again!” Hilbert yelled. Oshawott spat a stream of water at Lillipup, but it dodged neatly, pouncing on Maru and biting down savagely. Maru screamed in pain.

“Maru!” Hilbert yelled. “Try and get it off somehow! Roll over, just do something!” He glanced over at the screen. Oshawott's health was still in the green, but it was dropping by the second due to the Lillipup's refusal to let go. Suddenly, an idea hit him. “Maru, use Water Gun, point-blank!”

As Oshawott opened its mouth, Cilan realized what Hilbert was trying to do, and yelled for Lillipup to get away. It was too late, though. The stream of water hit the Puppy Pokémon dead-on, flinging it off of Maru. It landed hard five feet away.

“Good job, Maru!” Hilbert praised. “Now Tackle!”

“Get up, now!” Cilan called. “Bite!” Lillipup looked up just in time to see Oshawott charging towards it, slamming into it. It yowled as it was sent backwards. I guess desperate times call for desperate measures, Cilan thought. “Use Work Up, Lillipup!”

Hilbert could only watch in confusion as Lillipup began stamping the ground with its front paws. After a few seconds, it stopped, and was briefly surrounded by a red glow. “Now go for Bite again!” Cilan called. Lillipup crossed the short distance between it and Oshawott before the latter could even react, and chomped down. Oshawott screamed again. Not wanting a repeat of last time, Lillipup quickly backed off.

Hilbert looked at the screen. The bar representing Maru's health had dropped below the halfway point, and had turned yellow. Suddenly, Oshawott began to glow as the Oran Berry it held took effect. The bar on the screen shot back up into the green. “Yes!” Hilbert cheered. He, like Cheren, had completely forgotten that he had given Maru and Logan Oran Berries. “Use Water Gun! Take out that Lillipup!”

The Puppy Pokémon yelped as the high-pressure stream of water hit it, taking it down. “Lillipup, return!” Cilan called, recalling Lillipup. “Well, uh, looks like you've gotten me down to my last Pokémon,” he added. “Um, go, Pansage!” He threw out his second Poké Ball, and a green simian-like Pokémon appeared. It had large ears with light green insides, a cream torso, arms, and face, and a tail with two leaves on the end. A broccoli-like protrusion stuck out of the top of its head.

“Ah crap, another Grass-type,” Hilbert groaned.

“Go for Vine Whip!” Cilan cried.

“Oshawott, dodge!” Hilbert yelled.

Pansage quickly grew a green vine from its arm, slashing it down. Oshawott tried to dodge, but was struck with the Grass-type attack, sending it flying. It landed hard, unconscious. “Damn it!” Hilbert shouted. The picture of Oshawott on the board exploded into pieces as its health bar went down to nothing. Hilbert held his Lillipup's Poké Ball up to his face. “Come on Logan, time to really show what you're made of.”

He pulled his arm back, and threw the Poké Ball with all his might. With a flash, Logan appeared. “Use Bite!” Hilbert commanded.

“Vine Whip!” Cilan yelled as Logan ran for Pansage, fangs bared. Another vine grew out of Pansge's arm, and it slashed down, striking Logan.

“Don't stop, Logan! Get up, keep going!”

Logan rolled to his feet, just barely avoiding another Vine Whip, then pounced on Pansage, biting down savagely. Pansage yelled, trying to push Logan off of it. Cilan glanced at the screen, knowing he had to do something fast. “Pansage, use Fury Swipes!”

Pansage's fingerless hands glowed white, and it swiped one upwards, knocking Logan off of it. “Don't stop, keep going!” Cilan yelled. Getting to its feet, Pansage lunged for Logan, slashing repeatedly with its glowing hands.

Logan was forced to forced to dodge wildly as Pansage swiped at it, two, three more times. Fury Swipes, however, wasn't the most accurate move in the world, with Pansage's blows being random and sloppy, allowing Hilbert to command Logan to use Tackle on Pansage once the onslaught had ended. Pansage was sent skidding back.

“Keep it up, Logan!” Hilbert said. “Bite!”

Logan charged for Pansage, chomping down on it. He quickly backed off as Pansage threw a Fury Swipe his way. Cilan looked at the screen. His Pansage was down to the red in health. One more attack would do it in, but he still wasn't done yet. He decided to give it one last Vine Whip before submitting to the inevitable. “Pansage, put everything you've got into this! Vine Whip!”

The oh-so-familiar vine grew out of Pansage's arm, and it ran towards Logan, slashing down with all it had left. Logan dodged, and with the next Bite, it was over. Cilan recalled Pansage to its Poké Ball as Hilbert ran up to Logan, picking him up. “You did it, Logan! I'm so proud of you! We won our first Gym Badge!” Logan yipped in joy, licking Hilbert's face.

Breathing heavily and sweating slightly, Cilan walked over to Hilbert, his brothers following him. “Well colour me surprised,” he said. “You're... very strong. I don't think even Chili or Cress could beat you. So, in honour of your victory, we, um, confer upon you the official Striaton City Badge- the Trio Badge!” He took out a small brass pin from his pocket. It was shaped like a double-sided dagger, with three glass beads inlaid- one blue, one red, and one green.

“Thank you so much, Cilan,” Hilbert said. He placed the Badge in his case, then shut it and put it away in his bag.

“Oh, and take this too,” Cress said. He pulled what looked like an old-style floppy disk, handing it to Hilbert.

“What is this?” Hilbert asked.

“It's a TM, short for Technical Machine,” Chili explained. “It contains TM83, Work Up. Y'know, the move that Cilan's Lillipup used to increase its attacking power? This is it. It raises your Pokémon's Attack and Special Attack by one stage each, but only until you recall them. Oh, and don't be afraid to use it, either. Once upon a time, TM's could only be used once, and that wiped the data on them. But now, you can use it pretty much forever!” Cool, huh?”

“Thank you all so much,” Hilbert said. “I think I should get going now. Bye!”

With that, he ran out of the Gym, overjoyed at having won his first Badge. “Come back soon!” The Gym Leaders called at his retreating form.

“Trust me, I will!” he hollered back. “I'd never get tired of eating the food you serve here!”

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the city, near Route 3, a fuming Cheren was training his Pokémon. “Come on, Tara! Dodge better next time!” He yelled as Snivy was hit with Interloper's Scratch. His thoughts turned to the battle he had with Hilbert just over an hour before.

I can't believe he'd humiliate me like that, he thought. And in front of all those people, too. If the Gym Leader hadn't shown up, I would've won, no questions asked.

'But you challenged him, fair and square,' a small voice in his mind said. 'It's just a matter of bad luck that Cilan happened to show up'.

He firmly quashed that voice. No, I should have won. I'll redeem myself. I'll get that Badge, and then I'll show Hilbert who's really stronger. I just have to be patient...

A/N: Just as a note here, the paragraphs in the chapters from here on out are going to be spaced out a bit more. It's a truly tedious thing to have to get rid of those extra spaces, and for something that's only here for archival purposes, it's not worth the effort.

 

Never Wanted to be The Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 7: Plasma by the Yard-Full

​

Hilbert walked out of the Striaton City Gym with a spring in his step. He had actually done it- the first Gym Badge was his! Unable to resist the urge to take it out and look at it, he did so, grinning as he saw the gleam of the polished brass.



He snapped the Badge case shut, continuing to walk through the city streets. However, he stopped when a woman's voice yelled, “Wait!”



He turned around, seeing the scientist from before, Fennel, running up to him. She stopped in front of him, panting slightly. “I need to speak with you.”



Hilbert was confused, to say the least. First she says she can't see me, and now she wants to talk? He thought. Still, he was curious as to what Fennel wanted, so he decided to give her his time. “What is is?” he asked.



“Professor Juniper called me,” Fennel responded. “She asked me to look for a boy in a blue jacket. Well, one of two boys, actually, but either one would do. I assume you're Cheren?”



“No, I'm Hilbert,” Hilbert said, a bit insulted at the confusion.



Fennel smacked her own forehead. “Oh! That's right, she said that Cheren doesn't wear a baseball cap. I just forgot, forgive me. Anyways, Juniper asked me for your help with something. Please, follow me.”



She turned around, Hilbert tailing her through the increasingly-crowded Striaton City streets, back to her apartment building. She unlocked the door to her apartment, leading him inside. The central room was dominated by the strangest machine Hilbert had ever seen. Looking like something out of a science fiction movie, it was a sort of oversized VCR that had been heavily modified and painted a light purple. It was placed on a table next to a bed. Various wires stuck out of it, a connecting to TV monitors on the opposite wall. Before Hilbert could ask what the hell it was all for, Fennel spoke up.



“Well here we are, my humble abode! As you can see, I'm a scientist, but I study something other than Pokémon. I study Trainers, or more accurately, the dreams of Trainers.”



“What for?" Hilbert asked.



“This might sound crazy, and you might not believe me at first, but hear me out,” Fennel said. Hilbert simply nodded, indicating he was willing to listen. “I have reason to believe that an alternate universe exists, parallel to our own. Dreams allow us to get a glimpse into this other world. For example, there could be another me, having this same conversation with another you, right now! Isn't that amazing?”



Hilbert took a moment to process this, thinking it over. The concept of parallel worlds had always both intrigued and disturbed him. On one hand, it was cool to think there was another him out there, somewhere, but on the other, he didn't like the fact that there could be a carbon copy of himself. After all, everyone was unique, one-of-a-kind...right?



Finally, he replied, “I think it's fascinating what you're doing, but what does this have to do with me?”



Fennel suddenly perked up, as if expecting this question. “Basically, I need your help. You see that machine over there?” She pointed to the device by the bed. “That device is what translates brain patterns that make up dreams into images that are displayed on those monitors. However, I need something called Dream Mist to make the machine work, my supplier recently ran out, and to make matters worse, they're backed-ordered for weeks!”



“Hold on a minute, weren't you using it just fine when I first saw you?” Hilbert said.



“Yes, but that used up the last of the Dream Mist,” Fennel said. “And that 'major breakthrough didn't pan out into anything, either.”



She sighed before continuing. “That's where you come in. There's an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city's east end. A Pokémon that gives off Dream Mist, Munna, makes its home there. Unfortunately, there's a lot of sharp foliage blocking the entrance to it. So I'll give you something to cut down the growth.”



She reached into the pocket of her lab coat and pulled out another TM. She handed it to Hilbert. At his questioning expression, she explained further. “This HM- or Hidden Machine- contains the move Cut. Teach it to a Pokémon, and they'll learn how to slice down any small foliage in your way. Use it to get into the factory. I'd go myself, but I don't have a Pokémon that can learn Cut, and only people who have the Striaton Gym Badge can make their Pokémon use Cut outside of battle anyway.



“So,” she finished, “Will you do this for me?”



Once again, Hilbert thought it over, his eyes naturally trailing up and to the left. He had seemingly nothing to gain from doing this (as Fennel had provided him with no incentive) but nothing to lose, either. He glanced back at the scientist for a second. She had an almost pleading, Lillipup-dog expression on her face. Finally, he agreed.



Overjoyed, Fennel scribbled down some directions on a piece of paper and handed it to him, then sent him on his way. He walked through the city streets to the Pokémon Center to heal, then continued on in a generally eastward direction, going past apartment buildings, shops, and into one of the more suburban areas. This was where, despite the directions he had been given, things got confusing to navigate. The streets seemed to have no end and looped back around on each other, creating a messy snarl of concrete. There were no landmarks to go by, either; every house looked the same, save for slight differences in brick colour.



Eventually, Hilbert just said, “screw it,” and asked a local how to get to the factory. This proved to help immensely, and soon he came across a sign that said 'DREAMYARD AHEAD'.



“Dreamyard?” Hilbert said to himself. “Why didn't Fennel just tell me that? I've always wanted to visit that place.”



Striaton Industrial Machine Parts Inc., or as it was now known, the Dreamyard, was a well-known spot in the Unova region, and a popular tourist destination. The plant had manufactured precision parts for a company called Mauville Industries in Hoenn, but had been abandoned shortly after that company went under. Now the plant sat, slowly decaying, in a wooded area beyond the east suburb of Striaton. It was far from forgotten, however. It was now a spot for people to train their Pokémon, and several movies, particularly those in the horror genre, had been shot on-location there.



The sun had reached its peak in the sky as Hilbert entered said wooded area. The Dreamyard loomed ahead, its decaying form seeming almost zombie-like. It was obvious why studios chose this place to film. Some Trainers were having their own Pokémon engage in mock battle for training purposes.



One boy noticed him, recalling his two duelling Patrat and running over. “Hey, you wanna battle?” he asked. He threw out one of his Patrat, seemingly in a futile attempt at intimidation.



“And here I thought I had a choice,” Hilbert muttered sarcastically. “Go, Maru!” In a flash, Oshawott appeared. The Partat hissed and bared its teeth.



“Oh yeah, I forgot introductions,” the boy said. “I'm Joey.”



Hilbert couldn't help but smirk a bit. Joey had been one of Gold's first, and most famous, challengers. He was adamant about telling the world about his so-called 'top percentage Rattata', even to the point of interrupting a press conference that Gold was having after defeating the Elite Four with a Pokegear call.



Taking a jab was irresistible. “My name's Hilbert. But I gotta ask, is that Patrat... in the top percentage of Patrat?”



Joey's expression quickly turned into one of murderous rage. “Okay, I was gonna go easy on you, but after that, no mercy!” he yelled. “I am sick everyone comparing me to that bastard from Johto! Patrat, Bite!”



Patrat dashed toward Maru, rage in its already red eyes. “Maru, Water Gun!” The high-pressure stream of water slammed into the Patrat, sending it tumbling back. Joey's Pokémon seemed to be at a much lower level than Hilbert's, as the Patrat did get up, but it looked unsteady on its feet. “Keep it up, Maru! Water Gun again!” Hilbert commanded.



“Leer, Patrat!” Joey yelled, but it was too late. Just as Patrat's eyes started to turn from red with black pupils to solid red, the Water-type attack hit it, knocking it out.



Not willing to give up, Joey sent out his second Patrat, only to be met with the same result. In desperation, he sent out his last Pokémon, a Lillipup. The Lillipup, with its higher speed, did manage to get off a Tackle, but not before being hit with a Water Gun. However, due to Lillipup's low level, the attack didn't do much damage, and two Water Guns later, it went down.



“Damn it!” Joey yelled, recalling his Lillipup. He stomped towards Hilbert, pulling his Trainer Card out of his pocket. They tapped cards, Joey muttering a sentence under his breath that sounded an awful lot like something that rhymed with 'go duck yourself,' then stalked out of the Dreamyard's lot.



Rude, Hilbert thought, then walked up to one of the rusted gates of the factory. The Dreamyard was protected by crumbling concrete walls, with rusty chain-link fencing in places. What was unusual about this particular gate, however, was that even though its fencing seemed rusted, the chain and lock holding them together looked relatively new and untarnished. “But why would there be a new lock on old gates..?” he wondered aloud, shaking them a bit. The fencing, old as it was, didn't budge.



Hilbert kept going, finding another gate to get into the factory. These gates were held in place by a simple latch, but thorny vines had grown over the fencing on the gates, creating a painful barricade that prevented anyone from going inside. “Luckily I have just the thing to get around this,” Hilbert said to himself, pulling out both the Cut HM and his Pokédex.



He saw that Cut was a physical Normal-type move, with 50 base power. Unfortunately, the one Pokémon he had on him that would get STAB with it, his Lillipup, could not learn it. With no other choice, he taught it to Maru, having him forget Tail Whip. Thinking that a move upgrade for Logan also wasn't a bad idea, he taught him Work Up in place of Odor Sleuth.



He let Maru out of his Poké Ball and had him slash the vines, then heard a familiar voice yell his name. “Hey! Hilbert! Wait!”



He turned to his left, and sure enough, there was Bianca, running toward him. Her long skirt impeded her somewhat, but she did manage. “Bianca?” Hilbert said. “What are you doing here?”



“I heard some people talking about a mysterious Psychic-type Pokémon that lives here,” Bianca replied. “I want to catch it for my team.”



“Did they say the Pokémon was named Munna?” Hilbert asked.



“I think so,” Bianca said.



“Then it looks like we're both after the same thing. Do you remember the scientist that Professor Juniper told us to meet back in Accumula Town, Fennel?” Hilbert asked. Bianca nodded. “She told me to go retrieve a sample of something Munna gives off, called Dream Mist. Why don't we search together? Just please don't catch it until I've gotten the Dream Mist, okay?”



“Deal. Shall we, then?” Bianca said, gesturing at the gates.



Hilbert unlatched the gates, which swung open with a creak of ancient metal. They trudged through a small, abandoned parking lot, shrubs growing in between cracks in the concrete. “You wonder how Dream Mist works?” Bianca asked.



Hilbert shrugged. “Dunno. I didn't really give it any thought.”



Despite what Hilbert had seen in movies, there really wasn't much to the Dreamyard. The films had shown the walls, both inside and out, spattered in fake blood, with all sorts of horrible torture machines inside- fitting for a lair of the disfigured chainsaw-wielding killers in the movies. The reality, however, was quite boring. There was literally nothing on the outside of the former factory, save for old bricks, the remains of exhaust stacks that once adorned the building's roof.



Speaking of the roof, it was a faded blue colour, practically rusted clean away. The one section of it that wasn't gone was covering a small part of the front of the interior. Suddenly, they both heard a noise, like a Pokémon's cry, coming from inside the plant. “Muuun...”



“Did you hear that?” Bianca whispered. “It sounded like a Pokémon's cry! I'll bet you anything it's a Munna!” She dashed off before Hilbert could react, heading inside the factory.



“Bianca, wait!” He ran after her. The inside of the Dreamyard was just as derelict as the outside. It was a large warehouse, mostly without walls, and large holes in the floor. Hilbert peered down into one of them as he passed by. The holes led to the facility's basement, but what was down there, he could not tell. “Do not want to fall down into one of those,” he shuddered.



Aside from some rusted barrels, there was nothing of note in the building. Large patches of tall grass grew to the north and east, going into disused forest trails that Hilbert didn't particularly feel like exploring. The strange Pokémon's cry sounded once again. “Muuun...”



“There it is again!” Bianca exclaimed. “It's gotta be around here somewhere...”



Hilbert only tapped her on the shoulder, pointing to the northern trail. “Uh, Bianca, I think it's right there.”



Floating a few metres away, was Munna. It was a pink, quadrupedal Pokémon with stubby limbs, and purple flower markings adorning its body. Bianca gasped as soon as she saw it. The Munna, however, seemed startled, and began to float in the opposite direction.



“Wait! We're not going to hurt you.” Bianca said. She and Hilbert slowly approached the Dream Eater Pokémon. Suddenly, two figures ran out of the eastern trail.



“There it is!” One of them yelled. They quickly surrounded Munna, the Pokémon making a frightened, “...Mu!”



“Thought you could get away from us, huh?” The second person said. Both people were dressed in the Team Plasma uniform that Hilbert and Cheren had seen back in Accumula Town. “Make some Dream Mist, now!” The Munna only gave a terrified cry.



“Hilbert, who are these people?” Bianca asked.



“Who, us?” The grunt on the left replied, overhearing. “We're Team Plasma. We work day and night to liberate Pokémon from people who would abuse them!”



“But what does Munna have to do with it?” Hilbert asked.



“Munna and its evolution Musharna give off a vapour called Dream Mist, which shows people's innermost dreams and desires.” The right grunt said. “We'll use that to show just how cruel people are deep down! That will make them want to release their Pokémon when they see how ugly a person can be inside!”



“Good going, dumbass,” the other grunt said. “Now they know what we're gonna do! We gotta get that Mist and get out of here!” He gave the Dream Eater Pokémon a hard kick to the side. “Come on! Spit it the Dream Mist!”



“Muu!” Munna yelled in pain.



“What the hell!?” Hilbert cried. “You just said you want to save Pokémon from abusive Trainers, and then you go and do that!?”



“He's right, that's mean!” Bianca chimed in. She pointed to the Poke Balls on the grunt's belts. “Aren't you Trainers too?”



“That's right.” The right grunt said. “We are, but we're fighting for the freedom of Pokémon! Unlike you two, who only fight for sport. We may take Pokémon by force, but that's only because we have no choice.”



“So on that note,” the other grunt said, “We're going to rescue your Pokémon from you!”



“Bianca, get behind me.” Hilbert said firmly as the grunt backed up and grabbed the Poké Ball off his belt.



“But I can help too...” Bianca said.



“Now, dammit!” Hilbert yelled as the grunt threw out his Poké Ball. In a flash of light, a Patrat appeared.



“Go, Maru!” Hilbert yelled, throwing out Oshawott.



“Patrat, use Tackle!” The grunt yelled.



“Maru, Water Gun!” Hilbert commanded. Oshawott shot a stream of water out of its mouth, only for the grunt to command his Patrat to dodge. Amazingly, it did, jumping clean over the water-type attack, and slamming into Maru, sending him reeling back.



“Get up, Maru! Let's try Cut!” Hilbert said. Even though Oshawott didn't get STAB with Cut, it was more powerful overall. Maru took the seashell off its belly, and slashed at Patrat. The hit connected, dealing a sizable chunk of damage to the enemy Pokémon.



Munna, meanwhile, was not going to let this opportunity to escape slip away. It tried to float away discreetly, but was noticed by the other grunt. “Hey! Stop! Purrloin, get that thing; use Scratch!”



Purrloin appeared as the grunt threw out her Poké Ball, racing toward the much slower Munna. The Devious Pokémon jumped a bit, raking its claws across the wild Pokémon's side. Munna yelled in pain.



“Munna!” Bianca cried. “Pepper, help it!” Bianca threw out her Lilipup, who slammed into Purrloin.



Purrloin hissed and turned its attention to Pepper. Without a command from its Trainer, it slashed its claws at her, making the Puppy Pokémon yell as the hit connected.



“You really wanna get in our way, you brat?” The female grunt hissed. “Purrloin, Growl, then go in for the Scratch!”



“Leer, Pepper!” Bianca commanded. Before Purrloin could even open its mouth, Pepper's eyes glowed red, freezing the Devious Pokémon in place. “Now Bite!”



Pepper ran towards the helpless Purrloin, and clamped her jaws on its face.



As all this was happening, Hilbert was still battling the other grunt's Patrat. He commanded Maru to use Cut right as the grunt had his Patrat use Leer.



“Now Tackle that thing!” The grunt yelled. Patrat slammed into Maru, sending it reeling back.



“Water Gun, Maru!” Hilbert shouted as soon as Oshawott had gotten back on his feet. This time, the stream of water hit, knocking back the Scout Pokémon.



“Bide!” The grunt yelled. Patrat tensed its muscles, preparing to endure any hits thrown at it. Unfortunately for the grunt, two Water Guns were more than enough to take down his Patrat.



“Patrat, come back!” He called, returning the Pokémon to its Ball. He then turned to his partner, who was still fending off Pepper. “Forget about these kids! Just get the Dream Mist!”



“Purrloin, take out that Lillipup!” The other grunt yelled. With one more Scratch, Pepper was sent backwards, allowing the grunt a clear shot at Munna. She frantically kicked at the Dream Eater Pokémon, hoping to make it release its Dream Mist.



Suddenly, there was a white flash, and the last person anyone expected to see appeared out of nowhere.



It's that guy from the rally, Hilbert thought.



“G-Ghetsis!” The grunt kicking Munna cried. She immediately recalled her Purrloin, her partner walking up to her.



“What are you two doing goofing off?” Ghetsis growled.



“Wha- what's Ghetsis doing here?” The male grunt stammered.



Suddenly, another Ghetsis materialized to their right.



“We, Team Plasma, shall separate Pokémon from foolish humans!” The second Ghetsis said. They both vanished briefly, then in another flash, appeared behind the pair of grunts, combined once more.



“If you cannot fulfil your duties...” the green-haired man said threateningly, towering over the two underlings.



“Uh... when did Ghetsis get teleporting powers?” One grunt whispered.



“Who cares?” The other grunt said. “This isn't Ghetsis when he's gathering followers or tricking people with speeches... this is Ghetsis when he's mad!”



“So.. should we get outta here?”



“Obviously!” Run!”



The two grunts took off, running for their lives out of the Dreamyard. In another white flash, Ghetsis vanished.



Bianca turned to Hilbert. “What was that just now? That Ghetsis guy... he just appeared everywhere, and then he vanished. How did he do that?”



Hilbert turned to the Munna, and gasped. “Something tells me I just found out.”



Bianca looked to where Munna was, and she too gasped. “What is that..?”



Munna had been joined by a second Pokémon. It was similar in appearance to the Dream Eater Pokémon, but was a bit larger, with a mostly purple body. Its head was pale pink, and out of a hole in its snout, a dark pink mist seeped out.



“Oh, I get it!” Bianca said. “That Pokémon must have been making us and the grunts hallucinate.”



“Not only that, but I think I've found the Dream Mist,” Hilbert added. Then he groaned, realizing he had brought nothing to put the Mist in. It was such a crucial oversight on his part, and he cursed under his breath.



“Oh!” A voice from behind them exclaimed. Hilbert and Bianca turned around, seeing Fennel walking up to them. “I couldn't wait, so I came over.” She said, anticipating their questions. Noticing the Pokémon next to Munna, she exclaimed, “Is that a Musharna!?”



“A Musharna?” Bianca asked.



“Yes,” Fennel said. “It's Munna's evolved form. There have been rumours of one appearing around here, but no one believed them. To think, they were true all this time..!”



The Musharna and Munna then went back into the forest trail, having had enough excitement for one day. The Musharna left behind a cloud of pink vapour, and Fennel ran up to it, pulling vials out of her lab coat. She dipped them into the mist, and quickly corked them, putting them away.



“This is Dream Mist,” she explained. “That Musharna was probably one of Munna's parents, so it sensed Munna was in trouble, and used this to make you all hallucinate. But with this, my machine can be up and running again! You two please come to my house later, okay? Thank you for your help!”



Fennel bid goodbye, heading back to her apartment. “Well that was something you don't experience every day,” Bianca said.



“Yeah, it was pretty damn random,” Hilbert said.



“I just hope we don't run into those Team Plasma guys again. I wanna keep looking for that Munna, so I think I'll stick around here,” Bianca said. “You can go back to Fennel's, if you want to.”



“I think I will.” Hilbert said. He walked out of the warehouse, thoughts swirling. Team Plasma had seemed weird back in Accumula Town when they made their rally, but now they had revealed themselves to be bad news across the board. Bianca was right, it was best to just hope that this would be the last he'd see of them.



Cheren walked out of the Striaton City Gym, feeling very self-satisfied. He had easily won against Chili, thanks to Snivy learning Growth, a move that raised Attack and Special Attack by one stage each. On top of that, Chili's Pansear's only super-effective move on Snivy, Incinerate, only had 35 base power with STAB. It was simply no contest.



He took the Trio Badge out his own Badge case and looked at it. Hilbert, you won't know what hit you next time we battle, he thought, smirking.

 

I Never Wanted to be The Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 8: The Road to Nacrene
​

The next day, Hilbert decided it was time to head out of Striaton. He'd had more than enough excitement for one city, and wanted to leave. He got up, had a shower, got dressed (his clothes were becoming somewhat wrinkled and smelly from his B.O, he noticed), and walked out of the Pokémon Center. Bianca would have to check out of the room this time.



Speaking of Bianca, not half an hour after he left Fennel's, who rewarded him with quite a large amount of money for helping her find the Dream Mist, she ran up to him in an excited frenzy, gushing about how she had caught a Munna. After healing it at the Pokémon Center, she immediately challenged the Gym before it closed for the day, earning her Trio Badge.



As for his own Pokémon, Oshawott had levelled up a bit following the battles with Joey and the Team Plasma grunts. It tried to learn Water Sport, a move that weakened the power of Fire-type moves when used in battle. Hilbert found it quite useless, as Oshawott already resisted Fire-type attacks, and denied his starter from learning it. On the plus side, it also learned a move that could actually be rather useful: Focus Energy. This move raised the critical hit ratio for any damaging moves that Oshawott used.



Hilbert had enquired at the Trainer's School exactly what critical hits were. The teacher had explained that they ignored all stat buffs- defensive or otherwise- used by an enemy Pokémon, and inflicted double damage. After learning this, Hilbert immediately approved via the Pokédex that Oshawott learn the move. He had also been given three more Oran Berries, to help him along the fairly lengthy path to Nacrene City, Route 3. After a considerably more expensive breakfast at the Striaton Gym, he was finally ready to get going.



Thankfully, the west suburbs of Striaton were somewhat easier to navigate, and within half an hour, he had passed by Striaton's hedge garden on the edge of town, and was officially on Route 3. Route 3 was much less linear than the two Routes before it, but it still was not hard to find out which path one had to take. The paved roads for cars ran parallel to the dirt path, which split halfway through, with one path going west through a swampy area, and the other going south, to Nacrene.



To his surprise, he found a small daycare for children about a quarter of the way down the path, and decided to check it out. At first he thought it was strange to have a daycare on a Route, but when he thought about it some more, it made sense. Most children left on Pokémon journeys one day, and they needed to be acclimatized to the creatures when that day came.



One of the workers noticed him wandering around, and walked up to him. “Well, hello there!” she said. “Come to take a look around? I'm Autumn, I help run this place.”



He stuck his hand out to shake hers when she offered it. “Name's Hilbert. And yeah, I am.” He glanced at the playground, where many young kids were running around, playing games and swinging on the swingset. “Hard keeping them out of mischief?”



Autumn gave a brief laugh. “Oh no, not at all! They're good kids, they've got good heads on their shoulders, and most have Pokémon to look after them.” At Hilbert's questioning expression, she explained. “You know how Trainers look after their Pokémon? Well here, it's more like the other way around. They don't have Trainer Cards, and as such aren't allowed to battle, so it's mostly used to get them used to being around Pokémon.”



“I thought as much,” Hilbert said.



Autumn sighed, getting a suddenly wistful look in her eyes as she turned back to the children. “It makes you wonder what they'll make of themselves when it comes time for them go on their journeys. Some might not even, just find jobs in Striaton or Casteila.”



“You never know. I just got my first Gym Badge yesterday.” Hilbert said.



“You did?”



“Yep. Right now I'm on my way to Nacrene City.”



“Oh, then I'd better let you go,” Autumn said. “It's a long road to Nacrene, and no one likes being stuck on a Route at night.”



“Okay, see you,” Hilbert said. He walked of the daycare area and continued on. The occasional car passed by on the road, but other than that, he encountered nothing of note. That is, until he spotted Cheren as he was coming up on the fork in the road that led to Nacrene.



The black-haired boy had both his Purrloin and Snivy out of their Poke Balls and engaged in mock battle, but then he turned around, locking eyes with Hilbert. He immediately recalled his two Pokémon back, and ran up to Hilbert.



“Didn't expect to see you here so soon,” Cheren said, his voice having a slightly threatening tone to it that put Hilbert on edge.



