(song: E.T. – Katy Perry)
Hilda exited Professor Juniper's lab, running her hands along the sleek, shiny new Pokedex she received from Professor Juniper. Cheren and Bianca received one each too, and the three of them were tasked to fill it to the best of their ability by seeing and catching Pokemon around Unova.
Just as Hilda was about to leave Nuvema Town, she heard a voice behind her. "WAIT UP!" yelled Bianca as she ran towards Hilda with Cheren maintaining a brisk pace behind her.
"What's wrong?" asked Hilda, taking a step back and facing Bianca. "Nothing… Just…" Bianca said between breaths, "We got our Pokemon together… So, we should take the first step of our adventure together! Huff… Puff…" Bianca panted.
Cheren concurred. "We may not end our adventure together, but let's begin it together," he said. Hilda nodded in agreement.
As the three of them stepped onto Route 1, they felt the strongest sense of liberation ever. "Yes!" exclaimed Bianca, "We finally did it! Our adventure's begun!" She looked happier than I'd ever known.
"Hey, since our adventure's begun, let's have a competition!" Cheren suggested, "The one who catches the most Pokemon by the end of this route wins!"
"On!" Bianca challenged as she sped on ahead.
Hilda smiled. Even though things felt very different now that they were practically grown up since setting out on their adventure, Bianca reminded her that not everything had to change.
Cheren took his time to examine and explore the area while Hilda walked on ahead. About an hour or two later, the three of them congregated at the end of Route 1, near the entrance to Accumula Town.
"Yes! I win!" Cheren exclaimed in victory. Bianca rolled her eyes while Hilda scrunched up her face. It was exactly this attitude that made her annoyed. The verbal expression of her annoyance was perched at the tip of her tongue, but she reminded myself. You love him, she reminded herself, Love is tolerance. Love is acceptance.
This side of her – the side that always reminded her of her morals and what seemed like the truth – annoyed her so much. She wished she could think of her ideals without feeling like guilty to a crime committed against herself.
Perhaps that's why she was so reserved. She didn't want to trouble others with this own personal war inside her head.
Besides, Hilda didn't mind. There was nothing at stake, and she was content with the two Pokemon on her team – Oshawott and Lillipup.
Just then, Hilda, Bianca and Cheren received a four-way call on their Xtransceivers. It was from Professor Juniper. "Hey kids!" she said on the line, "Come to the Pokemon Centre at Accumula Town! There's some stuff I want to introduce you too!"
After hanging up, Cheren looked at Bianca, and then locked eyes with Hilda. Hilda thought she felt her heart skip a beat in that moment. "We'd better get going. My Pokemon are exhausted," he said.
"So are mine," Hilda added, looking at Lillipup, who still kept on a bright face despite looking worn out.
"Let's go!" Bianca, as usual, took the lead as the three of them approached Accumula Town's Pokemon Centre.
While Bianca stayed behind with Professor Juniper to learn more of the features of the Pokemon Centre, Cheren and Hilda exited the Pokemon Centre a while later to face a strange sight.
"What the…" Cheren muttered in disbelief. A group of strange, orange-haired people clad in eccentric pale-blue-and-white suits stood in the plaza of Accumula Town, guarding an even weirder man with long green hair and a red patch over his eye. He wore a robe of strange, intricate designs. "My name… My name is Ghetsis," the man began.
He then launched into a speech on the liberation of Pokemon. The people of Accumula Town were left bewildered and confused after he concluded his speech.
"Liberation of Pokemon? That's crazy!" questioned an old man.
"What nonsense! I'm sure that was a prank or something!" exclaimed a young man.
"Then why did he have so many of those weirdly dressed people with him?" the old man asked back.
The young man rolled his eyes. "Miscreants."
Cheren and Hilda overheard their conversation and turned to face each other. "That's right… Maybe it was nothing more than a publicity stunt for some sort of radical campaign…" Cheren told her.
Hilda was about to reply when she heard a voice behind her. "Your Pokemon… They speak to me…" came the voice of a male adolescent.
Hilda turned around to face a teenage guy standing about a foot taller than her. Under his monochrome cap, he had long, tea green hair pulled back in a ponytail and the deepest blue-gray eyes Hilda had ever seen. Hilda's breath seemed to abandon her for a second upon locking eyes with him. There was something about this guy… Something unfathomable. An aura of something bad mixed with an overwhelming aura of guilty pleasure.
…What is it? Why do I feel this way? Hilda thought to herself.
Could this be… No, it can't. I don't even know this guy's name!
The silence between the mystery guy and Hilda was a few second short of awkwardness before Cheren broke it. "Her Pokemon speak to you? How odd," he gave the mystery guy a questionable glance.
"…You can't hear them? Oh my. Then why is it…" The mystery guy looked at Hilda's Oshawott, which was out of its Pokeball and standing next to Hilda, and continued, "Never mind. My name is N."
"Um… Okay… I'm Cheren. This is Hilda," Cheren introduced the both of them to N.
"Nice to meet you, Cheren and Hilda," N turned to Hilda and challenged, "I want to hear your Pokemon speak. I challenge you… To a battle!"
N only had a Purrloin with him. It was a breeze for Hilda's Oshawott. Hilda won the battle in the end.
N seemed both astonished and pleasantly surprised at the end of the battle. "There are Pokemon who say such things? Restrained to Pokeballs… In their imperfect state… They still say that?"
"Stop with your riddles! What are you talking about? Weirdo!" Cheren snapped.
"Cheren…" Hilda attempted to appease Cheren, but was stopped by N.
"I understand. After all, you can't understand or speak to Pokemon… It comes as no surprise," N calmly replied.
"Argh! What the… I'm done here. See you later, Hilda," Cheren left in a fury.
Hilda and N watched Cheren storm off, then turned to face each other. Hilda was about to ask N what her Pokemon said when he spoke up first. "Boy, your friend sure has a temper…" N muttered. "Well, I had fun with that battle. You have potential as an excellent trainer. I look forward to seeing you again," N bade Hilda farewell with an extraordinary glint in his misty eyes.
Hilda watched N leave as she headed towards the Pokemon Centre to prepare for the journey to Striaton City. Her face appeared straight, but the events inside her head were a world of difference away from her facial expression.
That sparkle in his eyes… Did he sense that sensation I felt when we locked eyes? Does he really… Does he really look forward to seeing me again? Hilda wondered. She shook her head in frustration.
Stop it, Hilda. That was nothing. Just your imagination. You are in love with Cheren. You barely know N. N is just a stranger. Newer thoughts retaliated against previous ones in Hilda's mind.
Hilda left Accumula Town and headed towards Route 2, trying to fight and purge the thought of N from her mind. But her thoughts wouldn't let her.
He's just a stranger… Or is he?