The Elite Four, for all the newness of their League, are a tough challenge. Having not figured out the intricacies of Z-Moves, Hilbert had to fight tooth and nail through each one, and he was just about out of healing items by the time Kahili's Toucannon keels over thanks to a well-timed Thunderbolt from his Zebstrika.
"You still don't have anything that hits Ghost-types hard," N had noted before he went in. "You had a hard time against Shauntal and you'll still have a hard time against Acerola."
He hadn't really listened, though; he loves his team. Serperior has been with him from the start, and he'd raised Gigalith and Sigilyph since the earliest days of his Trainer journey. Somehow, it feels right that he's taking on a new region with them.
"If you were going to ask the beauteous Bianca to send over some of your Pokemon, you should have at least taken Zoroark," N had said, petulant. "Or – other Pokemon." He knows that Hilbert doesn't really like to think of the two innocuous Pokeballs sitting at the very bottom of their bags, much less use them in League matches.
"Don't play favorites so much, it's obvious," Hilbert had teased. "Its typing wouldn't have helped, and you know that."
N had pouted and said something about you being my favorite anyway, and that had been the end of that conversation, and now Hilbert finds himself in the Champion's chamber, facing down –
A kid.
Hilbert was sixteen when he took the Championship. He wasn't old by any means, and Iris is even younger than him. But the girl who stands from the Champion's chair and introduces herself as Champion Moon can't be older than twelve.
She's staring at him, curiosity glinting for a brief second before her expression shutters. "I don't know who you are," she says, monotonous and practiced. "But if you made it this far, you've got to have something to show for it. Let's battle it out here, where we're closest to the gods of Alola!"
Said by anyone else, the words might have been impressive or intimidating. Hilbert's done his fair share of contractual Champion speeches. But Moon, clad in a floral shirt and wearing a bright red hat, just seems small and tired.
But that's not a conversation to be had for now, so he pulls out Serperior's Poke Ball and gets to work.
"I'm not surprised you lost in the end," Grimsley muses, later. He looks much older than when Hilbert had seen him last, and he makes a mental note to ask the older man if he's sleeping enough. "This region's Elite Four are something else. They value strength here differently than we do at home. Not to badmouth myself or Cait, but our families' names surely helped a lot." He looks up from the menu. "You must try the Ronin Set, it's their best-seller."
"I'll take you up on that," N says, cheery. "I do love Johtonian food." He flags down the waitress, who looks only the slightest bit dazzled, and proceeds to rattle off their order.
"I wasn't even that embarrassed. The Alolan champion…" Hilbert starts, before looking around. "What do you know about her?"
Grimsley takes a sip of his tea, every motion practiced and deliberate. "No more than the average Alolan. Her father is Kantonian, she and her mother moved back here just before she began her challenge. She has a Rotom Dex; as I'm sure you know, those are only given to the bright ones, aren't they?" He smirks at Hilbert, who resists the urge to frown. "I met her once, when she was undergoing her island challenge. She's a bright girl, quite the talent. She reminded me a lot of you, actually."
Hilbert's not sure if Grimsley means it as a compliment. He lets it slide. "Have you met her since she became Champion?"
Grimsley shakes his head. "No. I would like to battle her one day, however; I hear she frequents the Battle Tree." He puts his cup down. "However, she has been through quite a lot. She was right in the middle of the incident with Team Skull and the Aether Foundation, I believe, and had to clean up after them as well."
"But she's so young," N says, sorrowfully. "I can't imagine what it must be like, having to undergo that, when I was eleven."
"You sure made up for it later on, though," Grimsley mutters under his breath.
N's gaze hardens, and Hilbert sighs. Old wounds, he thinks. Grimsley has always been one for holding grudges, and Unova will bear the scars of Team Plasma for quite a while.
His ex-Elite Four member picks up on the tension, however, and is quick to change the topic. "So tell me," he begins, too chipper. "How is my dear Shauntal doing nowadays?"
