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

I Never Wanted to be The Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 20: Meeting The Champion

​

Alright, Hilbert thought as he stepped out of Nimbasa City's Pokémon Center and mounted his bike. Time to get out of this Arceus-damned city. He had already checked out of his hotel prior to challenging the Gym, so he was all set to leave. The way out of Nimbasa was northwest, past the city's three biggest attractions, the Small Court, Big Stadium, and the Musical Theatre. He would be pedaling for a while, and his shoes only worked when walking or running, so he would probably be a bit tired by the time he got to Route 5.



Here goes nothing, Hilbert thought, beginning his ride. He pedaled north for a good forty-five minutes, past apartment complexes, office buildings, and other high-rises, their glass faces staring down at him. The taller buildings eventually gave way to smaller, shorter ones as he neared the two stadiums and the Musical Theatre. These buildings took up several blocks just by themselves, with huge, multi-story parking garages across the street from each of them.



Soon after, he started heading west, past water fountains that wild Pidove and Water/Flying-types called Ducklett alike splashed and played in. Soon he reached the outskirts of the city, the buildings here being nothing more than two-story houses. Past that, the road diverged into two halves, with one side of the road made specifically for cars, and the other side for civilians on foot or bikes. Each concrete path was separated by a waist-high metal guardrail.



At last, he neared the Gate to Route 5. On the other side of the guardrail, he could see a huge gravel parking lot off to the side of the road, with a crosswalk leading from it to the pedestrian path, but for what purpose, he couldn't say.



There was a bike rack just outside the Gate, so he dismounted, chaining up his bike for a final time. “Hopefully this won't get stolen,” Hilbert said. He was actually surprised by how not fatigued he was, even after all that riding. While he was breathing somewhat heavily, he didn't feel at all tired. This journey had been keeping him in good shape. He walked into the orange-tiled hallway, sitting down on a chair against the wall. He then realized that Elesa had not given him her Cross-Transceiver number, so he had no way to contact her. Swearing under his breath, he muttered, “Well, nothing to do but wait for her, I suppose.”



However, after waiting about fifteen minutes, and with nothing to do but watch the same repetitive messages scroll by on the electronic bulletin board, Hilbert began to get antsy. Another two minutes passed, and after thinking, Screw this. I'll go on to Driftveil with or without Elesa, he got up, and walked out onto Route 5.



What he found there astounded him. While Route 5 itself was nothing spectacular- just a wide, concrete road about five kilometres long- what was on it was. It looked like a giant busker festival, with people everywhere, and performers showing off what they could do. There were a few people battling Pokémon, too, he saw as he walked further down the road.



It wasn't long before he saw a familiar blue jacket and head of black hair in the crowd, being one of the people engaged in a Pokémon battle. It was Cheren. Hilbert was suddenly hit with an urge to run over to his... well, at this point he wasn't sure what to call Cheren, but then he thought better of it. All that would likely come out of it was getting challenged to a battle, and he had no desire for that to happen. His battles with Cheren were getting tedious anyway. However, it didn't matter. The battle finished with Cheren coming out the victor, and the black-haired boy turned around, looking for his next opponent- and saw Hilbert almost instantly.



He calmly walked over to the baseball cap-wearing boy. “Well, so you finally made it here!” he said. His tone took on a more boastful edge as he continued talking. “I'm assuming you beat Elesa, right? Was she tough? Wasn't for me, of course. She just couldn't prepare for what I was packing. I hope you haven't been slacking off with your training, by the way. I got all my Pokémon up to level 30.”



“Can you quit the fucking showboater attitude?” Hilbert snapped. “I haven't seen you since the end of March, nearly two frigging weeks ago, and this is how you greet me? For a while I didn't even know if you were even alive. For all I knew, that sandstorm had killed you, yet here you are training without a care in the world! What the hell, man!?” Sighing, Hilbert nonetheless pulled a Poké Ball off his belt, walking backwards. “But if it's a fight you want, then you'll get one. Maybe it'll finally beat some sense into that thick skull of yours.”



Cheren savagely ripped a Poké Ball off his belt as well. “That's rich coming from you,” he hissed. “Don't you think I've forgotten the way you snapped at Juniper. Weren't you the one who told me to show a little respect back in Nuvema? Sounds like someone should take their own advice.”



Hilbert's eyes narrowed, and he let out a low growl. The worst thing was, Cheren was right, but that only made him angrier. Having no good comeback, he simply enlarged the Poké Ball in his hand. “I'm really gonna enjoy kickin' your ass,” he said venomously.



Both boys threw out their Poke Balls at the same time, revealing a Tranquill on Cheren's side and Sawk on Hilbert's and the battle began. Tranqill was a two foot tall, gray-and-black bird. Its beak was yellow, and there were dark pink markings above its eyes. Its feet were pink and its black talons looked sharp and dangerous.



Right off the bat, Hilbert knew he was at a slight disadvantage, but it was nothing to be too worried about. Sensei's Fighting-type STAB still did neutral damage against the Normal/Flying-type.



Hilbert went on the offensive right away. “Sensei, Brick Break!”



Cheren, however, was apparently prepared for this. “Interceptor, Detect!”



Just as Sawk's attack was about to connect, Tranquill's eyes glowed blue for a split second, and it swept itself to the side, dodging the attack. It then followed up with a quick use of Air Cutter as it took to the sky. The blades of air slashed at Sensei, doing super-effective damage and knocking him on his back.



“Quick Attack, now!” Cheren commanded. In a flash, Tranquill dive-bombed Sensei, slamming into him and knocking him out.



“Shit!” Hilbert hissed. This was officially not good. He had just lost one of- if not his most- powerful Pokémon in the span of less than two minutes. Meanwhile, Tranquill didn't have a scratch on it.



Alright, Cheren, Hilbert thought, you won that round. But let's see how well your little pigeon can deal with Rock-type coverage. He quickly threw out Scrapper. The Drilbur appeared, brandishing its claws. It had almost become a habit of Scrapper's, Hilbert noted.



“Quick Attack, now!” Cheren yelled.



Tranquill quickly dive-bombed Scrapper, smashing into him, the attack doing a fair chunk of damage. Scrapper quickly pushed himself to his feet.



“Rock Slide, Scrapper!” Hilbert called.



Oh, shit, Cheren thought as the ball of energy began to form above the Drilbur's head. “Interceptor, stop that thing! Do whatever you-”



It was too late. Cheren's command was cut off as Scrapper released the energy ball, throwing it over top of Tranquill. The Wild Pigeon Pokémon squawked as piles of stones rained down on it, knocking it out instantly. Hilbert's Pokédex let out a muffled chirp from inside his bag, indicating Scrapper had gained enough experience to reach level 30.



Cheren grit his teeth, recalling his Tranquill. He pulled another Poké Ball off his belt. Well, I was hoping to save this for later, but I guess there's no time like the present, he thought. “Go, Krokomire!” Cheren threw the ball, and a Krokorok emerged.



Krokorok was basically Sandile if it grew to three feet tall and stood upright. Its colour scheme was identical to Sandile's, right down to the pink on its belly, though there were now scaly, triangular spikes jutting out of its back and tail. The Desert Croc Pokémon let out threatening hisses and growls as it loomed over Scrapper.



Hilbert was stunned. “A Krokorok?” he asked. “What the hell happened to your Liepard?”



“Heh, I stuck it in the PC when I realized how weak it really was,” Cheren smirked. “After all, I'm gonna need stronger Pokémon to be the best in Unova, and beat you, and Krokomire here is the best candidate for the job. On that note, let's try a move I'm sure you're well acquainted with. Krokomire, Retaliate!”



“Uh, oh,” Hilbert muttered with more than a tinge of worry in his voice.



The Krokorok was surrounded with the familiar- and dreaded- yellow glow of Lenora's signature move as it charged toward Scrapper. The attack connected with incredible force, sending the Drilbur flying back so far he almost landed in the Gate's hallway. “Damn!” Hilbert yelled, recalling Scrapper.



Cheren smiled. The attack had been an instant knockout, as he expected. His smile grew wider as an orange aura surrounded his Krokorok for a second, meaning its attack had been raised by one stage.



“What was that!?” Hilbert cried. “Why did that damn thing's attack go up!?”



“Oh, Krokomire has Moxie as an ability,” Cheren said, sounding for all the world like that information was something everyone knew. “Every time it knocks out a Pokémon, its attack goes up by one stage.” Hilbert's eyes widened in shock, and Cheren smiled again. “Why don't you just give up, Hilbert? You and I both know there's no winning this one. I mean, you can try and fight, but you know you're going to lose.”



“Not a chance,” Hilbert hissed. “As if I'm gonna throw in the towel against a bastard like you!”



“You might want to watch what you're saying,” Cheren said. “You haven't exactly been a ray of sunshine lately, either. So basically, I can throw what you just said right back in your face.”



Hilbert's face was growing red with sheer anger, and Cheren's eyes widened. That was not the face of the somewhat apathetic Hilbert he knew before the journey had started. That was the face of a bloodthirsty maniac. The baseball cap-wearing boy ripped another Poké Ball off his belt. “Maru, get out there!” he yelled, throwing the Ball with all his might. His Dewott, it seemed, shared his Trainer's rage, as when it appeared, it bared its fangs, taking an offensive stance with its seashells.



“Krokomire, Crunch!” Cheren yelled.



“Suppress it with Water Gun!” Hilbert commanded.



As the Desert Croc Pokémon ran for Maru, jaws open, with surprising speed, Maru opened his own mouth and shot the familiar high-pressure stream of water at it. With so much forward momentum built up, the Krokorok was unable to twist its body out of the way in time, and was hit, the super-effective, Mystic Water-boosted attack staggering it.



Seeing his chance, Maru ran at Krokorok while it was recovering, slashing at it with Razor Shell... but the Desert Croc Pokémon glowed red when it was hit, hanging on with a sliver of its health. Needing no command, it snapped the shocked Maru up in its jaws, savagely mauling him with Crunch before flinging him away in Hilbert's direction with a jerk of its head.



“Maru!” Hilbert yelled. “Get up! Now!” He breathed a sigh of relief when his starter painfully pushed himself to his feet. “What the hell just happened!? Your Krokorok should have gone down!”



“Hold items are just a beautiful thing, aren't they?” Cheren said, breathing an inward sigh of relief himself. “I bought a Focus Band off a challenger in the Battle Subway. It gives the Pokémon holding it a chance- a small chance, but a chance- to survive a KO hit with one last bit of its health.”



Hilbert grit his teeth together so tightly it almost hurt. Dammit, Cheren's really pulled out all the stops, hasn't he? he thought. Either way, Krokorok was only one Water Gun away from a knockout, so Hilbert took the opportunity. Maru's health was seemingly in the mid-yellow, not enough to trigger Torrent, but it didn't matter. The Mystic Water was just overkill. Krokorok was knocked out. Hilbert's Pokédex again sounded as Maru grew to level 30.



Swearing, Cheren recalled his ace in the hole, and threw out another Poké Ball.



Elesa idly looked out the window of the backseat of her car, watching the familiar scenery of the outskirts of Nimbasa go by. Her chauffeur drove at a pace that was slightly above the speed limit, given how she late she was in meeting that Trainer. Damn that last-minute challenger, she thought. That poor boy in the blue jacket is probably bored stiff waiting for me. Before long, they arrived at the parking lot near the Route 5 Gate. “Wait here. You know the drill,” she said as she got out.



The man simply nodded as she closed the door. She thanked Arceus that she had switched her high heels for more modest flat-soled shoes (yellow, of course), so the gravel didn't pose a problem. She walked into the green building, the attendant immediately standing up straighter as she entered. “O-oh! Miss Elesa! What brings you here? Is there anything I can do for you?” she stammered quickly.



Elesa walked over to the counter. “As a matter of fact, you can. Did a Trainer come in here? Baseball cap, blue jacket, about yay tall?” Elesa motioned with her hand to indicate Hilbert's height.



The attendant thought for a moment. “Um... yes, actually! He seemed to be waiting for someone. Didn't really look too happy, either. He just sat at the end of the hall there for almost twenty minutes, then he went out onto Route 5. You just missed him.”



Damn. “Alright, thank you. I guess I'll have to go look for him.” Elesa turned around and began walking down the hall.



“You have a good day, Miss Elesa!” the attendant waved after her.



“You, too.”



Instead of exiting the Gate, though, Elesa stopped at the end. She was in no mood to get swamped by a crowd today, and apart from cold and/or rainy days, Route 5 was always bustling, despite its small size. She reached into the pouch on her thigh and took out a small pair of pocket binoculars, which she used to scout around for paparazzi to avoid them, scanning ahead. She first saw a few people battling Pokémon off to the left, but didn't see anyone wearing a blue jacket, so she kept looking. A sweep to the right, however, and she actually did see a boy with a blue jacket, but he had black hair and glasses.



Oh, right, she thought, HIM. She remembered that boy. He had challenged her just before the sandstorm hit, and had won, though she did put up a good fight. He had proven to be a very poor winner, gloating to her about his victory and how awesome his Sandile had been and ooh, did it take every bit of her self-control to not just kick his ass out of the Gym personally...



Elesa then realized she was gripping the binoculars incredibly tightly, and that the boy with glasses was engaged in battle with someone. Loosening her hold and regaining her composure, she saw that the person he was fighting was the challenger from earlier. She couldn't see his face as his back was turned, but she recognized the blue jacket and baseball cap. The boy currently had a Drilbur up against his foe's Krokorok, but not for long. She winced as the Desert Croc Pokémon glowed with the yellow outline of Retaliate, sending the Drilbur back so far it landed a mere ten feet in front of her. The baseball capped boy then sent out the very Pokémon that had defeated her, his Dewott. Elesa decided to stay where she was and watch the show. It was interesting, she thought, seeing these two challengers go head-to-head. In fact, they were so evenly matched, she couldn't pick a winner...



The Poké Ball Cheren threw opened to reveal his Servine, like Hilbert had been expecting, and fearing. With one quick Vine Whip, Maru was knocked out. Luckily, like last time, he had the perfect counter in the form of Darumaka, so he threw her out. Unluckily for him, though, Cheren's Servine had learned from the last time, when it was taken out by Makue's Fire Fang, and quickly used Vine Whip, striking the Zen Charm Pokémon. The attack was resisted, doing minimal damage, but it served its purpose of keeping Makue at a distance. Servine kept up the assault, but Makue was far smarter than the Grass Snake Pokémon gave it credit for. Makue dodged the next Vine Whip, and grabbed the vine itself, pulling Servine straight into a Fire Punch. Hilbert's Dex beeped yet again as Makue also grew to level 30.



“What the hell!?” Cheren cried as his starter was instantly knocked out by the super-effective attack. He glared at Hilbert. Hilbert returned the glare with twice as much malice. Saying nothing more, Cheren threw out his Panpour. “Scald!” he yelled.



Panpour opened his mouth and shot a burning hot blast of water at Makue, with the same amount of force behind it as Water Gun. With no time to dodge, she was hit, and knocked out in a heartbeat. Hilbert recalled his Darumaka, and thought for a second on what he wanted to send out next. Fucker's got me down to my last two Pokémon. I need to knock that Panpour out in one hit, and I'm not confident in Logan's ability to do that. Artemis probably could, but if she gets hit with that Water-type attack, it's over. He growled. It truly was Electrode Roulette: make the wrong choice, and it could blow up in his face.



“Come on, Hilbert, I'm waiting,” Cheren taunted. “Or have you given up?”



“Shut up, Cheren! You're an arrogant piece of shit, and I'm gonna put you in your place!” Hilbert yelled. Wasting no more time, he threw out Artemis without another thought.



To his surprise, though, Cheren's expression changed to one of confusion at seeing Artemis. He doesn't know Archen's type! Hilbert thought. Now's my chance! “Artemis, Acrobatics!” he yelled.



Artemis needed no more prompting. Running so fast she was a blur, she slammed into Panpour, knocking him over, and savagely tearing at him with her talons, pecking him over and over, beating him down without any remorse or pity. It was over in seconds. Hilbert's Dex let out one last ping! sound as Artemis grew to level 29.



“Allizel!” Cheren cried in concern. He quickly recalled the Spray Pokémon, confusing Artemis, who was actually quite enjoying mauling Panpour, and she looked around, eager for more battle. There would be no more battle, though, as Hilbert recalled Artemis to her Poké Ball as well.



Cheren, seemingly not realizing he had lost, reached for another Poké Ball, only for his hand to grab empty air on his belt. “What..?” he gasped. His face twisted in pure rage. “No! No, no, no, no! How the hell could I still lose!? I had every advantage, every single damn one!” He stomped up to Hilbert, jabbing him in the chest, oblivious to Hilbert's increasingly wrathful gaze. “You- you must have cheated somehow! I've never even seen a Pokémon like that! Where did you get it and where did you get the Rare Candies to make it stronger than my Pokémon!?” He scoffed, starting to walk past Hilbert. “I'm not giving you a damn dime of prize money until you tell me!”



Hilbert didn't even turn around as Cheren walked toward the Gate. He just stood there, stewing in his own anger, his breathing getting heavier and heavier. His blood boiled in his veins, like volcanic magma. And once a volcano builds strength, no force on the planet can stop it from exploding. So Hilbert's anger did like a volcano, and exploded. An insane scream of, “RAAHH!” tearing itself from his throat, he charged toward Cheren, tackling him to the ground before the other boy could react, and began punching him in the chest over and over.



“I. Didn't. Cheat!!” Hilbert yelled, slamming his fists down with every word. “You son of a BITCH! Give me my fucking money! I won fair and square!!”



Cheren, through the beating he was receiving, quickly shot his arm up and grabbed one of Hilbert's wrists. Hilbert just screamed like a madman and aimed his next punch at Cheren's face. Cheren's fast reflexes saved him, though, and he grabbed Hilbert's face. By chance, he happened to grab the side of Hilbert's face that was still somewhat injured from the Team Plasma grunt's punch. Hilbert yelled in pain, beginning to withdraw, but Cheren kept up the assault, digging his fingers into the tender flesh, eliciting more agonized cries from Hilbert... until someone intervened, shoving Hilbert off of Cheren.



“That's enough!” A voice cried.



Clutching his throbbing face, Hilbert pushed himself to his feet, seeing none other than Elesa helping a groaning Cheren up. Both boys still had some fight left in them, and immediately made for each other, ready to start swinging, but Elesa stepped between them, releasing an Emolga. “If I have to paralyze you both, I will. Now cut it out! What the hell even happened, anyway? One moment you were battling Pokémon, and the next you were trying to kill each other!”



Both boys launched into vehement defenses of their actions, each one trying to talk over the other. Elesa just sighed, and with a flick of her finger, Emolga sent a small jolt of electricity whizzing past Hilbert's arm. The boy cried out and jerked his arm out of the way.



“What the hell was that for!?” he yelled.



“Consider that a warning shot,” Elesa said. “You two had better not try my patience, or so help me, I'll have Emolga zap you both so much you won't be able to move for a week! Clear?” Both boys nodded begrudgingly. “Now,” Elesa continued, “Us three are gonna go for a walk. I was planning on driving you to Driftveil, but unfortunately, if you behave like bratty schoolchildren, then that's how you'll get treated. Now follow me.”



They continued on for a slow, agonizing kilometre, made even slower by people frequently asking Elesa for a picture or autograph, and she generously complied with all of them. I take back what I thought earlier about not wanting to get swamped, she thought. Just a polite few here and there- just how I like it.



During this time, Hilbert took out his Pokédex to see if his Pokémon could learn any new moves from their level-ups. Only Darumaka had, and it was the risky Belly Drum, a move which cut the health of the Pokémon using it in half, but maximized its attack. Hilbert denied letting Makue learn it, thinking it was too much of a gamble.



It was to Hilbert's and Cheren's greatest reliefs when a warm, booming voice called out, “Ah, Elesa! What brings you here?” All three turned their heads to see a man with wild red-and-orange hair walking toward them. The man's outfit instantly reminded Hilbert of a Native Unovan chief, or something to that effect. Either way, it was clothing reminiscent of a bygone era, that consisted of a beige poncho with orange-and-red stripes along its edges, and a black stripe in the center, pants that had a tattered look to them along the ankles, and black sandals. The black t-shirt he wore underneath had a high collar. His skin was very tanned, and he had the largest biceps Hilbert had ever seen on a person, rivaling that of some Fighting-type Pokémon. He also had a string of Poke Balls draped over his shoulders, adding to the ornamental feel.



“To put it simply, these two brats.” Elesa gestured toward the boys flanking her on either side. “But I could ask you the same question. What are you doing on this little Route?”



“Oh, you know me, Elesa, I just go wherever the wind takes me,” the man said. “Besides,” he added, letting out a hearty laugh, “I just can't resist a good festival! Now, who are these, er, 'brats' as you put it?”



Cheren stepped forward, jabbing a thumb at his chest. “My name's Cheren, and that piece of shit there is called Hilbert.”



Hilbert immediately raised his fists, lunging for Cheren, only to be caught by Elesa. “You wanna go, four-eyes? I beat your ass in a Pokémon battle, and I can do it with my fists, too.”



“You only won because you cheated,” Cheren shot back.



“What's the matter, too scared to admit that I'm just better than you?”



The man and Elesa both sighed. “I can see why you called these two 'brats',” he whispered to her.



Both Cheren and Hilbert overheard this, and whipped their heads in his direction. “What was that!?” Hilbert said angrily.



Cheren took the more direct approach. “I'd take you on right here, right now, old man! You're just lucky all my Pokémon are knocked out!”



Elesa narrowed her eyes, her expression darkening. “Not only should I paralyze you for that, I should fucking electrocute you!” she yelled. “Do you have any idea who this is!?”



The black-haired boy flinched a bit. “...No,” he said, lowering his gaze. To his surprise, though, the man began to laugh.



“Ah, it's okay, Elesa. They're young, and they'll mature. But that does remind me, I haven't introduced myself, have I? My name is Alder. I am the Unova Pokémon League Champion.”



“Wha-wha-wha... what?” Cheren sputtered through a slack jaw.



Alder laughed again. “I admit, that reaction isn't exactly new,” he said.



“Bu-bu-but... what the hell is the Arceus-damned Pokémon League Champion doing goofing off at... at a busker festival!?” Cheren cried. “You should be at the League, leading the Elite Four, taking on all comers, not wasting time doing whatever you feel like!”



Alder tilted his head up, looking down at Cheren in an inquisitive, appraising way. After a few seconds, he broke the silence. “You're quite a judgmental young man, aren't you? What did you think, the Champion just sits on their throne all day every day, waiting for challengers that might never come because the Four have already dealt with them? For your information, I'm not 'goofing off', or 'wasting time'. I'm on... a voyage of self-discovery. And even if I wasn't, the Champion and the Four still get days off every now and again, so I'd have every right to goof off if I felt like it!”



Cheren just crossed his arms and huffed. “Well, I wouldn't take vacations if I was Champion. Which, for the record, is my goal on my journey.”



“Hm. I see.” Alder said. “Well, traveling knowing the destination you have in mind is a good thing.” He turned to Hilbert. “And do you have any particular goal in mind... ah, what was it now... Hilbert?”



Hilbert just crossed his arms and shrugged irritably. “No, I don't. Didn't have one from the start.” His tone then turned more bitter. “As a matter of fact, I don't even know why I'm even bothering to continue with this journey. After everything I've been through, I'm starting to think I'm the world's personal punching bag.”



“What do you mean, 'everything you've been through?'” Alder asked, quirking a brow.



All the bad experiences Hilbert had had, from getting his cheek cut in Wellspring Cave, to getting captured by Team Plasma, to tripping over the dead bodies on Route 4, flashed through his mind. His brows furrowed. “...Bad things,” he said finally, in a firm tone. He clenched his fist tightly, Alder catching the subtle body language.



“Okay, I won't press,” Alder said. “Sorry for bringing that up.” He turned back to Cheren. “So, do you have any plans after becoming the Champion- if you can beat me in an official League match, that is?”



Hilbert could almost see the question mark above Cheren's head as his face scrunched into a questioning look. “What do you mean?” he asked. “What else is there to do after that? Isn't becoming stronger a goal in and of itself? I mean, did the Legendary Trainers ever care about what they'd do after they became Champion?”



“But is becoming stronger enough of a goal?” Alder asked. “Tell me, did you ever seen the interviews that Brendan Ruby did just a few years back? He said he felt, and I quote, 'lost and tired, like the world had nothing left to offer.' In fact, I spoke with him recently, and he told me those feelings of depression persisted until he married his childhood sweetheart, May.”



Cheren was silent, looking toward the ground. Hilbert just rolled his eyes. “Is there a point to all this babbling, and can you get to it?” he snapped. “Because I need to get to Driftveil ASAP.”



“The point, you ignorant fool,” Alder growled, his patience wearing thin, “Is that there is more to Pokémon than just getting stronger. I've come across many Trainers with the same mindset as this young man here, who aren't necessarily wrong in their way of thinking, but they are somewhat misguided in it. I've helped to show them a better way, and maybe I can with you two as well.”



“Good luck,” Elesa muttered. “These two have their heads shoved so far up their own asses they can see what they had for lunch.”



“Then shall we see if I can remove their heads from where they've placed them?” Alder smirked. “How does a battle sound? Not with me and Elesa, of course, we'd wipe the floor with you two.”



“Wanna bet?” Cheren growled. “I'd take on anyone, right here, right now! Including you two!”



Hilbert just sighed impatiently. “Didn't you just say not two minutes ago that your Pokémon were knocked out? Because you lost to me, might I add? You can't battle even though you want to right now.”



“It's okay, I have plenty of Full Restores,” Alder said, quickly pulling some out of his poncho and healing Cheren's Pokémon. He then did the same for Hilbert. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted, “These two young men have volunteered to battle anyone willing! Any takers?”



All of a sudden, it seemed every Trainer on the Route came running toward the four, some having heard Alder's yell, the rest just wanting to see what the commotion was about. Even one lady poked her head out of a trailer that she had- somehow- gotten onto the civilian path nearby to the south. With everyone now swarming around them, each one asking to be the ones to challenge Hilbert and Cheren in an attempt to make a good impression on the Champion, Alder had to hold his hands up, calling for quiet. A hush fell over the crowd at once.



“Ha ha ha ha ha!” Alder laughed. “Well, that was... enthusiastic! Sadly, unlike me, these boys don't have all day to battle everyone here, so I'm only gonna pick two Trainers at random for a Double Battle with these two. All who still wish to challenge them, raise your hand!”



After a few seconds of discontented grumbling from the crowd, lots of hands shot up. Alder quickly picked two Trainers out, a boy and a girl not much older than Hilbert and Cheren. The two Trainers looked completely exuberant at having been picked by the Champion, walking through the crowd excitedly. The rest of the crowd backed up to give the upcoming battle some breathing room. “How about you two introduce yourselves?” Alder said to the two Trainers he had picked.



The young man shook hands with Cheren, the latter boy seeming a little reluctant if not disgusted at doing so, introducing himself as Billy. “And my name is Sarah!” the girl said, flashing a cocky smile and wink at Hilbert. “Don't think I'll go easy on you!”



Hilbert just regarded her with a cold stare, unfazed. “Fine. Wasn't planning on giving you anything less than hell, either.” His tone was very gruff and abrasive. He immediately threw out Scrapper, Cheren following suit with Krokorok.



The two opposing Trainers nodded at each other, and as if they had coordinated this between them beforehand, threw out their respective Herdier right at the same time. Hilbert noted there were no other Poke Balls on their belts. He sadistically grinned inwardly. Oh, this is gonna be easy as pie.



Alder stepped away to stand beside Elesa as Billy and Sarah started off the battle. “Herdier, use Helping Hand!” Sarah yelled. An orange ring of energy was emitted by her Herdier, which seemed to empower Billy's.



“Use that boost! Take Down!” Billy commanded. The Herdier began a reckless charge towards Krokorok, the other one starting to run, too, fangs bared for a Crunch attack.



“Rock Slide, Scrapper,” Hilbert said firmly. Scrapper started to form the ball of energy that would become Rock Slide, but Cheren dashed those plans.



“Crunch on Drilbur!” he called.



“Wha-!?” Hilbert cried in shock, but before he could issue a counter command, Krokorok had snapped Scrapper up in his jaws, biting down hard. A split second later, Herdier rammed into the Desert Croc Pokémon, sending it sprawling and knocking Scrapper out of its mouth in a comical fashion. Given that the boost from Helping Hand drove Take Down's power up to 140 with STAB, it was an instant knockout. Scrapper pushed himself to his feet, but was just as quickly chomped on by the other Herdier and driven down to the last bits of his health.



Needless to say, Hilbert was beyond furious. “What the hell was that!?” he yelled, snapping his head towards Cheren. “You fucking attacked my Pokémon! I thought we were supposed to be on the same fucking side here!”



“What?” Cheren said, recalling his Pokémon. “I needed Krokorok to get the Moxie boost, and your Drilbur was the closest target. I just didn't think it would backfire like it did.” Though those words came out of his mouth, in his head he was thinking: No, I just did it because you're a douche.



“How insane are you!?” Hilbert almost screamed. “The Herider was coming right for us! Of course your backasswards strategy would backfire!”



The two continued to yell and argue, Alder rolling his eyes. “Maybe getting through to these two will be harder than I thought,” he whispered to Elesa. “They squabble like Pidove over a bit of bread.”



“Tell me about it,” Elesa sighed. “You should have seen them before you found us- they were in a literal fistfight.”



Before long, Billy and Sarah grew tired of listening to their opponents shout at each other, and simply nodded at one another. They commanded both Herdier to use Crunch on Scrapper at the same time, with both Loyal Dog Pokémon each taking a bite out of Scrapper and tossing him away, unconscious.



“Damn it!” Hilbert yelled. “Now look what happened! That's your fault, by the way! Not mine!” He threw out Sawk, causing both Billy and Sarah to pale. “You pull that again, I sic Sensei on you. Understood?”



“Alright, alright, fine,” Cheren said, throwing out his Servine. With Sawk now on the field, the battle was over in a matter of thirty seconds. The powerful Fighting-type Pokémon defeated both Herdier almost single-handedly, with Servine only getting in a glancing blow with Vine Whip. Sensei gained a quarter of a level's worth of experience from that.



Surprisingly though, Billy and Sarah didn't recall their fainted Pokémon right away. Instead, they ran up to them, petting them and praising them. “You did so well out there, Herider,” Sarah said soothingly. “Come back, I'll take you to a Pokémon Center and get you healed up good as new!” The Herdier vanished in a flash as it was recalled to its Poké Ball. Meanwhile, Billy was doing the same.



Alder began a slow yet hearty round of applause as he walked up to them. “Well done! Even if you didn't win, that was a good effort!” He gave Billy and Sarah both a congratulatory clap on the shoulders. “Still, a battle is a battle, so an exchange of prize money is in order.”



They nodded, and took out their Trainer Cards, tapping them against Hilbert's and Cheren's with a round of 'thank yous'. Cheren gave a halfhearted one back, but Hilbert just regarded his opponent with an icy silence.



The crowd then started to disperse, Alder turning to the boys. “You see? Those two, despite being Trainers, didn't care a bit about winning. They just wanted to have fun with their Pokémon. What I'm trying to say here isn't to be just like them, but live a little every now and again. Your Pokémon work just as hard for you as you work for them, keep in mind.” Alder's face suddenly turned downcast. “And trust me, pursuing power and strength for the sake of it is a very self-defeating path.” His tone made it clear he didn't want to elaborate. Hilbert and Cheren exchanged questioning looks. “Just give it some thought. That's all I ask.”



Elesa nodded. “That's right. Now, I think we'd best be getting to Driftveil. We'll take my car. It's just at the entrance to this Route.” She looked up at the sky, seeing slowly approaching gray clouds. “And we'd better hurry. Looks like a storm's rolling in.”



“Finally,” Hilbert grumbled, following Elesa as she bid farewell to Alder.



All the way back to the Gate, Cheren had a look of thoughtful discontent on his face, his brows deeply furrowed. Hilbert lightly nudged him on the shoulder. “Something wrong?” he smirked, in a tone that did not radiate concern.



“Shut up. Leave me alone,” Cheren snapped back. Inwardly, and though he'd never admit it to Hilbert in that moment, his thoughts were a whirlwind. Why would Alder act so carefree? He's the Champion. They're the strongest of the strong. That's all there is to it.



While on the way back, Hilbert took out his Pokédex, to see if any of his Pokémon could learn new moves from their level-ups. Only Makue could, and it was the risky Belly Drum, a move that cut the health of the Pokémon using it in half, but maximized its attack. He denied her learning it, thinking it too much of a gamble.



Before too much longer, they had reached Elesa's car. “Ah, there you are! I was starting to think I'd been forgotten!” the chauffeur said as they walked up to the vehicle.



“Oh, can it,” Elesa said, though her smirk betrayed her true feelings. She rode shotgun while Hilbert and Cheren hopped in the back.



The trip to the Driftveil Drawbridge was completed mostly in silence, with Cheren muttering something under his breath along the way.



“What'd you just say?” Hilbert asked.



“I said I'm not looking forward to Driftveil,” Cheren said. “Haven't been from the start. I'll tell you why when we get there.”



Hilbert just shrugged, going back to idly looking out the window as the bridge's massive red steel beams came into view. The Driftveil Drawbridge, while lacking the size and some of the majesty of the Skyarrow Bridge, was still an impressive feat of architectural engineering. Made of steel that was painted a bright, raw red, it consisted of two enormous halves that could be raised or lowered, and the bridge was built with such precision that the two sections came together with barely a gap in between them.



As Elesa had expected, the bridge was up, barring anyone from entering or even exiting Driftveil. Figures Clay would do this, the paranoid old fool, Elesa thought bitterly. She whipped out her Cross-Transceiver, hitting Clay's number on the speed-dial list. The device rang a few times, before Clay's face appeared on the screen. “Clay, can you do me a favour and lower the damn drawbridge?” she asked. “I have two Trainers in the car with me who want to get across. Not to mention, there's probably a whole lot of other people who want to do the same.”



“Sorry, no can do, Elesa,” the Gym Leader on the other end of the line said. “Y'know th' Team Plasma grunts that were smugglin' Pokémon near th' port? Well, we got 'em in custody right now. Th' reason th' bridge is up is t' keep any of their spies inside Driftveil so they can't escape.”



“Then maybe they can help,” Elesa said. “These two Trainers have been fighting Team Plasma for a while now, and they both beat me. That should tell you how gifted they are right there.”



Clay went silent for a moment. Elesa could see his thought process on his face, the cogs and gears in his opportunity cost-driven brain turning. “Well... alright. I'll be at the other side of th' bridge as soon as I can.”



“Thank you,” Elesa said.



After another twenty minutes of thumb-twiddling waiting as Clay drove through the city to get to them, during which the clouds overhead became ever darker and more ominous, a loud mechanical grinding was heard. “Ah, there we are,” Elesa said. “Just sit back and watch the show, boys. This never gets old.”



Hilbert and Cheren could only look on in awe as the two massive halves of the Driftveil Drawbridge were lowered with a loud rumbling. They connected right in the middle with a BOOM, shaking the structure slightly. Just then, as the sound faded, Elesa's Cross-Transceiver rang. “Oh, great,” she muttered under her breath. “Now what?” She accepted the call, expecting Clay's voice, but instead, another, frantic voice answered instead. Oh, shit, she thought. “D-don't worry, I'll be there as soon as I can!” she said hurriedly, before hanging up. She turned to Hilbert and Cheren. “Sorry, boys, but this is as far as I take you. I've got a TV gig today that I forgot about, and I need to get there now.”



Cheren nodded, exiting the car, while Hilbert muttered, “Dammit,” under his breath before doing the same.



“Well, we might as well cross,” Cheren said. Just then, the first raindrops began to fall, splatting onto Hilbert's cap and Cheren's head with annoying plips.



Swearing and flipping up his jacket's hood, Hilbert began to run across the bridge, his footfalls making clanking noises on the metal walkway. Sighing knowing he was never going to catch Hilbert thanks to his special shoes, Cheren followed him, albeit at a much slower pace so he could think some more. I'll prove Alder's wrong by getting stronger and winning against anyone- even him. What happens after doesn't matter. But then, why can't I win against Hilbert? Cheren firmly crushed any doubt under his mental heel, just as he had back in Striaton. He looked at Hilbert's rapidly-shrinking form as he ran into the distance. NO. I will defeat him one of these days. He can't keep winning forever. As he kept going, the rain steadily got worse, until it was a full-on downpour. At one point, he looked north, seeing an automated lighthouse perched on a spit of land.



The great drawbridge eventually tapered off into a much smaller concrete one with white stone railings, and by the time Cheren had crossed both, he was soaked, Hilbert was already there, and there were multiple red-and-blue flashes of police car lights he could see. There was also a large man in a cowboy hat standing in front of the blockade of police cars, along with a massive Hummer-style parked among them.



From what he could see so far, Driftveil didn't look that bad, though if what Cheren had read online was at all accurate, it would get worse the more south they traveled. For now, though, it seemed mostly harmless. The bridge dropped people off in what seemed to be a lower middle-class area, with decent-but-not-great suburbs and apartment buildings to the north and west. The northern part of the city got gradually more hilly, with a run-down, old building that dated back to the city's founding sitting alone on the top of the tallest hill. Several dozen metres below that, was the Gym. The houses all had ruddy orange roofs and were constructed of tan or dark brown bricks, creating a very uniform appearance. The last thing of note (though he couldn't see it, it was too far south) was the Driftveil Market, a huge indoor farmer's market where one could find several imported goods from other regions, both licit and (so it was claimed) illicit. The all-important Pokémon Center was located right across the street from this building. Somewhere in the city to the northwest, there was also a small park with a statue in it of an old sailing ship's sail, signifying how much the shipment of goods meant to Driftveil.



The man in the cowboy hat walked up to them. “So, yer th' two Trainers Elesa was talkin' 'bout, huh?” he said. “Hrmph! Ya don't seem like much t' me!” Oddly, his accent was nothing like Hilbert expected from someone who dressed like a cowboy. Instead of a thick southern accent, it sounded quite average, with maybe a hint of eastern flavour to it. Cheren didn't seem too surprised. He was wearing a tan western-style vest over a burgundy-brown business shirt, with the knot of a green tie being visible peeking out from underneath the vest. He also had bulky tan riding crops over his jeans. His hair was dark brown, and he had impressive sideburns. Currently, the large hat he wore was doing a relatively good job at keeping him dry from the rain, but at the cost of it getting soaked. “Wish I could offer ya both a warm welcome t' Driftveil, but as ya can see, I got m'self a situation here.” he continued. “So yer both gonna hafta wait to challenge me.”



“So... you're Clay?” Hilbert asked. “The Gym Leader of this city?”



“Last I fuckin' checked,” Clay replied gruffly. “In case you were wonderin' what this blockade is for, it's jus' to make sure no one gets in or outta Driftveil without bein' checked first. Can't be too careful with Team Plasma 'round these parts. We're currently waiting on the cops down at the port to bring the group of Plasma members to jail. Once that's done, I'll be happy t' challenge ya both.”



Just then, Clay's Cross-Transceiver rang. He gestured towards Hilbert and Cheren. “Gimme a sec.” Hitting the 'Accept Call' button, the police chief's face appeared, looking sheepish and nervous. Anger mixed with anxiety started to boil in Clay's stomach.



“U-uh, Boss..?” the man said. “We kinda lost track of the Plasma grunts... they escaped.”



