With the gym battles over, and each of us having a badge in our cases, we decided to leave Striaton City shortly after we spent a night inside the center. There was nothing for us in this city anymore and we both wanted to move on anyway. There was this one alleyway into the forest that would lead towards an abandoned yard, but we both deemed it unnecessary.

Through the garden and the daycare that I visited on my way towards Nuvema, I spotted the old man waving at me with the biggest smile on his face. I waved back at him but didn't exchange any words. While it would be nice if we stopped, Hilda wanted to catch up to her brother.

Sibling rivalry at its finest.

Anyway, the way to Nacrene City was a tedious one, as the place was, again, filled with trainers way too eager to battle. It was like these teenagers had nothing better to do than this. I even spotted hikers of all people battling with their Pokémon, although it wasn't as heated as our gym battles.

On that note, Hilda was kind of sour after her fight. The fact that she almost lost to the first gym didn't make her feel great about herself. She sought out a lot of trainers, and battled every single one of them, and again, won everything.

"Another one down!" She pumped her fist in victory. Tusky tried to mimic her enthusiasm, but he was extremely exhausted, panting for air.

"Now where is the next one?" She looked around and spotted another trainer, and her Axew was about to follow her, but he buckled before plopping on the ground belly side down.

"Axew…" He said tiredly, making Hilda turn to him.

"Come on, Tusky! You can handle one more!" She cheered, but he couldn't move no matter how much he tried.

I didn't like this at all.

Bunni was already well past her limit as well, and doing the same with Tusky would leave a bad taste in my mouth.

"Hilda," I called her out sternly. She switched her gaze at me with a small frown.

"What?" She asked with an annoyed tone.

"Stop," Was all I said, but Hilda only let out a "Huh?".

"Don't you see? You are overexerting them both," I said while pointing at Tusky, "Look at him. He is barely able to stand, and Bunni isn't doing any better. They've earned some rest."

"But that rest could be used to get stronger! If I could barely beat the first gym then the second one will mop the floor with me!" She argued, but I didn't relent.

"And you think by working them down to the bone will make them stronger? If anything, you would be making the situation worse," I argued, making Hilda walk towards me with her fists balled.

"Listen here, you aren't my mom so you have no room to tell me what is right or wrong. I can make those decisions myself. You don't even want to be a trainer, yet here you are, trying to lecture me," She said while jabbing her finger at my chest.

"But you are still forcing them to battle even though they are way past their limit. You are no better than that trainer with the Patrat you beat on Route 2," I pointed out with crossed arms.

"What!? How can you compare me to that brat who didn't even win the first gym badge!?" She yelled out.

"Because you aren't any different from him with your behavior right now," I called her out, making a small vein pop on her forehead.

"You… you think you are stronger than me, aren't you!?" She accused me with a pointed finger. Surprised was one way to describe my expression as I had no idea how she jumped to that conclusion.

"I haven't said anything of the sort," I rebuked with a frown.

"But you meant it! You think you and your Diana are stronger than us just because Cress went easy on you!" She said as her snarl got deeper and deeper, making my expression fall.

"Hilda, calm down. You are being unreasonable here," I said to her.

"Me!? You are being the asshole here who holds on to a lifeline that might not even exist!" She yelled, the words almost echoing in the forest, making my eyes widened. Realization dawned on her in a flash as her eyes flooded with guilt. Her face fell and brought a hand to her chest.

"I… I'm sorry," She apologized, "I usually don't snap like that."

I shook my head while gazing away from her.

"It's… alright, it isn't the first time somebody called me things. Want to talk about it?" I prompted, trying to stay strong because her words hurt, no matter how much I tried to hide it. She shook her head.

"Not here. Let's get to Nacrene City, and get my Pokémon healed up first," She said, making me smile.

"Good call. Lead the way," I said before we wordlessly left Route 3 to its charges. The walk there was awkwardly silent but didn't fault Hilda for it. In fact, I was happy that she realized her mistake and was willing to admit it.

Not many people could do that, sometimes me being among them.

After reaching Nacrene City which was built next to old rail tracks of all things, I got to admire the resourcefulness of this city. Every single building except the Pokémon Center, or centers in this case because there was more than one in this rather big city, were used warehouses reused as regular homes.

While I would question the integrity of said warehouses, it felt like a very smart idea to repurpose them into housing. The only thing that would be off-putting was how the house looked on the outside, otherwise, they seemed to be fine.

With me admiring the place being concluded, we went inside one of the centers to get Hilda's Pokémon fixed up, although we had to wait for the nurses to do their job.

Sitting on one of the many tables the center provided, Hilda was fidgeting with her hands while still having her head downcast.

