Hello yet again for the umpteenth time! This fic is really shippy, per say, but it was something that I had pondered for quite a while. Anyway, please enjoy, and I always appreciate your support, truly! ^_^
Sun, Lillie, Selene, Hau, and Gladion were having fun at the Hano Beach playing a game of volleyball. Sun and Lillie were up against Selene and Gladion while Hau was acting as the referee. The score was tied, and Sun could not accept defeat to his cousin, and his rival.
As Sun jumped up high in order to intercept the ball, a frisbee going at high speed whizzed towards him, which then impacted on his nose.
"Sun!" Lillie exclaimed in horror as Sun fell down to the sand, clutching his nose in pain.
The teens gathered around Sun as Lillie crouched down to his side.
"Are you okay?" Hau asked his best friend.
Sun rubbed his nose as he continued to wince in pain. For a frisbee, it sure did a number on him.
"What the heck was that?" Sun groaned in pain, noticing that the frisbee was lying at a considerable distance from them.
"Sorry!" a man's voice yelled out as he ran towards the teens. The group took account that the person was a grown man with brunette hair, and they also noticed a small Pokémon floating at his side. The man crouched down as he lent Sun a hand. "My buddy must've packed quite a throw. Forgive us, if you can."
Once Sun had accepted the man's friendly gesture and got back to his feet, he automatically recognized who the person was. "Wait! Hilbert?!"
"Yeah. The one and only," Hilbert gladly quipped, but he couldn't recognize Sun or his friends, "have we met before?"
Hau stepped in to vouch for Sun as he had also met Hilbert before. "You don't remember us? You've met Sun, Lillie, Gladion, and I back 5 years ago."
Hilbert took a moment to recollect his thoughts until it hit him. "Oh right! You're the kids who I've met when I was on my vacation with my wife, well, girlfriend at the time."
From the looks of it, Hilbert was amazed by how much they have grown, though he didn't remember meeting Selene at the time. Only Hau was able to go on par with Hilbert's height.
"No way!" Selene shouted in surprise, coming closer to the former Unova Champion, "I used to root for you back when you faced off against Red in the PWT!"
"Glad to see we still have fans around. Right, Victini?" Hilbert laughed sheepishly, with Victini nodding in agreement.
"I take it that you're here for leisure again, huh." Gladion had guessed.
"Yep, but this time around, we've brought our child along." Hilbert answered to the teens.
"Oh, congratulations to you and Skyla!" Lillie congratulated to Hilbert, with the latter acknowledging.
"Where are they at?" Selene wondered as she looked around for Hilbert's wife and child.
The former Unova Champion pointed towards the Hano Grand Resort's golf course. "She and Skyler are currently there with Kahili. My wife just happens to be an avid golf fan."
Victini reminded itself about what happened earlier and hurried over to Sun's side, apologizing profusely for its actions.
"Ah, don't worry about it, Victini. It's okay." Sun assured to the Victory Pokémon.
"Still. I would like to make it up to you." Hilbert insisted.
"Treat us to ice cream, and we'll call it good." Selene had suggested, earning a confused look from her cousin and friends.
"I can do that." Hilbert had happily agreed to her terms.
In Sun's mind, he was going to ask if he could battle the former Unova Champion, but seeing as though he was on vacation with his wife and child, it was probably best to just take up on his ice cream offer. After all, one of Unova's most well-known ice cream brands had just been imported to Alola which had almost rivaled Hau's love of malasadas.
"Sweet!" Hau cheered in joy.
"First, let me make a quick call to my wife." Hilbert said as he made a call to Skyla from his Xtransceiver. After a few seconds, he received a response back.
"Oh, Hilbert, what's going on?" Skyla asked.
"I just happened to run into a few old friends," Hilbert replied as he showed her Sun, Lillie, Gladion, Selene, and Hau, "and I'm going to be going on an ice cream run to make up for something."
"And may I ask what happened?" Skyla demanded.
Hilbert began to laugh sheepishly, looking at Victini for assistance. "Well, you see. Vicitini had accidentally thrown a frisbee at Sun, which had knocked him down to the ground."
"You should be very careful, Victini. But I know you didn't mean anything ill." Skyla had advised to Victini, the latter nodding in acknowledgement.
"Oh, where's Skyler at?" Hilbert wondered about their child not being present in the video call.
"Kahili is showing him how golfing works. Anyway, we'll meet up with you in a while. Just take care out there, please." Skyla replied.
"Will do. See you later." Hilbert replied as he waved at Skyla before hanging up.
"Let's get going then!" Hau said, with Hilbert nodding in response.
The former Unova Champion had led them to an ice cream shop near the entrance of the Hano Grand Resort. There, he had bought each of the teens an ice cream of their choosing. He told them that Casteliacones had been a big hit in Unova for over 7 years now. As they sat outside of the store, the teens were eager to hear how Hilbert was doing since his last visit. Victini had decided to roam off from the group, but the Victory Pokémon had promised Hilbert that it wouldn't be up to any sort of mischief.
"What have you been up to lately?" Sun asked as he finished up his ice cream cone.