“I could say the same to you.” Hilbert took a step back, already knowing what was coming, considering Cheren had pulled a Poké Ball off his belt.



“You got your Trio Badge, right?” Cheren asked.



“Yeah, what about it?” Hilbert said.



“I think it's time we found out who deserves it more,” Cheren said. Plus, beating you here will be great payback for humiliating me back in Striaton, Cheren added in his mind. The Poké Ball in his hand opened, and in a flash of light, his Snivy appeared.



“Alright, you want a battle? You got one,” Hilbert said, backing up. “Go, Logan!” He threw out a Poké Ball, and his Lillipup appeared.



“Go for Tackle, Logan!” Hilbert called. Logan charged for Snivy, intending to ram into it.



“Counter with Leer, then go for Growth!” Cheren said. Snivy's eyes glowed red, freezing Logan in place, then it was surrounded by a green glow, which quickly turned reddish-orange .



I don't know what that did, and I don't want to find out, Hilbert thought. “Shake it off, Logan! Go for Bite!”



Logan bared his fangs, once again racing for Snivy. This time, he managed to chomp down on the Grass Snake Pokémon, making it cry out in pain.



“Use Wrap, Tara!” Cheren yelled. Vines grew out of Snivy's back, wrapping around Logan's body and squeezing until the Puppy Pokémon yowled in pain, releasing its jaw's vice-like grip. “Now toss it away!” Cheren commanded.



Snivy hurled Logan in Hilbert's direction. The Pokémon landed with a hard THUD on the dirt, but slowly pushed himself to his feet. Why did that Wrap attack seem to do so much damage? Hilbert thought. Unless... oh, no. “Go for Bite again, Logan! Come on!”



“Vine Whip, Tara!” Cheren yelled as Logan ran for Snivy. A long vine grew out of the Grass Snake Pokémon's arm.



“Dodge it, now!” Hilbert yelled. Logan threw himself out of the way as Snivy slashed its arm, and the vine, down. “Keep going! Bite!”



Logan clamped his sharp fangs down on Snivy, but quickly backed off, just barely getting out of the way of another Wrap. Snivy was completely bewildered that Logan dodged, and so was unable to get out of the way of an incoming Tackle, sending it reeling back.



Suddenly, Snivy began to glow. When it got up, it looked in better shape, but not nearly fully healed like before.



“Oh, come on, another Oran Berry!?” Hilbert cried.



Cheren apparently wasn't in the mood for explanations. “Tara, Growth!” Once again, Snivy's body became surrounded by a green glow, which then turned the same menacing reddish-orange shade.



Shit, Hilbert thought. Snivy was now in a more than comfortable position to sweep him. It was now at plus two Attack, more than enough to knock Logan out in one hit, and pure overkill for Maru.



“Vine Whip again, Tara!” Cheren commanded. Snivy ran toward Logan, growing the vine out of its arm while it did so. Even Logan realized the danger he was in, and yelped, dodging without a command from his Trainer.



“Work Up! Try and counter those Growths!” Hilbert called out.



Logan began to stomp on the ground with its front paws, creating a small dust cloud on the dirt path. When it was done, a red glow appeared around his body briefly. “Bite, Logan!” Hilbert yelled.



“Vine Whip! Now!” Cheren called.



Snivy immediately grew a vine out of its arm, and slashed it at Logan. Logan was slightly faster, managing to get in his attack and back off, causing significant damage to Snivy. Unfortunately, in the next few seconds, Logan was hit by a Vine Whip, knocking him out.



“This is so not good,” Hilbert muttered to himself as he recalled Logan. “Go, Maru!” He threw out Oshawott's Poké Ball. There was only one way he could see himself winning this fight at this point, and it wasn't guaranteed to work. Still, it was all he had. “Use Focus Energy, Maru!”



Cheren looked on in confusion as Oshawott was surrounded by a yellow glow, which faded after a few seconds. Then he laughed. “What was that supposed to do? Give me something to look at?” His expression then darkened. “It's obvious you're not going to win this fight, Hilbert, so why don't you stop delaying the inevitable?”



“I guess we'll see, won't we?” Hilbert shot back, his eyes narrowed. “Maru, Cut!”



“Vine Whip, Tara!” Cheren shouted.



Both Pokémon dashed for each other, Snivy growing another vine out of its arm. A bead of nervous sweat ran down the side of Hilbert's face. He had to wait for just the right moment, and hope luck was on his side.



Snivy raised its arm to strike. “Now! Dodge!” Hilbert yelled. Oshawott scrambled out of the way, the vine missing its target by a hair. “Now use Cut!” Maru dashed for Snivy, took the shell off its stomach, and slashed the Grass Snake Pokémon across the face with it.



Cheren was shocked beyond words when Snivy was sent flying backwards from the Cut attack, knocked out. But how? He thought. Oshawott doesn't even get STAB with Cut...



He quickly received his answer when Hilbert exclaimed, “Yeah! A critical hit! Great job, Maru!” Oshawott let out a joyful cry, then turned back to Cheren and growled, a determined look in its eyes.



Not willing to give up, Cheren sent out his Purrloin, Interloper, and was able to get in a Fury Swipe or two, but another critical hit from Oshawott ended the battle.



“B-but... that makes no sense,” he muttered as he returned Interloper to his Poké Ball. Feeling numb, he walked up to Hilbert, tapping Trainer Cards with him. “How could you beat me?” he asked. “We both have the same number of Badges. We should be equals as Trainers...”



Just then, a voice yelled, “Outta the way!” and before either boy knew what was happening, they were shoved to the ground by two sprinting figures.



“What the hell..?” Cheren grumbled as he pushed himself to his feet, Hilbert doing likewise.



Suddenly, they heard a familiar voice shout, “Someone! Stop them! Pokémon thieves!” It was Bianca, running up to them, with a little girl, presumably from the daycare, hot on her heels. Cheren moved in her way to stop her and ask what was going on, but unfortunately, she couldn't stop in time, and smashed full-on into him, sending them both to the ground.



In the midst of Cheren's pained groans and Bianca's frantic apologies, Hilbert turned to the snivelling little girl. “What's wrong? What's going on?” he asked.



“Th-those people...” she sobbed, “They- they stole my Pokémon!” That was all she managed to say before bursting into hysterical sobs.



“What!?” Hilbert exclaimed, Cheren finally managing to untangle himself from Bianca and get to his feet. He grabbed Bianca's hand and pulled her up as well.



“Is that true?” he asked her.



“Yes, it is!” Bianca cried. “I was just passing by the daycare when it happened! Some more Team Plasma grunts, by the looks of them, just up and stole this girl's Pokémon and took off before I could do anything!”



“Wait, Team Plasma?” Cheren questioned. He turned to Hilbert. “Those weirdos we saw back in Accumula Town?”



“Yeah, they're bad news, I'm afraid,” Hilbert said. “Some of them attacked me and Bianca in the Dreamyard in Striaton City. From the sounds of it, they were planning to brainwash people into releasing their Pokémon using the vapour a Pokémon called Munna gives off.”



Cheren smacked a fist against his palm. “Then we've gotta go after them. They were headed west, by the looks of it.” Then he remembered he didn't have any more Pokémon to fight with, given how they'd all been knocked out in his battle with Hilbert. He swore.



“Cheren!” Bianca scolded. “Don't use language like that around kids!”



Ignoring her comment, Cheren turned to Hilbert. “Do you have any Potions I can use?”



“Yeah, but keep in mind I have to heal my Pokémon, which your Pokémon hurt,” Hilbert said.



“If you hadn't put up a fight, they wouldn't have gotten hurt, now would they?” Cheren countered.



“You were the one who challenged me, of course I had to fight back!” Hilbert yelled.



“My point is, you shouldn't have!” Cheren shouted right back.



“What, do you think I was gonna just let you win!?”



Noticing her friends' argument was only making the girl from the daycare even more distraught, Bianca yelled, “GUYS! Don't we have better things to do than fight right now?”



Cheren seemed to recover his maturity first, breaking his stare-down with Hilbert. “She's right.” He put his pack on the ground, rummaging through it. After a few seconds, he stopped when he realized he had no Potions. He sighed. Before he could even ask Bianca, she had already pulled the medicine out of her purse.



“Just make sure to pay me back later,” she told him as she handed him the bottles.



“I will,” he said. He turned to Hilbert, who had just finished healing his Pokémon. “They ran that way, come on, let's go!”



He ran off, Hilbert hot on his heels. Their shoes splashed through muddy puddles as they ran through the swamp. Thanks to his special running shoes, Hilbert was able to overtake Cheren, arriving at the mouth of a cave first.



Taking a minute to get his breath back, Cheren asked, “Since when did you become a champion runner?”



“Since my mom gave me these shoes,” Hilbert answered bluntly. “What exactly is this place, anyway?”



Cheren pulled his map out of his backpack. “Says here it's called the Wellspring Cave. It and a lake to the south are what supply both Striaton and Nacrene with their fresh water. There should be a water treatment plant somewhere along the way to Nacrene.”



“Ready to go inside?” Hilbert asked.



“Ready as I'll ever be, but but just be prepared for anything,” Cheren said. “We don't know what these guys are capable of.”



“Then let's go.” And so they went into the Wellspring Cave.



Hilbert looked around the interior as they walked inside. The Wellspring Cave was a large cavern, with a large and deep pool of water dominating the rear half. Blue hexagon-shaped Rock-types with feet called Roggenrola burrowed underground at their entrance, while blue fuzzballs with wings, the Psychic/Flying-types called Woobat, hung from the ceiling in large groups.



The two Trainers spotted the grunts almost immediately. They had their backs turned, and seemed to be arguing. “I thought you said backup would be here!” One grunt hissed. “Isn't this the rendezvous point?”



“Well, duh!” The other snapped. “But how was I supposed to know they wouldn't be here now?”



Cheren cut right to the chase. “Hey!” He called. “Why'd you steal that little girl's Pokémon?” His voice echoed throughout the cave. The two grunts whirled around, realizing that they had been followed, and that the two boys were eavesdropping. Looks of shock came over their faces, but they both recovered their composure rather quickly.



“Why do you think?” One grunt replied. “That child isn't able to use her Pokémon to its full potential. That makes it suffer. Think about it: trapped in a ball all day, under the command of someone who doesn't know how to treat it properly... wouldn't you be scared as well? Well, guess what? It's the same for all your Pokémon, so I suggest you hand them over!”



“How do you know for sure?” Hilbert asked. “And you can forget about us just giving up our Pokémon!”



“Then I guess we'll just have to take them,” the other grunt said, both of them backing up and pulling Poke Balls off their belts. Hilbert and Cheren did likewise.



The grunts threw out the red-and-white spheres, which opened to reveal Patrat. Cheren sent out his Snivy, while Hilbert tossed out Logan.



“Logan, use Bite on the right Patrat!” Hilbert said.



“Tara, Vine Whip on the left one!” Cheren commanded.



“Leer, Patrat!” One grunt cried. His Patart's eyes glowed red, stopping Logan in his tracks.



“Bide, now!” The other grunt commanded.



“Tara, stop!” Cheren yelled, but it was too late. Snivy slashed its vine at the Scout Pokémon, landing a direct hit. The Patrat grimaced in pain, but didn't go down.



Meanwhile, the other grunt had his Patrat use Bite on Logan. With the Puppy Pokémon being a lower level than the Scout Pokémon, the attack did a fair chunk of damage. Logan was successful in shaking it off, landing a Bite of his own.



“Hilbert, I need some help over here!” Cheren said. The Patrat was simply staring Snivy down, waiting for it to make a move. He couldn't attack, but neither could the Patrat, locked into Bide as it was.



“Can you take a rain check? I'm busy right now!” Hilbert said. He was currently having Logan (barely) fend off the overleveled Patrat, trying to get an opening to use Work Up. He saw that both Pokémon were in close proximity to each other, and used that to his advantage. “Logan, Tackle!”



Logan slammed his head into the enemy Patrat, sending it tumbling back. “Now Work Up!” Logan stamped his feet on the ground for a few seconds, then a red glow surrounded him.



Finally fed up with waiting for help that wouldn't come, Cheren was about to order Snivy to attack... but then he glanced up at the ceiling, and got an idea. “Tara, Growth!” The green glow surrounded Snivy, then turned reddish-orange. What Cheren had failed to mention to Hilbert was that Growth increased Attack and Special Attack by one stage each. Though Snivy didn't yet know a Special move, it didn't need to for what Cheren was planning.



“Grab a Woobat from the ceiling using Wrap!” he commanded. The grunt- and his Patrat- looked on in confusion as Snivy plucked a squealing Woobat from its perch on the ceiling, causing the others to go into a panic. “Now toss it at the Patrat!” Cheren yelled.



Snivy did as it was told, spinning around like an Olympic hammer thrower, and let fly the wild Pokémon right at Patrat. Though the average Woobat only weighed 4.6 pounds, 4.6 pounds being flung at high speed is going to hurt. The Woobat slammed into Patrat, knocking out both Pokémon instantly.



The Woobat up above, though, had seen enough. They swooped down from their perch as one huge mass of fur and flapping wings, all trying to get out of the cave at the same time. Needless to say, chaos reigned. A sharp wing caught Hilbert on the cheek, leaving a light cut. “Aah!” He clutched at the stinging wound, feeling a thin trickle of blood on his hand.



“Dammit! Can't see a thing!” One of the grunts yelled over the noise of dozens of flapping wings.



Eventually, the Woobat horde dissipated, managing to fly out of the cave. With their vision clear, the grunts realized what a bad situation they were in then. One of the grunts' Pokémon was down, while Hilbert's and Cheren's were still standing. Both boys ordered their Pokémon to attack the remaining Patrat at the same time. The poor Scout Pokémon didn't stand a chance, being flung backwards, unconscious.



“Now hand over that girl's Pokémon,” Cheren said. Suddenly, they heard running footsteps frpm behind them, and the sound of a Poké Ball opening as it was thrown. Turning around, Cheren and Hilbert saw two more grunts run inside the cave, another Patrat trying to keep up.



“Oh, great, so now the cavalry arrives...” One of the defeated grunts said.



“What's going on here?” One of the new grunts asked.



“What do you think?” The defeated one shot back. “We were waiting for you two, but you took too long to get here! Then these kids somehow defeated us in battle!”



“Well isn't that troublesome,” the grunt said, he and his partner walking around Cheren and Hilbert. “Not only do these two fail to understand, they actually got in our way, to boot.”



“Well, there's two of us and two of them,” his partner pointed out. “Why don't we teach them a lesson?” He grabbed a Poké Ball off his belt, the other grunt's Patrat getting ready.



Hilbert immediately recalled Logan to his Poké Ball, swapping him out for Maru. Cheren opted to keep his Snivy out. The grunt threw out his Patrat, while the other ordered his to use Bite on Maru.



“Counter with Water Gun!” Hilbert yelled.



Maru spat a stream of water from his mouth, propelling the Patrat backwards.



“Tara, Vine Whip!” Cheren cried. Snivy ran towards the other Patrat, readying its vines.



“Detect, Patrat!” The grunt said. Patrat's eyes began to glow, but instead of the sinister red of Leer, they turned blue. As Snivy slashed down with its vines, the Patrat unbelievably jumped out of the way.



Snivy looked completely astounded, while Cheren's eyes widened. “Wha-?”



“Now Bite!” The grunt yelled. Patrat clamped its jaws down on Snivy, making it cry out in pain.



“Wrap, Snivy!” Cheren shouted. Snivy grew vines out of its back, wrapping them around Patrat and squeezing until the enemy Pokémon yelled in pain, releasing its jaw's hold. Snivy then tossed the Patrat a few feet away, where it landed with a thud. The Patrat got up, only to be hit in the face with a Vine Whip.



Hilbert was having a much easier time dealing with his opponent, thanks to Maru's Water Gun. All the Patrat could do was try, and fail, to dodge the streams of water. Soon, both boys had their adversaries down.



The grunts recalled their fainted Pokémon with shocked looks on their faces. “I assume there aren't any more reinforcements coming?” Hilbert asked. The grunts, bewildered as they were, didn't reply right away. “Hey!” He snapped. The two men snapped their heads up to meet his angry gaze. “Are there more of you, or not?” He growled.



“Maybe there are, maybe not,” one grunt spat. “Why you're getting in our way is what I'm more concerned with.”



“Why the hell do you think?” Cheren said. “Because you stole someone's Pokémon, that's why! What reason could possibly justify that?”



“Our cause, that's what,” the grunt said. “Trainers like you make Pokémon suffer, but no one but Team Plasma seems to understand that. We'll give you the Pokémon back... but one day, you'll open your eyes to your own complicity.”



One of the grunts begrudgingly stepped forward, shoving a Poké Ball into Cheren's hand. The quartet of grunts then ran out of the cave.



Cheren and Hilbert watched as they ran off for a few seconds, then Cheren spoke up. “Were they like this at the Dreamyard, too?”



“Yep,” Hilbert said. “Acting high-and-mighty, and convinced what they're doing is right, even when they use Pokémon themselves. They're just hypocrites, but I've got a bad feeling about them. Like they're planning something.”



“What I want to know is why they think Trainers are making Pokémon suffer,” Cheren said. “Trainers do nothing but bring out the strength of their Pokémon. Battles just so happen to be a part of that process. Anyway, I'm gonna get back to Bianca and give this Pokémon back.”



“I think I'll stick around here for a bit; see what I can see.” Hilbert said. “Who knows, there might be some items in here or something.”



Cheren nodded, heading towards the exit. “Oh, and Cheren?” Hilbert said. “Thanks for the help. Couldn't have done this without you.”



A strange look came over Cheren's face. “Don't count on it every time, Hilbert. I won't be around to help all the time. And next time we battle, I will defeat you.” With that, he was gone.



Hilbert shrugged a bit, and began his exploration of the cave. His Xtransceiver had a small built-in flashlight, which he used to illuminate the darker corners of the cave. Something glinted off the flashlight's illumination, which he thought was just his imagination, but doing another sweep of the same area, the sparkle was still there. He walked over to it, discovering it was a CD, or more accurately, a TM, half-buried in the dirt. Pulling it out, he used his Pokédex to find it still worked, and was TM46, Thief. None of his Pokémon could learn the move, but he stashed the disk in his bag anyway, just in case.



He was about to leave, when suddenly, he heard a scratching noise behind him. Fearing it might be some trap the Plasma grunts had left behind, he grabbed Maru's Poké Ball off his belt, and whirled around. Nothing was out of the ordinary as far as he could see. He let out a slight grunt of dismissal, and continued walking out. As soon as he did so, the scratching started again.



“Okay,” he whispered to himself, “This is weird.” He turned on his light and shone it all around the cave. Then he saw it. A small mole-like Pokémon with blue, almost camouflage-like markings on its body was standing not twenty feet away, staring at him inquisitively. “A Drilbur,” Hilbert breathed.



Though he had forgotten before now, seeing it jogged his memory. Drilbur was another Pokémon he had done online research on, and it evolved into the monstrously powerful Excadrill, the same Pokémon that had trashed the Striaton City Gym. This was a golden opportunity, and he wasn't about to let it slip through his fingers.



He threw out Maru's Poké Ball. In a flash, the Sea Otter Pokémon appeared. “Maru, use Water Gun, but don't make it too strong. I don't want that thing knocked out.” He said. Maru nodded, and spat a very weak stream of water at the Mole Pokémon. The Drilbur squealed as it was hit with the super-effective attack, weak as it was. Growling, it raced for Maru, brandishing the three large, sharp claws it had on either hand.



Hilbert dug through his bag, finding the Dusk Ball he got in Striaton, and chucked it at the Drilbur. It was absorbed inside, and due to the Ball's high catch rate inside a dark area, it could not escape. The Dusk Ball shook three times, and clicked shut, flashing black for a second.



“Yes!” Hilbert said, walking over and picking up the Ball. He took his Dex out of his pocket to check what information had been recorded on his new team member. “Drilbur,” he read its entry aloud. “The Mole Pokémon. It makes its way swiftly through the soil by putting both claws together and rotating at high speed.”



Also according to the Pokédex, the Drilbur was male, and knew the moves Mud Sport, Rapid Spin, Mud-Slap, and Fury Swipes. Its Ability was Sand Rush.



“Far cry from Excadrill,” Hilbert muttered. “But we'll get there in time.” He held the Ball up to his face. “I think I'll call you Scrapper.”



With everything in the cave sorted out, he left. He made his way back to the fork in the road, noting Bianca and the little girl were both gone, presumably because Bianca had escorted her back to the daycare. He followed where the road led, south, in the direction of Nacrene City. The path led him along the shores of the lake Cheren had mentioned for a few kilometres. Small zebra-like Electric-type Pokémon called Blitzle lived in herds along the shore, and a few domesticated ones helped power the water treatment plant, which he could now see.



Flocks of Pidove flew overhead as he kept going. He fought any and all wild Pokémon he came across, as he desperately needed to level up his Pokémon. Seeing a field of tall grass that was slightly darker than what he'd become used to by that point, he decided to check it out. Suddenly, he heard Cheren's voice yelling out. Getting a bit closer, he could see his friend in a battle, and a seemingly hopeless one at that, with a wild Blitzle.



“Little help here!” Cheren shouted once he spied Hilbert running up to him. Since Blitzle was an Electric-type, and Ground-types were immune to Electric-type attacks, he sent out Drilbur. The Blitzle, seeing it was outmatched, growled before running off.



“What was that about?” Hilbert asked, returning Drilbur to his Poké Ball, Cheren doing the same with Snivy.



“I was just checking out this area, and I was jumped by that Blitzle,” Cheren said. “I-it knocked out my Purrloin in one hit. The Pokémon in this darker tall grass... I think they're higher levelled than normal. Let's get outta here, just in case, then I'm heading on to Nacrene. I need to get to a Pokémon Center ASAP.”



Hilbert needed no further explanation. Both of them ran back onto the main path, where it was safe. “Oh, by the way,” Cheren said, “The little girl from the daycare told me to give you this. She gave me one, too.”



Cheren dug into his backpack and pulled out a pink variety of Poké Ball- a Heal Ball. Heal Balls did exactly as their name implied- they fully healed a Pokémon right after it was caught. Unfortunately, their catch rate was so low, only that of a regular Poké Ball, and Pokémon sent to the PC were healed anyway, rendering them mostly useless.



“Not too great of a reward, huh?” Hilbert said as placed the Ball in his shoulder bag.



“No,” Cheren replied. “I was expecting something like a Great Ball, myself. Anyways, I need to get to Nacrene. See you around.”



The rest of the trek was uneventful. He crossed boardwalks going west built over the lake itself, and as dusk was approaching, finally reached the gate to Nacrene City.

 

I Never Wanted to be The Hero



By: Rylek196



Chapter 9: Another N-counter
​

The sun had set as Hilbert walked through the gate to Nacrene City. He got a room at the Pokémon Center, deciding to wait until the next day to fully explore the city. Before going to sleep, he had the nurse look at the cut on his cheek. She said it was only a minor flesh wound, but scolded him for not carrying any disinfectant. She cleaned and bandaged it, then he headed up to his room. The next morning, he had breakfast, went through the excruciatingly boring (and long) process of washing his clothes in the Pokémon Center's dry-cleaning floor, sold the Heal Ball, then went out to sight-see.



Nacrene was very unusual, to say the least. A city made up of restored storehouses for trains more than a century old, it was a gathering place for artists. Obviously, some of the storehouses were too rotted away to be salvaged, and had long since been demolished to make way for more modern buildings, like grocery stores and apartment complexes. Though roads covered most of the ground, a single old railroad had been preserved, running east and west along the city's southernmost row of buildings. It passed in front of the Pokémon Center, before abruptly stopping at the city limits.



Washing his clothes had taken quite a bit of time, and now it was nearing 11:00 o’clock in the afternoon. Artists were out on the streets outside their homes, advertising their wares. Cheren appeared out of the crowd, walking up to him. “Where have you been all day?” he asked.



“Washing my clothes in the Pokémon Center. Y'know, hygiene and all that?” Hilbert replied with a hint of snark.



Cheren rolled his eyes. “Well, while you were doing that, I was asking around town for any information that might be useful. They say the Gym Leader in this city is a terror. She's sent more than one Trainer packing, but I don't know her exact strategy. She does use Normal-Types, that much I gathered.



“Oh, and take these well. I found a stash of them on Route 3.” Cheren reached into his backpack and pulled out three Berries with purple tops and brown bottoms, each about the size of chestnuts.



“These are Chesto Berries,” he explained. “Give them to your Pokémon to hold, and if they get hit with a move that causes sleep, they'll wake up instantly. One last thing: There's someone who gives a helpful hold item to Trainers. Look for a house with the number 403.”



“Thanks,” Hilbert said. “I will.”



Cheren went on his way, and Hilbert continued his stroll through the city, making sure to keep an eye on the house numbers. Finally, he came across a storehouse near the western edge of town, right near where the train tracks ended. It had big brass numbers next to the door, which obviously were 403. Hilbert knocked on the door. The sound of footsteps approaching from inside told him that someone had heard. A lock was unlatched, and a blond-haired woman opened the door.



“Yes? What is it?” she asked.



“I was hoping you could help me,” Hilbert said. “My friend said you give items out to help Trainers.”



The woman then took notice of the Poke Balls attached to Hilbert's belt. “Well, then you've come to the right place. Please, come inside.” She opened the door a little wider, allowing Hilbert to step into her house. The storehouse's interior was a large, open-concept, single floor home. The walls were decorated with paintings. Examining one, Hilbert found out the artist was someone named Burgh.



“Who's Burgh?” Hilbert asked.



“Oh, he's the Castelia City Gym Leader,” the woman replied. “He drew all the paintings you see on the walls in here. After all, he used to own this storehouse until about two years ago. He often comes back to Nacrene when he gets 'artist's block', or something like that. Anyways, introductions. My name is Megan.”



She shook hands with Hilbert, who told her his name as well.



“So, Hilbert,” she continued, “What starter did you pick?”



“I picked Oshawott,” Hilbert said.



“Okay then, I give Mystic Waters out to Water-type Trainers,” Megan said. She reached into her pocket, and held out a necklace of sorts. The pendant on the end of the cord was a blue teardrop shape.



“This is a Mystic Water,” she explained. “Give it to a Pokémon to hold- it doesn't have to be Oshawott- and the power of its Water-type moves will go up. It'll probably come in very handy on your journey.”



“Thank you,” Hilbert said, letting Maru's Poké Ball absorb the item. “Just one question: why do you give these things out for free? You must get dozens of Trainers here on a daily basis, so why do this?”



“You know, you're not the first person to ask me that,” Megan replied. “It's a matter of Karma, really. Kindness begets kindness, so the saying goes, and I kind of... took that to heart, I guess.”



They said their farewells, and Hilbert, eager to get his Badge, headed north, to the Nacrene City Museum, which also housed the Gym. The Museum was a large building of grey stone. Surprisingly, even at this hour of the day, there was no line of challengers for the Gym. Cheren must not have been kidding when he said this Gym Leader is a terror, Hilbert thought. This place is a ghost town.



He was just about to open the Museum's frosted glass double doors, when someone pushed them open from the inside, almost hitting him in the face.



“Whoa!” he exclaimed, stepping backwards.



“Oh, so you were there... I didn't see you.” said a voice.



“Yeah, I think the word you're looking for is 'sorry,' buddy,” Hilbert muttered. He then got a look at the speaker in question, and started. “N? What are you doing here? Didn't think you'd be the type interested in history.”



“To be honest, I'm not,” N said in his usual motor-mouthed way. “I was only in there searching for something, and I believe I've found it.”



“And what are you searching for?” Hilbert asked, trepidation in his voice.



“I think I've found the answers I'm looking for,” N said, “To the truths of Pokémon inside Poke Balls, and the ideals of how Trainers should be. Most importantly, I think I've found how to change the world. But tell me, do you want to do the same? To change the world for Pokémon?”



“Okay, first of all, what the hell are you talking about?” Hilbert said. “And second, why should I care about changing anything? Society seems fine as it is to me.”



Unmistakable rage crossed N's face, which was replaced by a look of disappointment. “I expected more from you, Hilbert. Even you, with your Pokémon saying what it said in Accumula Town, should know better. Now pay attention this time. My friends and I will test you to see if you can back up your claims about the world being 'fine' as is, and if not, I'll force you to understand the future I want.”



With that, N pulled a Poké Ball off his belt, and walked to Hilbert's left, to give the Pokémon more room to battle. “Go, Pidove!” N yelled, tossing out the Tiny Pigeon Pokémon.



Pidove was a small, foot-tall Normal/Flying-type. Its body was mostly grey, with black wings and golden eyes. Hilbert, seeing that he had no choice, sent out Logan, and the battle began.



“Pidove, Quick Attack!” N commanded. With shocking speed, Pidove crossed the distance between it and Logan, slamming into the Puppy Pokémon. Logan was sent reeling back.



“Get up, Logan! Use Leer!” Hilbert yelled. Logan pushed himself to his feet, his eyes glowing red. Pidove was frozen in place by the daunting gaze. “Now Bite!”



Logan ran towards the helpless Pidove, only for it to snap out of its daze, but it was too late. Logan had already chomped down on it. However, without a command from N, the Pidove began to flap its wings, beating Logan back with them. Logan was forced to retreat to avoid getting knocked out from the constant barrage.



“Use Leer, Pidove!” N called. Pidove's eyes glowed red, freezing Logan in place. “Go for the Quick Attack!” The Tiny Pigeon Pokémon dashed towards Logan, slamming into him again. This time, however, the blow landed with much more force, sending Logan flying backwards. He got up, but barely.



“A critical hit!?” Hilbert cried. “How!?”



“Oh, you didn't know?” N said. “Pidove has an ability that raises its critical hit ratio by one stage. Now, use Quick Attack again, Pidove!”



Knowing Logan would faint if he took one more hit, Hilbert yelled, “Logan, Leer!” Logan's eyes glowed, stopping Pidove in its tracks. “Go! Use Bite!”



Logan dashed toward Pidove, but he had a lot more ground to cover before he reached it. Pidove was just in the process of shaking off the effects of Leer when Logan chomped down. Pidove cried out, beating its wings, but Logan had wised up to its tactics, letting go and jumping back.



“Tackle, Logan! Don't let it recover!” Hilbert yelled. Logan rammed into Pidove, sending it backwards.



“Gust, Pidove!” N shouted. Pidove flapped its wings in a frenzy, building up a small maelstrom of air that Logan was right in the middle of. He tried to stand his ground, but was blown back, landing hard, and unconscious.



“Logan, return!” Hilbert called. He recalled the Lillipup to its Poké Ball. Deciding that sending out Drilbur would be a bad idea given its lacklustre moveset, he tossed out Maru instead. One Mystic Water-boosted Water Gun later, and Pidove was handily defeated.



“Come back, Pidove!” N said, returning the fainted Tiny Pigeon Pokémon. However, he was far from finished. “Go, Tympole!”



