Some time later, N found the girl sitting on a park bench near the Pokémon center. Luckily, none of her friends were nearby. Without wasting time, he and the young girl run towards her. The female trainer didn't notice them coming. She seemed lost in her own thoughts. N should talk to her. He felt a bit uneasy. He had always trouble talking to people but this time he should overcome it. The boy fixed his hat a little and stood right in front of her, as the young girl hid timidly behind his back. He put on a nervous smile and started speaking.
"Hello there! I saw you before… at the speech of that man and… you looked troubled. Can I help? My name is N."
Then the girl raised her eyes and looked at him. She startled a bit at first, but then she smiled warmly.
"Yeah, that's true. I have many things in my mind right now. Ah, where are my manners? It's nice to meet you N. My name is Hilda."
Hilda stood up and shook his hand. Only then she noticed the young girl, who was hiding behind him.
"And who is that girl over there? A friend of yours?"
N laughed softly and looked at the young girl, when she shyly stepped forward.
"Yes, we are childhood friends."
Hilda nodded and greeted heartily the girl.
"Hello, I'm Hilda. What's your name? Are you a trainer?"
The girl blushed and hid again behind N's back. The boy laughed and petted her head. Then he looked again at Hilda who seemed a bit confused.
"I'm sorry. My friend here is a bit timid around people she doesn't know. Please don't take it personally. She is like that with almost everyone."
"Don't worry, I understand. I was like that a few years ago. To tell you the truth, I was even more timid than your friend."
"Thank you. Now, tell me Hilda. Why were you so sad back then? Is there something I can do to help you?"
Suddenly, the girl's cheerful face turned sad. She sat again on the park bench. N sat beside her. Then Hilda took a Pokeball from her pink bag and showed it to him.
"This Pokeball contains the Snivy professor Juniper gave me this morning. It's very kind and sweet and I really like him a lot. But when all of my friends chose their first Pokémon, we decided to battle each other. I lost in every match. I'm not strong. And I don't think that I ever be."
N felt disappointed. For one moment he thought that this girl might be different, but sadly, she was the same as every other trainer he met during his travels.
"So you also only pursuit strength, huh? How sad…"
Hilda shook her head while waving her hands frantically.
"Ah, no you misunderstood. I want to be strong, so I can protect him."
N's eyes opened wide.
"Protect…him? "
The girl nodded.
"Yes. No matter how strong a Pokémon is, if its trainer is weak only problems occur and moreover, the Pokémon might be put in danger. That's why I wanted to become stronger. I asked Hilbert for help too, but he just told me that I was annoying. However, when I heard the words of that man earlier, I thought that it might be a better choice to release him. It will be better than traveling with a useless idiot."
Hilda covered her eyes with her hands and sighed sadly. N tried to talk with her but the young girl, all of sudden, grabbed his arm and gazed at him with sorrowful eyes. The boy looked at her, really surprised. The girl rarely showed any trust in others, yet she wanted to help that female trainer. He stroked her hair and nodded. The trainer then, turned his attention towards Hilda.
"And why don't you ask for Snivy's opinion? I think it would be better that way."
Hilda shook her head.
"That could make sense, if Snivy was a human. He is a Pokémon though, so I can't understand what he says, even if I really want to."
"Well I can. You see, I am a trainer who can talk to Pokémon. "
The girl blinked, obviously surprised.
"You are kidding, right?"
"No, I'm telling the truth. Please, let me talk with him. I promise I won't do anything funny."
Hilda reluctantly pushed the pokeball's white button and a Snivy came out. N greeted it happily before they began talking. The female trainer couldn't believe in her eyes. She couldn't tell if the boy was really able to communicate with Snivy or he was just pretending. A few minutes later the grass snake leaped into Hilda's arms as she looked at N, obviously confused. The boy smiled at her and the other girl clapped her hands, happily.
"Hilda, I have to say that I'm impressed. It's the first time I hear a Pokémon saying that he loves his trainer that much. Snivy told me he is very happy that you chose him and he doesn't care about those battles earlier. He only wants to be with you."
The girl's face beamed with joy and embraced her Pokémon tightly.
"Oh N, I don't know how to thank you! You stopped me from doing a terrible mistake. I'm sorry for not believing you from the beginning."
N covered his mouth with his hand, in an attempt to hide a broad grin. For some reason he was really happy, despite the fact that things didn't turn out as he planned. There was something with this girl that fascinated him, though. The way she managed to come so close with her Pokémon in such a short time and the fact that the young girl had also taken a liking on her, a very difficult feat to achieve even for him, made Hilda interesting… Pretty interesting…
"Hey, Hilda! I found you at last!"
At that moment, the three of them turned around to see who was calling the female trainer.