AN: Hope you guys enjoy the first rival battle!
Route 4. Once again, Hilbert has arrived to the desert-like area. In the middle of the road that paved the way, Cheren and Bianca were standing in the middle of it.
"! Here he comes!" Bianca exclaimed.
Hilbert walked up to the two, where he was greeted by a friendly greeting from Bianca, and a rather stern and somewhat hostile glare from Cheren.
"Yo, you two," Hilbert said.
"...You came," Cheren said. "Now then, shall we begin?"
"What's with wanting to battle, all of a sudden?" Hilbert asked.
"I just wanted to see how strong you became ever since we parted ways," Cheren said.
"Fair enough..." Hilbert said. "Fine by me. Once we're done, I'm heading for Nimbasa City."
"Fine then," Cheren said. "We both have 4 Pokémon on our teams, right?"
"Yeah," Hilbert responded.
"Then let's have a 4 VS 4 battle, no substitutions during battle," Cheren proposed. "Does that sound fair?"
"Fine by me," Hilbert said.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Bianca asked.
"It'll be fine," Cheren assured her. "Now, let's begin, shall we?"
"Alright then," Hilbert agreed. "Let's do this!"
"Liepard!"
From Cheren's side, a slender, purple feline Pokémon speckled with yellow rosettes.
"? His Purrloin evolved?" Hilbert asked. "...It outta be faster now..."
Hilbert thought about it for a moment, then took out a pokéball and released Excadrill.
"Excadrill..." Cheren muttered. "This ought to be tough...Whenever you're ready, Hilbert!"
"Alright then! Victory goes to the quickest!" Hilbert said. "Excadrill! Horn Dri–!"
"Fake Out!"
Before Excadrill could move, Liepard swiftly jumped right in front of him and slapped his paws together, causing him to flinch.
"Wha-!?" Hilbert blurted.
"Sand Attack!"
Liepard then backed away and hurled sand at Excadrill's eyes using his front paws, blinding him.
"-Gah! Can't see!-" Excadrill muttered.
"Excadrill!" Hilbert exclaimed.
"Excadrill...to think you would use such a powerful Pokémon so early in the match..." Cheren said. "A Ground/Steel type, its main features in a battle is its metal 'shovels' that it uses to pierce through even iron plates to maneuver through the ground, and its monstrous strength. But the best selling point of Excadrill is its handiwork in the sand."
"What...?" Hilbert asked.
"Don't play dumb," Cheren scoffed. "You know its ability, Sand Rush. In the sandstorm, its speed doubles, thereby allowing it to abuse its massive power at blinding speed. Knowing that I would use Liepard, a Pokémon mainly known for its speed, you would manipulate the weather to outspeed it and overpower Liepard."
"...So it's that obvious, eh?" Hilbert asked.
"Logical and reliable...but..." Cheren said. "If you can't land a hit on me, then there's no point in your power or speed!"
"Like I give a crap! All we need to do is land a hit on you then!" Hilbert yelled as Excadrill wiped the sand out of his eyes. "Horn Drill!"
"Dig!"
As Excadrill joined his claws and rammed at Liepard like a drill, Liepard dug underground, avoiding Excadrill's attack.
"What the–!?" Hilbert blurted.
Excadrill stopped and looked around, trying to see where his foe would emerge.
"When did it know Dig!?" Hilbert asked.
"I found a TM containing it, so I taught it to Liepard," Cheren explained. "Since its Dark-type moves would be pointless against Steel-types."
"Damn it..." Hilbert muttered. "Stay vigilant, Excadrill."
Excadrill looked around, staying cautious. But as he was looking around, he didn't notice the ground popping up a little.
"! Under you!" Hilbert warned him.
Excadrill glanced down, only to have Liepard shoot out of the ground and ram him.
"Sand Attack once he lands!" Cheren commanded.
Excadrill flew up from the impact, but landed back on his feet quickly, only to have Liepard waiting for him and flung sand in his eyes once more.
"-Not again!-" Excadrill growled, wiping the sand in his eyes.
"Isn't this a bit cheap..." Hilbert muttered.
"There's no such thing as 'cheap'," Cheren said. "This is manipulating the Pokémon's moveset to the fullest. It's a hit-and-run tactic."
