First chapter that I would say is deviating from Black/White in a meaningful context.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Tepig grunted, trying to stay on her feet, but she was teetering. White hot pain coursed through her legs as they did a task as simple of supporting Tepig's weight. Little flames were ejecting from her nostrils as she gasped for air. She was on her last legs, and it was a painful struggle just to stand. A struggle she was destined to lose, and in a moment her legs buckled, and she fell onto her side.

The Timburr across from Tepig spun its large wooden beam above its head and struck a victorious pose as the Fire type slumped to the ground in defeat.

Cheren glared, then recalled his starter. Tepig was down, and Purrloin had already been defeated. He had lost this battle.

Standing across from him, and behind the Timburr, was an opposing Trainer. What had happened? Cheren had finished his visit to the Pokemon Center and was ready to challenge the Gym, but a certain individual challenged him to a battle right outside the Gym.

N, the same strange boy he and the others had met in Accumula Town, had appeared without expectation and defeated Cheren completely and utterly. Oddly enough, he didn't have the Purrloin he had used to face Hilbert's Snivy. N had expanded his team to three Pokemon, but his Pokemon were now a Tympole, a Pidove, and the Timburr that was out right now.

Hilda looked on from the side, her jaw dropped. She knew N had probably had a strong chance to win, but hadn't expected him to seem this powerful. The Pokemon he used looked only freshly caught, yet they seemed to already have complete trust in their Trainer, and fought their hardest for him.

Tepig went back into her Pokeball, Cheren glared at his opponent. This defeat was too recent after the still fresh memory of his third loss to Hilbert.

"You push your Pokemon too hard." N admonished with his quick voice. Cheren flinched at the accusation, N continued as if he hadn't noticed. "You have them desperate for victory. They are hurt as they go to lengths to achieve a victory they would never seek if you didn't compel them."

"That's unavoidable in competition." Cheren retorted. "We get hurt competing against each other, but there's no maliciousness in it, and I wouldn't send my Pokemon out if I knew that the most likely scenario was that they might end up getting seriously hurt."

N looked straight at him with strangely soul-searing eyes. "How much happier could a Pokemon be if they never had humans ordering them to battle? I wonder…"

Cheren's eyes narrowed in offense. "I'm not interested in your philosophical and ethical opinion of battles." He turned around, then sighed as he looked at Hilda. "I have to go back to the Center. You can just… wander around, or something. Just meet me at the Center sometime, I'll call you on your Xtranceiver if I start getting impatient."

Hilda cocked her head, wondering why Cheren didn't ask her to go with him. She assumed that he wanted a moment to rethink his battle tactics. She nodded, slowly. "I'll just… wander around Nacrene for a bit, I guess. I do like to pace."

Cheren grunted, then just walked off. Hilda took in a breath, the last thing she wanted to experience was a journey spent putting up with a moody Cheren. She started to turn, and almost jumped back at how close N had gotten to her.

"You still have no Pokemon." N observed, looking over Hilda. "You still don't approve of battles?"

"I…" Hilda had not been this physically close to N at any point back in Accumula, and this was the first time she noticed, N was… quite handsome. A spur of the moment observation, and one she dismissed immediately. She had seen better looking men, and she started speaking again, her tone of voice completely normal. "Don't expect me to ever be a trainer, N."

"Yet you spend your time in the company of trainers." N said, looking at her hard. Hilda felt the look in N's eyes pierce her, and she suddenly felt the urge to make sure that it was approval glinting in N's eyes. That urge was immediately drowned by the urge to defend her friends.

"I have to be supportive of my friends." She said, almost defensively. Then something compelled her to speak further. "Even if all three of them are idiots most of the time."

Perhaps… she is not ready yet. N mentally noted as he observed Hilda's willingness to condone battle.

Hilda looked at him. To her, it looked like there was something N wanted to say. She thought for a moment, but dismissed the possibilities and decided to change the subject. "Hey, N, you might want to be careful when you're talking about Pokemon's feelings and putting them into battle. You might find people associating you with Team Plasma."

N seemed to jolt, looking with an expression that Hilda couldn't interpret. "What… would be wrong with being associated with Team Plasma?"

"You haven't seen them, have you?" Hilda said with a suddenly hostile tone, but she quickly toned it down, reminding herself that N didn't deserve to have her angry with him. "I saw a pair of Team Plasma members just an hour ago. They stole a little girl's Pokemon, and were talking about 'saving' it. They stole it right off of a playground, N. Trust me, getting categorized with people like that would not be a good thing."

There was silence between them. N looked lost in thought at Hilda's brief description, then looked at her again. "There are many… formulas one can use to save Pokemon. Perhaps, some formulas seem unpleasant, despite their intended goal."

"I find it hard to believe that you're trying to defend Team Plasma." Hilda held herself back from speaking with a hiss. She couldn't fathom how someone could think of Plasma forgivingly. If N had seen those members of Plasma, he would have understood exactly where she was coming from. She took in a deep breath, then shook her head and glanced at the Pokeballs N had. "Anyway, how did you meet the Pokemon you have now? And, where is the Purrloin you had earlier?"