The Pokémon that N threw out was an incredibly strange, tadpole-like creature. It was blue with a cream-coloured face, no discernible limbs, and a small blue tail. Two black and blue half-spheres were on either side of the head that made up nearly its entire body. It was a Water-type, that much was obvious, but aside from that, Hilbert was in the dark on what it could do.



N fixed that immediately. “Tympole, Supersonic!” Tympole began to vibrate the half-spheres on its head at a rapid speed. Though Hilbert couldn't feel or hear anything, Maru cried out, clutching its ears. After a few seconds, it stopped.



“Maru, Cut!” Hilbert yelled, trying to take advantage of the lull in the action. This was a huge mistake. He didn't know it, but Oshawott was now confused, and the Sea Otter Pokémon was struggling to keep his feet. Doing his best to obey his Trainer's command, he ran for Tympole, but it was like running while looking through a kaleidoscope; everything seemed to have moving copies of itself.



When he was sure he was in range, Maru slashed with his shell, only to not just miss by a foot, but hit himself in the face with it, too. “What the hell!?” Hilbert cried. “Maru, snap out of it!”



“Bubble Beam!” N called. Tympole spat a stream of bubbles from its mouth, all of them striking Maru. Maru cried out in pain.



“Dammit, Maru, come on!” Hilbert yelled. “Focus Energy!” Finally seeming to snap out of confusion, a yellow glow surrounded Maru, and faded. “Use Cut! Put everything you've got into this!”



Oshawott ran for Tympole, slashing it with its shell. The attack, though critical, was still not enough for the one hit KO. Tympole got back up, but its health, had there been a screen nearby to show, was quite clearly in the red.



“Growl!” N yelled.



“Water Gun!” Hilbert commanded.



Tympole opened its mouth and let out a sound wave, just as Maru did the same, spitting a stream of water at Tympole. The speed of sound beat the speed of water, but water had infinitely more force behind it. The not very effective attack hit, but since Tympole was so low on health anyways, it was more than enough.



N recalled the unconscious Tadpole Pokémon, throwing out his last Poké Ball. “Go, Timburr!” In a flash of light, the Muscular Pokémon appeared. Muscular was certainly an apt term to describe Timburr. It was a bipedal, grey Fighting-type. Pink, vein-like bulges stuck out of its body in various places. It carried a large squared log to use as a weapon.



“Go for Low Kick!” N yelled. Timburr, being as nimble as it could be while carrying a heavy chunk of lumber, ran for Maru.



“Water Gun!” Hilbert yelled. With Water Gun's power boosted even further by the Mystic Water, it blasted Timburr back a good distance.



“Leer, Timburr!” N yelled. Timburr's eyes turned from dark grey to red, freezing Maru in place. “Now try Low Kick again!”



Timburr dashed for Maru, but it had a lot of ground to cover to get to him, and Timburr were not known for their speed stat. “You know what to do, Maru, Water Gun!” Hilbert yelled. Another powerful stream of water was shot from Oshawott's mouth, resulting in a direct hit on the slower Timburr, who was unable to dodge. With one more Water Gun after that, Timburr was down.



“Yeah! Great job, Maru!” Hilbert said.



“So apparently the world's decision is yet to be determined...” N muttered, returning Timburr as Hilbert did the same with Maru. He pulled his Trainer Card out of his wallet and walked toward Hilbert.



“As I said in Accumula Town, don't expect to be the victor every time,” N said as he tapped Cards with the shorter boy. “My friends and I aren't strong enough to save all Pokémon... at least, not yet. Maybe I can't solve the equation that will change the world, and make it perfect for Pokémon on my own. That means I need power. Power enough to make anyone agree with me.”



“That's called a dictatorship, N,” Hilbert said crossly. “Those generally aren't looked at in high esteem anywhere in the world.”



“That is true,” N said as he walked away. He stopped about ten feet from Hilbert, however, and continued to speak, looking over his shoulder. “At least I know now what power I need. I need... Reshiram! The Legendary Pokémon, that, along with the hero, created the Unova region. It's time for me to become that hero, and that is how I will change the world! Not through dictatorship, but through people willingly complying!”



With that, he walked out of Hilbert's line of sight, and was gone. “Okay, now I've really got a bad feeling about him,” Hilbert murmured. “And what the fuck was he talking about with becoming a hero?”



Troubling thoughts swirling in his head, Hilbert walked to the Pokémon Center, healed his Pokémon, and went back to the Museum, entering it. An attendant behind a desk to his right noticed him as he walked in.



“Welcome to the Nacrene City Museum,” she said. “If you need help with anything, don't hesitate to ask.”



“Thank you, I won't,” Hilbert said.



“Oh, and by the way,” the woman informed him, “I study Pokémon fossils. If you have one, you can bring it to me, and I'll turn it back into a Pokémon for you.”



Now Hilbert was interested. “You can do that?”



The attendant nodded. “Oh, of course! The power of science really is quite something. We've been able to do it since before Red set out on his journey. There are places to restore Pokémon fossils all over the world, and this Museum happens to be one of them.”



“I'll keep that in mind. Thank you.”



Hilbert kept going down a hallway, entering the main (and really only) area of the building. There wasn't much to the place, just a single large room that displayed various historical items, both human and Pokémon-related alike. The central feature of the room was a massive skeleton, one that resembled a Dragon-Type Pokémon from Kanto, Dragonite. Hilbert looked up at it, letting out a low whistle.



“Pretty amazing, isn't it?” A voice said. Hilbert looked left to see a man in lab coat- obviously one of the staff- walking up to him. He looked up at the skeleton too. “Every time I look at this thing, I'm always fascinated just imagining what this creature was and the life it led.”



He snapped out of his daze. “Oh, but where are my manners? I'm Hawes, the assistant director of the Museum.”



“Hilbert. Pleased to meet you.” Hilbert shook hands with him. “And honestly, yeah, it is. Fascinating, I mean. Do you know where the Gym is, by any chance? I'm here to challenge it.”



“Well, of course I know!” Hawes laughed. “After all, the Gym Leader's my wife! But be warned, people are not kidding when they say she's tough. The Gym is located at the back of the Museum. Do you want a tour of this place, first? Maybe it'll take your mind off the pre-Gym jitters.”



“Okay, why not?” Hilbert said.



Hawes led him to another Pokémon fossil. This one was more of a traditional fossil, with a Pokémon skeleton encased in stone. Better yet, it was a Pokémon Hilbert had never seen before. “What is this?” he asked.



“This is a fossil of a foreign Pokémon from the Hoenn region, dug up by a Gym Leader there named Roxanne. It's an Armaldo.” Hawes explained. “It and its pre-evolution, Anorith, went extinct millions of years ago.”



Hilbert suddenly got an idea, taking out his Pokédex. I bet I'd make Juniper real proud if I got a Pokémon registered as 'seen' in this thing that's not only foreign, but extinct to boot, he thought. To his disappointment though, the Pokémon wouldn't show up in his Dex, no matter what angle he pointed it at the fossil.



Hawes merely chuckled. “You're not the first one to have tried that. From my admittedly limited understanding of how those things work, the Pokémon has to be alive to be registered in a Pokédex.” Hilbert let out a frustrated grunt, putting his Pokédex away.



From there, Hawes led Hilbert on a quick tour, never stopping at one display too long, to avoid boring the boy. Finally, he stopped at a spherical black stone, about the size of a small watermelon, with three notches cut out of it. “And finally, we come to this Museum's least interesting exhibit,” he said, “An ordinary carved piece of obsidian. It was found near the desert, but other than that, there's nothing special about it. We just display it because it looks pretty.”



Hilbert however, was deaf to everything Hawes was saying. He kept staring at the stone, tilting his head to the side, looking at his reflection in the polished surface. He then became aware of something... else, a noise almost, like a roaring in his head. It was faint, but it was there. It almost sounded like the rumble of thunder, when he thought more about it.



Hawes noticed the apparent trance Hilbert had fallen into, and gave him a slight pat on the arm. “Hey... are you alright? You kinda spaced out there for a second.”



Hilbert blinked several times, coming back to his senses. “Oh! Uh, yeah, I'm fine. What were you saying again?”



Hawes gave him a scrutinizing look, but brushed off the issue. “The Gym is right through that door,” he said, pointing to a door in the back of the room.



“Okay, thank you for the tour!” Hilbert said, walking towards the door. It was time to face the second Gym, come hell or high water. Unbeknownst to him, hell is exactly what he would get.

 

I Never Wanted to be The Hero



By: Rylek196



Chapter 10: Plasma Strikes Again

​

Hilbert sat down on the soggy ground, wondering where he went wrong. It was a week after he defeated N, and challenged the Nacrene City Gym Leader. No one had been kidding when they said she was a terror. The Gym Leader, a no-nonsense woman named Lenora, had utterly wiped the floor with him. Twice. Her Gym was almost pathetically easy- a simple find-the-right-book scavenger hunt in a library that a three year old would not find hard, and the Trainers had been equally painless.



However, the Gym Leader herself was a much different story. Hilbert was sure the simplicity of her Gym was a bait-and-switch tactic to lull people into a false sense of security. She had fought him with only two Pokémon: the evolved form of Lillipup, Herdier, and Patrat's final evolutionary stage, Watchog. The Herdier had been somewhat difficult, but then... that Watchog. That damnable Watchog.



Hilbert sighed remembering it. Lenora's strategy was deviously evil. She used a move called Retaliate, which doubled in power if used to avenge a fainted Pokémon. Its base power was 70 before the boost. One could easily do the math. Hilbert's Pokémon never stood a chance. Undeterred, he simply levelled them up some, Maru and Logan evolving and learning new moves in the process, and fought her again. The result was the same.



Currently, he was in a large, partially deforested field, about ten minutes away from the city. It had been raining recently, so the ground was wet and pockmarked with puddles. Logan and Scrapper were out of their Poke Balls, engaging in mock battle, while Maru sat next to him.



“What are we gonna do, Maru?” Hilbert asked the newly evolved Dewott dishearteningly. Dewott was very different than Oshawott. It remained bipedal, but was a foot taller, and was primarily light blue, as opposed to Oshawott's white colouration. Its tail was now longer and black, as were its paws, but the most notable thing about Dewott was the fringe of blue fur around its waist, with a seashell on either thigh.



Maru, for his part, could only look down at the ground, offering a disappointed, “Dew...” in response.



“I mean, we could always level grind, but that'll take a million years,” Hilbert said. “Even the Audino we've been using aren’t giving out as much experience as they used to, 'cause you're all higher-levelled than them.”



Audino were pink and cream, bipedal Normal-type Pokémon. They were very passive, rendering them largely useless for most Trainers' teams, however, when defeated, they gave out a lot of experience. Unfortunately, they, along with every other Pokémon in Unova, gave out the highest amounts of experience to Pokémon that were lower-levelled than them. The highest-levelled Audino in the area were level 15, but Hilbert's Pokémon were all level 19!



“What we need is a Fighting-type, Maru,” Hilbert said. “Problem with that is, the only Fighting-types we've seen around here are Timburr.” Timburr, he had learned to his dismay after his first loss to Lenora, only evolved into their final form, Conkeldurr, when traded with another person. Hilbert had no idea how that even worked. The bottom line was, Timburr would become increasingly useless as time went on, and he wanted Pokémon for his team that could carry him through the entire region.



To make matters worse, Cheren had somehow actually won against Lenora on his first try. Using his newly-evolved Servine's Leaf Tornado move, it had somehow caused Retaliate to miss, and the battle was in hand from there. The black-haired boy had gloated endlessly to about it Hilbert afterwards.



It was this taunting that made Hilbert not want to give up. Oddly enough though, he had stopped hearing the thunder-like rumbling from the piece of obsidian, while Cheren had mentioned he actually had started to hear it.



A cry from Scrapper broke him out of his recollections. The Mole Pokémon had failed to avoid a Bite from Logan, and one of his clawed hands was now trapped in the Loyal Dog Pokémon's fangs.



Hilbert stood up, brushing off the backside of his jeans. “Alright, that's enough! Break it up you two!” He walked over to his Pokémon, Maru following him. “Scrapper, how many times have we gone over this? If that happens, Metal Claw with your other hand. And Logan, use Take Down next time, it's more powerful.”



He sighed before returning all three of his Pokémon to their Poke Balls. He was just about to walk back to the city, when he heard muffled sort of pounding in the distance. The field he was currently in was actually the outskirts of Pinwheel Forest, a large wooded area next to the road. He wandered a bit farther into the field, the pounding getting louder. Suddenly, he saw the source of the pounding.



It was a humanoid, blue Pokémon, wearing a light blue Karate gi, repeatedly kicking a tree with its three-toed feet.



“A Sawk!?” Hilbert whispered excitedly. While he hadn't read anything online about Sawk, the force behind its kicks was enough to shake the tree. A idea, however risky, formed in his mind. He had bought a few Great Balls at the Poke Mart, and hopefully they would be sufficient to catch the wild Sawk once it had been weakened somewhat.



“Go, Maru!” He threw out Dewott's Poké Ball. The Sawk stopped in its training at the noise, turning to face the Discipline Pokémon and its Trainer. An expression of rage came over the Sawk's face.



“Maru, Razor Shell!” Hilbert yelled. Razor Shell was a physical Water-type attack with 75 base power. Since Dewott also got STAB with it, it was far superior to Tackle. Maru took both seashells off its thighs, and dashed for the wild Pokémon.



Sawk, however, wasn't the least bit afraid. As Dewott got close, it spun on its heel, delivering a devastating kick. Maru was sent flying backwards, landing near Hilbert.



“Maru!” Hilbert yelled. “Come on, get up!” Maru pushed himself to his feet, gritting his teeth in pain.



“Try Water Gun this time, buddy,” Hilbert said. “If we can catch that thing, defeating Lenora will be easy.”



Maru gave a brief nod, then spat a stream of water at the Sawk. It dodged with relative ease, then ran for its attacker and his Trainer. “Oh, shit,” Hilbert said, panic creeping into his tone. “Maru! Water Gun, now!”



Due to Sawk's closer proximity, the attack was successful in hitting the Karate Pokémon. It fell backwards, stunned. Hilbert quickly dug through his bag for a Great Ball. He chucked it at the downed Sawk, and it was absorbed inside.



As the Ball shook, Hilbert and Maru moved closer. This was a move the human boy would regret, as on the second shake, the sphere exploded, causing shrapnel to fly everywhere. One shard sliced across Hilbert's right arm, tearing the sleeve of his jacket and missing his bicep's main artery by millimetres.



“Agh! Fuck!” He clamped a hand over his wounded arm, feeling a warm stream of blood soaking his sleeve. Trying his best to ignore the pain, he commanded Maru to use Water Gun again. The Sawk was hit dead-on.



Hilbert took his hand off his arm briefly to dig through his bag again, taking out another Great Ball. He threw it at the Sawk, and again, the Karate Pokémon was sucked inside. This time, the capture was successful; the Ball rocked three times, and clicked, flashing black.



“Okay... ah... that could've gone better,” Hilbert winced. He picked up the Great Ball, attaching it to his belt, and returned Maru to his Poké Ball. Unfortunately, he was in a very bad situation now. His wound was bleeding profusely, he had no bandages, and was over ten minutes away from civilization. Still, he had at least try to get back to Nacrene. Better to die trying than bleed to death in a field.



The nurse at the Pokémon Center's main desk gasped when Hilbert stumbled into the building. The right sleeve of his blue jacket was soaked in blood, at he looked unsteady on his feet. She immediately ran out from behind the desk to help support the boy before he collapsed. “What happened to you?” she asked as he put his arm around her shoulders for additional help in walking.



“Don't ask,” Hilbert grunted. “Just get me to a hospital bed before I pass out.”



“Okay, I'll call the doctors,” the nurse said. “I'm really not qualified to take care of people, just Pokémon.”



They made it to the desk, the nurse calling someone with a phone. Hilbert was quickly rushed upstairs by other Pokémon Center staff, and given anaesthesia. The last thing he knew before sleep overtook him was his own breathing.



Several hours later, he awoke. Still groggy, he blinked several times, trying to sit up. “Careful, there,” a voice said to his left.



Hilbert rubbed his eyes with one hand, slowly coming back to his senses. He turned his head to his left, seeing a man- a doctor, most likely- standing near his bed. “Wh-what happened?” Hilbert groaned.



“Putting it bluntly, a lot,” the doctor said. “You lost a fair amount of blood, young man. Plus, that wound on your arm was actually rather deep, so we had to stitch it up. How in the world did you get that, anyway?”



“Catching a Pokémon,” Hilbert said. “Long story short, I got too close to the Ball when the Pokémon broke out, and a piece of shrapnel hit me.”



“Do I dare ask what Pokémon you were trying to catch?” The doctor said.



“I was trying to- well, I actually I caught- a Sawk,” Hilbert replied. The doctor's eyes widened.



“Then you're lucky to be alive,” the doctor said. “Sawk and its counterpart, Throh, are very dangerous Fighting-types. Their base Attack stats are through the roof. Even at the levels they're at around here, people are advised to keep away from them. I'd call you a fool if you were a local.”



“How do you know I'm not from around here?” Hilbert asked, his eyes narrowing.



“Well, for one thing, we checked your Trainer Card,” the doctor informed him. “Standard operating procedure, really. Hilbert Touya, if I'm not mistaken? From Nuvema Town?”



“Yeah, that'd be me,” Hilbert said. “I'm on a Trainer's journey, but, well, you knew that already. Guess this might put that on hold though, right?”



“No, actually,” the doctor said. “You should be fine in a few more days. We'll let you go tomorrow. Just keep bandages on the stitched area, and keep it clean. Also, make sure to carry medical supplies from now on. Lots of Trainers don't, and it gets them killed. You're one of the lucky ones. I'll let you get some rest.”



The doctor walked out of the room, and Hilbert turned over on his side, closing his eyes.



The next day, Hilbert walked out of the Pokémon Center, a roll of bandages in his shoulder bag, his stitched wound patched with a gauze, and his now-ruined jacket slung over his shoulder. The Center staff had given him instructions on how to care for his wound, and for him to go to any Pokémon Center later on to have the stitches removed.



“Alright, first things first,” he said to himself, “Buying a new jacket.” Thankfully, Nacrene, being the artsy city it was, had plenty of clothing shops, both designer and otherwise, so he was able to find a replacement. The only difference between his old jacket and new one, was that the new one had a zip-on detachable hood, while the old one had a built-in hood. He threw his old jacket in the nearest trash bin he could find.



He walked towards the Museum, taking a swig of water. He was told to drink plenty of fluids to regain lost blood, and he needed to be in top condition for the coming battle. Getting past the Gym's puzzle was the easy part, as no Trainers challenged him, he having beaten them all. All he had to do to open the way to where the Gym Leader waited was say a four-digit code to the caretaker, Clyde, and a bookcase slid aside, revealing a stairway leading down.



Taking a deep breath, he took stock of his supplies. He had given his Sawk- whom he had nicknamed Sensei- his last Chesto Berry, having used up his other two in his botched battles. Lenora's Watchog knew a sleep-inducing move, Hypnosis, which she had used to devastating effect the last two times.



Finally ready, he walked down the stairs into an office of sorts. It was a large room, with the screen on the back wall, and various bookshelves were along the walls. In the centre of the room, a big Poké Ball insignia was carved into the floor.



Lenora was sitting at her desk, looking over some paperwork, but she looked up upon hearing Hilbert's footsteps. “Ah, welcome back, Hilbert,” she said. “You're not one to give up easily, are you?” Lenora looked the same as she did the last two times Hilbert had fought her. She wore teal jeans that matched her hair and eye colour, and a fancy-looking off-white shirt. A huge beige apron was hanging off her desk chair.



Lenora stood up, pressing a button on her desk that made it retract into the floor, and also caused steel panels to cover the bookshelves, protecting their contents from harm. The screen lit up. “No, I don't, especially when one of my so-called 'friends' mocks me,” Hilbert replied. He took Sensei's Poké Ball off his belt, waving it tauntingly. “Plus, I've got a secret weapon this time.”



“Let me guess, a Fighting-type?” Lenora smirked. “Please, you think I haven't dealt with those before? My Pokémon have taken many Fighting-type down in the past, so what makes you think the result will be any different than our previous battles?”



“I guess we'll have to see who comes out on top, won't we?” Hilbert shot back. “Go, Logan!” He somewhat awkwardly threw out his Herdier using his uninjured but non-dominant left arm. Herdier was a two foot tall, canine Pokémon with cream fur on its face that formed a three-pointed crest and moustache. It had dark blue fur covering most of its body, which was quite dense and hard, serving to protect it from attacks, according to the Pokédex.



“Come on out, Herdier!” Lenora tossed out her own Loyal Dog Pokémon. The screen displayed the health bars of both Pokémon.



“Start off with Take Down!” Hilbert yelled. Take Down was the new move Logan had learned when it evolved. It was a 90 base power move, but was somewhat inaccurate, due to the reckless nature of the charge it sent the Pokémon using it into.



“Herdier, Take Down as well!” Lenora commanded as Logan charged towards her Pokémon.



Hilbert cried out for Logan to dodge, but there was no stopping with how much momentum had been built up. Both Pokémon slammed headfirst into each other, taking sizable chunks out of both health bars.



“Bite!” Lenora yelled. Her Herdier shook its head regaining its senses, and lunged for Logan. He howled in pain as the other Herdeir chomped down with its sharp fangs, then quickly backed off to avoid any counterattack.



Logan's health bar was already close to the yellow. This isn't good, Hilbert thought. He needed to take out the Herdeir and sacrifice Logan to the Watchog to bring Sensei in safely and revenge kill the Lookout Pokémon.



“Logan, Leer, then Bite!” Hilbert said. Logan's eyes glowed red, freezing the other Herdier in place. He then rushed for the other Pokémon as it tried to recover. He chomped down, getting in some decent damage, then backed off.



“Don't let it get away, Herdier! Retaliate!” Lenora shouted.



“Oh, crap,” Hilbert said. “Logan, Take Down, now!”



A yellow glow surrounded the Herdier as it charged towards Logan. Undeterred, Logan did the same. However, the enemy Herdier was charging faster, and with more force. It slammed into Logan, sending him flying back, where he landed with a hard THUD, fainted.



Hilbert growled as he recalled Logan to his Poké Ball. Well, there goes plan A, he thought. “Go, Maru!” He threw out the Poké Ball containing his now-evolved starter. In a flash of light, the Discipline Pokémon appeared. “Water Gun, now!”



Maru opened his mouth and shot a stream of water at the Herdier.



“Dodge it, Herdier!” Lenora shouted. Herdier nimbly jumped out of the way, growling at Maru. Maru only gave it a determined glare back. “Take Down!” The Gym Leader commanded. Herdier dashed for Maru, building up speed as it ran.



“Dodge and use Razor Shell!” Hilbert yelled. Maru took the seashells off its thighs, jumping to the side and slashing at Herdier as it ran past. The Loyal Dog Pokémon yowled as it was hit with the makeshift blades. The attack knocked a little over a quarter of the Herdier's health off, but it was far from done. It turned around, growling.



“Herdier, Bite!” Lenora called. The Herdier clamped its maw down on Maru's arm. He cried out, attempting to bash the Herdier over the head with his other shell, but Herdier backed off before he could.



“Water Gun, Maru!” Hilbert said. The close range stream of water pushed Herdier back even further, towards where the stairs were, and Hilbert was actually forced to turn around to see both Pokémon.



“Take Down, Herdier!” Lenora cried.



“Use Razor Shell!” Hilbert yelled.



Herdier ran towards Maru, who slashed with his shells. The two attacks collided, Maru being flung backwards, the Herdier yelping in pain.



Hilbert glanced back at the screen. The Herdier was on a tiny sliver of health, the bar now in the red. “Maru, use Water Gun before it can recover!” he shouted.



Maru again shot a stream of water out of his mouth, hitting the Herdier dead-on, as it was too weak to dodge. The Loyal Dog Pokémon wavered on its feet, then collapsed.



“Come back, Herdier!” Lenora said, returning the Normal-type Pokémon to its Ball. Maru ran back to Hilbert's side as Lenora pulled her second and final Poké Ball off her belt. “Well, doesn't this situation seem familiar?” She tossed the Ball up and down in a mockery of what Hilbert had done earlier. “You already know what's coming, Hilbert, so why don't you give up now? It'll save you the feeling of losing a third time.”



“Not a chance,” Hilbert said.



“Okay, it's your funeral, again,” Lenora said. “Go, Watchog!” She tossed out the Pokémon that had been the bane of Hilbert's existence for the past week. Watchog was a meerkrat-like Pokémon with yellow striping on its body that resembled a safety vest, which Hilbert considered extremely ironic, given how the damned thing was anything but a safety worker. Its cheeks and red eyes were bulbous, and its fur was reddish-brown.



“Watchog, Retaliate!” Lenora yelled. Watchog began to charge toward Maru, a yellow glow highlighting its body.



“Maru, don't dodge!” Hilbert yelled. “Take this one for the team!” Seconds after he said that, the Watchog slammed into the Discipline Pokémon, sending him across the room to slam into the wall. Maru's health bar shot down to nothing in an instant.



Hilbert recalled Maru, pulling Sensei's Poké Ball off his belt. “Let's hope this works,” he said to himself. He tossed out the Karate Pokémon.



Even Lenora seemed taken slightly aback by the Sawk. She had guessed Hilbert had obtained a Timburr, not a powerhouse Pokémon with a base 125 Attack stat! However, she wouldn't fold simply because of what the opponent had. “Watchog, Hypnosis, then Retaliate!”



Watchog locked eyes with Sawk, shooting a strange energy beam from its red orbs. It connected with Sawk, and his eyes closed, the blue Pokémon falling to the ground, asleep. Watchog then began to charge for its downed opponent.



Suddenly, Sensei began to glow as the Chesto Berry took effect. His eyes snapped open, and he pushed himself to his feet. “Sensei, Double Kick!” Hilbert yelled. The Karate Pokémon took a fighting stance, and spun on its heel when Watchog came into range. He slammed his foot into the Lookout Pokémon, sending it to the ground. Its health bar went down to half from the super-effective hit. However, the blue Pokémon wasn't done. He kicked the Watchog while it was down like a soccer player, sending it tumbling away. With that last blow, the battle was won, the Watchog's health bar disappearing to nothing.



“Yes!” Hilbert yelled. He ran up to his new team member. “We did it, Sensei! We finally beat that thing!” The Karate Pokémon merely gave a humble bow as Hilbert and Lenora recalled their respective Pokémon.



“Well, apparently my theory about you was wrong,” Lenora said as she walked up to him. She tapped Trainer Cards with him to give him his prize money. “I thought you were just another weak, untalented Trainer, but it turns out, you're not just lucky and talented... you're motivated!”



“Does this mean I can finally have my Badge now?” Hilbert asked.



Lenora chuckled. “Of course it does.” She took the Badge out of her back pocket, the steel panels sliding up and her desk coming back. Hilbert took a look at the Basic Badge. Like the name implied, it was very plain; just a simple rectangular piece of brass with a purple inlay.



“Oh, and I bet you also want this too, right?” Lenora continued. She took a TM out of her pocket, handing it to Hilbert. “This is the move that I've beaten so many wannabe Trainers with- TM67, Retaliate. I'd explain what it does, but you know that already, don't you?”



Hilbert grimaced. “More than I ever wanted to know, but thanks all the same.”



He had just put his Badge away in his case when they heard Hawes' voice yell, “Deeaar!” Hilbert and Lenora's expressions turned to confusion as Hawes came running into the room. He dashed up to his wife. “You have to come with me, right now!” he cried, not seeming out of breath at all.



“What is it?” Lenora asked.



“It's some people that call themselves Team Plasma!” Hawes said in a panic. “They've invaded the Museum!”



“Team Plasma!?” Hilbert exclaimed.



“You know them?” Lenora asked.



“Yeah, I've had run-ins with them recently, and they're bad news,” Hilbert said. “Whatever they're planning on doing here can't be good, so we've gotta get upstairs!” All three of them ran out of Lenora's office/battle arena, through the Gym, and back into the Museum area. What they saw shocked them. The largest group of grunts Hilbert had seen yet were gathered around the Dragonite skeleton's display area. One of them was even perched on a ladder that reached the skeleton's skull.



“Just what in hell do you think you're doing!?” Lenora shrieked. One of the grunts stepped forward.



“So you're here, you pathetic, Pokémon-abusing Gym Leader,” he sneered. Lenora grit her teeth.



“We, Team Plasma, will claim this skeleton in the name of Pokémon Liberation! Drop the smokescreen!”



With that, the grunts pulled purple spheres from their pockets, each about the size of a ping-pong ball. Lenora barely had time to yell, “Smoke Ball!” before the grunts threw the orbs at the ground, each one shattering on impact and releasing a huge smoke cloud.



The smoke caused Hilbert's, Lenora's, and Hawes' eyes to water and their throats to burn, and they started coughing uncontrollably. Over the sound of his own hacking, Hilbert heard the grunts yelling to each other.



“W-we need to get outta here!” Lenora managed to yell, but then her ability to speak dissolved into a fit of coughs. The trio stumbled around, coughing and kneading their eyes, but the smoke eventually cleared. Finally able to see, they could assess the damage. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except for one thing: the dragon skull's lower jaw was gone.



Lenora dashed out of the Museum, Hilbert hot on her heels, wondering why the world had suddenly gone crazy.

 

I Never Wanted to be The Hero



By: Rylek196



Chapter 11: Pinwheel Forest
​

As Lenora and Hilbert exited the Nacrene City Museum, they saw Team Plasma's heist had not necessarily gone unnoticed. A large group of people were standing outside the doors, each one making a cacophony of noise with their frantic questions, as police attempted to maintain order. With a groan of annoyance, Lenora saw one of the officers had a megaphone, and wasn't using it. Muttering something along the lines of, “Useless cops,” she marched over to him and snatched it. “ALRIGHT, LISTEN UP!” She shouted into it. “I WANT EVERYONE TO SHUT THEIR DAMN MOUTHS RIGHT NOW, SO I CAN HEAR MYSELF THINK!” That shut everybody up in a hurry.



Noticing Cheren and Bianca in the crowd, Hilbert tapped Lenora on the shoulder, pointing at them. “Can you let those two people through, please? They're with me.” Lenora called them both to come forward, the human blockade the police were forming stepping aside.



“Well, been a while, hasn't it?” Cheren said as he walked up to Hilbert. “You got your Badge, I assume? Took you long enough.”



Hilbert took a deep breath, trying to remain calm in the face of his 'friend's' arrogance. “Yeah, no thanks to you. The only reason you won yours was because of dumb luck, anyway.”



“Oh, really?” Cheren shot back, gritting has teeth. “Wanna put your money where your mouth is and prove that? I'll take you on right here, right now!”



