Hilbert tugged on the back of Zekrom tight as they flew; the wind blowing fast, almost berating him. But it felt cool, and – somehow – pleasing.

He breathed in.

Travelers along the way had always told him that the air felt different everywhere. And now that he was traveling again, he realized that – indeed – air does feel different.

His eyes closed. He felt like his soul was leaving him – loosing entirely into a different world. And it relieved him. He felt good to be free again – as if he was just a child even now – albeit temporarily.

Please, come back and visit us sometime!

The words echoed and a certain shade of pink flashed in front of his eyes. Hilbert opened his eyes again. His gaze softened and his hand gripped Zekrom's body tighter. His eyes only stared at the blank space in front of him – the chilling wind no longer having any effect on him.

It has been nearly two years – twenty-two months and twenty days, precisely – since N left. And Hilbert had been searching him ever since. He had traveled across most of the world. He visited several regions that were unknown to him, but he stopped for nothing. He never realized when his hunger to become the best had died. All he cared about was finding N – a promise he had made to Anthea, that he was willing to keep.

The air felt fresh as he breathed in – but it was distinct. It had been distinct everywhere he went. And after such a long time, he realized just how much he was missing the air back home...his home. He had promised his mother that he would return one day.

"One day..." Hilbert muttered his voice barely above a whisper. His eyes lowered down and he stared at the back of Zekrom. In the quiet, even the sound of electricity surging through the dragon's conical tail was audible to him. "...when would be that one day?"


"Zekrom, return," Hilbert spoke and raised the Pokeball up. When he pressed the button, the dragon type was sucked in without any protest.

If being honest with himself, Hilbert never liked calling Zekrom back to its Pokeball. The dragon was a living myth of the Unova region, an existing being that created that region itself – along with Reshiram. Hilbert respected it just too much that the thought of ever taming it was untraceable in his mind. Zekrom, after all, chose to make Hilbert a hero on its own accords.

But the idea of riding or having Zekrom – a rather large, one of its kind, and a legendary Pokemon – by his side as they walk in a city was never a possibility in itself.

Hilbert started walking through the forest of - what he knew was - an unknown region to him, yet again. He did not even know if he had even heard about this region before. But the isolation that he was living in – ever since leaving Unova – was something that would always keep him from socializing anymore.

Hilbert pushed a bush aside and stepped out into a clearing. But as he looked around, all his thoughts halted. He felt like he had forgotten how to breathe. His heart felt heavy as if it had refused to beat again. His pulse quickened. His lips quivered. His mouth fell agape. And even his eyes widened.

But no matter what he did, the possibility remained same. No one else had the hair so green, who wore white like he would.

Hilbert's feet fastened as he moved towards him, his hands moving the bushes out of his face. His eyes, however, never lost him from the sight as he continued to stare at his back.

In the rush of his movements, he never realized how fast he was going, and where exactly he was going. Stepping right behind him – before he could turn around and notice who was there – Hilbert pushed himself forward and crashed into him.

Both the boys leaned forward and down. Certain weightlessness welled into their core as they fell – what was a long and steep slope.

Hilbert rolled down the slope rather harshly. Several pointy rocks and the land itself were berating him. And he knew that the other was feeling the same. But he couldn't care less. The mere thought of him disappearing even before he could grasp him – a nightmare that he had been living in for so long now – was too harsh for Hilbert, and so he held onto him, never letting go as they continued down.

Hilbert felt like his bones were assaulted on directly – that much how it hurt when the two finally stopped. His hand clutched tight in a fist – a little soil enclosing in – as he gritted his teeth. It hurt, but he tried to stand straight.

But the moment his head moved up, his eyes stopped at him. All the pain dissipated at the moment, and he could not help but keep staring at him. His legs suddenly moved. His feet skit along the ground, and a wave of pain shook his entire body, but he did not dare stop.

Hilbert could see him moving, too, as he tried to stand up. But only had he gotten to his knees when he was assaulted.

Hilbert's hand moved with their own will and grabbed the collars of the boy in front of him. He jerked the boy up, the eminent glare in his eyes even blinding him to see the pain that the boy was suffering from.

"How can you even leave us like that?! Do you have any idea that you..."

But after a moment, Hilbert felt himself returning to the earth. His rage calmed down evidently and his eyes lowered into a softer gaze. It was the moment he realized what he was doing, and whom it was that he was doing it with.

"...you are not N..."

Hilbert hitched, his hands loosened on the boy and he fell down on his knees. His eyes, however, never left the boy. That distinct shade of green was still present. The white around his torso was still present. But now that Hilbert noticed him, the boy was so young that he barely even matched his height.

Hilbert could not even hold back his surprise anymore that there existed someone who would look alike N - even to some degree.

"Who...are you?"

Or perhaps he was too desperate to see him again that the consequent failures for two years blinded him?


Another update, as promised. A quick question I would like to throw in, who do you think is the boy Hilbert ran into? Of course, not N. Let me know in the reviews! The story is halfway done and I'm satisfied with the pace of the updates. Maybe I will easily finish it in time, after all.

Please leave reviews and let me know what you think! Criticism is accepted, flaming is not. However, let me warn you, in case you decide to criticise my work, be ready for my side of the argument as well. If I am willing to listen to you, you should as well be expecting me to defend my work. And unless you can prove what and how I did it wrong - possibly, your argument would be futile and I won't be making changes. So please, refrain from biased opinions. I want general opinions only. And if you are going to point out that my writing is/can be weak due to my English - I'm not a native speaker. So unless you will be pointing out exactly what I did wrong and how I can sort it out - please don't point it out either as it would waste time for both of us.

No one in particular - but I have been receiving such reviews since last year and from a lot of people, even through PM, and I just want you guys to know that if are going to do the same, you may as well keep these certain things in mind to make it easier for both of us.

The next update would this Wednesday. Be prepared!

-Sam.