Hilbert's POV

Two days had passed since Hilbert and Oshawott had lost to Jerry and his Pidove. Hilbert had tried his best to dedicate his time to Oshawott, who had obviously shown she loves it when Hilbert spends time with her. They even had gone out the other day together and caught a new Pokemon. The Pokedex told them that it was called Timburr and was a fighting type. Hilbert tried to talk with him the other day, but Timburr had ignored him and even hit him in the head with the log he carried around. Oshawott had tried to talk some sense into it, but it was no good.

The two don't know how to make this arrogant Pokemon obey, but they decided that the Timburr will have to adjust eventually. In the meantime, Hilbert and Oshawott will have to bear with it. Only 24 hours had passed, and Hilbert was already considering releasing the Muscular Pokemon.

Somehow, Timburr escaped from his Pokeball and ran off. Hilbert had wanted to leave him, but Oshawott had convinced Hilbert to follow Timburr onto Route One. Hilbert ruefully agreed and followed his Oshawott to find the arrogant Pokemon that had escaped.

He and Oshawott had been searching all day, but no matter how hard they search, Timburr managed to stay hidden. The sun had started setting, and sleep and hunger was pulling at Hilbert with every step. He called out to Oshawott, who was looking behind a tree.

"Oshawott, it's getting late! Are you ready to leave?" She yawned and rubbed her eyes as she started to walk back to Hilbert. Her large eyes bore into his and he exactly what she was thinking.

"We can't leave Timburr!" Hilbert just sighed and picked her up. He knew, at this hour, finding any Pokemon would be hard.

"We'll look tomorrow, Oshawott." Hilbert said. "He's probably just fooling around. Like normal." He added.

Oshawott nodded slowly. Her small blue ears suddenly flicked. She said something and pointed down the dirt road. Behind him, Hilbert could hear some human and Pokemon voices. "Who's that?"

The voices came closer, and he was able to make out a familiar face.

"Oh, no." Hilbert groaned. Oshawott looked at him, confused.

Just then, the people walking down the path noticed him. One of them stopped in her tracks. "You!" She gasped. Her Tepig jumped off of her head and landed in front of her, blocking Hilbert from his trainer.

"Hilda." Hilbert said. "What are you doing here?" He demanded.

She snorted. "None of your business." She gripped the Pokemon she was holding in her arms.

Hilbert looked at the Pokemon. The gray mouse looked back at him. He had never seen it before, so he quickly took out his Pokedex and looked at it's information. When he was finished, he looked back up at Hilda. "Is that YOUR Pokemon?"

She smirked. "Yes, Minccino is mine." She flipped her hair. "And so is this Petilil." She beckoned to the green plant next to her. "Have you caught any Pokemon yet, or are you late yet again?"

Hilbert turned red angrily. "O-of course I have!"

"Let me see it."

Hilbert turned even redder, suddenly thankful it was getting darker and everything around him was already tinted red by the sun. "Why?"

Hilda pulled her Pokedex out of her back pocket. "Professor Juniper wants us to fill out our Pokedexs, remember?"

Hilbert knew that was only an excuse. Although he couldn't detect any curiosity, he knew it was there.

"Hey, Hilda!" Hilda turned around, where her companion was standing. She had on a plain red tee shirt and her brown hair was in pigtails, which hung loosely under her shoulders. "Who's this?" Her eyes sparkled from behind her glasses. "I can tell you guys are close."

Hilda glared at her friend. "We are NOT!" She snapped. "Well, anyway, Jojo, this is Hilbert. Black, Jojo." Her voice was sharp.

"Hi, Hilbert!" She said. "Or is it Black? Hilda addressed you as both."

"It's Hilbert." He glared at Hilda. "White sometimes calls me my last name."

She laughed. "That's nice." Both trainers rolled their eyes. "I'm a Pokemon trainer. What are you?"

Hilbert sighed. "This girl is too enthusiastic." He answered anyway. "I'm also a trainer."