"I'm all ears, Hilda," I prompted her.

"I… again, I'm sorry I snapped at you like that. The gym just left me a little anxious is all," She admitted, but I still raised an eyebrow.

"There is more to it than that, right?" I asked her, and Hilda eventually nodded.

"I feel like I didn't earn that gym badge, that I got only lucky because Bunni evolved in the right time. I thought at first that it would be smooth sailing, but at one point of the fight, I really thought I was going to lose," She elaborated.

"With the second gym being much harder than the first, I just had this urge to make sure both Bunni and Tusky were up for the job. I didn't realize I was pushing them past what they could do," She lifted her head and a small smile graced her lips, "Thanks for stopping me by the way."

"Think nothing of it. It was a little weird seeing someone like you who cares for her Pokémon suddenly force them to battle much more than usual," I reassured her, "And don't think about that fight not being earned. Luck has a role in everything. Just because Bunni evolved during the fight doesn't mean your win is invalid."

Hilda stared at me for a solid second before her blank stare formed into an irritated smile while hiding her head behind her hand.

"Have I mentioned how I hate how good with words you are?" She asked, her smile betraying her annoyed tone.

"Once or twice, yeah," I answered her, "And I just couldn't sit around and do nothing. Bunni and Tusky are my friends too, and seeing you mistreat them just wouldn't go past me."

She stared at me, her small frown came back with a vengeance.

"And now I'm taking back what I said before. You say that like I treat them horribly," She pointed out.

"I… sorry, but my words still stand. I can only hope you would do the same when something would happen between me and Diana," I said to her, making her drop her frown.

"Yeah, you can count me on that," She reassured, before silence came over, making the conversation awkward. Hilda shifted a little in her seat while I played with my hair before a small frown appeared on my face, thinking about what Hilda said.

"Hey," Hilda said, prompting me to look at her, "Are you alright? Even… after what I said to you?"

"...It hurt," I eventually replied, "But there is some truth to what you said, loathing am I to admit it. Maybe I am chasing something that doesn't exist, but there has to be someone out there who knows something."

I balled up my fists in frustration.

"I can only hope that my gut feeling is just that, a gut feeling," I said, before my face scrunched up, "Wait for me a little longer, father."

"We'll find someone," Hilda suddenly said, making me look up at her, a determined expression on her face, "Again, I'm sorry for what I said, and once I defeat the second gym leader, we'll aim for Castelia City as soon as possible to get you a ride back."

The gesture made me smile.

"Thank you, Hilda," I said, "As much as I hate your attitude sometimes, you are a good friend."

She huffed while crossing her arms.

"You could be a little less frank about it. Arceus above, I don't know how I am dealing with you, but here I am anyway," I chuckled.

"Only proves my point of you being a good friend," Her face flushed while she looked away.

"Just… shut up," She said before a ring of a bell called us to the counter. Both Tusky and Bunni were in tip-top shape and happy to see their trainer, which put a smile on Hilda's face. She took her Pokémon and we left the center.

"So, what do we do now?" I asked her, making Hilda touch her chin.

"We could do some more trai-"

"I'll stop you right there. No more training today. Anything else?" I interrupted her with a pointed look. She huffed before checking the town map.

"I guess we could go inside the museum of this city?" She offered reluctantly, making me raise an eyebrow.

"I'm not one to downplay sightseeing, but from what I can tell, it's probably just a train museum," I said but Hilda shook her head.

"Surprisingly, it's not," She said, making me perk up, "It's an archeology museum of all things, but it is also this city gym."

"Hilda," I said dangerously low, and she challenged my gaze.

"Do you think I would challenge the gym now? I know for a fact that Lenora's gym is not easy. My brother lost to her once on his way to Castelia, and he had a fighting type against her normal ones," She said with crossed arms, making me quirk a brow.

"But then do we have anything else to do there other than just you challenging the gym?" That was when Hilda's stare turned into a smirk.

"Because it has the largest library in all of Unova," She said.

"Oh," That lit a spark in my eyes, making me smirk as well, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go. I'll turn the entire thing upside down to find anything that could help me."

"Alright then, we have a plan. I might be able to find something interesting there as well," Hilda admitted before we reached one of the few buildings that wasn't a warehouse. It had a single statue of a pokéball, as well as giving off the vibes of a regular museum.

We entered the gym and the smell of old rock and bones assaulted my senses while being greeted by a towering skeleton in the form of a bipedal dragon, looming over the entire museum.

Once we paid an entrance fee, we were free to explore the place, and it usually wasn't all that interesting. I wasn't that much into fossils and such, although I wouldn't downplay their value.

