Johanna decided to call up an old friend of hers, wanting to give Hilbert a surprise at the airport. Her son probably didn't think too much about Unova, or his old friend.

"Hey, Jodie, you wouldn't mind letting Hilda meet Hilbert in Nuvema, would you? He's planning to meet up with his other friends and the professor there. They haven't talked in so long, I bet he forgot about her."

She heard a bit of a scuffle on the other end.

"Jodie?"

"This is Hilda! Hilbert's coming here? I thought you moved to Sinnjoh or something!"

"It's Sinnoh, dear…" Her mom said, her voice barely reaching the communicator.

"Eh, same difference. Which airport?"

"...He's going to land in Mistralton, but he'll head to Nuvema straight away."

"But that's across the region! Ah, I'll get him to pay my subway fare. Later!"

She heard Hilda run off through the phone, likely to pack a travel bag.

"...Hilda's as excitable as ever."

"Don't I know it. What's got Hilbert traveling so far?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Do you ever regret that pact to name our kids the same name?"

"It's always been confusing, but no, not for a second."

"That's what I like to hear, girl!"

They forgot themselves, and their age, as they soon started talking like teenaged valley girls.

A Mid-Sinnoh Night's Dream - XV - Crossover Event of the Decade

A strange thought came to Hilbert while Shaymin was napping in his lap on the plane.

"...Why didn't we do this before? Shaymin, did you know what an airplane was when you met us?"

"Hm?" Shaymin looked up, bleary-eyed. "I'd learned of them in passing, but I only saw boats and cars in person."

"We could have gotten to Unova easily. I could have brought you a few months ago."

"Well… That's true, but I've grown in power, I think. I should be able to deal with more difficult issues, like Castelia."

"That makes sense."

They landed around noon in Mistralton, the day after they left from Orre. The air was nearly as smoggy as Nuvema was- Which to be honest, wasn't too terrible, compared to the central cities. The town was mostly an airport terminal with a few travel hotels. There was a gym too, apparently, but he wasn't interested. Maybe on the return trip.

Departing, he wanted to get back to his old second hometown, though he was definitely down for a detour through Castelia. As a port, there was a lot more junk heading through there than Nimbasa.

They rose over the mountains in eastern Unova, in usual flight formation. Dawn's Oricorio, though Flying-type, was obviously not large enough to support the weight of a person, so she rid on Zapdos with him.

Yep. Zapdos. It was a bit strange feeling the static roll across his skin, but it was overwhelmed by the sheer cool factor of riding on a Legendary.

Cheryl and Barry rose behind them, Moltres' flames flaring. A brief cold washed over them as Articuno swept behind them, Lucas and Marley on its back.

"Thanks for this, by the way," Hilbert said, as he lightly clapped Zapdos's neck feathers. "I owe you, one leader to another," he added.

"Hmph. Finally, someone can see it. Those two idiots would end up in Africa with me around."

"Oi, I resent that!"

"Shut up, Articuno."

"You picking a fight, mate? I'll show you-"

"Shut up, both of you! No hurricanes in populated areas, we've been over this."

"I thought hurricanes were Kyogre's thing."
"Articuno starts a cold front, Moltes makes a drought, then the air currents get messed up in the middle. It wouldn't be the first time."

"Sounds like a handful."

"It really is, especially when Lugia is off in Shamouti with their mate and Silver."

"...?"

"That's Lugia's kid."

"I didn't think Legendaries could… Well, I suppose they can't be everywhere at once."

As they approached Castelia's city limits, heading southeast, Hilbert could see the muddied waters, even from the sky.

"Yep, exactly how I remembered. Full of sh-"

"No swearing, Hilbert."

"Damn, the studio must really be stepping it up. Hey, wait, how come I can say-"
"You'd be incomprehensible without half of your vocabulary."

"I'm not that bad."

They were getting closer and closer to the city, within mere miles of the nearest skyscraper, and quickly approaching. He clicked Shaymin's ball, and the Mythical Pokemon appeared on his shoulder.