“You...they... WHAT!?!?!” Clay screamed into his Cross-Transceiver, causing the police chief to wince. He was getting demoted for this for sure. Hilbert gave Cheren a look. “Ah... shit!” Clay swore. “I can't rely on you incompetent fuckers for nothin', can I!? At least tell me ya know where they went!”



“They seem to have escaped into the Cold Storage,” the chief said.



A look of dread came over Clay's face. “Oh... fuck,” he swore. However, looking at Hilbert and Cheren, an idea quickly formed in his head. Raising his voice so the two boys could hear, he said, “Alright, stay on alert, but don't pursue. I'll be sendin'... backup to help ya in short order.” With that, he ended the call.



Hilbert got a bad feeling as Clay walked over to them again, seeming to dwarf them with his bulk. “And I think I know the backup I'm sendin',” the Gym Leader said. “If it weren't fer you two, I wouldn't have had to come here, an' them Plasma grunts wouldn't have escaped! So that means, yer going into the Cold Storage to find them! If ya don't do that, I won't let ya fight me fer the Quake Badge.”



“What?” Hilbert hissed. “You bastard! There's no way I'm going into some Arceus-damned Cold Storage and risking my life for some members of a criminal organization that I couldn't give less of a shit about!”



“Sticks n' stones, kiddo,” Clay shot back. “Call me whatcha like, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm holdin' all th' cards right now.”



“Uh, Hilbert, can I speak to you for a second?” Cheren whispered. “Over there?” He pulled Hilbert away from Clay by the arm, the baseball-cap-wearing boy just rolling his eyes.



“Okay, first of all, what the fuck were you saying back there?” Cheren hissed once they were out of earshot. “Were you suggesting to just leave those grunts in there to die? Second of all, you may not care about getting the Badges anymore, but I sure as hell do, and I am not gonna let you ruin this for me! We're going into that Cold Storage, and that's final!”



“So what if I was?” Hilbert said venomously, his face darkening in rage. “In case you missed the damned memo, those are Team fucking Plasma grunts! They've done nothing but make our lives absolutely miserable from day one. Of course we're gonna leave them in there. Let 'em freeze, see if I care. Second, when have I ever said I gave two fucking shits about your little lust for power? You can't beat me anyways, so stop trying to play Mr. 'I'm-king-of-the-world'. You can go. I won't. That's final.”



Hilbert then began to walk toward the Driftveil Drawbridge, fully intent on leaving behind this stupid, hellish journey. “And you said I was a douche!” Cheren called after him, shaking his head.



Hilbert stopped in his tracks, turning around. “What?” he said slowly, dangerously.



“You heard me. Back on Route 4, after our battle, you called me an arrogant douchebag,” Cheren said. “But you've gone beyond that, though. Leaving people to die, wanting them to die- you're ten times worse than I ever could be. That's just psychotic.” He turned to face Clay, who was speaking with a police officer. “And I won't let you have your way. Not this time.” Cheren cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, “You've got a deal, Clay! My friend came to his senses!”



Hilbert's gaze immediately turned outright murderous. I'm gonna KILL HIM! That fucking SON OF A BITCH!



Unfortunately for him, his murder plans were put on hold, as Clay spoke up before he could get to Cheren and strangle the life out of him. “Ah, glad ta hear it. I'll even let ya use my limo, and provide ya with police escort, just so ya don't get caught by traffic.”



Without much choice, and swearing a blue streak under his breath, Hilbert climbed into the limo along with a smug Cheren. It was very roomy and luxurious inside the vehicle, with plush black leather seats that one could fall asleep on, and windows that were tinted to provide privacy to the occupants. Hilbert sat opposite to Cheren near the middle. Before the limo started moving, however, Clay knocked on the driver's window, getting him to roll it down. “Make sure ta take it slow, would ya?” he asked. “Let's let them grunts suffer a bit, huh?”



The driver grinned. “I like the way you think, Boss,” he said, rolling up the window. He started moving at a leisurely pace, a police car ahead of and behind him.



Hilbert let the warm air of the limo's vents wash over him, drying his soaked clothes. His stomach growled. “Hey!” he called to the driver. “Kinda getting hungry. Is there anything in here to eat?”



“Yep. There's bags of chips and other kinds of snacks in little hidden compartments back there,” the driver replied. “Search around for 'em, and dig in.”



Hilbert ran his hands over the leather of his seat, feeling a fabric strap soon enough. He pulled on it, and the seat cover opened reveal a small alcove stocked with chocolate bars and small chip bags. Cheren did the same on his side, finding some soft drinks to go along with Hilbert's snack stash.



As they continued to roll through the city munching on junk food, Hilbert looked out the rain-streaked windows. The city outside, he noticed, was starting to undergo a somewhat disturbing transformation. The buildings looked a bit more shabby, and they passed a few more run-down looking shops and such. “What's the deal with this area?” he asked Cheren. “These streets don't exactly look friendly.”



Cheren sighed. “This is why I said I was nervous about this place earlier. Did you happen to notice Clay's accent, by any chance? Like it felt out of place with the slang he was using?” Hilbert nodded. “Well, that's because he's not from Unova. He immigrated here decades ago from somewhere out east, struck it rich when he found offshore oil. If only we all could be so lucky.



“Unfortunately, either the geological surveys were wrong, or he was too greedy in pumping it out and exporting it, because the reservoirs are beginning to dry up. This city's built on shipping, exporting, and importing, but the primary export ever since Clay found the oil reservoirs has been crude oil. The reservoirs were predicted to last sixty years at the least. It's barely been twenty-five, and without the oil, this place is slowly sliding into economic hard times. People are being laid off, and the crime rate is starting to go up.”



“Then should we be worried?” Hilbert asked.



“I'd just say watch your back,” Cheren said. “Keep an eye on where you are, and don't do anything stupid. I just want to get that Badge and move on from here ASAP, and if I have to go through a Cold Storage to do it, then so be it.”



They kept riding through Driftveil for another thirty minutes, the extra time taken caused by the fairly lethargic pace of the vehicles. Not that Hilbert minded this- any time to dry off and get warm was welcome, plus, the more time they took, the more the Plasma grunts stuck in the Cold Storage suffered. The thought brought a grin to his face.



“Alright, we're coming up on the port,” the driver said.



Hilbert looked out the window, seeing that the city streets had tapered off into a more industrial area, and they were coming up on a short, wide bridge to an artificial island of concrete. His eyes widened at the sight, Cheren whispering, “Oh my Arceus...”



The island was home to a massive shipping port, stretching as far as the eye could see (which, given the rain and fog, wasn't very far). Three enormous cranes lined the southern edge of the docks, used for unloading ships, sentinels on the front lines of world trade. The limo with its police escort crossed the bridge, a bar opening to allow them access. They then took a right, passing stacks upon stacks of shipping containers of all different colours, along with smaller warehouses to allow temporary climate-controlled storage of various goods, before they could be sent off to the Driftveil Market and around the region.



However, the Cold Storage was the largest and oldest of these warehouses, a gray metal monolith with a faded blue roof. The building was nearing forty years old, but its generators kept humming, supplying the interior with the cold air it needed to keep all the frozen goods stored inside cold and fresh. Soon, the limo stopped in front of the building, Hilbert and Cheren stepping out into the cold April rain. The driver rolled down his window. “Hey!” he called to them. “Despite Clay's... uh, attitude, he's just testing you, seeing if you're ready to challenge him.”



“Oh, yeah?” Hilbert shot back snidely. “And he couldn't have given us an easier test? Like, maybe a fuckin' multiple-choice math quiz?” With a scoff, he turned away.



“Well... ready?” Cheren said, gesturing towards the entrance to the building.



“Frankly, no, and if we die in there, so help me...” Hilbert trailed off, leaving the threat hanging.



And so they went into the Cold Storage.

 

I Never Wanted to be the Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 21: Freezerburn


​

Walking into the Cold Storage was like walking into a freezer. Then again, it basically was a giant freezer, so it was at least an appropriate analogy to make. The Cold Storage was a massive building, and everywhere Hilbert and Cheren looked, they could see shelves upon shelves filled with boxes, as well as shipping containers in stacks of three, reaching a quarter of the way up the pleated metal roof infested with small icicles. The low hum of the outside generator pumping cold air into the building could be heard with acute clarity, and said cold air created a thin, downwards-creeping fog that clung to everything.



The cold squeezed Hilbert and Cheren like they were caught in a vice, their damp clothing doing nothing to help.



“L-let's just f-find those P-Plasma grunts a-and get outta h-here,” Cheren shivered.



“Y-yeah,” Hilbert said, “L-let's. H-how... c-cold do you think i-it is in here?”



Cheren looked around, seeing a thermometer on the left wall about ten feet away. He walked over to it, looked at it for a second, then called, “S-sixteen degrees!”



“W-well, that's n-not s-so bad,” Hilbert said.



Cheren just shook his head. “B-below zero. Celsius.”



Hilbert's eyes widened. “O-okay, w-we gotta f-find those g-grunts n-now,” he said.



Cheren walked back over to Hilbert. “I th-think it'd be best if w-we spl-split up,” he suggested. “W-we'll have a b-better chance of f-finding those Team Plasma grunts if we do.”



“A-agreed.” Hilbert said.



Cheren gave a wry grin. “Heh, I th-think that's the f-first time we-we've agreed on something in a while.”



“D-don't get used to it,” Hilbert said, his face suddenly hardening.



With that, they set off. Cheren turned and walked off to the right, following the wall behind a high shelf that was almost as long as the building was wide.



Hilbert shivered once again. If I make it outta here alive, Clay's a dead man! he thought. Knowing that in this cold he had maybe half an hour until his unprotected extremities became so numb they were borderline useless, he set off as well, going north, towards the centre of the building. He kept his eyes out for anywhere the grunts might have been hiding, and his diligence paid off as his sharp eyes picked up a glint of something sticking out from under a box on the same shelf Cheren had walked behind. He grabbed it, hissing as his fingers contacted the frost-covered object and pulled it loose with some effort.



Quickly inspecting it, he saw it was a jewel case for a TM, with the TM still inside. “I-I'll have to ch-check what this is l-later, a-assuming it still works,” he said to himself, stowing it in his bag.



He continued on north, following the wall, the cold seeping through his clothes. Now he was starting to shiver uncontrollably, and he stuck his hands in his jacket pockets in a desperate attempt to preserve at least some warmth in them. However, there was nothing he could do to protect his face, and already, his ears and nose were beginning to tingle and hurt. Off to his right, he could see stacks of full boxes with gaps too small to pass through placed halfway between the walls, forming an impassible barrier.



Up ahead was a path that ran through long shelving units placed horizontal to the wall, so he followed that. His hands stung now, and it felt like tiny needles were being stabbed into his fingers. He hissed and grunted in pain and displeasure, taking his hands out of his pockets for a second to blow on them. It didn't work, and exposing them to the below-zero temperatures sent a fresh wave of pain shooting through his digits. “Agh!” he hissed.



Savagely shoving his hands back into his jacket pockets with a snarl, he kept going, following the wall for the next two tall horizontal shelves, only to discover the third shelf was placed right up against the wall, barring him from going any further. What was worse, he found out as he walked down the narrow corridor between the shelves, was that there was a pile of boxes at the end, impeding him. The path he had taken had been a complete waste of time.



“F-fuck! You-you've g-gotta be k-kidding me!” Hilbert swore, turning around the way he came. He was starting to feel like a Rattata in a maze. A damp, slowly freezing Rattata in a maze. Retracing his steps took time, and time was the one thing he did not have.



Meanwhile, Cheren was having a slightly easier, but no less cold, time navigating through the building. His hands were slightly better protected in his pockets thanks to the fleece of his jacket, but it lacked a hood, unlike Hilbert's, so his head was completely exposed. His ears already stung, his nose beginning to drip mucus without end. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, he thought. But there's no turning back now.



The shelf he was walking behind, placed about thirty feet from the southernmost wall, eventually spilled him out into a narrow passageway near the eastern wall. He walked north, past the piles of boxes Hilbert had seen, and lo and behold, turning his head to the side, he saw Hilbert himself on the other side of the building. Taking his hands out of his pockets, he cupped them around his mouth, yelling to get the other boy's attention. “H-hey! Hilbert!”



Hilbert's head perked up at that. Had he just heard his name being called? He looked right, seeing Cheren waving at him from the other side of the building. “Wh-what i-is it!?” he shouted in reply.



“I-I'm gonna try g-going further north! I've g-got a f-feeling the P-Plasma grunts are th-that way!” Cheren hollered back.



“Okay! L-let me k-know i-if you f-find anything!” Hilbert yelled, pointing to his Cross-Transceiver.



Cheren nodded, and then kept going north, moving behind a shipping container, out of sight. Hilbert let out a shaky sigh. At this rate, they would be lucky if any of the Plasma grunts were even still alive. Nevertheless, the only other path that seemed open to him led east, in front of the wall of boxes, so he took it.



After traveling east for not too long, he saw what he thought might be the jackpot: A shipping container with both its doors open. He made an immediate break for it, only to discover that it was just full of packaged goods, with no Plasma grunts present inside. Shit! Hilbert thought. To the right of the open shipping container, were two stacks of the things, three high each. Both of the doors of the lowest ones were closed and locked, and Hilbert doubted the Plasma grunts in trapped in here carried boltcutters. By now, his hands had started to hurt from numbness, his ears and face even more so.



To his left was a narrow path that led in between the open shipping container and one of the horizontal shelves that he had to squeeze through, and he ended up roughly where he was when he took that wrong turn earlier, only on the other side of the stack of boxes. There was nowhere to go he hadn't already been but northeast, so he went that way.



For his part, a shivering Cheren was now making his way to the second of the building's unloading bays, which, like the first, was closed. His face was now in very bad pain, feeling like it was on fire, even though he was a far from fire, temperatures-wise, as humanly possible. His hands weren't much better, and as he took them out of his pockets to inspect them, he was horrified to see they had gone completely red. Sure, he was aware of the fact that his hands were slowly growing number and number in his pockets, but to actually see them was quite another matter, and because of this, a new wave of pain was sent shooting through his fingers. “A-ah! Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Cheren hissed, frantically blowing hot air from his mouth onto his digits. It only worked for a second, and the cold came rushing back the moment his breath faded.



Having been walking this whole time, he was now right in front of the second loading bay, and he could see the third loading bay up ahead, but unlike the other two, this one was open, with a shipping container in front of it. He doubted it would be that easy, and the Plasma grunts would be in there. Looking west, he again saw Hilbert. We just can't seem to stay separated in this damn building, can we? he thought exasperatedly. Then he thought, At this point, we might as well stick together. I have a feeling we're getting close anyways.



“H-Hilbert! C-come here!” Cheren called. The space between them was a relatively wide (for this building, anyway), open area, about sixty feet long end to end, but that distance by no means was the entire width of the building. In fact, it was likely another fifty feet to the wall.



“H-have y-you found them!?” Hilbert yelled back.



“N-no, b-but with h-how m-much we ke-keep running into e-each other, I f-figured we should s-stay together!” Cheren yelled.



Hilbert thought about it for a second, the cold helping him make up his mind faster. Fine. Might as well. He jogged over to Cheren, the cold biting at his exposed skin, causing him to wince. “They-they aren't i-in there, a-are they?” Hilbert asked, shivering as he pointed to the shipping container.



“H-haven't ch-checked, b-but I d-doubt it,” Cheren replied.



“W-well, th-then, oh G-Glorious L-Leader, g-guide us t-to the P-Plasma g-grunts w-with th-that m-magical s-sixth sense y-you s-suddenly h-have,” Hilbert sarcastically said.



“O-okay then, f-follow me,” Cheren said. He walked around the shipping container, Hilbert following him. They emerged in the space between a long shelf and the shipping container. “T-There's o-only one p-place w-we ha-haven't l-looked, a-and th-that's the n-northwest c-corner of th-the b-building. I-If th-they a-aren't th-there, th-there's n-no way th-they're in h-here a-at all.”



“A-and -w-we know th-that's n-not t-true,” Hilbert muttered dryly, or as dryly as he could while stuttering on nearly every word due to his chattering teeth.



They continued following the pathway until it ended, opening up into a wider area. As they approached a forty foot-long shipping container placed horizontally in the far northwest corner of the building, a male voice rang out. “FOR THE LOVE OF... FUCKING- SHIT! I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE! IT'S TOO FUCKING COLD!”



“Would you shut up!?” A woman's voice yelled in reply. “What if there's somebody out there!?”



“I DON'T CARE!” Screamed the first voice. “Better to be caught than freeze in here!”



“Both of you, silence!” an older man's voice cried.



Hilbert and Cheren immediately looked at one another, then made a beeline for the container. “Th-this h-has to b-be it,” Cheren whispered. “C-call C-Clay o-on y-your C-Cross-Transceiver, now!”



“H-he n-never g-gave m-me h-his damned n-number!” Hilbert whispered frantically back.



“Th-then c-call th-that s-stupid p-police ch-chief!” Cheren said. “H-hell, call a-anyone!”



Hilbert, his hands shaking and fingers in pain, prodded 9-1-1 on his Cross-Transceiver, hissing with each press.



After three rings that seemed deafening and felt like an eternity, the operator on the other end of the line picked up as a voice-only call. “Hello, what is your emergency?” a female voice asked.



“L-listen,” Hilbert desperately stuttered, “Y-you n-need t-to g-get in c-contact with C-Clay. W-we're th-the two T-Trainers he sent into th-the C-Cold St-Storage to f-find th-the T-Team P-Plasma grunts, a-and we th-think w-we've found them.”



“And where are you exactly in the Cold Storage?” the voice said, suddenly sounding a lot more urgent.



“N-northwest c-corner, a-against the w-wall,” Hilbert said. “P-please, hurry. I'm not s-sure h-how m-much l-longer w-we c-can all st-stay in h-here.”



“Okay, just stay put. I'll contact Clay for you,” the voice said. After that the line went dead.



“H-how about w-we s-soften up th-those grunts b-before Clay g-gets h-here?” Hilbert said, an evil smile creeping across his face despite his shivering.



“A-are you f-fucking c-crazy?” Cheren hissed. “W-we n-need to j-just wait f-for C-Clay. Tr-trying to f-fight th-those grunts would be p-pointless.”



Hilbert's expression darkened. This, combined with his tomato-red face from being so cold, made him look slightly inhuman. “Y-you can h-help m-me, or y-you might a-as w-well n-not be h-here. E-either w-way, I'm g-going in.”



Wrapping his fingers around one of the bars on the shipping container's doors (which in and of itself hurt like hell due to his half-frozen digits) Hilbert yanked it open. Stepping inside, he found a sight so pathetic he would have laughed had he not harbored anything but homicidal rage towards Team Plasma at this point.



Seven grunts were literally huddled around an old man in purple-black robes- likely another sage- at the back of the container, with an eighth crying in the corner. As soon as Hilbert and Cheren entered, though, he sprang up, running straight for them. “We're saved! Oh, than Arceus...” he cried. Hilbert merely sneered and rolled his eyes. He punched the man in the stomach to make him double over, then slammed his fists on his back to knock him to the floor. Several brutal stomps to the back of his head quickly knocked him out, and likely broke his nose as well.



While Cheren was horrified at this display of excessive violence, he didn't acknowledge it. Instead, he turned his attention to the still-conscious grunts. “W-well, I wouldn't h-have s-said th-that,” he said. “Y-you're m-more 'under arrest' than saved.”



“N-no!” the old man stuttered due to the cold. “Two of you, s-stop them! F-for th-the s-sake of the P-Pokémon w-we are p-protecting for our king! Th-the r-rest of you, st-stay w-with m-me! I-I c-can't t-take this c-cold...”



“Yes, Sage Zinzolin!” Two Plasma grunts stood, one releasing a Liepard and the other a Watchog.

“W-wait- p-protecting Pokémon?” Hilbert hissed. “Y-you b-bastards th-think you-you've been fucking... protecting Pokémon!?” Ignorant of the pain it caused him, he grabbed Maru's Poké Ball off his belt and released his starter, knowing this was going to be an intense battle. The shipping container was forty feet deep, but only eight feet wide and eight feet tall, so there was very little side-to-side maneuvering room. “M-Maru, rip 'em apart.” he finished. Maru immediately ran for the grunt's Pokémon, brandishing his twin seashells.



“Liepard, Pursuit!” One grunt yelled. The other commanded his Watchog to use Crunch as Cheren released his Servine.



The Liepard ran for Maru and simply jumped over him, then whirled around and slammed into him while surrounded by a dark aura. Maru was catapulted straight into the jaws of the Watchog, who bit down hard on him, then rammed him into the right wall.



“Maru, Revenge!” Hilbert yelled as the Liepard took a retaliatory hit from Servine's Vine Whip. Maru was surrounded by a red glow, springing to his feet and hitting the Watchog with such force it dented the left wall of the container when it hit it. Needless to say, the Watchog did not get up. Shortly after that, the Liepard went down with two Pokémon tag-teaming it.



The grunts returned their Pokémon, now shivering from more than the cold as Hilbert and Cheren advanced, their respective starters ahead of them.



“Now,” Hilbert said with murder in his voice. Even the cold seemed not to faze him anymore. “You can all surrender peacefully and cease your Pokémon-smuggling operations, or I'll have Maru turn you into cold cuts. Your choice.”



The grunts just whimpered, with Zinzolin giving a more defiant look, and Hilbert was fully prepared to give Maru the order to dice them into salami with Razor Shell, but then he heard someone clapping. “Nicely done, kiddos, but I think I can take it from 'ere,” a familiar voice said.



Hilbert whipped around, seeing exactly who he expected to see hearing that voice. “Clay!”



Clay stood in the open doorway of the container. Behind him, Hilbert could make out the silhouettes of police officers. “Yep, that'd be me!” he said. “But damn! Hidin' out in a chilly old place like this... you Plasma goons are even dumber than you look! Frankly, I was worried for ya, 'cause if ya hadn't been found in time, ya'll woulda froze to death! Luckily that didn't happen.” He turned to address his police entourage. “Now ya'll get in there and arrest those Pokémon robbers! And don't fuckin' let 'em go this time, or you're all fired!”



The cops, spurred on by the threat of losing their jobs, leapt into action with ruthless, mechanical efficiency, handcuffing the grunts and Zinzolin and pulling them out of the container with some protesting. The unconscious grunt with the broken nose was handcuffed and unceremoniously dragged away.



Once they were gone, Clay walked up to Hilbert and Cheren. “Well, looks like I should've never doubted you two. Job well done, boys! Now let's get outta this place. Ice and a Ground-type user like me... we don't get along.”



“J-just o-one q-question,” Cheren said as they walked out of the shipping container, “H-how'd you get here so fast?”



“Kiddo, I was outside the building since you were probably still finding those grunts,” Clay said. “I was just waitin' outside with Driftveil's... uh, 'finest' 'til we got word from you. Sorry for not givin' either of you my Cross-Transceiver number by the way... kinda slipped my mind.”



“A-and what w-will happen t-to the g-grunts?” Hilbert shivered. The rage he was in had cooled off, and so the cold was seeping back, making his teeth chatter.



“Oh, they'll be thrown in jail with no trial or chance for bail or parole,” Clay said. “Just ain't worth wastin' the time with a trial, given how it's obvious they're all guilty.”



“G-good,” Hilbert muttered. “Th-that bunch is n-nothing more th-than a w-waste of f-fucking oxygen. I'd kill them all myself if y-you'd l-let me.”



Cheren's eyes widened at that, but Clay merely smirked. “I don't blame ya. Now, who's up for warmed-up MooMoo Milk, fresh from the market? It's on me.”



Exiting the Cold Storage, Hilbert and Cheren each grinned to themselves. MooMoo Milk was a drink from Johto that had be imported to Unova. Having never had it warm before, they could only imagine how good it would taste. However, soon they would get another unpleasant, chilly surprise, one that cause Hilbert's anger to finally boil over.

 

I Never Wanted to be the Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 22: Clay, the Underground Boss

​

Hilbert took the warm MooMoo Milk into his shivering hands gratefully, letting the blessed heat wash over his hands. He brought the jar to his lips and took a sip, finding it delicious. Clay had told them to not gulp it down, as that would lower his and Cheren's core body temperature, something they needed to keep up right now. The rain had stopped earlier, while they were in the Cold Storage, leaving a damp Driftveil in its wake. The time was now nearing evening, with the sky turning an orange-red hue.



He, Cheren, and Clay were currently inside the bustling Driftveil Market, full of vendors selling all kinds of fruits and vegetables, fresh from Mistralton and imported from elsewhere. The Market truly had it all. Hilbert wouldn't have been surprised if the rumors about the place selling illegal goods were true. Clay was standing off to the side, talking to a police officer. The Plasma grunts and Zinzolin were in custody near the Gym. Suddenly, Clay's Cross-Transceiver started ringing. “Yeah, what now?” the Gym Leader asked.



“We got a, uh... situation, boss,” the police officer on the other end of the line said. “We need you to get down to the Gym, ASAP.”



Clay just groaned, shutting off his Cross-Transceiver without another word. He walked over the two boys that were still taking small sips of their milk. “Sorry, kiddos, but we gotta cut this shoppin' trip a bit short,” he said. “We're goin' to the Gym.”



The three of them walked out of the Market, entered Clay's Hummer-limo, and drove north to the hilly riverside area the Gym was situated on. As they approached, Hilbert could clearly see gray vans marked with the familiar, and hated, symbol of Team Plasma, and he could also make out several dozen grunts, far outnumbering the police there. Both sides had their Pokémon out, standing off with each other, but it was clear the Plasma grunts would win hands-down if it escalated into a fight. He cursed under his breath, Cheren following suit when he saw it, too.



The limo stopped in front of the Gym, Clay stepping out of the vehicle first, followed by the two boys. “What th' hell is goin' on here!?” he yelled.



“Ah, so there you are, Clay. I was wondering if the Gym Leader would show up here or not,” a man said, stepping out of the line of grunts. “Either way, it's a pleasure to meet you.”



“Ghetsis,” Hilbert growled murderously.



For a second, Ghetsis's uncovered eye seemed to flash in angry recognition as he glanced at Hilbert, but then he turned his attention back to Clay. “I am here to see to the release of my associates. As you can see, neither Team Plasma nor myself takes it kindly when members of the organization are threatened. I don't want this to escalate into violence, but if you don't let those you have in custody go... I can't make any promises.”



“Well, I sure as hell don't want that, either,” Clay said. “But the fact is, yer buddies here were stealin' folks' Pokémon and tryin' ta smuggle 'em outta Unova. To where and why, I don't know, and I don't really care, but still. We even have some security footage of it, if ya wanna see.”



“And what does that prove?” Ghetsis rebutted without missing a beat. “Did you ever think that perhaps those Pokémon were stolen from Trainers that treated them poorly and abused them, and Team Plasma was simply trying to get them to better homes somewhere else? That's what Team Plasma is dedicated to, after all.”



“Liar!” Hilbert yelled. “Team Plasma steals Pokémon from anyone, regardless of how their Trainer treated them! Cheren, you remember Wellspring Cave, don't you!? Two grunts stole a little girl's Purrloin!”



Cheren thought for a second, dredging up the memory, then spoke. “O-oh yeah! On Route 3, right? They did, but we fought them off.”



“And what proof do you have of this?” Ghetsis asked. “Without evidence, anything a child like you says means nothing.”



Hilbert growled, wracking his brain. The cut on his cheek had long since faded and not left a scar, since it wasn't very deep, and besides that, there were an endless number of ways Ghetsis could claim he got a scar even if there was one.



Ghetsis took Hilbert's growls but otherwise silence as all the confirmation he needed. Grinning victoriously, he turned his attention back to Clay. “Now, since that boy wasted my time and tested my patience, I'm afraid I'm going to have to make an ultimatum, Clay. Release those Team Plasma members or there will be violence. Think carefully, keeping in mind there are many, many more members besides those that are here...”



“Are you seriously gonna let him blackmail you like this?” Cheren whispered in Clay's ear.



“Yep, much as I don't like it,” Clay whispered back. “Sometimes, ya just gotta know when ta fold 'em.”



Still, to Clay's credit, he put on a show of reluctance, taking a solid minute to 'think', purely to spite Ghetsis. The green-haired man was clearly trying to hide his anger, making Clay suppress a smirk. Finally, he spoke up. “Hrrmph!” he grunted loudly. “I guess you've won this without a fight. Take yer grunts and get the fuck outta my city. However, if I ever see so much as a hood from one of yer underlings in Driftveil again, I'll personally have my Excadrill tear their guts out! Clear!?”



Ghetsis gave a subtle nod of his head. “A decision worthy of a businessman known as the Miner King” Cheren snorted in amusement at hearing the title, but a glare from Clay shut him up.



Clay then turned to the police officers. “Ya'll ain't deaf, let the grunts go!” he ordered. Hilbert's expression was growing angrier and angrier as he heard the metallic clinking of handcuffs being unlocked, and saw Zinzolin and the grunts- even the one whose nose he had broken- walk freely towards Ghetsis and his platoon of Plasma grunts.



Zinzolin practically collapsed at Ghetsis's feet. “Ghetsis... thank you so much,” he muttered in complete relief. “I thought we were going to die in that Cold Storage... and when we were captured...”



Ghetsis made a sweeping motion of his arm, putting it around Zinzolin's shoulders. “Worry not, my fellow servant of the king,” he said, but then in a lower voice, whispered, “But don't let this happen again. This is the second time I've had to bail one of you out. You don't want to know what will happen should there be a third.”



Zinzolin simply nodded.



“Now then, I think it's time we set off,” Ghetsis said. “Grunts, mount up. We're leaving.”



As the grunts filed into the vans, Ghetsis nodded to Clay. “It was a pleasure doing business with you. I'll trust we'll meet again somewhere.” Then he stepped into a van with Zinzolin and they were gone.



As they sped away from the Gym, Ghetsis steepled his fingers and rested his elbows on his thighs, thinking. “Something on your mind?” Zinzolin asked.



“Yes,” Ghetsis replied. “Did you happen to notice the boy in the blue jacket with the baseball cap?”



“Yes, I did,” Zinzolin replied. “He seemed quite... short-tempered.”



“His name is Hilbert, and he's been a thorn in my side for a while,” Ghetsis said. “I commanded N to deal with him in Nimbasa. Obviously, he failed, the useless brat. And even more obviously, more... extreme measures need to be taken to remove him. I'll contact the Shadow Triad shortly. We'll have something planned for him in Chargestone Cave, and this time... he will not make it out alive.”



Meanwhile, back at the Driftveil Gym, Clay shook his head apologetically. “Sorry, boys. I know how hard you worked to capture those grunts, but I had no choice. Though, I'm a man of my word. Maybe a Pokémon battle will cheer us all up!”



Hilbert, who had been trying (and mostly failing) to keep his anger in check when Ghetsis sped off, finally exploded.



“NO!” he yelled, stabbing his index finger at Clay. “An apology's not good enough! After me and Cheren busted our asses and risked our lives to capture those grunts, you get cold feet and let them go!? You're a stupid, idiotic prick, Clay, and you need to be taken down a peg or two! And I'm the one who's gonna do just that! So when you fight me tomorrow...” he took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second before opening them again, blazing with anger and determination, “You fight me with the strongest Pokémon you're legally allowed to with the number of Badges that I have, and I'll beat every single one of them!”



Clay was silent for a second, stunned that the young man would make such a bold move. Then he began to laugh. “I'll give ya this, kiddo: Ya got balls of steel. Fine, though. If that's how you want it, that's how yer gonna get it. Just don't say I didn't warn ya when yer sent cryin' home to mommy.”



“We'll see about that, you fucking bastard!” Hilbert shouted, drawing some looks from the remaining police. Clay just laughed more as he walked into his Gym.



Cheren grabbed Hilbert's shoulder, spinning the seething boy around to face him. “Are you insane!?” the black-haired boy yelled. “Do you have any idea what kind of gauntlet you've just thrown down!?”



“Get the fuck off me,” Hilbert snarled, shaking himself loose from Cheren's grip. “And what the hell makes you think I give a shit!? He needs to be taught a lesson, and I'm the one who's gonna do just that!”



“Did you forget how Gym Leaders worked all of a sudden there, Hilbert?” Cheren said quickly. “They scale their Pokémon's levels and how they battle according to the number of Badges a given challenger has! They're trying to test you, not crush you! But what you've just done, is give Clay full-on permission to crush you! You're an idiot!”



“You want me to beat you up like I did on Route 5!?” Hilbert roared, causing Cheren to shrink back slightly. “Keep talking, and I sure as shit WILL! You still owe me from that battle, by the way! When were you planning to pay me, huh!?”



“How about never?” Cheren growled, narrowing his eyes. “You're blind, Hilbert. You're turning into a monster, and you don't even realize it.” He began to walk away, saying over his shoulder, “I'm going back to the Pokémon Center, then I'll spend tomorrow training. Have fun getting your ass kicked by Clay then.”



At that moment, Hilbert wanted nothing more than to run after Cheren, tackle him to the ground, and bash his skull against the concrete until it split open. He even took a few steps forward, then stopped. No. He's not worth it... yet. Much as he likes to delude himself into thinking he can, he'll never beat me, no matter how much training he does.



The sun had set by the time Hilbert made it back to the Pokémon Center, but much as he wanted to, he couldn't turn in right away, as he needed to wash his clothes and shower. While doing the first, he took note of the fact that the white part of his hat was turning a dirty shade of yellow-brown from hair grease and general accumulated dirt. Likewise, his jacket was beginning to fray along some of its edges from how much hell he had put it through since he bought it in Nacrene. His jeans and shoes were holding up well by comparison, save for a few muddy stains on the shoes. Still, it wouldn't do him any harm to buy a new pair of pants, and he made a mental note to do so once he reached the next city, which, according to his map, was Mistralton. At least the cuts on his face were almost gone. In a few days, they probably would disappear completely.



It was halfway past ten by the time he finally collapsed into bed, falling asleep shortly.



The next morning, Hilbert went to the Driftveil Market to get breakfast, given the selection there was far wider than the Pokémon Center. He bought a bag of dried peach slices from a stall, proceeding to munch on them while meandering through the building. A few times, he overheard people complaining about the economic situation in Driftveil, and a lot of it was rather interesting information. Apparently, people were engaging in Pokémon battles near the port to earn some money, as illegal as battles in that area were.



Might not be a bad idea to join in on some of those battles myself, Hilbert thought. For as much an ass as Cheren is, he's right- I shouldn't underestimate Clay.



He finished his breakfast and left the Market, catching a cab to the port. In spite of their illegality, the battles weren't that hard to find. They took place in behind the rows of shipping containers, away from surface-level prying eyes, but anyone who did a bit of searching could sniff them out with ease. Hilbert spent the next two hours fighting anyone foolish enough to challenge him, which was quite a lot of people. His Pokémon grew by leaps and bounds in terms of levels, the TM he had found in the Cold Storage proving an enormous help in winning battles. The disk was TM55, Scald, a powerful Water-type move with 80 base power and a chance of burning the opponent on top of that. He was delighted with the move, teaching it Maru on the spot, finally replacing Water Gun.



In terms of levels and other moves his Pokémon had learned, Maru had grown to level 33, and learned no new moves. Logan grew to level 31, just one level away from evolving into Stoutland. At level 29, he tried to learn the borderline useless Roar, which Hilbert had obviously passed on.



Artemis had grown to the same level, and learned DragonBreath, replacing Agility (any attack was better than a stat boosting move she really didn't need to get by). Sensei also grew to level 31, but learned nothing new. Makue grew to level 32, and also learned nothing new.



Finally, Scrapper had grown to level 32, and actually attempted to evolve into Excadrill, only to be stopped by the Pokédex sending out an evolution-canceling pulse at Hilbert's command. The reason he did this was because he read online that Drilbur learned Earthquake at level 33, as opposed to Excadrill, who learned it later at level 36. Hilbert still kept the Experience Share on him for now, but knew Scrapper would soon have no use for it.



“Damn it!” his last opponent of the day cursed as he begrudgingly tapped his Trainer Card against Hilbert's. “You better watch out, kid,” he said under his breath as they pulled the cards apart. “I've got friends who'll kick your ass and get that money back and then some.”



Hilbert just narrowed his eyes, releasing Maru from his Poké Ball. The Discipline Pokémon, without needing a command, gave the man a nice slash across the front of his right thigh, his seashells biting deep. As the man screamed in pain and clutched at his leg, Hilbert punched him in the face.



“I'm sorry, what was that you just said?” Hilbert asked rhetorically, his tone dripping with condescending sarcasm. “Wasn't a threat, was it? Nah, couldn't have been, 'cause you're sure as hell not bleeding on the ground right now. Oh wait, yeah it was, and yes you are.”



He recalled Maru and began to walk away, leaving the man still holding his bleeding leg, unable to get up. “W-wait! You-you're just gonna leave me here!? I don't have a Cross-Transceiver! I can't call for help!”



Hilbert just stopped, looking coldly over his shoulder. “Not my problem. Maybe next time you'll think twice about what you say.” He then continued on, leaving the man to scream obscenities after him, all of which he ignored.



Getting back to the Gym via cab didn't take too long. By the time he got there, it was about eleven o'clock in the morning. After paying for his ride, he stepped into the building. Inside was what looked like the lounge of a fancy skyscraper. Underfoot was a burgundy carpet that stretched the almost the length of the room, with plush couches and chairs placed around a table that was polished to a mirror-like finish off the right. A secretary was typing on a laptop behind a desk to his left. She looked up as he entered.



“Oh, are you the challenger Clay expected today?” she asked.



Hilbert walked up to her and nodded. “Yes, I am. Where's Clay?”



“Oh, silly me! I forgot to activate the lift,” the woman answered. Just as Hilbert was about to ask what the hell that meant, she hit a button underneath her desk, and two metal plates in the floor, right where the carpet ended, split open and retracted, revealing another platform under them. Two more panels emerged from the newly-unveiled platform, each bearing a touch panel with a coloured arrow on them. The right arrow was green and lit up, pointing downwards, while the one on the left was red and pointed up. Unlike its twin, the arrow was dark.



“That lift should take you right down to Clay,” the secretary said with a smile. “He likes to battle challengers deep underground. It's his way of reminding himself that he started with nothing.”



Hilbert just rolled his eyes, and without another word, walked towards the platform, and touched the green, lit-up arrow. With a sudden lurch, the platform started descending. In seconds, he was below the surface of Driftveil City, going down into the bowels of the hill the Gym was built on.



The ride wasn't that long, and after descending about sixty feet, the platform stopped, and Hilbert stepped off into a dark chamber that he could still tell was cavernous.



“Well, so you've arrived!” a familiar voice called out, and without warning, every light in the chamber came on, blinding Hilbert for a few seconds. When the spots cleared, he could make out that this place was clearly a Pokémon battle arena, judging by the huge rectangular outline with a Poké Ball symbol in the centre painted onto the dirt. The health bar screen- easily the largest one Hilbert had seen so far- was placed up on the left wall.



Clay stood at the south end of the arena with his arms crossed. “Good thing, too,” he continued. “I was gettin' antsy. Just so yer aware, all three of the Pokémon I'll use to fight ya are level 35. You ready to rumble? Or do ya wanna back out?”



Hilbert stepped onto the battle arena, grabbing a Poké Ball off his belt. “Oh, I'm ready, you son of a bitch. Question is, are you ready to lose?”