Lenora sighed. She gestured for Bianca to cover her ears. “HEY!” She shouted into the megaphone. While Bianca had put her hands over her ears, Cheren and Hilbert had no such protection. “WHY DON'T YOU TWO DO ME A FAVOUR AND STOP FIGHTING, WOULD YA? IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED, TEAM PLASMA'S NOT GETTING ANY CLOSER!”



Suddenly, there was the sound of huge wings flapping, and a gigantic bird Pokémon appeared in the sky. The crowd of people scattered to make room for it as it came in for a landing. Its Trainer hopped off, returning the Pokémon, a Braviary, to its Ball. The Trainer was a very strangely-dressed man. He was tall and lanky, wearing pants with green, black and strawberry-pink coloured stripes, a green long sleeved shirt, and a scarf the same colour as the dominating shade of his pants. He had a belt buckle that was the shape of a Butterfree, a butterfly-like Pokémon from Kanto. A mop of shaggy light brown hair was atop his head.



The crowd whispered amongst themselves at the man's arrival. Just like last time with Cilan, albeit now due to his ears ringing, Hilbert was deaf to the murmuring. The man turned to Lenora. “What's all the commotion about?” he asked her. “Whole bunch of challengers? Some new exhibit? Speaking of that, have you found any new fossils lately, Lenora?”



“It's more like getting an exhibit back, not getting a new one, Burgh!” Lenora cried frantically. “Some thugs calling themselves Team Plasma just stole a part of the Dragonite skeleton! They're getting away as we speak!”



“Team Plasma?” Burgh said. “I've seen them around Castelia City; some guy named Ghestis was making weird speeches, said he was part of the organization. They don't seem to be doing that much harm, though, so I've let them be.”



“Well, obviously they do mean harm!” Lenora cried. “We have to get that skeleton piece back!”



By now, Hilbert and Cheren's ears had mostly stopped ringing, but since they were deaf to the conversation Burgh and Lenora were having, they had no idea who he was. “What's going on again?” Cheren said, louder than he'd normally talk. He pointed at Burgh. “And who's he?”



Lenora was about to use the megaphone to shout the answer at him, but Bianca grabbed her arm, lowering it. “Maybe it'd be best if you didn't use that,” she said. “I think you almost gave them permanent hearing loss.”



Lenora cupped her hands around her mouth instead, shouting at the two boys. “This is Burgh! He's the Castelia City Gym Leader!”



Cheren and Hilbert winced. “You don't need to yell anymore,” Hilbert said, but even this was said louder than he normally spoke. “All you need to do is talk a bit louder, that's all.”



"Maybe we should all just shut it and focus on our current issue," Cheren suggested, rubbing his pained ears. "I mean, they are getting away. And at least then you won't make our hearing any worse than you've already made it."


Lenora sighed. "Yes, that is important, isn't it?"


"Yeah, just a little," Hilbert muttered.


"Alright, so they could have only gone one of two different ways. To Pinwheel Forest, or to Route 3," Burgh said. "I'll take the forest. Hey kid," he turned to Hilbert. "How are your Pokémon doing?"


"Two of them are fainted," he answered. "The other's fine."



“Then what are you waiting for?” Burgh urged, “Go heal them! We don't have any time to waste!”



Hilbert nodded, dashing through the crowd towards the Pokémon Center. Lenora addressed the police. “I want some of you to go to the gate that leads to Route 3. No one gets in or out of the city without being checked first, got it? The others, go with Burgh and guard the road along Pinwheel Forest. I'll stay behind and keep an eye on the Museum.”



With a simultaneous, “Yes ma'am!” from all the cops, they ran off to their assigned posts.



“What should we do, Lenora?” Bianca asked.



“Us three will stay behind and watch the Museum,” Lenora replied. “If any of those thugs come back, we'll make them wish they hadn't.”



“Amen to that,” Cheren said. “But I do have to wonder... why did they steal a part of the skeleton in the first place? What were they hoping to do with it?”



“We'll figure out their motive later,” Lenora said as they walked inside the Museum. “After they're all behind bars.” Meanwhile, the crowd, realizing the excitement was over, slowly dissipated.



Hilbert ran out of the Pokémon Center, his Pokémon fully healed up. After telling the nurse what happened, and where he was going, she recommended stocking up on healing items, including status healers. Pinwheel Forest was crawling with Bug and Grass-types, so conditions such as sleep and poison were common. He had bought two Awakenings, Antidotes, and Super Potions, which partially filled his bag.



Putting his shoes to the test, he sprinted through the streets, heading northwest, in the direction of Pinwheel Forest. He ran past the field where he got his Sawk, then headed north as the road began to curve that way. Soon enough, he saw the flashing lights from a line of police cars. They had formed a blockade across the road, with only one gap in the middle to allow traffic to flow, and let the cops check each and every car.



He slowed to a walk when he got within twenty feet. His shoes had certainly done the trick- he didn't feel out of breath at all.



Burgh was directing the police, and seeing Hilbert, walked up to him. “Well you got here fast,” he commented.



“Blame it the shoes,” Hilbert said. “They're special. What's the situation been like here?”



Burgh gave a slight shrug. “Nothing much has happened. Unfortunately, we haven't seen any Team Plasma members trying to get through here, so they've probably scuttled off into the forest itself. I'll show you.”



Hilbert followed Burgh as he walked towards two places where the trees parted, each about ten feet wide. They were clearly the entrances to poorly-kept nature trails. “These lead deep into the forest. They're each straight paths, but it's impossible to know which one the Plasma grunts took. In fact, now that I think about it, they may have split up. However, they only took one piece of that skull, so if we each take one path, we should find the grunt who has it.”



“Can we be sure that the grunts are the only people in there?” Hilbert asked.



“Well, they are public nature trails, and we haven't evacuated the forest, so no,” Burgh said. “You may run into Trainers, too, and a lot of Bug-types. I love Bug-types. My type speciality is Bug-types. Anyway, I'll take the left, you take the right?”



“Sounds good to me,” Hilbert said.



They each went their separate ways, Hilbert going down his path. For the first twenty feet or so, he could see Burgh's moving form faintly through the trees, but the paths soon diverged sharply, and the Gym Leader was lost to his sight.



Pinwheel Forest wasn't that hard to navigate. The way through was wide and appeared to have branching paths, but they were nothing more than red herrings, as every single one Hilbert walked down led to fenced off dead ends. The dead ends often were crawling with tall grass, nests for one of the Bug-types that called the forest home, Venipede.



Venipede was an insectoid Bug/Poison-type that resembled a foot-tall centipede. It was mainly magenta on its thorax and head, but its abdomen was green. To Hilbert's distress, he found out that not only were they brutally aggressive, not only did they quad-resist Fighting (thereby making his most powerful physical attacker useless) but they also had the Ability Poison Point, which had a good chance to poison a Pokémon that made physical contact with them while attacking. He just barely won his first encounter with one, and was forced to use an Antidote to heal his poisoned Sawk. From then on, he ran away from them as fast as he could.



The other Pokémon he encountered weren't much better. In fact, he was ill-prepared in general; everything either resisted most of his Pokémon's attacks, or were super-effective against them. Two more particularly annoying examples of this were Sewaddle, a caterpillar-like Bug/Grass-type, and Petilil, a pure Grass-type that looked like a plant bulb. Both of these had types that were normally bad defensively, with Sewaddle's being especially horrible, but given how in combination they resisted most of his Pokémon's attacks, it made him want to tear his hair out. On top of that, two of three Pokémon with neutral attacks on his team could be struck back twice as hard by a super-effective Mega Drain from Petilil or a Razor Leaf from Sewaddle.



He kept going, now of full alert. Off in the distance, he could hear shouting and the cries of Pokémon. Sounds like Burgh found some of the grunts, he thought.



He walked around a curve in the path, and let out a quiet gasp, ducking behind a tree. Speak of Giratina... he thought. There, standing not thirty feet from where he was hiding, was a Plasma grunt. The man was standing with his back to Hilbert, and hadn't noticed him, nor heard him. Even though he had faced Team Plasma before, Hilbert's heart was pounding. Those times, he had backup- Cheren and Bianca- to aid him. This time, he was alone, with no one to rescue him if he got in trouble, and he had no idea what the grunt was capable of. Were he to be defeated, would he resort to physical violence?



Hilbert took the Mystic Water out of his bag and gave it to Maru to hold. There didn't seem to be any way to get past the grunt without a battle, and he wanted to as prepared as possible. Though the Discipline Pokémon was at three-quarters health, that still was better than nothing.



Taking a deep breath, he stepped out from behind the tree. “Hey!” he shouted at the grunt, sounding a lot more confident than he felt.



The grunt jumped a bit in surprise, whirling around. His expression contorted into one of shock, then amusement in the span of a second. “Well, talk about bottom-of-the-barrel law enforcement here!” he laughed. “I expected cops, maybe a Gym Leader to come after us, but what do I get? Some stubborn little brat who doesn't know his place!” He walked towards Hilbert, his face darkening with anger as he grabbed the lone Poké Ball off his belt. “When I'm through with you... well, let's just say you'll think twice about chasing us next time. Go, Sandile!”



He threw the Ball out, and it opened to reveal a quadrupedal crocodile-like Pokémon. It was mostly tan, with black stripes where its legs connected to its body, with a pink underbelly. Most notable of all, were its eyes. They resembled binoculars, consisting of beady grey pupils, with a black membrane around them.



Hilbert quickly but awkwardly threw out Maru using his uninjured but nondominant left arm as the grunt yelled, “Sandile, Assurance!” Moving faster than its squat frame would seem to suggest, Sandile ran for Maru.



“Dodge and use Razor Shell!” Hilbert said. Maru quickly jumped out of the way, slashing the Desert Croc Pokémon with its seashells as it went by. Sandile cried out in pain, the Ground-type being flung away and knocked out due to the super-effective attack.



“What!?” The grunt cried in disbelief. “How!? You- you're just a kid!” He recalled Sandile to its Poké Ball.



Hilbert wisely chose to keep Maru out, just in case the grunt tried anything. “Okay, now hand over that piece of the skeleton you stole.”



The grunt only laughed. “What, do you think the first guy you encounter would have it? Sorry kid, but we're not that dumb. You want that skeleton piece back? You're just gonna have to keep on going.” The grunt then ran down the path in the direction of the road, unknowingly heading straight for an arrest.



“Joke's on you, sucker,” Hilbert muttered, recalling Maru and continuing on.



It wasn't long before he came across another grunt. This time, though, she spotted him right away. “Well, well, what do we have here?” she hissed. “A little kid lost in the forest? Or maybe sticking his nose in where it doesn't belong! Go, Purrloin!”



With one use of Double Kick from Sensei, the Dark-type was sent flying into a tree, knocked out. The grunt look scandalized, but told Hilbert she didn't have the piece either. “Do I look like the sort of girl to carry a heavy load?” she said before running off.



Snarling in anger, Hilbert was forced to keep going. The path thinned, the trees closing in around him, the closeness of the canopy blocking out the sun, before opening up in a bit of a clearing with flowers growing in it. Also in the clearing, was a Team Plasma grunt. Unlike the rest, this one had a bag slung over his shoulder, which undoubtedly held the skeleton piece. He saw Hilbert walking into the area, and started.



“How the hell did a kid make it here!?” he cried.



“How do you think?” Hilbert shot back, “By beating all your buddies on the trail. Now hand over that skeleton piece! I'm getting really sick of seeing you grunts.”



The grunt reached for one of the Poke Balls on his belt, but then stopped, and smirked. Hilbert cocked his head. “What are you looking so smug abou-” It was then that something large and heavy collided with the back of his head. Spots exploded in front of his eyes, and he dropped to his knees, everything going black.



The first thing Hilbert noticed when he woke up was the throbbing pain in the back of his head. His cap had done nothing to lessen the impact of whatever had smashed into his skull. He blinked, letting out a slight groan. Trying to move his hands to his aching head, he found he couldn't. To his surprise, he found they had been bound behind his back. He then became aware of a dull pain in his still-tender right arm. He had been laying on it for however long he had been unconscious. It couldn't have been more than five minutes, as he could hear the grunt talking with someone.



Trying to be as quiet as possible, he rolled over, seeing who the thug was speaking with. It... was an old man in dark green robes. Hilbert would have rubbed his eyes had he been able to. Instead, he blinked again, making sure he wasn't seeing things. When he opened his eyes again though, the man was still there.



“B-but- Sage Gorm!” the grunt was stammering, “How could this skeleton piece not be related to what we are seeking!? Were you not the one who commanded us to after it in the first place!?”



Hilbert narrowed his eyes. Sage? What was the guy talking about?



Gorm merely grimaced. “Perhaps I was a little, ah, hasty in those orders. Further research into the subject has revealed the skeleton this jawbone came from is not the Legendary Pokémon we are looking for. We can afford to abandon it.”



The grunt's face displayed a mix of shock and anger, but he held his tongue, not daring to speak out against his superior. Still, in a reasonably calm voice, he managed to say, “What about the destiny of the king?”



“Again, you need not worry about such matters. They do not concern you.” Gorm said. “The king will have his day. For now, we need to deal with more pressing issues, like what to do with this one.” He turned his head towards Hilbert, who let out a frightened (not to mention pathetic) squeak as the old man's eyes locked with his. Immediately, Gorm's expression twisted into anger. The grunt quickly followed suit.



The grunt stomped over to where Hilbert lay, grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket and hauling him to his feet. “Trying to eavesdrop, are we, you little brat?” the man hissed. “What should we do with him, my Sage? He knows too much now, we can't let him live! I say we gut him.”



Hilbert was terrified. Shaking with fear, he could only whimper, “Pl-please don't kill me...” Tears of fright were forming in his eyes.



“Calm yourself, now,” Gorm said. “There's no need to kill him. But is true we cannot let him go free after all he has heard, either.”



The grunt whipped his head around to look at the sage. “Then what do we do?”



“I think the best solution would be to bring him with us, honestly,” Gorm said. “Killing him would do no good for our public image, but if we simply make him disappear, that will arouse far less suspicion. No one will miss him, and the search will most likely be called off relatively quickly. He'll just be remembered as a boy who got lost wandering in the forest, and never came back.”



“...Good point,” the grunt said finally. He grabbed Hilbert's injured arm, causing the boy to hiss in pain, leading him roughly along. “Okay, kid, you're coming with us.”



Hilbert did what anyone would do in that kind of situation: screamed for help at the top of his lungs. “Burgh! Police! Anyone, help! Bur-mhpp!”



The grunt had quickly repositioned himself behind Hilbert, still gripping his arm, and had slapped a hand over his mouth. “Stupid kid!” he yelled. “You make one more attempt to call for help, I snap your neck. No ifs, ands, or buts. Clear?”



Hilbert could only manage a slight nod. Terrified tears were now freely streaming down his cheeks.



The grunt was beginning to drag the boy along again, when suddenly a voice yelled from close by, “Hey! That you, kid!? I don't know what your name is, but hang in there!”



Burgh suddenly burst out of the tree line. He registered what was going on in the space of a second, and the next, he had grabbed a Poké Ball off his belt and thrown it. A preying-mantis-like Pokémon appeared in a flash of light. It was thin, green, and yellow. Its legs were stick-like, and its arms resembled razor-sharp leaves. “Let the boy go, or I'll have Leavanny cut you both down to size,” Burgh growled. He looked at Hilbert, tears were still pouring out of the poor boy's eyes.



The grunt scoffed, reaching for a Poké Ball with one hand. Unfortunately for him, it was the hand covering Hilbert's mouth. He turned his hand sideways for a split second, but that was all Hilbert needed to sink his teeth into the man's gloved palm. He shrieked, releasing the boy, who ran for Burgh faster than he ever had.



“Well, looks like you guys just lost your hostage,” Burgh said as Hilbert safely reached his side. “Who's in control now? Who are you anyway, old man?”



Seeing as he had no choice, Gorm opened his mouth to explain. “If you must know, I am Gorm, one of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma. Ghetsis, another of the Seven Sages, will liberate Pokémon with words alone. However, the remainder of us have ordered their compatriots to take Pokémon using full force! But even this is perhaps saying to much. To you, Gym Leader Burgh, I say this: Know your enemies, know yourself, and you need not fear the results of a hundred battles. Any further interference from you will not be tolerated.”



With that, the old man pulled a Poké Ball from out of his robes, and clicked the button on its front twice. In a flash, a Braviary appeared. “Levanny, Sticky Web, now!” Burgh yelled.



Levanny spat a stream of what looked like spider silk out of its mouth, but the grunt jumped in front of the attack, protecting the Sage, who had begun to fly away on his Braviary. The grunt tried to free himself from the web, but gave up after a few seconds, realizing it was futile.



“Ah, nuts!” Burgh exclaimed. “Got the small fry, but missed the big catch!” He turned to Hilbert. “You okay, kid? Here, let's get your hands free...”



As Burgh began untying the tight knots binding Hilbert's wrists together, the boy spoke up. “My name is Hilbert, by the way,” he said in a somewhat shaky voice.



Burgh managed to get the ropes off after about a minute of fussing around with them, and Hilbert began rubbing his wrists, trying to get the circulation back. “Well, Hilbert, why don't you say we get out of this forest?” the Gym Leader said. “I think today's been a bit too exciting, for both of us.”



Burgh retrieved the protesting grunt, and they began walking down the path. Hilbert tuned out the grunt's empty threats, not able to shake the feeling that he'd be dealing with a new set of nightmares from this incident. However, the waking one had barely even gotten started.

 

I Never Wanted to be The Hero



By: Rylek196



Chapter 12: Life In The Big City
​

The Skyarrow Bridge, Hilbert could safely say, was the most magnificent structure he had ever seen in his fourteen years of life. Even with his special shoes, sprinting full-tilt the entire way, it took almost fifteen minutes to cross. As he crossed into the metropolis known as Castelia City, he reflected on how he got here.



The aftermath of Team Plasma's heist was... eventful, to say the least. The media had swarmed him and Burgh as soon as they emerged from the forest trail, but Hilbert had denied requests for a comment, preferring not to talk about his somewhat traumatizing experience. The grunts he had defeated were all arrested, but interrogating them proved to be pointless, as they refused to tell the police anything. “Damn bastards are like a cult,” one of the policemen had growled.



Bianca, for her part, had won her Basic Badge. Her Tepig had evolved into the Fire/Fighting-type Pignite. Thanks to Pignite's Arm Thrust attack, she had easily won. Cheren had caught a Pidove and a Panpour in Pinwheel Forest, Bianca catching a Pansage. Shortly after that, they decided to move on. Getting to Castelia from Nacrene took a day-and-a-half on foot. Luckily, the closer they got to Castelia, the more urban the landscape became, so it was easy to find a bed-and-breakfast. Pinwheel Forest was actually huge- it spanned dozens of kilometres to the north, with suburbs being built near the deforested upper tips.



There were two entrances to the Skyarrow Bridge- one for cars, and one for pedestrians on foot. The bridge was built to accommodate both. Cars and trucks went through a checkpoint before being allowed onto the structure, while people on foot had to go through an indoor security check not unlike an airport. A person's bag had to be checked, their Poke Balls (if they had any) needed to be scanned, and Trainer Cards were slid through a scanner to authenticate I.D. Hundreds of people came and went every day, so it was always a zoo.



Beyond the checkpoints, was the Skyarrow Bridge. The massive structure was separated in two by concrete barricades, so cars travelled on the right side, and regular civilians were on the left. It had a grand total of four supporting towers holding it up over the widest part of the river, and the impressive Castelia City skyline loomed in the distance, making many first-time visitors gasp in awe. Hilbert broke out of his recollections here, joining those stunned by the sheer size of Castelia.



The city absolutely dwarfed both Nacrene and Striaton, both in terms of square kilometres, and size of buildings. Even the largest, eight-story apartment buildings in Striaton were no match for the high-rises he saw when he first entered the city. However, when he started to explore a bit, he found that not all the buildings were like this. The city planners must have merely built the Skyarrow Bridge to deposit people where the tallest buildings were, likely to wow tourists. Castelia City, when one got right down to it, was simply a huge seaside circle, with many buildings constructed within the limit of the circle. To the north of the city was a series of suburbs, which eventually petered off into a desert.



Thankfully, the Pokémon Center was just a stone's throw from the Skyarrow Bridge, so Hilbert checked out a room there. He had left Cheren and Bianca in his dust in his mad dash to get across the bridge. The interior of the Castelia Pokémon Center, to accommodate for the city's size, was huge. It had not one, but three healing machines, and each always had lines in front of them. The Pokémon Center was actually the ground floor of a skyscraper, with all the rooms Trainers stayed in being on the upper floors. The place to buy items, too, was not just a counter with shelves behind it, it was a walk-in store, the only one of its kind in Unova.



Hilbert tried to make an appointment to have the stitches in his arm removed, but after the staff learned when he got them, they told him to wait, as it was too early to have them taken out. All he could do was replace the bandages until it was time, and he was doing so. He then went to the store, selling his Antidote and Awakenings, and bought a Great Ball. Finally ready, he set out into the city. He walked among thousands of others, just going about their daily routines. It wasn't long before he came across a building with a sign that said 'Battle Company' above the door. A poster in the window advertised daily tournaments, and that all Trainers were welcome. “This might be worth a look,” Hilbert said to himself, opening the door and walking inside.



The interior was a simple lobby with a reception desk. The clerk looked up as she heard the door open. “Oh, hi!” she said. “Welcome to the Battle Company! Are you here to participate in a tournament, or just having a look around?”



“A bit of both, actually,” Hilbert replied. “What does this place do, exactly?”



“It's very simple, really,” the receptionist explained. “We hold Pokémon battle tournaments, which are open to anyone, keep them on film, and analyze them. This place is a sort of preliminary test to see the viability of a Battle Frontier facility in Unova, set up by Brendan Ruby himself! Luckily for you, a tournament is starting in ten minutes. Would you like to join?”



“Well, why not?” Hilbert smiled. “Can't pass up some free experience for my Pokémon, can I?”



The receptionist handed him a forum to sign, which included the usual rhetoric of 'the Battle Company is not responsible for any lost or damaged items, personal injury,' and etc. The rules on the forum were simple: Hilbert would face a series of opponents in an elimination-style tournament. The top four Trainers qualified for a prize. He signed the sheet of paper, handing it back to the woman.



“Hilbert Touya, is it?” she said. “Well, you're all set. Just go through those doors over there,” she pointed to a set of doors past her desk, on the right, “and wait to be called.”



Hilbert nodded, walking through the doors. He entered into a small, rectangular room with a bench to sit on, a self-serve Pokémon healing machine in the corner, and another pair of doors at the far end. He ignored the healing machine, as all his Pokémon were good to go anyways, and sat down on the bench. Ten minutes wasn't an agonizingly long time to wait, but it was still boring with nothing to do. However, he was called over the PA system before he got too antsy.



He went through the doors, and came out into a large room. It was set up similar to a hockey rink, with a central area, and a bench protected by plexiglass. His opponents were already sitting on the bench.



The PA system sounded. “The first round can now commence. Hilbert and Ingrid, enter the battlefield please.”



Hilbert and a woman in a pink skirt and white shirt stepped out onto the arena. Noticing the four Poke Balls on Hilbert's waist compared to her one, her expression turned somewhat nervous. They walked to either side of the field. Forgoing any formalities, Ingrid grabbed her lone Poké Ball, shouting, “All right Herdier, let's give it our best! Get out there!” She threw out the Ball, and the Loyal Dog Pokémon appeared in a flash of light.



“Alright, Sensei, you know what to do! Go!” Hilbert threw out his Sawk.



Ingrid wasted no time, despite the fact that she was at a type disadvantage. “Take Down, Herdier!” Herdier raced for Sensei, getting ready to ram him.



“Wait til it gets close, then use Rock Smash!” Hilbert said. Sensei tensed, waiting. The Herdier jumped, trying to slam into the Sawk, but that was when the Karate Pokémon struck. His arm whipped out, punching the Herdier in the face. The Loyal Dog Pokémon was sent flying away from the super-effective attack, but due to the low base power of Rock Smash, it was able to get back up, albeit only just.



“Herdier!” Ingrid cried. “Come on, use Bite!”



Hilbert wasn't about to give her the opportunity to attack, though. “Keep up the pressure, Sensei! Double Kick!”



Sensei ran towards the Herdier, and once again sent it flying with a single kick. This time, the Loyal Dog Pokémon did not get up. Hilbert had handily won the first round. Both Trainers recalled their Pokémon, shook hands, then returned to their seats to watch the next match. The next two Trainers used a Roggenrola and a Timburr, respectively. Even though the man with the Roggenrola knew he was at a type disadvantage, he fought cleverly, using Roggenrola's Rock Blast attack to block Timburr's Rock Throw, knowing it would break Roggenrola's Ability, Sturdy, which allowed it to survive any hit with one point of health remaining, so long as it was at full health.



Eventually, the man with the Timburr grew restless, commanding the Muscular Pokémon to use Low Kick. Timburr ran towards Roggenrola, managing to get in the hit. The super-effective hit knocked the Roggenrola down to one point of health, Sturdy allowing it to hang on. The Roggenrola's Trainer had the Mantle Pokémon counter with Headbutt, but the match was well in hand by this point. All it took was one more Low Kick to knock the Roggenrola out.



The PA system announced the winner, and Hilbert then faced off against the man with the Timburr. He managed to get fairly far in the tournament, but was finally defeated by Wade, a man who used all three elemental monkeys, Panpour, Pansage, and Pansear. Still, he did place third overall, more than enough for a prize: the Experience Share, an immensely useful item for Pokémon. The Pokémon holding this item would receive 25% of all experience gained from battles, even if it did not participate in them. This made it a highly sought-after item among new and veteran Trainers alike.



Hilbert walked back to the Pokémon Center, satisfied with the results of the tournament. All his Pokémon were now at least level 22, and as such, two had learned new moves. Maru had learned the Bug-type Fury Cutter, a move that grew in power as it was used successively. He would miss the higher critical hit chance that Focus Energy gave him, but reasoned greater type coverage was more valuable. Scrapper had learned Hone Claws, a stat-raising move that raised attack and accuracy by one stage each. It was far better than the weak Fury Swipes, as any way Drilbur could raise its attack was welcome.



As for his other two Pokémon, Sensei had tried to learn a new move, Counter, but Hilbert didn't find it very practical, and denied him from learning it. Logan had not learned any new moves at all. By now, it was nearing 12:00 o'clock, and his stomach began to growl. He reasoned against going to a restaurant, as he could just as easily get something to eat at the Pokémon Center anyways. He bought a sandwich from the store in the Center, and sat down at an empty table at the lounge, which was another room in itself.



Various people meandered about here, talking to each other, communicating with family members on their Cross-Transceivers, or eating. Two very familiar faces were also in the room, and came over to his table.



“Well, well, where the hell have you been?” Cheren said, taking a seat opposite Hilbert's end of the table, Bianca sitting next to him. “Nice of you to just leave us in the dust on the bridge, by the way. Thanks.” These last words were said dripping with sarcasm.



“Nice to see you, too, Cheren,” Hilbert muttered. “As for why I left you guys, excuse me if I couldn't contain my excitement to get to the biggest city I've ever been in.”



Bianca placed her hand on Hilbert's arm. “Don't mind him, Hilbert. We were just worried. Like, what if something had happened to you? We wouldn't know, and we'd have to tell your mom that you'd been kidnapped or killed, so that's why Cheren's acting kind of angry. Right?”



“Yeah,” Cheren said, but was actually thinking, Of course not.



Hilbert took a bite of his sandwich. It wasn't nearly as good as Striaton City's food, but it did nonetheless. “So,” he said with his mouth full, “What were you guys up to? I was in a tournament at a place called the Battle Company just down the way from here. Won myself an Experience Share.”



Both his friends' eyes widened, Cheren's considerably more than Bianca's. “Do you have any idea how useful those are!?” Cheren exclaimed.



“'Course I do,” Hilbert retorted. “They explained it to me. Unfortunately, the tournament I was in was the last one of the day, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to have a shot at getting one.”



“I wanted to challenge Burgh tomorrow, though...” Cheren said. Hilbert smirked at Cheren's expression, he could almost see the smoke leaking out of his sort-of-friend's ears as he tried to make up his mind on what he wanted more. A lull in the conversation followed, broken only by Hilbert's chewing as he took another bite of his lunch.



Bianca spoke up. “So... uh, while you were off at a tournament, we were checking out the city. I'll show you the map we picked up.”



She pulled a folded-up piece of paper out of her bag, and placed it on the table. She unfolded it to its full size. The map revealed things that Hilbert hadn't seen, or didn't know about Castelia, like the presence of a huge circular area in the centre of the city. Along the outer edge of the city's main circle, were five large piers. “Did you go to that place?” Hilbert asked, pointing at the central area.



“Oh, no we didn't,” Bianca answered. “It's called 'Castelia Plaza' according to some locals we talked to.”



“Where we did go,” Cheren interjected, “Was these piers. Absolutely fantastic ocean views from all of them. We checked out a couple shops, and there's this huge mall you need to see. They've got everything there. Well, aside from things Poke Marts sell, obviously.”



“Well, I'm sold,” Hilbert said. “Mind giving me the tour?”



“As long as you don't run off on us,” Cheren said, to which Hilbert only gave an apologetic laugh.



The rest of the day was spent simply sightseeing, wandering in no particular direction and looking at lots of things Castelia had to offer. It was well past 10:00 when they returned to the Pokémon Center to sleep. However, Hilbert found little actual rest, as he was assaulted by a nightmare. It was obviously brought on by what he went through in Pinwheel Forest, given how it took place there. In real life, he complied with the Plasma grunt dragging him away after the man had threatened to kill him. In the dream though, he actually resisted, struggling against his grip. The grunt had then made good on his threat, putting Hilbert in a choke hold, strangling him. The poor boy could feel everything, even if it was a dream- his lungs crying out for oxygen, and his vision slowly going dark.



Hilbert awoke gasping for air. He quickly realized where he was, sitting up. “Just a dream, it wasn't real,” he muttered, trying to reassure himself. Looking over at the digital clock beside the bed, he saw that it was only 50 in the morning. He fell back, his head hitting the pillow. Deciding it would be better to try and get some more sleep, he closed his eyes, praying for a dreamless rest of the night.



The next morning during breakfast, Hilbert met up with Cheren and Bianca to discuss their plans for the day. Bianca wanted to go see what the Battle Company was all about, but Cheren had made up his mind to go to the Gym and get his next Badge. “But doesn't your starter have a serious type disadvantage against Burgh?” Hilbert asked.



Cheren simply pulled his Pidove's Poké Ball off his belt. “Um, hello? Pidove in this. It's a Flying-type. Seriously, how'd you forget that I caught this so soon?”



Hilbert only shrugged, saying nothing.



“Hilbert?” Bianca spoke up. “Since I don't think you're doing anything today, can you watch me in the tournament? I just want to have a friend nearby.”