N looked down at his three Pokeballs. "I… met all of them around Nacrene, and simply talked to them. They agreed to follow me for a little while." The expression on his face remained static as he mentioned how he could talk to Pokemon, just like he mentioned talking to Pokemon back in Accumula. Hilda was not sure if she believed N or not.

"And the Purrloin you used to fight Hilbert's Snivy?" Hilda asked, there was a little voice in her head that was saying that she was being too probing, but she asked the question anyway.

"I let it go free." N tilted his head to look past Hilda and the tree line behind her, not overly different from the tree line the Purrloin had darted into. "Pokemon shouldn't be suffering under my orders. They are only beautiful free, in the wild. I won't corrupt the Purrloin with cruel commands. Eventually, these three will be go free as well."

Hilda's hand went to her chin. For the first instant, it sounded like N was making pretty justifications for abandoning Pokemon. His logic seemed… a little hard to comprehend, but the tone of N's voice alone somehow offered irrefutable affirmation that N believed it truly was for the Pokemon's best. He was being… selfless, even if she couldn't begin to understand his reasoning.

"Accumula Town." N spoke softly, remembering the fight between the Snivy and the Purrloin. "You are his friend… where is that one, Hilbert, now?"

Hilda shrugged. "He should be on his way to Nacrene right now. He'll probably arrive pretty soon."

N looked toward the entrance to Nacrene City. He didn't voice it, but… in Accumula he had sensed something… uncanny, about Hilbert, and…

He was looking forward to their next meeting.

"That Day Care visit didn't turn out how I expected." Hilbert said with an exaggerated tone of annoyance as he put his hands behind his head and looked around. They had just entered into Nacrene, the first thing he did was look up at the sky and consider time. If all went well, they should have been able to leave well before the sun began to sink past the horizon. "Might as well get to the Gym right now."

He glanced over at Bianca. The girl gave him a look, then suddenly put a hand over her gut. Hilbert could almost hear the growl of Bianca's stomach.

"Can we find a place to eat first? We didn't eat before we left Striaton."

Hilbert looked exasperated for the briefest moment, then smiled and shrugged. "Won't take too much time to stop for lunch. I'm sure Nacrene has a place."

Hilbert couldn't help but notice that most of Nacrene's buildings looked like they were made out of old, but still well kept warehouses. There were some warehouses that didn't seem to be used… it seemed like a haven for squatters to him, but he just shrugged his shoulders at the possibilities. The city was also much quieter then Striaton, and more, perhaps, he could say 'artful'. Not art in the way that stirred the soul, but perhaps he wasn't able to judge.

He and Bianca entered into one warehouse that was marked as a café. The first thing he saw inside was some people scurrying around and examining the floor closely for some reason… he ignored it and simply took a seat with Bianca and waited.

One of the workers of the café approached them and took their order, and in a few minutes Bianca was enjoying a small, light meal of simple bread. Nothing extravagant. Hilbert didn't order anything for himself, he just simply sat at his seat, dividing his attention between Bianca and the café.

The people moving around were scouring the café from top to bottom, Hilbert found himself growing curious as to what was going on. He tapped a finger against his cheek, thinking about it, but he didn't want to ask, it might have been an obvious question that would make him look like an idiot. Eventually, despite his concerns, his curiosity could not go unappeased, and he turned to one of the café employees as he walked by.

"Excuse me, um…" Hilbert waited until the man stopped, then gestured at some of the people moving around. "What's going on?"

"Everyone wants the reward." The employee answered frankly. Hilbert blinked at the utterly unhelpful answer, and the employee continued. "Two very… well regarded people came to Nacrene City this morning. One of them lost a book, a thick novel. So they made a want ad, and with quite the reward for finding it." He turned to look around the café. "This is where the two think the book disappeared at. So everyone is in here trying to find it." Hilbert was satisfied with the long answer and offered a thanks for the explanation. The employee accepted it before sighing and walking off, mumbling something.

Hilbert thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Nah. Someone else will find the book eventually, and, I don't really need a reward." He thought for a short second, and wondered why the owners didn't simply buy a new book. It couldn't have been all that rare. Bianca looked at Hilbert for a moment, then shrugged and continued to eat the bread. Hilbert contrasted Bianca's manner of eating, taking small bites and chewing carefully, with the very unladylike manner that Hilda normally ate. Hilbert was one to make the joke that some celestial being had probably intended to make Hilda male, but made a slight mistake.