Hilbert gritted his teeth. He couldn't really say anything about it being 'cheap', because this was the very tactic he had used against Burgh, as well as it was the tactic he planned to use to face Lenora and her mighty Stoutland.
"Damn it...but we won't fall for it again!" Hilbert yelled.
As Excadrill wiped the sand in his eyes once again, and he slashed at the ground underneath him as soon as he heard the sound of the ground emerging, but to no avail. Instead, Liepard emerged behind him and rammed him.
"Like we're stupid enough to do the same thing twice," Cheren scoffed. "Sand-Attack."
Liepard found an opening and flung sand at Excadrill eyes again, then submerged to the ground once more.
"Damn it!" Hilbert muttered.
"So? What will you do now?" Cheren asked.
Hilbert glared at Cheren, then saw the hole that Liepard made, and found an idea.
"That's it!" Hilbert exclaimed as Excadrill regained his sight again. "Excadrill! After that cat!"
"What!?" Cheren blurted.
Excadrill rushed over and leaped into the hole in his drill form.
"Who do you think's faster in the ground?" Hilbert asked "A cat? Or a mole made for excavating!?"
Eventually, the ground burst once more, but this time with Excadrill drilling at Liepard's belly.
"Oh no!" Cheren cried.
"Now fling him to the ground and pin it with a Focus Blast!" Hilbert commanded.
Excadrill grabbed Liepard and hurled him to the ground, then charged a Focus Blast as he fell and pinned it to Liepard as they crashed into the ground, causing the energy orb to implode at point-blank range.
"Liepard!" Cheren cried.
When the dust cleared, Excadrill stood victorious over the defeated Liepard.
"Alright!" Hilbert cheered as Excadrill smirked.
"Well played," Cheren said, recalling Liepard. "Especially that Focus Blast. When did it learn something like that?"
"...I found a TM," Hilbert said.
"Very well..." Cheren said calmly, taking out another pokéball. "Tranquill!"
From the pokéball, a gray avian bird Pokémon with lighter gray and black markings took flight to the sky.
"Moving the fight to the skies, eh?" Hilbert asked, recalling Excadrill. "Archen!"
In Excadrill's place, Hilbert released Archen, continuing their battle. Bianca watched the battle, a little uneasily as they continued their fight.
If Castelia City was the epitome of economy and business (which it clearly is), then its sister city, Nimbasa City, is the epitome of leisure and entertainment. The flashy buildings, the two stadiums and a theater hall, and an amusement park that nested at the east area of the city. Not too far from the pokécenter, a huge subway station sat there. From the outskirts of the city, Hilda emerged from an alley, making sure no one was paying any attention to her, and made her way through the city.
"Now then...let's see if I can't find some information on that Pokémon?" Hilda asked.
She went around the city, asking people about a cloaked Pokémon that was recently spotted at the desert located near Nimbasa. To her surprise, she gained a lot of information.
"Ah, you must be talking about the 'Phantom," an old man she talked to told her.
"'Phantom?" Hilda asked confused.
"This has been going on for quite some time actually," the old man explained. "If I could recall, ever since 7-8 years ago, a cloaked vigilante was punishing outlaws and Pokémon alike."
'Sounds like that Pokémon I saw...' Hilda thought. "How would it 'punish' said outlaws and Pokémon?"
"According to rumors," the old man explained. "The Pokémon would use the exact same moves of its target to knock them out, and then drains their energy and be on its way."
'Yeah, just like how I was defeated...' Hilda thought. "That sounds like a rather dangerous Pokémon..."
"No, not at all," the old man said. "In fact, it's a rather good Pokémon."
"Pardon?" she asked.
"Like I said, it is a vigilante," the old man said. "It only targets outlaws and Pokémon causing trouble and there were cases of it rescuing people during accidents and incidents. It's also very elusive, as it never seems to stay in the same city for a while, and even then it's extremely rare to run into it as it stays hidden."
"I see..." Hilda said.
"You seem like a capable trainer, missy," the old man said as he took out something from the large bag he was carrying. "As a token of gratitude for listening to this old man's tale, I'd like to give you this."
The old man handed her a folded bicycle.
"Huh!? Wait, I can't accept this," Hilda declined.
"Please, do take it," the old man insisted. "I have a spare, so it's no use having two of the same thing."
