Disclaimer: I do not own the plot or characters of Pokemon.

Beginnings

Hilda held her boyfriend's- could you call him that? N, a boyfriend? Her boyfriend?- hand and pulled him along the grassy path with eagerness. She knew how to screw with his mind by now and this was going to do exactly that. And that was her mission. So she kept pulling.

"Hilda, slow down. You still haven't told me where you're taking me. Or why you're so excited." He looked at her thoughtfully, and instinctively she slowed down a bit. Usually his comments required some stopping, so instead of letting him know how profound the things he said we as letting them get to her, she would stop beforehand, as to not inflate his ego. (No self-respect but an ego. How did he manage that?)

"Even your Pokémon are excited. I can feel them, their heart rates up. Especially your Samurott. What is it that has gotten them so happy?"

Hilda turned around and kept running. "Surprises are surprises, N. It would be absolutely NO FUN if I told you where we were going."

N sighed and pulled her around to look at him, muttering, "I knew it was a bad idea to let you find me."

She hit him in the arm and scowled. "Hilda, you do realize that I'm twenty-two years old? I'm too old for this."

Hilda shook her head. And crossed her arms. "No. You were always too old for this when you weren't, so now I'm making up for that."

He looked into her eyes in a desperate attempt to gauge out her thoughts. "What do you mean?"

She looked at him indignantly. "You will have to find out. Your impatience becomes you. I wouldn't expect anything less from you. You, of course," she continued, "just like your father."

He looked like he was about to protest but she refused to let him win. "He never let you live. Don't you want to?"

She turned around without waiting for a response. "You need to please come with me then."

He followed her hesitantly, and she smiled, running along the small route.

When at last they reached their destination, Hilda stopped.

"This- this is Juniper's Lab. Hilda, why... Why are we here?"

Hilda just smiled. "Go on inside."

A smiling and slightly plump blonde young woman answered the door. "We've been expecting you!" N walked in slowly, and she grinned at
Hilda. "It's so good to see you, Hilda."

Hilda grinned back at her best friend. "You too, Bianca."

N was standing confusedly in the corner with the Professor and her father. Hilda hurried over. "Care to explain, Professor Juniper?"

Juniper nodded. "Happily." She brought out three Pokéballs. "In each of these Pokéballs there is a Pokémon. One is a water type, Oshawott, one is a fire type, Tepig, and the last is a grass type, a Snivy. They each have their own specific personalities and abilities, and you get to choose one of them today to go on your journey. Would you like to see them?"

N looked at her seriously. "I- I'm not-"

Hilda decided to just answer for him. "He'd love that."

Professor Juniper nodded and smiled, then released the three Pokémon. "Choose carefully, though, because you only get one."

N just looked at Hilda, watching her carefully until suddenly a fire-type landed into his arms.

"Tepig!" The piglet looked up at N eagerly, and he froze up. "Hilda, are you sure this is a good idea?" She was too busy laughing to answer, watching the Oshawott stare up at his from the table.

"This is what all the fuss was about Hilda?" She doubled over, grinning, just as the Oshawott began to squirt water in N's face. The Tepig snorted and started barking at the Oshawott, curling up into N's arms.

N shook off the water from his hair and looked down at the final Pokémon, a Snivy who looked a little too small to be normal. It looked up at his shyly.

"Hi, there." N tried to ignore Bianca and Hilda whispering and sniggering behind him.

The Snivy's eyes widened. "Sni-sni-vyyy."

N nodded and laughed. "Yes, they are a little extravagant, aren't they?"

"Sniiii-vy." The Snivy seemed to smile.

"You'd like to go out and see more Pokémon, then?" N smiled back at the Snivy, whose eyes lit up.

"Professor Juniper, I think I've chosen my Pokémon." The Tepig and Oshawott suddenly stopped fighting, vying for N's attention. "I'd like to choose Snivy."

Professor Juniper nodded and brought the other two back into their Pokéballs. "Excellent choice, N. Here's Snivy's Pokéball. You'll go to all of the gyms in the Unova region before you can challenge the Elite Four." She looked at him kindly. "Take good care of Snivy, alright?"

N nodded. "I wouldn't do anything else." He turned to the happy green Pokémon. "Snivy, return."

N turned to Hilda, who was watching him quietly now, eyes unreadable. He looked directly at her. "That's all then?"

"That's all." Professor Juniper responded.

N didn't turn around. "Thank you, Professor Juniper. Come on, then, Hilda."

Hilda nodded and followed him out the door. He lead her towards Route 1 quietly and quickly.

Suddenly he stopped, and turned around to see if anyone was there. "Why did you do that?"

Hilda looked at him and raised her eyebrows. "Why not?"

N sighed. "Really, why?"

The small brunette turned around and crossed her arms, plopping down on the grass. "Because you deserved a chance to. Because you never got to live like a normal kid."

She looked up at him, hoping he would understand, but his face showed no signs of emotion. He slowly sat down across from her and leaned over, placing a chaste kiss on her cheek. "Thank you, Hilda."

She looked at him playfully. "You really mean it?"

He nodded, brows furrowed. "Why-?"

She cut him off by placing a gentle kiss on his lips, drawing back with a smile. "Thank you, N."

"For what?"

"For going along with it."

She grinned at him before bouncing up. "You can't wait forever to begin your journey, though, so come on!"

And he had no choice but to stare after her as she ran off in the distance.