Well, here is a Jetshipping One-Shot that's been on my mind for about a week or two. I'll say that it's one of my favorite ships in Gen V. Anyways, enjoy!
Celestial Tower, a burial ground for Unova's deceased Pokémon that's situated in Route 7, it's stark beauty only rivaled by the Dragonspiral Tower. At the apex of the tower, there is a bell that tested out a person's soul, to see what resonates within them, and the secondary purpose was to calm the spirits of the Pokémon buried in the tower. The tower's summit was also Hilbert and Skyla's usual place to hang out, until the former set off on his journey to find his dear friend months after Team Plasma's first defeat. 2 years later, Hilbert made his return to Unova once more, albeit empty-handed. The pilot from Mistralton City avoided him for a week after his return until she decided to contact him and ask to meet up at top of Celestial Tower, hoping to catch up on old times.
"It sure has been a while since we've hung out here." Hilbert spoke, the nostalgia consuming him.
"Yeah, it sure has." Skyla answered rather quietly, her face expressionless.
The two sat down on the stairs, gazing at the sky, though it was awkward for the both of them. Hilbert was growing suspicious of Skyla's behavior, especially since she avoided him for a week. Did his absence had something to do with it? Skyla decided to shift onto another topic.
"So how's adjusting back to life in Unova" The pilot questioned as she side-glanced him.
"I'm getting the hang of it. So much has changed since I was gone. Brycen became a movie star, Elesa looks completely different, Route 10 was completely destroyed, Cheren became a Gym Leader, Bianca is now Prof. Juniper's assistant, remnants of Team Plasma are working together to make things right for their past mistakes, and a trainer by the name of Nate took the helm of being the region's Pokémon Champion. The list goes on." The brunet addressed. "What about you, Skyla? How has it been for you?"
Skyla pondered on what to say to Hilbert, she felt a tad nervous all of a sudden.
'A lot has went on.' She thought.
"Ah, same old, same old. From Gym Leader duties to delivering cargo, it has been the same for me." Skyla responded as she stretched out her arms.
"I see." Hilbert replied, he knew she was hiding something. Silence filled the air again, so Skyla questioned him about his journey.
"Just how did your journey go? You must have seen a lot, for you and your Pokémon."
With a sigh, Hilbert was ready for a long explanation.
"Aside from not finding N, it was a blast. Traversing through region-after-region was not a hard task due to Reshiram. First stop was Kanto, the locals mistook me for the Legendary Pokémon Trainer Red, so I guess that's when I stopped wearing my hat, and I never got the chance to battle him. I ran into some people who were trying to revive an old criminal organization called Team Rocket but they were taken care of."
"Heh, though I do agree that you kinda look like Red." Skyla interrupted, finding it a bit amusing.
Chuckling at her retort, Hilbert continued on. "Anyways, the next region was Johto. The Pokémon League Champion Lyra guided me throughout most my time in Johto, though her boyfriend Silver wasn't exactly the kind of person who would get along with others, but she told me that he was making progress. Ecruteak City was full of ancient history, the Brass Tower and Tin Tower was a sight to see. Mt. Silver held dangerous and powerful Pokémon, and I happened to catch one of them. Lyra mentioned about battling Red at the top of the mountain, but she lost when Red's Charizard used its hidden power to defeat her Typhlosion. It was a close battle from what I understand. Hoenn was next, and Prof. Birch was an amusing person, by amusing I mean mistaking his wife for a Pokémon when I met him." The brunet laughed at that moment, remembering that it wasn't the first time that Birch has mistook his wife for a Pokémon. May mentioned Hilbert about her father's past embarrassing moments.
Now that had Skyla laughing. "You're joking, right?! I've never heard of something such as that!"
"Yeah, his daughter May is sane though, she's his assistant who regularly does field work. May's boyfriend and former Hoenn Pokémon League Champion, Brendan, was rarely around but kept in contact with her and his friends and family." Now that struck Skyla because of how similar it sounded in Hilbert's case, due to the latter dropping all communication with her, his friends, and even his own mother during his 2 year journey. She maintained her composure though.
"What had me in awe was that the leaders of Team Magma and Team Aqua, two organizations the pitted their ideals against one another back years ago, worked together to make things right for the damage done due to their deeds. They knew the error of their ideals, and reconciled in the process. It reminded me of N in a way." Hilbert commented as he took a sigh, there was more to talk about.
Skyla remained silent so Hilbert resumed. "Then came Sinnoh, this time I was on my own. I did bump into Cynthia when I was in Celestic Town, she happened to live there, and somehow this person who lived outside the town was able to teach Serperior Draco Meteor, which sounds rather odd because only Dragon-Type Pokémon are able to learn that move. At Cynthia's hometown, I learned the story of Dialga and Palkia, the Legendary Pokémon of Time and Space, much like Reshiram and Zekrom. Cynthia and I had a rematch, with me being the victor again. Sinnoh was truly a sight to see. The last region I went to, Kalos, was the most intriguing one by far. A city called Lumiose City can even rival Castelia City in terms of size and attraction. The new Fairy-Type Pokémon were more prevalent in Kalos. I met Prof. Sycamore along the way, and he told me about the mystery known as Mega Evolution."
"Mega Evolution?" The pilot murmured confusingly, she's never heard of such a thing before.
"Well, even Prof. Sycamore didn't know much about it so he referred me to a person who calls himself the 'Mega Evolution Guru' and happened to live in a tower in Shalour City. Apparently, to achieve Mega Evolution, a trainer and their Pokémon have to have a strong bond with each other, and a Keystone and Mega Stone for the Pokémon." Hilbert responded, his voice straining from all the talking, but he didn't mind.