"T-thank you..." Hilda said rather uneasily.
"You're welcome," the old man smiled. "Now then...I had enough sightseeing. These old bones better get going back home."
He took a second folded bicycle from his bag and began to unfold it.
"If you ever get the chance," the old man said. "Do visit me and my wife at the Pokémon daycare on Route 3."
"Yes, thank you for the bicycle," Hilda said.
The old man smiled and rode his bike back to Route 4.
"What a nice old man," Hilda said. "And thanks to him, I was able to get some valuable information on this so-called 'Phantom'...but..."
She looked at the folded bicycle that was given to her. She surely didn't need it, since she couldn't really use it out in public, what with her being a member of Team Plasma and all. Plus, since she could always just teleport to any location via an elgyem, she didn't really have any need for a bicycle.
"...Maybe I should give it to Hilbert once I see him again..." Hilda said to herself.
"Air Cutter!"
"AncientPower!"
Tranquill released razor-like wind, where Archen launched pointed rocks at Tranquill. The two attacks passed by each other and landed a clean hit on both bird Pokémon, causing both of them to fall to the ground. While Tranquill was KO'd, Archen just stood back up fine as any day.
"Two down!" Hilbert grinned.
"Alright, Hilbert!" Bianca cheered, not noticing Cheren's grimace that followed.
Archen cawed in the victory that he gained as Cheren recalled his fainted tranquill. Cheren took a deep breath, calming himself down, but grinned afterwards.
"You are a strong trainer, Hilbert," Cheren said. "To further abuse the sandstorm by utilizing its special defense boost for rock types to your advantages along with the obvious type advantage."
"Seriously? The sandstorm could do that?" Hilbert asked, legitimately surprised.
"Yes, that's one of the beneficial aspects of sandstorm," Cheren explained. "But this only applies to rock types."
"So with that knowledge in hand," Hilbert deduced. "You're probably gonna use your boldore now, right?"
"Close," Cheren grinned.
"Close?" Hilbert asked.
With a confident smirk on his face, he threw his pokéball up into the air. From it, a large, blue-colored quadruped Pokémon with various spiny, crystal-like red features jutting out of its body landed on the field, causing the ground to shake a little upon landing. The giant towered over Archen, as he and his trainer were both left in complete shock at the sight of the giant.
"Holy...sheeesus..." Hilbert gaped as he scanned the titan with his pokédex.
"Gigalith, the compressed Pokémon," it read. "The solar energy absorbed by its body's orange crystals is magnified internally and fired from its mouth. It is the evolved form of Boldore."
"The evolved form of Boldore?" Hilbert asked. "How did it evolve so quickly!?"
"Boldore was one of the Pokémon that require trade to evolve," Cheren explained. "After I learned that, I immediately evolved it once I got the chance."
"Damn..." Hilbert simply said. 'Great...and here I thought Servine would be the biggest threat...but he has this hulking rock leviathan!?'
He looked at his remaining party members through their pokéballs while he recalled Archen.
'Archen won't handle that beast...' Hilbert thought. 'And it could probably overpower Dewott and Victini...Excadrill's still pretty banged up from Liepard's hit-and-away...but I don't wanna see what that thing can do...'
So he released Excadrill once more, hoping to avoid seeing the gigalith in action.
"Excadrill again?" Cheren asked. "This should be good..."
'I got one shot at this!' Hilbert thought. "Horn Drill!"
Excadrill formed his drill and rushed at Gigalith at blinding speed. The attack made contact, drilling at Gigalith's rock-hard skin.
"Yes! Direct hit!" Hilbert cheered, until he noticed Cheren grinning. "Why is he–? Wait, don't tell me–!"
He looked to Excadrill, who had drilled at Gigalith for a while, but Gigalith showed no sign of the attack working, much less fainting from it.
"What!?" Hilbert blurted. "How is Horn Drill not KO'ing it!?"
"Sturdy," Cheren simply explained. "Gigalith's ability. It negates all one-hit KO moves, and makes sure that the Pokémon will withstand any hit at full health."
"What!?" Hilbert gasped.
"Rock Smash!"
Gigalith smashed his leg at Excadrill, slamming him to the ground and forcing him out of his drill state.
"Rock Blast while it's down!"