Grimsley's ex-Skull contacts find out that Colress is somewhere on Akala Island. It's quite jarring, remembering the official reason they're here, when so many sun-drenched afternoons have been spent exploring Alola and all its lush greenery and open sky, watching the sparkle in N's eyes as he meets a new type of Pokemon or interacts with a friendly local. So they make their way there, but at a meandering pace, with none of the urgency that had propelled them here to begin with.
If the tabloids have anything to say about it, it seems that Hilbert, challenging the Elite Four – even unofficially, a privilege granted to him by his ex-Champion status, seeing as neither he nor N had the patience for the Island Trials – has lent the Alolan League a certain amount of legitimacy, and buzz begins to follow its members wherever they go. Hilbert hears shopkeepers gossip about Olivia's new boyfriend and of Kahili's latest society event, of Mina's art show and what Ilima wore over the weekend.
He doesn't hear anything about the Champion.
He doesn't consider himself particularly personable or outgoing – even as a child, intelligent Cheren and kind Bianca did most of the talking for him – and surely the Unovan media followed him less than they did Alder or Iris, but Moon seems determined to be as closed-off as possible.
Then again, neither Alder nor Iris took up the Champion title in the wake of dismantling a threat to national security. Hilbert did.
Moon did.
"She may just be a private person," N points out when Hilbert brings it up. "And again – she's a child. I'm sure her mother is making sure nothing too bad gets out."
"Maybe," Hilbert agrees. "But I think there might be something else there."
N nods, empathic. This is something they've always had in common, this protective urge for people and Pokemon they hardly know. "I know you'll find it if you need to," he says, sincere.
They find Colress, finally, on a small research facility on the Akala coastline. It's under-the-radar and surely a far cry from the grandiose equipment Ghetsis had entrusted him with, but somehow, Colress seems content.
N doesn't seem to care, though, and regards the man with poorly-disguised contempt, but Hilbert knows that this isn't the time for him to be doing the talking. "The Genesect Drives," N is saying. "I know you stole a copy of them when you left Unova. Where are they?"
Colress cocks his head at him. "I told you. I'm here to study Pokemon strength–"
"Don't give me any of that strength crap, just tell us where the Drives are," N cuts in, and the anger that Hilbert had seen when Rood had called them to say that Colress had left Unova, the anger that had fueled this wild goose chase across the ocean, is rising to the surface. "I know what you're capable of, Colress." And doesn't he – Colress's single-minded pursuit of science, only enabled by Team Plasma, had nearly brought a nation to its knees for the second time in as many years.
"If you would just let me finish," Colress interrupts. "I'm here to study strength, specifically the Z-Ring. I gave them to someone who could make full use of them."
N looks taken aback. Hilbert asks, "To whom?"
Colress levels him with an incredulous glare, as if shocked that Hilbert can't keep up with his logic. "Why, the Alolan Champion, of course. That child had immense strength. I knew instantly she'd be worthy of them."
N glances at Hilbert. "It all comes back to that little girl, doesn't it," he says, musing.
Hilbert inhales. "Colress," he says. "What do you know about that whole crisis with the Aether Foundation?"
Colress's gaze hardens, and he looks at Hilbert warily. Whatever he finds in Hilbert's face must satisfy him, because he says, "Well, I suppose that it's more or less common knowledge around the scientific community of these parts, but did you know that they offered me a high-ranking job?" He crosses his arms, taps his elbow thoughtfully. "It's why I was able to leave Unova so easily. Don't get so worked up," he adds, when N opens his mouth. "I had every intention of joining them – they have an excellent research and development division and the Foundation itself has considerable financial power and political clout – but I learned what they were looking into and wanted out."
"What were they researching?" N asks softly.
"Pokemon from other dimensions," Colress says. "The mistreatment and experimentation happening in the inner circle wasn't something I could agree with. And the Pokemon themselves were powerful, but frightening. Fascinating, but not creatures to be tampered with."