"Here's the plan, everyone!" He turned up slightly, making sure all three birds heard him. "We're going to go in a spiral, so Shaymin can work their magic, and loop around the central plaza."
Lucas's groan wasn't lost on him, or the wind. "You're certainly dedicated to your theme."

"Yeah, well, no speech this time. I don't think anyone would hear it."

Hilda, while the subway was traveling above ground towards Castelia, saw a commotion gather near the windows. Nudging her way forward, she saw a few birds. Really big birds. Then she realized why everyone else was so tense and surprised..

"Wait a minute… Those aren't supposed to be on this continent!"

"Let's go, Shaymin!"

Shaymin began glowing, green spores forming in a sphere that encompassed them all. As they traveled, it traced a line over the city, in the shape of a helix. Smog dissolved and soaked into the spores, freezing them in mid-air, as clouds were whipped away from the city.

It was definitely an odd sight for the citizens of Castelia. Sure, Thundurus and Tornadus blew through, commonly enough, but the Americas didn't have indigenous Legendary storm birds. The Legendary beasts were rare too, but those could be found in Orre.

Also, the screeching in the air was very, very loud. The gym leader, Burgh, raced outside of his gym to take a look at the spiraling triangle of birds.

There was a grayish-green spiral in the sky, quickly approaching the central plaza.

Hilbert looked down at the plaza with his carrier flapping in place. Shaymin was still glowing, slowly turning white.

So, he grabbed Shaymin, cranked his aura shield up to eleven, and backflipped off of Zapdos.

Half-way down, every sound was sucked away, and the spores in the air sped towards Shaymin.

'Pop'

Smog disappeared in a blast of green light, plastics in the bay were turned into dirt, grass grew through cracks in the street. The sky was the clearest that Castelia had ever seen.

Hilbert hit the ground in a crouch.

Ow.

Rubbing his ankles, he cradled a panting Shaymin in one arm, and looked up.

Zapdos was the first to swoop down into the plaza, quickly followed by a bickering Articuno and Moltres.

Dawn swung her leg off of Zapdos, glaring into his soul. "Hilby, of all the dumbest things you could do; Jumping from twenty stories! I ought to-"

She was cut off by another cry. "Hilby!"

The boy in question was hit by a flying tackle coming from the subway station. Having drained his aura shields from, well, doing exactly what Dawn was mad about, it bowled him over to the ground, Shaymin having wisely jumped off towards the others.

He was fairly certain he recognized the voice, being feminine but lower-pitched than you'd expect, like an inversion of his own. All he could see was a white tank top and a black vest.

"Hmph?" His voice was muffled by whoever's chest was in his face. Their grip was ironclad around the back of his head and neck.

"Hey! How've you been? I haven't seen you in forever!"

"You're gonna snap my neck!" His voice was still muffled, though someone pulled them off of him.

Lucas grabbed his arm, hauling him up with Barry. Dawn was holding the other girl under her shoulders, though her arms were still reaching out to grab him.

"Can I help you- Wait…Do I know you?"

Dawn, slightly confused, loosened her grip enough for Hilda to escape her grasp and attempt another Tackle.

Abra appeared outside of his ball and froze her in mid-air with a pink glow.

"It's been a while! I moved from Nuvema when we were little, remember? Wish we kept in touch!"

Abra looked over to him, head tilted. "...Boss?"

Hilbert was lost in thought for a brief moment. But there was no way it was…

"Hilda?"

"Yup!" She managed to hold up a peace sign, "That's me!"

Before they could properly introduce, or in Hilda's case, reintroduce themselves, they cleared out of the plaza and recalled their Pokemon.

...Hilbert had not realized that he effectively claimed all three of the Legendary birds for himself, and left the city folk wondering what the hell was happening.

In a nearby Pokemon Center, much larger than they were in Sinnoh, the seven (Man, is that number getting high or what?) crowded around a circular couch.

"So," Dawn swished her fingers between Hilbert and Hilda, "You're childhood friends, but from after you moved here, but Hilda moved away a few years later to the other side of the region, and Hilbert forgot?"

"Well, I didn't forget, per say…"

She piped up from beside him, "So, how are Bianca and Cheren doing?"

