A/N - Hey, guys. Sorry that these first few chapters are a little short. I'm really excited about posting this story, so I wanted to go ahead and put it up. At the same time, though, I haven't completely finished writing it. Therefore, the first few updates are a little on the short side, just as a way for me to buy myself some time in order to write the ending. I didn't want to make you guys wait an insanely long time for updates when the story gets good.

There was nothing better than an autumn afternoon, Hilda thought as she lay in the grass of her mother's garden, idly passing the time with naps and daydreaming. She rested her head against the body of her Serperior, who was more than happy to spend a few warm hours in the sunshine.

Hilbert often asked Hilda how she could be happy back in Nuvema Town.

"You've seen the whole world," he told her once as the two of them stood side-by-side at the top of the Pokemon League. "And you're living at home?"

Hilda hadn't seen the whole world, and that was the problem. She had dreams of visiting Kanto and Hoenn, of seeing the real world, of meeting thousands of Pokemon, and maybe discovering some new ones. The trouble was, life was just nice here in Nuvema Town, and it was hard to work up the motivation to leave again.

Hilda closed her eyes again and stretched out in the grass. One day she'd travel the world. One day she'd finish Juniper's Pokedex. One day she'd figure out what she was meant to be. But, for now, the sun was warm and Hilda was happy.

"Hello, Hilda!"

Hilda reluctantly opened her eyes at the sound of Bianca's voice, and found her friend bending over her, golden hair gleaming in the sun, a young Oshawott peering over her shoulder.

"Hey," Hilda said, getting to her feet in one smooth motion and brushing the dirt off the back of her shorts. "What's up?"

Bianca held out an envelope.

"Professor Juniper asked me to give you this."

Hilda ripped open the envelope as Bianca knelt down to pet Serperior. The letter was a single page, written in crisp, feminine handwriting. Hilda smiled as her eyes scanned over it.

"It's from Cynthia," she said.

"Cynthia?" Bianca repeated.

"Someone I met on my journey. She wants to know if I'd come and visit her in Sinnoh."

Bianca squealed and clapped her hands.

"Sinnoh!" she exclaimed. "Oh, Hilda, how exciting! I've always wanted to see it! Imagine, you'll Sunnyshore City, the Contest Hall in Hearthome, Mt. Coronet…"

Hilda smiled as Bianca went on about all the great things in Sinnoh. It wasn't exactly what she'd planned for, but, like her mom always said, there was no time like the present. And, according to Cynthia, Snowpoint City was lovely in the wintertime.

Hilda's eyes caught sight of a postscript, scrawled in small, messy letters at the bottom of the page. She frowned and stuffed the letter back into the envelope.

"Want to go?" she asked, looking at Bianca.

Bianca covered her mouth with her hands, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet and jostling the Oshawott on her shoulder.

"Really, Hilda? You mean it? You'd take me with you?"

Hilda shrugged.

"Why not?"

Bianca threw her arms around Hilda's neck.

"Oh, thank you so much! When do we leave? We'll have to leave our Pokemon with Professor Juniper, of course. My father won't be happy, but I don't think he'll try to stop me. Ah! I'm just so excited! Oh! I've got to tell Cheren!"

"Tell him he's invited too," Hilda said, working hard to match Bianca's excitement.

"It'll be just like old times!" Bianca said, finally letting go of Hilda's neck. "The three of us, if only Hilbert could go… but I imagine he isn't able to get that far away from the League, is he?"

"Probably not," Hilda said. "Bianca, how soon can you leave?"

"As soon as you're ready!" Bianca said. "But, if you want me to talk to Cheren, I think he's at Victory Road, so I may not be able to reach him right away."

"How about the day after tomorrow?" Hilda said. "We can catch a boat from Castelia City."

"Yes! That sounds fantastic! I'll call Cheren and we'll start planning now! See you, Hilda!"

She waved as she ran off towards her house, poor little Oshawoot hanging on for dear life.

Once Bianca was gone, Hilda crossed her legs and sat back down in the grass to study Cynthia's postscript in more detail. She frowned, lines creasing her face as she read over it, again and again, three broken sentences that made her heart pound.

White Pokemon spotted near Spear Pillar. Could be Reshiram? Meet me at Mt. Coronet.

It was N. Hilda knew it. She'd found him at last, and there was nothing on the earth that would keep her from seeing him one last time.