Clay just smirked. “Then let's get to it. Krokorok, get out there!” With a flash of light after the Poké Ball was thrown, the Desert Croc Pokémon appeared.



“Go, Sensei!” Hilbert yelled, tossing out the Fighting-type. The health bar screen came to life as both Pokémon stared each other down.



Hilbert made the first move. “Use Brick Break!”



Sawk immediately dashed for Krokorok, winding his arm back to deliver a devastating punch, but Krokorok simply sidestepped, giving Sawk a Brick Break of its own, sending him stumbling and taking a sizable chunk off his health bar. Hilbert ignored the damage, merely ordering Sensei to use Double Kick as the Fighting-type got to his feet.



Sensei turned on his heel, lashing out a foot. The attack caught Krokorok off guard, and Sensei's heel smashed it in the face, knocking it to the side. However, as Sensei spun around again, getting ready to deliver a kick with the other leg, Krokorkok hissed and grabbed it. “Now, Shadow Claw!” Clay called.



With its claws glowing purple, Krokorok slashed Sensei across the chest as it let go of his leg, sending him flying backwards towards Clay's side of the arena. His health bar was knocked down to halfway. By contrast, Krokorok had only lost a small chunk from the kick.



“Now do ya see yer way in over yer head?” Clay sneered. “I've taken the liberty of teachin' this team some TM and move tutor moves, just fer you!”



To Clay's surprise though, Hilbert actually started chuckling. “You sound just like Cheren,” he smirked. “And do ya wanna know how well his battles with me have gone?” The boy's eyes suddenly turned wrathful. “He's lost to me every single time! Now, Sensei, Leer, then Brick Break!”



The Karate Pokémon shot to his feet as Krokorok whipped around and hissed. This turned out to be a mistake, as Sensei's eyes glowed red, freezing it in place. Sensei then dashed toward it, giving it a punishing chop to the side of the neck. Krokorok's health bar shot to nothing from the super-effective hit. Hilbert's Pokédex chirped as Sensei gained a level.



“Hmph, so ya managed ta get by my Krokorok, but that doesn't mean anything,” Clay said as he recalled his fainted Pokémon. “I've still got two left. Next up, Palpitoad! Go!”



Clay threw out his next Poké Ball, and one of the strangest Pokémon Hilbert had seen up to this point, barring Sigilyph, appeared. It looked vaguely like a toad, albeit one that stood upright on two legless, three-toed feet. Its body was ovoid and mostly blue, but it had a tan patch lined with a black stripe going all the way from its belly to its beady round eyes, and it had a small white tail. Its most prominent feature were the light blue bulges around its head, looking almost like inside-out sub-woofers or old-fashioned school bells.



Well that's definitely a Water/Ground-type, Hilbert thought.



“Scald, now!” Clay yelled.



Palpitoad opened its mouth and shot a high-pressure stream of burning hot water directly at Sensei, far too fast to dodge. He yelled in pain as the boiling liquid made contact with his rocky skin, driving his health bar down to nothing.



“Dammit!” Hilbert cried, recalling his Pokémon. And Sensei was my best option against Water-types, too, he added to himself. I've got no Grass-type coverage anywhere on my team. Suddenly, he felt very, very uncertain about his chances of victory.



Clay could see the hesitation in Hilbert's face, and he smirked again. “Still sure yer gonna win?” he jeered. “Like I said before, anytime ya wanna give up is a good time.”



“Shut up!” Hilbert yelled back. Fuck it then, next-best option. Can't hit it super-effectively, we'll hit it neutrally. He grabbed Maru's Poké Ball off his belt and threw him out.



“Scald!” Hilbert and Clay yelled simultaneously.



Both Maru and Palpitoad opened their mouths and shot burning streams of water at each other, which collided in mid-air, making a cloud of obscuring steam. Without waiting for a command, Maru raced through the steam cloud as Palpitoad attempted to locate its foe. It was given a nasty surprise when it felt Maru slash it across the face with Razor Shell.



The attack did good damage, enough so that it would be a three-hit KO at least. Palpitoad was knocked back a few feet, landing on its back. Maru stayed on the offensive, slashing with Razor Shell, but Palpitoad was easily able to dodge by simply rolling out of the way, and was able to do so seemingly with no effort. Without warning, it launched a ball of regurgitated sludge from its mouth into the air, arcing it so it hit Maru dead-on. The Sludge Bomb attack drove Maru's health bar down to the low green, but luckily the chance to poison did not activate. Maru was sent staggering back, shaking toxic sludge out of his fur while Palpitoad hopped to its feet.



The Vibration Pokémon then followed this up with a Scald, but Maru just barely dove out of the way, landing awkwardly on his stomach, and as such was hit by another Scald, driving his health down even further, to the mid-yellow. The burn chance, much like the poison chance, did not trigger.



Damn, I'm getting lucky with those secondary effects, Hilbert thought.



Maru painfully pushed himself to his feet, launching a Scald at Hilbert's command, hitting Palpitoad before it had a chance to dodge, lowering its health to slightly above the mid-yellow. Palpitoad retaliated by barfing up another Sludge Bomb, but this time, Maru was ready, easily moving out of the way of the powerful but slow-moving projectile.



Now angry, Maru ran towards Palpitoad, slashing at it with Razor Shell over and over again, all of which Palpitoad dodged. He wasn't doing any damage, but the constant onslaught prevented his opponent from making a counterattack. This stalemate kept up for a full minute, Hilbert trying to think of something.



Gonna have to get creative here if I wanna beat that thing, Hilbert thought, a bead of nervous sweat running down his temple. What can I do- wait. That might be worth a shot. “Maru, Fury Cutter!” he yelled.



After executing another slash with his shells, Maru suddenly put them both back on his hips. Palpitoad made a strange breathing noise, almost like it was laughing, but that was quickly stopped when Maru's claws ripped across its face, taking a small chunk out of its remaining health. Maru then did it again, taking another, larger chunk off the bar.



“Palpitoad, you idiot!” Clay yelled. “Get outta there!”



It was too late, though. Maru kept clawing the Vibration Pokémon over and over, increasing Fury Cutter's power to overkill levels. In the end, Palpitoad was left a wheezing, beaten mess, and Maru was about to slash his already-downed enemy before it was recalled by Clay. Maru hissed in Clay's general direction, causing the Gym Leader to give him a look before he said, “Well I'll be! You actually got me down to my last Pokémon! But it's too bad for you this'll be the one ta screw you over. Excadrill, get out there!”



Hilbert's Pokédex chirped twice as Clay threw the Poké Ball, but thought nothing of it, assuming Maru had just gained two levels.



In a flash of light, the true, two-foot tall terror of Clay's team emerged... Excadrill. Excadrill, despite its diminutive height, was a very threatening presence on the battlefield. It was mostly dark brown, with three red splotches on its belly that somewhat resembled army camo. More red spots adorned it on its arms, knees, and just behind its face. Its face was thin, narrow, and white, ending in a pink nose. A massive blade extended from its forehead, one twice as long as its face and topped with two smaller blades like shark fins. Its arms were thick, wide, and ended in huge, deadly claws that were much bigger than a Drilbur's.



“Bulldoze!” Clay yelled.



Excadrill raised its arm and plunged one of its arms into the ground, sending out a shockwave that headed towards Maru with frightening speed. He was hit before he could even start to run, his health bar shooting down to nothing and sending him flying. He landed hard in front of Hilbert, breathing painfully. Hilbert quickly recalled him. “I think I'm beginning to understand why the Striaton Gym was trashed,” he said under his breath.



Excadrill ripped its claws out of the ground, staring down Hilbert with a menace he didn't know a Pokémon was capable of. It almost seemed like it was daring him to throw out his next team member so it could rip them to shreds. It was a dare that he was happy to oblige, however.



“Artemis, get out there!” he yelled as he tossed out his Archen. The First Bird Pokémon emerged in a flash of light. Hilbert reasoned that Artemis, being a part Flying-type, would have nothing to fear from Excadrill's Ground-type attacks.



Clay, however, just began to laugh. “Hahaha! How damn stupid are you? Seriously, sendin' out a part Rock-type against a part Steel-type. Though I'll admit, been a while since I've seen an Archen. Don't matter, though. Excadrill, Iron Head!”



Oh, shit, Hilbert thought as Excadrill ran towards Artemis at high speed, intending to ram its head blade into her for an instant one-hit knockout. Luckily, Artemis was able to jump over Excadrill, shooting off a DragonBreath in mid-air, hitting the Subterrene Pokémon dead-on, but doing minimal damage, and the paralysis DragonBreath had a chance of causing did not trigger. Once Artemis had landed, Excadrill turned on a dime, and slammed into her headfirst, the super-effective attack delivered by Excadrill's 135 base attack stat instantly knocking her out.



“Damn!” Hilbert yelled, recalling Artemis. Now having only three Pokémon left, he threw out Makue, hoping her Fire-type attacks would be enough. The Zen Charm Pokémon ran towards Excadrill with fist aflame, but was cut down by a Rock Slide in a heartbeat.



Sweat was now budding on Hilbert's forehead, wetting his hair slightly under his cap. In spite of the fact that he knew Logan would be walled to hell and back by Excadrill, he tossed him out, given that Drilbur wouldn't last a minute against the terror of Clay's team.



“Logan, Strength!” Hilbert yelled. The Loyal Dog Pokémon raced for Excadrill, only for it to send out another Bulldoze. Logan was hit, the impact knocking him back, but incredibly, he held on with a sliver of health. Excadrill quickly fixed that, though, burying him under a Rock Slide that Logan had no hope of dodging.



Back now officially against the wall, Hilbert recalled Logan, and grabbed the Poké Ball containing Scrapper. Giving a determined nod to the sphere- if he was going down, he might as well do it fighting- he tossed him out. As soon as Scrapper materialized onto the battlefield, however, his body started to glow white.



“No way... Scrapper's evolving!?” Hilbert said in disbelief. Then he remembered something, and yanked his Pokédex out of his jacket. The device had beeped twice when Maru had knocked out Palpitoad, but the second chirp hadn't indicated Maru growing to level 35, it indicated Scrapper had grown to level 33! And that meant...



That Clay's in for a world of pain, he thought. A predatory, bloodthirsty grin crept across his face as he clicked the 'FORGET' icon underneath Dig on the Dex's touchscreen, replacing it with Earthquake. By now, Scrapper's transformation into an Excdrill was complete, and he let out a triumphant growl as he stared down the opposing Subterrene Pokémon.



“Alright,” Hilbert muttered under his breath, “Let's kill that thing. Scrapper, Earthquake!”



Scrapper's claws glowed white as he plunged them into the ground with a roar, sending out a shockwave of power that put Bulldoze to shame. There was nothing the enemy Excadrill could do as the ground literally exploded under it, sending it flying as the base 100 power (105 with Excadrill's STAB on it) super-effective move hit, making its health bar shoot down to nothing as it landed hard behind Clay.



Realizing the battle was over, and that he had won, Hilbert let out a victorious cry, Scrapper doing his part in the celebration by striking a pose as Hilbert's Pokédex chirped again. Quickly getting over his elation, Hilbert recalled Scrapper, and stomped up to Clay.



“I guess you won't be so damn arrogant after that, and not send anyone else who wants to challenge you into a fucking Cold Storage!” Hilbert yelled in the Gym Leader's face. “Now give me my damn Badge, or I'll have Scrapper do to you what he just did to your Excadrill.”



“Boy, I know empty threats when I hear 'em,” Clay said. Upon seeing Hilbert's eyes darken, he added hastily, “And you're not makin' one. Here, you've earned it- the Quake Badge.” Clay reached into a pocket on his vest and pulled out the Badge. It was shaped and colored like a vertical piece of earth, with the top half having slid out of place at an angle.



Hilbert put the Badge away in his case. “Where's my damn TM?” he demanded.



Clay pulled the disk out his pocket, and was about to hand it to Hilbert, but suddenly stopped, seeming to think better of it.



“Y'know what?” Clay said. “I think I'll wait t' give ya this. Meet me at the entrance of Chargestone Cave. I'll hand it out then.” He pressed a few buttons on his Cross-Transceiver, making Hilbert's beep. “There. We're both got each other's numbers on speed-dial. Call me when you're there, and I'll be along in a jiffy.”



“Oh, yeah, 'cause you just couldn't fucking resist being a douchebag to me one more time, could you?” Hilbert said venomously. “Why the fuck are you even a Gym Leader, anyways? You sure as hell don't act like one.”



Before Clay could reply, Hilbert was already walking back to the lift. “Thanks for nothing, I guess.”



Clay watched the boy as the lift rose up to the surface. He don't like me, but the feelin' is mutual, the Gym Leader thought. He's got a nasty side to him, that's for sure... an' it gives me the shivers.

 

I Never Wanted to be the Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 23: System Shock
​

It was nearing two o'clock in the afternoon as Hilbert walked out of the Pokémon Center. The exit to Driftveil was located to the northwest, a path that ran parallel to the hill the Gym was built on. According to his map, Chargestone Cave was at the north end of Route 6, a zig-zagging trail that was somewhat marshy. Chargestone Cave was crawling- quite literally- with dangerous wild Pokémon such as Joltik, so he had bought a number of Super Repels, which was a spray that kept away wild Pokémon. The drawbacks were their short duration and putrid smell.



He began his trek out of Driftveil, walking northwest, moving towards the city's hilly north end, but staying near the bottom of the hills. Soon, the path became clear, and houses began to be replaced by trees. He was almost at city limits when he heard a voice yell his name, and it sounded angry. “HILBERT!”



With an infuriated growl, the boy whipped around to see Bianca running up to him. He swore under his breath, but nonetheless stood where he was.



Once she reached him, she bent over and put her hands on her knees, panting. “You... you jerk!” she gasped out as she raised her head and stood upright again. “W-where the hell were you and Cheren these past several days!? I looked high and low in Nimbasa for two days straight, and only when I beat Elesa I find out you both had moved on to Driftveil!”



“Where have I been, Bianca!? Where have I been!?” Hilbert shouted. “Try freezing in a fucking Cold Storage because this town's arrogant-ass Gym Leader said I had to! Frankly, you've been the last damn thing on my mind for days! So unless you're here for something, get out of my sight.”



“Oh, I'm here for something, Hilbert,” Bianca said, seeming to spit his name out like it was poison. “Remember how I said I'd get even with you outside the Musical Theatre? Well I'm about to make good on that promise! I challenge you to a battle!”



Bianca ended her little speech with a dramatic finger point, expecting Hilbert to back off, but he didn't. His expression just turned into one of cold fury. “If you really think you're gonna beat me- that you can even hope to compete with me- you're delusional. Do what you were told back in Nimbasa, and go home, or I'll show you how pathetic you are.”



Hilbert then turned and started walking towards Route 6 again, leaving Bianca fuming and on the verge of tears. She balled her fists and grabbed her Pignite's Poké Ball off her belt. “We'll see who's pathetic after this, you BASTARD!” she screamed, throwing out Pignite.



While Pignite's Poké Ball was still in mid-air, Hilbert whirled around, grabbed Scrapper's Poké Ball, and threw it in one smooth motion. The Excadrill emerged at the same time as Pignite, the two Pokémon staring each other down. Hilbert had taken off the Experience Share prior to going in the Pokémon Center, as Scrapper no longer needed it.



Pignite made the first move, curling itself into a ball and rolling towards Scrapper with incredible speed. Scrapper just seemed to snort, as if he knew that the Rock-type Rollout would do almost nothing to him. He plunged his claws into the ground, cracks rushing through the concrete towards Pignite before the earth exploded under his balled-up form, sending him flying. He landed hard, and didn't get up.



“No!” Bianca cried. She quickly recalled her starter, and more than a few drops of nervous sweat ran down her temples. Oh, this is bad, she thought. Pignite was the strongest member of her team, at level 28, and Hilbert's Pokémon had downed it in one hit. With her other Pokémon being weaker than Pignite, what chance did she have? No, that's just the mindset he wants me to be in. I won't give up!



“Go, Pepper!” the girl cried as she threw out her Herider. The Loyal Dog Pokémon growled at the Excadrill, eager to avenge its fallen teammate.



“Use Take Down!” Bianca shouted. Much as everyone liked to peg her as one, she wasn't a completely clueless ditz, knowing full well Hilbert's Pokémon was probably a Steel-type, and that Take Down would do a pittance at best, but she would take anything she could get at this point.



“Scrapper, Earthquake it!” Hilbert yelled. Once again, the Excadrill stabbed its claws into the ground, sending another earthen shockwave at Herdier which, once again, was a one-hit KO. Hilbert's Pokédex chirped as Scrapper's level increased.



Oh damn, Bianca thought. I still have two more though. I can still turn this around!



She sent out Fune, her Pansage, to hopefully do at least neutral damage to the monstrous Pokémon she had by now figured out was a Ground/Steel-type.



“Fune, Seed Bomb!” she yelled. The Pansage jumped into the air, opening its mouth to spit several small, explosive seeds in a fan-shaped formation at Excadrill. Scrapper wasn't even fazed, nimbly dodging to the left, and batting another one clean out of the way with his claws. The seeds caused small craters where they landed and exploded. In a way, Hilbert was glad for all the damage the battle was doing to Driftveil's outskirts. Served Clay right for being a dick.



Pansage came down to earth, Scrapper once again embedding his claws into the ground, causing a network of cracks in the concrete that raced for the Grass Monkey Pokémon. Pansage cried out, trying to run away, but was caught in the explosion of Earthquake. This sent him flying, but to Hilbert's amazement, the monkey just barely got to his feet, a pained expression on his face.



Scrapper snorted, yanking his claws out of the concrete and rushing straight for the helpless Pansage. He slashed it across the face with Metal Claw, knocking it out. Looking up at Bianca, the Excadrill gave a derisive snort before hopping back in Hilbert's direction.



Hilbert looked at Bianca. The poor girl seemed like she was on the verge of tears once again, but these were tears of fear rather than anger. Her knees shook as she recalled her Pansage, and she seemed hesitant as she took her final Poké Ball off her belt, holding it in both hands and cradling it against her chest. Without warning, she steeled her gaze, her eyes bloodshot, pulling her arm back in a throwing motion. “Musha, give it everything you've... got!” she yelled as she tossed the ball. To Hilbert's surprise, Bianca's Munna had evolved somewhere along the way, likely in Nimbasa, into a Musharna. The Drowsing Pokémon let out an echoing, ethereal-sounding yawning noise as it appeared, hovering several inches off the ground like all Musharna did.



“Scrapper, you know what to do!” Hilbert yelled.



Scrapper plunged his claws into the concrete as Bianca yelled, “Musha, Psybeam!”



More cracks in the already-destroyed concrete appeared, rushing towards Musharna at a rate the slow Pokémon could not hope to dodge. Musharna was hit by the explosion of earth underneath it, stopping the Psybeam attack before it was even launched. However, just like Pansage's type allowed it to survive an Earthquake, Musharna's bulk made it withstand the blow, but it was obviously weakened.



“Scrapper, Earthquake one more time!” Hilbert yelled.



Almost rolling his eyes, the Excadrill stabbed his claws into the concrete once more, sending one more shockwave through the it, pulverizing it beyond all hope of repair. The final explosion sounded Musharna's knockout, and Bianca's defeat.



“No!” the girl cried out, recalling her Musharna. Her hands trembled as she looked at the Poké Ball in her hand. Hilbert had beaten her without his Pokémon taking so much as a scratch. She looked up to see Hilbert walking quickly and aggressively towards her, like a heat-seeking missile that had just found a target.



“Give me your Trainer Card,” Hilbert demanded. When Bianca looked at him with fearful, hesitant eyes, his narrowed. “Now!” he added.



Without another word, Bianca reached into her bag, rummaging around for a few seconds, and pulled out her Trainer Card. Hilbert ripped it out of her hand, tapping it against his. He then flicked it back at her, Bianca just barely catching it.



The blond-haired girl stared down at her Card with distraught eyes, wondering if she was even worthy to have it anymore. “...Why?” she finally asked in a broken, quiet voice. “Why did I lose..?”



“Why do you think, Bianca?” Hilbert shot back gruffly, crossing his arms. “Because you're a shit Trainer, and you always have been! From the moment we set out in Nuvema! You should've done as your father said in Nimbasa and gone home! You're pathetic! You're worthless!” Hilbert's last shouted word echoed in the air around them for several seconds, but that was nothing compared to how it rang in Bianca's mind, drowning out everything else.



That was the straw that broke the Camerupt's back. Bianca burst into tears, turning and running away. As she did so, her bag, swung in a violent arc on her shoulder, and something fell out, landing on the broken road. Hilbert bent down and picked it up as Bianca became a blur in the distance, seeing that it was the jewel case for a TM. He scanned it with his Pokédex, and his eyes widened. This was no ordinary TM. In fact, it wasn't a TM at all! It was the coveted HM02, Fly. Hilbert briefly wondered where the hell Bianca of all people got her hands on such a useful move, then shrugged, deciding it didn't matter. He then kept going, trekking farther into Route 6.



N clicked the central button on his last Poké Ball four times, releasing the final Pokémon-a Deerling- he had caught on Route 6. He and a Team Plasma grunt were in Chargestone Cave, the entrance about twenty feet behind them.



“Go on, my friend,” N said softly to the Deerling. “Go back to the wild where you belong.”



The Season Pokémon gave him a sad look, then took off, out of the cave. It soon vanished into the wilds of Route 6.



The grunt watched as the Pokémon ran past him, wondering why N had just done this. “Lord N...” he said, walking up to him, “If I may ask... why are releasing your Pokémon?”



N walked off to the side a bit. In front of him was a ledge, overlooking the cave's depths. He stared down at that abyss for a few seconds before replying. “Because I can't... I just can't keep Pokémon confined in Poke Balls! They deserve to be free beings!” He whirled on the grunt, the man shocked at the passionate ferocity on N's face. “Don't you see!? If Pokémon stay with their... Trainers,” the green-haired young man spat the word out like poison, “They'll be forced to battle, and they'll get hurt... I can't put them through that pain... Not unless I have to.”



N then clutched at his hair, looking confused and pained. “But what makes it frustrating is making them battle seems to be the only way I can truly understand them!” he cried. “I don't know what to do... I just don't... It's so hard to find the answers when the world is so gray...”



“But... My Lord...” the grunt said, somewhat hesitant in his tone, “Even before we were born, people have caught Pokémon and made them battle... Isn't that just the way society works?”



N's eyes flashed with anger, and immediately the grunt regretted saying anything. The young man stomped towards him, getting right up in his face as the grunt cowered in fear. “No!” N shouted, his voice reverberating down into the nearby pit. “That's not how it should work! Who decided that catching beings- sentient, living things- and making them fight each other was the 'correct' way!? The 'right' way!? It wasn't like that before these horrible things called Poke Balls were invented! The rules that govern this world are wrong!” N tossed the Ball he held aside into the pit, where it spiralled out of view, the grunt swearing he heard it shatter on a lower floor a few seconds later.



“W-well, I guess you do make a good point,” the grunt stammered. “I'll let my Pokémon go too!”



He quickly stepped to the side, grabbing a Poké Ball off his belt, but was stopped as N said, “No.”



“What...? But you just said...”



The world hasn't changed yet,” N said. “The time to free your Pokémon will come soon, but that time isn't now. It will come when I befriend Unova's legendary Dragon-type Pokémon, surpass the Champion and become the hero!” N turned to face the grunt. “Head to your assigned post and wait for further orders. Now.”



The grunt just nodded and scampered off out of sight. However, once he was out of sight and earshot, he muttered to himself, “Taking orders from that nutcase better be worth all the power Ghetsis promised us... Work before play, after all, but this is a lot of work, if you ask me...”



“I will achieve my goal,” N said to himself in the meantime. “I will separate humans and Pokémon, and black and white will be clearly distinct! Only then will Pokémon become perfect beings...”



But then why..? He thought. Why did that Deerling and the rest seem so sad to leave me? This wasn't the first time, either. Almost every time I've released the Pokémon I caught to protect me on a Route, they give me this heartbroken look when I let them go... And that Oshawott in Accumula Town... could what it said to Hilbert be true?



“No,” N growled out loud. “It couldn't have been. What do a few anomalies matter compared to the cries of the suffering Pokémon that filled that room? I am the borderline between humans and Pokémon... I live in the margins between everyone, and I will save them! I will change the world... I have to! Shadow Triad, to me!”



Three shadowy, ninja-like figures suddenly materialized from out of nowhere with a vvvvsshh sound. They knelt before N. “What is your bidding, My Lord?” the one in the center asked.



“Here's what I want you three to do...” N said as he laid out the Shadow Triad's task...



Shortly afterwards, Professor Juniper, a huge backpack full of supplies slung over her shoulders, landed in front of the Driftveil City Pokémon Center on her Braviary, eager to begin her trek to Chargestone Cave the next day. The backpack's weight was no hindrance to the woman, as not only was she far, far stronger and more muscular under her lab coat than she appeared, she and her father, Cedric Juniper, had been traveling backpackers in her teenage years, so she was used to it. She walked into the building, but heard loud sobbing as soon as she did so. Looking left, she saw the source of the crying was Bianca, curled up on one of the chairs in the lounge area, bawling her eyes out.



“Bianca!” Juniper exclaimed, running over to the girl. She knelt in front of her, gently placing her hands on Bianca's shoulders. “What happened?” she asked in a soothing tone. “Why are you crying?”



Bianca looked down at Juniper, stopping her wracking sobs for a second. Her green eyes were bloodshot, red lines spiderwebbing the whites like veins of magma. She then burst into tears anew and turned away.



“Bianca, I'm only trying to help,” Juniper continued. “And I can't do that unless you tell me what's going on. I'm not a Psychic-type Pokémon, I can't read minds.”



“I-it's... H...Hilbert,” Bianca stuttered thanks to her crying. “I...I t-tried to f-fight him, but he b-beat me s-so eas-easily! And-and... he... he called me pathetic! He called me w-worthless!”



Juniper's blood ran cold as Bianca started sobbing again. She recalled how Hilbert had snapped at her in the Nimbasa City Gate. “You'll forgive me if I'm finding what's turning out to be a trek through hell a bit hard to enjoy,” was the last thing he had said to her before storming off. Things, it seemed, had only gotten much worse for him since then.



“He- I d-don't know wh-what's gotten in-into him,” Bianca said, her breathing shaky. “He was just... cruel. So, so cruel.”



Juniper stood up, getting Bianca to her feet and wrapping her arms around her in a hug. “Bianca, listen to me. You're not worthless. I don't care what anyone says, you're not.” She pulled back, still keeping a gentle grip on the girl's arms. “In fact, let see your Badge Case.”



She let Bianca go, the girl digging into her purse and pulling out her Badge Case with a forlorn look, handing it to Juniper. Juniper opened it, walking over and sitting on the lounge's couch, with Bianca sitting beside her.



“You see these Badges?” Juniper asked, to which Bianca nodded, sniffling. “These are proof that you've accomplished something. They say you overcame a challenging situation, and won. Just like you're going to now. You'll get through this. I'm here for you.”



“T-tell that to my Dad,” Bianca sniffled. “He-he didn't care about any of that, and basically said that... I-I wasn't good enough!” She burst into tears yet again.



“Then you know what? Screw him and what he says.” Juniper said.



“W-what?”



“I said, screw him,” Juniper repeated. “Who the hell cares if he's your father? He has no right to judge whether you're worthy of going on this journey. The only person who has the right to make that call is you. Do you?”



“R-right now, no,” Bianca said miserably, wiping her eyes.



“That's not the Bianca I know,” Juniper said. “Where's that plucky girl who was full of energy? I want to see her again. This isn't you, Bianca. This sniffling, sad girl- it's not who you are.”



“She left after she got constantly beaten down,” Bianca mumbled.



“No, no she didn't,” Juniper corrected her. “Take another look at these Badges and ask yourself: 'how many battles have I won compared to what I've lost?'”



Bianca sniffled once more, then she perked up slightly as she thought more about it. “Well... I've beaten every Gym I've faced so far on my first try. In fact, I've rarely lost to anyone but Hilbert.”



Sensing she was getting somewhere, Juniper pressed that point. “Exactly. So, are you going to let a few losses get you down, compared to all your victories?”



A new, more determined light began to shine in Bianca's eyes. “No, I won't.”



“Good. Keep your chin up. If you want me to be, I'll cheer you on in your battle against Clay. By the way, tomorrow I'm going to Chargestone Cave for a research trip on the request of my father. You can join me if you'd like. You can be my... bodyguard.”



For the first time in a while, Bianca gave a genuine smile. “Okay.”



Just then, the nurse turned on the TV on the wall right in the middle of a news report. “-Agic scene here today as a body was discovered in Driftveil's port,” the newswoman said, the 't' in 'tragic' having been cut off due to the TV being turned on too late.



“Workers discovered the body a little over half an hour ago,” she went on. “Police have ID'd the body, but have not released his name. We've been told police believe the victim bled to death from a gash in his thigh, but the autopsy will provide a more conclusive statement. From what has been gathered, it seems the gash was caused by a Pokémon attack, most likely one of a slashing nature.”



The newswoman went on in her report, but Juniper was deaf to it all. The only thing she could think was simply, Oh, no.



Finally, after hours of trudging through Route 6's marshy, puddle-pockmarked terrain, crossing bridges over rivers and dodging Trainers the whole way, and at one point early on passing a building called the Deerling Seasonal Research Facility, Hilbert arrived at the entrance to the Chargestone Cave. The entrance was a short but long and very wide plateau of grayish-blue rock.



Unfortunately for him, the cave entrance was covered by a huge yellow spider's web, no doubt the handiwork of the wild Pokémon living inside. Hilbert had already tried to clear it with his hands, and received a painful jolt of electricity for doing so, like a static shock, only ten times worse.



“Son of a bitch!” he growled, cursing his bad luck. “Why the hell do these things always happen to me!?”



Remembering he now had Clay's number on his Cross-Transceiver, he quickly dialed it. The device rang a few times before Clay picked up.



“Yeah?” the Gym Leader answered. “What is it, sprout?”


“First of all, don't call me 'sprout',” Hilbert growled. “Second of all, I'm at the entrance to Chargestone Cave, but the fuckin' entrance is blocked by a Pokémon's web! I got zapped trying to touch it. You said to call me when I got here, so get your ass out here and help!”



“Hmm... sounds like a Joltik or Galvantula web,” Clay said, rubbing his chin. “Alright, I'll be there in a jiffy. Just sit tight.” Before Hilbert could say any more, the line went dead as Clay hung up.



Grumbling, the boy sat down against the rock wall, staring at the pre-twilight sky and wondering why so much of this journey involved, and was spent, waiting.



As it turned out, Clay's definition of 'in a jiffy' meant more than half an hour. Hilbert was on the verge of nodding off when he saw a giant bird Pokémon fly into view and come in for a landing ten feet away from him. Groaning, he got to his feet as Clay walked toward him.



“Funny how a Ground-type Gym Leader owns a Pokémon that's the one type immune to Ground.” Hilbert said.



“Kiddo, every Gym Leader has a Braviary, but save Skyla, we don't use 'em for battle,” Clay said, recalling the giant bird. “Stirrup here is just for transport.”



Walking up to the web, Clay crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. “Yep, this here's a Galvatula web. Don't see 'em in this cave often, but this sometimes happens. Well, gotta deal with it regardless. Krokorok, get out here!”



He threw out Krokorok's Poké Ball, the Desert Croc Pokémon appeared in a flash of light.



“Krokorok, take it out!” Clay commanded.



Krokorok hissed, running up to the web and slashing it with its claws. Thanks to its Ground-typing, it was not affected by the electric spider threads. In two seconds, the web crumbled away, clearing the cave entrance.



“Well, that takes care of that,” Clay said. He pulled a jewel case out of his pocket, handing it to Hilbert.



“I assume this is a TM? Y'know, the one you were supposed to give me when I beat you?” Hilbert asked with irritation clear in his voice.



“Yep. It's Bulldoze. Ground-type move, but ya probably know that already,” Clay said. He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “Listen, kid... I'm sorry I sent you an' yer friend into the Cold Storage. I was pissed off, y'know? I jus' took that out on you two boys.” He hung his head. “That was wrong of me, an' I apologize.”



Hilbert just crossed his arms over his chest and furrowed his brows. “Apology not accepted,” he huffed. “You don't send people into a situation that could get them killed and expect an apology to magically make everything better. I'll never forgive you for that. Ever.”



Well, it was worth a shot, Clay thought. Luckily for him, he didn't need to say anything more on the subject, as his Cross-Transceiver began to ring. “'Cuse me for a sec,” he said, walking a few feet away.



Hilbert could still clearly hear what Clay was saying. It was the man's secretary, saying he had a challenger and needed to get back to the Gym.



“Well, I gotta get goin',” Clay said, releasing his Braviary. “Just some last tips- there's a building just southwest of this plateau. It's a bed-and-breakfast, an' they've got a Pokémon League-certified healing machine there. Plus, there's lots of grass nearby you can use to train, so use that if ya need to. Oh, and take this.”



Clay reached into a breast pocket and pulled out a purple bag tied at the top with string, tossing it to Hilbert.



“Pokémon hold item?” Hilbert asked.



“Yep. Soft Sand. It raises the power of Ground-type moves by 10%. Give it to your Excadrill, but don't use Earthquake in that cave, ya hear? Area of effect attacks are suicide in confined spaces.”



With that, Hilbert watched as Clay took off into the distance. He sighed, looking at the horizon. The sun was well into its decent, closing out the day.



Well, I guess it's time to get to that building. I could use some shelter for the night. he thought.



Hilbert found the bed-and-breakfast easily enough, paying for a room. For a place in such a remote area, they did surprisingly good business, given how many traveling Trainers came through Route 6. In fact, that was probably why the owners set up shop here to begin with. Hilbert had a shower, then lay down on the bed in the room, falling asleep.



The next day, at the crack of dawn, Hilbert was up and outside, his Pokémon already decimating the local Deerling, Shelmet, and Karrablast population. The wild Pokémon were fairly weak, forcing him to train for several exhausting hours, but in the end, he managed to get most of his Pokémon at least a couple of levels.



Every single member of his team, save Excadrill (he had deemed it unnecessary, as Scrapper was already level 35) had gained two levels, bringing most of them to level 33. Artemis had learned no new moves, while Sensei had tried to learn Retaliate, Bulk Up, and Endure during training, the last of which Hilbert had replaced Focus Energy with.



With Makue, things had gotten a little more interesting. At level 33, she tried to learn the devastating Flare Blitz, and Hilbert had his Darumaka forget Fire Fang for the absurdly powerful move. It came with recoil damage, but it the cases where that was undesirable, Fire Punch was always there. Having Makue learn the ludicrously strong base 120 power (STAB taking it up to 125) move was a no-brainer.



His last two Pokémon, though, was where things got truly exciting. At level 32, Logan had actually evolved into Stoutland! Hilbert immediately ran up to hug the now 3'11'' dog, immensely proud of his first-caught Pokémon for coming so far. The next level, Logan had tried to learn Retaliate, but much like with Sensei, Hilbert had just passed it up, as Strength was a more powerful STAB move overall.



Stoutland was a much shaggier version of Herider. The cream fur on its face had now grown into two massive plumes that ran the length of its body and trailed on the ground, while the fur on its body now formed an impressive, shaggy coat. The fur was dark blue up near his shoulders and grayish-blue towards his feet. Hilbert laughed as his new Pokémon licked his face in joy.



However, even that paled in comparison to the evolution of his starter. Hilbert had actually had Maru out the whole time, his training taking longer than all the rest of his team combined, and passing on Aqua Jet at level 34. But it was worth it as Maru was surrounded by a white aura at level 36. When it faded, his Dewott was gone, replaced by a quadrupedal sea lion creature that could only be described as fearsome- Samurott. His now fully-evolved starter gave a mighty roar of triumph, turning to face his Trainer.



Samurott was mostly blue with a dull blue underbelly. Its fore and hind legs were covered in seashell-like armor, and it wore another shell like a helmet. This shell had a pointed protrusion on its front that looked sharp as a spear tip. Its face had long white whiskers, extending from its snout and head, giving it a very regal, experienced look. It also had a wide, fan-like tail of varying shades of blue.



Hilbert ran up to his starter in joy, but Maru simply growled and ran past him. Hilbert turned around, and to his astonishment, saw the Formidable Pokémon grab one of the pieces of armor on its forelimbs, and actually unsheathe it, the piece of armor turning out to be a sword-like weapon. Maru then used it to dispatch a Karrablast that had been sneaking up behind them with one hit.



Hilbert could only smile in pride. It only seemed like yesterday he had picked this powerful beast as an Oshawott back in Nuvema Town. Guess I was right when I saw potential in you, Maru, he thought. You really have gotten stronger, haven't you?



Trainer and Pokémon only stared at each other for a few more seconds, Maru nodding. The nod seemed to say, I will follow you wherever you go, Master. Thank you for allowing me this chance to travel with you. Hilbert then recalled his starter to his Poké Ball. Just then, Hilbert's Pokédex chirped, letting him know Maru was trying to learn Slash. While the 70 base power Normal-type move was tempting, it meant giving up the more useful coverage that Fury Cutter or Revenge offered. That, combined with the fact that he was about to go into a cave that he knew was full of Rock-types, made him pass it up.



Now ready to go on, he went back to the bed-and-breakfast, healed his Pokémon, bought some food, and filled his water bottle, then headed into Chargestone Cave.



The entrance to Chargestone Cave was a narrow cavern, but one that quickly widened as it went further north. Glowing, electrically-charged blue stones were embedded in the walls, their luminescence providing more than enough light to see by, eliminating the need for any man-made lights to be installed in the cave. In fact, if Hilbert could choose one word to describe the cave based on what he saw so far, it would be blue. Even the very rock walls themselves were a navy blue, to the point where the parts of his jacket that were that colour were rendered practically invisible.



He had gone no more than twenty steps forward when two figures wearing black with white hair and face masks suddenly materialized on either side of him, grabbing his arms. “What the- hmmph!?” Hilbert yelled, his speech cut off as one of the figures slapped a hand over his mouth.



“You're coming with us,” the figure on his left said in a gruff voice. “Try to scream, and it will be the last noise you ever make.”



Forced to comply, Hilbert was practically dragged deeper into the cave, until they stopped before a familiar green-haired young man. Hilbert's eyes narrowed angrily. N! What's that son of a bitch doing here!?



“We have brought you the one you wanted, my Lord N,” one of the ninja-like figures said. They released their grip on Hilbert's limbs, then literally disappeared into thin air with a vsssh sound.



“Okay... what- what the fuck was that!?” Hilbert yelled at N, thoroughly confused and more than a little disturbed. “Who were those guys!?”



“They were the Shadow Triad,” N said simply, like it was obvious information. “Well, you only saw two, but there are three. Kind of implicit in the word 'triad'. Ghetsis enlisted them into Team Plasma. They were the ones who prepared the Galvantula web on my orders. Apparently, it didn't stop you.” N's eyes narrowed. “It should have stopped you.”



“Yeah, well, it didn't,” Hilbert said. “Let's just say I have friends in high places.”



“Hmm,” N said. He walked a few paces to the right, to the same ledge where he had the conversation with the grunt yesterday, looking out over the cave. Hilbert had a strong desire to push the damned madman off the ledge and be rid of him once and for all, but N turned back to him before he could make good on those murderous thoughts.



