Hey reviewers! I actually decided to write some rough drafts of a ranger story… and something about it felt right. So I'm going to start writing it, but not publish it until the next part of the saga is out!

That being said, I'm deciding the fate of most of my other stories. Expect an authors note about it within the next chapter or so!

Amy47101 does not own pokémon, only her OCs(Vale, Sara, and the Bennet family).

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The Adventure Saga

The Truth Behind Us

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"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T MAKE ANY ARRESTS?!"

Hilda slammed her hands down on the table in the interview room, startling the two officers that had been interviewing her.

With the gas leak in the pokémon house, the entirety of the premises has been evacuated and roped off, children, pokémon and workers alike being corralled to Striaton in order to precent any poisoning from the gas. On sight was an ambulance for both pokémon and humans, getting immediate treatment who were hurt when the earthquake went off or suffered from the effects of poisoning.

While getting the children situated, aides and Eleanor, were calling parents and giving them the information they knew. For the most part, the children were okay since they were all outside. The only real injury was one little boy who tumbled down the slide and sprained his arm because he was at the top. Quincy was taking on the task of calling trainers whose pokémon were in the daycare house, telling them to come and get them from the Daycare PC box, leaving the passcode for them. Those who were injured were taken to the Striaton center, and when they are healed, they will be put into the same PC box should the trainer not arrive within two weeks.

While Eleanor and her eldest son were doing their best to do damage control with the parents and trainers of their children and pokémon respectfully, the police were doing interviews to figure out if this was some sort of crime. Hilda practically leapt at the chance to tell them what happened; how two Plasma grunts had been at the scene, and how they stole Zoe's pokémon, and how they confessed in that cavern that they had used a Sandile to cause the earthquake with hopes that they'll make a move on this irritating organization.

But when she finished, the two detectives had the audacity to laugh at her, then told her, as if she were an inexperienced three-year-old, that they couldn't make an arrest.

"When we have the account of one girl who saw this event happen, we can't just go out and arrest members of Team Plasma."

"Then arrest them all!" Hilda said with a scowl. "Every time you find one, go out and arrest them!"

"And, pray tell, why?"

This one looked like he was trying to not laugh, but his smirk failed him.

"Because not only did they mug a seven-year-old, they also hurt the lives of a ton of kids and pokémon! On top of them, a couple of them were poaching Munna's and Musharna's in the Dream Yard! My friends and I could've gotten really hurt and they already had practically beaten a Munna to a pulp before we intervened!"

"And was this incident reported to the local police?"

"Well, no…" Hilda faltered for a moment, but then regained her bearing. "But I know what I saw! These guys are criminals hiding behind a mask of being peaceful! I've fought them!"

"We can't go arresting every Plasma member we see based on the testimony of one sixteen-year-old girl." one detective shook his head, as if she should have known better.

"But what about Zoe?! And my friend, Cheren, he fought with me! And then there's Bianca and Vale and Black! They were there too!"

"So we go from one teenage testimony to a handful of teenage testimonies."

"Plus a child." the second detective added on, considering Zoe is just seven.

"Miss White, maybe you just thought you saw Team Plasma? Evidently, you have a strong dislike towards their beliefs, so it could be possible that your mind misconstrued what you saw amidst the chaos?"

"Stop making fun of me!" Hilda slammed her hands down. "This is not funny! People are going to get hurt! You need to get these thugs off the street!"

"We can't just do that." one cop shook his head.

"Yes you can! They're no different than Team Rocket! They're a mob!"

"Team Rocket was a mob, young lady. They've proven that through violent means and have thus been put on a police alert should they be spotted. Team Plasma, however, has been nothing but peaceful towards the citizens of Unova.

"I just told you they mugged a seven year old girl and caused an earthquake that hurt a ton of people and were poaching pokémon in the Dream Yard! How is that peaceful?!"

"You and who else, huh?!" one of the cops finally snapped back. "We've been spending all of the latter half of the afternoon interviewing people, children and adults alike, and you're the only nutcase who's here saying this was an intentional act of violence and that one of the children got mugged!"