N's gaze darkens spectacularly. "So the mistreatment – that's still going on?"
Colress shakes his head. "The reason I gave Moon the Drives wasn't because she was the Champion, it was because I knew she put a stop to all that. Closed the portals, cleaned up the beasts that came through it, took down the boss. Their new President, the old boss's son – he's better."
N glances at Hilbert, then nods. They know what to do next.
He spends a few days training on Poni Island, getting used to Alolan battle styles, and stocking up on healing items. If he's to challenge the Elite Four again, he reasons, he'd like to do it ready, and he's at the Pokemon Center picking up coffee when he runs into Hala.
"If it isn't young Mister Smith," Hala says, clapping him on the back with a force so great Hilbert winces. "I must say, you gave us quite the challenge! I haven't seen young Moon look that fired up about a challenger in quite some time!"
"Actually, I was hoping to ask you about her," Hilbert cuts in. "Do you know her personally?"
The old man looks kindly at him. "Better than most, I'm sure. I gave her her first Pokemon, and set her on her challenge. My grandson is good friends with her. Why do you ask?"
Hilbert bites his lip. "I need to get something from her, the reason I came to Alola in the first place," he explains. "But – it's not my place to assume, but – is it true that she's unhappy, following the Aether crisis?"
Hala looks at him critically.
"I don't mean any harm!" Hilbert exclaims. "It's just – I have some experience with that, you see. I used to be–"
He hates bringing up the title, seeing as it was his for a grand total of seven months, but it does the trick. Hala nods, understanding. "Ah." He steps closer to Hilbert. "It's quite a complex story, perhaps told best somewhere else. It may not be my place to tell you the details, but–" He gestures to the seat opposite Hilbert. "May I sit?"
"Of course."
Hala thumbs his chin. "Hmm. Moon and my grandson started their journeys at the same time. They were frequently in the company of the Professor's young assistant, who was highly involved with the Aether Foundation. Moon and that young girl grew quite close, but she recently had to leave – you see, her mother was responsible for the crisis, and she's off ensuring she gets better."
His jaw actually drops. "Arceus – if anyone can help–"
Hala closes his eyes and holds up a hand. "That's not for me to decide," he cuts in gently. "I've no doubt that your desire to help her is sincere. Do with it what you must, but you have to be sure she wants to be helped as well."
Hilbert sighs. "I've only got advice to offer her."
Hala smiles, and it gentles his face. In a brief second, Hilbert sees the strength Grimsley had admired – the surety and care present in a kahuna. "I'm sure it's good advice. The Elite Four – we love her dearly, but we've no idea how to reach out to her. Maybe you can."
"Hi, Hilbert!" Bianca's voice is chirp over the phone. "You picked a good time to call, I'm visiting Cheren right now!" The image makes him smile. As the story goes, the very nice apartment Cheren is renting is technically Bianca's father's, who had invested in real estate in Aspertia years ago, and Bianca had badgered him into paying ridiculously low rent for it. He pictures Bianca on the kitchen countertop, legs swinging as Cheren sits on the couch, reading the news. "What time is it over there? It's morning here!"
"It's late evening. Am I interrupting something?"
"Nah, don't be ridiculous. Hold on." Bianca's voice, muffled, says something like Cheren! Hilbert's on the phone! followed by some jostling.
"Hello, Hilbert." Cheren's voice is warmer than it had been when they were younger. "How is Alola?"
More jostling, which Hilbert takes to mean as Bianca taking the phone back. She puts it on speaker. "I'm sure Hilbert has a lot to tell us," she says, sweetly. "Do you want to switch to video call?"
"…No." His pause is too long, but Bianca and Cheren pay it no mind. He doesn't think he can take seeing their faces for this conversation. "Actually, I – I need to ask you guys something. Something important."
"Anything," Cheren says instantly, and Hilbert feels the familiar rush of guilt – that despite everything, Cheren and Bianca are willing to stand by him.