“Chargestone Cave... I like this place,” the green-haired young man went on, suddenly changing the subject for no real reason. “Formulas express electricity and its connection to Pokémon... this cave is where they can truly be themselves. If people didn't exist, this would be an ideal place.”



“So what, you wish humans didn't exist?” Hilbert shot back. “Are you that crazy?”



“Oh, no, no, no,” N said. “I merely wish humans would stop trapping Pokémon in Poke Balls and bending them to their will. Speaking of being bent to a will, you have been chosen. Did you know that?”



This guy's nuttier than a bag of trail mix! Hilbert thought. “What the fuck are you talking about?”



“So apparently you didn't know... hmm,” N said. “Either way, Ghetsis has been using the Shadow Triad to spy on you and your friends over the last few days.”



Hilbert's eyes widened. What? he thought with a combination of both burning rage and icy fear.



At Hilbert's expression, N smirked. “Oh, yes, Hilbert, we know. We know that Cheren is pursuing the ideal of strength- yet, he seems oblivious to anything else. Not a very healthy mindset, to say the least. Bianca, meanwhile, is facing the sad truth that not everyone can become stronger. One of the Triad watched your battle with her yesterday.” He shook his head in mock sympathy. “Bless her soul, he said that was one of the most pathetic battles he had ever seen.”



“I put her in her place,” Hilbert said, crossing his arms. “What's your point?”



“Which brings us to you,” N said. “You are a curious one- at least that's what the Triad member said. Not seeming to want to get stronger at the expense of everything else, not facing hardship in terms of lost battles... a neutral presence, and yet you have a lot of anger in you. I do wonder- and Ghetsis wanted to know this as well, but I'm not so sure anymore- what kind of a Trainer you really are. By the end of this cave, we'll both know.”



Hilbert was just about to open his mouth when a member of the Triad suddenly appeared and took N's arm, vanishing with another vsssh.



“Fuck that guy,” Hilbert growled. “Next time I see him, I'm gonna kill him.”



Before he forgot, he took a Super Repel out of his bag, held the nozzle towards himself, and lightly coated his jacket in the can's contents. His nose turned up at the smell, but he kept his breakfast from coming up the same way it went down.



Repels were practically necessary in Chargestone Cave thanks to how dangerous the wild Pokémon could be. The squat, three-legged evolution of Roggenrola, Boldore, were notoriously rowdy in this cave, and more than a few people had been mauled by them. The tiny yellow spider-like Joltik weren't very threatening one-on-one, but they could easily swarm a person and shock them to death with combined, repeated jolts of electricity. The same went for Tynamo, strange fish-like creatures that weren't Water-types, but Electric-types. The worst, though, were the two Steel-types in the cave, Klink and Ferroseed.



Klink was basically two ever-turning gears that floated a few inches off the ground with comical faces on each gear. However, a limb caught between the gears could be easily crushed or even amputated. Ferroseed, on the other hand, were Grass/Steel-type ovoid Pokémon with yellow eyes and small green spikes covering every last inch of their metal bodies. They rolled along on the ground, or worse yet, buried themselves into it like spiked landmines. Disturbing one or stepping on one would get you a barrage of deadly green spikes shot your way. Luckily, Repels would make Pokémon outright avoid whoever sprayed themselves with it.



With the fantasy of ripping N limb from limb playing in his mind's eye, Hilbert stepped deeper into the cave. He kept the flashlight on his Cross-Transceiver on and pointed at the ground at all times, avoiding the telltale green spike of a Ferroseed sticking out of the ground, while Joltik crawled on the walls and ceiling by the dozens. At one point, a Boldore walked right in his path, and he stopped dead in his tracks, not daring to even breathe. The Boldore looked right at him, seemed to sniff at him, then let out a displeased grunt, and went on its way.



Hilbert sighed in relief, then regretted it as the stench of the Repel entered his nostrils when he inhaled. “Ugh...” he groaned. “If I never have to use a Repel again, it'll be too soon.”



He turned a corner around a rock wall, and immediately came to a dead end. In front of him was a big blue floating stone, about as tall as he was, while to the right was another rock wall “Shit,” he muttered, “How the hell am I supposed to get past this?” He angrily kicked the ground. Fuck it, he decided. I'm going back to Clay and getting him to escort me all the way through this cave, and if he says no, I'll drag his ass here kicking and screaming. It'll at least be good payback for the Cold Storage.



He turned around, starting to walk back toward the entrance, but stopped in his tracks when he heard voices coming his way. Oh shit, he thought. Team Plasma? He looked around for someplace to hide, but there was nowhere to hide. He was out in the open, totally visible.



He pulled Maru's Poké Ball off his belt, getting ready to throw it as the voices got louder and louder. Seconds later, two figures turned the corner, only for him to recognize them. “Oh, Professor Juniper, Bianca. What the hell are you two doing here?” he asked. He couldn't help but notice the way Bianca shrank back behind Juniper slightly at the mere sight of him. He inwardly rolled his eyes. Juniper had a heavy-looking backpack on her back.



“Oh, we're here on a research trip,” Juniper said. Hilbert couldn't help but notice the somewhat angry tone in her voice, as well as the way her eyes narrowed a bit as she looked at him. “Bianca and I are trying to find out the origins of the Pokémon Klink. Based on historical records, it apparently appeared in this cave just over a hundred years ago, even though this cave has been around since the distant past.”



“Fascinating,” Hilbert said sarcastically, this time actually rolling his eyes.



“Anyways, we're going to stay in this area of the cave for about a day, hence my backpack. Speaking of which, Bianca, could you be a dear and take some of the supplies out of it and get them ready? I need to talk to Hilbert. Now.” She placed the backpack on the ground and glared at Hilbert in a way that made it clear to the boy that there was no option.



She took a pair of rubber gloves out of a pocket in her lab coat, slipping them on and walking to the right side of the floating stone. With a grunt, she shoved it out of the way, and it slammed into another, much bigger blue stone nearby, where it stuck like it was magnetic, opening the path. “If you're wondering, that's how you get around in here,” Juniper said. “These stones are like giant magnets, and are attracted to each other. If a floating stone is in your way, just push it. Now, follow me.”



They walked into the path that the moved stone had revealed, emerging into another open area with a straight path to the north. “Hilbert, what the hell has gotten into you?” Juniper hissed. “Yesterday, I went into the Pokémon Center in Driftveil, and I found Bianca in there, crying. She also told me you called her worthless. I don't what's going on with you, but you need to stop it. Now.”



“And why should I, Professor?” Hilbert shot back snidely. “She wanted to battle me, she faced the consequences. That's all there is to it.”



“No, it's not,” Juniper said. “She wouldn't have been bawling her eyes out if you had simply beaten her in a battle. You insulted her, you belittled her, and you made her feel worse than dirt. According to what she told me on our way here, you didn't even stand up for her when her own father was against her.”



“Oh, this shit again?” Hilbert huffed. “What was I supposed to do? Tell her to keep going in the aftermath of a sandstorm that left dozens dead and that she could have easily been caught in? Lie and say she's a good Trainer when she's clearly not? Sometimes, the truth is better than lying, even when the person doesn't want to hear it.”



“Okay, then tell me the truth on this, even though I don't want to hear it,” Juniper countered. “Practice what you preach, if you will. Just after I consoled Bianca- because of you, might I add- there was a news report on TV that said the body of a man who bled to death was discovered near the Driftveil port. They also said the wound was caused by a Pokémon attack, one of a slashing nature, and I know you were around Driftveil yesterday.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Hilbert... did you kill somebody?”



Hilbert just barely managed to keep his surprise off his face, only the subtle raise of his eyebrows betraying his true emotions. He instead laughed and scoffed. “Juniper, I was training on Route 6 yesterday to get ready for my battle with Clay. I was nowhere near the port. Hell, the only time I was in Driftveil that day was during the battle. After that, I left.”



Juniper's face twisted into a look of suspicion. Something wasn't adding up, but she couldn't put her finger on what. “...Okay, I'll believe you,” she said at last. Hearing Bianca calling, she started walking away. “But I swear, if I find out you had anything to do with this, I'll have your Trainer Card revoked in a heartbeat and have you thrown in jail.”



Hilbert just rolled his eyes again, then continued on, deeper into the cave. Joltik crawled along the walls of the pathway he walked through, which emerged into another, larger open area. A blue stone floated in between two high rock walls, forcing Hilbert to push it out of the way with his shoulder. The stone was attracted to another of the big rocks to the right, where it stuck.



Slipping in between the walls, he came out into a natural maze of narrow rock corridors and big stones that led eastward, the ground littered with the telltale signs of buried Ferroseed. He walked the direction of the passageways- east- but there were so many dead ends he had to turn around and retrace his steps multiple times. Sometimes, the passages were so narrow he literally could not avoid the Ferroseed, so he was forced to send out Makue to deal with the Grass/Steel-types. The barrage of Pin Missile attacks the Ferroseed shot out came so close to him that many times he could feel the rush of air the spikes left in their wake. Once, one actually did graze his jacket, tearing the left sleeve, but by some miracle not hitting skin. “Okay...” he muttered, breathing heavily. “That seals it. Soon as I get to Mistralton, I'm buying a new jacket.”



At long last, he found the exit to the maze, a narrow path leading south. This path overlooked the lower floors of Chargestone Cave, and ended in a solid wooden bridge which spanned a chasm over two halves of the cave. Just as Hilbert approached the bridge, all three members of the Shadow Triad appeared out of nowhere, causing him to jump and stumble backwards, almost falling to his doom off the path, but one Shadow grabbed his wrist and pulled him back before that could happen. Hilbert winced at the Shadow's touch. His hand was cold as ice, and held on firm with an ironclad grip. What the hell are these guys? he thought.



“You're not dying here, so sorry if were planning on it,” the Shadow said in mock affection. “You're coming with us.”



Before Hilbert had even a chance to speak, all three of them grabbed his arms with their signature iron grips, and suddenly, the boy felt as though he was being blended into a slurry. It only lasted a fraction of a second, but it was nauseating beyond words and felt strangely violating at the same time, like his innards were being rearranged inside of him by demented surgeons at impossible speeds.



Just as fast as the feeling began, though, it ended. The Triad let him go, leaving Hilbert to drop to his hands and knees, trying to hold in the vomit that wanted fiercely to exit his mouth. In the end, it proved to be a losing battle, and his half-digested breakfast was expelled the same way it went down.



“Wha... what the... wh'thefuck...” he breathed, barely able to form coherent sentences from the sick feeling that puking had left behind.



“That wasn't exactly an uncommon reaction to being teleported for the first time,” one of the Triad said. “Lord N did the same. Even Master Ghetsis could barely hold in his lunch.”



Another Shadow raised his arm, pointing south. “There is a ladder leading deeper into this cave ahead. Team Plasma is waiting for you there.”



Hilbert shook his head, pushing himself one knee. “Y-you really... really think those damn grunts will stop me?” he growled. “I've... I've beaten them more times than I can count.”



“Truthfully?” the third Shadow said. “No, we don't expect them to stop you.” He grinned behind his mask. “But they will weaken you.”



With that, all three ninja disappeared with their signature vssshh sound. Making it to his feet and stumbling around for a few seconds, Hilbert placed his hand against a nearby wall for support, fishing his water bottle out of his bag and taking a swig to wash away the remaining taste of the vomit in his mouth.



“Ugh... I hate Team Plasma...” he groaned. He could see the ladder not fifteen feet in front of him, and after his stomach stopped doing backflips, he walked over to it, and descended deeper down. What he found at the bottom was a huge cavern filled with huge glowing blue rocks that created twisting, turning natural corridors and uneven ground. One misstep here could easily result in a twisted ankle.



He noticed that the Repel stench was starting to wear off- a surefire sign that the spray was losing effectiveness. He took another can out of his bag, and again coated his jacket in its contents. Thanks to his weakened stomach, the smell this time was too much, causing him to heave up bile. He groaned and wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve.



He took Maru's Poké Ball off his belt as a precaution. If the sight of his now-mighty starter didn't send the grunts screaming away, he didn't know what would. Cautiously stepping forward, he advanced, but not before giving a glance behind him, swearing he'd heard something. All he saw, though, was yet another glowing rock.



Ghetsis gave the Zoroark beside him a withering glare, causing the Illusion Fox Pokémon to stop its incessant giggling. It hissed as the Trainer it was sent to trap in an illusion vanished around a corner. Both of them were currently disguised in one of the Dark-type's illusions, causing them to appear as an ordinary big blue rock. Being inside the illusion was rather strange, Ghetsis had to admit. It was like being inside a soap bubble, with the world outside looking distorted and wavy.



Zoroark was a bipedal Pokémon that resembled a fox and had gray-brown fur. An enormous mane of red fur with black spikes at the top sprouted from its head and trailed down its back. Its chest fur was thick and black, and the claws on both its feet and hands were red.



“Easy, Zoroark,” Ghetsis said. “I know you're eager, but remember, the last thing you want is to be discovered before the trap is even laid out. You still know what it is, or do I have to go through it a third time?”



The Zoroark whined in fear, but in the end shook its head no. Ghetsis just growled. Useless creature... he mentally grumbled. “Fine, then I'll tell you. Forget again, though, and I'll feed you to my Hydreigon. Clear?”



The Zoroark nodded.



“You are to slip past that boy and lie in wait near the end of the cave,” Ghetsis explained. “When he passes you, trap him in an illusion- the most powerful you can muster, and keep him there until he either goes mad or dies from dehydration. Do not dispel the illusion until then. Am I clear?”



The Zoroark gave another nod.



“Good,” Ghetsis said. With no chance of Hilbert spotting him, the green-haired man exited the illusion, making his way up the ladder. The Shadow Triad would pick him up at the top, leaving the Zoroark alone to carry out its task.



The Zoroark just sighed, sitting down, causing its back-jointed legs to bend in an inhuman way. As a Pokémon, a being of pure energy, it didn't exactly need to eat or drink (though it could), but it knew the waiting of this task might drive it just as mad as the boy. Still, it could do nothing but wait, as the threat of the green-haired man's Hydreigon was still fresh in its mind.



Hilbert, with his starter's Poké Ball still clutched in his hand, slowly made his way through the maze-like cavern. So far, there were no Plasma grunts to be seen, but that only put him more on edge than if he had encountered them. He was headed east, or at least the direction that he thought was east. He glanced down at his Cross-Transceiver to check the compass... but then remembered it didn't even have that functionality. “Ah... stupid fuckin' skunkworks piece of shit,” he grumbled, glaring at the device on his wrist. “Why can't you be a Poketch? I'm sure that has a compass app or something...”



He glanced up again, and stopped in his tracks. Not ten feet in front of him was not one, but a line of five green spikes poking out the ground, taking up the entire width of the corridor he was currently in. “Dammit... looks like a nest of Ferroseed,” he said to himself. He quickly swapped Maru's Poké Ball for Makue's. The Darumaka was already down to about half health thanks to Ferroseed's ability, Iron Barbs, which chipped away at any Pokémon that dared make physical contact with it. Taking on this many Ferroseed at once would surely make her faint, and he was carrying very few healing supplies, but there was no choice. Darumaka was the only Pokémon he had with moves that hit the Grass/Steel-types in the quad weakness.



“Alright, you know what to do,” he said, throwing out the Poké Ball. It landed near the line of spikes, causing all the Ferroseed to burst out of their hiding places in showers of blue-gray dirt. “Take 'em out, Makue!” Hilbert yelled. “Quick, quick!”



Makue launched a flurry of Fire Punches while the Ferroseed fired a barrage of Pin Missiles her way. The Zen Charm Pokémon acrobatically rolled out of the way, slamming her flaming fist into the nearest Ferroseed, taking it down, but visibly wincing as Iron Barbs inflicted damage on her. Hilbert yelled a warning to his Darumaka as another Ferroseed tried slamming into her with Gyro Ball from behind. She quickly got out of the way, punching it as it rolled past. The blow was far more than was necessary to take down the Thorn Seed Pokémon, but again, Iron Barbs took its toll.



The remaining three Ferroseed, to their credit, refused to give up. They launched more Pin Missile attacks her way, and this time, one was successful in landing a hit. Makue cried out in pain, but didn't fall. She ran forward, exploiting the Ferroseed's mistake of clustering together, and with three quick Fire Punches, knocked them out. The Iron Barbs damage this time, though, was enough to cause her to faint.



Hilbert grimaced, returning his fallen Pokémon. Suddenly, he heard echoing voices and running footsteps. He immediately grabbed Maru's Poké Ball and prepared for battle, and not ten seconds later, three Team Plasma grunts- two men and a woman- emerged from around the corner.



“Ah, shit,” Hilbert muttered.



“Well, well, well, if it isn't the brat we were told would be here!” one of the men said. “You ready to get stomped, kid?”



“That depends,” Hilbert said, sizing them up. “Are your Pokémon ready to be torn to shreds?” In reality (though he would never admit it), Hilbert was feeling more than a little intimidated by the grunts. Sure, he had taken many of them down before, but that had in one-on-one situations, not three of them at once.



“We'll see,” the grunt replied. All three threw out the Poke Balls clipped to the belts, revealing a Watchog, Scraggy, and Liepard.



Hope you're ready for this, Maru, Hilbert thought, throwing out his starter. The Samurott emerged in a flash of light, letting out a roar that echoed in the confined space.



The Scraggy and Watchog descended on Maru as one, while the Liepard hung back, waiting for the right time to strike. The Watchog used Super Fang, chomping down on Maru's arm, immediately cutting his health down to half and making him howl in pain, while the Scraggy quickly karate chopped him with Brick Break, lowering the Formidable Pokémon's health down even further to what Hilbert was sure was dangerously red.



However, Maru started glowing the signature red of Revenge, and with a mighty roar, grabbed the Watchog and ripped it off his arm, throwing against the wall with sickening force, then unsheathed the sword on its other arm and batted Scraggy away with it. Both enemy Pokémon were knocked out by the super-effective Fighting-type move. However, this was the opportunity the Liepard had been waiting for. It ran for Maru while he was still recovering from the assault, and rammed into him with Pursuit, knocking him out.



“No!” Hilbert yelled, returning his starter. He then looked at the Liepard, noticing it was advancing toward him with a disturbing, hungry look in its eyes, its claws popped.



“Liepard, you know what to do,” the female grunt said. “Sic 'im.”



Oh shit! Hilbert thought. Moving faster than he ever had, he grabbed his Sawk's Poké Ball off his belt, throwing it out. “Brick Break, now!” he yelled even before Sensei had finished materializing and as the Liepard pounced.



Sensei was almost too late. The Liepard had actually jumped through his materializing form, and was within a few centimeters of Hilbert when he grabbed it by the tail, yanking it back and giving it a sound karate chop on the spine, knocking the Cruel Pokémon out in one hit.



Breathing heavily from adrenaline, Hilbert faced the grunts as they returned their Pokémon. “Now, I believe you saying something about stomping me?”



All the grunt's faces turned white. “This isn't over, kid!” the man who owned the Scraggy said as the trio retreated back from where they came.



Hilbert sighed. He was now down to four Pokémon, one of which he couldn't even use to its fullest due to Earthquake being a death sentence in such a confined area. Sensei was now the best choice he had for taking down those infuriating Ferroseed... but Iron Barbs would eventually chip him down, too. Stuck (almost literally) between a rock and a hard place, Hilbert chose the rock, and kept going, taking another swig of his water before going on.



To his surprise, the cavern wasn't as difficult to navigate as he thought it would be. He did get turned around a few times, but had Scrapper mark some rocks with Metal Claw to denote where he had and hadn't been. The eastward direction he was taking led him into conflict with a few more Team Plasma grunts, including a woman who used three Trubbish! She had actually made Sensei faint thanks to a lucky infliction of poison from Sludge, forcing him to use his Excadrill to take them out. Still, even Excadrill had taken a few nicks from Take Down.



Guess those Shadow Triad assholes were right, Hilbert thought. These guys are wearing me down.



At long last, he reached the ladder that led out of the 'basement' of Chargestone Cave, and to where he hoped the exit would be. He checked the time on his Pokédex's screen, finding it to be a little after seven o'clock. Not bad, he thought. I should be in Mistralton by about nine-forty. His hopes for this, as he would soon find out, would soon be dashed.



He walked south a short distance, then west, only to find himself face-to-face with a rock wall. “What the fuck..?” he said in disbelief. “The exit should be just beyond this point, why the hell is this in the way!?”



Now very worried, he turned around, intending to go back to the ladder and maybe find another way, only to find himself walking down a corridor he swore hadn't been there two minutes ago, and somehow again came face-to-face with the same rock wall. “What the fuck!?” he exclaimed. “This cave's nuts!”



Meanwhile, disguised as a nearby rock, the Zoroark snickered. It would be fun watching this boy get more and more panicked at his situation until he finally died.



Hilbert heard the snickering. “Hello!?” he called. “Wh-who's there!? Is there anyone in here with me!?”



The Zoroark ceased its noise immediately, not daring to even breathe. Eventually, the boy, after looking around in a panic, muttered, “Dammit, I'm going completely insane... Starting to hear things...” before wandering off. The Zoroark let out a relieved sigh, then refocused on its illusion.



Hilbert soon found himself walking in circles, circles that by all rights should have been impossible, and circles that always ended in that damnable rock wall. After his third loop of the same ground, he screamed in anger, tossing out his Excadrill. “Alright, if we can't go around it, we'll just go through it,” Hilbert hissed.



As Hilbert commanded his Excadrill to use Metal Claw, the Zoroark tensed up. This would be a serious test of its ability to create illusions, as any physical interaction with them made it work double-time to make sure they acted in a realistic manner and didn't just shake like jello.



The Excadrill slashed at the rock wall once, twice, three times, each strike almost making the Illusion Fox Pokémon cry out in pain, but it endured.



Hilbert gasped as Scrapper stopped his bombardment of the rock wall. Even with the sheer power of an Excadrill, the hits hadn't left a scratch. “Well... nice try, buddy,” he said to Scrapper, attempting to keep his cool in front of his Pokémon. He was only a little ways away from full-on panic mode in truth. “We'll find a way outta this, okay?” Smiling weakly, he recalled his team member. Forced to continue the bizarre loop, he kept going.



All at once, though, on his sixth loop, he had an idea. The Cross-Transceiver! I can use it to call for help! He flipped the device on, dialing Juniper's number. However, the cave, being naturally electromagnetic as it was, interfered with any cellular signals, rendering the call function of the Cross-Transceiver next to useless. All he got was static.



Hilbert's face twisted into abject fury in a heartbeat. “DAMMIT!” he yelled. He ripped the Cross-Transceiver off his wrist and threw it against the ground. He slumped down against the wall, putting his head in his hands. “What the hell is going on..?” he muttered hopelessly. “This shouldn't be happening... it can't be happening...”.



After a short while, he stood, picked his Cross-Transceiver up off the ground, as it was his only method of telling time, and slipped it back on. The impact against the ground had scratched the plastic around the main screen, but it had sustained no damage beyond that. Cross-Transceivers really were built to last. Checking the time, he saw that an hour had passed, making it eight o'clock. So much for making it to Mistralton by nine-forty, he thought. Still, there had to be a way out of this crazy cave... there had to be. Without much choice, he kept on, this time keeping a close eye on the walls for any tunnels leading out he might have missed.



Meanwhile, the Zoroark was getting bored. It was time, it decided, to speed things up.



By the twelfth loop, Hilbert was beginning to notice he was sweating a considerable amount more than ten minutes ago. At first he thought it was his imagination, but now that he stopped and thought about it, the cave's temperature did seem hotter, thus causing the increase in perspiration. He took his water bottle out of his bag, chugging it greedily, but stopped when he realized he'd need to conserve the liquid. He groaned when he looked at the water level in the bottle: It was already about three-quarters empty.



The thirtieth loop is when his stomach started growling. Having puked up his breakfast before it had a chance to fully digest, his body was now crying out for food. Opening his bag, he saw he had a few granola bars and a shrink-wrapped sandwich. Unwrapping the sandwich, he ate it greedily, but chose to leave the bars for later. All the while, the feeling of desperation was gnawing at the back of his mind.



After the fiftieth loop, he was just running up and down the corridor, looking for anything, even a small sliver, that he missed. The heat in the tunnel was getting to him, and he'd used up the last of his water several loops ago. He'd stripped off his jacket and tied it around his waist to stave off the heat, but knew it would only work for a short time. It was now past ten o'clock, and he was exhausted. Maybe this is all a bad dream, he thought groggily. Maybe... maybe all I have to do is sleep, and... and it'll be fine when I wake up.



He untied his jacket from around his waist, took off his bag, and lay down on the ground, using the jacket as a pillow. However, just as soon as he was falling into slumber, there came a ringing in his ears. He ignored it at first, but it grew louder and louder until it drowned out all else and became painful. Hilbert's eyes shot open and he sat up with a scream. “What the hell is happening..?” he asked again for the second time in as many hours. Now unable to even sleep, he got up, and continued the loop.



The Zoroark, meanwhile, just quietly sighed in relief. That had been a close one, but keeping the boy awake would speed up the process even faster.



After that, how much time passed, Hilbert couldn't say, and he dared not check. He lost count of how many loops he completed around this bizarre circuit he was forced to tread over and over again. His breathing was labored, his parched throat screamed for water, and the exhaustion was getting to him. It was all he could do to keep putting one foot in front of the other. He could feel himself getting weaker, but he had to stay awake to avoid that Arceus-damned ringing that popped up whenever he so much as closed his eyes for more than two minutes.



For another twenty-five loops, he kept going, feeling like he was stuck in limbo, before his body gave out. The exhaustion was just too much, and he collapsed, passed out on the ground. The Zoroark waited for a good ten minutes, even trying the sound to awaken the boy, but he didn't so much as stir. Finally, it dispelled its illusion and tip-toed over to Hilbert to check on him. The boy was still breathing, but it was shallow, and with no water and no one to help him, he would die soon, anyway.



Confident that its job was done, the Zoroark bounded away in the opposite direction, leaving Hilbert to die of exposure to the elements.

 

I Never Wanted to be the Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 24: Route 7 and the Tower of Heaven

​

At the sensation of being dragged along across the dusty ground, Hilbert weakly opened his eyes, then immediately regretted it, as a flash of pain shot through his forehead. That was a migraine, no doubt about it, and that was all he was able to register before he lapsed into unconsciousness once again. However, it was a very brief respite, and the next thing he knew, the feeling of cold liquid being poured down his throat awoke him once more. It took him five full seconds to realize the liquid was water, and that was just enough time for him to start sputtering and choking on it.



He coughed roughly a few times, some of the water spilling out of his mouth and dribbling down his chin to dampen the collar of his black T-shirt.



“I'd keep that water down, if I were you,” a voice in front of him said. “You need it badly right now.”



Hilbert stopped coughing, and blearily opened his eyes, seeing a blurry mass of green in front of him, in stark contrast to the blurry mass of blue behind it. It took a few seconds for the green mass to come into focus, revealing a face that belonged to someone he now hated with a passion: N.



The green-haired young man was squatting in front of Hilbert, and held a water bottle in one hand. Hilbert, meanwhile, was sitting with his back leaned against the left wall of the cave, like a dummy put into storage.



Indescribable anger seized Hilbert's mind, and he tried to raise his arm to grab N by the throat, only for him to merely swat his hand down, Hilbert's limb flopping away uselessly like limp spaghetti.“You fucking son of a bitch...” Hilbert rasped, his voice hoarse and his throat hating him for even daring to speak, “I hate you... I'm gonna fucking kill you...”



N merely clicked his tongue and sighed. “Now, that's not very polite to say to someone offering you the very thing you need to not die right now,” he said. “I could just as easily pour this water on the ground and leave you here to die.”



Hilbert coughed again.“I'd al... almost rather that than be saved by you...”



“Well, that's too bad, then.” N brought the water bottle to Hilbert's lips and let him take another long drink. Despite what he had just said, Hilbert drank greedily, letting the badly needed liquid wash over the inside of his throat, soothing it. N took the bottle away after a short while, as it was nearly empty.



Hilbert gave another rough cough before speaking. “So, why... why did you save me?”



“Because I still want to know what kind of Trainer you are,” N said, giving him a hard look. “It's obvious you can push through adversity and triumph over your opponents- well, most of the time, seeing as you lost to me at Nimbasa's ferris wheel.”



Hilbert gave N a murderous look as he recalled that humiliating loss.



N then stood up, revealing he had four Poke Balls clipped to his belt. Oh, no... Hilbert thought miserably, knowing what was coming without a doubt.



“However,” N went on, “It seems that even you can't get through everything unscathed. You do have limits, like everyone does. As for me, I'm reaching the limit of my patience. The world is still far too gray from too many different values mixed together. That is unforgivable. Unacceptable. I will separate Pokémon from people, and black and white will be clearly distinct. Pokémon will then be perfect beings!”



Hilbert's expression got more and more disturbed throughout N's ramblings, both at how insane they sounded, and at the fact that N seemed to talking to himself.



“Yes... Pokémon as perfect beings... that is the world of my dreams,” the green-haired young man said as he turned back to Hilbert.



“That's your dream, huh?” Hilbert rasped. He began to force himself to his feet, his legs shaking and his muscles screaming at him. “Well, that's funny. I have a dream too, right now. And it's killing you!”



N just shook his head. “Hilbert, look at yourself, you can barely stand. You're in no condition to move that much, let alone battle me.”



“I don't care!” Hilbert yelled as best he was able, then launched into a violent coughing fit for doing so. “We're going to fight, I'm going to win, and then I'll tear your throat out so I don't have to hear you fucking talk ever again! Scrapper, get out there!”



Hilbert threw out one of his only three Pokémon left standing. Scrapper let out a growl upon seeing N, gritting his teeth in rage.



Sighing in apparent resignation, N threw out a Boldore. Boldore was a three-legged Pokémon that resembled a blue rock. It had four opaque orange-red crystals along its back, with more crystals of the same colour at the tips of its crab-like legs. Three more, smaller crystals were below two yellow pits in its face, resembling teeth (however, little did Hilbert know, those yellow pits were actually Boldore's ears).



Making the first move, Scrapper leapt into action, slashing at the far slower Pokémon with Metal Claw. Even though Metal Claw was a fairly weak move, and Boldore had good defense, Excadrill's high attack won out. To Hilbert's shock, though, the Boldore flinched, but didn't go down. The opaque crystals on the Ore Pokémon's back began to glow, and beams of light shot out of them in a Power Gem attack, hitting Excardill squarely in the chest, blowing him backwards, but otherwise doing minimal damage. Excadrill quad-resisted Rock-type attacks, after all.



“Wha-” Hilbert placed his hand against the cave wall for support as he launched into another short fit of hacking and coughing, “What the hell was that!? Why didn't your Boldore go down!?”



N just shook his head. “You really should do more homework, Hilbert. That was Boldore's ability, Sturdy, which allows it to take any hit so long as it is at full health. I really thought you would have known that, but I guess not.”



If looks could kill, N would have been unspeakably mutilated by the glare Hilbert was giving him. Choosing to ignore it, N simply yelled, “Now, Boldore, Mud-Slap!”



The Boldore kicked up an alarmingly large amount of dirt from the cave floor, launching it at Scrapper. He cried out as he was hit by the wave of mud, the super-effective Ground-type attack actually doing some damage. A few flecks of dirt splattered across Hilbert's face, too.



Growling, at being covered in mud, Scrapper shook his body like a rattle, causing the substance to fly everywhere, spraying Hilbert with more mud. He then threw himself at the Boldore, slashing it brutally with Metal Claw, knocking it out. N quickly recalled his Pokémon, then threw out his next one.



Hilbert's blood ran cold as he saw what N tossed out. Oh, fuck. It was a Ferroseed. A Steel-type. A type all his counters to were knocked out. Still, there was a chance Scapper could chip the Ferroseed down, but it was slim. The most powerful attacks that Scrapper knew- Earthquake and Rock Slide- were almost guaranteed death sentences in such a confined space, and Metal Claw would do chip damage at best. Though, there was one other option: Hone Claws. Maybe if Scrapper got enough boosts, he could smash through the Ferroseed with brute force.



Well, that's a better option than nothing, Hilbert thought. Still bracing himself against the wall with one hand and with his legs getting noticeably more shaky, he yelled in a hoarse voice, “Scrapper, Hone Claws!”



Scrapper began to scrape his claws against each other, but Ferroseed would have none of it. It launched itself into the air, letting loose a barrage of needles from its body in a Pin Missile attack. The small spikes embedded themselves everywhere, a few even coming within just feet of N, but more importantly, they pelted Scrapper, keeping him from pulling off the stat-raising move while also doing damage.



His breathing getting heavy- though whether from exhaustion or anger, even Hilbert himself couldn't say- he commanded his Excadrill to try the same thing, only to get the exact same result. And the time after that. And after that.



N just shook his head at the display that could only be called pitiful. He raised his arms. “Hilbert, enough. You're going nowhere fast in your condition, or with that strategy.”



Still breathing heavily, Hilbert just managed to gasp out, “I... don't... CARE! I'll do whatever it t-takes... t-to... bring you... down...” Hilbert's body, however, was far weaker than his will. His legs practically gave out from underneath him, and he slumped against the wall, his breathing labored. Scrapper ran to his Trainer, looking concerned.



N just sighed and returned his Ferroseed to its Poké Ball. “Well, that was meaningless,” he muttered. He walked up to his opponent, only for the Excadrill to growl at him murderously, taking a defensive stance in front of its Trainer. N outstretched his hands in a gesture of peace to indicate he held no weapons. “Relax, my friend,” he said in a soothing voice, “Your... Trainer... is in dire need of help. Help that, pained as I am to say, you can't provide. You have to let me past in order for me to give him the aid he needs.”



Scrapper looked bewildered for a second, but the decision was out of his claws in the end, as Hilbert had worked up the strength to grab his Poké Ball, and return him to it. His arm then fell weakly against the ground. N took out his water bottle, squatting in front of Hilbert once more, letting Hilbert drink the last of the contents of it.



Hilbert's eyes narrowed to wrathful slits. “I... hate... you...” he whispered hoarsely, but with anger still clear in his tone.



“Yes, and I like you too, so very much,” N said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “Either way, that was all the water I had, so you'll need more help than I can give right now.” At the sound of approaching voices and footsteps, his head whipped up, looking to the side. “And speaking of which, here comes some now.”



Hilbert had just enough strength to turn his head to the left, seeing Bianca and Juniper walking up to them.

“It's only a little farther to the end of the cave, Bianca,” Juniper was saying. “We'll be there before you- oh my Arceus! Hilbert!” She cut herself off as she saw Hilbert slumped against a wall and a mysterious green-haired young man she had never met standing over him. Said young man's eyes narrowed as he looked at her. She ignored him, and ran over to the dehydrated and thoroughly exhausted boy, kneeling in front of him and holding his face, lightly slapping his cheeks to bring him back to relative awareness.



Hilbert just groaned, weakly uttering Juniper's name. “Is... is he okay, Professor?” Bianca asked. N's eyes widened in realization.



“No,” Juniper answered fearfully. “He needs medical attention. We need to get him to Mistralton as soon as possible. Trouble is, it's still six kilometres away!”



N, who had been silent and seemingly brooding throughout this exchange, suddenly spoke up. “So...” he said, his tone sounding more than a little menacing as he crossed his arms over his chest, “You're the esteemed Professor Juniper.”



“...Yes, I am,” Juniper said, looking over her shoulder apprehensively. She stood up, leaving Hilbert alone for a few moments. “Who are you, again? I don't believe we've met.”



“My name is N,” N said, causing both Juniper and Bianca to give him a strange look.



“What kind of a name is- ow!” Bianca cried out as Juniper elbowed her in the shoulder to cut off her statement before giving her a stern look.



“Don't be rude,” Juniper whispered to Bianca. N just rolled his eyes, like he had been through this song and dance already. “Now, if you have something to say, say it fast, as we kind of have a medical emergency here.” She gestured to Hilbert.



“I will,” N replied. “I just have a simple question: What were you thinking with that... that wretched device called a Pokédex!? You say you have no qualms about the relationship between Pokémon and people, and yet you hand out that disgusting encyclopedia that unjustly categorizes Pokémon using the most arbitrary guidelines and expect people to understand them that way!? They can never be perfect beings entrapped in Poke Balls! How dare you call yourself a 'Professor of Pokémon?' You disgust me!”



Juniper's gaze hardened. “I don't know who you are, young man, but I do not appreciate being spoken to like that. And to be honest, it strikes me as more than a bit hypocritical of you to have the audacity to accuse me of 'unjustly categorizing Pokémon' when you're the one with Poke Balls on your belt! Now get out of our way! We have to get Hilbert to Mistralton!”



N seemed taken aback at Juniper's outburst, but then his eyes showed nothing but anger. “No!” he shouted. “No I won't get out of the way! You're the cause of countless Pokémon suffering, so if I have to stop you here, then I will.”



“...What do you mean by that?” Juniper said, fear creeping into her voice.



“What I mean is this!” N yelled. He released a Klink from its Poké Ball, the Gear Pokémon making strange metallic grinding noises as Juniper's eyes widened in fear. “I won't kill you,” N went on, “But I will teach you a lesson! Klink, attack!”



Juniper screamed as the Klink gathered energy for a Charge Beam attack, only to feel a rush of heat blast by her. Not even a second later, the Klink was knocked out, crushed under a super-effective Heat Crash from Bianca's Pignite. The Pignite looked N down with fury in its eyes, mimicking that of its Trainer.

“Don't you dare try to hurt Professor Juniper!” Bianca yelled, a confidence she thought she lost in her voice. “Try something like that again, and I'll have Toroko crush you!”



“Very well, if it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get,” N growled. He sent out his Ferroseed next.



What followed could hardly be called a fight. Bianca, due to having the type advantage in Pignite, decimated him. N was a superb Trainer, but no one could hope to stand up to a higher-level Pokémon with a type advantage over their entire team. In the end, Bianca sent N running out of the cave.



Her breathing heavy from fear, Juniper turned to Bianca as she recalled her Pignite. “Thank you, Bianca. I knew bringing you along was a good idea.”



Bianca just smiled. “It was my pleasure, Professor. Did you think I was gonna let that creep hurt you? Not a chance.”



“But still...” Juniper mused, “What a strange young man. He acts similarly to the people you told me about, Bianca- Team Plasma.”



“Yeah,” Bianca said. “He does. I think he might be one of them, or at least supporting them.”



“Maybe,” Juniper said. “But right now, all that matters is getting Hilbert out of here and to Mistralton.” She walked back to the exhausted, dehydrated boy, picking him up under his legs and around his back.



Bianca was astounded that Juniper could carry both Hilbert- who weighed easily over a hundred pounds- and her heavy backpack on her back simultaneously. “But, Professor! You said it yourself- it's six kilometres away! Are you sure we can make it? I'm not saying I don't want to save him, but still... After what he did to me...” She rubbed her left arm.



“Honestly, Bianca, I think he's a bit of a jerk, too, and I don't know if we'll make it, but that doesn't mean we can't damn well try. The last thing I want to say to his mother is that I left him to die in a cave and did nothing to save him.”



Together, the two females exited the cave, and came out into a wide, forested path, with trees about thirty feet away on the east and west. Being in somewhat of a valley, they were unable to see the buildings of Mistralton, but that would change as the landscape elevated to the north. The morning sky was gray with the promise of oncoming rain. The occasional Deerling ran by across the path into the woods.