Hilbert blanked. "Uh… I don't know yet, actually. We were heading to Nuvema, and this was sort of a pit stop."

"About that! When did you get three Legendary birds and a… What was it, shamed?"

"...Shaymin…" The Grass-type barely lifted its head to give a response.

"Right, Shaymin! Is that some kind of Legendary?"

"Well, yeah, more mythical than anything else."

"Woah, like Victini?"

"I guess… But Shaymin's actually real."

"Cool! What about the birds?"

Hilbert's eye twitched. "See, it's a long story… I'll tell you on the way to Nuvema."

"Where did you get a Garchomp?" Hilda asked, having replaced Dawn in her usual spot on Golurk. The other girl had pouted and hopped on Garchomp, and he could've sworn she stuck her tongue out at Hilda.

"Involves me pissing off a movie studio."

"That's sick! So about those birds…"

Hilbert gave his explanation as they flew over the bay, leaving Castelia and heading homebound.

"...And that's how I solved the problem by punching crime in the face."

"Woah. That's like, definitely a lie, but, whoa."

"You believe I caught four Legendaries but not me fighting a crime syndi- Well, I suppose they're equally unlikely… I better not have to explain this to Cheren or Bianca."

"Oh, I miss those guys! Though, I know these three kids, only a little younger than us, Rosa, Nate and Hugh. They're totally cute."

"Didn't know you swung both ways, but that's cool-" He got pelted by a rock. Looking over, he saw Dawn and gave her a shrug. "Just saying, I don't have a problem with it!"

"You shouldn't assume that kind of thing, it's rude!"

"I can barely hear you through the wind!"

Hilda was just laughing at them. "I didn't mean like that, dumbass! I've taken them under my wing, and watching them act like they don't like each other is hilarious.Though, for her age, Rosa's got some knockers. I mean, some serious badonkadonks. I'm talking some massive gahoozerwhatsits-" She took her hands off of Golurk's molded handles to gesticulate towards her chest.

Hilbert facepalmed, also trying to cover his blush. "Don't make me use an Aura Sphere. Also, stop doing that, you'll fall off."

"Wait, Aura Sphere?"

"...Did I not mention that? Yeah, funny thing…"

He got across the broader details of being trained by a mountain of Lucario by the time they landed in Nuvema.

"Hey, I can see the mountains from here, how about that?" Hilbert stood on Golurk's shoulder, shielding his eyes and letting everyone get off of their mounts.

"Just means Shaymin did a helluva job!"

Hilbert shrugged. "As always." After returning Golurk, he dropped to the ground. "Now, let's see if I can still find Bianca's house."

He could not.

Luckily, that didn't stop a black-haired boy with glasses from recognizing them.

"Excuse me, are you Hilbert? You look familiar."

Hilbert turned on his heel, recognizing the boy nearly immediately. "Yeah. How's it going, Cheren?"

"I'm alright. What are you doing in town? Traveling?"

"You could say that. I'm a little lost, do you remember where Bianca's house is? We were going to pick both of you up anyway."

Cheren tapped his glasses. "You should remember that I never forget anything."

"Oh, you've got an ei- eiiiiiiii- Photographic memory, yeah?"

"Something like that. All of you, just follow me."

Hilbert, now leading a party of eight, with Cheren as his backseat driver, contemplated the size of the new number before knocking on the door.

A cheerful blonde girl answered the door, but she saw them, blinked, and tilted her head in confusion.

"...Cheren, who are all of these people?" She turned to the lone face that she recognized.

"Hilbert and his friends are visiting."

"Oh, Hilbert! Everyone, come on in!" She opened the door wider, her bright smile returning to her face.

"I swear, you never remember anything important. It's only been six months."

"Be nice, Cheren! You know my memory's not that great!"

Hilbert sat with a bit of a dumb face while everyone started talking around him. He could see why harems rarely got larger than four. Wait, what?

Lucas and Cheren were hitting it off, in a manner of speaking. They were both as reserved as he remembered. Bianca was trying to tell the rest of them stories about Hilbert when he was little, which Hilda and Cheren backed up when the blonde couldn't remember. Barry was listening closely, clearly intending on teasing Hilbert with it later.
Bianca laughed at something, before turning to him. "What have you all been up to? Cheren won't stop bugging me about studying, so you have to make it up with stories."