"Did you ever carry out such a feat?" Skyla asked curiously.
"Maybe, maybe not." The brunet answered with a smirk.
"Typical." She chided, Hilbert would always keep certain things to himself. "I'm glad that you had fun on your journey, despite not finding N."
"Yeah, I could go on, yet this will have to suffice. But I have something to say to you. Were you okay with me leaving?" He questioned. It had always troubled him during the past 2 years, just how much did his departure affect Skyla?
Skyla was caught off-guard, but she knew what to say, and she wasn't going to sugar coat any of it.
'Here goes nothing.' She thought morosely.
"Sigh, I'll be honest, Hilbert. I didn't want you to leave, but that would be selfish of me to consider. When weeks turned into months, I-I couldn't take it!" The pilot broke down, shocking Hilbert. Skyla continued to ramble.
"Elesa assured me that you would return soon, but I didn't believe it! You cut off communication with everyone! Me, your friends, and your mother!" The last part made Hilbert feel guilty. Not keeping in touch with Skyla and his friends was bad enough, but who knows how much it affected his mother, despite their reconciliation with each other.
"I would call her from time to time just to know if she heard anything from you but the answer was always the same! Sometimes I wondered if you were still alive! I hated you for what you did, but I could never truly hate you!" The pilot bawled out, tears flowing down her face.
"Skyla." Hilbert whispered sorrowfully.
"That's why I avoided you for a week until I gathered up the courage to meet you here! Why?! Why did come back?!"Skyla proceeded to cover her eyes with her hands, continuing to cry her heart out. There, she finally said it, what was the reason for Hilbert to come back to Unova?
"Skyla." Hilbert's tone was firm as he shifted closer to the pilot, the latter not facing him. "I'll explain to you why I came back."
Skyla now faced Hilbert, her crying coming to a halt, now attentive on what he had to say. Hilbert took a deep breath just for safe measure.
"When I was in Kalos, I happened to meet someone who had a goal like mine. Though I'm not sure if he ever found his friend, he told me that sometimes things can be in the most obvious places, and that had me thinking. Home is where the heart is. My home is with you guys, and who knows, I may run into N someday." The brunet explained.
"It took you 2 years to realize that, Hilbert?" Skyla interjected, though she didn't mean to sound harsh.
"It's weird, I know. I just wanted to find N, and tell him that we accept him as a friend despite what he's done." Hilbert assured.
"We understood your decision but it took us a while to accept it." She replied weakly.
Hilbert then pulled Skyla into a hug, a long overdue one. She slowly returned his embrace, inhaling his scent.
"I missed you guys, especially you. There were times if I was ever going to return back to Unova, or if I was forgotten." He choked out as he tighten the hug.
"You dummy, how could we ever forget you?" Skyla retorted, there was no way that she and everyone could ever consider him as a lost distant memory.
"Sometimes my irrationality gets the best of me. I'm sorry for not keeping in touch with you guys, truly." The the brunet answered as their eyes met.
"Apology accepted. I'm sorry for avoiding you for a week. When I first heard that you came back, I was really excited, but I couldn't face you until now." Skyla apologized to Hilbert.
"Don't be. I understand completely. Here, let me help you." Hilbert acknowledged.
"What do you-" Skyla was cut off by Hilbert who was kissing her tears away from her face. With a chuckle, Hilbert mentioned,
"You have some on your lips too." And so Hilbert captured Skyla's lips, which left the latter in shock, though she reciprocated the kiss with much fervor. It's not the first time they kissed. Before Hilbert left on his journey, they shared one, but it was awkward for the both of them due to it being their first kiss.
As their lips parted, Hilbert saw Skyla smile, a sight that never got old for him.
"Did I do better this time?" He asked coyly.
"Yes, yes you did." The pilot replied with a smirk. She felt giddy from the kiss, it has been a long time.
"I'm glad to hear that. And I promise that if I ever go far away, I'm taking any of you guys with me." Hilbert affirmed strongly. He wouldn't mind going on adventures with the people he cares for.
"That's good to hear. I really want to take the time to travel around the world." Skyla said. "Oh yeah that reminds me. Are you going to take part in the Pokémon World Tournament?"
"Why yes I am. Apparently, they sent the invitation to my house before I was even back. It says that I'll be participating in the Champions Bracket, so I'll get to battle against powerful trainers, especially Red." The brunet explained. He was itching for a battle with Red, Cynthia, Nate, etc.
"I'll be sure to cheer you on, you can count on me!" Skyla responded. The tension between them has calmed down.
"Looking forward to it. We should probably go now, it's getting kinda late." Hilbert suggested. The sunset was clear.
"Before we do, can you ring the bell. please?" She asked.
"Of course." Hilbert approved as they rose up from the stairs and walked to where the bell rested. Skyla kept a minimal distance away from Hilbert as he stood in front of the bell.
"Here goes." The brunet muttered as he rung the bell. It gave off a peaceful chime, one that Skyla was familiar with.
"According to the bell, you still have a kind and gentle heart. I expected no less from you, Hilbert." The pilot mentioned as Hilbert walked towards her.
"That's a relief. Shall we head off, Skyla?" Hilbert replied as he took Skyla's hand with his, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Yeah, let's." She agreed as they left the top of the tower together.
Gone was the 16 year-old boy who now blossomed into a mature 18 year-old man. Nevertheless, he was still the same Hilbert who she knew and loved. Their relationship was just beginning.
'Thank you, Hilbert…'