After about ten minutes of traveling, even the normally peppy, optimistic Bianca could see that Juniper was tiring. And there's still so far to go... We'll never make it at this rate. She thought. The sinister part of her said that was a good thing, and that Hilbert dying would serve him right after how he treated her, but she quashed those thoughts in a hurry. She would teach him his lesson later- in a Pokémon battle.



Suddenly, they heard the distant chop-chop-chop of helicopter blades approaching. Juniper stopped in her tracks. “Bianca!” she cried. “If we can signal that chopper, it might land and help us! There's a flare gun in my backpack. Take it out, quickly!”



With shaking, desperate hands, Bianca unzipped Juniper's bag, and dug around inside as the sound got louder and closer. She managed to find it due to its bright orange colour and bulky shape, pulling it out. Finding it already loaded, she pointed it skyward, and, praying this would work, squeezed the trigger, shooting a small fireball high into the air as the chopper came into view...



Skyla was not having the best of days, to say the least. While she respected Professor Aurea Juniper immensely, her father could be a bit dim at times. Here she was, doing an aerial survey in the one aerial vehicle she didn't like, wondering how in hell she let herself be talked into this.



Beside her, the man known as Cedric Juniper was taking pictures with a high-definition camera of every Flying-type Pokémon he saw, which mostly consisted of Tranquill, the evolution of Pidove- I.E Pokémon she saw on a daily basis as per her job as Gym Leader of Mistralton City. Needless to say, she was bored and slightly irritated. They had gone as far as Driftveil, passing over Chargestone Cave, and were currently in the process of heading back to Mistralton.



Skyla wore her usual set of clothes for aerial excursions: A baby blue, long-sleeved top that showed off her midriff, thick navy blue flight gloves with inner fur lining, blue boots that covered up to her calves, and baby blue short shorts. Her red hair was currently accessorized by both her normal propeller-shaped hairpin and a headset mic for this outing. Skyla knew (much to her embarrassment) that she was one of the top internet picks for the 'Sexiest Female Gym Leaders', and that teenage boys all over Unova constantly debated if she or her good friend Elesa were hotter.



Cedric, meanwhile, was wearing a striped yellow shirt, brown trousers, and beige loafers. His hair was a few shades lighter than his daughter's brownish-blond hair, kept up in a cowlick, and he had a short, neatly kept beard on his chin.



“I must say, this has been quite the informative survey, Skyla,” Cedric said after putting his camera down for the first time since they'd gotten off the ground. “Maybe next time we can take your plane to Kanto or Sinnoh and see how their local populations of Flying-type Pokémon are doing!”



Skyla let out an audible groan into her mic. That did it, she was taking a trip to the Celestial Tower to unwind and de-stress in the very near future... “Professor, my plane is meant for cargo, not research trips!” she said, her temper almost reaching boiling point. “And you're talking like those places are a quick trip away! With all due respect, newsflash: They're not! Even by plane, it takes hours to get there!”



Cedric looked down in disappointment, then went back to his camera in silence. Then, without warning, a small but very bright light shot up not fifty feet in front of the chopper, so close Skyla gasped and instinctively swerved the helicopter to the left to avoid it, even though there was no need. “Whoa!” Cedric cried out, pitching to the side in his seat and nearly losing his grip on his camera. “What was that!?”



Skyla quickly got the chopper under control, righting it in the sky before she answered. “That was a signal flare! It came from the ground! Someone obviously wants our attention. Professor, I'm gonna get closer, you use that camera of yours to see who did that!”



Without waiting for his reply, Skyla flew the chopper over where the flare had been shot from, keeping it at a steady hover once she got there. Cedric aimed the camera at the ground, using the controls on the top to zoom in. “I can see three people down there!” he reported. “They seem to be waving at us!” He readjusted the focus. “Wait- I can see Aurea down there! She's with two young people, and one of them doesn't seem to be moving! Skyla, we've got to land and see what's wrong!”



Skyla looked down at the ground through the chopper's window. She could just make out three tiny people-shaped blurs on the ground far below. They seemed to be standing in a fairly small clearing on the road to Mistralton, but then, everything seemed tinier than it really was from way up in the sky. “I'll see what I can do to land!” she yelled. “Hang on!” With that, she began the helicopter's descent.



“Professor!” Bianca cried. “They saw us! They're coming down!”



Juniper and Bianca moved out of the way to give the chopper the maximum amount of space possible to land. Luckily, there was enough room in the clearing, but only just. Skyla shut off the rotors, she and Cedric waiting until they had spun down almost completely before getting out. Cedric was the first one on solid land, followed closely by Skyla.



The two Junipers ran up to each other. “Aurea, sweetheart! What seems to be the problem?” the elder asked.



Aurea tilted her head down at the boy in her arms. Hilbert was currently unconscious from fatigue, and his breathing was shallow. “Right now? Him. He's dehydrated, exhausted, and needs medical attention now. Can you have Skyla there take him to Mistralton?”



“I can,” Skyla said, cutting in. “That chopper does have room for a third passenger.”



“Then let's get him on board,” Juniper said. She gave her father a quick kiss on the cheek. “I'll meet you in Mistralton later. It was good to see you, Dad. Oh, and before you ask, the research in Chargestone went well.”



“That's good to hear,” Cedric replied, taking Hilbert from his daughter and placing him in the helicopter. Both Skyla and Cedric climbed in, and with a whir of rotors, they were off.



Meanwhile, in the treeline, just out of sight, N watched all of this unfold with narrowed eyes. That Bianca girl is far better than the Shadow Triad let on. Underestimating her was a mistake, he thought, but then quickly corrected himself. No... giving into my emotions and allowing my friends to get hurt... that was the real mistake.



He tapped his fingertips against the Poke Balls on his belt, looking down at them in utter rage. Why do I keep using these disgusting things? I know I said to Hilbert back when we first met in Accumula Town that I caught Pokémon for protection on Routes, but that was a lie. Maybe that Professor was right... I can no longer pursue the truth through hypocrisy! That will never allow me to become friends with the Legendary Pokémon!



Glancing up, he saw that both the Professor and Bianca had moved on, having continued on their trek to Mistralton. He took four Hyper Potions out of his pockets, healing each of his Pokémon in turn. Releasing them all as quickly as he could, he ushered them away with shooing gestures of his arms. “Go! Go now, you're free! All of you!” he cried. His Pokémon all gave him sad looks, but otherwise didn't move. “Get out of here!” N yelled. “You're free! You're done being slaves! Go back to the wild, go back to how you were meant to be!”



One by one, the Pokémon he had caught slowly turned and walked back to the cave, looking despondent. And there it is again! N mentally screamed. WHY do they all give me sad looks when I release them!? They should be happy! They can't possibly like being with a Trainer... could they?



“No... no they couldn't,” he continued out loud. “I can't allow my convictions to weaken... not now. Not when I'm so close to creating a world where Pokémon can be perfect beings...”



A few hours later, Hilbert's eyes slowly opened as he lay in a hospital bed, an IV in his arm, slowly dripping electrolyte-rich water into his body through a tube. Both Professor Juniper and an unfamiliar man were standing at the foot of the bed, talking in concerned tones. He opened his still extremely dry mouth, almost having to prise his tongue from where it had been plastered on the roof of his mouth, making a small groan.



Juniper and the unknown man stopped talking when they heard him make noise. They both were at his bedside in an instant. “Wha- wha' happened..?” he rasped, his voice still quiet and scratchy.



Juniper reached for a glass of water on a small table next to his bed. “Drink this, then we'll explain,” she said, helping him take a long drink from the cup. Hilbert gulped down nearly the whole glass in one go due to his thirst.



“Well, someone needed a drink,” Cedric chuckled. His daughter shot him a withering glare, and he gave an apologetic look back.



“'What happened',” Juniper explained, “Is that Bianca and I found you in Chargestone Cave, slumped against a wall with some green-haired young man standing over you that I had never met. He attacked me, and if Bianca hadn't been there, who knows what would have happened...”



Juniper trailed off, giving Hilbert just enough time to think murderously, N... you rat bastard...



“Anyway,” Juniper continued, “We carried you out of there, but if it weren't for my father here and this city's Gym Leader, you'd be a whole lot worse off, trust me. But I want to know what happened to you. Why were you so dehydrated when we found you?”



“I... I dunno,” Hilbert said, his breathing still labored somewhat. He paused to swallow thickly. “I... I thought I was... was gonna be out of the cave eas... easily enough, but I came u-up to this big rock wall that blocked my path. Ev... even my Excadrill cou... couldn't break it down... and-and the ladder to go back to the lower floors was gone, too...”



Juniper and her father exchanged confused looks. “Hilbert... there is no rock wall that close to the exit of Chargestone Cave. Bianca and I even took the exact same path you did, because it's the only one, and we saw nothing like that.”



“Bu- wha..?” Hilbert sputtered. “I...I swear, though, th-there was a wall I couldn't get past!”



“Now, now, calm down, son,” the older man said. “It's not that we don't believe you- your current condition is proof enough that you're telling the truth- but I will admit, it is odd. Rock walls don't just appear and disappear, after all. Oh, and by the way, my name is Cedric Juniper, before you ask. I'm Aurea's father.”



“I... I'm Hilbert. Shame we couldn't m-meet under better circumstances.”



“Indeed. Either way, I think it'd be best if we let you get some sleep. You clearly need both that and lots of water after your ordeal.” Cedric stood up, followed by his daughter, and together they walked out of the room.



“Strange...” Cedric mused as he walked down the Pokémon Center's halls. “We know he's being truthful, and yet at the same time, I can tell you with 100% certainty that there's no rock wall blocking the path out of Chargestone Cave...”



“I know,” Aurea answered. “This might be something we should look into.”



“I can help, but not for too long,” Cedric replied. “I need to go over the pictures of Flying-type Pokémon I took on that aerial survey with Skyla, and then after that, I need to get going on another research trip to Dragonspiral Tower in Icirrus City. Why don't get your charming new assistant to help you after I leave? I believe you told me her name was Bianca?”



“That sounds fine,” Juniper said. “I always love working with you, dad.”



“And I you, sweetheart,” Cedric said, drawing his daughter into a hug. “I you.”



Meanwhile, while all this was going on, Hilbert, just before giving into exhaustion and falling into a fitful sleep, quietly raged. N... the next time I see you, I'm gonna rip your fucking guts out, he thought. Not even with my Pokémon, either. I'll only need my bare hands!



Twenty-four hours later, Hilbert was released from the Pokémon Center's hospital wing, after drinking much water and draining another bag of IV fluid (even though his doctors were sure it was overkill, it was better to be safe than sorry). While still a little shaky on his feet and weak in the knees, he was feeling far better off than he had been. Even though it was early in the morning, the skies were gray and cloudy. The forecast had predicted the next few days would bring huge thunderstorms with only occasional breaks, and it was looking like those predictions would be true. Indeed, even now, the faintest traces of spit were coming down, making the air a bit misty.



Just like after his little 'incident' when he caught Sensei, Hilbert's first priority was to find a store where he could buy a new jacket. In spite of Mistraton's emphasis on agriculture, finding a clothing store with what he wanted was surprisingly easy, taking less than ten minutes. Within another ten minutes, Hilbert had bought not only a new jacket, but new jeans, socks, and even underwear. The outfit was an exact copy of the one he had first set out from Nuvema Town wearing, the jacket having a built-in hood rather than a slightly thicker zip-on one. He discarded his old clothing in a dumpster behind the store, then walked back to the Pokémon Center.



Mistralton was a city of airplanes, airports, and agriculture. The more residential area of the city was located to the east, with a majority of the fields to the west. In the city's middle, was the massive airport and runways therein. The runways almost served as a dividing line between the two halves, with the closest fields not two hundred metres away from the westernmost runway. The fields of crops both growing and not stretched on and on for dozens of kilometres south, north, and west, with only crisscrossing dirt paths to separate them. Food was obviously Mistralton's primary export, with Driftveil helping to ship some out to other regions, but the majority of it was carried by plane.



It didn't take long to get back to the Pokémon Center, but as he went past, he heard a very familiar and unwelcome voice cockily say, “What took ya so long?”



Hilbert stopped, turning his head to the left. It was Cheren, leaning against the Center's left wall, his arms crossed and one foot perched against the wall in a rather pitiful attempt to look badass. Shrugging like it was just the wind he had heard, Hilbert just kept walking.



“Aw, what's the matter, too scared?” Cheren continued, once again not realizing he was just poking the Ursaring. “You should be- I already got my Jet Badge. Guess you were too slow going through Chargestone.”



Hilbert yet again stopped in his tracks. He turned around and stomped furiously toward where Cheren was. Before the black-haired boy could react, Hilbert had grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket. “Let's get one thing straight, 'friend',” Hilbert hissed with barely contained anger, “The only reason I was slower than you in getting this city's Gym Badge is because I nearly died in Chargestone! I've been in the fucking hospital for the past day! And you have the audacity to make fun of me for it!?” Hilbert punctuated his next sentence by slamming Cheren against the wall with every word. “HOW! FUCKING! DARE YOU!”



Cheren groaned in pain, the back of his head having hit the wall hard several times due to Hilbert's violent outburst, but Hilbert himself didn't care. With strength he didn't know he had, he actually lifted Cheren off the ground a few inches, slamming him against the wall once more for good measure. “Now,” Hilbert growled in a murderous tone, “I'm only gonna ask this once. Where. Is. The Gym Leader?”



“Sh-she said she was going to the Celestial Tower after I beat her,” Cheren whimpered, sounding truly scared of Hilbert's ferociousness. “I-it's at the north end of Route 7.”



“Thanks,” Hilbert said, sounding anything but grateful. He let go of Cheren, who slipped and fell to the muddy ground with a grunt. Hilbert then just walked away, leaving Cheren behind.



“W-wait!” Cheren called after him as he pushed himself to his feet, “You're going now? Are you nuts!? The Celestial Tower is fifteen kilometres away and there's a thunderstorm coming!”



“When did I say I gave a damn?” Hilbert scoffed without looking back.



Cheren was stunned, his eyes widening, then narrowing in a mixture of wrath and determination. And he kept calling me the asshole before now, he thought. What a hypocrite. I'll beat you, Hilbert, but I want to take you on as an equal- when we both have the Jet Badge.





Route 7 was an overgrown wildland. Incredibly tall grass, nearly three-and-a-half feet tall, grew in abundance here, providing ample habitats for the wild Foongus, Zebstrika, and Watchog populations, while the Tranquill here lived in massive nests in the tall trees. Though some of the grass had been cleared due to human development (which included the addition of power lines), the Route remained largely in its natural state.



Hilbert stood at the south end of the Route, having just exited Mistralton. Just ahead of him was one of the many wide boardwalk paths the Route was known for, built provide a path above the grass and through the claustrophobic trees. A short set of stairs led up the boardwalk, but it had no handrails whatsoever. Thankfully, it was wide enough that falling off was unlikely. To the west was a tall yet traversable cliff thanks to stairs and a path that had been carved into a flat precipice on top. He could see people climbing the stairs and others on the path itself.



Having no interest in taking the cliff path, Hilbert started walking, making his way up the stairs and onto the boardwalk. He had just taken a few steps when the storm that had been brewing for the past few hours finally came down in full force. The heavens opened up as lightning flashed somewhere in the distance, followed by the rumbling of thunder as copious amounts of water poured from the sky.



“Shit!” Hilbert cursed. He flipped up the hood of his jacket, already knowing it would provide limited protection at best. Still, he pressed on through the downpour.



He wasn't sure how long he walked along those seemingly endless planks of wood, each one covered with a strip of black traction tape held in place by contact cement, with the sound of his footfalls, the rain, and the cries of distant Pokémon his only company. With the darkness of the forest on either side of him, and the never-ending rain, it created a very melancholy (some would say outright sorrowful) atmosphere.



After who knew how long of walking that same monotonous northward path (in reality, it was about half an hour) it took an abrupt and sharp turn to the left, the treeline becoming far less closed-in and oppressive. The particular boardwalk he was on also ended right after this turn, revealing a clearing where a small enclave of houses stood. Who in their right mind would want to live on this Route!? he thought, stunned.



By now, he was soaked and cold, the rain having taken its toll, yet he didn't even stop to so much as knock on a door. He just walked right past the houses, finding another boardwalk that led out of the group of homes to the east.



This boardwalk ended up being far shorter than the last, only going on for about ten minutes, after which it dropped him off on a ground-level, northward-leading dirt path- or at least, it would have been had the rain not turned it to mud and pockmarked it with puddles. At least in the far distance, he thought he could make out the gray shape of the Celestial Tower.



Unfortunately, there was also someone who was quite obviously a Trainer not a hundred feet away, given how he had two Pokémon out in mock battle, paying the rain no heed. Seeing no way to avoid him, Hilbert nonchalantly kept walking toward him.



When he was within fifteen feet of him, the blue-haired young man turned around after recalling his Pokémon, seeing Hilbert.



“Ah, I see I've got someone to help me out with my Triple Battle technique!” he said, having to raise his voice to be heard over the rain. He wore what looked like a navy blue track suit with a lighter blue vest with orange trim over it, along with a pair of sturdy boots that were covered in mud and fingerless gloves.



Hilbert stopped. “And what if I don't want to?” he shot back.



“Well, then I guess I just won't give you a choice!” the Trainer smirked. “Name's Elmer. I'm a Trainer specializing in the art of Triple Battles. And you are..?”



“Hilbert.”



“Okay, then, Hilbert, I'm gonna assume you're a newbie to Triple Battles. As the name implies, they're Pokémon battles where you send out three Pokémon at once! You need a special license to challenge people to them, which I just so happen to have. I could tell you more, but there's no teacher like experience, as they say! Get out there, team!”



With that, Elmer threw out a Liepard and a Swoobat, followed by a Watchog. All three looked ready for battle, but Hilbert wasn't worried. His Pokémon were far more powerful than what Elmer was packing. He threw out three of his Pokémon that were almost guaranteed counters to Elmer's; namely, Sawk, Excadrill, and Archen. He smirked as the confidence drained from his opponent's face.



The two teams of three stared each other down for a few seconds, then they both ran into battle, and chaos broke loose. Sensei and the Watchog met first, Sensei lashing out with a Brick Break, only to slam his hand into the energy barrier of Protect that Watchog threw up just in time. As Sawk recoiled in pain, Watchog dispelled the barrier and grabbed Sensei, chomping on his face hard with Super Fang, cutting his health down to half and making him howl in pain. The Watchog then pushed Sensei away, sending him stumbling back, leaving him vulnerable to a super-effective Air Slash from the Swoobat, knocking him out.



“Dammit!” Hilbert yelled. He recalled Sensei, quickly throwing out Maru as a replacement as Elmer gave a self-congratulatory yell.



“That's it, team! Just like we trained! Keep up the pressure!”



In response to this morale boost, his team began to attack far more aggressively, with the Swoobat launching Air Slash after Air Slash at Artemis, all of which she dodged, but not giving her a chance to counterattack. This opened her up for the Liepard to smack her with an Assurance attack, only to be blasted away by an immense Scald from Maru.



To both Hilbert and Elmer's shock, the attack was more than enough to one-hit KO the Liepard. Oh, no, Elmer thought. I forgot about the boost rain gives to Water-type attacks! Knowing he had to take Hilbert's Samurott out lest he be swept, he yelled, “Watchog, use Hypnosis on the Samurott!”



Watchog, who had been dueling with Scrapper all this time, heard the command, and breaking off its fight with the Excadrill to shoot a pinkish energy beam from its gaping red eyes at Maru. Maru, in a move he would immediately regret, looked at the beam, and felt himself growing sleepy instantly. In another heartbeat, his eyes closed, putting him out of the fight.



Oh, SHIT! Hilbert thought. If it was any consolation, Scrapper slashed the Watchog while it was open with Metal Claw, then buried it under a Rock Slide.



Elmer, now down to just his Swoobat, knew the battle was lost at this point, but decided to get one in more attack to go down fighting. “Swoobat, Aerial Ace on the Excadrill!”



Faster than Scrapper could react, he was struck by the Swoobat as it rammed into him at lightning speed, The Swoobat was subsequently hit by a Rock Tomb from Artemis, knocking it out in one super-effective hit.



“Ah... dammit,” Elmer said, recalling his fallen Pokémon.

“Guess I'm not as much of a newbie to Triple Battles as you thought I was,” Hilbert said, smirking and recalling his team as well.



Elmer just rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Fair's fair, though.” He and Hilbert tapped Trainer Cards.



With a nod of his head and a, “Thanks for the battle,” Hilbert started to go on his way.



“Wait a second,” Elmer said. “Since you beat me, I'll let you know where I got the TM for that last move I used- you know, Aerial Ace?”



Hilbert was silent, so Elmer went on. “I got it from these two kids back in Mistralton. They have this whole chest full of 'em buried at the end of the third row of fields west of the runways. Despite that, they're stingy giving them away. I had to bribe 'em with money and fistfuls of candy to get mine.” He chuckled remembering it.



“I'll keep that in mind,” Hilbert said, tipping his soaked cap at Elmer. “Thanks.” With that, he was off once again.



The rest of the way to the Celestial Tower was even more monotonous, rain-soaked, lonely, and boring. Hilbert didn't know what he hated more: the tedium, or the rain. Sure, walking this far to go anywhere was boring, but the rain just made it worse, and on top of that, it just. Did. Not. Stop. Then again... maybe it's both... he thought miserably.



He couldn't even run, as that would only result in him getting even more drenched. Either way, the rain by now had soaked him to the bone, his clothes sticking to his skin, and his feet making wet, disgusting squelching noises inside his shoes with every step he took. Water dripped off the bill of his cap damn near constantly, almost getting into his face, and he had to sniffle back the mucus that now ran free from his nose due to how cold he was.



There were a few more short boardwalks to take to get over patches of tall grass, and at one point, one of them had a branching path leading to the east, toward Twist Mountain. Don't want to go there, Hilbert thought. So, he kept up his northward path. There were a few more people out here, but they were mostly nature enthusiasts that the guts (or lack of sanity) to be out in these conditions. The one or two he could tell were Trainers, he avoided. There was no need to slow himself down any further. He just continued on unopposed, with just himself, and the rain, and his growing sense of this not being worth it his only companions.



Finally, after two-and-a-half more hours, he arrived at the light-gray stone building called the Celestial Tower. He looked up at the five-story construction. Celestial Tower was, for the most part, a round, semi-pyramidal structure that gradually got thinner the higher the tower climbed. Numerous windows with no panes of glass in them dotted the tower, with ramp-like protrusions spiraling their way up to the top, but they were far too narrow for any person to walk on. A set of huge medieval-style double doors provided the entrance, and Hilbert gave them a mighty push, opening them on surprisingly well-oiled hinges, and went inside.



The interior of the Celestial Tower, at least the floor he was on, was a huge circle with elegant stonework making up the floor. To the left was a huge stone staircase that curved upwards as it climbed to the ceiling, but most notably, there were sixteen gravestones, side-by-side in groups of two, laid out in rows of four.



At first, Hilbert was startled, but then he realized this was a Pokémon grave tower, much like Sinnoh's Lost Tower, or Kanto's Pokémon Tower before it had been renovated. Unlike humans, Pokémon were beings of pure energy, and as such, didn't leave a behind a corpse that rotted over time. They simply dissipated into nothing when they reached the end of their lives, becoming one with the universe that birthed them once again. Even without anything to bury, their Trainers still wanted to mourn them, so they put gravestones up, explaining why Pokémon grave sites could be vertical towers.



He looked around cautiously, the sound of his breathing echoing in the empty room. “Hello? Skyla? Anyone?” Hilbert called out. He waited a few seconds, but got no reply save for his own voice reverberating back at him. “Damn... she must be up higher in the tower.”



With nothing left to do, he walked to the left, taking the steep stairs up to the next floor. He was not pleased at what he found there. Unlike the gravestones on the ground floor, which were placed flat on their backs and were unobtrusive, the gravestones here were all vertical, almost as tall as he was, packed so closely together that squeezing in between them was impossible, and slapped down hither and thither in an inconvenient maze-like way. Some of the graves were simple (if huge) headstones, others were tall obelisks, but all served the same purpose right now: to impede him.



“Damn it all to hell!” Hilbert yelled. Though, with little choice but to keep going (he really didn't want to have come all this way to leave empty-handed), he continued on. There were a few people standing before certain gravestones mourning their fallen Pokémon in silence, but none seemed in the mood for battle for obvious reasons. Small candle-like Ghost/Fire-types called Litwick peeked out from behind some of the graves, giggling when Hilbert looked their way and quickly ducking back into their hiding spots. All in all, it created a very creepy and unsettling atmosphere of always being watched. Hilbert's heart pounded in his chest as he made his way through the maze,



Just before reaching the north end of the room, and the stairs, he took a wrong turn by accident and ended up in front of two gravestones placed back-to-back. A small group of flower bouquets were placed at the foot of the stone he currently stood in front of. Among the bouquets, though, was the unmistakable shape of a TM's jewel case. Without hesitation, he picked it up, scanned it with his Pokédex, and found it was TM61, Will-O-Wisp. It was a status move that inflicted a burn on the opponent while also cutting their attack stat in half and doing gradual damage over time. It wasn't the most useful move for his powerhouse physical attacking team of mostly glass cannons, but nonetheless he placed it in his bag- after all, who was going to use it again?



He retraced his steps, and made his way up the stairs to the third floor. The third floor was more of the same. More Litwick, more huge gravestones laid out in a maze for no reason Hilbert could discern. The only differences were that it was even more cramped, the stairs were on the south end of the room, and a few Psychic-type Pokémon called Elgyem floated back and forth near the ceiling, making strange beeping noises. Shivering, he made his way to the stairs quickly and moved on.



The fourth floor was more notable, if only for the fact that he found another TM in front of a gravestone, this one far more useful: TM70, Shadow Claw. It was a base 70 power Ghost-type move that both Scrapper and Artemis could learn, and so he taught it to both on the spot, delighted to finally replace the mediocre Metal Claw and Quick Guard, respectively.



He placed the TM in his bag, then made his way up the stairs right as someone else made their way down them, folding an umbrella. He recognized her immediately from some of the... less-than-wholesome internet searches he'd done. “Skyla?” he asked, his breath heavy from exertion and his tone disbelieving.



Skyla seemed at first taken aback by the boy, his clothes still wet and disheveled from the rain, in front of her. “...Yes, I'm Skyla, Who are you?” Her high-pitched voice instantly grated on Hilbert's nerves.



“My name is Hilbert. I came all the way from Mistralton to challenge you at your Gym.”



“Y-you came all the way here? In the rain!? Are you crazy!?” Skyla cried.



Having enough of his time being wasted, Hilbert snapped. “Yeah! Yeah I did come all this fuckin' way!” he shouted. “In the damn rain, too! So are you gonna accept my challenge, or not!?”



“Okay, okay, fine, I will,” Skyla said. “No need to get so angry about it.”



You'd be pretty fuckin' angry if you did what I did, Hilbert thought.



“However, before we go back, there's something I want you to do. Can you follow me up to the roof?”



Hilbert rolled his eyes at Skyla's request and followed her up the stairs and to the roof.



“First of all, you may be wondering why I'm even here in the first place,” Skyla said as she and Hilbert walked out onto the roof of the Celestial Tower. The roof was a large, flat circle, wet from the rain that had by now lessened to a light drizzle. A blue stone platform with a bell at the end of it dominated most of the space.



“The truth is... I've been rather stressed these days, and being here calms me down,” Skyla went on. “This tower is like my sensory deprivation tank. Plus, my grandfather's Braviary is laid to rest here, and I like to visit it often.”



“Fascinating,” Hilbert said flatly. “What are we doing up here again?”



“I want you to ring that bell up there,” Skyla said, giving him a cross look. “It's for soothing the souls of the Pokémon that rest here, and the character of the person who rings it is reflected in its sound.”



Hilbert gave her a bewildered look. That's it!? he thought. She just wants me to ring a fucking bell!? “Oooo... kaay,” he said slowly, like she was crazy, and didn't quite get what he was saying. He stepped up to the platform, grumbling under his breath. “I'm gonna turn your Pokémon into birdfeed, lady!”



Skyla knew the bell's sound probably wouldn't be the clearest thing in the world as Hilbert put his hands on it to push it- after all, teenagers were not the most pure hearted of people- but nothing could have prepared her for the shock when Hilbert rang it. A loud, deep, GONG, GONG, GONG, rang out over and over, and Skyla was stunned.



Oh... oh, my... she thought fearfully. There's so much hate and anger in him... so much... What has this boy been through to build up that much rage inside him..?



Gradually, the ringing stopped. Hilbert came down from the platform to stand in front of Skyla. “There. Done. Can we go now?”



“Y-yeah,” replied the shaken woman, now thoroughly scared of the boy in front of her and wondering if she should even accept his challenge with the danger he would pose. “Um... do you have any Pokémon that know the HM for Fly?”



“At the moment, no,” Hilbert said. “And no, I'm not going back through that hellhole called Route 7 just to get back to Mistralton.”



“O-okay, you can borrow one of mine.”



A bit confused as to why Skyla was suddenly acting so nervous after all he did was ring a damn bell, Hilbert nonetheless got on the back of her Unfezant while she boarded her Swanna, and together they took off for Mistralton, and Hilbert's next Gym battle.

 

I Never Wanted to be the Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 25: Skyla, the High-Flying Girl

​

It was the day after Hilbert and Skyla returned to Mistralton. Hilbert had wanted to challenge her right away, but Skyla insisted he get a good night's sleep and wash his clothes before doing so. After a lot of persuading that nearly led to a screaming match, Hilbert had relented, and went back to the Pokémon Center. Before he went to bed that night, he had given his clothes a much-needed washing after going through so much rain, but the things he couldn't wash- namely, his bag, his shoes, and his cap- had to left on an air vent and dried out that way. The latter two items would likely have permanent stains on them, his shoes turning a more dirty red or burgundy colour from mud, and the white part of his hat was now almost entirely a brownish-yellow.



He had put the Experience Share on Darumaka, as he was sure she wasn't too far away from evolving, and he wanted that to happen soon. Before setting out for the Gym, he had bought six Super Potions, two Full Heals, and five Super Repels.



Skyla's Gym was actually a decommissioned airplane hangar located behind all the runways that had been reinforced and customized for Pokémon battles. He walked in through the wide opening that had no door. The lights were on, and at the far end of the hangar, he could see Skyla sitting on a stool, apparently lost in thought.



Along the walls were strange-looking contraptions: Blue, open-topped cuboid pillar-like things that Hilbert at first thought were oversized trash bins of some sort, but as he took a closer look, he saw they were something else. Holy crap. Are those things... cannons? he thought.



Regardless of that, he kept walking, and Skyla finally took notice of him. The health bar screen, which was currently turned off, was located on the wall behind her. “Ah, so you're here at last!” she exclaimed as she hopped off her stool. “Let me just get the health bar screen up and running.” Skyla jogged to the northernmost wall, opening a small panel on it. She then flipped a switch, and the screen lit up, displaying a Poké Ball with several lines orbiting it. Skyla then closed the panel, and went back to where she was.



“So, did you like flying on my birds yesterday?” Skyla asked rhetorically. “They're my pride and joy! So, as Gym Leader of Mistralton City, I accept your challenge! Let's show 'im how high we can soar, team! Unfezant, go!”



Skyla threw out a rather plain-looking Flying-type Pokémon that resembled a gamebird. It had a brown underside, black chest and neck, and a gray head. Its wings, likewise, were gray and black, as was its tail.



Hilbert just smirked evilly. This is gonna be cake, he thought, throwing out Excadrill. To his surprise though, Skyla didn't look scared.



“Hilbert, I'm not dumb. I've seen plenty of Excadrill before. Do you think I don't know that it knows Rock Slide?”



The boy grimaced. His ace in the hole. Gone already.



“Not gonna attack?” Skyla continued. “Okay, then. Unfezant, Leer, then U-Turn!”



Unfezant's eyes glowed red, freezing Scrapper in place for a few seconds. Those few seconds were all the Unfezant needed to take to the air, and dive-bomb Scrapper while spinning like a corkscrew. The attack took a half-decent chunk out of Scrapper's health bar, but Hilbert had a feeling that wasn't what Skyla was truly planning.



He was proven right as Unfezant turned into energy and returned to its Poké Ball, Skyla then throwing out another Pokémon. “You've met Swanna before, haven't you?” she taunted. “Now you're gonna find out just how much butt she can kick!”



Swanna was a Pokémon that obviously resembled a swan. It had primarily white feathers, with blue feathers that looked somewhat like the bodice of a fancy strapless gown on its underside. Its neck was long and curved, and it had more white plumage on the sides of its head, along with a long yellow beak.



By now, the Leer had worn off, and Scrapper was just barely able to jump out of the way of Swanna's Scald. In retaliation, he sent a Rock Slide her way, which Swanna easily dodged by taking off and flying to the left.



“Scrapper, Hone Claws!” Hilbert yelled. The Excadrill began to scrape his claws together, and after a few seconds, a red-orange glow surrounded him, indicating a boost to both attack and accuracy.



Swanna, who was still flapping its wings to stay aloft over to the side, knew what a threat Excadrill now posed, and tucked in its wings, flying low and launching a Scald at fairly close range. However, Scrapper still managed to dodge it, slashing the White Bird Pokémon with Shadow Claw as it went past. Swanna squawked in pain, and unable to continue flying, crash-landed in a heap, skidding to a stop near a cannon on the right. Swanna's health bar shot down to the red, but it wasn't quite knocked out.



Damn, so it hung on... Hilbert thought. “Scrapper, Rock Slide! Bury that thing!”



As Scrapper began to form the energy ball for Rock Slide, Swanna pushed itself to its webbed feet with its wings, letting out a cry and flying out of the way of the massive barrage of rocks shot at it, damaging the cannon and denting the wall.



“My cannon!” Skyla cried. Her expression turned dark. “You'll pay for that, Hilbert! Swanna, Roost!”



To Hilbert's shock, Swanna actually landed as it began to faintly glow white. The glow faded as its health bar went back up to near half, putting it just out of green, in the high yellow. Scrapper, angered by this, took off like a shot, running towards Swanna with murder in his eyes, covering his claws in shadow as he went.



Hilbert, though, was smarter than his Pokémon, and saw the baiting tactic. “Scrapper, stop!” he cried. Too late. At damn near point-blank range, just as Scrapper was winding up to swing, Swanna opened its mouth, and shot a broiling hot, high-pressure stream of water at the Excadrill. He was hit, the attack sending him- and his health bar- flying backwards, down to nothing. He landed with a hard thud on the concrete ten feet away.



“Dammit,” Hilbert growled under his breath, recalling his Excadrill. Now his ace in the hole really was gone. Artemis did know Rock Tomb, but sending her out against a Water-type would be suicide, especially with her frail defensive stats. So, he opted to send out one of his bulkiest Pokémon: His recently-evolved Stoutland. Logan growled in anger at the Swanna as he materialized.



“Logan, Crunch!” Hilbert yelled. Stoutland, though its species was known as the Big-Hearted Pokémon, showed none of that in the way it ferociously ran towards Swanna with fangs bared. Even Swanna seemed scared of Logan, and only just remembered to strike back, lashing out with Air Slash.



Logan managed to dodge most of the air-blades, but was hit with one, tearing away a slice of his health bar, but he kept going, jumping and pouncing on Swanna, chomping down on its neck with everything he had. Swanna gave a strangled cry as its health bar shot down to nothing.



“Guess your Swanna wasn't able to kick as much ass as you said it would,” Hilbert smirked. Inside, though, he was still somewhat worried, and knew the fight was far from over.



Skyla just recalled her Swanna without a word, sending out her Unfezant next. The Proud Pokémon immediately took to the air as soon as it was released, dive-bombing Logan with wings that gleamed like polished metal. Logan bared his teeth and jumped, but at the last second Unfezant swerved to the left and smacked the Stoutland with its right wing. Logan's head snapped to the side with sickening force, the force that could only be imparted by being hit with a heavy blunt object, and he crashed back to the ground, his health bar going down to the mid-yellow from the attack.



Logan shook his head, getting to his feet, but the Unfezant was merciless, going back down for a Quick Attack.

It slammed into the Big Hearted Pokémon so fast it was a blur, knocking Logan's health down to the low red and sending him tumbling back. Unfezant wasn't done quite yet, though. It followed that up with a U-Turn, knocking him out.



Gritting his teeth, Hilbert recalled Logan at the same time as Unezant returned to its Poké Ball. Fine, he thought. If you want me to break out the heavy artillery, I will. Skyla then threw out her Swoobat, and Hilbert tossed out Maru.



Swoobat was a blue Pokémon that resembled a bat with some elements of a pig. It had light blue ears that looked like they were fused together, blue fluff around its neck that extended all the way to its back. It had a pink, heart-shaped snout, somewhat like a pig, and a pig-like tail. Its wings were pointy and dark blue.



Much to Skyla's shock, with one Scald from the Samurott, Swoobat was knocked out before it could even land an attack. She looked at Hilbert, and even far across the hangar, she could see the lack of patience on his face, the anger. She recalled her Swoobat, knowing the battle was lost, but deciding to go out fighting. She threw out her Unfezant, calling out for it to use Quick Attack.



Again, to her shock, Hilbert didn't even command his Samurott to dodge. It just took the attack without even flinching. Then, Hilbert yelled with rage clear in his voice, “Maru, Revenge!”



Hilbert's Samurott was surrounded by a red glow, then it charged towards Unfezant, slamming into it with enormous force, enough to send it flying back and hit the far wall. The rest of Unfezant's health bar shot down to nothing, signifying that Hilbert had won handily.



Skyla quickly recalled her Pokémon and pulled the Jet Badge and the Acrobatics TM out of the pouch on her thigh, and walked close enough to Hilbert so that she could merely toss them to him. Truth be told, she didn't even want to get near him. The Jet Badge was in the shape of a blue, stylized feather, with the outline of a dive-bombing bird at the bottom.



Hilbert caught both items tossed his way easily, putting the TM away in his bag and slotting the Badge into its proper slot in his case.



“That TM there is for Acrobatics,” Skyla said, unable to hide the slight tremble in her voice. “It-”



“Has a base power of 55 that doubles to 110 when the Pokémon using it isn't holding an item,” Hilbert finished gruffly. “I know. I've had this exact move on my Archen for a while now.”



“Oh...” Skyla said. “Oh...”



A silence between them that lasted for about half a minute followed before Hilbert broke it. “So... anything else, or can I go?” he asked.



Skyla stared off into space for a second, then replied. “Y-yes, actually. A few days ago, I was flying low over Twist Mountain, and I thought I saw an unusual helicopter in the center of it. I didn't get a good look at it, though.”



“Oh, trust me, I think I know exactly who that chopper belongs to,” Hilbert said. “I'll check it out once I get there.” With that, he left, leaving a stunned Skyla in his wake.



Hilbert wasn't ten feet out the hangar's door when he heard a disgusted voice behind him say, “Pokémon getting hurt for petty sport... That's all a Gym Leader battle is. That's all a Pokémon battle is.”



Hilbert didn't even need to turn around to know who was speaking. “You've got three seconds to get the hell out of here, N, or I'm going to kill you.”



Three seconds passed. Predictably, Hilbert didn't see a figure run past his peripheral vision. N, with an audible smirk in his voice, said, “I'm still here.”



That did it. Hilbert whirled around with murder blazing in his eyes, seeing N nonchalantly leaning against the hangar's wall next to the entrance. He outright ran at N, and before the green-haired young man could react, Hilbert's hands were wrapped around his throat.