“It they allow that, sure,” Hilbert replied.



They went their separate ways, Cheren heading northwest to the Gym, Hilbert and Bianca going west to the Battle Company. The receptionist at the desk told him that spectators were allowed, although they rarely got them. As such, Hilbert was alone in the stands, watching Bianca's battles with interest and anyone else's with boredom. Just like himself, Bianca was eventually defeated by Wade and his trio of elemental monkeys.



“Damn, that guy's a monster,” Hilbert said to himself. Bianca placed fourth, only winning four Sitrus Berries. These Berries restored one-fourth of a Pokémon's health whenever it dropped below half.



“So... what are you gonna do now?” Hilbert asked as they walked out of the Battle Company.



Bianca kept her head down, looking at her feet. She was clearly disappointed at not winning the Experience Share, but replied nonetheless. “I'm gonna go for a walk, maybe. This city's huge, so there's bound to be some things we didn't see yesterday, right?” She looked up at him, forcing a smile. “What will you do now?”



“I'll go check up on Cheren, see if he's done or not. Somehow, I don't think he won with the team he has. And Bianca?” Hilbert gave her a serious look. “You did great. So you didn't win the Experience Share, so what? I lost to the same guy you did. Don't feel bad.”



“Thanks, Hilbert,” Bianca said. “See you around?”



“Yeah.”



They parted ways, Bianca disappearing into the crowded Castelia streets. Hilbert turned left, walking in the general direction of the Gym. It took nearly an hour of walking past buildings, some tall, some not, crossing streets, and looking at maps, but finally, he arrived directly across from his destination. He crossed the street just as Cheren walked out of the tall green building... covered in a sticky yellow substance.



“I didn't know wearing honey was the new black,” Hilbert chuckled as he walked up to Cheren.



The black-haired boy to face him, a sour look on his face. “Shut. Up.” he said as he wiped honey off his jacket with his hands and flicked them downwards. Hilbert only laughed harder. “Oh, sure, laugh it up now, but you won't be when it's your turn in that madhouse.” Cheren spat.



Hilbert's laughter slowly died down, and he asked, “So how'd it go? Win the Badge?”



A smirk grew on Cheren's face. “Bet your ass. Burgh sure as hell made me work for it, though. I really owe the victory to my Pidove. It really carried the fight. I think I'm gonna call it Interceptor.”



Hilbert snorted. “First Interloper for your Purrloin, and now Interceptor? You've got a bit of a nicknaming theme goin' on there.”



“I guess I do, huh?” Cheren said. “Either way, I do have one Badge on you now, don't I? Gotta keep up, Hilbert. Before you know it, I'll have beaten all the Gym Leaders in the region. After that, there's only the Pokémon League, and then sky's the limit!”



A slightly crazed look had entered Cheren's eyes. This, combined with the fact that he was covered in honey, truly made him look insane. Wanting to steer the conversation away from Cheren's delusions of grandeur, Hilbert asked, “So... got any tips for taking down Burgh?”



“Well, I hear there are some Fire-types on Route 4,” Cheren said. “Of course, I didn't need them, but they'll certainly be helpful. Regardless, I need to get to the Pokémon Center and wash all this honey off. I'll see ya later.”



Cheren turned and walked away, but due to people giving him a wide berth to avoid getting honey on their clothes, he didn't exactly vanish into the crowds. Hilbert chuckled again, and was about to go into the Gym when someone else came running out of it.



Hilbert did a double take. It was Burgh. Surprisingly enough, he was not covered in honey.



“Burgh? What's going on? Why are you out of the Gym?” he asked.



“No time,” Burgh panted. “We got a situation. Team Plasma's appeared again. We have to get to Prime Pier.”



“But that's on the other side of the city!” Hilbert cried. “We'll never get there in a reasonable amount of time on foot. It took me an hour just to get here!”



“Who says we're walking?” Burgh said. “We'll just take my car.” He gestured to a light green vehicle across the street. They got in, and Burgh pulled out of his parking spot, flooring it. At the speed they going, it took only thirty minutes (not counting stoplights) to get to Prime Pier. Exiting the car, Hilbert saw a familiar head of blond hair covered by a green hat. It was Bianca. She was sitting on a bench that faced the ocean, her head in her hands. Next to her was another girl who couldn't have been more than ten. She had black skin, and was wearing a cream-coloured shirt with exaggeratedly long sleeves, and pink bands around the ends. She had a pink hoodie tied around her waist.



As he got closer, Hilbert could hear Bianca sobbing loudly. “Oh, no,” he muttered. He stopped in front of her. “Bianca? Is everything alright?”



The younger girl whipped her head up at him. “No, of course it's not! Team Plasma took her Pokémon!”



“Shit,” Hilbert cursed under his breath. “What Pokémon was it, Bianca?”



Bianca lifted her head out of her hands. She looked terrible. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, her expression was distraught, and tears still ran down her cheeks. “I-it w-was my-my Munna! Th-they stole Musha!” Bianca buried her face in her hands again, sobbing in a way that reminded Hilbert all too painfully of the little girl on Route 3.



“It's okay, Bianca,” Burgh said. “We'll find Team Plasma and get your Munna back. Somehow. I don't think Hilbert knows the whole story, though. I just kinda pulled him into this. Why don't you give him the skinny? Start from the beginning.”



Bianca sniffled. “O-okay. I'll do my best.”



An hour and a half earlier...



Bianca's feet made tapping sounds as she walked along, just one pair of footfalls in the cacophony of noise that Castelia made twenty-four-seven. Truth be told, she was actually upset that she hadn't won the Experience Share at the Battle Company. It essentially made the whole morning a waste of time. She sighed. It doesn't make sense, she thought. Why are Hilbert and Cheren so much better than me? I've done everything they've done: I've caught and raised Pokémon, I've even beaten Lenora, a Gym Leader that took Hilbert three tries to beat, on my first try. What am I doing wrong?



Bianca clenched her hands into shaky fists. Her breathing was getting heavier as anger started to overtake her. She felt a sudden and very strong urge to scream, to lash out, just do something, to act on her abrupt rage. Instead, she began to run. She didn't care where she went, or how exhausted she would be afterwards, she just kept going. Buildings went by in rushes of motion, every crosswalk was infuriating, as it forced her to stop. She may have been angry, but she wasn't willing to risk her life to vent through physical activity.



Eventually, the dull pain in her chest and legs became too much to bear. Lungs heaving, she stopped, promptly realizing she had no idea where she was. Worse yet, she seemed to have stumbled into a rougher part of the city; the buildings looked shoddier and overall more dirty, and the people she could see looked less-than-friendly. With her brightly-coloured outfit, she stuck out like a sore thumb against the dark red bricks the buildings were made out of.



“...Oh, no,” she whispered. Her thoughts whirled at a hurricane pace. It's okay, Bianca. You'll find a way out of this, she thought. Think positively. Maybe you can use this as a learning experience, like 'don't run in random directions in big cities'. She turned around, only to see something that made her blood run cold. Three Team Plasma grunts were walking down the street towards her, in an almost patrolling fashion. One of them spotted her, alerting the others, and they began to run at her.



However, she stood her ground, grabbing one of the Poke Balls off her belt. “Go, Musha!” she yelled, throwing out her Munna.



The grunts stopped about fifteen feet from her, taking their Poke Balls off their belts as well. “W-what do you want!?” Bianca yelled. “Just leave me alone!”



“Oh, we will, girly,” one of the grunts shot back. “Once we take your Pokémon, that is! Seriously, what are you trying to fight us with? A piggy bank with flowers on it?” He nodded to his cohorts. “Take her Pokémon.”



All three grunts sent out Sandile, ordering them to use Bite. Munna, bulky as it was, was still no match for three super-effective moves in a row. It went down with a cry. “Musha!” Bianca cried, fumbling with its Poké Ball. The Sandile, though, had other ideas. Under the grunts' orders, they surrounded her, snapping their jaws threateningly.



“Now, either you hand over that Poké Ball, or you just might lose a hand,” one of the grunts hissed. “What's it gonna be?”



Horrified, and left with no choice, a tearful Bianca extended her arm, placing Munna's Poké Ball in the grunt's outstretched hand.



“A-and that's what happened...” Bianca said as she finished her story. “After that, I met Iris, and she tried to help me look for them, but this city's so big... we lost them.” She began to sob again. “Wh-what am I going to do if I can't get Musha back!?” she cried. “Shows how great I am as a Trainer, doesn't it? Handing my Pokémon over to thugs... I'm such a coward.”



“Oooh, I hate those Team Plasma guys!” The black girl- Iris- said. “If I found them, I'd have my Haxorus disembowel them! And eat them!” She crossed her arms cantankerously. “Maybe not in that order.”



A disturbed look came over Hilbert's face at hearing that statement coming from someone so young.



Burgh placed his hand on Bianca's shoulder. “You're not a coward, Bianca. You had no other choice. I would've done the same thing. In fact, standing up to them like you did was very brave. However, that doesn't solve the main problem: Finding your Munna. Have you contacted the police? They might be able to cover more ground than we can.”



“N-no, I haven't,” Bianca said. “Besides, you saw how much they 'helped' in Nacrene. All they did was set up a few blockades, not actually go after Team Plasma. That's why I thought it would be better to have Iris get in touch with you, since Gym Leaders have each other on speed-dial.”



“Wait, wait, wait,” Hilbert said, pointing at Iris. “She's a Gym Leader?”



“Yup!” Iris replied. “I'm the Gym Leader of Opelucid City! Maybe you'll get there one day, maybe not, but that's not important right now. What is is searching the city for Team Plasma.”



“She's right.” Burgh piped up. “I'll contact the police, tell them to do a sweep of the city, but not to engage Team Plasma if they find them. They're seriously inept at battling Pokémon. Hilbert, you do what you can on foot. Iris, stay with Bianca. Be her... bodyguard, I guess.”



Within ten minutes, everything was ready. A squad of police had been called in, given orders by Burgh, and set out in cars. To make him more useful, Hilbert had been made an unofficial member of the Castelia City Police Department. He had been given a police badge, and the right to search any building and question any person he so chose, though this would all be revoked once Bianca's Munna was found. (He was going to be a bit sad about losing the badge, though. It did look cool).



Currently, he was patrolling on foot, questioning passerby about suspicious activity, and flashing the badge to anyone who gave him a smart-ass comment about his age. That shut them up in a hurry. After some time of doing this and making no progress, he decided to try some buildings. Two hours and five buildings later, he was getting frustrated. He picked another building on a street lined with trees at random, only to find it was a small art gallery. Cursing, he checked it regardless. Team Plasma could be literally anywhere in the city.



The current theme in the gallery was 'Myths and Legends of the Unova Region', featuring various paintings of the 'Forces of Nature', Unova's Legendary Trio. Other regions had trios of Legendary Pokémon, as well: Kanto's Winged Mirages, Johto's Legendary Beasts, Hoenn's Continental Golems, and Sinnoh's Lake Guardians.



One painting in particular, located near the centre of the gallery, caught his eye. It was titled 'Black Lightning,' and featured a stormy sky background, forks of lightning bursting down from the clouds. Oddly, the lightning was blue, contrary to the title, and silhouetted the picture's primary focus: a bulky black shape, almost Pokémon-like in appearance. It had a glowing blue tail, and red eyes. Hilbert peered closer at the picture, trying to get a better look at the shape, but gave up, and shrugged. His Cross-Transceiver started to ring. He pressed a button to accept the call.



“Hilbert,” Burgh said as his face showed up on the camera, “Find anything?”



“Well, I've found a couple pretty pictures, but other than that, dick-all,” Hilbert replied.



“Dammit!” Burgh swore. “Well, neither has anyone else. At this rate, we'll have to call off the search. I can't be away from the Gym for much longer, and the police only have so much time.”



Hilbert sighed. “Is there anything else we can do? I've searched like five buildings, but I could go through more.”



Burgh was about to answer, but a ring on his own Cross-Transceiver interrupted him. He pressed a button, and a police officer's face appeared on both Hilbert's and Burgh's screens. “Burgh, sir, we think we've found something. We're seeing suspicious activity near one building. People in cloaks are going into it.”



“Where are you now, and where's the building?” Burgh asked.



“We're a few blocks away, but the building is right across from the Gym,” the cop said.



Hilbert rubbed his left temple with his free hand. “Son of a bitch! They were right under our damn noses this whole time.”



“How close are you both?” the cop asked.



“Not close enough,” Hilbert said. “Even with my shoes, it'll take me a while to get there, and we can't afford to lose them. Think someone can pick me up? I'm at some sort of art gallery.”



“Ah, sounds like you're at Studio Castelia,” Burgh said. The nostalgia was clear in his voice. “I remember when I used to submit pieces of my own there before I became a Gym Leader. People would come from all over to see them... ah, but I'm rambling now. Send a squad car over there, officer, pronto! We've got a Pokémon to rescue!”



“Ooh-rah to that,” Hilbert said. He terminated the call, and waited on the sidewalk. Soon enough, a police car drove up, taking him to the street that housed the Gym.



When he got out, he could see three figures wearing beige cloaks that covered their whole bodies standing outside the door of the building. Burgh was already there, shouting at them, but getting no reply from any of them.



“Hilbert! You made it!” Burgh called as Hilbert jogged up to him. “This is definitely the place. Unfortunately, these goons aren't responding much to verbal persuasion, so we'll have to get...physical!” With that last word, Burgh moved in a blur. He grabbed one of the figure's cloaks, ripping it off them. Sure enough, underneath was a Team Plasma grunt, wearing the standard-issue uniform of the organization.



“So, you figured us out, didn't you?” the man growled. The other two figures shed their cloaks, revealing themselves to be Team Plasma grunts as well. They all took Poke Balls off their belts, Hilbert and Burgh doing likewise.



Several civilians had gathered around to see what the commotion was about, but Burgh made them back off, shouting, “Everyone, stay back! This is gonna get dangerous!”



“You two, take care of the Gym Leader,” the grunt said to his allies. “I'll handle the kid.”



Hilbert grit his teeth. I won't let what happened in Pinwheel Forest happen again. Not here! He grabbed his starter's Poké Ball of his belt, and threw it. “Go, Maru!”



The other grunts attacking Burgh had sent out a Watchog and a Sandile, respectively. The grunt Hilbert was facing had also sent out a Sandile.



“Sandile, Assurance!” the grunt called.



“Use Razor Shell!” Hilbert yelled.



Both Pokémon dashed towards each other, but due to Maru's higher level, and thus, higher speed, was able to strike first. The super-effective, Mystic Water-boosted Razor Shell struck hard, knocking the Sandile out. Not willing to give up, the grunt sent out another Sandile, however, he was met with the exact same result.



Meanwhile, Burgh was fighting the other grunts' Pokémon. He had managed to knock out the Sandile with a Razor Leaf from his Leavanny, and had it tie up the Watchog with String Shot. Currently, the Nurturing Pokémon was being anything but as it savagely used Cut over and over, eventually knocking the Watchog out with its repeated strikes.



“Damn... this is bad,” one of the grunts muttered as they regrouped.



“Should we bolt?” another asked.



“Of course we should!” the third yelled.



They started to make a break for it, but Burgh had other ideas. “Leavanny, String Shot!” Leavanny spat a sort of silk out of its mouth, entangling the three grunts' ankles. They fell to the ground with surprised shouts. Levanny dragged them backwards by their ankles, further tying them in the silk once they were close enough.



“Alright, now that these three are nice and incapacitated, I think it's time we got your friend's Pokémon back, isn't it?” Burgh said. Hilbert nodded. Burgh called Iris over his Cross-Transceiver, and soon, another police car pulled up, and Bianca and Iris stepped out.



“You both ready?” Hilbert asked.



“You better believe it!” Iris cried enthusiastically. She pulled a Poké Ball out of her pocket. “Haxorus, come on out!” She clicked the Poké Ball's button twice, and in a flash of light, a powerful-looking Dragon-type appeared. It was mostly covered in yellow-green plate-like skin, though there were black patches on its thighs and torso. Its legs and fairly small arms ended in sharp looking claws, but most striking of all was its head. Two huge red tusks, which each resembled axe blades, adorned its upper jaw on either side of its face.



“Haxorus, get us into that building! Dual Chop!” Iris yelled. The Axe Jaw Pokémon bashed the doors with its claws twice, battering them off their hinges. Everyone then ran into the building, Maru and the Haxorus right behind them. Inside, they found exactly what organization they expected to find, but not the people they expected.



“My word, if it isn't the Gym Leader of this city, Burgh!” Ghetsis said, seemingly not caring about the abrupt entrance of the intruders. Standing beside him in the lobby-like room was an old man in tan robes, and another face Hilbert recognized immediately. Several grunts were standing behind the sages, as well.



“Gorm,” he growled, gritting his teeth. The old man gave him a contemptuous look back. The sage had changed his attire for blue robes.



“So, we meet again, boy,” he said. “I never thought it would be so soon, however.”



“Calm yourself, Gorm,” Ghetsis said. “They're obviously here for a reason, so let's hear them out, shall we?”



“You bet we're here for a reason!” Burgh shouted. “You lot stole this girl's Pokémon- a Munna, to be exact. Is that the guiding principle of Team Plasma? 'Take what you want from people!?'”



“You know, the pot really shouldn't call the kettle black,” Ghetsis replied. “Because what, pray tell, is the guiding philosophy of Gym Leaders? 'Destroy other people's property?' 'Force their way into places they don't own?'”



That shut Burgh up, so the man in the tan robes turned to Ghetsis. “You must forgive me, Ghetsis!” he pleaded. “I thought it would be best to prepare this as our hideout in this city- epicentre of human evil as it is. It would have been a perfect place to begin the spread of the glorious ideal of Team Plasma. It appears that we have been detected far more quickly than I imagined we would be.”



“No matter, Bronius,” Ghetsis said. Whispering so low that the others would not be able to hear, he whispered, “We already have an exceptional base of operations, or have you forgotten?”



“What are you whispering about!?” Iris shouted. “Just give us back the Pokémon and leave this city, or I'll have Haxorus throw you out!” Behind her, the Dragon-type snorted, stomping its foot.



Inside his robes, Ghetsis's fingers on his burned hand twitched. How he would like nothing more than to unleash his Hydreigon and put this insolent child in her place... However, he managed to keep his cool, and smirked. “Oh, we will. But first, has anyone familiar with the legend of the founding of the Unova region?”



“Yeah, I am, but what's that got to do with anything!?” Iris demanded.



Ignoring her, Ghetsis began. “The truth is that long, long ago, this region was in chaos. Civil war raged, and many died. However, a white dragon appeared before a hero who sought to bring peace to the warring people. This white Dragon-type Pokémon shared its knowledge with those who stood by its side- as for those foolish enough to oppose and even rebel, some say the Pokémon unleashed flames upon them with such wrath that they were turned to ashen statues. Together, the power of this Pokémon and the hero brought unity to the hearts of the people, and that is how the Unova region was born.



“What Team Plasma desires is to bring back that Pokémon and the hero once again! If we can win people's hearts and minds like the hero of the past did, we can easily create the world that we desire.”



Ghetsis's last word hung heavy in the air, but the tension was broken as Burgh burst out laughing.

“Bahahahah! Ghetsis, have you looked outside lately? Tell me, is there a war going on right now? Do people need to be 'won over'? Of course they don't!” He began to pace back and forth. “Still, there's one thing about what you're saying that I don't quite understand.”



“And what would that be?” Ghetsis asked apprehensively.



“It's that the reason people get along is that they all have one thing in common: their love of Pokémon,” Burgh said. “Just look at Castelia! Despite what old man nutcase on your left says, I don't see it as the 'epicentre of human evil', I see it as... well, as a big melting pot. You've got people from all walks of life here, and they each add their own individual flavour.



“Hell, even people from separate parts of the world can talk Pokémon- assuming, of course, they speak the same language. And even if they can't, it's not a big deal! They can still trade Pokémon, therefore sharing a bit of their culture with the other. And y'know, I was listening in on a few of the speeches you made here in this city, and as much as I hate to say to say it, thank you.”



Throughout Burgh's speech, Ghetsis's expression became more and more uneasy, but with that, he looked genuinely surprised.



“Well, go on,” he said. “Elaborate. Why are you thanking me?”



“Because you made me rethink and reevaluate the relationship with my Pokémon,” Burgh said. “Just the thought of releasing them into the wild, never seeing them again... well, it stirred something in me. So, I dedicate myself to my Pokémon even more strongly! I've even come up with a new training plan for them. Don't you see? What you're doing is only going to strengthen the bond between people and Pokémon, not the other way around!”



Ghetsis laughed a bit, but there was no humour in it, nor did it sound good-natured. It sounded almost evil. “Well, you are quite the clever one, Burgh,” he said. Even his voice had taken on a bit of a growl. “A little more... intelligent than I expected, based on your looks.”



Burgh snorted. “I'll take that as a compliment.”



“Fortunately for you,” Ghetsis continued, “I am fond of intelligence. I value it in a person. There are far too many... incompetents in this day and age, so you'll enjoy hearing about this. From every corner of the world, I have gathered knowledgeable people for our king's benefit. You can call them- myself included- the Seven Sages.”



He turned around and motioned to a Plasma grunt behind him. “Return the girl's Munna,” he ordered.



The grunt stalked toward Bianca, thrusting a Poké Ball into her hands, then marched back to his superiors. “Oh, Musha!” Bianca cried. “I was so worried! Thank you, Ghetsis!”



“Bianca!” Iris scolded her, “Why are you thanking them? They took it in the first place!”



“It's just... I'm so happy to have Musha back.” Bianca said.



“Well, now, all seems to in order, so we will be taking our leave,” Ghetsis said.



The group of Team Plasma members started to move, but halted as Burgh yelled, “Hold up!”



“What is it?” Ghetsis said irritably.



“About those Seven Sages, we encountered that guy in the blue in Pinwheel Forest. We're gonna have to arrest him for attempted abduction of a minor,” Burgh said. “Hilbert, tell them what happened.”



“Well, long story short,” Hilbert said, “I caught up with the grunt that had the dragon skull's piece, then this guy comes up behind me and knocks me out with a branch! Next thing I know, I'm tied up, and about to be dragged away to Arceus-knows-where! Let's just say I want that guy behind bars.”



“I'm afraid that's not going to happen,” Ghetsis said. The growl was back in his voice. “They may have been in the wrong, but so long as they are part of Team Plasma, they are under my protection. Gorm will not be arrested this day.”



“Well, sorry, but that's not how things work,” Burgh growled.



Ghetsis smirked. “Are you so sure of that?” Moving quickly, he and the other sages pulled small glass orbs filled with smoke out of their robes, tossing them at the ground. The orbs shattered upon impact, releasing clouds of purple smoke. Just like in the Nacrene City Museum, it caused Hilbert's lungs to burn and his eyes to water, leaving him and his cohorts helpless while figures ran past.



Soon, the smoke cleared, leaving the lobby empty save for the Haxorus, Hilbert, and his gang. “They really like smokescreens, don't they?” Hilbert said, returning Maru to his Poké Ball.



“I'm more concerned about that little monologue Ghetsis gave,” Burgh said. “What was his point in telling us all that? And what did he mean by bringing back the hero?”



Hilbert suddenly remembered something N had said to him, and his blood ran cold. “That is true,” N said as he walked away. He stopped about ten feet from Hilbert, however, and continued to speak, looking over his shoulder. “At least I know now what power I need. I need... Reshiram! The Legendary Pokémon, that, along with the hero, created the Unova region. It's time for me to become that hero, and that is how I will change the world! Not through dictatorship, but through people willingly complying!”



“I think I know,” Hilbert said, horrified. “There's this weird guy called N- I know it's strange, but that's his name- that's been popping up at random times to battle me. Last time I saw him, he was shouting about 'becoming the hero.' Think there's any connection?”



“Possibly,” Burgh said. “Unfortunately, without any solid evidence, all we'd be doing by accusing him is pointing fingers. In any case, why don't we get out of here? I need to get back to the Gym ASAP.”



They all said their goodbyes to Burgh, who drove off in the direction of the Gym.



“So... that's the end of that little fiasco, right?” Bianca said. “What are you going to do now, Hilbert? Will you challenge the Gym?”



Hilbert looked north, then up at the sky. The sun was well past its zenith, and had begun its descent. “No, actually.” he said. “I'm gonna get the first cab I can find to take me to Route 4. I need to catch a Fire-type.” With that, he walked off, leaving Bianca and Iris alone.



“Bianca...” Iris said, “I've been thinking about what happened to you, and I don't want it to happen again. So I thought... well, with me being a Gym Leader, I could give you some pointers on how to battle. So, what do ya say? Want some one-on-one training from a Gym Leader?”



“I'd like that,” Bianca smiled.



Much later, Hilbert stepped out of his cab. The cab had taken him past the suburbs, to the southern edge of Route 4. He paid for his ride, thanked the driver, and set off. The last scraps of sunlight were beginnings to fade by this point.



Gonna have to move fast, he thought. Time is most definitely not on my side here.



Route 4 was a vast desert landscape. There were walking paths on each side of the road, for Trainers on foot. To the sides of the walking path, was sand as far as the eye could see. A perpetual but very tame sandstorm blew sand every which way on this Route, but bad sandstorms had been recorded in the past, with gusts reaching tropical storm levels of speed. Lizard-like Dark/Fighting-types called Scraggy ran amok in this environment, and it was on this Route that Sandile could be found.



However, Hilbert was not interested in these Pokémon, nor did he know (or care) what Scraggy's type was. His goal was simple: Find a red Pokémon. If it was red, it had to be Fire-type. He set out into the sand, wandering around and dodging Sandile that tried to take a bite out his feet for a few minutes until he saw it. The Pokémon was red, rotund, with stubby limbs, an orange face, and yellow, curly eyebrows. It was a Darumaka.



“That's gotta be what I'm looking for,” Hilbert said. “Go, Logan!” He tossed out his Herdier, ordering him to use Bite. The attack was successful in hitting the Zen Charm Pokémon, so Hilbert tossed a Great Ball at it. He stayed well away from the Ball until it had shut with a click.



“Okay, another Pokémon caught,” Hilbert said. “Let's see if I got lucky and this is a Fire-type.” Taking out his Pokédex, he saw that, yes, it was a Fire-type. “Darumaka,” he read aloud. Not bothering to check its Dex entry, he scrolled down, looking at its moves. It was level 18, so it knew Rage, Fire Fang, Headbutt, and Uproar. It was the second move that Hilbert needed the most. The Darumaka was also female, but gender didn't really matter to him when it came to his Pokémon team.



“I think I'll call you Makue,” he said to his new teammate. “Now, to get outta this desert.”



Walking away from the desert, he began his long trek back to Castelia.

 

I Never Wanted to be The Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 13: Premier Insect Artist, Burgh

​

Stepping through one last honey wall, Hilbert finally arrived in Burgh's chamber in the back of the Gym. The trek through the Gym had not been a pleasant one. To move forward in this Gym, one had to push themselves through walls that were literally made of honey. The first time he did so, Hilbert had ended up exactly like Cheren when he saw him walk out of the Gym. However, now the shoe was on the other foot. It was an experience that Hilbert could rightfully call 'the art gallery from hell'.



Burgh used his Gym as a place to put his paintings, and while Hilbert could agree they were gorgeously drawn, it wasn't worth going through those fucking honey walls to see them. On another note, it was the next day, which he had started off by going to the police station to give back his temporary police badge. After that, it was straight to the Gym to be covered in honey.



Burgh laughed as Hilbert forced his way into the room, making several undignified grunts as he wiped honey off his clothes. “Bahahah! Oh man, that never gets old!”



“Uhh... bleh! I have honey in places where honey should never be, Burgh!” Hilbert groaned.



Burgh just flicked his hand dismissively. “Ah, don't worry about it. It'll wash right off later. Besides, what are you here to do? Complain to me, or battle?”



“I'm beginning to rethink the battle, honestly,” Hilbert said under his breath. However, he thought better of that, thinking how satisfying revenge would be.



He pulled a Poké Ball off his belt. “Ready?”



“Oh, yes,” Burgh replied. “Go, Whirlipede!”



The Pokémon that Burgh tossed out was among the strangest that Hilbert had ever seen. It was shaped much like a wheel, or more to the point, a car tire, and was purple. Red rings marked every segment of its tire-like body, and from its front, two horns sprouted. Two more horns were also on its back. Yellow eyes could be seen in the centre of the Pokémon's body, one on each side.



Hilbert considered what Pokémon to throw out for a second. By the Pokémon's name, he guessed it was the evolution of Venipede, so Sensei was completely out of the question. He could always throw out his new Darumaka and make short work of the Bug/Poison-type, but Burgh could have a trick up his sleeve, possibly in the form of a counter on his team. It was down to Maru, Scrapper, or Logan. Deciding that Logan would probably be his best bet, he tossed him out.



Burgh got right to it as the screen lit up. “Use Poison Tail!”



The horns on Whirlipede's back glowed purple, and it spun its body like a wheel, building up traction. It suddenly sped off towards Logan, trying to ram into him.



“Dodge it, now!” Hilbert yelled. Logan jumped to the side, and Hilbert quickly sidestepped to avoid the Whirlipede crashing into him, too. “Go after it while it's recovering! Bite!” Hilbert commanded.



Logan ran for the Curlipede Pokémon as it turned around. He sunk his fangs into its hard shell, knocking off a small slice of its health bar on the screen. However, due to Whirlipede's fairly high defence stat, the loss was not too great.



As Logan ran away in retreat after making its attack, Burgh yelled, “Whirlipede, Pursuit!”



Whirlipede suddenly launched itself at Logan, slamming into him horizontally and knocking a full quarter off his health bar. Logan was sent reeling away, landing hard.



“Logan!” Hilbert cried. Gonna have to do something to get around that thing's defence, Hilbert thought. “Work Up, now!”



Logan got to his feet, stamping his paws against the ground for a few seconds, then was surrounded by a reddish-orange glow, indicating that his attack and special attack had been raised.



“Now use Take Down!” Hilbert shouted.



Logan began a full-body, reckless charge towards the Whirlipede, building up speed and momentum as he ran.



“Struggle Bug!” Burgh said. Whirlipede's front horns began to glow green, and out of them shot several small, green tendrils of energy, which raced for Logan. They all hit, causing him to trip up and slam against the ground, rolling for several feet before coming to a stop. The roll hadn't done anything to his health bar, but the attack had taken off another chunk.



Logan pushed himself to his feet as Hilbert thought, Okay, time for a different approach.



“Logan, Leer, then use Take Down!” Hilbert ordered.



Logan's eyes began to glow red, freezing the Whirlipede in place, then ran for all he was worth for it. He slammed into the stunned Curlipede Pokémon, taking off a sizable chunk of its health bar due to the attack boost from Work Up. It wasn't in the yellow, but it was close. However, the recoil from Take Down shaved another sliver off Logan's health.