"Then interview Zoe, and she'll tell you too!" Hilda hardly back down, getting right in his face from across the table. "Don't make it out like I'm the nutcase when you're ignoring the problem!"

"There isn't a problem! Team Plasma is just a bunch of out there pokémon rights activists who happened to come together and form a weird group! They're nothing to worry about and I'm telling you-"

"No, I'm telling you to put down the donuts and get out there and investigate!"

"Ma'am!" the other cop cut in. "We're here investigating the cause of the earthquake. We're basically here to make sure this wasn't set up by the Bennet family in order to secure insurance money."

"That makes no difference! Team Plasma caused it!" Hilda continued to insist. "I'm telling you! They had a Sandile that used Earthquake that caused the accident!"

"And how do you know it was a Sandile that used Earthquake?"

"BECAUSE THEY FUCKING CONFESSED IN THE WELLSPRING CAVE!" Hilda practically roared. "Seriously, if I could speak nine other languages, I would tell you in those languages too!"

The two cops looked at one another, then gave her a serious glare. Hilda narrowed her eyes.

"May we have access to the information on your pokémon and your PC records?"

"Why?" Hilda snarled back.

"Sit down, Miss White." the other cop said. Hilda refused.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Well, you just happen to have some rather odd explanations of how the earthquake happened. Oddly specific."

"For the love of Arceus…" Hilda groaned, settling into the chair. "Why? Why are you cops so stupid?"

"We're asking the questions Miss White, now then-"

"Oh, finally found you!"

Hilda promptly slammed her head on the table. And to top it off, not only did she have to deal with the idiot cop duo, not she had to deal with her freaking nemesis. Why was Black here? What did he want? Why did her life have to constantly be in a state of chaos? Can't she just make her money and move on?

After a few minutes of some rare self-pity, as she very rarely indulged in such, she realized that she couldn't clearly hear Black's voice. Funny, she thought, usually he was rambling on and on about something. She didn't really know what, but his voice was so grating that it was odd that she only heard muffled sounds.

When she lifted her head, she saw Black grinning at her and the cops sitting with sullen looks on their faces.

"You may leave, Miss White." one said before he got up and left alongside his partner. Hilda watched them go, then looked back at Black.

"So what was that?" she asked.

"Nothing much." Black grinned. "Words go a long way if you know how to use them."

"Whatever." Hilda stood up, crossing her arms. "Thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome!" Black practically sang, easily keeping in stride with her walk as she left the station. "So what're you going to do now?"

"Go back on the route and try to get to Nacrene City by nightfall." Hilda said simply, stomping through Striaton. "This whole thing with Team Plasma and those stupid cops took up my whole day. I knew I was gonna be taking a day or two to travel the route, maybe adding on another half to find a pokémon to catch, but now I'm behind."

"Well, it's not like getting rich is an overnight endeavor."

"Yeah, but there's the term 'get rich quick' and I'm planning on putting it into effect." Hilda glanced back at the pokémon center, which had become temporary housing for some of the kids as their parents ran about trying to get to them and the police officers were trying to get consent.

In the midst of it all was Eleanor Bennet, sitting in a wheelchair holding Kenlee to her chest as the young girl tried desperately to get to Quincy, who was still making phone calls, pushing his hair off his forehead as the frustration seemed to take hold on his nineteen-year-old mind. Casper was doing all he can to help, but at this point, he was simply making sure Zoe and Ava didn't go anywhere as he stood guard at the back of his mother's wheelchair. The twins seemed content enough holding their pokémon, Zoe entertaining herself by letting Solosis float up, then bringing it back down while Ava simply cuddled her head into her Munna.

Eleanor looked utterly exhausted, with bags under her eyes and long, somewhat thin hair hanging in her face, having finally come loose from the low ponytail in her head.