Hilbert blinked, recalling everything that had happened in Sinnoh.

"Okay, this is kind of a long story… It started here, actually, with a little shit in the forest, also called Golett…"

He felt Golurk's ball shudder on his belt, in the close equivalent of cussing him out. The tall golem wouldn't fit inside the house and they both knew it.

"Oh, don't deny it, you broke my arms."

"Eh?"

Bianca looked up, thinking. "Yeah, Hilbert wore a cast to Trainer School for… For…"

Cheren took the baton, "A week."

"Oh, yeah!" She laughed it off, and she really couldn't have been expected to remember something that happened years ago. "Anything bad happen over there?"

Hilbert rubbed the back of his head. "Long story, I caught a few Legendary Pokemon, fought some terrorists, and got a few gym badges."

"Wow! How many gym badges?"

A beat passed, time itself confused by Bianca's priorities.

Hilbert tapped his breast pocket, pointing at the four pins.

"Hah, nice!" Hilda punched his arm, laughing. "Man, I wish Juniper didn't have to wait until next year to give us our starters. I've been talking with her by mail, and she insists she can only give out a small amount every other year."

"Really?"

Hilda started pouting, still as energetic as ever. "Yeah, it's totally unfair. Like, I get that they're rare and stuff, but only three every two years? People trade them in more commonly than that!"

"But you need the professor's approval, is that it?"

"That's what my mom says…" Hilda grumbled.

"Ooh, I really can't wait though! I hope I get Oshawott, they're so cute!"

"That makes two blonds with Water-types…" Hilbert said to himself under his breath.

Meanwhile, in Castelia City, people were still shocked by how far they could through the clean air. The water was turned from a brownish-blue to as clear as the north-eastern coast.

The gym leader, Burgh, was confused for sure. Though he appreciated the new shrubbery for his bugs that liked hunting.

"Alright, alright!" Hilda shot up, clapping her hands widely. "Now that we're all acquainted, there's only one thing left to do during the crossover episode."

"What?"

"Don't think too hard about it, boss."

"And that's…?"

"We should go to do karaoke in Accumula Town!"

"This can't end well…"

Somehow, the karaoke bar actually had a room large enough for them, which led to a… Series of events, to be sure.

"I can't sing."

"Come on! You can't back out of your theme now." Barry hit him with a microphone, Lucas already holding the other.

"Listen, I'm from Sinnoh, and people from Sinnoh can't rap, that's basic science."

"Too bad, the song's starting."

Opera music started blaring, and had it been any louder, it would've started hurting their eardrums.

"DO THE IMPOSSIBLE, SEE THE INVISIBLE-"

"Turn that down!"

"Row, row, fight the power!"

"Fine, fine!" Hilbert tugged the microphone towards his mouth, the other two waiting for him to start.

"Touch the untouchable, break the unbreakable-"

"Row, row! Fight the power!"

"Powers to the peeps, power for the dream; Still missing piece scattering, so incomplete."

"We be the most incredible soldiers from underground; See how easy, they all fall down!"

"Digging to the core to see the light, let's get out of here babe, that's the way to survive, ya, top of the head, I'm on the set, do the impossible, don't you wanna bet?"

"Cuz, a lot of things changed, we be waiting in vain, if you wanna get by, no pain no gain-"

"Wow! Fakers wanna test me again? Sorry, my rhyme's gonna snatch your brain, yo."

"I'm still starving for the straight up shit, we gonna make it happen with the crazy rap skill."

"Get ready to rumble, now is the time, uh huh. If you ain't know, now you know; Good luck fellas!"

After an ear-splitting performance, Hilda had only one thing to say, as everyone else was still covering their ears.

"Whoa. You guys suck."

Hilbert completely expected that, only shrugging off a comment that made Barry fall over and groan.

"Man, I thought I sounded great, that's what counts!"

"Get off the stage, losers, it's my turn!" She whipped out a bright purple electric guitar. "I'm so glad I rented this!"