"Gigalith then proceeded to shoot rocks from its mouth at Excadrill, nailing it three times before Excadrill fainted.
"Excadrill!" Hilbert cried.
"Now your best fighter in the sandstorm is down," Cheren said. "Now what will you do?"
"Oh, you little..." Hilbert growled as he recalled Excadrill. 'But still...now what...?'
He thought about it for a moment, then released Dewott.
"A type advantage, eh?" Cheren asked. "But don't forget that Gigalith's special defense gets a boost from the weather."
"-What in the–!?-" Dewott blurted, witnessing the giant and frantically preparing his blue blades.
'So far it knows Rock Blast and Rock Smash...I can't go reckless...we need to see what else it knows first...' Hilbert thought. "Water Pulse!"
Dewott released a pulse of water at the gigalith, but it just shrugged it off.
"Try again," Cheren said.
"Oh, you little..." Hilbert muttered. "Razor Shell! And avoid any attack it'll try to pull off!"
Dewott charged at Gigalith, brandishing his blue blades.
"Iron Defense!"
As Dewott lunged his blades at him, Gigalith hardened his skin like iron, easily shielding him from Dewott's blades and bouncing him back.
"So physical force won't cut it, either..." Hilbert muttered.
"Let's go on the offensive, Gigalith!" Cheren commanded. "Rock Blast!"
"Crap! Dodge it!" Hilbert yelled.
Dewott dodged the incoming rocks, but the sandstorm got to his eyes, making him stop for one moment, allowing one of the rocks to nail him.
"-Guagh!-" Dewott gagged as he fell back.
"Dewott!" Hilbert cried. 'Damn it! Am I really gonna get swept by one Pokémon!?'
But as Hilbert tried to think of something to turn the tables, Dewott got back on his feet, growling at the goliath.
"-I'm not done yet!-" Dewott growled, as a blue aura violently emitted from his body.
"Dewott..." Hilbert said. "...Right. We're not done yet!"
"Torrent!?" Cheren gasped, but retained his calm. "No matter. If Dewott's ability activated, then that means he must be at low health...it'll only be a matter of time!"
"Water Pulse!"
Dewott launched a huge pulse of water at Gigalith, making the goliath move back a little.
"What!?" Cheren blurted. "As expected of a Torrent-boosted Water Pulse...but that won't stop us!"
"You sure about that?" Hilbert asked as Dewott took a deep breath. "Now, Razor Shell!"
Dewott brandished his blue blades once more and charged at Gigalith once more.
"It won't matter if I defeat him now!" Cheren yelled. "Rock Blast!"
What he expected of Gigalith to shoot rocks at Dewott, the titan started to stagger and collapse a little.
"What the–!? What're you doing!?" Cheren yelled, until he realized that his Pokémon was confused. "How!? Unless...!"
But before he could realize it, Dewott had already jumped into the air and dropped down towards Gigalith, slashing him with both of his blades in one fell swoop. Unable to take any more damage, the giant fell, defeated.
"Finally..." Hilbert sighed.
"-How's them apples!?-" Dewott boasted, but staggered a little.
"So you confused Gigalith with Water Pulse..." Cheren said as he recalled his gigalith. "And used that opportunity to take him down in one swoop. Smart..."
"Like it matters now..." Hilbert said. "You only have one Pokémon left."
Without hesitation, Cheren took out his last pokéball and released his partner Pokémon, Servine.
"-You!-" Dewott growled.
"-It's been a while,-" Servine muttered. "-As unappealing as ever, I see.-"
"-Oh, you're so going down!-" Dewott growled as he brandished his blades once more, but fell to his knee due to the pain.
"Dewott! Don't push yourself!" Hilbert exclaimed. "You're already beaten up pretty badly, so take a rest!"
Dewott glared at Hilbert, adamantly standing his ground, wanting to face his rival. Seeing that Dewott won't comply with returning for Victini, Hilbert sighed and took a potion.
"Then get over here," Hilbert said. "You're gonna need as much energy as you can get."
Dewott smiled in satisfaction and happily went over to get healed.
"Are you seriously going to stay with Dewott?" Cheren asked if the decision disappointed him. "You know Servine have a type advantage, and Dewott is pretty beaten up. On top of that, unless you have some other move, then all of your attacks won't do much against Servine."