Passing a carving of a strange bipedal armadillo-looking Pokémon with pincers instead of arms, I spotted a weird dark stone that looked way too round and smooth to be a piece of rock. It caught my sight immediately, and I looked at what the sign said.

"An ancient round stone that was buried in the desert. Origins of said stone are currently unknown."

Wow, never had I seen a sign that radiated disappointment from both my side and the side of the people who uncovered it. This stone begged to be more than just that, but it seemed that wasn't the case.

Anyway, with the small tour done, we reached the second level of the museum and went inside the massive library, and Hilda wasn't kidding.

This place was huge!

It would make any old bookstore or a library run for its money. The bookshelves were made out of deep brown wood with carpets of multiple colors according to the covers of the books, giving the place a calm and inviting aura. Said books were neatly placed inside the shelves with several tables present for people to sit down and enjoy their read.

There had to be something of use for me here for sure.

A sudden surge of anxiety and excitement pumped through me, and the only way I could get rid of both was to explore this place.

"Well, impressed?" Hilda said smugly.

"I dare say I am," I admitted, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have my country to find."

{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}

And nothing again.

I closed another book with a groan escaping my lips, making me lean on my chair while staring at the ceiling of the library. I hid my face behind my arms and contemplated how this place didn't have a single geography book.

Like seriously! How in the holy mother of all fucks did this huge ass library not have a single god-forsaken map!?

"Breathe, just breathe…" I calmed myself down with slow and steady breaths before standing up, picking up the book about the history of how Unova came to be.

It was somewhat interesting, but not what I was looking for.

After putting the book back into its rightful place, I continued my search for anything that would resemble at least some sort of geography map.

"Hmmm…" I kept humming while searching that single piece of parchment that would light my way back home but nothing came up yet.

"Maybe this?" I said to myself as I picked up a book called 'Branding'. I didn't know what it meant by that, but I saw a huge continent on the cover so it must have something.

Searching through the book wasn't all that difficult, but again, there was nothing that would catch my interest or my needs. The book talked about people gaining some sort of brands, by being near a catastrophe or… something?

I was skipping a lot of the text as I was in search of something else, so I didn't bother reading all of it. For all I knew, it could have been an enticing read, but not now.

Closing the book with a defeated sigh, I put it back in the bookshelf, and upon turning to search different shelves, I spotted a woman reading up on something as well.

She looked to be a little old with that pale pink apron on her, but her rich-colored face had not but a single wrinkle with a lot of curly green hair. She wore a button-up white shirt with her sleeves rolled up and large jeans that had the same color as her hair that hid her legs.

She finished her book, before putting it back on the shelves and turned to me. She was caught off guard for a fraction of a second before adorning a warm smile.

"Well, call me surprised to see a new face in these halls," She said before putting one hand on her hip, "The name's Lenora, a pleasure to meet a new avid reader here."

Wait, Lenora?

"As in… the gym leader Lenora?" I asked her to be sure, and she pointed at herself with her thumb.

"That's me. Director of all three facilities. The museum, library, and the gym," She said proudly, "Now, what's your name?"

"My name is Radko. A pleasure to meet you, lady Lenora," I said while bowing lightly. She lazily waved her hand.

"Please, keep the pleasantries for someone who actually deserves them," She said modestly, "Now, what brings you here?"

"Well, I'm actually looking for a map of regions other than Unova, but I can't seem to find anything here," I explained to her and she barked a small laugh.

"Kid, this is the last place you should be looking for a map. You would have more of a chance finding it in a pawn shop in Castelia than here," She said, making my expression fall, "This place is mostly about Pokémon and legendary trainers that graced our little planet."

Now I felt like an absolute idiot.

"I see…" I eventually said.

"Now, don't make that face. A read will light things up for you, or at least it helps me to keep going at my research anyway," She said while looking fondly at the stacks of books inside the shelves.

"But I guess you could be here for another reason," She said, making me bring my attention back to her, "Challenging the gym, I presume?"

I shook my head.

"No, that's not why I am here. My goal is a little more personal," I answered, before turning to a table that Hilda occupied, "I do have a friend who would though."

Lenora followed my gaze before a small chuckle escaped her lips.

"Well, she certainly looks the part. Having that book in her hands just confirmed it for me," She said, before turning back to me, "But I was sure you would challenge me as well. You have the same fire in your eyes all trainers do."

I turned to her with a perplexed expression, allowing her to continue.

"I've been a gym leader for several years now, and trust me when I say I can spot potential, and you, Radko, have it," Her smile turned into a small frown, "Though your fire just seems… dormant."

I didn't know if I should take that as a compliment or not.