"Well," Hilbert responded before nipping at his ice cream, "I've been tackling on with fatherhood. Same goes for my best friend Cheren."
"Oh, I bet taking care of a child is no easy task." Selene commented.
"It is a serious responsibility, but Skyla and I aren't alone on it because of our friends' support for us." Hilbert replied, remembering how his mother would opt in to babysit Skyler when he was an infant or when Elesa did the same. He recalled having to watch over Cheren and Bianca's infant daughter at one point.
Gladion was curious to hear how the former Unova Champion was handling in regards to training his Pokémon. The last time that Gladion had faced Hilbert was 5 years ago, and the boy's team was defeated swiftly, almost with little to no effort. Since then, Gladion had worked tooth and nail to better himself should he encounter Hilbert again.
"Have you been battling against other Trainers?" Gladion wondered.
"Kind of. I do battle against either Cheren or Nate from time to time, but honestly, I've been focused on spreading the joys of Pokémon to others instead of being eager to battle others. Besides, I have my friend Hilda to handle that since she's the current Unova Champion." Hilbert had explained, finishing his ice cream.
"I heard of Hilda before. She and her husband N had come to Alola before." Lillie responded.
"Yeah. Before she became the Unova Champion, Hilda had also traveled across the world, much so like me." Hilbert said before fiddling with the brown locks of his hair.
"Have you thought about becoming the Unova Champion again?" Hau wondered as he took out a malasada from his bag.
Hilbert nodded sideways in response to Hau's question. "Truth be told, no. It wasn't my goal to become the Champion from the start, but as cocky as it sounds, I have full confidence that I could do so again. Nonetheless, I'm happy with my current state."
"Again, I still remember how you and your team fought hard against Red during the PWT finals. You were one of the reasons why I trained my best to become a Pokémon Trainer." Selene happily responded.
For a moment, Hilbert felt a bit proud that he had an influence to those than just people from the Unova region. Alder has told the former Unova Champion that he could have an effect on people, whether he realized it or not. Even though all of the attention has been focused on him, Hilbert wanted to know as to how the teens have been doing. He was still amazed that they've grown so fast.
"Now then, what have you guys been up to? I've noticed that you two have been too close lately." Hilbert asked, also noting about Sun and Lillie's closeness to each other.
Sun and Lillie both blushed in embarrassment as they looked at each other. Hau was snickering at their predicament before Gladion had shushed him.
"W-well," Sun started, though he was stammering for a bit, "Lillie and I are together now."
"Oh, as in boyfriend and girlfriend, right?" Hilbert guessed.
"Y-yes. It's only been recent." Lillie added while flustered, though she was smiling in the end.
"That's sweet to hear. There's nothing to be embarrassed about." Hilbert had reassured the young couple.
"Aside from that. I'm still the current Alola Champion, and I've been watching over the region." Sun had explained even further.
"Don't be too amazed, Hilbert, but you're looking at Melemele Island's newest Island Kahuna." Hau said, standing with pride, with his peers supporting him.
Hau was right, Hilbert did become a tad surprised as a result. From Hilbert's last visit, it was Hala who had held the title as kahuna of Melemele Island, even during his time in Alola back when he was looking for N. It was nice to know that the next generation was beginning to succeed the old one, just like himself. Hilbert couldn't help but smile because of that.
"No way, Hau. You're around 16, correct?" Hilbert asked.
"Yep! Don't let my age fool you, Hilbert. There was a reason why Tapu Koko had chosen me to become a kahuna." Hau replied before taking out another malasada.
"It's nothing like that, Hau," Hilbert reassured the young kahuna before directing his attention to Lillie, "say, how's the Aether Foundation been doing?"
"Oh, I guess it's safe to tell you but mother and father have reunited with each other." Lillie had revealed to the Unovan native.
"That's wonderful, Lillie. I'm glad that your family is whole again." Hilbert had praised to both Lillie and Gladion. He recalled hearing their situation back 5 years ago, and as unfortunate as it was, he could only give them a few words of support and encouragement.
"Thank you, Hilbert. But as for me, I've been taking care of my Pokémon, and I have been working with the Aether Foundation since my dream is to work there." Lillie replied, her hand gripping onto Sun's.
"I'm sure that no matter what path you choose, you'll have my full support." Hilbert supported.
"Even though this is our first time that we meet each other, I just want you to know that I've been visiting Alola whenever I get the chance. I like to consider myself as one of the strongest Trainers in Kanto, maybe like around the 3rd best Trainer there, right behind Red and Blue." Selene explained herself.
"I see. Just make sure that the pursuit of strength doesn't get the best of you. Sure, it's great to train your Pokémon in order to test out new limits but there's always more than just that. It's something that my mentor had told me when I was a teen." Hilbert recommended.
"Oh, I make sure to treat my Pokémon right, as always. The last thing I want is to overwork them." Selene had reasoned to the former Unova Champion, earning a nod from the latter.
"Well then," Hilbert then directed his gaze at Gladion, "is there anything that you'd like to share about yourself?"
Gladion merely scoff due to himself being the center of attention. Nonetheless, he obliged to Hilbert's question. "I've been helping out the foundation along with training Silvally and the rest of my Pokémon."