"Great! Are you here for the Battle Club?" She asked.

Hilda grabbed her arm. "Come on, Jojo, we should leave." Hilda turned around and started walking away. Suddenly, the tree above their heads started shaking. The girls looked up.

Oshawott shouted and pointed. Hilbert knew what she was trying to say. "Hey, Hilda!" He called. She turned around, her large eyes showing a mix of curiosity and excitement."You wanted to see my other Pokemon, right?" He pointed at the tree, just as a strong wind started blowing at them. "There he is!"

Tree shook again, and a large shape jumped from it and started hurling towards the ground. The girls gasped as it landed right in front of Hilbert, his fist hitting the ground, causing dust to rise around them. He looked up and stared at Hilda and Jojo, his gray eyes gleaming.

Hilda stared at it, speechless. Jojo, on the other hand, said, "It's a Timburr!" Hilda blinked and searched it on her Pokedex.

"Timburr," it said, "These Pokemon appear at building sites and help out with the construction. They always carry square logs."

Hilda put her Pokedex away. "Okay then." She placed the Minccino she was holding on the ground. "I challenge you to a Pokemon battle."

"Okay. I'll use my Oshawott."

"Actually," Hilda said. "Don't you think it would be a good idea if we each battle with our newest Pokemon?"

"U-um..." Hilbert stammered. Hilbert couldn't keep his Timburr in one place for more than five minutes! How was he going to use him to battle?

"What?" Hilda scorned. "Are you too scared?"

"No!" He sighed and glanced at Timburr. "I have no problem with it."

Hilda's eyes gleamed. Hilbert knew she could tell that he and Timburr had no experience with battling together. "Okay, let's start! I'll use my Minccino." Minccino jumped up and down with excitement.

Jojo stepped back, along with Tepig and Petilil. Her Vaporeon sat down and wrapped it's tail around his paws. Hilbert hadn't noticed it before, and seeing a Vaporeon in the Unova region is rare.

"Alright!" Hilda said. "Ladies first! Minccino, use Pound!"

Minccino darted forward and hit Timburr with her tiny fist. Timburr stumbled a little, but otherwise didn't appear to take much damage.

Hilbert shrugged. "It's not very effective." He pointed out. "Timburr, use Focus Energy!"

Timburr turned around and smirked at his trainer. Instead, he darted forward and smacked Minccino with his log. Minccino let out a wail and stumbled back. Hilda gasped. "Minccino, are you okay?!" She glared at Hilbert. "What the heck?! That wasn't Focus Energy! That was Pound!"

Hilbert blushed. "I- I didn't-!"

Hilda picked up Minccino. "Timburr doesn't obey you, does he, Black?" Her voice was bitter. "Battle me when your Pokemon learn to listen to you." Her Tepig and Petilil stood next to her, their anger matching hers. In sync, they turned and walked away, followed by Jojo and Vaporeon. Neither of them even glanced his way. They just walked, until Hilbert couldn't see them anymore.

By that point, it was completely dark. Only the moon and stars were giving off light. The three of them stood silently, until Hilbert slowly turned his head towards Timburr. His face wasn't smug like it was when he decided to disobey him. It looked more surprised than anything else.

"Are you happy NOW, Timburr?" He hissed. Timburr looked up at him. "That was my rival! I was trying to show her I CAN be a good trainer, but you had to go and ruin it!" Timburr looked at the ground. Hilbert could tell he was sorry, but he couldn't stop himself from continuing to rant. "SHE was always the superior! SHE always had the best grades in school! SHE was always better!" Oshawott pulled on his pant leg, trying to calm him.

Hilbert shook his head. "Just... ugh!" He yelled angrily. "You find it funny to do what you like. Now, I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU DO!" He turned on his heals and started walking away. He heard Oshawott running to catch up to him.

"Why did I do that?" Hilbert asked himself. But it was too late to turn back, so he and Oshawott kept walking, Hilbert regretting every step he took away from his Timburr.

