Really, who could leave out Iris?

"More of them? Wasn't one enough?"

N was amazed that there were so many people interested in him, but he was much more freaked out by the statements they made. "Let me pet your hair!" "Marry me!" "Sell me your hat!" The request for photographs suddenly didn't seem too bad...

"Look, this one's asking if she can keep your hair!" Anthea squealed, her face nearly as pink as her own hair from her giggle fit.

Concordia shook her head at her sister's hyperactivity. Ghetsis should never have allowed Anthea near the coffee machine. He knew she had a low caffeine tolerance...

Then again, he probably knew what the three of them would be spending the morning attempting to do. Sorting through N's fan mail was not something anyone enjoyed doing, but it wasn't like he could trust the Shadow Triad with it.

"How do they even know of my existence, anyway?" N continued, opening yet another letter. "Ghetsis makes the speeches."

"I'm more surprised they know where we live," Concordia muttered, gently shooing away yet another Pidove with messages from obsessive teenage girls. "You should probably start explaining that you're already in a committed relationship."

"But I'm not!" N complained, trying to keep his mind from wandering where he knew they expected it to go. He couldn't afford to think of Hilda right now. She was just a friend, not a life-mate or anything resembling it. He wasn't even sure they were still friends after what had happened in Dragonspiral Tower.

"Your thoughts are always on somebody else," Concordia teased. "All that's missing is the official statement."

"My thoughts aren't always with her," N insisted. "I'm still dedicated to the mission, after all."

"Yes, but you immediately knew who I was speaking of."

"It's hard not to be aware, Concordia. You're both unbelievably relentless shippers."

Both women were surprised at his casual use of the word, in proper context no less, each knowing that she had never used it in his presence. And they were both equally sure that the other hadn't, and they doubted the Sages knew what shipping was. There was only one other option for how N could have learned the definition of 'shipping' when he had more important things to do with his time.

"N..." Anthea started, her voice breaking as she tried to fight laughter. "Have you been on Tumblr?"

"No. And I never will again. Not after last time." He tried to put memories of 'last time' out of his head, focusing on the mission.

His sisters wouldn't let it drop, however. "I wasn't aware Ghetsis even let you use the internet," Concordia said, wondering what Ghetsis could be up to with this.

"It's a recent development. Now can we go back to important things, please?"


"Drayden!" Hilbert called, armed with the Pokémon he'd spent the rest of the day training. "I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"

"Drayden took the day off," Iris's voice called back from high on the dragon's head. "I'm the Gym Leader today, he's the referee."

"Oh." He cleared his throat and spoke again. "Iris! I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"

"I heard you the first time! Come on!"

Hilbert glanced around at his Pokémon, realizing that this was as ready as they'd ever be. He couldn't borrow any of Hilda's, since he had no badges of his own and they wouldn't obey, but he felt that it was the perfect time to put their own skills to the test. But first things first: raise the stakes of the battle a little.

"All right, Iris, here's the deal. If I lose, I'll never bother you again, but if you lose, you give a Legend Badge to both me and my sister."

"Your sister shouldn't get a badge she didn't earn."

"Iris, let's make an exception," Drayden said, arriving just in time to watch his apprentice battle. "These kids have Reshiram, after all."

"All right," Iris shrugged. "I'll accept your conditions. But if I win, you owe me a milkshake before you leave me alone."

Drayden assumed his position, nodding toward his apprentice as a cue to take it easy on the boy. "Begin the match," he ordered, and the two reached for their Pokémon.

Iris pulled out a Pokeball. "I'll start with my Fraxure!" she called, as the dinosaur popped onto the field.

Hilbert smiled obliviously. "Go! Liepard!"

Liepard sprung onto the battlefield with all the grace of a ballerina, but stopped short as she realized just what she was up against. Her scythe-like tail swished in irritation. What was her trainer thinking?

Though the cat couldn't overcome her fear, she could hide it. "Sand-Attack!" Hilbert ordered, and Liepard tossed dirt into Fraxure's eyes.