"How were things – how were things when I left?" It's not something they've ever talked about, not when Cheren had yelled at him when he'd announced his plan to leave, not when Bianca had left him countless messages when he'd taken nothing else but some food and money, and his original, six-man team.
There's a long pause on the other side of the line, and that tells him everything he needs to know.
"I'm sorry," Hilbert says. "This was a mistake. I'll just–"
"No," Bianca interrupts, her voice firm. "Wait a sec, Hilbert."
"I was so angry at you," Cheren admits, quiet. "You were there, Champion, all I'd wanted, and you wanted to give it up. But, I also knew that it was the strong thing to do."
"I was sad," says Bianca. "But I understood why you did. You should have seen yourself after N left, Hilbert."
"You were wrecked," Cheren continues. "You just…withdrew, threw yourself into completing the 'Dex and Championing. I don't pretend to understand it, the effect N had – but like she said, I get why you had to leave."
That was it, really, wasn't it? The effect N had – the fact that someone so good could be someone so misguided, but had been so willing to learn and change. And he'd thanked Hilbert and left, just like that, and Hilbert was left hanging, Champion of a League he didn't know what to do with.
N likes to say – you saved me, Hilbert, completely sincerely. But he's never agreed with that. If anything, he and N helped each other find themselves.
"Hilbert?" Bianca's voice jolts him out of his thoughts. "You all right?"
"Yeah," he says, smiling despite himself. "I had to leave, didn't I? I really–"
And then he's crying like he'd never let himself, tears spilling out and flowing down his cheeks, hiccupping and gasping. Cheren frets and Bianca coos platitudes on the other side of the line. Two years of his friends' lives lost to him, two years of upheaval and change and he wasn't there, because he had to leave.
"Hilbert – oh, Hilbert," Bianca is saying. "Don't cry."
"I'll admit it was tough on us, and everyone, really," Cheren continues. "Alder – Alder totally lost his shit," he chuckles weakly, "But it's all right! Really, we–"
"You came back," Bianca says, and she's crying, too. "You came back, and that's what matters."
The next time Hilbert faces the Elite Four, he's readier.
Acerola is buzzing with delight at their battle, and Kahili actually congratulates him at the end. Hala claps him on the back and gives him a meaningful look before he steps into the portal, to which he can only nod.
The next fight is hard-won.
"I did my research on you, Hilbert Smith," says Moon, quiet as she counts out his victory money. She's revived her Primarina, which is sitting by her obediently. "Former Unovan Champion. What are you doing here?"
"To talk to you." He smiles at her politely. "Do you think we can meet somewhere – in a less formal setting?"
Moon eyes him for a long moment, and for a few seconds he fears he's overstepped his bounds, but she breaks the tension with a nod. "Tomorrow, at noon," she says, in a tone that brooks no argument. "The restaurant in Hau'oli. Is that all right?"
It's more than he could have hoped, so he keys the information onto his phone and hopes for the best.
Hilbert knows as soon as Moon comes in, because the restaurant patrons quiet before breaking out into murmurs. She frowns and brushes them off, easily making her way to his table.
"Hi," she says shyly, and she seems even younger in plainclothes and without the grandeur of the Champion's chamber.
"Hi, Moon," he says, friendly. "I haven't ordered yet, so feel free to choose what you want. My treat."
She nods. "I'm Champion, I get free food all the time," she says, but she flags down a waiter and rattles off their orders. When she turns back to him, her face is impassive, but he's learned to read the quick glances she sends her surroundings and the tight way she holds her hands.
"I came here to talk to you about the Drives," Hilbert says, as kindly as he can.
She blinks, rummaging around in her bag. "These?" she asks, bringing out the familiar squares.
"The person who gave them to you, Colress, on Route 8 – he used to be affiliated with some… bad people."
"These are for Genesect, right?" Moon shrugs at his surprised glance. "I did my research." She pushes them over to his side of the table. "You can take them back. What they did to that Pokemon – I don't want any part of that."