Hilbert and Dewott glared at Cheren and Servine, as Cheren tucked in his glasses.
"Aren't you obnoxious today," Hilbert muttered. "Don't tell me stuff that I already know!"
"Then why're you putting yourself in such a risky situation?" Cheren asked.
"And why are you acting all high-and-mighty now?" Hilbert shot back. "Last time I checked, you only have one Pokémon left, and I still have two."
"Soon, it'll be one on one, though," Cheren said, agitating Hilbert even further.
'The hell's up with him?' Hilbert thought. 'One minute, he wants a friendly battle, now he's acting like a full pompous freak!'
"Yo, Dewott," he whispered. "At this rate, those two won't stop at nothing to make sure you're defeated...our only choice is to gamble on a one-shot Revenge...but before that, can you at least try to land one strike from your blade?"
"-Leave it to me!-" Dewott grunted, seeming to agree with Hilbert's idea.
Hilbert nodded in approval.
"Alright! Let's do this!"
"Razor Shell!"
"Leaf Blade!"
Dewott lunged at Servine with his blue blades, while Servine sharpened the leaf on his tail and intercepted Dewott's blades with it and managed to push Dewott back.
"No other options?" Cheren asked tauntingly.
"Says you!" Hilbert growled as Dewott went for another attack.
Dewott lunged towards Servine and brandished his blades widely, allowing Servine to make one large slice. But this time, Dewott ducked at the last minute, catching Servine off guard and stabbed upwards, sending him to the sky. Servine managed to recover his balance and smash his tail on Dewott, but Dewott managed to block it with his blade and pushed the foe back.
"-Alright, I did it!-" Dewott announced. "-I hope you know what you're doing!-"
"-You sure you should be rejoicing just yet?-" Servine asked.
"-The hell're you talking about?-" Dewott asked.
"What the hell's that?" Hilbert asked, genuinely worried.
Dewott looked confused and examined himself, only to find a seed on his arm. As soon as he found it, it suddenly sprouted thin vines and wrapped around his body.
"-What the–!?-" Dewott blurted.
He tried to rip the seed off, but couldn't move at all. He fell to the ground, unable to free himself and weak.
"-The hell...!?-" Dewott gasped. "-Why am I so...weak...?-"
"What is that!?" Hilbert asked.
"Leech Seed," Cheren explained. "Servine was able to plant one during his last attack. As long as that seed is there, it'll drain Dewott's health until he's completely dried up. Combined with the damage that Dewott's taking from the sandstorm..."
After a few seconds, Dewott panted, struggling to deal with the pain that the weather is inflicting on him as the seed continued to drain him.
"Dewott's good as done," Cheren said.
Dewott glared at the two as he tried to get back up, only to fall flat on his face.
"-Damn it...-" Dewott grumbled weakly. "-Is this it?-"
"Let's end this," Cheren said. "Leaf Blade!"
Servine grinned and brandished his tail blade and lunged towards Dewott. Hilbert grimaced, ready to switch out Dewott with Victini, but he saw Dewott's look of pure anger, disappointment, and shame of losing. He could always switch out Dewott and still win, but denying his partner's feelings was the one thing he didn't want to do. While he interpreted his expression as such, Dewott was only shamed that he couldn't finish the fight just when he was able to take down Gigalith for Hilbert, and couldn't even do anything about it. However...
"-I'm not...-" Dewott mumbled. "-Done yet!-"
"Huh!?" Hilbert blurted.
As Servine landed on Dewott, Dewott managed to stand back up and jump into Servine's Leaf Blade, getting slashed in the process.
"Dewott!" Hilbert cried as he fell back.
"What was that about?" Cheren asked, until he saw Dewott stand back up.
The sea otter grinned, as the seed that had trapped him was now cut off and fell to the ground.
"What!?" Cherne gasped.
"! I get it..." Hilbert said. "He purposely took the Leaf Blade to cut the seed..."
Hilbert grinned. Dewott still had a chance.
"You reckless bastard!" Hilbert couldn't help to say. "We still have a shot at this!"
"How was he able to tank a Leaf Blade!?" Cheren asked. "He shouldn't have any energy left!"
"Let's end this!" Hilbert boomed.
"Says you!" Cheren yelled, signaling Servine to make one last Leaf Blade.