"I didn't realize that she was sick." Hilda couldn't help but comment. "She looks exhausted. No wonder Quincy works so far and Casper takes on so much responsibility. Even if they're good kids, a set of twins and a two-year-old has to be a lot to handle. All of them probably had to grow up fast."

She scowled at the ground, unable to watch any longer.

"What a shitty man, to leave your wife like that. What sort of bastard up and abandons his sick wife and five kids? They're you're responsibility, together. By getting married, everything should be a shared responsibility. Even separated, your kids, at least, are your responsibility."

"I guess some people don't see it like that." Black finally said. "Some people don't see the children as their responsibility, and some pick and choose which should have their care. Some people think that, even after making a commitment, they can still live as they please."

Hilda didn't expect to hear that come from Black's mouth, honestly. Of all people to talk about the commitment of a relationship between man and wife, she thought he'd be all like 'Yeah, it's a sucky thing he did, but hey. Live fast and die young! There's a lot of fish in the sea!'.

"You believe in marriage commitment?" she asked skeptically.

"Not necessarily." Black said musingly. "I believe in commitment to the children, at least. Until they hit sixteen, they're your responsibility after all. Relationships come and go. Feelings are constantly changing. Those two things are probably the most unstable things in life. That, and psychology and/or mental health." his lips quirked slightly, as if he made a good joke. "But children are a constant. No matter what, they're your responsibility from the moment they're conceived. And it's up to the parents to care for them."

Hilda glanced back at the Bennet family, over her shoulder as they walked away and towards the exit of Striaton.

As much as she wanted to say something to dismiss his words or completely disagree with them all together, Hilda couldn't do it. Mostly because she agrees. No matter the circumstances in her mind, parents should always care for their children. Even her dad, who she hasn't seen since she was five and was nothing more than a tall, faceless man with brown hair, kept contact and at least remembered holidays and child support. It looked like the Bennets were completely on their own…

Of course, she reached this conclusion over a course of events not including her parents divorce. Interacting with Bianca's and Cheren's starkly different parents was a huge help.

Bianca's dad was a prick and her mother, much to submissive. If there was ever an oppressed woman in a free country, Hilda was pretty sure Bianca's mother fit the bill. Even still, she claimed that she was happy dawdling around the house having the staff wait on her, and that her husbands protective… borderline possessive and controlling behavior was an act of love.

Cheren's parents, however, were almost the complete opposite. His father, an OCD nut, obsessively kept his house pristine and neat, so far as using Q-tips to clean the especially hard to reach spots. At one point, Hilda vividly recalled having to wear paper-towel slippers over her shoes when she went over; which led to a lot of mock skating games which were super fun. Once he deemed her and Bianca "none contaminated", he began to relieve some of the obsessiveness. He never complained about messes or kids making messes. Just… hovered a bit and cleaned where he was needed. Cheren's mother, on the other hand, was a super intelligent lawyer that worked cases across the country. A woman who saw through all BS… a menace when it came to catching liars. She full out would interrogate them and not hesitate to start a fight with fellow parents who falsely accused her son or his friends of wrongdoings. After all, in her mind, Cheren was an angel child and could do nothing wrong.

Naturally, this led to a lot of arguments and police calls when it came to her and Bianca's father. Never again would their little birthday get togethers or even town get togethers be the same. Probably, this feud fed into Bianca's fathers overall distaste for Cheren in a whole. No matter what he became, he would always be his mothers son.

Then, in the middle of it all, was her mother, the neutral ground.

Her mom had always been a tough, but gentle, nut. While arguments were flung between feuding families, she'd be the one to walk into the middle of it with a plate of cookies and a smile. A smile that was welcoming, but also demanded they cut the bullshit because, for the sake or Arceus, they were scaring the children. She was always lenient, but firm. The kind of woman that would let her steal from the cookie jar once, but twice, and Hilda could expect her least favorite cookies, raisin looking disgustingly similar to chocolate chip, in that jar next time. And in the middle of all her caring love, she was working her two jobs; lawn maintenance during the day and janitorial work at night in Accumula. And even after all of that, Hilda always remembered coming home to something on the table, with a welcoming hug and a woman waiting to hear all about her adventures or her day at school.