He blinks, tucking the Drives away in his pocket. He taps a quick message to N, saying got them back. "Okay – I'll admit that was quicker than I thought it would be."
He thinks he sees the hint of a smile dancing around the edges of her mouth, but her face is famously blank within a few seconds. "I'm not so naïve that I would accept gifts from strangers without looking into them," she says, and Hilbert acquiesces. "Actually I agreed to meet with you because – I want to ask you something, too." Her voice trails off, and she looks at him expectantly.
"What is it?"
Moon pauses and inhales, as if steeling herself. "How did you do it?" she says, finally. "How did you go on, pretending everything was normal after he left?"
He raises his eyebrows in surprise. "He?"
"The man you're with. The tall one, with green hair. He's the one who left you, isn't it?"
It's jarring, hearing someone say left you so flippantly, like that event hadn't shaken him to the core. He looks at her, but all trace of the nervous girl she'd been when they'd started is long gone, replaced by someone harder. "I told you, I did my research," she adds. "Natural Harmonia Gropius, right? Of Team Plasma?"
But Hilbert wanted this conversation to happen, and he's been preparing, too. "He had to leave," he says, feeling oddly defensive of N and ignoring the prickling feeling at the way she had said of Team Plasma. "Not just me. Unova." His Pokemon. Anthea and Concordia. Everyone.
"But he left you behind." Moon says, unhappy.
He lets that statement sink in. N did, there's no denying that – left Hilbert floating in a sea of Championship duties, with no idea where he was even going. For a bit, he regresses, feels the hot lash of bitterness and anger and loss of four years ago, regrets looking into this whole situation, considers up and leaving Moon alone in this restaurant.
But he looks at Moon, who's tired and lonely and so young, and his heart aches.
"I had no idea what to do once I was Champion, honestly," Hilbert admits. "I dealt with all the press things, I traveled, I completed the PokeDex like it was at the time, I did a lot of stuff. But all that – I felt like I was doing it because I had to, like it was expected of me."
"So, you left – you left, so you could find–"
"I was hurt when he left. Arceus, of course I was hurt." He smiles wistfully. "I knew he needed to, though. And I guess some part of me knew N would come back, someday. He did – it took two years. If there hadn't been a nationwide crisis, it might have been longer. But I knew I couldn't sit around and wait for that to happen. Maybe I left because I needed to find N, maybe I did it to find myself. Maybe both. Who knows, really."
There's another heavy silence. Moon looks down, emotions amess on her face for the first time since he's met her.
She huffs. "I'm sorry for springing that on you," she murmurs. "I just, I needed–"
"It's fine." Hilbert leans back against his seat. "What I did raised a lot of questions. But I think, if I could do it all again…" He hums, thinks of Bianca giggling on Cheren's countertop. She looks at him expectantly. "I…I had people, I think, who were close to me. People who knew I was hurting, but whom I didn't let help. They deserved better than that."
Moon looks down, tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "I think I know what you mean."
"And it wasn't sunshine and rainbows when we met again, too," he admits. It's the first time he's said it out loud, and she blinks at him, surprised. "Yeah. It took – is taking – a lot of work. But we want it, and we fight for it."
Moon nods. "I see."
Her eyes are wistful, so he's prompted to ask, "What was she like?" Her head snaps up. "Your friend," Hilbert adds. "The one who left. That's why you wanted to talk to me, right?"
Moon pauses. "She was so brave," she says, "And loyal, and good. She ran away because Aether was hurting Pokemon, and she couldn't take it – and she grew so much stronger while we were traveling together. I – I was so proud of her, but she said she looked up to me so much…she said," and Moon's eyes are definitely shiny now, "She wanted to travel with me and learn everything with me, and…"
"…and she left," Hilbert finishes. He thinks again of the early days, asking – why do truths and ideals have to be in conflict? but meaning why did you leave me here alone? "I didn't think I deserved it," Hilbert admits. "The way N looked up to me. He told me that if anyone could harness truths and ideals to change the world, it was me, and I thought, at the time – how could I? I was just some kid in the right places at the right time."