But as Servine attacked Dewott, he intercepted it with his blade, and brandished the other one.
"What!?" Cheren gasped.
"-What're you–!-" Servine blurted.
"-Revenge, bitch!-" Dewott roared as he violently smashed Servine, sending him flying even further than before. The snake plummeted to the ground, knocked out.
"Im...possible..." Cheren muttered in shock. "I had the type advantage...and Dewott was that much withered down..."
Hilbert let out a huge sigh, as Dewott suddenly fell over.
"Dewott!?" Hilbert cried, as he went to check on him, only to see that he had fainted from the sandstorm damage and sighed, but not without smiling. "You reckless idiot..."
They both recalled their partners, where Bianca stepped in to congratulate the two.
"That was amazing you guys!" Bianca cheered.
"Thanks," Hilbert said, tucking in his hat.
"Thanks," Cheren said. "That was impressive, Hilbert."
"Huh? Thanks," Hilbert said. 'What was his problem a few minutes ago, anyway?'
"To be able to win despite having a type disadvantage and with that much fatigue from the last fight..." Cheren said. "Dewott is really strong."
"More like reckless..." Hilbert muttered. "But he did well. Although I wish Victini could've gotten some action."
"Right..." Cheren said. "I was hoping you would release it while Gigalith was out. A mythical Pokémon would be troublesome to face..."
"Hey, can I see it again?" Bianca asked.
"Huh? Sure, I guess..." Hilbert said, releasing Victini from his pokéball.
He was apparently sleeping the entire time, as he rubbed his eyes and looked around to see where he was.
"-Where am I?-" Victini murmured, until he saw Cheren and Bianca. "-Geh! You're the girl with the death-hug!-"
"Awww! You're soo cute!" Bianca squealed as she gave him a 'death hug', crushing the tiny Pokémon in her grasp.
"-Not...again...!-" Victini gagged, trying to escape the embrace.
"So, what're you gonna do now?" Cheren asked.
"First, head back to the pokécenter to heal up everybody," Hilbert said. "Your Gigalith dealt a number to them."
"Right...sorry..." Cheren said apologetically.
"It's fine," Hilbert said. "So I presume you're headed for Nimbasa City then?"
"Of course," Cheren said. "I'm going to get my fourth gym badge and become even stronger."
"Well, don't push yourself," Hilbert said before recalling Victini.
"Likewise," Cheren said. "You don't know where Team Plasma might show up."
"Thanks for the advice," Hilbert snickered before heading back.
"Bye, Hilbert!" Bianca called out, waving her hand.
Hilbert responded by waving his hand from behind.
Soon enough, Cheren and Bianca were left alone in the desert. As soon as Hilbert was out of sight, Cheren released all of his Pokémon, where he took out four yellow crystals. He took one and crushed it in his hand, then fed the dust to his Pokémon, then repeated the procees to his other Pokémon. One by one, they regained consciousness.
"You guys alright?" Cheren asked.
"-Ugh...that mole was tough...-" Liepard muttered. "-I used all my strength just to tackle that thing with Dig, but he was able to tank that much...-"
"-At least your opponent didn't shoot rocks at you!-" Tranquill complained. "-That bird–lizard–whatever kept gunning me down with rocks and was able to keep up with me! Plus, he didn't even get hurt from the sandstorm!-"
As the two Pokémon argued on which one was tougher to face, Gigalith slammed his foot to the ground, shaking the ground and breaking up their fight. The hulking rock goliath stood over the two rather intimidatingly.
"-No...fighting...-" Gigalith moaned.
"-Y-yessir...-" they both said, frightened to see what Gigalith would do if he is angry.
"So, do we head out now?" Bianca asked Cheren.
But as she turned to Cheren, he had a rather difficult look on his face.
'Why can't I win!?' Cheren thought to himself. 'I knew his team and all their weaknesses! I had the perfect strategy for all of them, yet he still won! He even defeated Servine, my best Pokémon, with Dewott! Granted it is his best Pokémon, he was a water-type against a grass-type! Especially someone as bulky as Servine, along with that much support and strong attacks, he still managed to win! So how...!'
"Cheren?" Bianca asked.
Snapping out of his train of thought, Cheren looked back up to her.
"Oh sorry, what?" Cheren asked.
