Hilda glanced at her stopwatch and sighed. For the thirteenth week in a row, he hadn't come. Sure, he was in another region, but thirteen weeks since she had first asked? That was a bit much. She read her message again. It simply asked that they see each other in person for once, but Hilda hadn't bothered to hide her longing. After all, they hadn't talked face-to-face since-
"You riding alone?"
The man's voice shook Hilda out of her thoughts. She nodded solemnly before entering the ferris wheel. As the doors closed, she sent out her Reuniclus, Reunion. It bobbed around for a few moments before settling next to one of the windows. The ride began to move, and she stared out the window, reminiscent of how it all began.
Reunion was as her name implied. She was a representation of "reunion"; every time Hilda had crossed paths with Hilbert, Reunion would have a change of hand. She began as a Solosis; a gift from Hilda to Hilbert when they were simply childhood friends.
Before she had moved to Nuvema Town, Hilda's father had gifted her a Solosis. For some reason, whether it be coincidence or fate, she decided to name her "Reunion". For a long while, Reunion would bob happily alongside her as she would go on daily walks to Nimbasa Park or Driftveil Bridge. When she had moved to Nuvema, the people of the small town would see her often chasing after the energetic Solosis.
When she had first met Hilbert, she didn't know what to think of him. As they grew to be better friends, she gifted him Reunion. Even though her new owner was Hilbert, the three would often play together, usually coming home covered in dust and dirt.
When their journey started finally started, Hilbert chose Tepig as his starter while his two other friends, Cheren and Bianca, chose Snivy and Oshawott respectively. He had gifted Reunion back to Hilda, stating that it was her true starter and that was the Pokémon she should start her journey with. The four took their first step into Route 1, and the legends only started to begin.
They traveled along Route 1, and, by the end, the four were full of energy from the route's fresh air. They all battled, with Bianca coming last, Cheren coming second, and Hilda tieing the final battle with Hilbert. Once they had exited the Pokécenter, they were greeted with the sight of a stage and a speech from Ghetsis. Once Team Plasma had left, a green-haired teen had approached Hilda, challenging her to a battle. As Reunion fell to the Purrloin, Hilbert intervened, shooting an Ember at the Purrloin and causing it to faint. The man introduced himself as N and left the scene, speaking about how the Solosis could have been liberated.
The four parted paths from there. Hilda and Bianca stayed back to train a bit more while Hilbert and Cheren agreed to race to the first Gym. As Hilbert waved goodbye, Hilda could feel a small twinge in her heart. Thinking nothing of it, she waved back and turned around to begin her training.
They would meet again many weeks later in the subway system of Nimbasa, four badges each. Hilda had just beaten Elesa and was in the subway system, waiting for a Hilbert who was backtracking through the next route. She felt a twinge as she saw the familiar blue jacket walk down the stairs and into Gear Station. They gave each other the thumbs up and boarded the Multi Train.
On one of their final battles, Hilbert sent out a Darmanitan and Hilda sent out an Axew. The enemy Bisharp was taken down with a quick Brick Break from the Axew, and the Gigalith was held in place by the Darmanitan's superpower. Axew, using the nearby handles, swung forward, knocking it out with a well-placed dual-chop. It was there when Hilda had let go of the handle she had been holding and sat down, with Hilbert sitting down next to her, his Pokéball still in his hand from anticipation.
The tired girl looked up at the equally tired boy. She felt her face blush for some strange reason as she looked away. The subway stopped and the boy helped her off of the train. As they took the train back to the main station, she swore that she saw Hilbert hand a camera to a tall, curly-haired man in a green jacket, but thought nothing of it.
Throughout the walk back to the nearby hotel, she couldn't bring herself to look at the boy. Before they finally parted, Hilda had handed Reunion to Hilbert, clumsily claiming it was a parting gift. Hilbert had taken her word seriously and nodded. It would be a long while before the two saw each other again.
Three months later, the two met in Undella Town. Reunion, now a Duosion, changed hands once more. Shortly afterward, the two went diving into the nearby ruins. They solved puzzles and swam through the maze and incredible speeds, finally discovering a rock they had never seen before.