"But then," he muses, "The people who love us – they do it because they see things about us that we might miss. So I think my advice to you is to be the best version of yourself that you can. Become it not for your friend, but for you." He smiles at her.
Moon bites her lip, a smile beginning to bloom right back at him.
"I don't think I can leave like you did," she says after a while. "I've only been here a short while, and Alola – has been so good, for me. I want to stay, help make it better." She fidgets. "If being the Champion will let me do that, then I'll stay."
"That's great. That's really, really great." He grins, and she actually cracks a smile. It feels like victory.
"Will you be in Alola long?" she asks him.
Hilbert shakes his head. "Not that we've gotten the Drives back," he tells her. "N and I've got to return to our jobs."
"Jobs?" Moon cocks her head, a gesture so childish it makes him smile. "You don't train so much anymore?"
He actually laughs at that. "Not so much, now," he says. "I was Champion at sixteen. Everyone told me that was amazing, although my successor managed to beat me at fourteen, and apparently, you're twelve." Moon actually flushes at that. "And maybe it was amazing, but – I didn't want something I accomplished at sixteen to be the defining moment of my life, or anything."
"So what do you do now?"
He ducks his head. "I'm training to be a Gym Leader. I guess they don't have those here, they're like – how do you say it? Trial Captains?" She nods. "But not because I want to battle forever, it's because – it's a good opportunity to teach new trainers. Not just about battling, but about – life, I guess," he says, lamely. How is he supposed to explain it, the pride he'd felt when trainers would leave Cheren's gym just a little bit stronger? "And N's teaching at a Trainer's School. It's good for him, too, because he gets to see kids grow up with Pokemon."
Moon looks like she's in awe. "That – that sounds beautiful," she says. "I – I'm glad."
He smiles. "It is pretty great, yeah."
She hugs him fiercely when they're at the door and presses a packet into his hands before stepping on her Charizard, and he watches her go, the wind from the Pokemon's flight in his hair.
"Did it go well?" N says, when he opens the door. He's lovely like this, all mussed hair and gentle smile, and Hilbert feels a rush of fondness.
"Yeah. She gave me a Z-Ring, and a Z-Crystal. For Serperior." Hilbert closes the door behind him and takes off his shoes, flopping down on the couch immediately.
"I told you it would." N laughs, sits down next to him. "A Z-Ring. Undeserving."
"Shh. A token of goodwill." He examines the bracelet, which glitters in the fluorescent lighting of the motel room. "She doesn't even know if Z-Moves work outside Alola. We'll just have to see."
"Mmm." N looks at him. "But how is she?"
He considers "Hurting, but – I think that she can do it. Be a good Champion, I mean." He shrugs. "She'll be better than I was, surely."
N looks away, guilt flashing across his face, and the protective urge in Hilbert flares up again. But the road to healing is a long one and they've got time, and someday they'll deal with Bianca's questioning smiles and Grimsley's grudges and Unovan tabloids and be left with Ferris wheels on Fridays and weekends spent at the Trainer's School. In the meantime, Moon has all of Alola at her fingertips.
"That kid'll really be something," he adds. "I hope she finds what she's looking for."
"You were always so idealistic," N teases. Hilbert scoffs, and the tension is broken. N talks about visiting the Battle Tree – it's so fun, Hilbert, you should come by before we leave – and Hilbert tells him about the Alolan Raticate he befriended on Route 17, and it's real and loving and homey and everything he wishes for Moon to achieve.
Later, when N's passed out on the couch in the middle of watching one of Rosa's ridiculous princess movies, Hilbert reaches for his phone, finds his mother's number, and hits call.
this work's title is from: "transatlanticism" by death cab for cutie, because no song will ever capture long distance like that song.
tbh, the worst part about bw/2 is when you find hilbert/hilda's mom and they mistake you for their kid wtf! call your mom hilbert!