…

Hilbert barely slept that night. When he finally did fell asleep, he dreamed that Hilda had caught his Timburr and beat Alder, the champion of the Unova region. When she won, she immediately turned to him and yelled very loudly, "You'll always be less than me, Black!" Timburr then nodded in agreement and started chanting something loudly. Hilbert woke up, completely drenched in sweat.

It was early, and Oshawott was still asleep one the pillow next to him. He watched her chest rise and fall slowly. She looks really cute when she's asleep. Hilbert didn't want to wake her, so he quietly got out of bed and tiptoed to the door. He opened it quietly and slipped out, soundless. He closed it gently behind him. He looked down the hallway. No one was awake yet. Except him. He walked down the hallway and into the main room in the Pokemon Center. Not a soul was lingering. Hilbert sat down at a two person table nearby and rested his head in his arms.

"You're up early." said a familiar voice. Hilbert looked up and saw Hilda's friend, Jojo. Below her was a pretty Ninetales. He hadn't heard either of them come in.

He didn't reply. Jojo sat down across from him. "If you're disappointed about that battle earlier, there's no need to feel bad. You shouldn't let that stop you from whatever you want to do."

Hilbert shrugged, avoiding her large eyes. She continued. "I've fought many battles against many great trainers. I've lost a lot of those battles. But that didn't stop me! And look at me now! I've traveled so far!"

Hilbert looked at her. "You don't understand. Hilda and I have always been rivals!"

She snorted. "Yeah, right. You weren't born rivals."

Hilbert shook his head. "Fine. We became rivals when she moved to Nuvema Town. And we've been rivals since."

"So? That doesn't mean you can't be FRIENDS."

Hilbert glared at her. "Friends?! With her?!"

Jojo shrugged. "I had a rival, too. She and I always argued, even about the smallest, unimportant things. But in the end, we looked at our similarities and became friends." She chuckled. "Neither Alyson or I saw THAT coming." She shrugged. "But things turned out okay for us."

Hilbert shook his head. "That will never happen. Between her and I, anyway." He added.

Jojo rolled her eyes. "You'd be surprised. Anyway, don't let a couple of losses at the beginning of your adventure ruin all of it!" She winked. "Then you'll lose all of it's fun!"

"Fun?" Hilbert thought his Pokemon journey is a serious thing, not a time to goof off and act like a child.

"Well, yeah!" She stood up. He Ninetales also stood, her blue fur shimmering. Wait- blue? "Pokemon journeys are fun if you let them be that way!" Jojo continued. "Playing with your Pokemon is just as important as training them! That way, you'll become-"

"What's wrong with you Ninetales' fur?" Hilbert blurted out. Jojo stopped talking immediately. Her Ninetales flicked her ears. The silence between them stretched for what felt like forever, and Hilbert was afraid he had said something to offend her.

"D-don't Ninetales normally have orange fur?" He said, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

Jojo paused for a moment. "Yeah, normally. But Demon's what they call a shiny. Her fur is colored differently." Her eyes narrowed. "Is that a problem?"

Hilbert shook his head. "I've heard about shiny Pokemon, but I've never..." His voice trialed off. Seeing a shiny Pokemon is a once in a lifetime opportunity! "How is Demon shiny?"

Jojo shrugged. "My uncle was a Pokemon Breeder. He helped hatch many eggs. I just happened to get a shiny Vulpix when the egg he gave me hatched." She and Demon turned and started heading to the door. The sun was barely peaking over the horizon.

"We're gonna go train." Jojo told him. "See you later. And don't forget about the Battle Club. The rules are going to be explained this afternoon. Bye, now!" She and Demon left the Pokemon center, the shiny Demon's blue fur shinning brightly in the early sunlight.

As he watched them go, he thought about his Timburr again. Hilbert shouldn't have snapped at him. "I'll find him." Hilbert decided. "Right now, I'll go and apologize. Although, he has a lot to tell me, too."