"Don't let it get to you, Fraxure! Use Dragon Rage!"

Well, Liepard put up a fight, but she was no match for Fraxure. But that was ok, because the twins had made a plan.

"Mienfoo, your turn!"

"Dragon Tail!" Iris ordered, not wanting to give Mienfoo the edge in battle. But the Sand Attack had worked, and Mienfoo dodged the attack by simply stepping to the right, keeping her eyes closed.

"Force Palm!" Hilbert commanded, and Mienfoo struck down Fraxure with one hit. The adorable Fighting-type struck a pose in victory, as Hilbert cheered. But the battle wasn't done yet.


Hilda fell into a chair at the Route 9 department store, her once almost-empty bag now stuffed with as many Revives and Hyper Potions as she could afford. If Hilbert failed despite their careful planning, they'd come in handy against the Gym Leader in her rematch. And, if he won...they'd come in handy against the Elite Four.

She'd also bought some food, of course, and packed it all in the 'hidey spot' so Tommy wouldn't get it. It was a good thing Pokeball technology was used for items, too...

She looked once more at the Light Stone, silently asking it to move. Of course, it paid no attention to her.

"How did N do it?" she asked herself, poking the rock lightly. "Did he ask it politely? Or maybe it was some form of magical chant..."

She trailed off, lost in a flashback to when she was about six years old. She'd decided she wanted to take over the world, and, when questioned by her father as to how she'd do it, had announced that she'd seen witches cast spells on television and would do things just like they did.

"Just remember the family rules of black magic, Hilda," her father had replied, unfazed. "Don't summon anything bigger than your hand, don't draw protective circles on the floor with permanent marker, and if you banish your brother to another dimension, make sure he's home by dinner."

Reshiram's probably way bigger than my hand, she thought as she poked Eggber again. She'd figure it out sooner or later.

Right now, checking on Hilbert seemed to be the best option.


By the time Hilda got to Opelucid Gym, the battle was almost over. The only Pokémon that hadn't been taken out were Hilbert's Krookodile and Iris's Haxorus. Hilbert had just given Tommy a Revive, but that move had caused Krookodile to suffer a bit more.

Hilbert took a deep, calming breath, and called all his remaining focus into this battle. It was almost over, one way or another. He had to do this, unless he wanted to see Tommy and the others on a rocket to the moon. It was time to break out the secret weapon.

"Krookodile." The giant red crocodile straightened up, listening intently for her trainer's command. "Use Zap Cannon."

Iris tried protesting that even if Krookodile could learn Zap Cannon, which it couldn't, it wouldn't do much good. But Krookodile knew exactly what the code was, and within seconds had used Dig to hide.

Iris could sense that the creature wouldn't resurface until she'd called an attack. "Haxorus, Dragon Tail!"

It missed, of course, and Krookodile popped out of the ground just in time, tackling Haxorus to the ground.

"Finish it with Crunch!"

And, just like that, Hilbert had won a Legend Badge for not only himself, but his sister as well.


"I can't believe it!" Iris whined as she handed the badges over, like she knew she should. "He won! I knew I'd lose sometimes, but I never imagined to him."

Hilda stared at her brother strangely. "He's come a long way, hasn't he?" she asked curiously, wondering what this strange, warm feeling in her chest was. Was she...was she proud of Hilbert? That had come completely out of nowhere.

Drayden moved to stand beside his apprentice, and above his upside-down beard, his eyes never left the twins. "Hilbert, Hilda, you know what this victory means. The fate of the world is in your hands. Go and stop Team Plasma, we will be willing to assist if you need us."

Hilbert smiled and waved his Legend Badge in Hilda's face. "Go on, Hilda. Say it."

She opened her mouth to protest, then sighed. "Thank you for winning the badge for me," she said, as if she were a horrible actress reading off the script. "Now come on. Remember my Grimsley worship? It's time to see if he's really as great as I think he is."

Hilbert knew she had a different motive entirely, and he also knew he couldn't make her admit it. Grimsley must have just been easier to think about than N. "Well, then, let's go."