“Keep it up, Logan! Go after it! Bite!”



Logan dashed after the Whirlipede, sinking his fangs into it. The attack knocked it down into the low yellow.



As Logan backed off, Burgh once again tried his Pursuit strategy. However, Hilbert had Logan use Leer, countering the attack and stopping it. Hilbert then had Logan use Bite again on the helpless Curlipede Pokémon, knocking it out. Hilbert knew that Scrapper had just gained some experience along with Logan, as he had put the Experience Share on him.



“Good job, Whirlipede, come back,” Burgh said. He pulled another Poké Ball off his belt. “Go, Dwebble!”



The Pokémon that emerged in a flash of light resembled a hermit crab. It had a dull-orange body, beady black eyes on eye stalks, and most interestingly, its 'shell' was made of a hollowed-out rock.



“Use Smack Down, Dwebble!” Burgh said.



Dwebble formed a sphere of energy between its pincers, which quickly turned into a rock. It then launched the stone projectile right at Logan.



“Dodge it!” Hilbert yelled.



Logan tried to move aside, but was struck in the flank by it. His remaining health shot down into the red.



“Now finish it off! Faint Attack!” Burgh yelled.



Dwebble suddenly vanished with a ripple effect in the air. It then materialized beside Logan, striking him. His health bar depleted to nothing.



Hilbert quickly recalled Logan, and threw out Maru. Dwebble was obviously a Bug/Rock-type, so Water Gun or Razor Shell would put it down quickly.



“Maru, Water Gun!” Hilbert said.



Maru shot a stream of water out of his mouth, aimed right for Dwebble.



“Faint Attack again!” Burgh yelled.



Dwebble vanished in a blur, causing the high-pressure stream of water to miss. Dwebble then reappeared beside Maru, striking him and taking a chunk off his health bar.



“Razor Shell!” Hilbert yelled, but Dwebble had scuttled out of the way.



“Keep it up with Struggle Bug!” Burgh ordered. Dwebble sent tendrils of green energy out of its pincers, all of them hitting Maru.



“Come on, Maru, hit it! Water Gun!” Hilbert yelled.



Maru shot another stream of water out of his mouth. This time, due to his close proximity to the Dwebble, it was not able to dodge. The Rock Inn Pokémon was propelled backward several feet by the force of the water. However, with Water Gun only being 45 base power with STAB, it also wasn't a one-hit KO, either. Still, Dwebble's health bar shot down to the very low red.



“Finish it off!” Hilbert commanded. “Razor Shell!”



Maru ran at Dwebble, slashing it with both its seashells. The 80 base power attack with STAB was pure overkill, knocking the Dwebble out.



Burgh took the third- and final- Poké Ball off his belt. “Last one, huh?” His eyes suddenly turned determined. “But I won't be squashed! Go, Leavanny!”



In a flash of light, the Nurturing Pokémon appeared. Hilbert was taken aback at just how threatening it could look when it wanted to. Besides that, there was no way Maru was going to be able to beat it. He had over a quarter of his health taken out already, and it was guaranteed that Leavanny had a super-effective STAB move to deal with him.



Hilbert's gut feeling was proven right as Burgh yelled, “Leavanny, Razor Leaf!”



Leavanny raised its arms and slashed them down, sending half a dozen sharp, boomerang-like leaves straight at Maru. He was struck with many of them, sending his health bar down to nothing in a heartbeat and knocking him out.



“Dammit!” Hilbert recalled Maru, and sent out the best bet he had against the Leavnny. “Go, Makue!”



Burgh's eyes widened as the Zen Charm Pokémon appeared. “A Darumaka!? Leavanny, String Shot, now!”



Leavanny spat spider-like silk out of its mouth, wrapping Makue up in it. “Now use Razor Leaf!” Burgh yelled. He was clearly worried, as he knew one Fire-type attack could one-hit KO the Leavanny due to its quad weakness.



The Leavanny once again sent the attack flying at Makue, striking her. Even though she resisted the attack, it still did decent damage because of the low defence stat all Darumaka shared.



“Try and get outta that stuff, Makue!” Hilbert yelled. “Fire Fang!”



Cloaking her teeth in flame, Makue bit down on the thread binding her. It quickly burned up due to the heat. “Now Fire Fang again!” Hilbert called.



With surprising speed for its stubby limbs, Makue raced for the Leavanny. Cloaking her fangs in fire again, she jumped, preparing to chomp down on the Nurturing Pokémon and finish the battle.



“Leavaany, Protect!” Burgh yelled at the last second.



“Wha-!?” Hilbert exclaimed as Leavanny was covered in a green dome of energy. Makue slammed into it and bounced off, landing several feet away. The dome then flickered and died.



“String Shot, Levanny!” Burgh yelled. Leavanny spat the silk out of its mouth again.



“Fire Fang!” Hilbert ordered. Cloaking her teeth in flames, Makue bit the silk in mid-air, setting it ablaze. “Go, now! Right now!”



Makue raced for the Leavanny, her fangs still aflame. She jumped one more time, chomping down with all she had on the Nurturing Pokémon's head. Leavanny cried out in pain, its health bar shooting down to nothing.



“Yes!” Hilbert cried. He ran up to his new team member, crouching down in front of her. “You were great, Makue! Even against something that was higher-levelled than you, you still won..!” Breathing heavily from the adrenaline rush, he returned her to her Poké Ball.



Giving a slow round of applause, Burgh walked over. “Well, that's game, set, and match, right there,” he said, tapping Trainer Cards with Hilbert. “Looks like my muse abandoned me in that battle. But losing doesn't bug me. Here- you've earned it.”



Burgh took the green Castelia City Gym Badge out of his pocket. It resembled a bright green insect wing, outlined with gold accents that contrasted the green well. “This is the Insect Badge,” Burgh said, putting the Badge in Hilbert's open palm.



“Thank you, Burgh,” Hilbert said, placing the Insect Badge in his Badge case.



“Oh, yeah, since I'm a generous guy, take this TM, too,” Burgh added. He handed Hilbert a TM. “This is TM76, Struggle Bug. 50 base power with no additional effect, I'm afraid, but the little things can make all the difference sometimes, lemme tell ya. Now get outta here and go take a shower. You look like you need it.”



“Before I do, I just want to say thank you,” Hilbert said. “Just... for bailing me out at Pinwheel Forest, and helping Bianca get her Munna back. If it weren't for you... well, I don't wanna think about that.”



“Hilbert, it was my pleasure to help,” Burgh said. “Seriously, us Gym Leaders are the mayors of our cities, for crying out loud! Who would we be if we didn't help people out?”



“Pretty bad mayors,” Hilbert chuckled. With that, he turned to go. “I'll see ya 'round.”



However, he groaned when he realized that in order to get out of the Gym, he had to go through the honey walls again. Burgh's laughter followed him out.

 

I Never Wanted to be The Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 14: Dual Rival Battles

​

If there was one thing that Hilbert felt he was going to hate more and more as his journey went on, it was washing his clothes. Pokémon Centers had an entire floor dedicated to dry-cleaning, but due to the fact that most Trainers only travelled with the clothes on their backs and very rarely packed more garments, it was an unusual arrangement.



The floor used for dry-cleaning had many rooms, each containing a washer/dryer combination. The Centers provided the detergent, so all one had to do was put their clothes in to be washed. However, this was where the problems came in. Given how most Trainers only had one pair of clothes, they were basically forced to stand in these small rooms naked while they were washed. Hilbert was no exception. Thank Arceus the rooms were heated to well above normal temperatures, to keep people from freezing, but heaven help you if you had to go to the bathroom.



He had already had a shower- no way was he going to stand there for Arceus-knows-how-long covered in honey- and was currently watching his clothes spin around and around in the dryer. He had cleaned what couldn't be thrown in the washing machine, that was, his cap, bag, shoes, and Cross-Transceiver, as best he could with a wet cloth, but the former three items would probably have minor stains on them when all was said and done. By some miracle, his Cross-Transceiver had survived, but then, the thing was made to take a beating anyways, so it likely wasn't all that miraculous.



To amuse himself, Hilbert had resorted to using the calculator app on it, typing in random equations and seeing what the answer was. That was, until it started to ring.



“Ah!” he exclaimed, nearly dropping it in surprise and fumbling with it a bit. He hesitated, his finger hovering over the button to accept the call. It was Bianca's number, a friend, but would he dare do this standing in a small room, stark naked?



Sighing, he pressed the button. Yes, he thought, yes I will. Just as a precaution, though, he held the Cross-Transceiver at arms length off to the side, to hopefully protect his own modesty.



“Hey there, Hilbert!” came Bianca's voice from the Cross-Transceiver's speaker. When she didn't see Hilbert, though, her voice turned confused. “Huh? Hilbert, where are you? Why am I looking at a ceiling?”



“I'm right here, Bianca, don't worry,” Hilbert said, his voice a little uneasy.



“Okay, where are you now?” Bianca asked.



“Me? Oh, uh, Pokémon Center,” Hilbert replied. “Had to heal my Pokémon. Burgh did a number on them.”



“Well, if you're at the Pokémon Center, why are holding the Cross-Transceiver away from yourself? I wanted to have a battle, 'cause Iris trained me and I've become a little stronger, but it's fine if you don't want to...” Bianca said.



Is that all this is about? Hilbert thought. “Okay, sure. Where should I meet you?”



“At the gate to Route 4, preferably,” Bianca said.



“I'll be there, but, uh, you might be waiting a while,” Hilbert said.



“Why?” Bianca suddenly sounded suspicious. “Hilbert, what are you doing? Let me see you.”



Crap. Seeing no way out, Hilbert slowly moved the Cross-Transceiver to his face.



“Um, Hilbert? Why are you hatless? And shirtless?” Bianca asked.



“Why do you think!?” Hilbert said frantically, his patience wearing thin. “I'm washing my clothes in the Pokémon Center's dry-cleaning floor! Kinda naked right now!”



Bianca nearly shrieked in mortification and embarrassment, her cheeks going scarlet. “Oh, I'm sorry! Sorrysorrysorry! I'll let you go! Just don't forget about the battle, okay?” With that, she terminated the call.



Hilbert let out a sigh of relief, shutting off the Cross-Transceiver. Ten minutes later, the dryer beeped, indicating it was done. He got dressed, enjoying the feeling (and smell) of freshly-washed, straight-out-of-the-dryer clothes on his body. He grabbed his bag, put his cap on, and exited the room.



Given how he had a battle coming up, he decided to buy a few more Super Potions, bringing his stock up to five. As for his Pokémon, Makue had levelled up quite a bit following the battle with Leavanny. Now at level 20, she had learned Facade, which Hilbert used to replace Uproar, which wouldn't be doing too much damage with Makue's atrocious base 15 special attack. Maru was right on the cusp of a level up, and Logan was a quarter of the way there. Scrapper, meanwhile, was halfway to another level, and Sensei's experience bar sat empty.



I guess I can afford to not use him, though, Hilbert thought as he paid for the Super Potions. After all, it's Bianca we're talking about here. She's competent, but not that good. I'll use him the battle after this, though.



He caught a cab to take him to the northern gate of Castelia City. This gate led to the suburbs, and beyond those, was the desert where he had caught his Darumaka. Castelia City's northern gate was unique in that it was actually more like a bridge than anything. The road was in the middle, with the two gates on either side, leading to the suburbs. The Castelia cab service went as far as the edge of the suburbs, but didn't operate in the harsh desert conditions.



The cab dropped him off about a block from the gate. Paying for his ride, Hilbert exited the car, walking the rest of the way. He took the steps two at a time to enter the left side of the structure. While on the outside, the gate looked remarkably different, on the inside, it was the same as all the other gates, aside from being longer. Same dull-orange floor tiles, same electronic screen with its slowly-scrolling yellow-orange text. This one, however, displayed a bit of a warning: Route 4 ahead, it said. If on foot, make sure to stay hydrated!



Good advice, Hilbert thought, making a mental note to fill his water bottle after the battle with Bianca.



Speaking of the blonde-haired girl, she entered the gate right at that moment. Spotting Hilbert, she jogged over.



“Hey, Hilbert!” she said. “You remember that promise you made? Ready to battle?”



“Are we really doing this in here?” Hilbert asked. “Don't you remember what we did to my room?”



“Well, yeah, but that was when we were all new to being Trainers!” Bianca replied perkily. “Now, we have Badges to our names, so we probably won't trash the place.” She spotted the gate's attendant standing behind a desk at the entrance. “I'll just go ask that lady if we can, just to be sure, though. Be right back!”



Bianca ran down the length of the hall, talking to the woman behind the desk. Hilbert couldn't hear what Bianca was asking due to the distance, and a minute later, Bianca ran back over to him.



“She says as long as we don't break the electronic screen, we should be fine,” Bianca said. “Oh, and no attacks can hit any pedestrians, either.” She gestured to the dozens of people walking around them.



“Maybe we should do this against the side wall, then,” Hilbert suggested. “I'll take the back end, you take the front?”



“Sure,” Bianca said.



They each took sides on opposite ends of the right wall. “You ready, Hilbert!?” Bianca called. “This is the new-and-improved version of me! Go, Pepper!”



Bianca tossed out her newly-evolved Herdier; Hilbert, deciding to be nice, and give her a fighting chance, sent out Makue.



“Start off with Bite!” Bianca called.



“Go for Fire Fang!” Hilbert commanded.



Both Pokémon ran for each other, fangs bared. However, due to Herdier's slightly higher base speed and body built more for running, it got to its target first. Pepper bit down on Makue, doing a sizable chunk of damage. The Zen Charm Pokémon cried out in pain.



Before Hilbert could think to order a counterattack, Herdier had already backed off, out of range.

Damn your low defence stat, Makue, Hilbert thought. The day when you evolve can't come soon enough.



“Keep after it! Facade!”



Given how most of Makue's moves were 70 power with or without STAB, it really didn't matter what he had her attack with. Makue's body became surrounded in an orange glow, and she ran for Herdier, slamming into her. Herdier was knocked back some distance.



Normally, according to the Pokédex, Facade was a glorified Tackle with higher base power. However, when a Pokémon inflicted with a status condition, like poison, used it, its base power doubled. Hilbert didn't think Bianca had any moves capable of inflicting status on her team, though.



By now, several bystanders had gathered to watch the battle, further cutting down on the amount of space Hilbert and Bianca had to fight in.



“Uh... you people might want to back up,” Hilbert said. “This could get crazy.”



For her part, Bianca did not seem to care. “Pepper, Take Down!”



Bianca's Loyal Dog Pokémon raced for Makue, Hilbert barely having enough time to shout for her to dodge. He was then forced to turn to the side as well, to avoid Pepper colliding with him and breaking his shins.



Pepper, surprisingly, turned on a dime, racing back for Makue. Hilbert pressed himself against the wall to keep from being hit yet again, yelling, “Makue, Fire Fang!”



Just as Pepper was about to slam into Makue, she cloaked her teeth in flames, and ran at the Herdier, chomping down on her face. The Loyal Dog Pokémon cried out in pain, the Fire-type attack taking its toll.



Pepper quickly shook Makue off her, the Zen Charm Pokémon landing near the crowd of onlookers. Some of them cried out, backing away. Makue got right back to her stubby feet, jumping back into the fray.



“Atta girl, Makue! Headbutt!” Hilbert shouted.



Makue ran towards Pepper, slamming her forehead into the opposing Pokémon. Pepper went down with a cry, unconscious. The people surrounding the battle applauded, while Bianca returned Pepper to her Poké Ball, her eyes hardening.



It's alright, Bianca, the girl thought to herself. Just remember Iris's training. What would be the best Pokémon to send out in this situation? After a few more seconds of deliberation, she made her choice.



“Go, Musha!” She tossed out her Munna's Poké Ball. In a flash of light, the pink Dream Eater Pokémon appeared.



“Shut that thing down, Musha! Yawn!” Bianca commanded. A white cloud with a kaleidoscope-like effect appeared around Munna's face, which then shot towards Makue. It blew in her face like a strong wind, but other than that, it seemed to do nothing.



Okay... Hilbert thought, blinking incredulously, Attacking now.



“Makue, Fire Fang!” he called.



The Darumaka, however, only responded by drunkenly swaying on its feet, falling dead asleep a second later.



“What the hell?” Hilbert cried. “Makue, wake up!”



“Yes!” Bianca cheered. “Now's our chance! Musha, Psybeam, now!”



Musha closed its eyes, gathering energy at its forehead. It then shot a rainbow-coloured beam at Makue, hitting her dead-on. Still, Makue didn't stir, even as she was hit again. This time, the attack proved too much, and it knocked her out.



Damn, Hilbert thought. He quickly threw out Logan, knowing he had to bring down the Munna quickly



“Bite, Logan!”



Logan ran for Munna. The Dream Eater Pokémon tried to dodge, but due to its sluggish speed compared to the Herdier, it was hit with the super-effective attack, Logan having to jump to reach the hovering Pokémon.



“Musha!” Bianca shouted. “Psybeam, now!”



Ignoring the pain as best it could, Musha again gathered energy at its forehead.


“Get outta there, Logan! Now!” Hilbert yelled, but it was too late. The point-blank beam of psychic power blasted Logan right off of Musha, sending him flying backwards. He landed at his Trainer's feet, but got back up, growling. Without a command from Hilbert, he dashed off towards the Munna, eager for revenge.



“Yawn!” Bianca yelled.



The kaleidoscope-cloud formed around Musha, then flew toward Logan.



“Dodge it!” Hilbert yelled.



Logan quickly jumped to the side as the cloud sped towards him. He slammed into the wall on the right, but recovered quickly, jumping and chomping down on Musha. Not about to fall for the same thing twice, he released his hold after a second, hopping down. He dodged a Psybeam at Hilbert's command, and successfully landed another super-effective Bite.



By now, Munna was clearly on its last bits of health. It was hovering weakly in the air, letting out occasional whines of pain. It seemed like it could only take one more Bite attack before fainting. However, Bianca had a trick up her sleeve.



“Moonlight!” she called.



Munna closed its eyes, the image of a full moon appearing around it. The crowd gasped in awe. Munna then began to glow. Hilbert realized what was happening in a second. It was healing itself!



“Logan, Bite! Now! Stop that thing!” he shouted.



Logan dashed for Munna, jumping and biting down on its face. Even with the amount of health it had recovered, the super-effective attack was too much for the Dream Eater Pokémon. It fell to the ground, fainted.



Now down to only two Pokémon, Bianca was forced to throw out her starter after recalling Musha. “Go, Taroko!” In a flash, Pignite appeared.



Pignite was orange and brown, pig-like Pokémon. However, it, unlike, Tepig, was bipedal, unlike Tepig's quadrupedal form. There was a large brown marking on its chubby torso that did not look dissimilar to a wrestler's leotard, which was further compounded by its brown hands that made it look like it was wearing gloves. Its ears were straight and pointed up, while its tail was curly, with a furry tip.



“You changed its name?” Hilbert said. “How? I thought once you gave a Pokémon its nickname, it was stuck with it for life.”



“Oh, funny thing about that,” Bianca said. “There's a guy called the Name Rater in this city. He can legally change the nickname of your Pokémon for free! How cool is that?”



“Huh, good to know,” Hilbert said. “Anyways, Logan, Leer, then Take Down!”



Logan's eyes glowed red, freezing Pignite in place. He then raced for it, slamming into the opposing Pokémon. The attack did a fair bit of damage, knocking Pignite back. Hilbert knew he had to fight carefully, as one Fighting-type attack from Pignite could easily KO Logan. Use of Leer would be essential.



Bianca went right for the jugular. “Taroko, Arm Thrust!”



Pignite ran at Logan, pulling back its fist as it prepared to strike.



“Logan, Leer, now!” Hilbert yelled.



“Taroko, look away!” Bianca yelled.



“Wha-!?” Hilbert exclaimed as Pignite closed its eyes while continuing to run, avoiding Logan's piercing gaze. Grabbing hold of Logan with one hand, it then delivered a punishing series of two open-palmed hits, then finished with a brutal punch, the last strike sending Logan flying away to land hard.



Incredibly, Logan somehow got up, though he looked like he was on his last legs, with only a sliver of health remaining.



“Finish it with Flame Charge!” Bianca yelled.



“Take Down!” Hilbert yelled at Logan.



Pignite became surrounded by fire, beginning another run at Logan as the Loyal Dog Pokémon did the same thing. The two Pokémon smashed into each other headfirst, but Pignite's flame-assisted momentum was the winner, knocking Logan out. However, he did do a fair bit of damage to the Fire Pig Pokémon with his final attack.



A yellow-orange glow surrounded Pignite for a second, indicating that a stat- likely speed or special attack- had gone up by one stage.



“Come back, Logan. You did great,” Hilbert said. However, he knew he was slowly getting backed into a corner by Bianca. Due to the stat increase that Flame Charge had given Pignite, it was unlikely that Maru could beat it, even with the type advantage. Left with no choice, he sent out Sensei. The Karate Pokémon appeared in a flash of light as Hilbert threw him out.



“Sensei, Double Kick!” he yelled.



“Taroko, Flame Charge!” Bianca commanded.



Both Pokémon charged for each other, but the Sawk's better speed won out, and he got to his target first. He spun on his heel, giving Pignite a devastating kick, sending it flying into the wall, denting it. Sensei followed that up by walking calmly over to his opponent, who was still getting up, and smashing his foot right into Pignite's face, stopping any chance of the Fire Pig Pokémon continuing to fight.



“Taroko!” Bianca yelled, shocked at the Sawk's brutishness. “Come back, now!”



She locked eyes with Hilbert, fire burning in hers. “You'll pay for that, Hilbert!” she said. “Go, Fune!” She threw out her Pansage, who growled at Sensei in a weak attempt at intimidation.



“Fune, Vine Whip!” Bianca said.



Pansage grew a long, thin vine out of its arm and dashed for its enemy.



Wait for it... Hilbert thought. As the Pansage raised its arm to strike, he yelled, “Leer, then Double Kick!”



Unfortunately for Bianca, it was too late to tell Pansage to look away. Sensei's eyes glowed red, freezing the Grass Monkey Pokémon in place. Moving fast, the Sawk closed the distance between himself and Pansage, kicking it in the face. One more kick after that, and it was over. The crowd applauded, pleased at the showing.



“Well done, Sensei!” Hilbert said. The blue Pokémon turned his Trainer and bowed, Hilbert recalling him.



“B-but... even with Iris's training...” Bianca whimpered, recalling Pansage. Hilbert walked up to her, taking his Trainer Card out of his jacket pocket. Bianca forced herself to swallow her disappointment, taking out her Trainer Card as well.



“Well, that was a good battle!” she said with obviously-forced enthusiasm, tapping cards with him. “I kinda was backing you into a corner there, wasn't I?”



“Don't be too sure,” Hilbert said, chuckling a bit. “If I was using my Sawk the whole time, I might've just swept your team. Only thing I'd have to worry about in that case is your Munna, and even then, some careful use of Leer would be all that I'd need.”



“Oh...” Bianca said. “So, you were going easy on me?”



“Kinda, yeah,” Hilbert said. “Sorry.”



“It's fine,” Bianca said. “I don't think I'll ever as strong as you or Cheren or Iris, but ever since we left Nuvema Town, I've met people and saw things and had experiences I never would have if I'd never set out on this journey...”



I like your optimism, Hilbert thought sarcastically, thinking of how most of the experiences he'd had so far had been bad ones.



“Anyways, it's got me thinking...” Bianca continued.



“About what?” Hilbert asked.



“What I want to, well, do,” Bianca said. “Like, with my life. There's plenty to do that doesn't involve being a Trainer and battling with them, right? So... so maybe if I completely flunk out and end up being a lost cause as a Trainer, I could find something else to do. For now, though, I'll keep going. Ya never know, right?”



“That's actually a really great outlook to have, Bianca,” Hilbert said. He gave her a sort of half-smile. “Not everyone's cut out to be a Trainer. Hell, I don't even know why some people are so skilled and others aren't. But like you said, you never know. I think it's a good idea to keep going with this adventure. You'll find your calling. Whatever it is.”



“Yeah,” Bianca said. “Just... promise me one thing.”



“What is it?” Hilbert asked.



“That next time we battle, you won't hold back,” Bianca said, her eyes turning determined. “You'll fight me with everything you've got! Okay?”



“Alright, but when that happens, just know you asked for it,” Hilbert said.



Bianca nodded. “Okay. I should get going. I need to get to a Pokémon Center to heal my Pokémon now. See you around.”



“Later.”



With that, Bianca turned around and made her way out of the gate, the crowd muttering excitedly among themselves as they dispersed.



Not feeling like trekking back through the entire city to heal his Pokémon, Hilbert instead used three of his five Super Potions to heal his downed team members. When he did this, the Pokédex in his pocket chirped. Taking it out, he looked at his Pokémon's experience bars. Makue's bar was a little under a quarter of the way full, Scrapper had gained a level and then some in terms of experience. Maru's bar sat right where it was before, considering he hadn't used him. Logan was now three-quarters of the way to a level-up, and Sensei was now halfway there. Putting his Dex away, he then exited the gate, heading out into the Castelia City suburbs.



Luckily, there was a water fountain just outside the gate. Remembering his mental note, Hilbert took his water bottle out of his bag and filled it to the brim, capping it.



Walking among the rows of nearly identical houses in the increasingly-arid environment felt alien. The suburbs of Striaton were one thing, but this was like stepping onto another planet, one comprised entirely of houses and concrete roads. It was hard not to get lost in the maze of streets, but he tried to go off of the memory of yesterday, during his cab ride through it all.



Evidently, though, memory proved unreliable, and soon he found himself lost. Worse yet, the houses where he was looked much shabbier, meaning he had probably stumbled into a rougher part of the suburbs without meaning to.



Shit, he thought. This meant that knocking on someone's door to ask for directions was almost certainly out of the question, as he didn't know what types of shady characters lived in these houses, and he had no desire to find out.



As it turned out, however, he didn't have to go to the shady characters at all.



“Hey, you!” A voice from behind him yelled.



Hilbert turned around, seeing several men in dark jackets- likely a gang- heading his way. “Oh, double shit,” he breathed.



Seeing no way to avoid a confrontation, as they likely knew the area better than he did, so running was futile. Resigning himself to his fate, he began to walk towards them. When both parties were about fifteen feet away from each other, they stopped.



One of the gang members stepped forward. He was particularly muscular, with a bald head and surly expression on his face. “What are you doin' on our turf, kid?” he snapped at Hilbert.



Hilbert bit down a snarky remark, reminding himself that it was not a good idea to antagonize the guy who looked like he could snap you like a twig. Instead, he shrugged. “I didn't know I was on it. I'm uh, kinda new to this place, so if you'd tell me how to get to Route 4, I'll be on my way.”



Another of the gang members spoke up. “Ah, fresh meat, huh? I say we beat him up the physical way, boss. Forget using Pokémon, let's tear him apart with our bare hands! See what kind of stuff he has on him.”



Triple shit, Hilbert thought, taking Maru's and Sensei's Poke Balls off his belt. He swallowed thickly, trying to sound brave as he said, “I-I'm not looking for a fight! I just want to know how to get to Route 4!”



The muscular man pulled a Poké Ball off his belt, ignoring Hilbert. “As much as I like the sound of that idea, on paper, Silvester, I think it'll be more fun to take out his Pokémon first, then beat him up. I get first swing, though. At his Pokémon and him!”



He threw out his Poké Ball. It opened to reveal a Sandile.



“What the hell is wrong with you people!?” Hilbert shouted, throwing out Maru. “You're worse than those fucking Team Plasma assholes!”



“Maybe we are,” the gang leader said. “But look on the bright side, kid: At least we'll let you keep your Pokémon- in your casket, that is! Sandile, Assurance!”



“Maru, Razor Shell!” Hilbert yelled.



Both Pokémon ran at each other, Maru taking the seashells off his thighs, slashing at the Desert Croc Pokémon that attempted to hit him with its tail. Just like all the other times Maru had fought Sandile, one Mystic Water-boosted Water-type attack was all it took. Sandile never had a chance, and was knocked out in one hit.



“What the hell!?” The gang leader exclaimed in shock. He recalled his Sandile to its Poké Ball. “How!? Even with STAB, that shouldn't have been a one-hit KO!”



Hilbert couldn't help but smirk. “Mystic Water.”



The gang leader's face was turning red with anger. “All of you, stay back,” he warned his men, advancing forward. “I'll strangle the life outta this kid personally.”



Hilbert gulped as the man broke into a run right at him. He braced himself as the gang leader reared his fist back, ready to punch, but no strike came. There was just a sudden slicing sound, and the man's screams a second later.



It took Hilbert a second to register what had happened. Maru was standing in front of him, in a fighting pose and hissing, one of his seashells dripping blood.



But... Pokémon don't have blood, he thought. So that means... He looked at the ground in front of the gang leader, and wanted to be sick. There on the pavement, was a severed hand.



“Ahh! Agh! My hand!” The gang leader yelled, clutching at the stump on the end of his left arm. “You... fucking... bastard!” He took a few stumbling steps backward. “Next time we meet, kid... I'll hang you with your own intestines!”



The gang then ran off, the other members helping the leader away.



Breathing heavily and shaking from fear, Hilbert squatted down to Maru's level. “Thanks, buddy. If you hadn't done that...”



Maru only gave him a solemn, affirmative nod, as if to say, It had to be done.



“I think we should get outta here, though, before someone sees that on the ground,” Hilbert said, returning Maru to his Poké Ball. Just looking at the hand on the ground, blood still seeping out of where the the wrist should have been, made him want to throw up. Kicking his shoes into action, he ran away as fast as he could.



He continued on through the sea of houses, and just like with the cab ride, he noticed that sand was beginning to replace grass on people's front lawns the more north he went. The wind was starting to pick up, as well, blowing the gritty substance everywhere. Eventually, the ocean of houses started to thin, giving way to a vast desert with nothing but sand as far as the eye could see. The single highway with walking paths on either side cut right through the middle.



“Well... here we go,” Hilbert said, taking his first steps onto the walking path. Being alone in the huge sandy landscape with nothing but his own thoughts and the constant sound of the wind to keep him company, he allowed himself to be consumed by what he was thinking.



Second time, he thought. That's the second time in less than a month I've had my life threatened. Is this similar to what the Legendary Trainers had to go through? And how many more times will it happen? I hope never again... for my own sanity's sake.



He got his water bottle out of his bag, taking a long drink. The heat wasn't unbearable- it was only nearing the end of March- but it was still there, making sweat form on his brow and armpits. After two or three hours more of walking and many more gulps of water, he started to see what looked liked the outlines of tall buildings and canyon walls on the horizon.



I couldn't have made it already, right? he thought. As he got closer, it turned out that no, he had not. The buildings were still under construction, and likely still would be for quite some time due to the sandstorm, just empty husks standing in silent watch over northern Route 4.