"I don't know what you are talking about, but I only became a trainer for Diana," I explained while picking up a small ball that was Diana's pokéball. Lenora's frown faded away with a chuckle.

"I see. Well, I guess that is as good of a reason as any," She said before turning away, "Give me or my husband a call whenever you want to challenge the gym. I'll be waiting for you and your friend there."

And then she disappeared into the library, seeking anything that sparked her interest. Well, that was one way to meet the acting gym leader, and since now my search for a map was pointless, I went back to Hilda.

She was reading with her head leaned on her hand, sometimes turning a page forward before yawning. She rubbed her eyes before looking at me.

"So, did you find anything?" She asked, tired or bored of all the reading.

"No. Lenora told me that this place doesn't have a single map of anything other than Unova," I told her, making her perk up, her tired attitude gone.

"Wait, you met Lenora and didn't call me!?" She asked.

"Yeah, but it was just some idle small talk, and don't worry, I told her you will challenge the gym eventually," I reassured.

"You better, we don't want to waste too much time. I'd say we stay here three days max," Hilda said before going back to her book.

"What are you reading?" I asked her.

"Nothing really, just the most recent records of all Champions in their respective regions," She summarized her read, making me quirk a brow.

"And why would you want to read about it anyway?" I asked her again, making her drop a page she had in her hand turned to me with an annoyed frown.

"You ask a lot of questions right now," She pointed out.

"And can you blame me?" I shot back, making her sigh.

"Fine, it's just cathartic seeing people at a younger age than me be able to beat Pokémon leagues so easily," She contemplated while turning back to the book. She pointed at a portrait of a young boy with brown hair and a red cap.

"Like Red here. Kanto was known as the Championless league for a long time due to its difficulty until Red and his rival Blue demolished all Elite Four members. Both were living prodigies, and the two battle one final time before Red won the title," She explained.

"Wait, their names are just Red and Blue? What is up with these people having weird names?" I contemplated while Hilda stared at me.

"It's just their aliases, it should be listed around here somewhere..." She trailed off, before letting out an "Aha!", pointing her finger at the names Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak.

I still found the names weird.

"I see…" Was all I said before Hilda flipped a few pages until she was reaching the end of the book.

"And Dawn Hikari is the most recent trainer to defeat a Pokémon league, specifically in the Sinnoh region around six years ago," She said while pointing at a blue-haired girl wearing a white winter hat with an expression of someone who went through more than a girl her age should.

"She defeated Cynthia, the previous Champion, but to everyone's surprise, she relinquished that title only a year into her reign. She disappeared shortly after, and only very few people know where she is now," She summarised, making me touch my chin in thought.

"You told me once that going through the Pokémon league is not an easy task," I said while Hilda shook her head in agreement, "Well, it makes little sense to me to go so far only to throw everything away, but maybe she had her reasons."

"That's why when I become the Champion, I'll make sure to keep that title as long as possible," Hilda said, fully determined.

"And why are you reading this, again?" I asked her, and she crossed her arms.

"To learn from their mistakes, and make better decisions than them," She said defiantly while I just stared at her.

"Are you sure there is no idolization there?" I said, unconvinced.

"Well," She wanted to rebuke, only for her to shy away while fidgeting with her fingers, "Maybe a little."

I chuckled lightly, before sitting down at the table.

"So, now that I know that I won't find anything here, is there something else to do other than being inside this library?" I asked Hilda.

"Well, I would have gone training with my Pokémon but you oh so graciously denied me that privilege, making this the only thing we could do here in this city," She pointed out.

"Can you not make me out like I'm the bad guy here?" I asked incredulously.

"Nope, because both Tusky and Bunni aren't bookworms by any means, let alone me," She said while putting her hands behind her head. I facepalmed before groaning in frustration. Hilda was going to be the death of me someday.

"Fine, I guess we could do some training," I relented, taking Hilda back.

"That… was surprisingly easier than I thought," She remarked, much to my chagrin, "And by we you mean...?"

"Yes, you and me. Diana is probably getting a little grumpy inside her pokéball," I said while rubbing my head, "It's like walking a dog, except it has nothing to do with walking."

"Then what are we waiting for!? Let's go!" Hilda urged while ignoring my remark. She stood up and bolted to the exit of the library at speeds that felt almost humanly impossible.

God, I should have just kept my mouth shut.

AN: Well, our first 'fight' between our two characters, but since they both are adults, they were able to talk things out.

Anyway, I don't really have anything to add to this, I just hope I didn't make some of the exposition boring.

As always, if you want to join our discord server full of awesome people, then I highly recommend the Fanfiction Treehouse.

Link: gg/9XG3U7a

God's speed.