"Let me guess, you're still going to find a way to defeat me?" Hilbert had guessed.
"Just what makes your Serperior so special?" Gladion demanded.
"Serperior has been my main companion since we've first met at the start of my Pokémon journey. There was always something unique about my partner. Sure, we've had a few losses, but no matter what the outcome was, Serperior would never give up." Hilbert had confessed.
Nostalgia had filled the former Unova Champion of the times when he and Serperior had took on against the might of Team Plasma, the various Gym Leaders of their respective regions, and Red during his return to Unova. If it wasn't for Serperior, Hilbert wouldn't have met his friends, Skyla, Reshiram, and Victini.
"Doesn't really answer my question, but I guess it'll have to suffice." Gladion responded as he crossed his arms afterwards.
"You're just saying that because you lost to Hilbert." Hau teased at Gladion, much to the latter's annoyance.
"Hey, maybe I can give you another chance, Gladion. Well, it would have to be near the end of my trip." Hilbert had offered to Gladion.
Suddenly, Hilbert noticed that Skyla, along with their child, were heading his way.
"Ah, there you are, Hilbert." Skyla said as she made way to his side.
"Hey there, Skyla, Skyler. How was your time with Kahili?" Hilbert wondered as Skyla handed him their child, holding him in his arms.
"It went well. Skyler couldn't stop giggling at the golfers." Skyla had explained to her husband.
Skyler had looked at the teens, and he proceeded to bury his face in his father's shoulder out of shyness.
"Don't worry, buddy. They're not going to hurt you." Hilbert reassured his son, the latter slowly turning to face the teens yet again.
"Oh, that reminds me. Where's Victini?" Skyla wondered as she began to look around for the Victory Pokémon.
"Victini is out wandering about. Don't worry, Victini had promised to stay on its best behavior." Hilbert responded.
"I sure hope so," Skyla commented as she turned to face Sun, "I apologized for the injury that you sustained."
Sun had shook his head in response, knowing that his nose injury wasn't fully intentional. "No worries, Skyla. Besides, the ice cream had made up for it." That earned him a nudge from Lillie.
"Good enough for me," Skyla responded before turning over to Hilbert's direction, "we should head over to Hea Hea Beach now. You said that you wanted to Mantine surf."
"Yep. Gotta outdo old man Grimsley's record." Hilbert replied joyously as he got up from his seat.
"Can we come with you?" Selene asked curiously.
"By all means, you're more than welcome to." Hilbert approved.
An idea had popped into Sun's mind, and that was the thought of facing off against Hilbert in a Mantine surfing race. The Alola Champion was also on the Mantine surfing leaderboards, trailing off behind Grimsley who was leading in 1st place.
"Say, how about we race against each other?" Sun had offered to Hilbert.
Hilbert took the time to ponder at the thought of Sun's suggestion. In the end, it couldn't hurt to have a friendly race, and to see who could one-up Grimsley's score. "You're on."
Lillie and Skyla both laughed sheepishly, then again, they loved their significant others to no end.
"I'll be rooting for you all the way, Sun." Lillie had reassured her boyfriend.
"In that case, Skyler and I will be doing twice the rooting." Skyla had countered.
"You have our support, as well, Sun." Selene commented, with Hau and Gladion nodding, as well.
"Just don't choke, is all." Gladion had advised to his rival.
"Ah there's no need to sweat. Sun will clobber Hilbert, though not literally, of course." Hau cheered for his friend.
Before Hilbert could respond, a malasada worker had walked towards him with an annoyed expression on their face. Victini had also guided back to Hilbert's side after its short journey around Hea Hea City. "Victini, you're back, and why do you look anxious and covered in food?"
"Excuse me, Hilbert?" the worker asked.
"Yes, and how do you know my name?" Hilbert responded, eyeing cautiously.
"I've heard of you before but," the malasada worker gestured at the Victory Pokémon, "your friend has made a mess at my shop."
"Victini, is that true?" Hilbert had questioned to his small companion, with the latter shaking its head as a way to apologize.
Skyla sighed in disappointment, but she couldn't stay mad at Victini for too long. It just meant that they needed to keep a close eye on the Victory Pokémon. "Don't worry. We'll pay for the damages."
"Thank you," the malasada worker responded before taking off, "just don't let it happen again, please. I'll see you two to take care of the mess later."
Victini laughed nervously at everyone, though only Hilbert and Skyla sighed in response while the rest didn't know how to react.
"I can't blame Victini that much. Malasadas are just that irresistible, even to Legendary Pokémon." Hau cheerfully responded, which did cause for his friends to sigh afterwards.
After the incident had been resolved, the group had made their way to Hea Hea Beach where Hilbert and Sun would compete against each other in order to out beat Grimsley's record. To Sun, it was just great to run into Hilbert again. Maybe he could also take the opportunity to face him in a Pokémon battle again. Just like Gladion, Sun wanted to show Hilbert how much he had improved from their previous encounter. Hopefully, the Alola Champion wouldn't sustain another accidental injury from Victini.