After a drawn-out conversation about what to do with it, Hilbert suggested that he would leave four days early and bring the artifact to Lenora. Even with a feeling of emptiness forming in her chest, Hilda agreed, and Hilbert was gone in three days. Four days after Hilbert left, Hilda continued on her journey, as Hilbert had asked her to.
The two would meet again the day Hilda left Undella Town. She stood in front of Cobalion with its mightily intimidating stance and was on the verge of losing when a ball had landed on the back of its head, catching him unaware. A figure emerged from the skies, and Hilbert jumped off of a bird. He helped carry Hilda with one shoulder as they both arrived and Lacunosa Town, quickly nodding as he traded Cobalion for Reunion.
As Hilbert left her hospital room, Hilda reached out at his receding silhouette, trying to call for him to stay. Her weariness prevented her from doing so, and she quickly fell into a dreamless sleep.
The next morning, Hilda could feel the warmth spread across her cheeks as she looked around the room to see Hilbert sleeping in the corner, his face shadowed by his cap. She had gotten out of bed and tapped him on his head, startling him awake. The two looked at each other for a moment; Hilda was fidgeting with the edge of her hospital gown and Hilbert was averting his gaze. After a few more minutes of the awkward silence, Hilda felt herself be lifted back onto the bed. A light clicked off as Hilbert left without another word.
Once again, the two crossed paths. This time, they were in front of Drayden's gym. Hilbert had just earned the 8th badge and had just left the building when he bumped into Hilda, who was on her way to challenge the gym. Hilbert quickly gave Reunion back and told her that he would stay behind to watch her fight. And so, the boy stood on a platform with a tired Drayden, watching as Hilda ascended the dragons and reached Iris, ready to fight.
An epic battle later, Hilda and Hilbert found themselves inside of the Pokécenter, catching up with each other since the previous week and carefully dodging the incident from the hospital. Once their Pokémon were fully healed, the two agreed to split up and meet up again at Castelia City, with Hilbert claiming he had a "gift" for Hilda there. Hilda swore she could see a tinge on Hilbert's cheeks as the two split up. Of course, she simply assumed she was imagining things. After all, there must have been some sort of girl that he liked other than her, right?
Hilda waited anxiously under the streetlight, rocking on her heels. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the familiar figure approach her, and her sigh turned into a smile of pure glee as she saw what the figure was holding. Casteliacones.
Hilbert chuckled lightly as the two walked down towards Liberty Pier. As they finished their cones and threw the wrappers in the trash, he handed her a ticket and pointed towards what appeared to be a small ferry. He told her to finish what she needed before walking towards the ferry. The two boarded the ferry at the same time, and the captain gave them a curt nod as the motors began to run.
It was an exhilarating experience for the both of them. For Hilbert, this was the first time he was riding a boat. The crashing waves revealed to him an energy in his bones he had never noticed before. He looked up at the sunset before turning to face the destination.
For Hilda, it wasn't even close to her first ride. Despite this, she basked in the fading sunlight and threw herself at the wind. She leaned far over one of the railings, trying to take a closer look at their destination: a lighthouse on a small, secluded island. As she leaned forward, however, her grip slipped ever-so-slightly on the railing. As she fell forwards, a hand grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back onto the deck. The two fell over, Hilbert's back stuck in between Hilda and the wooden floor. They looked at each other for a moment before breaking out into a cheerful laughter.
The boat landed within the next few minutes. Hilbert was the first off, pointing out many different tourist attractions. Hilda, however, noted that there was a strange atmosphere in the area. She was suspicious of a familiar presence but just couldn't place her finger on who it was. It wasn't long until she found out, however.
As she entered the room, a familiar, green-haired figure stood in the center, seemingly waiting for her. He told her to come sit down as Hilda backed away, only to find her back to a cold, iron door. Reluctantly, she sat down, only to cringe back as N reached for her cheek. As he leaned in, Hilda stared into his complex eyes, frozen in place before a powerful, V-shaped blast broke through the door. Hilbert ran in and N pushed past him, disappearing in a flash of black.