Somehow, despite the screeching, it didn't sound half-bad. She sang something about rising and becoming the legend, whatever that meant, though Hilbert could've sworn he'd heard it before. Lucas recognized it though, and was scandalized when he didn't know and refused to tell him.

Bianca dragged Cheren up for their songs, which were mostly pop songs she liked, and Cheren interrupting with how much he didn't want to sing.

Dawn, Cheryl, and Marley sang a few performance songs, the third girl too soft-spoken to be anything but the chorus. Dawn was probably the best singer out of the lot, considering she'd been practicing at home for contests since she was little.

After everyone had run out of songs they wanted to sing, Hilda stood up with an empty cup, nearly a dozen straws, and a permanent marker.

"Alright, listen up!"

"I have a bad feeling about this…"

The King's Game. A staple of fictional karaoke bars everywhere. Players draw straws to determine the 'King' and the players each round. The king gives orders by numbers.

Generally, this is only played by people, but some let their Pokemon set up their own game, should they want to.

But alas, Hilbert and his entourage had a more engaging game.

"Who's! The! King?"

Bianca held up the red-marked straw. "It's me! Let's see, um… Number five and seven, hold hands until your next order!"

Hilbert and Hilda looked at each other, and before he could move, she had him in an iron grip.

"Who's! The! King?"

They redrew straws. Barry shouted, "It's me! Uh… Two, sit on six's lap!"

Dawn shrugged, and moved slightly to sit on Cheryl.

"Aw man, boring…"

"Who's! The! King?"

Cheryl held up a straw, having drawn it behind Dawn's back.

"Hm… Number seven, do your best imitation of number two."

Marley awkwardly stood up, looking at Cheren who had quietly held up his straw marked '2'.

Lucas tossed her a pair of glasses, which she put on and did her best stoic pose, pushing up the glasses with a nearly audible sheen.

"...Sorry…"

"It could've been worse."

"Who's! The! King?"

Dawn, using her authority and slightly higher vantage point, snuck a look at Hilbert's straw before he could hide it.

There was a pulse of danger in the room, tinged red.

"Two, confess your love to one person in this room!"

"Finally!" He shook himself free of Hilda's grip.

He quickly walked over to Barry, got down on one knee, and pulled a Thunder Stone out of his bag.

"Marry me."

"Hell no."

"Alright, phew. You can keep the stone though."

"Hey, Pikachu, you want this?"

The electric mouse nodded from where the Pokemon were playing in the corner, so Barry slipped it in his bag for later.

Because they were small enough, Abra, Shaymin, Lucario, Prinplup, Phantump, Pikachu, Oricorio, Chansey, Shroomish (What happened to her screen time?), and Carvanha (Who was sitting in a bucket) were inside the karaoke room as well, playing their own version of the game.

Because some of them didn't have hands, it didn't go very well.

"Who's! The! King?"

"...It's me…" Marley stood, wondering what to do. "...Number three, two truths and a lie."

Cheryl tapped her chin as she thought. "Hm… I've never seen a boy naked, I like girls, and I favor Pokemon with high HP."

"Huh. That's pretty normal. Wait, what about when Maylene kicked my ass. Oh. Ohhhhhhh. Well, I get it, girls are pretty cool. No, nevermind, I was wearing pants that one time."

"Oh, did I get it backward?"

"Or not."

"Who's! The! King?"

"Al-RIGHT!" Barry shot out of his seat.

Lucas groaned, "That's not fair, again?"

"Disrespecting the king is treason! Number five, kick Lucas's ass!"

"That's breaking the rules, Barry, you're out."

"Aw man…"

"Who's! The! King?"

"Okay, let's go!" Hilda shouted, waving her straw. "Number eight, tackle six."

Hilbert stood up, holding out his arms. "Hey, hold up-"

He was tackled to the ground by Dawn, luckily not hitting his head.

"Who's! The! King?"

Lucas held up a straw.

"Uh… Number four, steal someone's drink!"

Cheryl snatched Barry's cup and downed it in one gulp.

Cheren leaned over to Hilda, swirling his cup. "These aren't alcoholic, right?"