“Did you think I was fuckin' joking when I said I'd kill you!?” Hilbert yelled, squeezing tighter as N began to gasp for air, grabbing Hilbert's forearms and trying to push them away. “Did you!?” A sadistic smile wormed its way across Hilbert's face. “'Cause I'm really gonna enjoy watching you die. Right here. Right now.”



N, it seemed, was not ready to go out without a fight. All of a sudden, he let go of Hilbert's forearms, then crossed his in a somewhat genie-like pose and raised them over his head. He then slammed them down, the impact knocking Hilbert's grip loose.



Hilbert cried out, more from surprise than pain. He then found his and N's positions reversed, as N grabbed his shoulders and slammed his back against the wall. This time, his cry was one of pain. Recovering from the blow, Hilbert flailed his arms around, trying to get a hit in on N, only for N grab his wrists, cross his arms over his stomach and hold them there with one hand while the other punched him lightly but firmly in the face, using his upper back muscles to deliver it.



“Ah!” Hilbert yelled, clutching at his face. With his opponent briefly stunned from the hit, N took this time to back off and get into a proper fighting stance, with most of his weight on one leg and his fists raised to protect his face.



With a roar of insane rage, Hilbert barreled towards N, swinging at him with a wild left hook, which N dodged just by moving in a backwards diagonal path. Hilbert followed that up with another clumsy punch, this time a right hook, and again, N dodged it using his diagonal movement.



Giving up all pretense of form, Hilbert just lowered his head and charged like a Tauros on a bad day, hoping to ram into N and knock him to the ground, but N just caught him by the neck under his left arm as he went by. N then hit Hilbert on the back as hard as he could, Hilbert struggling to get free. The first hit knocked the wind out of Hilbert, yet N could tell he wasn't quite finished, so he hit him again for good measure and let go at the same time. Hilbert collapsed to the ground.



Before the boy could get up, N stomped on his back hard, making sure he couldn't. Hilbert yelled out in pain when N ground his heel into his back, giving another stomp just in case. “Fool,” N said. “Did you think I didn't know how to defend myself?”



Groaning in pain, Hilbert lay on the concrete, not trying to get up. N loomed over him with a disapproving look on his face. He squatted down in front of Hilbert's face. “Now, what was the point of that? What did that accomplish?” N demanded.



Hilbert just looked up, a pained yet oddly satisfied smile on his face. “Nothin'. But it sure felt good...”.



N let out a disgusted scoff, standing up. “And that's your problem! That's the problem of all Trainers!” he cried. “You all engage in these meaningless battles, these meaningless Pokémon Leagues, never considering, even for a second, the pain you put those who do the fighting for you through. They may claim battling helps Pokémon and Trainer 'understand each other', but I beg to differ! I've been living with Pokémon since I was born, I know how they feel, I can truly understand them!”



Hilbert pushed himself to his feet at long last, wincing and hissing as pain shot through his lower back. “Oh, this again? You're gonna claim you can talk to Pokémon like you did back in Accumula when we first met? Don't give me that shit. No way a human can talk to Pokémon.”



“I'll prove it, then,” N said. “Give me one of your Poke Balls, and you'll see.”



“Me? Give one of my Poke Balls you, of all people? Not a chance in hell.”



N simply rolled his eyes and punched Hilbert in the face again, promptly sending him to the tarmac again, this time landing on his butt. N then quickly reached down and snatched a Poké Ball off his belt- and it happened to be Maru's.



Horrified at having his beloved starter taken from him, he shot to his feet, but stopped in his tracks in shock when N said, “So, Hilbert picked you as a Oshawott, and you set out with him from Nuvema Town on March 11th... Let me ask you something, then: Since you're his first Pokémon and have been with him for so long, do you trust him and like him as your Trainer?”



N apparently got his answer, as he dropped the Poké Ball like it had burned him. Hilbert was quick to grab it up and place it back on his belt. N then began to walk away in what seemed like a daze, muttering, “Again? Why did it say that again? This isn't right... It can't be right...”.



Thoroughly stunned, Hilbert let him go. What is that guy's problem? he thought. He already knew the answer- N was clearly insane- but there was a sort of dogmatic zealousness that extended even beyond him being with Team Plasma. It gave him the shivers.



His face and back still aching somewhat from his fistfight, he walked away from the Gym, certain he was going to have bruises for several days. When the fields came within view, though, he stopped. That reminds me... Where did Elmer say those kids kept the stash of TM's? He thought back for a second, then recalled it. Oh yeah! End of the third row of fields to the west of the runways.



He broke out into a run, eager to get there fast, his special shoes aiding in this. When he reached the fields, he slowed to a walk, counting each row until he got to the third. As it turned out, he didn't even need to search for where the chest was buried. He could see two small figures about twenty feet away digging something out of the ground and pulling it out of the ground. I'd bet that's them. Probably here to count their loot.



He walked up to them with a casual stride. “Hey!” he yelled when he was close enough. “Mind handing over one of those TM's?”



Both boys- one looked about ten, and the other slightly younger- turned around. Both had short brown hair, and one was wearing a blue T-shirt, and the other a gray one. “Depends,” the ten year old one in the blue shirt said. “Whatcha got to give us in exchange?”



Hilbert gave them a look that was a combination of quizzical and irritated. “Nothing. Why should I have to give you something, anyway?”



“Because that's how our dad says the world works,” the other, younger boy answered. He put on the facade of a deep voice for his next sentence. “He says, 'son, this world's full of greedbags, so you gotta be greedier to beat them.' So fork over some money and a lot of candy, and we'll give ya one of these TM's. Simple. He also says that's... capitalization, I think.”



Hilbert just rolled his eyes. It's called capitalism, dumbass, he thought. Still, he couldn't really argue with their logic, but at the same time, he was not going to give into their demands. He didn't have time for this anyway. “Really?” he chuckled. “All I see are a couple of piece of shit con artists hoarding a bunch of TM's for no reason.” His tone turned threatening, feral. “So how about I just take it from you?”



That got their attention. The kids stood up, walking towards him. They stopped right in front of him. Hilbert almost scoffed at how much his otherwise rather average height of five foot seven towered over these kids. “Well, we're not gonna let you,” the boy in blue said.



Hilbert just gave an evil grin. “Well that's too bad. 'Cause I'm takin' it anyway.” With that, he drew back his fist and punched the boy across the face. He gave a cry of pain, stumbling away and falling to the ground, clutching a bleeding nose. That really set off the younger boy. With an animalistic scream of anger, he tackled Hilbert's legs, sending them both to the ground, Hilbert yelling as he landed on his sensitive lower back. He then sat on Hilbert's stomach, using his position to try and punch him in the face repeatedly. Hilbert, however, grabbed the younger boy's arms, and pushed him off to the side. Both of them scrambled to their feet.



By now, the ten year old was getting up, a desire for revenge burning in his eyes, and Hilbert knew he was surrounded. Thinking quickly and prioritizing targets, he went for the ten year old again, pushing him to the ground. Unfortunately for the boy, his head landed on an exposed rock and he was knocked unconscious. He then felt a sudden weight jump on his back and arms wrap around his neck, beginning to choke him. Remarkably, he kept his footing and didn't fall forward, but now he couldn't breathe. In desperation, he pitched himself back, landing his whole weight on the other boy. He heard something crack, likely the boy's nose as the back of his head slammed into it. The arms ceased their chokehold on impact.



Breathing heavily from adrenaline and groaning, Hilbert got to his feet. He nudged the boy with his foot, but he didn't stir. Only the faint, pained rise and fall of his chest gave away that he was still alive.



Stumbling over to the unearthed chest, Hilbert grabbed one of the jewel cases out of it, placing it in his bag. “Thanks for the TM, boys,” he said. “I'll be sure to put it to good use.” Hilbert then began to walk away, feeling it was best to get out of Mistralton ASAP. After all, it was a long way to Twist Mountain.

 

I Never Wanted to be the Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 26: Path to the Mountain
​

Hilbert decided to forego healing his Pokémon at the Pokémon Center, knowing he needed to get out of Mistralton as quickly as possible. He used all but one of his Super Potions to heal his Pokémon following his fight with Skyla, knowing it was time to upgrade to Hyper Potions ASAP. Unfortunately, that was something he could not do at the present moment, as he was now making a beeline out of the city, time recovering from the bruises N had given him be damned. True, his body was sore and certainly not ready for a massive trek like this, but he would endure. He had to.



He reached the start of Route 7 in what seemed like no time, running up onto the boardwalk, and it was only here that he slowed down. He took a long drink from his water bottle, then began walking the endless planks of wood on the boardwalk. Without the rain, it was actually much more pleasant of a trek, with the sounds of Zebstrika running through the woods and the calls of Tranquill adding to the atmosphere, rather than making it sorrowful.



However, the calmer weather also meant that more people were out and about, many of them being Trainers. Hilbert made them regret the day they ever caught a Pokémon, blasting through their teams without any mercy or thought. No one could even touch him, and more than one he sent away in tears. He had to admit, it made him feel powerful, dominant... and he liked it. He had been using Makue for the majority of the five fights he got into, and she did gain a level, bringing her up to level 34. The self-damaging Flare Blitz proved to be unnecessary, Fire Punch proving more than adequate for taking out most Pokémon in one hit. Those that didn't go down to a single Fire Punch went down to Headbutt right after.



He eventually reached the small smattering of houses, and like before, he passed them without thinking twice. Finding the eastward-bound boardwalk again, he took it, and was about halfway across it when his Cross-Transceiver started ringing. His heart lurched when he saw it was his mother calling. He pressed the 'accept call' button on the device, and his mother's face appeared on the screen. He then resumed walking, keeping one eye on the pathway so he didn't accidentally fall off.



“Hi, sweetheart,” Julia said. “I felt bad about not contacting you for so long, so I decided to give you a call and check up on you. How have you been?”



How have you been? The question nearly made Hilbert laugh out loud. What was he supposed to say to that? 'Oh, y'know, I've been fine. Just almost froze to death in a cold storage facility, then killed a man, THEN nearly died in a cave because I was trapped by a disappearing ladder and a rock wall that apparently doesn't exist?' No way. He simply gave an up-and-down nod of his head, forcing as much cheerfulness onto his face as he could manage. “I've been great. I just got my sixth Gym Badge, and I'm on my way to Twist Mountain now.”



“Ah, I remember Mistralton City,” his mother said, her voice tinged with nostalgia. “Back when I was on my journey, Skyla's grandfather was still the Gym Leader. I remember meeting a kindly Pokémon Center nurse there, too. And of course, on the very Route you're on now, I met your father.”



Hilbert's heart gave another lurch. “Oh, yeah... you did meet Dad here, didn't you?” He remembered the story well. Hilbert's father had soundly defeated his mother in battle, but became smitten with the young woman soon after. Eventually, the two got married and settled down in Nuvema Town. All that was before he left though, for reasons unknown.


“Anyways, I should let you go,” his mother said. “Take care of your Pokémon, and they'll take care of you just as much. I love you.”



“Love you too,” Hilbert said. His mother then terminated the connection, ending the call.



He had not gone another two steps when his Cross-Transceiver rang again. He answered the call, finding it this time to be Professor Juniper. “Hilbert? You there?” she asked.



“If I wasn't, I wouldn't have answered,” Hilbert replied with biting snark in his voice. “What's up?”



“I'm calling to update you on what my father and I found in Chargestone Cave,” Juniper said. From the rocky backdrop behind her the camera picked up, she seemed to be standing just outside said cave.



“Well, what did you find?” Hilbert asked.



Juniper chewed her bottom lip. “Well, that's the thing. We found exactly what we expected to find- nothing. There wasn't a rock wall near the exit of the cave. There never has been. In fact, there was so much nothing my father had to leave for Icirrus City. So what happened, I can't explain. Sorry.”



Hilbert rubbed his face with his free hand. “Are you absolutely sure?”



“Hilbert, I'm as sure as anything,” Juniper retorted. “We even chipped off samples of the walls and looked at them under a microscope. There was nothing there.”



Hilbert just sighed. “Alright, thanks anyway.” He then ended the call before Juniper could say anything more, and continued on, his thoughts troubled and swirling. It had to have been something Team Plasma did, he thought. But how? For as many underlings as N and Ghetsis have, they can't bend the laws of reality to their will, or else they'd have succeeded by now.



By now, he was off the boardwalk and onto ground-level again. He followed the path north for another forty-five minutes, over the short boardwalks to the fork in the path that led east and then curved northeast to the looming Twist Mountain. Twist Mountain, now that it wasn't obscured by stormclouds, was a massive natural monument made of reddish-brown stone, looking like a volcano that was long extinct, but much squatter.



He took the path to the right, his journey to the mountain now truly beginning. The path was very hilly, with only a simple dirt road to indicate he was on the right track when the boardwalk inevitably ended. Still, he could tell he was making progress, little by little. The wild Pokémon were out in abundance now, and more than once, a Zebstrika forced him into battle, which he won easily.



After another four hours of making his way through the harsh terrain, jumping over mud puddles, climbing up and then sliding down short hills, Twist Mountain was close. By now, Hilbert was utterly exhausted, he was sweating profusely, the water in his bottle was almost gone, as was his food, and the sun was dipping low on the horizon. Worse, gray clouds were rolling in from the distance. I fuckin' swear, if I have to go through more Arceus-damned rain... he thought.



Now determined to avoid that, he picked up the pace, and after another ten minutes of running that made his leg muscles scream for mercy, the entrance to Twist Mountain was in sight. It was a giant hole dug in the base of the mountain supported by wooden beams.



Then he stopped dead in his tracks. Standing like a particularly unpleasant and unwanted roadblock, was Cheren. The boy didn't even have his Pokémon out, he was just standing there in front of Twist Mountain, staring right at him. Hilbert didn't let that unnerve him, though. He stayed still, face expressionless as Cheren ran up to him.



“You got your Jet Badge, right?” Cheren said as he reached Hilbert.



The other boy was flabbergasted, even letting it flash across his face for a brief instant. This guy's STILL obsessed with beating me!? How much of a one-track mind does he have!? Outwardly though, Hilbert nodded.



“Good. Then battle me,” Cheren hissed. “I'm gonna get some payback for what you did to me in Mistralton.”



“And what if I say no?” Hilbert shot back, already pushing past Cheren with his shoulder. “We already know how it's gonna end, anyway- I'll win, and you'll lose. Simple as that.”



For once, Cheren was now seething with anger. “And what if I'm not giving you a damn choice!?” While he was shouting that, he was running towards Hilbert, and with the last word, shoved him hard from behind, sending Hilbert to the ground with a cry. Hilbert quickly flipped over, but Cheren planted his foot on his chest, not allowing him to get up.



“Just you watch, Hilbert. This time, I'll win. I've trained my team up, I have all the right strategies, I even what type the Pokémon I lost to last time is.” He retracted his foot, stepping back about fifteen feet and pulling out a Poké Ball. “Now get up. We're gonna battle, and you're not going to win!”



Slowly, Hilbert pushed himself to his feet, breathing heavily with rage and grabbing a Poké Ball off his belt. He smiled grimly. “Well, ya know what they say about the definition of insanity,” he said, tossing out his Darumaka.



Cheren just smirked evilly. “Go, Krokomire!” he yelled as he tossed out his Krokorok.



Hilbert grimaced. He had fallen right into that. Cheren was quick to pounce on the unfavourable matchup. “Krokomire, Dig!” he commanded.



Krokorok, his claws a blur, dug a hole in the soft soil, burrowing underground. A mound of earth then began moving towards Makue, and before she had time to react, Krokorok had leapt up from under the ground and punched the Darumaka right in the face. Crying out, the Zen Charm Pokémon was sent tumbling back, knocked out from the super-effective attack.



Shit, Hilbert thought, recalling his fainted team member. One Pokémon and valuable experience for that Pokémon down the drain. Then a red aura surrounded Krokorok briefly as its attack went up thanks to Moxie. Double shit.



To ensure the Desert Croc Pokémon went down quickly, he sent out Sensei. The Sawk ran for his opponent as soon as he materialized, winding up a Brick Break, but Krokomire stomped the ground hard, sending out a shockwave that rammed into him, sending him face first into the dirt. Krokorok then capitalized on the successful Bulldoze attack by opening his jaws and running for Sensei on all fours. The Sawk raised his head and gave a cry of alarm as he saw the Desert Croc Pokémon making a beeline for him with teeth gleaming. He rolled out of the way just as Krokorok snapped its jaws shut, the fangs finding only empty air.



He then jumped to his feet, using the Brick Break he meant to use earlier, only for Krokorok to dodge to the side and lunge forward with its jaws open, clamping them down on Sensei’s arm. Sensei gave a cry of agony, and in a move of utter desperation simply to make the pain stop, lashed out with his other hand to deliver the Brick Break. This time, hand met snout with a sickening crack, and Krokorok pulled away, hissing in pain and anger. The super-effective attack had done a number, but most of the damage was healed immediately as Krokorok glowed for a second.



Ah, damn! He put a Berry on that thing! Hilbert thought. “Sensei, Double Kick!”



Sensei once more ran for Krokorok, but the Desert Croc Pokémon again used Dig, burrowing underground right for him. Sensei stopped in his tracks, making him an easy target. Indeed, he was hit, and was knocked out, the attack proving too much for him. Krokorok gave a triumphant snort as the red glow surrounded him again, indicating another attack boost.



“Ah-!” Hilbert hissed. This was already starting to go south for him, and he could tell Cheren knew it too, judging by the look of insane anticipation on his face.



Oddly, though, Cheren wasn't saying any goading words. That is, until he got impatient at Hilbert's lack of decision. “What's the matter? I know it's not over yet, Hilbert! You still have more Pokémon, so line them up so I can knock them all down!”



“Fine!” Hilbert roared. “You want the big guns, I'll give you the big guns! Maru, get out there!” He tossed out his starter, who let out a roar as he materialized. “Maru, Scald!” Hilbert commanded. Maru let loose a steaming hot stream of high-pressure water from his mouth, landing a clean hit on Krokorok and knocking it out instantly.



Dammit... Cheren thought. I guess egging him on kinda bit me in the ass... But it's not over yet. Next, he sent out his Unfezant, Interceptor.



Hilbert was mildly surprised that Cheren's Unfezant didn't look like Skyla's, but he shrugged it off. How different it looked didn't matter. All that did matter was taking it down. This Unfezant looked less plain than Skyla's, having a reddish-pink wattle around its eyes like some kind of superhero mask, with long growths extending off the wattle and down past its shoulders. Its chest and underside were mint green, contrasting with the brown colouring Skyla's had.



Maru opened its mouth again, shooting another boiling stream of water at Unfezant. Unfezant merely took to the air, dodging the attack, and let loose with Air Slash. The air-blades were scattershot, but a couple of them found their mark, striking Maru, who cried out in pain. Unfezant then made a crippling error, flying too close to the Formidable Pokémon to launch a more close-range Air Slash as he glowed red with the colour of Revenge. Cheren realized what was about to happen too late. “Interceptor, look out!”



Just after he shouted this, Maru jumped for the Unfezant, grabbing it out of the air and slamming it into the ground. Though the attack was neutral, the sheer power behind it was more than enough to knock it out in one hit.



“No!” Cheren said, now realizing that Hilbert was slowly starting to push him back after his strong opening. He recalled the Unfezant.



“Now are you starting to realize that you won't win this or any fight against me?” Hilbert growled. “Now matter how hard you train- no matter what strategies you try- I'll always knock you down like a house of cards.”



And that's where you're wrong, Cheren thought. He grabbed his starter's Poké Ball off his belt. “Come out, Tara!” he yelled. “Come out... Serperior!”



What materialized from the Poké Ball after Cheren threw it was the final stage of his starter Pokémon. Serperior had foregone the already-atrophied limbs of Servine completely, and was now just an elegant looking, ten-foot-long snake. Serperior was mostly a pale green with a white head and throat. Two pointed extensions, almost like ears, shot up behind its head. Its eyes were narrow and red, and it had curved yellow patterns on its back. Two curled protrusions flanked its neck on either side. Its tail was covered in small leaves.



“Tara, Leaf Blade!” Cheren yelled. Serperior would its body up like a coiled spring under tension, then launched with frightening speed towards Maru, its tail glowing green. It whipped past him, slicing him with its tail as it went by. Maru's head snapped to the left from the super-effective blow, but managed to keep his feet. He shot a Scald at the Regal Pokémon, who dodged merely by twisting its body out of the way, and retaliated by sending out two thin vines out of its back, wrapping them around Maru's neck, and then using Mega Drain. Maru bellowed as his health was sapped by the super-effective move. He then collapsed, fainted.



“Ah, shit!” Hilbert yelled. He grabbed Artemis's Poké Ball and threw her out. The Archen immediately jumped towards Serperior with Acrobatics, managing to pounce on top of it and begin savagely pecking and scratching with her talons. The two rolled around on the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust as Serperior screeched in pain. Serperior, in desperation, wrapped its tail around Artemis, and slammed her headfirst into the ground. However, the Slam attack, being a Normal-type move, barely did anything to the Rock-type First Bird Pokémon, who quickly righted herself, and jumped onto Serperior again (dodging a Leaf Blade in the process) and began to peck and claw at it with renewed vigor.



This time, the assault proved too much. With a weak, pitiable screech, Serperior fainted. Wordlessly, and doing a remarkably good job at hiding the burning rage he was feeling, Cheren recalled his starter, and threw out his last Pokémon, his now-evolved Simipour. Simipour was a monkey-like Pokémon that was primarily blue, with cream-coloured legs and arms. Fur grew out of its head that resembled blue dreadlocks. Its chest fur was blue, and there a blue plume on the end of its tail. Its eyes also seemed to be perpetually closed.



Even with said closed eyes, Simipour somehow managed a pinpoint accurate Scald, hitting Artemis and knocking her out, her meager defenses once again proving her downfall. Hilbert recalled her without a word, throwing out Logan next, deciding he hadn't seen enough battling lately.



“Logan, Strength!” Hilbert yelled.



Logan began a headlong charge towards Simipour, but then, in a move Hilbert hadn't seen in a while, its eyes glowed red in a Leer, freezing Logan in place, then jumped, landing three fancy kicks with Acrobatics. Thank Arceus I remembered to take off Allizel's Mystic Water before this fight, Cheren thought. The last kick sent Logan sprawling, but he pushed himself to his feet and lunged at Simipour, biting down on his face with Crunch. He shook his head, tossing the Geyser Pokémon away. He then followed that up with a relentless Strength, bashing into Simipour without mercy. Growling, Logan stomped over to his wincing opponent, opened his jaws, and clamped them shut on Simipour until it stopped moving.



Wordlessly, Cheren recalled his Pokémon, looking down at the Poké Ball in his hand. He gradually started shaking, but whether from sadness or rage, Hilbert couldn't tell, nor did he care.



How... Cheren thought. Just... how does he do it..? Why. Does. He Keep. BEATING ME!? Tears were now filling his eyes, but he let them come, not caring if Hilbert saw.



Hilbert, getting annoyed, merely said, “You gonna give me the prize money for winning, or what?”



“Shut up, Hilbert,” Cheren growled. “Just be quiet.”



Hilbert opened his mouth, but was interrupted by a voice that was definitely not his own. “Hey! Before you two try and kill each other again, would you mind if I chimed in?”



Hilbert looked up, and Cheren turned around, seeing Alder standing on a ledge that stuck out of the mountainside. He then jumped off it and landed without injury, stunning the two boys. That must have been a twenty foot fall-!



Hilbert recalled his Stoutland, walking up and standing beside Cheren to listen to Alder. “I saw most of that,” Alder said. “You both put in a good effort, as did your Pokémon. You should both be proud. Here- I'll heal your Pokémon.”



Hilbert and Cheren handed over their Poke Balls, and quick as a flash, Alder had healed them all with Full Restores.



“Now, as I was saying, you two should be proud of yourselves. You're both becoming strong Trainers.”



“Am I, though?” Cheren said glumly. “I lost... again. At this rate, I'll never get strong enough to beat you.”



Alder just sighed. “You haven't given a lick of thought to what I said to you on Route 5, have you? Let's break this down. Say, in a hypothetical scenario, you manage to defeat me, and take my title, therefore fulfilling your goal. I've asked you this before, as well. What would you do then? What you do with power is just as important as gaining it- if not more so.”



“I.. I don't know,” Cheren said, rubbing his face. “Take on the Champions of other regions, maybe..?”



Alder just let a small smirk curve his lips. “You remind me of Marshall. He's one of my former pupils and a current member of the Elite Four. He acted just like you- always seeking strength for the the sake of strength, never giving any thought to what he'd do when he'd climbed that mountain. I taught him another way... and, to not repeat my mistakes.”



That piqued Hilbert's curiosity. Up until now, he had been standing off beside Cheren with an uninterested expression on his face. This was all stuff he had heard before. Alder making past 'mistakes', however, was something new. “What are you talking about? What mistakes?”



“It's nothing you need to concern yourself with,” Alder said, clearly trying to mask internal pain. “This, on the other hand, is.”



He reached into his poncho, and produced two jewel cases, each containing a TM, and handed them to the boys. Or at least, that's what the disks appeared to be. Scanning them, Hilbert and Cheren found they were HM03, Surf.



“Why would you give us these?” Cheren asked.

“Think of them as rewards,” Alder said. “For a battle well-fought. I wouldn't recommend using them in Twist Mountain, though. Surf is an area of effect attack, like Earthquake, and those are practically suicide in confined spaces like that mountain's tunnels.”



Great, Hilbert thought. Can't use Scrapper in there in that case.



“And with that, I think I'll be off,” Alder said. “Please, Cheren, give my words some thought, I beg you. And both of you take care of yourselves. By the way- Cheren, you owe Hilbert some prize money.”



Alder then released a Braviary from a Poké Ball, got on it, and flew away. Grudgingly, Cheren took out his Trainer Card and tapped it against Hilbert's, paying double for the time he hadn't paid after their battle on Route 5.



Hilbert just shrugged, walking toward Twist Mountain's entrance. He absentmindedly looked up at the clouds, and his eyes widened. They had really rolled in during the fight, and were now a grumpy shade of dark gray.



“Hey!” he called back to Cheren. “We gotta get movin'! It's probably gonna rain any minute, and those clouds look like they've got a lot of water in them!”



When Cheren didn't move, looking lost in thought, Hilbert ran back to him, snapping his fingers in front of his face. “Let's go. If I have to go through that damn mountain in a rainstorm, I swear-”



Just then, the heavens opened up, pouring untold amounts of water onto both their heads. Hilbert gave Cheren a murderous look. “I hate you,” he hissed. Left with no choice, they both ran into Twist Mountain.

 

I Never Wanted to be the Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 27: Life in the Mines
​

Rain poured down behind Hilbert and Cheren as they walked through the wide yet short tunnel that was Twist Mountain's entrance, making their way towards the mountain's hollow center. Lighting was fairly scarce, forcing them to use their Cross-Transceiver flashlights, and while they were at least sheltered from the rain, said shelter wouldn't last forever. Hilbert had one hand shoved in a pocket of his jacket, loathing every second, an expression that was beyond grumpy on his face, and Cheren just looked miserable.



Cheren's flashlight, though, soon attracted the attention of someone else inside the tunnel. “Hey!” cried a distinctive voice. “Whoever the hell ya'll are, turn off those damn flashlights so I can see ya! Now! Or I'll sic my Excadrill on ya!”



Hilbert gave a quizzical look to Cheren, who just raised an eyebrow in response. Turning off his flashlight and motioning for Cheren to do the same, he said, “Clay? Is that you?”



“Huh?” the voice said. They heard the sound of approaching footsteps, and sure enough, Clay walked into view, stopping in front of them.


“Well, I'll be damned,” the cowboy said. “Never woulda thought we'd meet again here, of all places. Small world, ain't it?”



“Yeah, I guess,” Hilbert said. “So what are you doing here?”



“Kid, I own this mountain,” Clay replied. “T' be honest, I kinda ignored it for a while, but that was back when the oil wasn't startin' to run dry. 'Cause a' that, I've had workers minin' this place, tryin' to find the mineral resources to get Driftveil outta its rut, but it's, uh... well, it's yet to bear fruit.



“'Course, with Team Plasma runnin' around, doing that is difficult. They've been spotted in here several times by my workers, and they even landed a helicopter in the center of the place during one of their days off, which Skyla saw.”



“She mentioned that to me after I beat her,” Hilbert said. Cheren, who had been quiet this whole time, raised an eyebrow.



“Well, it's long gone, kiddo,” Clay said. “If you're lookin' to get through here to Icirrus, just get to the center of the mountain, and on the west wall there's a lift. Take it up to the top level. I'll leave the rest up to you.”



With that, Clay started walking out of the tunnel, but stopped after a few feet. “Oh yeah, and as a little reward for helping me back in Driftveil, you can use this mountain to train as much as you like. Enjoy, sprouts. And don't get lost- they don't call this place 'Twist Mountain' for nothing.”



“I really hate that guy,” Hilbert muttered as Clay's flashlight got dimmer and dimmer as he got farther away.



“Well, that's one thing we agree on,” Cheren said glumly under his breath, finally speaking up. “Now come on.”



The tunnel ended not too long after that, once again dumping them out into the cold rain. “I fucking hate rain,” Hilbert said, flipping the hood of his jacket up. Cheren, his jacket having no hood, was not so lucky, his head taking the full brunt of nature's tears.



“And whose fault is that?” Cheren prodded. “I'm not the one who decided to go for a kilometers-long jog through a thunderstorm when I didn't have to.”



“Oh, yeah?” Hilbert shot back. “And I suppose you're not to blame for us taking this little nighttime stroll through a monsoon? We could have been halfway through this place had you just kept your damn ego in check for once and not challenged me. Hope finding that foregone conclusion out was worth it to ya.”



Cheren just growled, but didn't say anything further.



The interior of Twist Mountain was essentially an upside down, inside-out pyramid, getting wider at the top and narrowing at the bottom (though the area at the bottom where they currently were was still huge). Along the walls at two different levels of elevation, were wooden walkways, running all around the perimeter, which was dotted with tunnel entrances. Two excavators, along with a bulldozer and what looked like a huge drill on wheels, sat unused along the east wall. It looked like the workers were trying to bore straight through the mountain's wall, but whether they had made much progress, Hilbert was unable to discern. It didn't matter anyway, as anyone trying to operate them would quickly get them bogged down in the muck the cold rain had turned the ground into.



“So...” Cheren said, looking around. “How do you think we'll find our way through this place? There's a million tunnel entrances up there, and I'd bet a lot of money more than a few go nowhere.”



“First of all, we find that lift,” Hilbert said. “And second of all, there is no 'we'. We're going to split up, like we usually do. The less I have to be around you, the better.”



“You're a real asshole, you know that?” Cheren growled.



“Don't remind me,” Hilbert said dryly. “Now come on.”



Finding the lift didn't take long. It was right next to a cave entrance that led down. Cheren had suggested going down it, but Hilbert shot that idea into the ground, judging by the cold he could feel emanating from the cave just by standing near it. “It's probably full of Ice-types,” Hilbert said. “I don't know about you, but I don't want my Pokémon getting frozen solid.”



The lift was an open-topped platform, like the one Hilbert had used in Clay's gym, this one riding on a groove that had been carved into the rock, but a bit more crude and much more dirty. Mud stains covered it, the places where it had been pained orange were scratched, and a bit of rust was forming on the more high-carbon parts of the steel. They both stepped onto it, Cheren pushing the button that activated it. The platform began to go up with a mechanical groan, passing through a perfectly-sized gap in the lower walkway before settling into a gap in the second, and highest, one.



“I'm going north,” Cheren said, starting to walk off. “See ya on the other side of this place.”



Hilbert just grumbled something unintelligible, going in the opposite direction.



The rain kept pouring down as he continued on his path. The walkway was actually quite well-built and sturdy, but still dangerous, as there were no guardrails, so one wrong step meant tumbling off to his death. The walls extended a good sixty feet up from the highest platform where he was, but he was still over forty feet off the ground. The mountain's interior circumference was so massive it took him nearly twenty minutes of carefully walking along the paradoxically safe-but-not-really path to reach the nearest tunnel entrance, but he did manage to do it.



He shivered entering the tunnel, taking his hat off and running his hand through his drenched hair, then put his hat back on. This was a huge mistake, as the hat was also soaked, and the feeling of it almost adhering to his hair was not a pleasant one. Groaning in disgust, Hilbert then observed his surroundings. Lights had been installed in the roof, but they were fairly dim, forcing him to rely on his Cross-Transceiver flashlight to see for the most part.



The tunnel wasn't the widest one in the world, but it was enough that two people of average build could walk comfortably side-by-side. Still, having a Pokémon battle in here would be a close-quarters nightmare.



He advanced slowly down the tunnel, the sound of his breathing echoing off the rough-hewn walls. Water dripped off the ceiling, and when he ran a hand along the left wall, he found it damp and muddy. Wiping his hand on his jacket, he continued on. After about another ten feet, his flashlight swept over a pile of blue rocks in the path. He stopped in his tracks, putting his flashlight back on the rock pile. As it turned it, it was three Boldore clustered together. Not amused by having their peaceful slumber interrupted, they began to stir, staring at Hilbert with as much rage as a creature with no true 'face' could.



“Aw, crap,” Hilbert muttered, suddenly realizing that he had forgotten to spray himself down with a Repel, meaning he couldn't avoid this fight. He grabbed Sawk's Poké Ball and threw it out, commanding the Karate Pokémon to attack.



Meanwhile, Cheren was currently walking down his tunnel. He had no way of knowing it, but he and Hilbert had entered their respective tunnels at nearly the exact same time. Unlike Hilbert, though, he had the foresight to spray a Repel on himself before going in, so he would have wild Pokémon incidents like Hilbert was having right now. As such, he strode fast and without fear.



Heh... at this rate, I'll be in Icirrus long before Hilbert, he thought. That next Gym Badge is as good as mine.



He then slowly came to a stop. Gah... there it is again! That competitiveness... that need to beat Hilbert. Cheren considered sitting down against the wall to think, but quickly thought against it. That would only get his jacket dirty when he didn't have to do so.



Maybe Alder was right, he mentally continued as he started walking again. This is an obsession. But why? Why do I feel the need to beat him..? I guess it's just he represents that... that wall I can't get over no matter what I do.



He looked down at his feet, stopping again. He then remembered Hilbert's violent explosion of anger at him on Route 5 and in Mistralton, how he wanted to leave the Plasma grunts and Zinzolin for dead in the Cold Storage. Hilbert's turned into a monster, though... Do I really want to beat him? Worst-case, I become just as bad as he is, and I don't want that.



Once more, he resumed walking, taking slower steps this time. He kept this up for another five minutes, until he saw another flashlight beam up ahead. “Shit!” he breathed, whipping a Poké Ball off his belt. It was too late, though. The figure had already seen his flashlight and was walking towards him. “Who the hell are you? A Team Plasma grunt?” he asked, his tone harsh.



“Team Plasma?” said the person's voice. It was female. “Why would you think I'm part of that awful group?”



The Trainer walked into view, and Cheren breathed an audible sigh of relief. It was a young woman, maybe around seventeen, wearing an orange-and-blue outfit. Her blonde hair (which oddly enough had blue highlights in it, and the two colours clashed horribly), like her clothes, was soaked, presumably from the rain. She had three Poke Balls on her belt, so Cheren immediately prepared himself for a fight.



“Name's Caroll,” the girl said. “You're up for a battle, then?”



“Gonna have to be,” Cheren said. He readied his Poké Ball.



Caroll backed up around fifteen feet, and tossed out her first Pokémon, a Duosion. Duosion was a strange Pokémon that was encased in a gelatinous dark green substance. Its body was a paler green, having a large head, no legs of any description, as it tapered to a point, and stumpy arms. Its eyes were black and ovoid, and its mouth was shaped like a diamond and red.



Guessing from the Pokémon's general physiology that it was a Psychic-type, Cheren threw out his Krokorok. Well, I can't defeat Hilbert, but I can sure as hell defeat this girl, Cheren thought.



“Krokomire, start off with Crunch!” Cheren yelled, his voice echoing in the confined space.



Krokorok got down on all fours, racing towards the gelatinous Mitosis Pokémon in as much of a zigzag pattern the cramped space would allow to avoid any incoming attacks it might throw his way. He needn't have bothered, as Duosion had barely moved by the time the Desert Croc Pokémon had chomped down on his opponent. The super-effective Dark-type move did a number on Duosion, but Caroll just smirked. She had been waiting for this.



“Duosion, Endeavor!” she called. Duosion, even as it was still being chomped on by Krokorok, began to glow yellow, unleashing a blast of energy that slammed into Krokorok and brought his health down to the same level as Duosion's, about half. It also had the added benefit of sending Krokorok slamming into a wall.



The Duosion, its job done, accepted its fate as Krokorok pushed itself out of the wall, hissing in rage and snapping its jaws shut on the Mitosis Pokémon once more, knocking it out. Krokorok gave a snort in victory as its attack was raised thanks to Moxie.



Caroll seemed taken aback by this, but forced it off her face, and sent out her next Pokémon, Vanillish. Vanillish was obviously an Ice-type, and the pre-evolution of the Vanilluxe Hilbert had seen Hilda use back in Nimbasa, but Cheren had no knowledge of those events. It looked like an ice cream cone with a single scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Its 'cone' was made of ice, its smiling, goofy-looking mouth was purple, as were its eyes, and it had stubby 'arms' that looked like ice crystals. Two more, smaller ice crystals were below its mouth on its chin.



Vanillish opened with Icy Wind, breathing out a freezing cold gust of air that made Cheren's rain-soaked form shiver. Krokorok took the full force of it, and already weakened as he was, the super-effective attack proved too much. The Desert Croc Pokémon fell to his knees and collapsed.



Cheren grimaced, suddenly realizing at how much of a disadvantage he truly was against Ice-types. The only option he had that wasn't weak to them was Simipour, so he sent him out.



Simipour started off with a Scald, hitting the Vanillish dead-on. To Cheren's elation, the attack actually inflicted a burn on the Icy Wind Pokémon. Vanillish cried out as a scorch mark appeared on its body and flames licked at it.



“Oh, no!” Caroll cried. “Vanillish, use Mirror Shot, quick!”



Vanillish, wincing in pain as the flames kept inflicting damage, gathered gray slivers of energy in a ball in front of it that gleamed like polished metal. It flew too fast to dodge, but the attack was not very effective, merely sending Simipour sliding several feet.



With one more Scald from Simipour, the Vanillish was knocked out. Caroll, knowing she was probably on the verge of a loss, nevertheless refused to give up, sending out her last Pokémon, Gothorita, next.



Gothorita was a humanoid Psychic-type that was mostly black. Its arms and legs were slim, and it had two black buns on the side of its head, where four bow tie-like protrusions sat. More of these protrusions, two to be exact, adorned its body, which resembled a skirt. Its face was pink and its eyes were light blue.



“Gothorita, Psyshock!” Caroll yelled.



Gothorita waved its hands, and several small pink blobs of psychic energy formed around Simipour, then rammed into him at breakneck speed. Each hit with the force of a thrown rock, and were more than sufficient to blast through Simipour's weak defense, knocking him out.



Now Cheren was getting worried. However, he still had his ace up his sleeve. “Go, Tara!” he yelled, throwing out his Serperior.