"Should we start heading for Nimbasa City now?" Bianca asked.
"I would, but..." Cheren said, looking at the crimson sky. "It's starting to get late."
"Then let's head back to the pokécenter to rest up then," Bianca said.
"That's probably a good idea..." Cheren said. "But..."
"? Cheren?" Bianca asked.
"...Let's try to go ahead as far as we can," Cheren suggested. "Then see if there's a place where we can stay to rest once it becomes dark."
"Huh? Why don't you want to go to the pokécenter?" Bianca asked.
"I..." Cheren said, but hesitated. "...Let's just go..."
Cheren recalled his Pokémon and headed forward into the route, leaving Bianca behind.
"Huh!? Wait for me!" Bianca cried, chasing after him.
"Mach Punch."
At blinding speed, a bipedal, gray Pokémon with a dark-violet nose and bulbous features smashed its fist into a liepard strongly. The liepard flew back, as the Pokémon carried the steel beam it was carrying on its shoulder and jumped back to Hilda's side.
"Damn it!" the opposing trainer said. "C'mon, you useless cat! Use Night Slash!"
The liepard (reluctantly) got back up and slashed at the gray Pokémon, but was shot down by a sudden burst of water. The trainer looked to see a bipedal blue-colored sea turtle Pokémon, staring both the cat and the trainer down.
"Why the hell're you still up!?" the trainer growled. "Duosion! What the hell're you–!?"
The trainer looked to see that his other Pokémon that resembled a green blob with a large head and stubby arms inside was already fainted.
"You are unfit and unworthy to possess Pokémon," Hilda said in a cold and intimidating tone. "Leave those poor creatures behind and leave."
"Says you, bitch!" the trainer yelled. "C'mon do something you pieces of shit!"
The liepard and duosion reluctantly struggled to get back up, only making Hilda even more disappointed.
"End this," Hilda commanded.
The gray Pokémon stepped back, as the turtle got in front of them. From his mouth, the turtle released an intense amount of water that blasted the trainer and his Pokémon to the wall mercilessly. After the trainer woke up, he cowered in fear.
"Leave them," Hilda said.
Cowering in fear, the trainer left his pokéballs and ran for his life. With a sign of acknowledgement from his trainer, the gray Pokémon lifted his steel beam and smashed the balls, breaking them into flattened pieces. With the pokéballs broken beyond repair, the Pokémon previously caught in them are now wild Pokémon once more. Satisfied, Hilda went over to the two Pokémon. They jumped back in fear, but she placed two yellow pear-like berries in front of them.
"Eat up," she said in a softer and sweeter voice, incomparable to her earlier cold voice. "This will make you feel better."
Hesitantly, they both took a bite from the berry, until they hastily chowed down on it as if they had not had food for a while.
"You two are free now," Hilda said. "Go and be free."
The two Pokémon looked at each other, then Hilda, then finally left them.
"-Alright! A job well done!-" the gray Pokémon cheered.
"-Indeed,-" the turtle nodded.
"Nice job, Gurdurr, Carracosta," Hilda said, taking out to more berries. "Here's a treat for a job well done."
The gray Gurdurr and the turtle Carracosta graciously accepted their reward and chowed down on it.
"But to have you two evolve during our mission is a big plus to our forces..." Hilda said. "With you two, maybe we can stand a chance against 'Phantom'."
"-Don't worry, Hilda!-" Gurdurr assured her. "-We'll take that asshole down!-"
"-Yeah,-" Carracosta nodded in response.
"Although I don't want to take any chances," Hilda said. "Gurdurr. How would you feel to evolve once more?"
"-Really!? I can do that!?-" Gurdurr gasped.
"If we were to use a PC, then you could achieve your final stage of evolution," Hilda explained. "What do you say?"
Gurdurr nodded happily in response, deciding their next move. As they headed to the pokécenter, the sky was already dark of night.
"It's already nighttime..." Hilda said. "Maybe I should head back to the castle now..."
"Why not stay for a little longer," a voice suggested from out of nowhere.
Hilda and her Pokémon quickly turned to the source of the voice, only to find that it belonged to their lord, N.
"Lord N!" Hilda exclaimed. "What are you doing here? You should be back at the castle!"
"Now, now," N said. "I was also searching around the town for information on 'Phantom'."