"What's alcohol?"

"I mean, er, these don't have Vacation Juice in them, do they?"

"Oh, no, of course not! At least, I don't think…"

"Who's! The! King?"

"Finally," Hilbert held up his straw, "Punishment, sinners! Number two, kiss number three!"

Hilda laughed, and seeing Marley sheepishly hold up her straw, jumped on the girl.

There was a noticeable blush on his face. Whether it was from the order or the drinks, no one could tell.

"Who's! The! King?"

Marley managed to hold up her straw, still embarrassed. She stood on the couch before Hilbert had the thought to hide his number.

"...Number seven… Copy the last order!"

"Alright, who's it?" Hilbert stood up, looking around. He saw Dawn grab Cheryl's straw and replace it with her own. "Hey, no switching numbers!"

"I didn't!"

Hilbert took a weak step forward, "You did!"

"Nuh uh!"

"Yeah-" He tripped onto her, his face landing in the crook of her neck.

"...That counts!" Hilda and Barry jumped up, shouting, "Next round!"

"Who's! The! King?"

Hilda waved her straw, "Got it! Number two, pick up number seven, bridal style!"

Cheren looked down at his stick, already resigned to his fate. Lucas hauled him up, spinning him around on the table, his face noticeably red, before he tossed him back on the couch between Hilda and Bianca.

"I see stars…"

"Who's! The! Kin-"

"Hey!" Someone shouted outside the door. "Stop dancing on the table and go home! Or you're paying for it on top of your drinks!" They all looked towards the camera in the upper corner of the room.

"Well, looks like I'm borrowing Hilbert's wallet." Hilda slipped her hand in his bag and checked his money. "Dayum. You guys are rolling in it."

"Being a trainer… Hrk… Makes a lot of money…" Hilbert murmured, half-asleep and slumped against Dawn, who was half-carrying him. Hilby, apparently, can not hold his alcohol.

Getting the more drunk members of their team back to Nuvema was a bit difficult, but they managed. Cheren offered his house for the three boys, and you can figure out how the girls split up. At some point, he thought he saw Cheryl catch an Audino, but his vision was dark enough that he couldn't tell.

The next day, they resolved to never think about the King's Game again, and got ready to head to the airport. They went off to catch some Pokemon, but the author will only deem them to be relevant when it's dramatically required or when it would be funny. After the day of traveling over the region, they'd long since said their goodbyes to the two in Nuvema and were soon going to leave Hilda in Aspertia City, her hometown.

"What, you're leaving already?" Hilda asked.

"Well, this is sort of a vacation, but…" Hilbert shouldered his bag, "There are a lot of problems back in Sinnoh. Plus, I want to get my badges in time for the conference this year. I've got half of the badges, sure, but Wake said it's going to get a lot harder in the second half. It's mid-june already, so I really oughta get to work."

"I thought it was Mid-Sinnoh?"

Roll credits.

"What? Well, yeah, I guess, but... What's important is that we get through this trip quickly enough to not miss too much back home."

"Man… See you around?"

"Maybe in another six months."

They bumped fists, nodding to each other. Hilbert hopped on top of Golurk, the rest of his team waiting for him. "Take care of Unova for me, will ya?"

"Got it," she held her thumbs out to him, "You can count on me!"

AN:

Okay, before you think 'men writing women', I won't deny, yes, I do have to write women, however, that is a conversation I have heard someone have in public. With different names but similar subject matter, obviously.

I randomized the King's Game, to get more equal distribution and give some character to the three Unovan characters.

Teams for the future-

Hilbert- Yeah, you already know. Same six as always.

Barry- Prinplup, Phantump, Raichu (Off-screen), Tropius, Staraptor, a few others.

Lucas- Infernape, Staraptor, Mareanie, Pyukumuku, Roselia, many others...

Dawn- Turtwig, Combee, Oricorio.

Cheryl- Chansey, Kangaskhan, Shroomish, Audino, Cynthia's Egg (Given by Hilbert).

Marley- Arcanine, Carvanha, Yanma, probably another one I forgot about...

500 views, that's pretty cool I guess.