Serperior went for the Leaf Blade without needing a command, leaping towards Gothorita and slashing its with its tail before the Manipulate Pokémon could react. However, as soon as Serperior landed, it turned on a dime, its tail lashing out again. This was the knockout blow. Cheren had won.



Disappointed, Caroll recalled her Pokémon, took out her Trainer Card, tapped it against Cheren's, and after healing her team members, she bid him farewell and disappeared into the tunnel.



Cheren took some healing items out of his backpack and used them to heal his team. Unlike Hilbert, he had packed plenty. I wouldn't need to use these had I knocked out that Vanillish quicker, he thought. But then... I am in a mountain. There's bound to be a few Rock-types or something in here.



Swinging his backpack over his shoulder and standing up, he made up his mind. “It's settled, then,” he said to himself. “Let's go catch a Rock-type. I think Boldore will do nicely.”



“Fuck. Boldore.” Hilbert growled, recalling Sensei. He had barely made it out of that fight with the Sawk still conscious, no thanks to all three Boldore ganging up on him. The Karate Pokémon could barely get off an attack, but somehow managed to prevail and gained a level in the process, bringing him up to level 34. Still, Hilbert desperately wanted his Darumaka to evolve, so decided right then and there, that no matter what type the next Gym Leader used, Makue would frontline the fight. He sprayed himself down with a Repel, turning up his nose at the stench, then kept going into the tunnel. Since he only had one Super Potion left, Sensei would have to stay injured for the time being.



Before long, the tunnel went in a sharp left hand turn, leading to a set of about thirty-five stairs carved into the rock leading down. “Well, this must be my ticket down to the lower walkway.”



Keeping his hands on the walls to (hopefully) prevent himself from falling, as there were no handrails, he made his way down the stairs, ending up in a long, straight tunnel that led west. He wiped his hands on his jacket to clean them of mud, then started walking again. The tunnel took a sharp turn to the right near the end, dumping him out on the southwestern point of the lower walkway, and into the rain once more. This time was even worse, as he had dried off somewhat in the tunnel, and being put out in the downpour again was like being forced into a cold shower. Hilbert started shivering almost immediately.



“I fucking hate rain,” he moaned. On top of everything else, there were three tunnel entrances he could see: One on the north wall, one on the east wall, and one directly across from him on the right. Great, he thought sarcastically, So it's a crapshoot.



He considered his options, ultimately deciding to go right. It took seven minutes to get to the tunnel entrance, and to Hilbert's dismay and anger, it was a dead end. The tunnel was short and only led to the same ledge Alder had been standing on. “Dammit!” he yelled, smacking the wall with his palm. This wasted time he didn't have. The sun had long set, and it was probably around nine-thirty at night. Growling bloody murder under his breath, he went back inside.



With no other choice, he was forced to retrace his steps, taking the tunnel entrance on the north wall. The east tunnel probably wouldn't have led anywhere useful anyway. The whole way there, the rain was unrelenting, Hilbert wiping water off his face every ten seconds or so. His feet inside his shoes made the same wet, disgusting squelching noise they had on Route 7 when he went through that thunderstorm. The gap in the walkway proved only to be a minor annoyance rather than a crippling impedance, as there was a control panel on the walkway that allowed him to call down the lift platform to fill the gap.



It took another twenty-four minutes to get to the tunnel entrance, but he did make it, and almost as soon as he stepped inside, his stomach growled, the quite loud sound reverberating off the walls. Needing something to eat, he opened his bag, he opened his bag, rummaging through it for whatever food he had left, and came up with a single granola bar. This is only gonna make me thirsty, he thought. And I can't waste the last of my water just to wash this down. He sighed and put the granola bar back in his shoulder bag. Suddenly, he heard a squeaking noise from above. He looked up, seeing half a dozen Woobat stuck to the ceiling by their pig-like noses. Hilbert then realized the rain had washed off the Repel stench. A disheartened, “Ah, crap,” was all he could manage before the Woobat dove down to attack.



Cheren had just about had enough of this wretched tunnel. He was sick of the claustrophobic atmosphere, sick of the darkness only broken by his flashlight, sick of feeling like he was going nowhere, even sick of the sound of his own breathing echoing off the walls, making it seem like there was another person following him when there really wasn't.



“I swear... a place like this could drive someone crazy...” he muttered to himself, just to break the monotony. To his complete lack of surprise, the sentence echoed off the walls.



The one bright spot in his dismal situation was that he in fact had succeeded in catching a Boldore (whom he nicknamed Titan). In the more than half-hour that Hilbert had been trying to find his way, he had fought and defeated two of Twist Mountain's workers that mistook him for a Plasma grunt. A few of his Pokémon grew a level or two from these encounters. Krokorok was now level 36, and tried to learn Scary Face, a countering move that would hold an opponent's Pokémon in place for quite a bit longer than Leer or any move like it. After careful, serious consideration, he had turned it down.



Simipour was now the same level, but had learned nothing new. When Cheren evolved it from a Panpour using a Water Stone he found, he gave up its ability to learn any new moves through level-up at all. The trade-off for higher stats was worth it in his eyes, however.



The tunnel he was currently in seemed to go on forever. After a sharp eastward turn, it was just a straight shot south. He was so tired of the tedium that by the time he reached a set of stairs leading down, he almost fell right down them. Luckily, he saw them just in time with his flashlight and was able to step back before suffering a bone-and-potentially-neck-breaking fall.



“Too close...” he muttered, his fight-or-flight instinct setting his heart racing. “Too damn close...”



Slowly, he began to descend the steps, keeping a close eye on the position of his feet to ensure he didn't trip and fall. Finally, he made it to the bottom, only to groan. He had come to a fork in the road. One path led west, the other kept going south. All of a sudden, he heard an echo coming from the west path. Even from the distracted he was hearing it at, he could still make out what was being said: “Scrapper-apper-apper! Shadow Claw-aw-aw!” That set Cheren's brain into high gear.



Wait... That's the nickname of Hilbert's Drilbur... but it's probably long since evolved, though. Even though every fibre of his being said to leave behind his friend-turned-rival, he didn't. Knowing Hilbert, he'll win whatever fight he's gotten himself into, and then come straight to me. Then we get the hell out of this mountain together. Cheren smirked. Well, Alder... you wanted me to stop being so obsessed with winning, and here's where it begins!



Breathing heavily, Hilbert recalled Scrapper, thoroughly relieved to have gotten out of that fight with no fainted Pokémon. The Woobat had really given him and Scrapper hell, but at least this time he had gotten out of it without any flesh wounds, unlike his last encounter with a swarm of the Bat Pokémon. Thanks to this Woobat KO spree, Scrapper had gained another level, bringing him up to level 36.



The only direction he felt would lead anywhere was east, so he decided to put his shoes to good use, simply running down the corridor, only to see another flashlight beam, before long. It suddenly turned off, allowing him to see who it belonged to: Cheren. Growling, he skidded to a stop about ten feet in front of him, walking the rest of the way.



“What are you doing here?” he asked gruffly once he got close enough.



“Standing,” Cheren replied flatly. “Now c'mon, I think we're close to getting out of here.” At Hilbert's dark expression, he sighed. “Look, I know you hate me, but I don't think there is any splitting up past this point. We either go together, or you can stay here while I get to Icirrus.”



“Fine,” Hilbert huffed cantankerously. “Lead the way, O Spelunking Expert.”



Cheren ignored the venomous sarcasm dripping from Hilbert's words like toxic goo dripped off a Muk, just walking south, Hilbert close behind. They very soon came to another branch in the path, this one leading west. They took it, and ended up in a cavern shaped somewhat like a capital 'H'. They took the closest corridor north, leading to a short branch that extended east to an exit, and found... “Plasma.” Hilbert growled through gritted teeth, wrath and hatred more than evident in his tone.



Two Team Plasma grunts were conversing amongst themselves near the exit of the mountain, but hearing Hilbert's murderous uttering of their organization's name, they looked up in shock. “Ah, shit!” one of them said. They whipped Poke Balls off their belts, sending out a Watchog and a Scraggy.



Against Hilbert and Cheren, it was no contest. With Hilbert using his Darumaka and Cheren using his Serperior, both the grunts' Pokémon were knocked out in a matter of thirty seconds.



Cheren had his Serperior keep one of the Plasma grunts at bay while Hilbert slammed the other one against the wall. “Why has Team Plasma been lurking around this mountain!?” Hilbert yelled. “What are you planning!? Talk!”



“L-like I'd tell a kid like you!” the grunt spat. “You're too late, anyway! Soon, Team Plasma will have the power to free everyone's Pokémon from the slavery they've been forced into!”



“Not on my watch,” Hilbert said. “Makue, get ready to Fire Punch this guy's face in on my command!”



Makue just grinned, cloaking her fist in flame by clenching it. Cheren, overhearing all of this, gasped in horror, running over to Hilbert to stop him, with his Serperior (stupidly) following him.



“Are you nuts!?” Cheren cried, just before the grunt his Serperior had left alone pulled out a Smoke Ball and threw it to the ground, releasing a huge cloud of smoke. Cheren and Hilbert immediately began to cough, and the grunt shoved him away, sending him tumbling to the muddy ground. Using the smoke as cover, the Plasma duo escaped, disappearing into the tunnels of the mountain. Hilbert slowly pushed himself to his feet. “Damn!” he said angrily, smacking is hand on the wall.



Cheren, who had been leaning on the other wall for support to avoid collapsing from his coughing fits, turned to Hilbert. “What... the hell... were you thinking?” he said in between residual coughs.



“Making... the right call,” Hilbert said, giving one more cough. “And you let them get away.” His face turned wrathful. “Why?”



Cheren's expression twisted into shock. “Why are you even asking that question!?” he shrieked, his voice going up in pitch. “Because you were going to fucking kill someone, that's why! Killing someone is never the 'right call'! Are you insane!?”



Hilbert didn't answer, and a tense silence settled between them, only broken by Cheren's heavy breathing from his outburst. “I was right when I called it back in Driftveil,” Cheren continued, his voice becoming more level again. “You are a monster.”



Cheren then exited the mountain, and while Hilbert couldn't form a rebuttal for Cheren's argument, he couldn't bring himself to care, either.



The way down from Twist Mountain was a zigzagging staircase that was carved into the mountainside. Across about three kilometres of marshlands, they could see the lights of Icirrus City. Resigned to the fact that they still had a ways to go before reaching their destination, they began walking down the steps.

 

I Never Wanted to be the Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 28: Brycen, Ice Mask​

Hilbert and Cheren were both rightly exhausted by the time they reached Iccirus City. However, much to Cheren's exasperation and Hilbert's anger, they realized they couldn't go to sleep right away, looking like half-drowned Rattata as they did. Rather, they went to the dry-cleaning floor of the city's Pokémon Center to wash their soaked, muddy clothes and have showers. The two were forced to leave the things they couldn't wash- namely, their shoes and Hilbert's cap- on air vents to dry them.



Once all that was finally done, it was nearly 10 in the morning. Needless to say, the boys spent all day sleeping, and didn't get up until almost ten o'clock on the 14th. Putting on his clothes, Hilbert was dismayed at the sorry state of his hat and shoes. The white part of his cap was now thoroughly discoloured and dirty, with the red part turning a rusty burgundy. His shoes were in the same situation, their once vibrant red colour having been dulled quite a bit.



Hilbert emerged from the elevator to find Cheren in the lounge eating a breakfast consisting of a big bowl of cereal and toast. To his momentary surprise, he saw Cedric Juniper sitting across from him, talking. Wait... that's right, Hilbert suddenly remembered. Juniper said on Route 7 her father had come here to Icirrus.



He went down the mezzanine's staircase to the ground floor, walking over to the lounge after getting a bowl of cereal and a glass of juice. Cedric turned around as he heard Hilbert approach. "Ah, Hilbert! Fancy meeting you here, too!" he said cheerfully. "Sit down, Cheren and I were just discussing DragonSpiral Tower."



Intrigued, Hilbert sat down beside Cedric, across from Cheren, putting his food on the table.



"Now, Hilbert," Cedric continued, "Have you ever heard of DragonSpiral Tower? Cheren told me he's done some research on it, but have you?"



"Before I started out? Quite honestly, no." Hilbert said.



"Well... I really don't blame you," Cedric said. "There's very little on it. What we do know, is that according to ancient legend, it's where the legendary Pokémon of the Unova region can be revived from a deep slumber."



At that, Hilbert and Cheren exchanged uneasy looks, remembering what the Plasma grunts they ran into in Twist Mountain had said. Cedric wasn't blind to this. "What are those looks for?" he asked.



"We think Team Plasma is planning something involving DragonSpiral Tower," Cheren said. "Mr. Juniper, is there any way inside of it?"



"No, and that's primarily why we know so little about it," Cedric replied, shaking his head. "As far as we know, no one has been inside the tower. I have my doubts that nobody has ever seen the interior, but if they have, that information has long since been lost to history. Plus, on top of that, the tower doesn't have an entrance. The only way in is to break in, but given how the tower's a protected building by the government..."



"I don't think Team Plasma cares about that..." Hilbert mumbled in between bites of cereal.



"Well, true," Cedric added. "Although... Maybe I could hassle Skyla into giving me a helicopter flyover of the tower, even though I doubt it would tell us anything we don't already know." He stood up, gathering his bag which was next to his chair. "You never know, though. I'll go give it another once-over."



He bid the boys farewell, then walked out of the Pokémon Center. After that was silence for a few minutes, punctuated only by the crunching of cereal. Cheren eventually spoke up, breaking it. "So, uh... about Twist Mountain," he said. At Hilbert's icy stare, he quickly added, "Look, it's not what you think. I just want to say I'm sorry for holding us up so we had to go through that place in the rain."



Hilbert gave a joyless, almost predatory smirk. "And what's with this change of heart all of a sudden? What happened to wanting to beat me no matter the cost?"



"I was doing some thinking about what Alder said to us outside Twist Mountain while I was going through that place," Cheren answered. "And the conclusion I came to is... is that he's right. Beating you for the sake of it is pointless, and the last thing I want is to go down the same path you're on."



"And what's that supposed to mean..?" Hilbert said, his tone daring Cheren to go on.



"That's what I mean!" Cheren cried. "Listen to yourself! Listen to your tone of voice! You've gone more and more off the deep end ever since Route 5 and Driftveil! Or maybe it was before that, and I just didn't notice. You even threatened to kill that one Plasma grunt."



"He would've deserved it after all the hell that group's put us through..." Hilbert grumbled, taking a spoonful of cereal and shoving it into his mouth.



"No, no he wouldn't have," Cheren said. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "You need to understand that what you're turning into is not healthy, and I don't think you get that."



Hilbert growled and swallowed his cereal. "The only thing I get, is that you're annoying and hypocritical. Not a week ago in Mistralton you were all still obsessed with beating me and proving yourself the strongest for no damn reason, so to hear you now preaching the opposite sounds really fucking condescending!" Throughout all that, his voice had risen to a roar, like thunder on the horizon. "And frankly, between you and Team Plasma, I've had more than enough hypocrisy for one lifetime!"



"Fine!" Cheren yelled. He stood up from his chair in a fury. "If you don't want to listen to reason, no matter what mouth it comes from, then be my damn guest! Keep being angry at the world for all I care! See where it gets you. I'm going to see if I can contact Bianca. It's been too long since we've seen her. Maybe get in some training at Twist Mountain, too."



Rolling his eyes, Hilbert just ate the rest of his cereal in silence. He eventually finished, afterwards buying four Hyper Potions, then outside into Icirrus City. Built in the shadow of Twist Mountain, Icirrus struck Hilbert as being very elevated in a literal sense. Most of the lower land was very unstable, owing to the fact that it was wetlands, so the buildings were situated largely on the huge, stable hills above them. A multitude of paved bridges connected the hills together like islands on the sea, with the largest one being where the Pokémon Center was built, as well as hundreds of houses and dozens of multi-story complexes and such.



The only man-made structures in the wetlands were many windmills that had been used to pump water out of the lowlands in older times, but thanks to modern technology they had been phased out for the most part, with only a few kept operational and the rest just used for aesthetic purposes as far as Hilbert could tell. The recent heavy rainfall had turned the wetlands into a muddy quagmire, doing damage to some of the historic architecture, but nothing that couldn't be fixed with a bit of effort and time.



The most noteworthy (and imposing) feature of the city, however, was located to the north, just past city limits, and it was what Cedric had been talking about: DragonSprial Tower. It was an enormous construction built of deep gray stone, hundreds of feet tall, a silent colossus that served as a testament to Unova's ancient past. Rather than a single, semi-pyramidal structure like Celestial Tower had been, this tower was more like a thick smokestack, with four other, smaller towers around it that were connected to the base, one for each cardinal direction.



After about an hour of searching, he found that, oddly enough, the Gym was built into the base of a cliff on the city's northwest side, making it unlike any Gym he had seen thus far. The rather fancy sign out front had text on it that read, ICIRRUS CITY GYM LEADER: BRYCEN, THE ICE MASK.



'Ice Mask', huh? Hilbert thought. This is perfect. Makue's gonna have a field day in there.



Without hesitation, he walked into the cavern that the Gym had been built into. There was a small lobby with a mat to allow challengers to wipe their shoes, and beyond that, a set of frosted glass double doors led to the arena proper.



Contrary to his expectation, it was not cold inside at all, but rather an average temperature. The battlefield itself was beautiful. Composed of one big piece of inches-thick sheet metal polished to a near mirror finish with a red Poké Ball symbol painted in the middle, there were also seven big artificial white rocks on either side of the field, three on the left, four on the right. They were there seemingly to represent icebergs. Curious as to what they were made of, Hilbert walked over to the ones on the left and ran his hand over one, finding it was a hollow plastic shell over a short steel pole.



"I see you've taken an interest in the decorations," a deep voice chuckled from the far side of the room. Giving a small noise of surprise, Hilbert turned to see a man sitting on a mass of blue pillows that almost camouflaged him what with his clothing being the same colours.



The man was dressed in robes that left his toned left bicep and pectoral exposed, as well as baby blue shoes and tight dark blue pants with a white collar around where they ended, which was midway up his calves. For some reason, he also wore a blue mask over his eyes.



"Not so much them as what they're made of," Hilbert replied casually, moving back to his spot on the battlefield as the man stood up. "I assume you're Brycen?"



"You assume correctly," the Gym Leader said, taking up his position on the field opposite Hilbert as the health bar screen lit up on the right wall. "You appear ready to face me, so bring it! Let's see if your heart of fire can melt my ice!"



Hilbert grabbed Darumaka's Poké Ball off his belt. Your time to shine, Makue, he thought, throwing her out. Makue materialized near the bottom curve of the Poké Ball painted on the arena.



Brycen, too, produced a Poké Ball, one of his three, and threw it. "Go, Vanillish!" he yelled.



A quizzical look crossed Hilbert's face as he got a look at the Icy Snow Pokémon. That thing must be the pre-evolution of Vanilluxe, like Hilda used, he thought.



Brycen didn't waste any time in attacking. "Ice Beam!" he yelled.



Vanillish formed a ball of frigid air in front of it, from which a beam of icy energy shot. Makue was not about to take the hit, however. She cloaked her fist in flame, and held it out in front of her as she ran forward, literally melting the ice into steam and creating a cloud of the stuff.



In shock, Vanillish stopped its attack, giving the Darumaka more than enough of a window to deliver a knockout Fire Punch. Vanillish's meager defense stat couldn't cope with Makue's attack stat, and was taken out in a single hit.



Both Brycen's and Hilbert's eyes then widened, the former's in fear, the latter's in amazement, as Makue began to glow. Her arms grew longer and thicker, her stance becoming more gorilla-like. When the glow faded, she was no longer a Darumaka, but a Darmanitan, the Blazing Pokémon.



Darmanitan was a squat red Pokémon that resembled an ape in appearance. Its long, bushy eyebrows were composed entirely of flames. Its body was rotund, and there was a tan section on its its face that its round black eyes were a part of. Its gleaming white teeth were jagged and looked menacing, its large fists poised to crush and smash everything to dust.



That was a job that got a lot easier for her as Hilbert's Pokédex pinged, letting him know Makue was ready to learn a new move: Hammer Arm, a base 100 power Fighting-Type move. Well, goodbye Facade, he thought, clicking 'Yes' to the option of whether or not he wanted his Pokémon to learn this new move and sliding Hammer Arm's icon over top of Facade's to have Makue forget it.



"So, your Darumaka was on the cusp of evolving before you challenged me..." Brycen said warily, recalling his Vanillish.



"Yep," Hilbert smirked. "I guess your Vanillish was the last Pokémon she needed to knock out to gain enough experience to evolve. So, do ya wanna give up now that it's basically a foregone conclusion that I'll win?"



"I'll never disgrace my title as a Gym Leader by surrendering to a challenger!" Brycen said defiantly. He grabbed another Poké Ball off his belt and threw it. "Get out there, Cryogonal!"



The Pokémon that emerged looked like a giant floating snowflake or ice crystal with an angry, frowning face carved into it. It was hexagonal, and there was what looked like a chain of ice hanging out of both sides of its mouth.



Let's wrap this up quick, Hilbert thought. "Makue, Flare Blitz!"



Makue surrounded herself with fire, so hot that Hilbert had to shield his face with his arm. Then, as if launched from a cannon, she rocketed towards Cryogonal, only to ram right into the green spherical energy barrier of protect that the Crystallizing Pokémon threw up at the last second. Makue was tossed backwards, slamming against the floor, stunned. A ten-second cooldown timer appeared above Cryogonal's health bar, indicating how long it had to wait before it could use Protect again. This meant nothing to Cryogonal at the moment, however, as it unleashed an Ice Beam.



Makue had just pushed herself to her feet when the attack hit her dead-on. Her health was knocked down by a small percentage, but to Hilbert's horror, ice crystals formed all over her body. "Well done with the freeze, Ctyogonal!" Brycen praised his Pokémon. "Now keep hitting it with Ice Beam!"



"Come on, Makue! Get outta that ice!" Hilbert cried as Cryogonal kept pelting his Darmanitan with Ice Beam after Ice Beam. Her health bar was quickly going down under the frigid onslaught, and while he could tell his Pokémon was trying to break loose from the ice, she couldn't. With another five Ice Beams, Makue went down, fainted.



Brycen crossed his arms over his chest, his robes swirling around him, and smirked. "What was that you were just saying about giving up?"



Not even dignifying that with a reply, Hilbert just threw out Excadrill. "You know what to do," he said to the Subterrene Pokémon.



Scrapper just let out a snort, forming a Rock Slide attack in record time, hurling it at Cryogonal. The Crystallizing Pokémon just threw up another Protect around itself, the cooldown having long since ended, blocking the rocks thrown its way.



Brycen saw what Scrapper was trying to do even before the shield came down. "Reflect, now!" he yelled as Excadrill charged forward, his claws surrounded with a purple-black aura in a Shadow Claw attack. Just as Scrapper jumped a few feet into the air to deliver the blow, Cryogonal put up a pink, transparent wall of energy in front of itself. A five-minute countdown timer appeared on the screen next to Cryogonal's health bar.



While Scrapper's attack did connect, passing through the pink shield, it was obvious that it greatly reduced the damage Shadow Claw would have done otherwise, as Cryogonal's health bar was knocked back to a small chunk of red, rather than it being an instant KO. Still, Cryogonal was knocked back several feet.



Brycen let out a visible sigh of relief at Cryogonal's endurance, then called for it to use Rain Dance. Scrapper's eyes narrowed as Cryogonal spun around in odd patterns, then growled in displeasure when rain began to fall on the battlefield. A second five-minute countdown timer showed up on the health bar screen atop the Reflect one.



Hilbert was amazed at the unnatural rain. It stayed perfectly within the boundaries of the arena, to the point where the most he felt was a light misting. On top of that, it wasn't coming from clouds. It was just... there, like a cube of rain had been placed over that specific area.



Scrapper, meanwhile, was none too pleased about the rain soaking his fur, and ran forward, slashing the Cryogonal with Shadow Claw, knocking it out. Brycen quickly recalled his last Pokémon, and grabbed his third, and last, Poké Ball. Here's where I make up for lost ground, he thought. "Go, Beartic!"



What he threw out was an eight-foot behemoth of an ursine-like Pokémon. It was mostly white, with the only pops of colour being its black paw pads, claws, and the blue beard hanging from its chin. This beard, amazingly, was made out of icicles. Its snout was long, and its eyes were black and beady, its head and neck shape, looking like the top half of a mountain. The pink Reflect barrier was still in front of it.



"Brick Break!" Brycen commanded. With shocking speed that defied its size, Beartic rushed forward, giving an overhand chop to Scrapper that would have crushed a human skull three times over. As it was, Scrapper was knocked out in one super-effective hit, his body leaving a dent in the floor.



"Scrapper, return!" Hilbert called. He recalled his Pokémon in a flash. Shit, he thought. There's no way that thing's that fast naturally. It must have something to do with the rain. He looked at the timers. If I can just stall those out, I should have a chance. He threw out Artemis's Poké Ball. Artemis may not be able to do much, but hopefully she can do something..!



Artemis went for the Acrobatics as soon as she materialized, only for Brycen to yell, "Brine!"



Even as Artemis descended from her leap, she could tell it was too late. Beartic opened its mouth let loose a massive torrent of water from it. Boosted by the rain, the attack was overkill to knock out Artemis. She was swamped with the water, knocked out immediately.



Recalling her, Hilbert weighed his options quickly, like he had so many times before against Gym Leaders. Sending out Logan would be suicide thanks to that Brick Break. Maru might be a decent option... but what would his STAB moves do? Eyeballing the timers again, he saw there were a good four minutes still on them. Guess we're beating him at his own Brick Break game.



He threw out Sensei, who hit the ground running as soon as he materialized. He went for the Brick Break, but Beartic stepped aside, sending Sensei running past. The Karate Pokémon skidded to a stop (slower than he would have liked) on the metal floor slick from the rain. He turned around to see Beartic barreling right for him, claws poised in a Slash attack. He barely rolled out of the way, sprang to his feet, and this time, got the Brick Break off.



Beartic roared both as the chop made contact, and also shattered the Reflect barrier, sending its health plummeting down to the halfway point. Wait... Brick Break shattered Reflect!? Hilbert thought, shocked. Without dwelling on it, he yelled, "Keep up the pressure, Sensei! Double Kick!"



Sensei rotated on his heel, slamming one foot after the other into the Ice-type's gut. Beartic roared again, brought down to its knees from the impacts, its health now a sliver of red. With one more Brick Break, it was over. The rain ceased as Beartic fell, unconscious.



Letting out a sigh, Hilbert gave an exhausted nod of thanks to Sensei, who turned and bowed before Hilbert recalled him.



"Well, it seems like I lost," Brycen said. "But still, that was a wonderful display of battling prowess. You were perfectly in sync with your Pokémon!"



Hilbert carefully walked across the damp, slick floor of the battlefield as Brycen went over to the north wall of the Gym, where the Badges and TM's were stored in locked cases set into the wall. Hilbert looked away out of respect as Brycen entered the nine-digit codes for each one and pulled them open. He walked over to Hilbert, one of each item in either hand. "You've earned these- the Freeze Badge, and TM79, Frost Breath." He gave Hilbert a Gym Badge that looked like three downwards-pointing icicles painted white. He placed it in his Badge Case.



"Frost Breath is a move that always results in a critical hit," Brycen said. "Use it when-"



BOOM. Just then, there was a loud noise from outside that sounded like an explosion, and the cave walls shook. "What the hell..?" Hilbert said, confused.



"That didn't sound like something good," Brycen said. "Come on, we've got to get outside!"



Hilbert followed Brycen out of the Gym, and right into a nightmare.

 

I Never Wanted to be the Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 29: Until We All Collapse

​

What a to-do to die today, at a minute or two to two;
A thing distinctly hard to say, but harder still to do.
For they'll beat a tattoo, at twenty to two,
A rat-tat-tat- tat-tat-tat- tat-tat-tattoo.
And a dragon will come when he hears the drum,
At a minute or two to two today, at a minute or two to two. -Voice actor tongue twister



As soon as Hilbert and Brycen exited the Gym, they saw chaos all around them. In the grassy area around the cliff the Gym was built into, helicopters emblazoned with Team Plasma's logo flew low in the sky. The nearby police station looked like it had been hit by an explosion- evidently, that had been the noise they heard- and was now on fire. Officers desperately fled away, or tried to salvage what they could from the burning building. To his surprise, Cheren and Bianca were there, and had some of their Pokémon out. Bianca's Pignite was taking futile swings at an Accelgor, while Cheren's Krokorok dueled with a Pawniard, with his Simipour trying to help in the battle and put out the fire at the same time.



Accelgor was a Bug-type Pokémon with a large, curled, pink head. Two green stripes ran from its eyes to the top of its head, while its body was covered in (or completely made up of, it was impossible to tell) a blue, cloth-like membrane. Its eyes were in a crevice in its head, and two extensions of this membrane trailed behind its back like a stereotypical ninja scarf. Judging by the way it deftly dodged Pignite's attacks, it had a high speed stat.



Pawniard, on the other hand, was a small, bipedal Dark/Steel-type with a gray body, red limbs, and a helmet-like head with an axe-shaped blade protruding from it. Four spikes pointed out of its torso. Instead of hands, it had wickedly sharp knife-life blades on the end of its arms, giving it a macabre look. Despite it being less than two feet tall and weak to its opponent, it was putting up a good fight against Krokorok.



"Well, nice of you to join us!" Cheren said sarcastically as he noticed Hilbert. "Mind giving us some help?"



Growling, both at the snide remark and at the presence of the Plasma helicopters, Hilbert tossed out Maru, the Samurott getting to work using Scald to put out the fire consuming the police station, helping Simipour.



In all the chaos, Brycen just stood there, still and quiet, thinking. Something isn't right. That Pawniard and Accelgor must belong to Trainers, but they're nowhere to be found. He focused intently on the Pawniard, his keen eyes zeroing in on a human-shaped shadow behind it. A shadow that had no one to accompany it. There!



"Show yourselves!" Brycen shouted. "I know you're there- hiding in plain sight like cowards!"



The Pawniard and Accelgor then stopped fighting, which finally allowed Bianca's Pignite to knock the latter out. Menacing laughter from three unseen sources was heard, then with a vssh, the Shadow Triad appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the quartet of Brycen, Hilbert, Cheren, and Bianca.



"Waaah! Who are these guys!?" Bianca shrieked.



"The Shadow Triad," Hilbert said with venom in his tone. "Spies for Team Plasma. What the hell are you three doing here!?"



"Impressive that you managed to detect us, Brycen, Gym Leader of Iccirus City," one of the Shadows rasped, ignoring Hilbert for the time being. "We are not ones easily noticed."



"As for what we are doing here, we have come to deliver a message from Master Ghetsis and Lord N," another said. He turned to Hilbert. "They want you to come to the top of DragonSpiral Tower. The Legendary Pokémon is about to be revived, and they would hate for you to miss the event."



Everyone but Hilbert expressed some form of shock at that, but the baseball capped young man merely grit his teeth. "Oh, I'll be there," he seethed. "I'll also be sure to shove my foot up his ass, too!"



"Glad to hear it," the Shadow said, giving an evil grin behind his mask. With that, two of them recalled their Pokémon, and then all three disappeared with another vssh, the choppers flying away. .



Hilbert started to run off, but Brycen lunged for him and grabbed his shoulder, stopping him. Before Hilbert could let loose a wave of protesting curses, the Gym Leader said, "Listen to me. We're not ready to fight right now. My Pokémon are all knocked out cold from our battle, and I know I took down a few of yours, too. Just give me two minutes to grab some healing supplies from inside the Gym. In the meantime, put the rest of that fire out!"



He quickly dashed inside the building, leaving the three alone.



Meanwhile, the Shadow Triad teleported to the edge of the lake DragonSpiral Tower was built on. Nearby was Cedric Juniper, unconscious courtesy of them. The way into DragonSpiral Tower had already been blown open in the smaller south tower, with an extendable bridge filling the gap. A large horde of about twenty or so Druddigon were huddled near the water's edge, angry at having their habitat around the tower disturbed like this.



Druddigon was a Dragon-type Pokémon that was mostly blue with a red head and spikes of the same color in various places on its body, including its arms and tail. It had wings shaped like thistle leaves, but these were for absorbing sunlight, not flying.



One Shadow let out his Pawniard, the Sharp Blade Pokémon attacking one Druddigon. That set the rest of them off, and they charged toward Iccirus in a frenzy.



The three then looked up at the tower, then teleported to the top floor. N heard their materialization a few feet behind him. "You delivered the message, I assume?" he said without turning around. In his right hand he held a white stone the size of a small cantaloupe, similar in appearance to polished marble, with three notches carved into it, one on each side and another, slightly larger notch on the top.



"Yes, we have," a Shadow replied. "The boy should be on his way."



N just smirked. In spite of all the uncertainty he had faced so far, the time was finally about to arrive. "Good," he said. "With this, I'll finally have the power I need to free all Pokémon from selfish Trainers." He turned around to face the Shadow Triad. "When the Legendary Pokémon's physical form was lost, it became this... the Light Stone. It waited patiently for a new hero. I am that new hero." He turned around again, and cradled the Light Stone with both hands at stomach level, whispering, "Reshiram... come to me."



The stone began to vibrate, floating into the air of its own accord, and then started to glow...



Thankfully, it didn't take long for Brycen to return from inside his Gym, carrying an armful of Full Restores, which he and the three teens used to heal their Pokémon back to peak condition. By now, the fire was more or less out, though the building's remains were reduced to a burned-out shell. Brycen narrowed his eyes at the sight. "Come on," he said grimly. "We've got to get to DragonSpiral Tower now."



They all took off running to the north to the tower. Luckily for them, it was only about two kilometers away from Brycen's Gym, and Hilbert took the lead with ease thanks to his shoes. He almost ran straight into the horde of Druddigon and quite literally dove to the side to avoid getting trampled. "Incoming!" he yelled back at his companions, getting back up and continuing to run.



Brycen, befitting his martial arts training, sidestepped the Druddigon ably and kept going like nothing happened, but Cheren and Bianca weren't so fortunate. They too had to dive out of the way, landing in an ungraceful heap. Cheren was the first to make it to at least his knees. "Shit... they're headed for the city!" he cried.



Bianca shook her head and sprang to her feet. "I'll go!" she said, but Cheren grabbed her wrist.



"Are you nuts!? Those things will tear you to pieces!" His eyes were wide with panic and concern behind his glasses.



Bianca's eyes, on the other hand, softened with appreciation. "Cheren, I'll be fine. I've gotten a lot stronger over the course of this journey, and even though I may not be the best Trainer, I won't stand by and let innocent people get hurt." Then, as if to prove her point, she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Get to the tower. Go kick some Plasma butt." She took off after that, leaving a speechless and madly blushing Cheren in her wake.



He stood there for a few more seconds, rubbing where she had kissed him with his hand stunned at what had happened, before his face hardened with a newfound determination, and he took off running again.



Brycen was able to catch up with Hilbert thanks to the latter's Swanna dive slowing him down. They kept running in silence until they reached the tower ten minutes later. "Do... you know... where the other young man is..?" Brycen panted. Even for a man as fit as him, a sprint like that had winded him.



"No clue," Hilbert said. His shoes had conserved his stamina, not even making him feel the run. "But I'm not waitin' around for him to catch up."



Just then, they heard a winded voice yell, "Hey, wait! Wait up!" It was Cheren, running with everything he had towards them. He skidded to a stop, putting his hands on his knees, exhausted.



"Where's Bianca?" Hilbert asked.



"She stayed... behind... to fight off... that Druddigon horde..." Cheren panted, his breathing very heavy. "Gimme... gimme a minute..."



Brycen, on the other hand, looked around, scanning the crescent-shaped shoreline they were standing on. He spotted Cedric's unmoving form a short distance away, and ran over, the boys following him. "Professor!" Cheren cried, shaking him.



"You know this man?" Brycen inquired, curious.



"Yeah, he's Aurea Juniper's father," Hilbert replied, Cheren continuing to try and wake the man.



Cedric groaned after a few more seconds of being shook around, opening his eyes with a noticeable amount of strain. "What in the world..? Feels like my head just got used by a Hitmonchan as its punching bag..." he sat up, wincing in pain.



"Are you hurt?" Cheren asked, slowly helping him to his feet.



"Other than the pounding headache I have right now, no," Cedric replied. His gaze then fell upon the hole broken in the wall of DragonSpiral Tower, and he gawked. "Th-they actually broke inside..?" His face was sheer horror.



"Obviously," Cheren said. "What happened?"



"I don't know. I didn't see much. All that happened was three ninja-looking guys appeared out of nowhere, and they hit with some sort of knockout gas. Next thing I know, everything went all fuzzy, and then I was out."



Hilbert, who had impatiently waiting off to the side, snapped. "We don't have time for this! N is reviving the Legendary Dragon-type Pokémon! We need to get to the top of the tower now!" He then ran across the bridge into the tower without further ado, Cheren calling for him to stop.



"Stupid son of a bitch is gonna get himself killed," the glasses-wearing boy growled. "We gotta go after him!" He ran after Hilbert.



"Young people are always on the move, aren't they?" Cedric chuckled.



"Indeed," Brycen said. "The best thing you can do is stay here. It's dangerous to go back to the city right now."



Cedric nodded, and Brycen took off into the tower.



The interior of DragonSpiral Tower was nothing like Brycen expected. Then again, what had he expected? A divine place of worship, where a disembodied choir sang down from nowhere? A giant catacomb, with dozens upon dozens of human skeletons making up the walls, despite the legends saying no one had ever been inside? Instead, what he got was a floor made of nicely carved sand-green tiles, though some were cracked with age and some foliage sprouted between the gaps. The walls were bluish-gray stone.



The north end of the room was dominated by a ten-foot-deep pool of water, but Brycen wouldn't have drank from it if he was paid all the money in the world to do so. Who knew how long it had been stagnating there. He found Hilbert and Cheren along the east wall. Hilbert had a broken piece of pottery held between his forefinger and thumb, examining it.



"It seems the tales of no one ever being in here were wrong," Brycen said.



"Yeah," Hilbert said. "There's more of this stuff in that water. Ancient coins as well." He put down the piece and wiped his fingers on his jeans.



"This place could have been used to make offerings to the Legendary Pokémon back then," Cheren piped up.



"Who knows?" Hilbert shrugged. "We'll have to get Cedric to look at this- after we've stopped N."



The three made their way towards the floor's staircase in the northeast corner of the room. As soon as they reached it, they heard a distant, powerful roar, followed by a BOOM, and the whole building shook.


"I'll bet you anything that was the Legendary Dragon-type," Hilbert said. "We gotta double-time it, c'mon!" He raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time.



Outside the tower, Cedric could do nothing but pace worriedly back and forth. An excellent researcher he may have been, but that profession was not the best one to have at the current time. Suddenly, he heard a roar from somewhere above him, in the tower, and then without warning, a fiery explosion shook the entire structure, blowing out a section of the back wall near the top, sending pieces of rubble crashing down into the lake. Cedric just barely covered his ears in time. He looked up at the now-smoking top section, a combination of awe and terror on his face. That had but been a fraction of the Legendary Pokémon's power, and it was capable of so much more.



Bianca, for her part, had been doing a decent job at holding the Druddigon at bay. Her entire team- including Phantoon, the Litwick she had caught during a quick jaunt to Celestial Tower- was out, and they had taken down two Druddigon so far. Then the explosion happened, sending the wild Pokémon into an even bigger berserker rage, and they charged forward, breaking through the line.