All of that, to raise her only daughter to not be a perfect child-she thought perfection was overrated, after all- but a daughter who was good enough to make a good impact on the world.

Evidently, Hilda thought that she was experienced enough to have at least an educated opinion on the topic of parents and their kids. So in the end…

She wondered what made Black come to his.

o.0.o.0.o

Hilda kept insisting she was one grass patch away from Nacrene, but trying to get through the clusterfuck that was previously the Duel Daycares-now roped off and filled to the brim with investigators- she gave up.

However, she came prepared. Pulling out her bag, she immediately began pitching a tent in the middle of the forest.

"How did you fit a tent in that thing?" Black asked, watching her from afar.

"A good cheapskate always do their best to not have to pay! If there's not a pokémon center nearby, I'll pitch this here travel tent and sleep in the wilderness!"

She was proud to say this. So very, very proud.

"You know, there's probably a cheap hostel or inn along this path we could stay in."

"But that costs money and a tent is just as good!" Hilda affirmed. "Where're your balls, Black? Don't men like this whole camping thing?"

"I don't exactly make it a point to sleep in the weeds." Black sighed, settling against a tree.

"Well, if you're to much of a pansy to sleep out here, go find your cushy little inn." Hilda said, hammering the final peg in the dirt. "I'm gonna be saving enough cash to buy myself a breakfast sandwich when I reach Nacrene."

"If you wake up for breakfast." Black teased. Hilda shot him a glare. "Don't think Bianca hasn't talked about your sleeping habits."

"Don't talk to Bianca, creep." Hilda growled at him. Shooting him a glare, she stood. "Well, aren't you going to go to your cushy inn?"

"I'd be remiss to leave a lady alone in the woods." Black took off his ball cap, revealing a full head of spiky hair. Hilda simply stared at, knowing those spikes were surely gravity defying… "Besides, times are dangerous. Thieves, ruffians, wild beasts…"

"This isn't some stupid RPG." Hilda snarled at him. "And I'm no damsel."

"You could be." Black hummed back. "Trouble seems to follow you, so you never know, Hilda."

Hilda glowered at him, taking off her hat and pulling out her ponytail. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Black leaning against the tree wit his arms crossed casually behind his head. Scowling, she released her Oshawott. He snorted, blinking up at her.

"Get up, you've been sleeping all day." she said simply. Oshawott glowered.

"What?" he demanded.

"Keep watch," Hilda pointed over at Black. "Until that tumor falls asleep. He won't leave, so I need you to make sure he doesn't open this tent. And if he comes close, you better cut his damn hand off with Razor Shell."

With permission to be persistent and possibly violet, Oshawott smirked.

"Can't wait. The jerk so much as twitches, I'll slice and dice him to ribbons!"

"Don't go to nuts."

"You do realize that threatening me with your pokémon is conspiracy to commit murder, correct?" Black chimed in

"Yeah, but if my loyal guard Oshawott if fending off an attacker, then I'm good." Hilda shot back, climbing into her tent. "You know what to do if he moves, Oshawott."

Oshawott saluted.

"Yes, sir!"

o.0.o.0.o

Hilda did not sleep. While she trusted Oshawott to be only the most loyal of guards, she did not trust Black to not try to attack him. After all, Oshawott may have a big head and be full of bravado… but there's only so much arrogance will get you when you're one foot seven. One foot seven, barely level fourteen, against a dude who seemed to have strong pokémon on his team.

The blue, butt-headed one would probably smack Oshawott to the side like a lily pad or something.

So, with how stubborn headed she was, she stayed awake well into the night, meticulously listening for him to make his disgusting, creepy move.

Checking her X-tranciever for the billionth time, she saw that the digital clock glowed just past four thirty. She was dead freaking tired, but still, she waited. She had to wait until she was sure she was safe, then she could sneak away at sunrise and then crash on a bench or something in Nacrene. Or in the pokémon center. On a mattress.