"...So you heard of the enemy..." Hilda said.
"...This 'Phantom' Pokémon seems to have a sense of justice..." N commented. "But judging by what he did to us back at Resort Desert, he's definitely our enemy."
"I understand," Hilda said. "I am preparing to take him down once we meet again. Do not fear, Lord N. I shall defeat this threat without fail."
"I believe you, but don't push yourself," N said. "I don't want you to get injured again."
"Thank you for worrying about me, but I will be fine," Hilda said. "First, I need to go to the pokécenter and use their PC. There, I can have Gurdurr evolve into Conkeldurr, and have even more power to face Phantom."
"Alright then," N said. "But first, can we go somewhere?"
"Huh?" Hilda asked. "Where?"
N pointed to the glimmering Ferris wheel that pierced the thick darkness of the night.
"You want to ride the Ferris wheel?" Hilda asked.
"I'm really interested in it," N said. "What do you say?"
"It will be an honor," Hilda said, taking a little bow.
Soon enough, the two of them were riding the Ferris wheel. N looked out through the window with great excitement, as if he was a child riding it for the first time. Hilda only chuckled at the sight.
"You must truly be enjoying yourself, my Lord," Hilda said.
"This is an amazing ride," N commented. "The circular motion...the mechanics...they're like collections of elegant formulas."
As Hilda giggled to his enthusiasm, N noticed Hilda carrying something in a large bag.
"? What's that?" N asked.
"Huh? Oh, you mean this?" Hilda asked. "It's a folding bicycle. I received it from an old man who gave me information on Phantom."
"A bicycle?" N asked curiously. "Did you ever need something like that?"
"No, but I plan to give this to Hilbert as a present," Hilda said. "Surely he would be able to use it more that me.
"I see," N chuckled. "You really like Hilbert, don't you."
Hilda blushed from that statement, hugging the bag tightly. Amused, N looked back to the window to enjoy the scenery, but something that was standing on a platform, glaring at him with murderous eyes made his eyes widen.
"Lord N?" Hilda asked. "Is something wrong?"
N looked back at Hilda, then back at the window, but the thing that was making him that tense was gone. Curious, Hilda looked out to see what was upsetting her lord, but saw nothing but the scenery.
"What a beautiful view!" Hilda cooed.
While Hilda was enjoying the sight, N was still unnerved from the sight of a certain phantom that just scared him.
When the ride finished, Hilda and N stepped out of the Ferris wheel.
"That was a splendid ride!" Hilda said. "But now, we should return to the castle."
"Aren't you going to go to the pokécenter?" N asked.
"It is a bit late for that," Hilda said. "Plus, I realized that it would be a problem if anyone recognized me as a member of Team Plasma if I showed my face there, so I'll ask one of the men from engineering to help me."
"I see..." N said. "Then go on ahead. I need to do one last thing."
"Are you sure? Then I shall wait for–," Hilda said.
"Don't worry about it," N interrupted her. "You need to get some rest. This is an order."
"I...see..." Hilda said, a little sad. "Then I will go on ahead. But please come back soon."
"I will," N assured her.
Reluctantly, Hilda released an elgyum and teleported back to the castle. Now that he was alone, he took out a pokéball.
"...I don't want to involve her in this..." N said. "This is something I need to find out. Now then...Phantom..."
N turned the other way, where the cloaked Pokémon from before stood in front of him.
"I'm glad you didn't attack us when we were on the ride," N said.
Phantom didn't respond.
"...So you won't bother to talk to me, huh?" N asked. "Fair enough...but..."
From the pokéball, Zoroark was released as he entered the field, growling at Phantom.
"Answer this question," N said. "I want to know the truth."
Phantom continued to glare at N, as he took a deep breath.
"What did you mean by 'murderers'?"
To be continued
AN: Murder!? In Pokémon!? Oh who am I kidding, Red and Blue already did that. But the question is what Phantom meant by it. This is going to be the start of a whole new sub-plot in the story which will eventually lead into the main plot of this story.
And I hoped you enjoyed the first rival battle of the story. Like the gym battles, I decided to give Cheren some buffs here and there to make things more interesting. And before you ask, yes Hilbert will fight Bianca, just not yet. Something needs to happen first.
Hoped you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for reading, and tell me what you think. See ya next time!