However, as he entered the eerily silent construction site, he saw someone he most definitely recognized amongst the strange landscape. He groaned out loud when he saw it was Cheren. The bespectacled, raven-haired teen had two of his Pokémon out of their Poke Balls, engaged in mock battle. To Hilbert's shock, he saw Cheren's Snivy and Purrloin had evolved into Servine and Liepard, respectively.



Servine was similar to Snivy, but had smaller limbs and looked more regal. It had kept its cream underbelly and green topside colouring, but now a yellow V-shaped crest grew out of its chest, extending behind its shoulders. Three big leaves grew along its back and tail.



Liepard, on the other hand, could not have been more different to its pre-evolution. It was more leopard than housecat-like, with a predatory, slender body, speckled with yellow splotches. Its tail end was curved in a sickle-like fashion.



As Hilbert got closer, Cheren recalled his Pokémon, stretched his arms above his head, and turned around, seeing his former friend. Frankly, he now considered Hilbert more of an obstacle- the wall he had to hurdle if he wanted to prove he was the best. A sinister smirk played at the edges of his lips. Well, there's no time like the present, is there? he thought.



He walked up to Hilbert as the other boy approached him, seemingly lost in his thoughts. “Well, look what the desert coughed up!” He said in a boastful manner. “You got the Insect Badge, right? I say it's high time we had another battle, see who's stronger.”



Hilbert simply walked past him in silence.



“Hey!” Cheren yelled. “What are you, deaf!? That was basically an open challenge to battle! Where are you going!?”



Hilbert stopped, and turned around. Cheren's expression of scorn turned into a scrutinizing one at the hollowness in Hilbert's brown eyes. “Not now, Cheren,” he said flatly. “I'm not in the mood.”



For a moment, Cheren almost let Hilbert go. Then he growled, throwing a Poké Ball past Hilbert's face. It opened ahead of him, revealing Cheren's Pidove, Interceptor. The Tiny Pigeon Pokémon spread its wings, trying to appear bigger than it was and block his path.



“And who says I'm giving you a choice?” Cheren said. “We're battling, Hilbert, whether you like it or not.”



Hilbert turned his head to look at Cheren. His hand slowly reached down to his belt, pulling a Poké Ball off it. Cheren called Interceptor back to his side as Hilbert enlarged the Ball.



“Fine,” Hilbert said. His next words dripped with venom. “But only because you asked so nicely. Go, Sensei!”



The lean, blue Karate Pokémon appeared in a flash of light. It took a fighting stance as Pidove puffed out its chest.



“Interceptor, Quick Attack!” Cheren said.



“Sensei, Leer, then Double Kick!” Hilbert yelled.



Pidove flapped its wings and took to the air, flying at Sawk. The blue Pokémon's eyes simply glowed red, freezing the Tiny Pigeon Pokémon in place and causing it to plummet to the ground.



Sensei then sprung into action, running at the falling Pidove. “Snap out of it, Interceptor! Try and dodge!” Cheren yelled.



It was too late. Sawk ran into range of the falling Pidove, smashing his feet into into it, one after the other in quick succession. Interceptor was sent flying backwards, landing hard. Due to its secondary Flying-type, the Fighting-type Double Kick had only dealt neutral damage, but the hit had easily sheared off at least half its health.



Letting out a pained coo, Interceptor got up, shaking its head. Gritting his teeth, Cheren yelled, “Interceptor, Air Slash!”



Pidove's wings glowed blue, and it slashed them downwards, sending several visible crescent-shaped blades of air at Sensei.



“Dodge them, Sensei!” Hilbert cried.



Sawk ducked, dodged, and weaved, but was hit by one of the air-blades. The super-effective hit did a number on him, but not enough to knock him out.



“Leer!” Hilbert commanded. Sensei's eyes glowed red, once again freezing Pidove in place with his gaze. “Now Double Kick!”



The Karate Pokémon ran at Pidove, kicking it twice and knocking it out.



Cheren recalled his Tiny Pigeon Pokémon, grabbing his next Poké Ball off his belt. “Go, Allizel!”



In a flash, the blue-and-cream Spray Pokémon appeared. Panpour looked very similar to the Pansage that Cilan had used, save for, again, its colouring and the growth on its head, which, in Panpour's case, looked like a splash created by dropping a heavy stone into a lake.



Cheren didn't waste any time in attacking. “Allizel, Water Gun!”



Panpour shot a high-pressure stream of water out of its mouth at the Sawk, too fast to dodge. The Karate Pokémon was hit dead-on, knocking him backwards.



“Use Leer, then Focus Energy!” Hilbert said.



Sensei's eyes glowed red, freezing the Panpour in place. He then closed his eyes, concentrating. A yellow glow surrounded him for a few seconds, then faded away.



“Double Kick! Dodge whatever it throws at you!” Hilbert yelled.



Oh, no, I am not losing to that Focus Energy trick twice, Cheren thought. “Meet it with Fury Swipes!”



Both Sawk and Panpour ran at each other, but Sawk had the speed and reach advantage, lashing out first, striking the Spray Pokémon. As it turned out, a critical hit wasn't even needed. Panpour's defence stat was so low, one Double Kick was enough to knock it out.



“Dammit!” Cheren yelled. He returned his Panpour, snatching up another Poké Ball. “Interloper, get out there!”



Cheren's Liepard materialized onto the sandy terrain. “Pursuit!”



Liepard, its tail flicking, ran at Sensei. “Wait for it...” Hilbert muttered to himself. “Now, Double Kick!”



Sensei lashed out with his leg, catching the Cruel Pokémon in the jaw. Due to Focus Energy, the first hit was critical, knocking the Liepard out before it had even hit the ground.



Cheren's face was growing red, though from anger or embarrassment, Hilbert didn't know, nor did he really care.



Fuck you, Hilbert, Cheren thought murderously. Recalling his Liepard, he sent out his last Pokémon- his newly-evolved Servine. “Tara, you know what to do! Take that thing out!”



Insane determination lacing his voice, Cheren ordered Servine to use Leaf Tornado.



Servine quickly spun around and around, creating a whirlwind that gathered sand and small bits of debris alike, then shot it at Sensei by cracking its body like a whip.



The attack caught the Karate Pokémon off guard, spinning him around in it and battering him all at once. The attack quickly drained away the last of his health. Sawk fell to his knees, fainting.



“Come back, Sensei,” Hilbert said, recalling him to his Poké Ball. Picking the obvious choice against a Grass-type, he sent out Makue.



Even in the face of almost certain defeat, Cheren was not willing to fold. “Tara, Growth, and then Wrap!”



“Makue, Fire Fang!” Hilbert yelled.



Servine became surrounded in a green glow, which quickly turned reddish-orange as Makue cloaked her fangs in flame, racing for the Grass Snake Pokémon. Servine was faster though, growing vines out of its stubby arms and entangling the Zen Charm Pokémon in them, starting to squeeze.



Makue cried out in pain, and in desperation, she bit down on the vines with her still fire-covered teeth. The vines holding her immediately caught fire, the flames spreading and licking at Servine's body. It shrieked in fear, letting Makue go.



“Headbutt while it's open!” Hilbert yelled.



Makue slammed the top of her head into Servine, sending it stumbling back. However, Servine then began to glow, indicating its health had been restored by an item.



“Huh!?” Hilbert grunted in surprise as Servine got up.



“Ha ha, I knew that Sitrus Berry I found would come in handy,” Cheren said.



Damn, Hilbert thought. This... complicates things a bit. Gonna have to get in one more attack now.



“Makue, use Headbutt!”



Makue slammed the top of her head into Servine, sending it reeling back.



“Now Fire Fang! Finish this!”



Servine was helpless to do anything as Makue chomped down on it with flaming teeth. The super-effective attack, delivered by Makue's high attack stat, was just enough to get the job done. Crying out in pain, Servine collapsed.



“What!?” Cheren exclaimed. “How!? Why can't I win!? That's the third time I've lost to you!” He recalled his starter to its Poké Ball. Stalking up to Hilbert, he tapped Trainer Cards with him.



“Maybe it's because you're so damn arrogant!” Hilbert yelled. “You always rush in, expecting to win just 'cause you're farther down a Route than me. Newsflash for ya: It doesn't matter where you're standing or what you say when you can't put your money where your mouth is.”



He sighed. “What happened to you, Cheren? Ever since we started- no, even before that- you've been acting like a douche. You act like you're so hard done by when all you can't do is beat me; meanwhile I've had my arm sliced open, nearly got taken captive by Team Plasma, and threatened by gang members! So shut the fuck up about “being the strongest!” It's not just about that! And if you can't see past that, then stay out of my way.”



Throughout Hilbert's speech, Cheren's eyes grew more and more wide. “Come on,” he said finally. “We've still got a ways to go to get to Nimbasa, and it'll get dark soon.”



The boys walked side by side in silence, Cheren's hands shoved in his pockets, thinking. They kept going through the abandoned construction site, the unfinished buildings staring down at them. The sun kept getting lower on the horizon, worrying them, though neither spoke up. Camping out in the open on a Route was tantamount to suicide with all the wild Pokémon roaming around.



It was Cheren who spotted their salvation. “Look, over there,” he said.



Hilbert followed where he was pointing, and saw a small shack. “That must have been a rest house for workers,” he said. “I say we use it as shelter for tonight.”



They ran towards it, Hilbert of course getting there first because of his shoes. The inside was fairly plain, with a desk along the back wall, and bunk beds to the right.



“Not much, but it'll do,” Hilbert said.



“Top bunk's mine,” Cheren said.



Hilbert just rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”



With the sun now on its last legs, they got into their respective beds, but Hilbert couldn't resist one last snarky jab. “'Night, friend.”



The only reply he got was a snort and a growl from the top bunk.

 

I Never Wanted to be The Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 15: Backtracking​

​

The first thing that Hilbert felt when he awoke was hunger. Painful, all-consuming hunger. With a groan, he realized he had not eaten anything since breakfast the previous day, when he'd challenged Burgh, and now he was paying the price, his stomach crying out for food. He got out of the bed, feeling sweat clinging to his body, making his clothes stick to his skin. Evidently, it hadn't been air-conditioned in the rest house, so not only was he hungry, he was a walking mass of body odor.



He checked his bag for some food, in the off chance he had any, but found nothing. “Just friggin' great...” he muttered. Checking the top bunk to see if Cheren was still there, Hilbert saw he was, still lightly snoozing away.



Lazy bastard, he thought. Just then, the Cross-Transceiver started to ring, startling Hilbert for the second time in as many days. Cheren awoke with a surprised yell. He almost fell out of the top bunk, but caught himself at the last second.



“What's happening?” he asked, still half-asleep.



“Cross-Transceiver call, obviously,” Hilbert said. “Now get your lazy ass up and answer it.”



Pressing the 'accept call' button, Hilbert answered the ringing device, Cheren doing the same seconds later. To both their surprises, someone they hadn't seen in weeks was the one calling.



“Hello, you two sleepyheads!” Professor Juniper said cheerfully as her face appeared on the Cross-Transceiver's screen. “Did you have a good rest?”



“I've had better,” Cheren groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “What is it? Do you need something?”



“Yes, actually. I want you to meet me at the gate to Nimbasa City,” Juniper said. “How close are you two to it?”



“Not the farthest we could be, but not close, either,” Hilbert said. “I'm not sure how long you're gonna be waiting. We'll do our best to get there quick, though.”



Finally climbing down from the top bunk, Cheren asked, “What is this about anyway? And... wait a minute... how'd you get to the Nimbasa City gate so fast?”



“I have my ways, Cheren,” Juniper said. “Now, have either of you seen Bianca? I called her, but she didn't pick up.”



“She probably didn't answer 'cause it's so early,” Hilbert said. “I had a battle with her yesterday, though, if knowing that's any consolation.”



“Alright,” Juniper said. “Just get here as soon as you can.”



Before either boy could say anything else, she terminated the connection, ending the call.



“Well, let's not waste any time,” Cheren said, slinging his backpack's straps over his shoulders. Hilbert slung his messenger bag's strap over his chest.



The two ventured out into the morning sun of the desert construction site. The heat hit them like a wall. Hilbert took off his cap, using it to fan himself. “Just great...” he grumbled. “On top of starving, now I gotta deal with this damn heat.”



“Didn't eat much yesterday, I take it?” Cheren asked. He put his hand above his eyes to shield them from the sun's rays.



“No, I didn't,” Hilbert said. “There's no food in my bag, either. Unless you happen to have something..?”



“Nope. Ate it all yesterday trekking through that desert,” Cheren said.



Hilbert just groaned as his stomach rumbled.



“Relax, Nimbasa's just a couple kilometres away,” Cheren said. “I'm sure you can hold out until then.”



“I hope,” Hilbert groaned.



They set off into the construction site, heading north to Nimbasa. There really wasn't much to write home about for the rest of the journey. Hilbert's growling stomach got increasingly louder, his moans of hunger getting more frequent. The road through the northern part of Route 4, at least, was well-kept, with sand swept off to the sides, not unlike snow.



Before too long, the half-finished buildings gave way to canyon walls, and after that, the gate to Nimbasa City was in view. Hilbert spotted another path leading west, but decided he would check that out later, after he got some food in his belly. Nestled in between the high canyon walls, was the gate. The walls had been widened to allow a four-lane highway beside the gate. Grateful to get someplace air-conditioned, both boys let out sighs of relief as they walked into it.



Juniper was sitting on one of the chairs off to the side, but stood up as she saw Hilbert and Cheren enter the building. She walked over to them. “Ah, there you two are!” she said. “I knew you wouldn't-” She stopped talking as she took a whiff of the air. “Wow, PU! I guess hygiene goes out the window in the desert, doesn't it? You both smell awful!”



“I need food,” Hilbert moaned, rubbing his stomach.



“What you both need are showers,” Juniper said. “Luckily for you, there are showers in this gate, and you just wrote the book on why.” She pointed to her left, towards a doorway marked with the symbols of a showerhead and an arrow on either side.



“What does this have to do with your call earlier, Professor?” Cheren said.



One track mind as always, I see, Juniper thought, nearly rolling her eyes. “Well, Elesa called me and asked me what new Electric-types she should add to her team. The best advice I could give her, though, is to pick either the Joltik line or the Tynamo line. Electric-types are kind of few and far between in Unova, I'm afraid. However, that did remind me of you guys. Since you're still working on your Pokedexes- I hope- I decided to give you these as help!”



Juniper took the large backpack she was wearing off her shoulder, set it on the floor, and opened it. She rummaged around in it for a second, before pulling out two boxes, which, when opened, revealed they were filled with Ultra Balls- ten each, to be exact.



While Cheren accepted the gift politely, Hilbert nearly groaned out loud, a dismayed expression appearing on his face.



“Something wrong, Hilbert?” Juniper said. “Having Poke Balls on you at all times is very important. After all, if you see a rare Pokémon, and don't have any Poke Balls to catch it with, you'll be kicking yourself. Trust me, I've been there before.”



“It's not that, Professor,” Hilbert said weakly. “It's just... I feel gross, I need a shower, like you said, and most all, I need to eat. I didn't have anything except breakfast yesterday. So... if you have any food in that bag, that'd be great.”



“I might have a sandwich or two in here, let me check,” Juniper said, once again looking inside her bag. She pulled out a slightly-squashed looking sandwich in a plastic bag. “I think this is PB&J. You might have to just taste it and see.”



Hilbert took the bag from her, opened it, and chowed down while making ravenous noises. He finished the sandwich in the span of two minutes, taking huge bites, much to the disgust of Cheren and Juniper.



“Okay...” Juniper said. “Well, that was... charming...” Her face then turned a bit more serious. “Now, about where to use those Ultra Balls I gave you, the best place to use them around here is the Desert Resort, just to the southwest of here. You can find all kinds of Pokémon there that can't be encountered anywhere else in Unova. So, if you need a new member for your teams, you just might find it there.”



Noted, Cheren thought. He had been extremely dissatisfied with the performance of his Liepard, so a replacement team member just might be what the doctor ordered.



“Now,” Juniper continued, “Just because I said all that, and this might seem strange coming from me, is don't forget to experience Unova to its fullest. There's a lot to see and do in this region, so take part in as much of it as you possibly can. In other words, just... enjoy the journey.”



At those words, Hilbert let out a short, harsh bark of laughter.



“Is there something funny with what I just said, Hilbert?” Juniper asked.



“'Enjoy the journey'? You're kidding me, right?” Hilbert snapped. “Because judging from what I've gone through so far, it's been decidedly less than enjoyable. In fact, let's go down the list, shall we? In order, I've had my arm sliced open and gotten stitches, been used as a damn hostage by a criminal organization, and, just yesterday, had my life threatened by a gang! And you're telling me to 'enjoy the journey!?'”



Juniper could only look on in shock as Hilbert stormed past her, ignoring the looks that several bystanders were giving him. He turned around, not able to resist getting in one last harsh jab. “You'll forgive me if I'm finding what's turning out to be a trek through hell a bit hard to enjoy.”



With that, he stalked out of the gate, leaving a wide-eyed Juniper and Cheren in his wake.



“What..?” Juniper eventually managed to force out. She turned to Cheren. “Was all of that true?”



“As far as I know, yes, sadly,” Cheren said. “He told- well, actually, yelled at me- about it yesterday. It was just after our battle-”



“Wait,” Juniper interrupted in quiet shock. “You fought him?”



“Yeah, it wasn't the first time, either,” Cheren replied. “I've challenged him like... three times now, but I've lost every time. He's good, I'll give him that, but I'll get better and beat him someday.”



Now so utterly aghast she was at a loss for words, Juniper was only able to force out a quiet, “I think I'll go to Castelia and look for Bianca in person. I'll see you around, Cheren.”



Cheren watched her go with a perplexed look on his face, then shrugged and walked off to the side. He had a shower to take.



As soon as Juniper was out of the gate, she pulled out a Poké Ball, and released her Braviary, getting on it and flying away. As the wind caressed her face and the scenery passed by far below her, she lost herself in her thoughts. I hope you realized what you got these kids into when you asked me to give them Pokémon, Julia, she thought, referring to Hilbert's mother. Maybe this wasn't the best idea.



The warm water of the shower poured down on Hilbert's head, washing away the sand that had become trapped in his hair on his trek through the desert. He helped himself to his third application of shampoo, rubbing it onto his scalp and letting the water get rid of the lather. He shut off the water, and stepped out of the shower, walking into the bathroom of his room in the Nimbasa City Pokémon Center.



Nimbasa City, as far as he could see, put far more effort into entertainment than Castelia. That wasn't to say there wasn't plenty to do in Castelia- he was sure he hadn't even scratched the surface of that place before leaving- but Nimbasa seemed to have more in the way of activities. There were movie theaters, a massive amusement park off to the east, hell, he'd even passed a few strip clubs on his way to the Pokémon Center. There were also several sports stadiums to the north, and a place called the Battle Subway, though Hilbert wasn't sure he ever go there.



As he got changed into his still-filthy clothes and walked to the dry-cleaning floor, he thought of the way he had snapped at Juniper. Sure, lashing out like he had was a dick move, but then again, he figured he had a right to be angry after going through all he had. Juniper's irritating persistence to get him to work on the Pokédex (which he had previously stated he wouldn't), his mood, and her sheer... naivete, had all unleashed the flood gates. Besides that, he really didn't regret doing so.



After washing his clothes yet again and getting proper breakfast, he exited the Pokémon Center. He looked down at his belt, noticing the empty space where a sixth Poké Ball was supposed to go. Remembering what Juniper had said about the Desert Resort earlier, he looked south. Is it even worth it? He thought. Should I go on? Then he reasoned with himself that he really didn't have much of a choice. What would he do if he went back to Nuvema? Live with his mother for the rest of his life? No, this journey was the chance to make something of himself- for everyone to make something of themselves.



However, he then remembered something. It was time to get his stitches removed. It had been more than ten days since he'd gotten them, and taking off his jacket and removing the bandages, he was relieved to see there was no sign of infection. Still, he couldn't put off getting them taken out any longer. With an sigh of annoyance, he went back into the Center.



Getting the stitches taken out wasn't a long process, but it was somewhat painful. However, due to his procrastination in getting them out, he was left with an ugly crisscrossing scar on his arm. A railroad-track scar, the doctors had said. Hilbert could only curse his own forgetfulness.



Now ready to move on, or rather backtrack, he headed out of Nimbasa, re-entering Route 4. This time, he took the path through the canyon to the west, trekking through unpaved paths that were nothing but sand. Soon, he came across another gate nestled between the rock walls, with a sign out front.



'Desert Resort ahead.' The text on the sign read. 'It's nicer than your average desert!'



“Well, this is the place,” Hilbert said to himself. “Nothing left to do but go in.” He walked through the gate, and entered into the seaside desert plains.



Nicer than your average desert. Hilbert thought. He didn't dare part his lips lest he get a mouthful of sand. NICER THAN YOUR AVERGE DESERT. My fuckin' ass it is!



In a word, the Desert Resort sucked. Or rather, in Hilbert's opinion, it blew, just like the constant wind that assaulted anyone who dared set foot in its sands. And he thought the wind on Route 4 was bad... it was nothing compared to this. Luckily, he had been given the Blackglasses, a pair of sunglasses that increased the power of Dark-type moves when held by a Pokémon, almost as soon as he entered this hellscape. He was currently wearing said item, in an effort to avoid getting his eyes sandblasted out of his skull. The fast wind brought with it whirling grains of sand, battering any person or Pokémon foolish enough to come here without protection.



However, by some miracle, several Pokémon made their home here. The cactus-like Grass-type Maractus slowly shuffled along through the sands, making its signature maraca-like noise as it did so. However, it was not immune to sandstorm damage, so finding fainted ones wasn't all that uncommon. What was immune to sandstorm damage (albeit only due to its ability) was the alien-looking Psychic/Flying-type Sigilyph. These Magic Guard ability equipped Pokémon were the apparent guardians of the ancient city that the Desert Resort had once housed. Now, though, they simply drifted along on the sandy winds, protecting ruins from a time long gone by.



It was these ruins Hilbert sought. Once, he thought he saw something green whipping in the wind, out in the distance, but dismissed it as nothing, possibly a Maractus on a sand dune. Some Trainers were crazy or just plain suicidal enough to try and train out in these wastes, but Hilbert avoided them all like the plague. He had no desire to pick a fight with anybody that insane.



He continued trudging through the ankle-deep sand, the wind battling him every step of the way. According to some signs in the gate, the ancient ruins he was looking for was somewhere near the centre of the of the Resort, but the sandy terrain was so huge, he had no idea where the centre was. On top of that, the windswept sand obscured his vision massively, and the sand was becoming trapped in his clothes, making the trek miserable.



Perhaps a higher vantage point would be advantageous, he thought. He trudged to the top of a nearby sand dune, surveying the surrounding area as best he could. He thought he saw some indistinct blue shapes about fifty feet away to the northeast, so he did his best to head in that direction, trying to keep the blue shapes in view. As he got closer, the blue shapes got clearer. It turned out they were statues of some sort of Pokémon, placed in a very rough arrow shape around a downwards-leading stairway.



This has to be it, Hilbert thought. He descended the stairway, entering into an underground chamber of sorts. The floor was made of sand, and there were what looked like sinkholes in places, curtailed off with caution tape. Hilbert took his cap off to shake the sand out of his hair, and removed the Blackglasses from his face.



Aside from a few tourists inspecting old paintings and carvings on the walls, he was alone in the chamber. However, he looked up, and his face paled. Floating above him, were nearly a dozen Ghost-types called Yamask. Yamask were black, shadowy creatures with vaguely bird-like heads/bodies, large red eyes, two arms, and a hook-like tail that held their most defining feature: a mask that, according to legend, was once a human face.



Hilbert quickly looked away from the Yamask swarm (he had never particularly liked Ghost-types), making his way to the west end of the chamber. Turning a corner, he heard a feminine groan. The source of the groan, he saw, was a woman wearing a huge red backpack, slumped against a wall.



“What's wrong?” Hilbert asked. “You hurt?”



“N-no,” the woman replied, breathing heavily. “Just... tired. I found two Pokémon fossils out in the desert, but... they're so heavy. Together with all this other gear I've got in this bag... it's just too much. Can you do me a massive favour? I need someone to take one of these off my hands. I might be good then...”



“Alright...” Hilbert said tentatively, wondering why he suddenly got roped into this. “Can I see what I'm choosing between, at least?”



“Sure,” the woman answered, pulling two rocks as large as Hilbert's hat out of her backpack, placing them on the sandy floor. One was the fossilized remains of what looked like a shell of sorts, while the other had a feather shape- almost like an arrowhead- permanently embossed into its surface.



Hilbert considered the two for a moment, finally pointing to the fossil with the arrowhead shape. “I'll take that one,” he said.



“Okay,” the woman said, handing the fossil over to Hilbert. He took it, and immediately began struggling with its weight.



“What does this thing weigh, like thirty fuckin' pounds!?” he cried. He quickly put it down on the sand.



“Now you know why I wanted to get rid of one of those,” the woman said. “Wait, you're a Trainer, right? You can take that fossil to the Nacrene City Museum and get it revived there. Oh, and I also found this out in the desert. I'm not a Trainer, so you can take it. No idea what it was doing out in the sand, but whatever.”



She reached into her backpack and pulled out a TM. She passed it to Hilbert, who scanned it with his Pokédex to find out what it was. “TM39, Rock Tomb,” Hilbert said. “50 base power, 80% accuracy. Not bad.” He put the TM in his bag, then, struggling again with the fossil, put it away as well. However, the flap didn't close, and if the fossil were to fall out at any point...



Looks like I gotta get rid of some things, he thought. Sighing, he took out the ten Ultra Balls Juniper had given him, and tossed them all into the sand.



“You can have those if you want,” he said to the woman. “Was planning on selling those things, but I guess that's not an option anymore.”



The woman only nodded as he once again put the fossil away. This time, the bag's flap did close- but only just, and the prehistoric rock made a sizeable bulge in the bag. The weight was apparent instantly. The bag's shoulder strap dug deeply into Hilbert's skin, even through the fabric of his jacket, and the weight made him lean to the right slightly.



“Hope that fossil gets revived into something useful,” the woman said. “See ya.”



“Yeah, thanks,” Hilbert said, his voice strained with effort. “Bye.”



He made his way out of the ruins, into the harsh wind once more, putting the Blackglasses on again. Is it just me, or is the wind actually worse? he thought.



With the additional weight of the fossil in his bag, Hilbert's feet sunk even deeper into the sand with each step, nearly to his shins. On top of that, the sun was now setting, and he knew that if he got caught out here at night, he would be royally screwed, and the wild Pokémon would be the least of his problems.



In spite of all this, he trudged onwards, his quadriceps screaming at him. He was not used to carrying so much weight, and he was feeling the burn of doing so. Eventually, exhausted and sweaty, he found his way back to the gate, shaking a beach's worth of sand out of his clothes and shoes. He took his bag off his shoulder to give it a break and massaged it, then went back to Nimbasa.



The sun had set and night was upon the city as he re-checked himself into the Pokémon Center for the night. He would begin his long trek back to Nacrene in the morning.



The heat of the sun beat down on Hilbert's face as he staggered back to Castelia, his breathing heavy and his shoulder killing him. It was the day before the start of April, but there was no rain to be found on Route 4. He had foregone washing his clothes, trading hygiene for getting back to Castelia in a timely manner. He constantly shrugged and moved his shoulder, trying to alleviate the discomfort that the weight of the fossil was causing him- to no effect. His legs were crying out for rest, but he ignored them, merely continuing onward.



When Hilbert reached the suburbs of Castelia, he was cautious and careful to avoid going through rougher areas, and kept a close eye on the look of the houses. If they seemed reasonably big and expensive, great, if not, he stayed far away. After a combined six full hours of walking through Route 4 and the suburbs, he finally made it back into Castelia. As he rode a cab to the Pokémon Center, he was looking forward to taking a shower and cleaning himself of all the dirt and grime that had accumulated on his body, but as he arrived, the sight of orange traffic cones came into view, as well as men in hardhats overseeing an Excadrill digging up pavement.



“Oh, you have got to be shitting me!” he hissed as the cab stopped to let him out. Asking around what was going on, it turned out a water main had broken down, water had been shut off to the Pokémon Center, and it wouldn't be fixed for the next two days! Growling and cursing under his breath, the boy walked into the Pokémon Center, booked a room, and took the elevator up to it. Once inside, he dropped his heavy bag to the floor, and fell back on the bed. “Why is this happening to me?” he snarled up at the ceiling. “Why, why, dammit, why?”



Exhausted and needing rest after his arduous trip through the desert, he stood up, stripped down to his underwear (releasing large amounts of sand trapped in his clothes as he did so), got under the covers, and fell asleep.



Meanwhile, all the way back in Nimbasa, Ghetsis had just finished giving another one of his speeches. This one, he beamed as he reflected on it, had been a complete success. People actually had released their Pokémon by the dozens, feeling the shame his words had brought them.



Overall, everything is going as planned, he smirked. 'Overall' was the key word, though. There had been several times where things almost went Aspear Berry-shaped, namely, the near-capture of Gorm in Pinwheel Forest, and those foolish grunts leading those children and the Gym Leaders right to their hideout in Castelia...



However, one of those children had been in both those instances... the one in the blue jacket, Hilbert, as N had told him. Perhaps it's time to teach him a lesson on the power of Team Plasma, Ghetsis thought. Ducking into an alleyway, he dialled N's Cross-Transceiver number.



N picked up after a few rings, his face appearing on the screen. “Yes? Who is this?” he asked. Ghetsis intentionally used a modified Cross-Transceiver, so he could see who he was calling, but they couldn't see him.



“This is Ghetsis,” he answered. “I have a task for you, N. An important one. It concerns that boy, Hilbert.”



“And what about him?” N said.



“It's come to my understanding you've fought him several times, and that he is trying to interfere with Team Plasma's glorious plan of Pokémon Liberation. I want you to stay in Nimbasa for a little longer, until he returns. Our spies have told me he is headed south, towards Nacrene, but he will be back. He will have to be, if he wants to get his pathetic little Badge from Nimbasa's Gym Leader. When he does return, I want you to find him, and teach him exactly what happens when someone tries to get in the way of progress. In other words, break him. Utterly. Use any method necessary.”



N thought for a moment. “He is strong in battle, and I've lost to him twice now-”



“Any methods necessary, N,” Ghetsis said firmly. “Do I make myself clear?”



N flinched a bit, finally replying, “...Yes. It will be done.”



Even though he knew N couldn't see him, Ghetsis grinned. “Excellent.” With that, he terminated the call.



On the other side of the city, in the amusement park near the ferris wheel called the Rondez-View, N closed his eyes, steeling his conviction. He brushed a hand over the four Poke Balls on his belt. I'm sorry that I trapped you, my friends, he thought. But it was for my own protection in that desert. I must accomplish the task I was just given, so you must fight for me, if only this once.