A comfortable mattress with a soft pillow and a warm blanket…

"Fucking idiot." she groaned to herself, rubbing her eyes as she felt herself drifting. "Not yet. Not yet. Sunrise is a six, just an hour and a half. You can fucking make it."

She probably couldn't. Hilda could never make it, ever. All the slumber parties she had with Bianca, all the late night parties that were held in her hometown or the overnight school parties they attended… It always ended with her crashing at ten at night. Never has she made it to the new years celebration at midnight, never has she watched the ball drop in Castelia City square… It was like her body had a set timer. Like gas in a vehicle, when she ran out, she dropped and stopped moving.

But at this point, she was fueling herself on pure stubbornness and distrust alone. Apparently, it was a great fuel alternative.

At this point, she was humoring the idea that she was completely manic, when suddenly, it happened.

The flap of her tent moved.

"I knew it, you son of a-!" she screamed with glee, only to come face to face with blue eyes rimmed with yellow, a black snout, and a white lightening bolt. The pokémon glared at her. She blinked back.

Then the son of a bitch snatched up her bag and retreated from the tent.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU FUCKING THIEF!"

Hilda was sure that her roar had echoed across the forest and into the cities beyond. But she didn't care. She scrambled out of her sleeping bag and out of her tent, roaring obscenities as she chased after the pokémon.

Maybe it was because she was to exhausted to care, or maybe she was sick of the bullshit called "adventure" not two weeks in, but she was sprinting after the pokémon for all she was worth. Everything was in that bag, from her spare clothes to her items to her Arceus damned money. And she wasn't about to let that thief of a pokémon make out with it.

Fueled by rage and perhaps mania, she made a running leap and tackled the pokémon around the neck. The pokémon was shorter than her, bipedal with a head that reached her shoulder, not counting the stupid lightening bolt on it's head.

In the back of her mind, a tiny voice mocked her. But Hilda, it said, isn't this the Blitzle that you were so keen on catching earlier?

Damn straight, and once she wrangled her bag from it's damn mouth, she was going to manually shove it into a pokéball.

For being such a small thing, at least in comparison to her mothers Bouffalant, this thing knew how to buck. Like, seriously, she was getting tossed around like she decided to dive headfirst into an ocean-speaking solely based on stories from Bianca and her family vacations to Johto and other exotic locations.

But then again, her mother was a menace when her kid was in danger. Had to be, considering she was on her own. Maybe she subdued that Bouggalant to be gentle and docile around her?

"Give. Me. My. Damn. BAG!" she roared, each word coming out with a corresponding spasm from the Blitzle.

Fed up, she tightened her grip, then literally threw the pokémon over her shoulder with an almost impressive backbend. She knew she didn't expect such an attack to come from her, and she was pretty certain the Blitzle was to shellshocked to move.

"Damn thing thinking it was smart to fuck with me when I've been up way to fucking long…" Hilda muttered under her breath as she dug through her bag as the first sunshine of dawn began to peek over the horizon. Finally finding a pokéball, one of the three ultra balls she got for buying ten great balls in Striaton, she tossed it at the semi-stunned Blitzle.

Smartly on the pokémons part, the Blitzle remained in the pokéball, officially caught.

"Well then."

Black's voice echoed behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, opening her mouth to say something… But to her, it seemed like her fuel had finally run out.

She was certain she was asleep before she hit the ground.

o.0.o.0.o

For the record, Hilda's mother was a wrangler on a Flocessy Ranch before she got together with Hilda's father and had the girl in question. So maybe the strength is genetic?

Isn't it funny how inspiration works? I'm running on about three hours of sleep right now and thought it would be funny if Hilda wrangled a Blitzle that stole her bag. That led to me thinking about the history of Hilda's parents, and somehow, I ended up with this.

Sorry if it's a short fillerish chapter. But like I said; three hours of sleep, and I'm gonna be on a twelve hour drive tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!

Amy47101 signing off! ^.^