Bianca was yet again forced to run to the side to avoid getting trampled, but she wasn't quite fast enough. One of the Druddigon's spikes clipped her arm, knocking her to the ground. She yelled in pain, clutching her now-bleeding bicep. Her Pignite, Taroko, seeing this, went after that particular Druddigon in a rage, slamming into it with Take Down, then body slamming the defenseless Cave Pokémon with Heat Crash over and over until it went down.



Unfortunately, the Druddigon had Rough Skin as an ability, and the combination of all the attacks Taroko had launched took a severe toll on his health. He dropped to one knee, barely hanging onto consciousness. "Fune, Pepper, go after those Druddigon!" Bianca commanded. "Pepper, let Phantoon ride on your back!"



Both the Stoutland and the recently-evolved Simisage nodded, running after the horde. Pepper picked up the Litwick and tossed it onto her back with her teeth.



Grimacing in pain, Bianca went over to her starter, digging one of only two Super Potions out of her bag. Pignite gave her a concerned look as it got a good look at her wound, the blood having dampened her shirt sleeve and the side of her orange vest. "Oh, this? This is just a flesh wound," she said."Don't worry about me." She sprayed her starter with the medicine, bringing him back into fighting shape. "Now let's go stop those Druddigon."



They then both ran after the Druddigon, Bianca already knowing she had broken her promise to Cheren that she'd be fine.



Climbing the stairs up the second floor of DragonSpiral Hilbert, Cheren, and Brycen were met with a large, mostly square room, with the same sand-green tiles making up its surface as the floor below. There were thick, fluted pillars of a beige color in each corner of the room, with three placed in the room's center, dividing it in two north to south. Most strangely (and somewhat unsettlingly) there was no ceiling, with the tops of the pillars vanishing into a gray void above.



"What's up with that ceiling?" Cheren said in shock.



"Who cares? All that matters is getting to N." Hilbert snapped.



Life, it seemed, was not going to be that merciful, as near the bases of the pillars, the blue shapes that Hilbert had assumed were just large pottery came to life, stubby arms and legs extending from where they had been curled up inside hollow bodies. As the small force of what were undoubtedly Pokémon advanced, all three readied their own teams.



"What the hell are these things?" Cheren asked fearfully.



"Golett," Brycen said. "They're Ground/Ghost-types. They usually hang out around the base of the tower, but I'm not sure how these ones got in here."



"Ground/Ghost-types, huh?" Hilbert smirked. "This shouldn't be too hard." He sent out the three Pokémon of his with moves that were super-effective on both Ground and Ghost-types: Samurott, Archen, and Excadrill. Brycen sent out his Cryogonal, as its Levitate ability provided a bit more insurance against any Ground-type moves their opponents without a doubt had. Cheren sent out his Simipour.



Golett was a three-foot-tall, bipedal Pokémon made of two different shades of blue clay. Its eyes were rectangular and glowed a bewitching shade of yellow. Its bulky yet stubby arms and legs were connected to its spherical body, around which were four brown straps, connected to a blue square with a yellow swirl on it.



The Golett were quickly dispatched by their Pokémon, with the one noteworthy thing that one of them did was use Iron Defense, making it take two Shadow Claws from Artemis rather than one to bring down. From doing that, she gained a level, bringing her up to 34, but learned no new moves.



After all the Golett were taken care of, they went to the room's west side, which led out of it. Just like the ceiling, the exit was a opaque void, however this one was black, and there was no way to see whatever lay beyond.



"This tower just gets weirder and weirder, and not in a good way," Cheren said.



"Shut up and keep moving," Hilbert growled. Showing no hesitation, he ran into the blackness and disappeared.



Cheren looked at Brycen with an uneasy face. The Gym Leader just shrugged and followed Hilbert. Cheren sighed. "Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained." Bracing himself, he ran into the void. For a split second, Cheren saw nothing but darkness all around him, then a blinding white for another instant, and then... he was through. "Whoa!" he yelled, tripping as he exited the dual void. He fell to his knees, his glasses falling off. Picking them up through blurred vision, he put them back on, and beheld chaos.



Brycen and Hilbert were already in battle with a squadron of Plasma grunts. Ranged attacks flew from Brycen's Vanillish and Cryogonal, and Hilbert's Samurott and Archen, whilst the grunts' Pokémon tried to move in vicious close-in moves. "Shit!" Cheren sprang to his feet, taking in the illogical room even as readied two Poke Balls.



The room was a series of platforms held up by pillars, with upwards-leading staircases connecting them, with the space being inside a nearly sixty-four foot diameter circle, with (what he assumed to be) the tower's walls marking the boundaries. The main platform took up a little less than two-thirds of that space, providing more than enough space for the huge battle currently taking place. What disturbed Cheren the most, however, was that the pillars holding up the room's platforms just vanished into another gray void down below. He couldn't even see what they were built on.



Hilbert, for his part, was commanding his Pokémon with everything he had. Samurott and Archen, sensing his anger, blasted out Scald after Scald, DragonBreath after DragonBreath (respectively), doing whatever they could along with Brycen's Pokémon to prevent the group of Scraggy, Liepard, Watchog, and even a Krokorok owned by the grunts from getting close.



This got significantly easier as two flashes of light appeared in front of him materializing into a Simipour and Serperior. Simipour added its Scalds to Maru's, pushing back the grunts' Pokémon with more effectiveness. Serperior just charged into the fray, using its speed to deliver quick, accurate Leaf Blades and weave around any counterattacks.



"Nice to see you finally showed up," Hilbert said to Cheren.



"I was only behind you by two seconds! How the hell does that count as 'late'!?" Cheren yelled.



Brycen just rolled his eyes at the bickering. "Cryogonal, Ice Beam on that Scraggy!" he yelled, pointing at one of the Shedding that looked a little too much like it was about to use High Jump Kick for comfort. Cryogonal released a freezing beam, catching the Scraggy right in the face as it jumped, sending it tumbling back and knocking it out.



"Damn!" the grunt that owned it yelled, recalling it. His face then took on a fearful look as he surveyed the battle. "I've only ever seen the Sages fight like this!" he said. "I'm outta here! No way am I fighting anyone on the same power level as them!"



He tried to run, only to get his feet frozen to the ground by another Ice Beam, this time from Vanillish. He cried out, both in shock, and in pain as the sub-zero temperature quickly set in, draining the blood from his toes.



"Hilbert!" Brycen said. "You wanted to get to N? There's your window! Go!"



"Brycen and I will take care of these guys," Cheren added.



Hilbert nodded, turning to his Pokémon. "Cover me!" He then began a mad sprint for the southeast part of the platform, where a set of stairs awaited, leading to a walkway that went higher up into the room. He dodged claws, teeth, and fists of the Plasma grunts' Pokémon, Cheren's Serperior helping to keep back anything that got close, and knocked out the Krokorok in the process.



He made it to the stairs unharmed (much to the anger of the Plasma grunts, who gave shouts of, "Stop him!" and, "We can't let him get to the King!") and ran along the walkway and up a few more flights of stairs. At the top walkway, just before climbing the stairs to get out of the room, he recalled Maru and Artemis, the white light from the Poke Balls just barely reaching them. Clipping them to his belt, he moved onto the next room.



He emerged from the voids on a small platform overlooking another abyss, connected to which was a curved fight of stairs, much like the ones he had seen in Celestial Tower. He leaned against the wall, realizing for the first time that day how tired he was. The battle with Brycen, followed by this, with Twist Mountain not far behind both, even with the rest he took, was taking a toll. After catching his breath for a minute, he ascended the stairs, and let out a groan. "Oh, you've got to be fucking joking," he said.



The room was similar to the last one, except it was all even ground, the platforms were much, much smaller, and worst of all, there were big gaps between them, meaning he'd have to jump from one to the other. One wrong move meant falling into the gray abyss down below. Hilbert could see there were five main platforms he would have to jump to to get to the other side, with all the others being extraneous.



He sized up the distance. The gaps were large and wide, but he was fairly sure he could make it. "Gonna have to make it," he muttered to himself. "'Cause if I don't, I'm dead."



Backing up a few feet, he ran and jumped, only just making it and landing with the edge mere inches behind his feet. He put a hand on his chest to steady himself and calm his heavy breathing. "Okay, one down, four to go." The next three jumps were just as nerve-wracking, but he made them. On the fifth and last jump, however, he noticed the gap was even wider, therefore making the jump harder. "Dammit... Gonna have to go for it. Not much other choice."



He backed up as far as the platform he stood on would allow, getting a running start, and jumped as hard as he could. Even with the muscles in his legs the journey had given him, he could tell he was going to fall just short. Gravity took over as his forward momentum started to wane, but it carried him just far enough for his upper chest to slam into the edge of the platform. He cried out in pain, but recovered just in time to grab the lip with both hands before he fell off to his doom.



His legs dangling over the gray void below him, Hilbert swore and pulled himself up with monumental effort, rolling onto his back and breathing heavily, trying to get his mile-a-minute heart rate to slow down while nursing what was sure to become a bruise on his chest. "Close... Too fucking close..." he said. Just then, as if the world was mocking him, his Cross-Transceiver rang. Groaning, he brought his arm in front of his face, seeing his mother's number displayed on the screen. "Sorry, Mom," he said, pressing the 'ignore call' button, "Got way more important things to do right now." After a further thirty seconds of rest, he got to his feet. He then ran up another curved flight of stairs and through another strange dual void to get to the next room.



Despite her injury, Bianca was doing quite well. Some of the city's denizens had joined her against the Druddigon, and as such the Cave Pokémon's numbers had dwindled down to less than a dozen. One person's Lilligant had proven to be extremely useful, putting two Druddigon to sleep with Sleep Powder, then working together with her Pignite to take them down quickly.



Her Litwick still rode upon her Stoutland's back, shooting Flame Bursts at any Druddigon that got too close to a building. Suddenly, the Druddigon seemed to regroup, and attacking with newfound aggression. Regardless of the Lilligant's best efforts to fight back with Petal Dance, it found itself surrounded by three Druddigon, who proceeded to claw it into unconsciousness with Night Slash before one Druddigon picked it up and slammed it headfirst into the ground.



"Lilligant, no!" its owner cried out. He recalled it, saving it from more harm, but whimpered in fear as the Druddigon then turned towards him, their jaws dripping with saliva.



"Uh, oh..." he said, fear clear in his voice. He started running with the Druddigon giving chase.



"Pepper, Phantoon, go after those Druddigon! Help that guy!" Bianca called. Pepper altered her course, but she needn't have bothered, as a yellow-and-red blur dove in from out of nowhere, kicking a Druddigon in the head, knocking it out immediately, then struck a martial arts pose as it landed.



"Nice work, Mienfoo!" its owner yelled. "Now keep at it!" Mienfoo leapt back into action, soon joined by Pepper and Phantoon, pinning the Druddigon in from two different angles. Both were knocked out in short order.



Mienfoo was a small bipedal Fighting-type resembling a mustelid. Its body was yellow and quite thin, contrasting with its red arms that looked like puffy sleeves of sorts. Two round ears poked out of its head, and on its forehead were two black patches of fur. Its legs were red, with its yellow tail having a red tip.



From there, the remaining Druddigon (thanks in no small part to one Trainer's Gurdurr, which held off no less than three of the Dragon-types by itself) were herded up and knocked out, until only one remained. Bianca decided to take pity on the last one, though, and with the application of one Ultra Ball and a flick of her wrist, it was caught.



"I think I'll call you Draygon," Bianca said as she picked up the Ball from the grass. "Since Cheren's birthday is coming up in a few weeks, you'll make a nice present for him, I think." She then looked around, seeing people high-fiving and congratulating each other now that the crisis was over. It made her feel warm inside, but as the adrenaline of the moment wore off, the stinging pain of her bleeding arm came back full force.



One person- the owner of the Mienfoo- ran over to her. "Hey! You oka- oh. You better get that arm looked at," he said. I'll lead you to the Pokémon Center. Can you walk alright?"



"Y-yeah... I'll- I'll be fine," Bianca said, but there was a wooziness to her voice. "Lead the way. And by the way, where did you get that Mienfoo?"



The fifth floor of DragonSpiral Tower, Hilbert found, was the strangest yet. This one was made of four sets of centrifugal rings around one giant pillar, like asteroid belts around certain planets. The pillar extended down into another gray void far below. Even weirder, while the outermost ring was attached to the wall, and the innermost ring the pillar, the middle two rings simply floated in mid-air. Sadly for him, the rings were spaced too far apart to just jump from one to the other. The only way across were stone bridges connecting the rings. On top of that, stone walls had been erected in places on the rings, forming a sort of maze.



"Cheren was right," Hilbert muttered. "This place makes no damn sense. Maybe... maybe these rooms are just individual pocket dimensions or something like that."



With that mind-screw thought planted in his head, he started to navigate the maze. Just by eyeballing it, the best way to go was right, about halfway around the outermost ring, given how in the opposite direction, nothing but a wall awaited. At the end of the path he took was also a wall, but one of the crucial bridges as well.



Hilbert gulped as he looked down. The bridge was relatively narrow, with no handrails, but it looked secure enough and didn't appear like it would come loose or break when he stepped on it. Just to err on the side of caution, though, he took it slowly, with his arms out to either side of him to serve as counterbalances. After he crossed it, it was a simple matter of continuing to go right and cross another bridge, putting him on the second ring. From there, he took a series of lefts and crossed three more bridges, which took him to and off the innermost ring and finally to the stairs.



His breathing heavy, and with his chest hurting, Hilbert climbed the stairs, ending up in the lower right hand corner of a large square room. A solid wall with thin pillars in front of it cut the room in half, with the only way around being a small opening to the north. Hilbert crept along this wall, hoping to get the jump on N if he was indeed up here, only to pull his head back into cover when he peeked around the corner.



Four Team Plasma grunts were on watch, plus an old man he didn't recognize. Must be another Plasma Sage, he thought. Just then, a violent quake shook the tower, followed by a roar and N's voice yelling, "Reshiram, calm yourself, please!"



"Whoa!" Hilbert cried, loosing his footing and falling right into the sight line of a Plasma grunt. "Shit!" the time he took to say that word and try to get to his feet gave the grunt more than enough time to haul him to his feet by the hood of his jacket and hold his arms behind his back, restraining him. "Dammit, let me go!" Hilbert yelled, struggling against his captor's hold.



The grunt just bent Hilbert's wrists until the boy cried out in pain. "Not a chance, kid," he snarled. "And from what I hear, you're quite the troublemaker." He dragged Hilbert in front of the other grunts and the Sage.



"What shall we do to deal with him, Sage Giallo?" another of the grunts, a woman, asked.



"Why don't you let me go and I'll show you how I 'deal with' you people?" Hilbert growled. He turned his head to Giallo. "I heard one of your flunkies down below act all scared of how strong you Sages are. Why don't you take me on? Put your money where your mouth is."



Giallo, a man in burgundy robes with gray hair and a short, neatly kept beard, walked up to Hilbert. He then drew back his fist and punched Hilbert right in the stomach, the boy letting out a pained, "Oohf!" at the impact. For an old man, he knows how to punch..! Hilbert thought, his face contorted in pain.



"No, that won't be necessary," Giallo said, sneering, ripping Hilbert's Poké Ball belt (which luckily did nothing to hold up his pants) off his waist and tossing it away. "We have a more... direct, way of dealing with you, as you've already seen." Motioning to the grunts, he said, "You all know what to do. We will deliver his corpse to Lord N."



Hilbert's breathing became visibly heavier and his heart rate spiked as the first Plasma grunt walked up. his fight-or-flight instinct kicking in. The grunt drew back his fist and punched Hilbert hard across the face. "Ah!" Hilbert cried as the blow landed, his head snapping to the right.



The grunt let loose with another hook, this time a right one, the grunt holding him letting go just before the blow landed on the boy's cheek, which caused him to fall to the side.



From there, the grunts descended on him like a pack of hungry Sharpedo to a wounded Magikarp, kicking and stomping without relent. Hilbert screamed at each impact, getting into the fetal position to protect his vital organs as best he could. Sadly for him, his adrenal glands didn't see it fit to share with him their natural painkiller, so each blow landed was felt with acute agony.



One grunt landed a hard stomp to the side of his head, making spots explode across his vision. He cried out, but couldn't muster the strength to raise his arm to cover his head. Right then, the only sensation he was aware of was pain. Pain that got a whole lot worse as one grunt slammed his foot down again and again on the side of his ribs with force bones were not meant to withstand.



There was a dull, muted crack, and Hilbert tried to scream, but it came out as a strangled cough. The sudden sharp agony he was feeling, plus the newfound difficulty he was having with breathing, told him one thing: his ribs were broken. He didn't know how many, nor which ones, just that they were, and it hurt like hell.



The beating kept going for another ten seconds, which to Hilbert felt like ten years, before Giallo held up his hands. "That's enough. Finish him off quickly. We can't afford to waste any more time here."



The grunts backed off the beaten and battered Hilbert, who just let out wheezing gasps of pain. A grunt cut even those off by placing his boot on the boy's throat, preparing to crush his trachea. "Ready to die, kid?" the grunt snarled.



Hilbert just looked up at him with vision blurred by tears of pain. He literally couldn't say anything, or even think. The pain was just too overwhelming. The grunt smirked, beginning to increase the pressure with which he was stepping on Hilbert's throat, when a voice called out, "Tara, Leaf Blade!"



A long green blur whipped past the grunt, the end section of it glowing and curved like a scythe blade, catching the grunt in the neck, decapitating him. His head fell to the side, the other grunts uttering yells of shock and surprise, readying their Poke Balls as Brycen joined Cheren in fending them off.



Adrenaline then began to course through Hilbert, not taking away the pain- not even close- but dulling it enough that he could rise to his feet, everything seeming to go in slow-motion. One thought overrode all others: Get to N. Stop N. Kill him if you have to.



The stairs were to the south. Going on pure adrenaline, he ran towards them and ascended them, ending up in a large, roughly triangular room just in time to see N mount a giant white Dragon-type Pokémon. Signs of Reshiram's wrath were everywhere. Scorch marks adorned the three walls that were left, and several of what used to be pillars were now rubble.



Reshiram flapped its wings and took to the air. "Behold, Hilbert!" N yelled in triumph, "The Legendary Pokémon that will lead the way to a new world where Pokémon are free from Trainers! If you still wish to stop me, you must find Zekrom! Then we will be evenly matched for battle!"



The Vast White Pokémon then flew out of the tower through the hole it had blasted in the wall, seeing the world for the first time in ages. It let out a jet of flame from its mouth and roared.



Every citizen of Iccirus looked up with collective wide eyes and pale faces as Reshiram flew over the city, casting its shadow upon the ground. Legend had just been made reality. Back in the tower, Hilbert collapsed to the ground, unconscious, exactly as the time struck two o'clock.

 

I Never Wanted to be the Hero

By: Rylek196

Chapter 30: Recovery and the Relic Castle
​

A wheezing gasp in... The sensation of rushed movement, lights passing by overhead, and urgent voices...



"Get him to an O.R! Now!"



A wheezing gasp out...



"He actually ran in his condition!? Holy Arceus..."



A wheezing gasp in...



"Yes, he did! He's in critical condition and fading fast! Double-time it, people, move!"



A wheezing gasp out... A slamming noise like doors being hastily opened, right before the movement stopped...



"Give him the shot! Put him under, immediately!"



A sharp jab in his arm... Darkness..!



The next thing Hilbert heard was the soft, repeated beeping of a heartbeat monitor. His eyes cracked open for the first time in what felt like years. He exhaled, surprised there came no pain when he did so, but his breath felt rancid on his tongue. Still somewhat groggy, he looked around.



He was lying in a hospital bed, likely in a room in Iccricus City's Pokémon Center. There was nothing on the plain white walls save for a clock, its ticking slightly out-of-step with his heartbeat monitor, and a 40-inch flat-screen TV mounted on the left wall, with a single window letting in soft afternoon light on the right wall. Bandages had been applied to his face to help heal the relatively minor cuts and scrapes on it from his brutal beating. He then noticed Cheren standing at the foot of the bed, staring off into space with his arms crossed.



"How long was I out?" Hilbert said, his voice a little quiet from disuse. At the sound of his voice, Cheren gave a small noise of surprise and turned to face him. He evidently hadn't noticed Hilbert was awake, he was so lost in thought.



"Three days," Cheren said with a sigh. "A lot of the ribs on your right side were broken. The doctors said it caused a condition called 'flail chest', where one lung is expanded independent of the chest wall. To be honest, they said that even with the surgery, there was a good chance you weren't gonna make it. I have to let them know you're awake."



Cheren then began walking to the door, but Hilbert, remembering something, spoke up again before he could leave. "Cheren? Thank you for saving my life in DragonSpiral Tower."



The black-haired boy just gave his former friend a hollow look. "I killed someone for you, Hilbert. Even if they were a Plasma grunt, I still had to kill them to save you. You owe me... you owe me more than you can ever hope to repay." And with that, he was gone, closing the door behind him.



With a sigh that turned into a pained cough, Hilbert stared up at the ceiling. Then, something else occurred to him. Wait... Cheren said I was out for three days, he thought. What day is it now..?



Looking to his right, he saw there was a nightstand next to his bed with a small calendar on it. Groaning in pain at the movement, Hilbert sat up, reaching over to grab it. To his horror, all the days before the 17th of April had been circled and crossed out with a red pen, leaving the 17th as the current day. His breath hitched in his throat. If today was the 17th, and he had gone up DragonSpiral Tower three days ago...



"No..." he whispered. He had actually gone up the tower, and therefore was almost beaten to death... on his birthday. In the adrenaline and terror of the moment, he had totally forgotten, but now it was all rushing back. That's why Mom must have called me, he realized, gripping the paper tighter, his hand shaking. She wanted to wish me... a happy birthday.



Tears welled up in his eyes, and indescribable rage gripped him like a vice. He ripped up the calendar like it was an enemy he had sword blood vengeance upon, throwing it across the room. He then slammed his hands against his face, a screaming howl of pure anguish escaping his throat. He then began to thrash around in his bed in an animalistic manner, yelling and sobbing, and when the doctor came into the room seconds later, he immediately called for aid to both physically and chemically restrain Hilbert to prevent him from ripping open the still-delicate sutures from the surgery. The last thing the boy felt before he was injected with a chemical to knock him out was red-hot anger.



Meanwhile, Cheren went down to the Pokémon Center's lobby, seeing Bianca seated in the lounge area. He walked down the mezzanine's stairs and went up to her. Bianca heard his approach, turning her head towards him. "Is your arm doing okay?" he asked, taking a seat beside her on the couch. Bandages obviously still covered where Bianca's arm had been scraped by the Druddigon. Contrary to Bianca's claim to her Pignite that it was 'only a flesh wound' the bleeding had been relatively bad, enough to warrant a minor transfusion.



"Yeah, it's fine. I'm surviving," Bianca said with an unsteady smile. Then her face fell. "Cheren, what are we going to do? What if Team Plasma uses the Legendary Pokémon? We can't stand up to that kind of power, no one in Unova can! I don't want to be separated from my Pokémon, I love them! I just... I don't know what I'd do without them..."



Cheren put his hand on top of hers. "Bianca, don't talk like that. That's exactly how Team Plasma wants you to think. They want you to be scared. They want you to feel helpless and small. They're terrorists, and that's how terrorists work. Don't let them win. Remember what I said before we left Nuvema Town? I said that if you ever needed help, I'd be there for you. Well... both me and Hilbert, but I don't think he's gonna be helping anyone anymore. Point is, I'm here for you now, and that's what counts, right?" He gave her a shaky smile of his own.



At that speech, Bianca burst into tears, throwing her arms around Cheren. "Th-thank you, Cheren..." she sniffled. "Thank you so much..."



It took another few minutes for Bianca to calm down, but eventually her tears subsided. She sniffled one last time, pulling out of Cheren's embrace. Then, she remembered something. "Oh, you know, I have something for you," she said, rummaging through her purse until she found the Ultra Ball containing the last Druddigon from the attack. "Ta-da! Say hello to your last team member! This was supposed to be for your birthday, but under the circumstances, I think you can have it now."



"Bianca... I don't know what to say," Cheren whispered in gratitude. "Thank you, but... what's in this?"



"It's the last Druddigon from the attack," Bianca explained. "I caught it for you. I figured it'd make a nice birthday gift, plus now it can atone for what it did and find redemption with you."



Cheren pushed up his glasses to wipe tears from his eyes. "Thank you, Bianca. This is the best gift I've ever been given." He clicked the Ultra Ball's central button twice, and in a flash of light, the Druddigon appeared, letting out a snort through its nostrils when it laid eyes on Cheren.



"Meet Draygon," Bianca said, smiling. "Draygon, this is your new Trainer. Serve him well, okay?"



The Druddigon let out another snort, almost seeming to nod at Cheren.



When Hilbert next awoke, it was to the sound of the door opening. A doctor- probably one of the surgeons that had preformed the life-saving operation on him- walked in, wheeling wheeling a portable x-ray illuminator in with him, plastic x-ray images clutched in one hand. Morning light streamed in through the window this time. Evidently, Hilbert had been knocked out for a while, the remainder of yesterday, at least. He tried to raise his arm, but found it wouldn't respond. Looking down at himself, he found both his ankles and his wrists were strapped to the bed. Of course... He knew why he was restrained, but asked anyway.



"It's so you don't rip your stitches and reopen the cut we made in you to save your life," the doctor replied crossly. He then sighed. "Alright, I apologize for that tone and those restrains, but we had no choice. You came damn close to killing yourself with that outburst, young man. Mind telling me why you were acting like that?"



"I nearly got killed on my birthday," Hilbert growled. "I think I had every damn right to be pissed off when I found out."



"Well, happy belated birthday, I suppose," the doctor said, to which Hilbert only let out a derisive snort. "My name is William, by the way. You can call me Will." Wheeling the illuminator closer to Hilbert's bed, he asked, "Now, would you like to know the details of what happened?"



"I'm a little tied down right now, so what choice do I have?" Hilbert said irritably.



Dr. William put one of the x-ray images in the illuminator and turned it on. It clearly showed Hilbert's ribs inside his torso, and several of them were badly fractured on his right side.

"I'll put this in as blunt and simple terms as I can- you're lucky to be alive. By all rights, from the position you were supposedly in while you were getting gang-beaten, any one of those broken ribs should have punctured a lung, but they didn't. It's a damn miracle, in my opinion."



He put another image in the illuminator. This one showed that Hilbert's ribs now had some sort of metal bracing holding them together.



"This image, we took after the surgery. As you can see, your ribs on one side are now being held in place by those titanium plates. It was a three-hour-long operation, and as you probably guessed, you're stuck with those for the rest of your life. They're a part of you now."



Hilbert just sighed. "So what now? And how long am I stuck in this bed?"



"Three weeks at the absolute minimum," Dr. William said. "As for what to do, you'll have to go through some physiotherapy in that time, which includes breathing exercises and stretching your chest muscles to get them back in working order."



Just great... Hilbert thought with dark sarcasm. Three fuckin' weeks stuck in here while Team Plasma runs amok...



At Hilbert's silence, Dr. William turned off the x-ray illuminator and started to move out of the room. but stopped when Hilbert spoke up again. "Wait. Can you let me out of these?" he shook around in his restraints to show what he meant.



Dr. William sighed. "I suppose I can, but only if you absolutely swear not to pull anything like that outburst that forced us to put you in those in the first place again."



Hilbert gave a firm nod. "I promise."



As he released from the thick leather cuffs, however, he added to himself mentally, I promise not to here... but I can't say I'll hold back against Team Plasma.



"If you're going to sleep, stay on your back," Dr. William said. "Don't do anything to agitate your ribs. We may have patched them up, but they're still tender." With that, he left the room, and Hilbert closed his eyes, falling asleep once more.



When his eyes next opened, it was to the sound of the door opening again. This time, the person who entered the room wasn't a doctor, but Brycen, surprisingly enough. He looked over at the nightstand, only to realize there was no longer a calendar, because he had destroyed it. "Do you know what day it is..?" he groaned.



"April 19th," Brycen replied. "You slept for a whole day after your talk with the surgeon. Not like anyone can blame you. Hell, for a little while after the surgery, we were worried you wouldn't wake up at all."



Hilbert gave a humorless smirk. "Well, I did. Why are you here?"



"Two reasons. First, to give you these," Brycan said, pulling out Hilbert's Badge Case and Cross-Transceiver. He walked over to Hilbert's bed and placed them on the nightstand. Hilbert leaned over with a pained hiss to pick them up, inspecting them. "Your Cross-Transceiver is fine, by whatever miracle. Your Badge Case, well... as you can see, it got pretty dented. It can be replaced in a heartbeat, just say the-"



"No," Hilbert said, running his hand over the large dent in the case's cover. "No. I'll keep it. Maybe only as a reminder, but I will." He set his belongings down beside him on the bed. "What's the other reason you're here?"



"To give you an update on what happened while we were in the tower, and while you were out," Brycen said. "A horde of about twenty Druddigon attacked the city. Fortunately, they didn't do any damage, and few people were hurt. From what I've heard, your friend Bianca was quite instrumental in holding them of, as were many of Iccirus's citizens. She even caught the last one, apparently."



"And the police?" Hilbert asked. "Where the hell were they during all this? Why were they not doing their jobs- ah!" His voice, which had been rising in intensity and anger, cut off with a pained cough.



"Careful!" Brycen said firmly. "Don't push yourself. You're still recovering."



"Where... were... the police?" Hilbert rasped out.



"...Those that weren't killed or injured in the attack on the station fled," Brycen said, his mouth set in a form line. "It was exclusively the citizens that fought off the Druddigon. Make no mistake, the surviving officers will be harshly punished for their cowardice."



"No offense... but I'm not exactly gonna be mourning the ones that died," Hilbert said. "Fucking bastards... Why the hell are the cops so damn useless?"



"I can't answer that, but what I can tell you is this, and brace yourself for more bad news: the Plasma sage and the surviving grunts escaped. As soon as Reshiram flew out of DragonSpiral, those ninja-looking bastards- the Shadow Triad, I believe you called them- teleported them away in a heartbeat. It was over in seconds. I'm sorry."



"Dammit," Hilbert said through gritted teeth.



"Indeed," Brycen said. He began pacing back and forth a little in front of Hilbert's bed as he continued. "I won't lie, things look bleak. Team Plasma's King is still at large, and worse, he has the Legendary Pokémon, and there's no telling what he could do with it. People are scared, Hilbert. Reshiram's reawakening- it's been all over the news."



"What..?" Hilbert asked in disbelief.



Without a word, Brycen walked over to the nightstand beside Hilbert's bed, and took out a TV remote from one of the drawers. He turned on the flat-screen mounted on the wall. The news report on the channel to turned the TV to showed shaky and somewhat grainy smartphone camera footage of Reshiram flying out of DragonSpiral Tower, with a headline at the bottom. There was relative silence from the unseen crowd, save a few saying, "What is that?" and, "I think it's a Pokémon." Then the Vast White Pokémon let out its echoing roar, shooting a jet of flame twenty feet long from its mouth, flying directly over the crowd. As this happened, the man with the camera uttered an expletive that had been bleeped by the news network. The footage tracked Reshiram flying south before the clip ended.



The news then went to the anchor giving his summary, but Brycen turned off the TV before they heard any of it. They didn't need to, after all. Hilbert looked at him, his eyes wide. "Oh, no..." he breathed, then coughed a bit.



"Exactly," Brycen nodded. However, his fists then clenched in determination, the plastic making up the remote he held giving an audible creak. "But I'm not giving up. I've made that mistake before, after I got injured, and I won't make it again."



"What are you talking about?" Hilbert asked, genuinely interested.



Brycen gave a thin smirk, but there was no mirth in it. It was the regretful type of smirk, called upon only when revisiting painful memories. He placed the remote back in the drawer and began to speak. "I'm not surprised you haven't heard of this. You were probably only a young child when it happened, and therefore wouldn't have cared. Before I was the Gym Leader of Iccirus City, I was an actor- a famous one. I was young, I was arrogant, and I was reckless. I thought there was no stunt I couldn't preform myself... but that turned out to be a mistake.



"During the filming of an action scene one time, I pushed myself too far. I ended up badly tearing the muscles in my right shoulder, to the point where I needed to have surgery done. Afterwards, I was told my days as an actor were over, and I fell into a deep depression, even seriously considering suicide. That is, of course, until I met Alder, and he showed me a path out of that darkness. He trained me in the ways of the Ice-type, and given new purpose in life through Pokémon, I was able to get out of that pit."



Hilbert just gave a wheezing, pained laugh at that little speech. "No offense, Brycen, but I can see where you're going with that a mile off. The classic 'don't give up and don't lose hope' lesson, right?" His expression then changed, twisting into of murderous hatred, so intense Brycen was shocked. "Well, when did I ever say I was giving up? I'm gonna heal from this, and then Team Plasma's gonna pay for doing this to me. They'll pay for all they've done- in blood. I'll make sure of that."



Brycen simply furr' his brows, his shocked expression turning stern. "Hilbert, be careful. If you do that, you'll be walking down a dangerous path-"



"I don't care!" Hilbert yelled, then regretted it as he began coughing hard, so much so that a few small drops of blood from his mouth speckled his bed sheets. His voice reduced to a harsh, raspy whisper, making him sound like an inhuman monster, he continued, "I've nearly been kidnapped, frozen and beaten to death, all because of them. I. Deserve. Revenge. And you say I'd be walking down a dangerous road? Brycen, trust me, I've been walking down that road for quite some time now."



"And what has that done for you?" Brycen said. "Trust me when I say this, Hilbert: you keep going like you are now and letting your anger control you, you'll become worse than what you hope to destroy. Is that really what you want?"



"Brycen, I want you to put yourself in my shoes for a second," Hilbert said, his voice low and threatening. "All I wanted was a nice, regular journey with my Pokémon. I just wanted to have fun and see what the world had to offer me. But they took all that away. They've made this nothing but hell on earth for me. So, knowing that, why wouldn't I want revenge, whatever the cost?"



Brycen's fists clenched again. "Then I pity you," he spat. "Pity what you're willing to do to yourself and the monster you're willing to become. That's all I can do if you've truly made up your mind on this."



As he was going, Hilbert remembered something important. "Wait! Where are my Pokémon?"



"They're safe, don't worry," Brycen said, not losing the cold, curt tone to his voice.



Without another word, he walked out of the room. Wandering down the hall, however, he wondered who the real monster was: Hilbert, who was willing to give into his anger, or Team Plasma, for pushing the young man to the point he was currently at.



Several hours later, just as Hilbert was starting to drift off to sleep, his Cross-Transceiver started ringing. Can I get any sleep without being interrupted? he thought. He picked up his Cross-Transceiver from where it lay beside him, and looked at the screen, seeing it was his mother's number. With a strangled gasp, he immediately hit the 'accept call' button, and his mother's face appeared on screen.



"Hello, sweetheart," Julia Touya said, her voice sounding small and quivering slightly at the sight of the bandages on Hilbert's face. "How... how are you holding up?"



Hilbert was unable to keep tears from forming in his eyes as he answered, his voice breaking. "S-surviving. Mom, listen, I'm-I'm sorry I hung up on you when you last called..."



"Don't be," Julia answered. Then the fragile facade of strength she was putting up broke, and she burst into tears. "I never w-wanted th-this for y-you... Y-you didn't deserve this... I-I'm so so-o-r-ry... You're my b-baby,,, Why did you have to be put through this because of me... Why? Why..?" Her last word was small and not directed at anyone in particular, almost like she was asking the world and expecting an answer.



"W-what do you mean, 'b-because of you?" Hilbert asked, in tears now himself. "I-I chose to do this, it has nothing to do with y-"



"That's not true!" his mother suddenly shrieked, cutting him off. She then devolved into wailing sobs, trying to talk through them. "B-Bianca's m-moth... mother th-thought i-it would be a-a good i-idea to s-send you a-and... y-your friends ou-out on a Pokémon journey... W-we th-thought it'd b-be good for y-you three... B-but I nev-never thought this would happen... Th-this is all my f-fault!"



"That's... that's not true, Mom," Hilbert said through his own tears. "I-it's my fault for-for not quitting w-when I had the ch-chance, and look wh-where that got me..."



"Then... then why don't you come home?" Julia asked. "As... as soon as you're recovered, you come right back to Numeva, okay?" Fear was creeping into her voice, Hilbert recognizing what kind it was: that of a mother terrified of losing her child. This was only confirmed as she said, "I... can't lose you... I've already lost your father, I can't lose my son, too... If-if you d-died..." She stopped talking as a fresh wave of sobs overtook her.



Hilbert sniffled back tears himself. "I-I don't think that's an option anymore, Mom. I wish I could, I really do, but it's j-just the circumstances won't allow that. You've seen the news, right? Team... Team Plasma has the Legendary Pokémon, and they need to be stopped. L-like it or not, I'm embroiled too deep into this to get out at this point. I want to, more... more than anything, but I can't."



"But-" Julia started.



"No, Mom," Hilbert cut her off, speaking a bit more firmly but still tearfully. "Team Plasma- they've turned this into a battle for the world."



There was an uncomfortable silence between them for several seconds, punctuated only by the sound of Julia Touya wiping tears out of her bloodshot eyes, and sniffling, before Hilbert spoke again.



"Listen Mom... what I'm about to tell you isn't going to be easy, but you have to do it."



"Wh-what is it?" Julia asked.



Taking a deep breath, Hilbert answered her. "You need to get out of Nuvema Town and go to Castelia as soon as you can."



"What!? Why would you even suggest such a thing!? I'm not leaving my own home while my son risks his life!"



"Mom, please!" Hilbert yelled, then coughed. "Look what Team Plasma did to me. If they find out we're related or where you are, they'll probably come for you. You need to get somewhere and to someone who'll be able to provide protection until this is over, and Castelia is your best bet."



"But the police-"



"-Are useless," Hilbert finished for her. "They didn't do a damn thing to help anyone here during the crisis recently, and chances are they won't help you, either. It might not be a bad idea to get Cheren and Bianca's parents out of there, too."



"But-"



"Mom, please. You might be scared of losing me, but I'm equally scared of losing you. Get to Castelia, go to Burgh, he's the Gym Leader there, and tell him who you are. He'll happily take you in. I can't do this without knowing you're safe."



Julia, while clearly not liking what Hilbert was saying, nonetheless forced herself to put on a brave face. "Okay," she said, exhaling heavily. "I'll do as you ask. Just... just be careful, okay. I love you with all my heart. Oh, and by the way, your birthday present should be there in a few more days. It was supposed to be there on your birthday, but I guess in all the chaos, the delivery Pokémon... it must have gotten turned around."



For the first time in a while, Hilbert smiled genuinely. "Looking forward to it. Thank you, Mom." He made a kissing motion with his lips, which his mother returned, then he ended the call.



A/N: And that's it! That's all I wrote for chapter of 30 of I Never Wanted to be the Hero. Hopefully those of you here from FFN got at least some closure for that hideous, hideous cliffhanger I left chapter 29 of this on before I went on hiatus for over a year, and I'm truly sorry about that. It was a big mistake (especially because it amounted to nothing) and I shouldn't have done that. Either way, hopefully I'll someday get the Relic Castle in Long Way to Fall, eh? Wish me luck, dear readers!