Opening his eyes, N whispered to no one, “I won't let you down. You can count on me... father.”



The next morning, Hilbert awoke. He ran a hand through his hair, finding it to be extremely greasy. Some of the remaining sand fell out from the dirty, matted strands of hair as he rubbed his scalp a little more. He felt (and was) filthy. He got out of the bed, able to smell his own body odour, and got dressed into his wrinkled, smelly clothes. “Ughnn..” he moaned.



Taking the elevator downstairs, he had breakfast, trying to ignore the whispered comments from people about his scruffy appearance and bad smell. He would have to wait until Nacrene, a day-and-a-half away, to take a shower and wash his clothes. “Whatever Pokémon this is had better be worth it,” he growled to himself as he stocked up on snacks and filled his water bottle for the trip.



Nearly two leg-aching days of walking later, he finally got back to Nacrene. Anxious to rid himself of the fossil's weight first thing, he went straight to the Museum. He pushed open the glass doors, and made a beeline for the desk on the right, heaving his bag up onto it with a clunk. The woman behind the desk's eyes widened as she saw the massive bulge in Hilbert's bag.



“Is that..? Did you find..?” she asked in awe.



“Yeah, I did, it's fuckin' heavy, and I've been lugging it here for three days!” Hilbert snapped. “So, if you'd kindly take this off my hands, and revive it into whatever Pokémon it once was, I'd appreciate it.” The last sentence was said with gritted teeth and barely suppressed rage, making the woman take a step back.



“Okay, I will,” she said. “No need to get angry about it.” She took the fossil out of Hilbert's bag, taking it into her arms. “This might take a while, so go kill time, and maybe take a shower while you're at it. You smell horrible. I'll call you on your Cross-Transceiver when it's ready.”



Growling under his breath, Hilbert left the Museum to finally take a shower and wash his clothes.



“Never thought I'd be so grateful for one of these,” Hilbert said, stepping into the shower and turning the water on. He applied no less than five handfuls of shampoo to his hair, with a more than necessary amount of conditioner, as well. He let the warm water run over his bare skin, letting it massage his aching shoulder. His legs, after so long carrying so much weight, were shaky and weak, so he sunk down to the floor, just letting the water wrap him in a warm embrace. Finally, he shut off the water, dried himself, and went to the dry-cleaning floor to wash his clothes.



After that was done, he went down to the main lobby of the Center, sitting down at a table and eating a sandwich from his bag. The nurse turned on the TV mounted on the wall, changed it to the news, and promptly gasped in shock. Hilbert's head snapped up at the audible exclamation from the nurse, looked at the TV as well, and his eyes widened in horror.



There, on the TV, captured in HD quality, was a massive sandstorm raging in the outer edges of the suburbs in Castelia City. “Oh my Arceus...” Hilbert breathed.



The news anchor began talking. “As you can see, a huge sandstorm has descended onto Route 4,” she said. “Meteorologists are calling it the worst sandstorm in the last fifty years. Anyone in the area of the Castelia suburbs is being told to stay inside at all times until this ends, and anyone caught on the Route itself or in the Desert Resort is advised to seek immediate shelter. We currently have a crew on the ground in Castelia, live on the scene. What's it like there, Michael?”



The scene then cut to a man with a microphone on the sidewalks near the entrance to the suburbs. Even there, the sand and wind looked vicious, blowing his clothes and hair around.



“This is the worst sandstorm I've ever seen, Christina!” he shouted above the wind in answer to his colleague's question. “The wind is just unbelievable here! If I'm being frank, I don't think anyone out in the open on Route 4 has a very good chance of survival, and I really feel sorry for those poor souls in the suburbs!”



The man kept talking, but Hilbert was deaf to it all. His last sentence kept repeating in his mind, over and over and over again, like a skipping CD. A horrifying realization came to him then. “Cheren and Bianca... Oh, no.”



The last time he'd seen Cheren, he was near the exit to Route 4, and Bianca, as far as he knew, could just be crossing it. They could be right in the middle of the sandstorm!



Hilbert immediately turned on his Cross-Transceiver, dialling Cheren's number as fast as he could. “Hurry up, Cheren, pick up now!” Hilbert snarled.



Back in Nimbasa, Cheren was walking toward the Gym, located in the amusement park, when his Cross-Transceiver started ringing. He looked at the screen, seeing it was Hilbert's number. “Sorry, Cheren can't come to the phone right now, leave a message after the call denial,” Cheren said, bitter sarcasm lacing his voice. He powered the device all the way off. He kept walking towards the Gym. Hopefully the Leader would accept still challengers with that sandstorm.



Hilbert slammed his fist down on the table when Cheren didn't pick up. Dialling Bianca's number, he was met with the same result. “Arceus dammit!” he cried. What he didn't realize, however is was Bianca had left her Cross-Transceiver in her bag on mute, and so hadn't heard his urgent call. Springing to his feet, Hilbert raced over to the Poke Mart counter, bought some food, and had the nurse at the main counter heal his Pokémon, just in case.



He then ran out of the Pokémon Center, ignoring the pain of his stiff legs as he made a beeline for the Museum. Whether the fossil Pokémon was ready or not, he needed it now. As luck would have have it, his Cross-Transceiver started ringing as he neared the white building, but he ignored the call, pulling open the doors and running right for the desk.



He skidded to a stop before a painful collision with the marble edge of the desk could occur. He breathed heavily, which was uncharacteristic of him lately because of his shoes. With a jolt, he realized his Cross-Transceiver was still ringing, so he dismissed the call. The woman at the desk came out of the room where fossils were presumably revived, holding a Poké Ball.



“Well, you got here right on time,” she said. She placed the Poké Ball into Hilbert's waiting palm. “This is Archen, the First Bird Pokémon. Take good care of it!”



“Thanks,” Hilbert said, placing the Poké Ball on his belt. Without another word, he exited the Museum. Not wasting any more time, he headed out of Nacrene City. He had to get to Route 4 as soon as possible.



While on the road, he winced with every step. His legs were incredibly stiff after all that continuous walking carrying so much weight. Nonetheless, he had to check out his new Pokémon's stats. Bringing out his Pokédex, he looked at Archen's stats. Seeing its attack stat, his eyes widened.



“Holy crap...” he said in awe, “Base 112 attack on an unevolved Pokémon? I've hit the damn jackpot.”



On top of that, he saw the Archen was level 25, making it the highest-levelled Pokémon on his team, though not by much. It knew the moves Pluck, AncientPower, Agility, and Quick Guard.



However, as he continued to scroll down, he found out that he may not have hit the jackpot like he initially thought he had. It turned out that Archen only had pathetic base 45 defences, the same as his Darumaka, and on top of that...



“Wait... its ability is called 'Defeatist!?'” Hilbert yelled. “Lowers attack and special attack by half if the Pokémon's health falls below 50%... Fuck.”



Ripping the Archen's Poké Ball off his belt, he let out the First Bird Pokémon, illegality of doing so be damned. Archen was a strange, primary-coloured creature that bore mixed reptile and bird traits. Its wings were yellow and too small to grant it flight, with two claws on either end of them. Its head was red and scaly, and it looked at him with curious, wide eyes that had no irises.



“Alright, Archen,” Hilbert said sternly, squatting down to its level. “I went through a lot of shit to revive you, and you don't look like you have the greatest ability. Still, I'm willing to give you a chance. But you better not let me down, got it? By the way, I'm calling you Artemis from now on.”



The Archen squawked happily, Hilbert returning her to her Poké Ball. Reattaching the Poké Ball to his belt, Hilbert stood up, and kept going on the long trek back to Castelia City, trying to ignore the dull pain in his legs. He had switched his bag over to his other shoulder, in order to give his still-sore one a rest.



After nearly two more days of walking, he arrived once again at the Skyarrow Bridge when it was nearing dusk. If Hilbert thought things were a zoo before, they were an absolute circus now. He had noticed the line of cars about two kilometres before he got to the bridge checkpoint, which itself was packed to the rafters with people. It took nearly an hour of waiting before he was finally allowed through. The sandstorm had apparently done very significant damage to transport between Castelia and Nimbasa, and he heard Burgh had closed the Gym temporarily to try and sort out the mess.



Getting to the Pokémon Center, Hilbert was greeted with more bad news. Due to the influx of stranded Trainers, it was full to the point where people were literally lined up outside the doors. In fact, a lot of the hotels in the area were fully booked as well.



By now, it was getting darker, and the chill of the early-April air was starting to set in along with the night. It took a lot of searching, but as it was nearing ten o'clock at night, in a somewhat shady-looking part of the city, Hilbert found a hotel that had empty rooms. Cold, tired, and hungry, the desperate boy checked into a room there, but not without getting some odd looks from the people inside, who were not used to seeing a minor in the building.



He made sure to sleep in his clothes that night, and kept Maru's Poké Ball close at hand, just in case.



Hilbert awoke the next morning after a not-very-restful sleep, sitting on the edge of the bed and putting his head in his hands. He grabbed his Cross-Transceiver off the nightstand next to the bed. Maybe, he thought, it was time for a bit of reassurance, from the only person he knew could give him some... his mother. Dialling his mother's number, the Cross-Transceiver ringed a few times before it was answered.



“Oh! Oh, sweetheart, you're okay!” Julia Touya said as she saw her son's face on the screen of her Cross-Transceiver. “When I heard the news about the sandstorm, I thought... I was so worried...”



Hilbert gave her a weary smile. “...Hi, Mom,” he said. “You don't need to worry, I'm fine, just a bit worse for the wear.”



His mother gave him a concerned look. “Really? How so?”



“Oh... it's, uh...” Hilbert stuttered a bit, caught on the spot. He couldn't very well tell his mother about all the crap he'd been through so far, she'd flip! Then he decided to only tell her about only the events of the last few days, keeping the things like almost getting captured by Team Plasma- and Team Plasma in general- a secret.



“It's just... it's been a rough last few days. I was on Route 4, found a Pokémon fossil, and had to lug it all the way back to Nacrene to revive it- all the way without being able to take a shower, might I add.” He chuckled without any humour in it. “I don't think I've ever felt so filthy in my life. Anyways, then I heard the news about the sandstorm, and hauled ass back to Castelia. And that pretty much brings us to now.”



“I think I know why you called then,” his mother said. “Needed somebody to talk to? Some motherly comfort?”



“Yeah, pretty much.”



“Well, just know, no matter what, I'm rooting for you, honey. Just stay safe. If ever you need to talk again, just call me. I love you.”



Hilbert's eyes misted with tears. “Love you, too.”



His mother terminated the call, Hilbert shutting off the Cross-Transceiver. Once again, Hilbert put his head in his hands, sliding them down his face. “Well, nothing left to do but get going, I guess,” he said to himself.



He slung his bag over his shoulder, put on his Poké Ball belt, and after a quick breakfast, checked out of the hotel. It was time to get to Route 4. He caught a cab to take him to the suburb entrance, but it only took him within three blocks.



“Everything beyond this point is closed to vehicle traffic,” the driver said. “I hate to drop you off so far from where ya wanted to go, but there's nothing I can do. You're kinda on your own.”



“That's okay, I guess,” Hilbert replied, paying for his ride and exiting the cab. “Thanks.”



The closer he got to the gate, the more evidence of the sandstorm's leftover damage he could see. Although the sand had been mostly cleaned up, there were still small patches of it everywhere, and within a block, he could see that windows of buildings were broken all over the place. Some were up as high as three stories.



Entering the suburbs themselves, the only words that could be uttered were, “Holy shit,” so Hilbert said them. Obviously the cleanup was nowhere near done, as sand dunes- some as tall as five feet- littered the ground. People out on their driveways used brooms to sweep off the sand. Just like the entrance, the farther he walked in, the worse it got. Workers meandered around, using industrial-strength leafblowers and Pokémon alike to get rid of the sand. Roofs missing shingles were common sights, and in more than a few terrible cases, had been torn off the house completely.



All this was nothing in comparison to Route 4, however. The road had been totally covered by the storm, leaving bumpy, uneven sand dunes, some ten feet tall. Unlike the suburbs, there were no words to be said. Hilbert was at a loss.



As he trekked further into the sandy wasteland, going in what he hoped was a northerly direction (without the road, it was somewhat hard to tell), he called out for his friends.



“Cheren! Bianca!”



All that returned to him, though, was the echo of his own voice.



He continued like this, climbing up or walking around the all-too-frequent dunes for the next five hours, the aforementioned dunes slowing him down. All this activity on leg muscles that were still sore and stiff was agony, but he pressed on. He was just reaching the somewhat more level ground of the construction site when his foot caught on something, tripping him. He landed hard on his sore shoulder, wrenching a cry of pain from his mouth. He pushed himself to his knees, looking behind him to see what had tripped him up... and let out a horrified noise.



He had tripped on a dead body. His foot had jostled it, uncovering the head, which stared at him with a glassy gaze.



“Oh my Arceus, holy shit, holy shit-!” he gasped as he scrambled backwards. His first instinct was to get the hell away as fast as he possibly could. However, morbid curiosity led him to take a cautious yet disgusted closer look.



The first thing he noticed was that the corpse looked rather familiar, like he had seen this person somewhere before. Then he realized where.



“This is that gang leader...” he whispered to himself. “The one Maru cut the hand off of...”



He looked at his immediate surroundings, noticing, with another terrified gasp, there were several lumps in the sand around him, too small to be dunes. Presumably, the gang leader and his cronies had gotten caught in the sandstorm, and met their end in it.



Hilbert swallowed thickly, getting to his feet. A small part of him was glad Karma had intervened and delivered justice in the form of nature's wrath, but another, larger part didn't know what to feel. Without a word, he began walking, leaving the former gang members in their sandy tombs, continuing on to Nimbasa City. Deep down, though, he knew the image of finding this unintended mass grave would haunt him for the rest of his life.

​

 

I Never Wanted to be The Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 16: Viva Las Nimbasa! Or Not...​

It was approaching dusk as Hilbert finally entered into Nimbasa for the second time. The sandstorm had stranded a lot of people in Nimbasa, too, as the Pokémon Center was fully booked. Sighing, Hilbert set out to find somewhere he could stay. Hopefully he wouldn't be in Nimbasa too long. As he searched, a jolt of pain being sent through his legs with every step, the image of the corpse he'd found on Route 4 kept popping up in his mind, like a guest at a party the host really didn't want to be there. He shook his head to try and clear it. Look on the bright side, Hilbert, he thought, That could have been Cheren or Bianca, and it wasn't. No news is good news, right?



“Gah!” he let out an exclamation of surprise as his Cross-Transceiver began ringing. He stopped dead in his tracks, practically throwing his arm up to his face, and saw it was Bianca's number. “Oh, thank Arecus,” Hilbert breathed in relief, pressing the 'accept call' button. Bianca's face appeared on screen. From the way her screen bobbed up and down, she was walking somewhere.

“Hi, Hilbert!” she greeted cheerfully. “Where have you-”



“Bianca. Damn, am I glad to see you.” Hilbert said, cutting her off. “Where are you? Why didn't you answer my call two days ago, when the sandstorm hit?”



“Bianca looked puzzled. “Wait... you called then? I mean, I heard about the sandstorm and all that, but I didn't know you called.”



Hilbert suddenly had a very intense urge to pound nails into his eyes in sheer exasperation.“Of course I called, Bianca!” he exploded. “The last I heard of you, you were in Castelia still, and very realistically could have been crossing Route 4 when that sandstorm hit! Why didn't you answer my call!? You could have been dead for all I knew!”



“Well, sorry for making a mistake!” Bianca shot back. “I probably had it turned off or something! It's not my fault these things don't have a call history feature!”



“Just tell me where you are,” Hilbert growled.



“I'm near the Musical Theatre,” Bianca said. At Hilbert's quizzical look, she elaborated. “Yeah, they hold musicals with Pokémon in them! Haven't you heard? Oh, wait, no, you couldn't have, because you were off who-knows-where, doing who-knows-what. Meanwhile, I was checking out the city. Speaking of which, where were you, anyway?”



“Reviving a fossil Pokémon I found in the Desert Resort back in Nacrene,” Hilbert said. “Getting there and back again sucked, by the way. Really sucked.”



At those words, the image of the dead gang leader flashed through his head again, causing Hilbert to close his eyes and grimace. Bianca wasn't blind to this.



“Hilbert? What's going on with you? You seem really stressed, and you made this weird face just now. What's wrong?”



“It's nothing, Bianca, I'm fine,” Hilbert said, forcing a smile, but couldn't hide the strain in his voice.



“You don't sound-”



“I'm fine, Bianca,” he said more sternly. “Just... please don't pressure me on this.”



“Well fine, don't tell me.” Bianca turned up her nose at him. “Where are you? You didn't answer me last time.”



“You want an honest answer? I don't know. All the rooms in the Pokémon Center were booked, so I'm kinda just trying to find a hotel or something.”



“Did you check the pamphlets inside the Pokémon Center?” Bianca asked. “Y'know, the ones on the rack against the far wall? They have a list of things for tourists to do- and there's a lot here, trust me- so I'm sure they have ones that list hotels.”



Hilbert just groaned. No, he had not thought of that. He turned around and began walking back to the Pokémon Center. “Yeah, I guess I could do that,” he said. He was about to shut off the Cross-Transceiver, but Bianca's voice stopped him.



“Say... Hilbert, I hear they're holding a musical tonight. Do you want to come? Maybe it'll take your mind off whatever's bothering you.”



I kinda doubt it, Hilbert thought, but said, “Maybe, after I find a hotel. I'll see you later.”



“Alright, bye.”



The connection was terminated, Hilbert walking into the Pokémon Center two minutes later. Spotting the rack of pamphlets, he walked over to them, scanning the selection with his eyes. He found the shelf that listed most of the hotels in the city within seconds, and grabbed one of the paper guides.



“Now, let's see here,” he muttered as he walked out of the Pokémon Center, “Where's a hotel in my price range..?”



After about a minute of looking over the piece of unfolded paper, he found something he could afford, in the city's west-centre area, nestled between many condominiums. Let's hope they have rooms available, he thought, catching a cab to take him there. Thankfully, they did have a few vacant rooms, so Hilbert checked in, taking the elevator up to the 6th floor, where his room was located.



The place wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible, either. It had a few more complimentary things than a Pokémon Center room, like a mini fridge stocked with water bottles, but that was about it. Hilbert sat down on the bed, thinking about Bianca's offer.



Deciding to leave it up to a vote, he let out all of his Pokémon. “Okay, guys, we're gonna have a bit of a vote,” he said. “All who want to go to the Pokémon Musical, speak up. All opposed, keep quiet. So, who wants to go?”



All of his Pokémon let out excited cries, effectively a resounding 'yes'. Giving a weary smile, Hilbert nodded. “Okay then, musical it is.”



He returned all his Pokémon to their Poke Balls, exited the hotel, and caught a cab to the city's north end, where the Musical Theatre was. During his ride, Bianca called again, sounding urgent. “Hilbert, where are you?” she asked frantically. “The musical starts in fifteen minutes, I've already bought your ticket, and I don't want it to go to waste!”



“Relax, Bianca, I'm on my way,” Hilbert said. “I'll be there soon, so just wait as long as you can for me.”



Within ten minutes, the cab had taken him to the Musical Theatre, a big, colourful building adjacent to the Small Court and Big Stadium. He found Bianca pacing in a panicked manner outside the doors, and after a bit of berating from her for being late, they went inside, finding their seats in the theatre with minutes to spare. Bianca had actually gotten fairly lucky when she bought the tickets, as their seats were in the third row from the front, off to the right.



However, Hilbert couldn't help but notice the rather melancholy atmosphere inside the theatre. People were talking in hushed tones, and once or twice he caught snippets of these conversations, hearing words that sounded like “sandstorm”, and “dead”. The boy couldn't help but start to feel uneasy, a feeling that was amplified as a man walked on stage, a solemn look on his face.



“Good evening, everyone,” the man said. “In light of the recent tragedy of that sandstorm- one of the deadliest Unova has ever seen- Miss Elesa herself has commissioned this special production in honour of all thirty-eight of those who lost their lives.”



Hilbert's eyes widened in horror, and Bianca gave an audible gasp beside him. Thirty-eight. Thirty-eight people. While he had expected the body count to be high, he never thought that would have been the outcome.



“Miss Elesa has informed me she would like to say a few words,” the man continued, walking offstage. A woman dressed in yellow took his place, but Hilbert was still too shocked to care about getting a good look at her. The woman- Elesa, apparently- took a microphone off her belt, beginning to speak into it.



“Hello, everyone,” she said simply. “Normally, this place is for celebrating a more leisurely side of life, but not today. Today, we remember those who have had their lives cut short by tragic happenstance.” She sighed sadly before continuing. “They say Nimbasa is the city where the lights never go out. However, that's not strictly true. A city has light only so long as there are people to live in it, and more than a few of those people have had the lights known as their lives extinguished forever. To me, Nimbasa seems a tiny bit dimmer tonight. Thought the ones who died are gone, they are not forgotten, and the performance you are about to see tonight will serve as tribute, and remembrance.”



Elesa exited the stage to polite applause, and the Pokémon took their positions as a slow, sombre jazz track began to play.



During the musical's forty-five minute runtime (short for musical standards, but this one had been put together in somewhat of a rush) Hilbert took some time to reflect on things. He thought of just how easily Bianca could have been among those killed, likely avoiding death only due to dumb luck, and how much nature ultimately controlled things. It was as Blue, the Gym Leader of Viridian City in Kanto, and Red's former arch-rival, said: “We can go on winning and losing at Pokémon, but if nature so much as twitches, we can be overwhelmed in a second... That's just the way it is...”



Just like those sandstorm victims... Hilbert thought sadly. He knew first-hand from stumbling across those corpses just how deadly the desert of Route 4 could be when it showed its dark side, and while the gang members most likely weren't innocent, per se, there were probably plenty of people who were, and now they were gone.



Needless to say, Hilbert and Bianca left the theatre feeling very sombre. “Makes you think, doesn't it?” Bianca said after a minute or so of silence.



“Yeah, it really does,” Hilbert said quietly. “Hey, Bianca?”



“Yes?”



This is probably gonna be hard for you to hear, so brace yourself-”



“Bianca!”



Another voice suddenly called out, cutting Hilbert off. A voice Bianca knew all too well. “Oh, no...” she whispered as her father ran up to her.



“Bianca... thank Arceus I've managed to find you...” he said, relief flooding his tone. It then became more strict, his posture more commanding. “It's time to come home. You've gone far enough.”



“W-why!?” Bianca cried. “Why now, after all this time and everything I've been through?”



“'Everything you've been through' is exactly why I need you to come with me, Bianca!” her father said. “When your mother told me about the sandstorm... when she told me you were in the general area of Route 4...”



“But I'm fine!” Bianca cried. “You can see that!” She took her badge case out of her purse, opening it. “See? I've even won these! I can-”



“I don't give half a damn about those!” her father suddenly yelled, cutting Bianca off and making her flinch. “The fact is, you could have been killed! Badges don't- and never have- made a difference to nature! You could have all eight Unova Badges, and that sandstorm still would have killed you!”



“But...” Bianca whimpered. She turned to Hilbert. “Back me up, please?”



Hilbert sighed, which only seemed to further dampen Bianca's hopes. Bracing himself to crush her, he said, “Honestly, Bianca... I think you should go with him.”



Instantly, Bianca's expression twisted into one of pure betrayed hurt. “...What?” she whimpered in a tiny voice.



“Face facts, Bianca, he's right. Hell, even I'm starting to consider giving up on this journey. Before the sandstorm I thought differently, but after seeing what it did...” he trailed off, the dead faces flashing through his mind again.



Bianca's eyes were filling up with tears. She looked back at her father, but all she found was a stern look of disapproval. Hilbert wore a different expression on his face: that of cold apathy.



“Please...” she whimpered. “I've won these Badges... that should be all the proof you need...”



“Badges mean nothing if you can't protect your Pokémon, Bianca,” Hilbert shot back harshly. At Bianca's father's raised eyebrow, he explained, “She caught a Munna, and it got stolen in Castelia City. We got it back, but that doesn't change the fact that it was in the first place.”



Bianca was utterly shocked. H-how could he do this to me..? she thought. We've been friends our whole lives, I thought he of all people wouldn't throw me under the bus!



The poor girl was beyond distraught. Her journey, the one chance she had to find out what she wanted to do with her life, was quickly slipping away, and there was nothing she could do about it.



Seeing an opening, Bianca's father put his hand on his daughter's shoulder. “I think it's time to go, Bianca. Come on.” He started to lead her away.



“Dad, no... please...” Bianca said weakly.



Just then, there was a large commotion at the entrance to the theatre, and a large crowd began gathering as Elesa walked out. However, her sharp eyes picked up on the man leading a resisting girl away from the scene- a girl with an open Gym Badge case.



With a confident stride, she walked over, cutting through the crowd. “May I ask what is going on here?” Her aqua-blue eyes were narrowed, full of scrutiny.



Hilbert turned to look at the newcomer, and his eyes instantly widened. While in the theatre he hadn't really cared enough to get a good look at her, in person Elesa was-! Long, black tight-covered legs that seemed to on for miles ended in sharp yellow stilettos. As for what she was wearing, it was a barely-there yellow tank top with sections cut out of its black centre, revealing skin. The most unusual part of her ensemble was what appeared to be headphones, the kind worn over the ears, with two wires extending down almost to her ankles, like absurdly long pigtails, were worn on her head of yellow-blond hair. In a word, she was hot.



Bianca's father, being a married man, was not as easily impressed. “What's going on is none of your business,” he grumbled. “Let's go, Bianca.”



Elesa's eyes flashed with anger, a small crowd now starting to gather.



“Is that so?” She pulled a Poké Ball off her waist, and clicked the centre button twice. In a flash of light, a zebra-like Pokémon appeared. It had white lightning bolt-like patterns decorating its black fur coat, and it had a wild mane of white fur running down the length of its back.



“Now, you can tell me what's happening, and why, or Zebstrika can Double Kick you out of town. Your choice.”



Bianca's father did not back down, not bending to Elesa's attempted intimidation tactics. “I'm not looking for a fight here. But if you want one, I'll be happy to give it to you.” He pulled a Poké Ball out of a bag slung over his shoulder.



Bianca was stunned. So, he didn't want me to go on a Pokémon journey, yet he has Pokémon!? Bianca thought. The hypocrite!



Elesa just smirked. “Oh, please, do you know who I am? I'm this city's top model, and its Gym Leader. This Zebstrika I have here is the strongest one I own. So unless your Pokémon- or you- actually enjoy getting zapped with Volt Switch, you'll tell me what's going on.”



Bianca's father actually took a step back, grimacing, but said nothing.



Clearly out of patience, Elesa just waved her hand dismissively. “Fair enough. Zebstrika, use-!”



“Wait!” Bianca yelled. “Just... wait. I'll explain things.”



Elesa held up a hand, stopping the Thunderbolt Pokémon from unleashing a Volt Switch attack. “Go ahead, sweetie. Why was this man trying to lead you away, especially when you have three Badges?”



Bianca's father looked like he wanted to open his mouth, but a death glare from Elesa shut him up.



“Well... he's my father,” Bianca began. “B-basically, he wants me to stop my journey! And w-when I wanted help from one of my so-called friends,” she glared at Hilbert, “He didn't do anything! In fact, he outright threw me under the bus!”



Bianca's father's face was turning red. “The only reason I wanted you to stop your journey is because of the sandstorm!” he yelled. “You could have been killed!”



“But I wasn't!” Bianca yelled back. “That's the point! I was here in this city when the sandstorm hit! I was never in any danger! And you weren't either, Hilbert, so why'd you turn against me!?”



“The fact that you weren't killed is honestly irrelevant, Bianca,” Hilbert said. “I wasn't in the sandstorm, yeah, but I saw what it did. It... wasn't pretty. Trust me.”



“But-”



“Enough.” Elesa said. “All of you, just shut up. I've heard quite enough. What we seem to have here is a conflict of safety and parenteral protection versus wanderlust and self-discovery. And while I can say that the world is a dangerous place, and that traversing it ill-equipped is bad, I can also say that constraining a curious mind from exploring it is worse. In other words, let your daughter do what she wants. All children have to leave the nest someday, and discover who they want to be on their own. Isn't that the whole point of a Pokémon journey?”



“Not when that journey can get them killed!” Bianca's father shot back.



“I knew the risks involved, dad!” Bianca countered. “And... and I if I had died in that sandstorm, at least I'd die knowing I'd done something with my life instead of sitting there and watching the world pass me by in Nuvema!”



“H-how can you say that?” Her father said, his voice quivering. “Do you even realize what you're saying!? What you dying would do to your mother and I!?”



“I couldn't care less at this point!” Bianca shouted. “This journey is my chance to find out what I want to do with my life! Maybe I'm not the strongest Trainer, but who cares!? I want to keep going, and no one- not you, and not Hilbert- will change that.” Her eyes steeled with resolve. “And if I have to battle you over this, then so be it.”



His face twisting in anger, Bianca's father finally exploded. “Fine!” he roared. “If you want to keep going, then by all damn means! Just think about the consequences of what might happen if you do.”



With that, he released his Unfezant, the final stage of the Pidove line, hopped on, and flew away.



Elesa flicked her already short bangs to the side, recalling her Zebstrika. “Whew! Thought he'd never leave. I would have zapped him if he hadn't.”



“Thank you, Elesa,” Bianca said. “If you hadn't helped me... I might have had to stop my journey and go back home.”



“Think nothing of it,” Elesa replied. “I always have time to help someone, and seeing how Nimbasa just lost thirty-eight of its citizens, I am not in the mood to take shit from anyone right now. But he was right about one thing: Pokémon journeys are tough. If you want to find out just how tough they can get, stop by the Gym. I guarantee, I'll make your head spin.”



Bianca nodded as Elesa walked away, sneering at Hilbert as she passed him. Suddenly, Bianca marched right up to the boy. “You!” she screamed in his face. “Why didn't you take my side, Hilbert!? I thought we were friends! What happened to all that encouragement you gave me back in Castelia at the Battle Company?”



“I took your father's side for the same reason he wanted to take you home!” Hilbert yelled back. “Your protection! Like I said earlier, I saw what that sandstorm did! Didn't you pay any attention at all during the musical!? Are you blind and deaf!? Dozens of people died! In all likelihood, you just barely got to safety before the storm hit!”



“I can handle myself!” Bianca shouted. “I swear, next time we battle, I'll get you back for this, you asshole.”



That caught Hilbert off guard. Hearing Bianca swear was a very rare occurrence, but it did happen, and she saved cursing for times when she was extremely angry or sad. She seemed to be a combination of the two right now.



Letting out a snort, he turned away. “You're certainly welcome to try,” he said over his shoulder as he walked away. “Sorry I actually gave a fuck about your well-being.”



Leaving Bianca behind, Hilbert angrily walked back to his hotel, furious thoughts brewing in his mind the whole way.