When he looked back, Hilbert saw a crockpot of emotions behind those murky blue eyes. There was fear, anger, annoyance, and, most of all, a burning hatred behind those eyes. These emotions quickly vanished as Victini appeared inside of the room, picking up Hilda's hat as it flew out of the room. Hilda had let out a yelp of surprise before chasing after the mischievous Pokémon, Hilbert following right behind.
In the end, Hilbert traded Victini for Reunion. He promised to make Reunion the most powerful Reuniclus out there, something that Reunion showed happy agreement to. Hilda promised that she would meet him at the Pokémon League, and, if he wasn't there, she would become the Champion for him.
Hilda had done it. She had defeated the Elite Four and had only finished climbing the staircase to find N, the very N who had tried to steal her first kiss, the one who tried to "liberate" Reunion on their first encounter, standing in front of a defeated Alder. She quickly rushed to Alder's side when a rumbling had occurred and a castle appeared, throwing its bridges into the Pokémon League. She ran in through the middlemost bridge, giving chase to N as Gym Leaders and Elite Four members arrived behind her, all of which preparing for battle.
She soon found herself lost, with grunt after grunt coming until they all eventually retreated in fear. Hilda sat down in a corner and started to curl herself into a ball when a familiar hand grabbed her hand, helping her to stand up and off of the ground. Hilbert simply handed her Reunion's Pokéball before flashing a Master Ball, the purple and pink sphere cascading with a wave of warm energy even as he tucked it away and began to walk towards a staircase that Hilda could have sworn wasn't there moments ago.
After standing in place for what felt like hours, she followed Hilbert up the stairs. She soon found herself walking into a broken and damaged throne room. A defeated N had sat down next to a battered Zekrom, his head lolling to the side as he lost consciousness. Hilbert stood over him as Ghetsis appeared from behind the throne itself. They had sent out their Pokémon: a Chandelure and a Cofagrigus, to be precise. The battle was over in mere moments, with Ghetsis disappearing by the hand of the Shadow Triad. Hilda ran past the fallen Zekrom and to the battle-worn Hilbert, crushing him in a sudden embrace. As she broke away, Hilda spoke of how worried she was- before being interrupted by a kiss on the lips. As they stayed in that way, a streak of black flew past the side of her vision. She could only stare in disbelief as N stood near the hole in the room. Hilda couldn't hear his words, but Hilbert did in full clarity. She heard the words of "apology" and "friend" before the two figures were gone with the wind, white chasing after black. She found even herself chasing after the unreachable figure as he flew far, far away. A peck of warmth faded from her lips as tears flowed freely to the tiled floor, washing away fallen debris and dust from her tired countenance.
Now here she was. Reunion had evolved into a Reuniclus under Hilbert's care, and it was a powerful one, just as he had promised. She could have easily defeated the entirety of the Elite Four with solely Trick Room, Psychic, Shadow Ball, and Focus Blast, but she decided against it.
Using the other five members of her team, many of which were disadvantaged against some of the Elite Four, Hilda found herself climbing up a large set of stairs once again. Against Alder, she began with her Reunion against Bouffalant. As it fell to a well-placed Focus Blast, the others fell just as quickly. The red-haired champion stood no chance. After all, Reunion had been raised by Hilbert.
She sighed as the ferris wheel reached its peak. Had so little time passed during those thoughts? She shook her head before glancing at Reunion. The Pokémon was looking at Hilda, worried, wrapping its arms around Hilda's waist in a hug. Quite suddenly, Reunion left her trainer's lap, pointing out the window. Hilda looked in the direction Reunion was pointing at and saw only a shooting star, until the star grew into a white streak descending towards Nimbasa. At its full size, it landed in front of the ferris wheel, a familiar face mounted onto Reshiram's back.
The ride couldn't move any faster.
The moment the wheel reached the bottom, she ran out, not caring about the looks she was receiving from the many nearby passersby.
A boy in a blue jacket and red cap stood there calmly and pulled her into an embrace. He shook his head as the girl buried her head into his shoulder. Two words came out of his mouth, whispering a promise that only the heroes the could hear.
"Never again."