He turned his head, and he paused. He saw Hilda right on the other side of the window, walking by the café. She didn't turn toward the café and so didn't notice Hilbert, but what caught Hilbert's eye more then anything else was who Hilda was walking with. It wasn't Cheren… he was probably just elsewhere at the moment, but then, who was this person? Who was it, with his white shirt and tea green hair and…

"N." Hilbert realized, remembering the battle with the boy from Accumula Town. N was walking with Hilda, and the two-

"What?" Bianca asked after swallowing what she had in her mouth. Hilbert looked back at her, then turned back to Hilda and N… they must have just rounded a corner and were gone now. He turned back to Bianca and shook his head.

"Nothing. I was just mumbling a little there." He thought of Hilda… he had no doubt she'd be back with Cheren the next time he saw her… but she looked oddly content walking with N. He tried not to dwell on that and just waited for Bianca to finish eating.

Eventually the bread was gone, Bianca leaned back with a large content smile, patting her now contently filled stomach. Hilbert knew better then to try and make a comment about her weight. Deciding to wait until Bianca rose and say it was time to head to the Gym, he turned and rested his shoulder on the windowsill right by their table, his elbow was poking into an area hidden behind some drapes. He tapped the fingers of one hand upon the table as he waited for Bianca to decide it was time to go.

Bianca made a relaxed sigh, then stood up. "Shall we get going?"

Hilbert started to remove his arm from the windowsill, and something suddenly fell off of the sill as he made the movement. A small black object with an easily understood shape landed on their table. It was a familiar thing, it was…

"A book." Hilbert observed. He raised his eyes to meet Bianca's briefly. "Do you suppose… this is…"

"I bet it is." Bianca answered the unspoken words, her voice gaining a strong note of excitement. "Let's ask where the two owners are."

Just a few minutes later, Hilbert and Bianca were outside the café warehouse, and were greeted by two girls.

Hilbert held his breath. He didn't want to raise false hope, he didn't know for sure if this was the novel that disappeared, but the eyes of one of these two girls, the one wearing glasses, brightened at the sight of the book in Hilbert's hand.

"I got my book back!" She took it when Hilbert offered, Hilbert had to smile at the girl's excitement. Though he felt that this much excitement was slightly unwarranted. She flipped through a few pages, and the expression on her face made it clear that it really was the missing book.

"You should keep a better grip on the novels you write." The other girl lectured, Hilbert blinked. So, the girl with the glasses was the one who actually wrote the book. That might better explain why they couldn't just replace the book at a local bookstore. "Now look… we had to contract aid of the… peasants, to find your book, and now they'll wait a reward."

Hilbert immediately bridled at being called a 'peasant', but he decided to confirm something. "I just happened to find that book, I… didn't do it for a reward. If it's okay with you, I'd be happy with… no reward."

The girl with the glasses looked at Hilbert, and then to Bianca, who seemed pleased at Hilbert's decision. Putting her book away, this time securely, she looked at both of them. "Can I at least get your names?"

"Hilbert." Hilbert answered, "And my friend, Bianca."

The author smiled. "My name is… Shauntal." She looked at her own friend. "This is Caitlin."

Shauntal. Hilbert found that the name had an interesting sound to it. He turned to the other girl, Caitlin. She was looking at Hilbert and Bianca with an annoyance she clearly wasn't trying to hide.

"You don't want the offered reward…" Shauntal began. "Is there something else I could do for you?"

Hilbert put a hand to his chin in quiet thought. He turned to Bianca, who just made a confused glance, nothing came to her mind. Shauntal seemed to really want to repay the favor, yet Hilbert couldn't seem to come up with anything.

Then, a thought struck him. "Well, I am a Pokemon Trainer, trying to collect all eight Gym Badges. So…"

Shauntal's eyes widened and she looked at Caitlin. Caitlin frowned at the suggestion, but forced herself to nod in agreement. They could give a demonstration for these two trainers, give them a sense of what kind of Pokemon they had, and…

"Do you know what types are used by the Gyms in Unova?" Hilbert asked before Shauntal and Caitlin could do anything. "I… um, would rather avoid a Ghost type Gym. I have a…" Hilbert took in a breath, calculating whether or not he should say it to two people he only just met. "A… p-phobia, with the Ghost type." His voice suddenly became sheepish, and he looked… embarrassed.

"Oh." Shauntal had been reaching for… something, but suddenly stopped, bringing her hands together. "Oh, is that… so." She swallowed hard, looking at Caitlin and wordlessly calling off their idea before she might spark a very unpleasant reaction from Hilbert. "Well, I can help you with the Gyms of Unova."

Shauntal's descriptions were easy to understand. Hilbert breathed a sigh of relief as it became clear that no Gym Leader in Unova specialized in the Ghost Type. Many other types were represented, more then once he'd probably be fighting a hard uphill battle against a Gym with a type advantage over him, just like the fight with Chili in Striaton. He suddenly noticed that Caitlin seemed to be grinning, he had no idea what Caitlin was grinning about.

"That would be all of the Gyms." Shauntal concluded. She smiled sweetly at Hilbert. "I wish I could do more for you. I put my everything into my novels, losing one of them is…" She looked to the side, but wasn't looking at anything in particular. Eventually she turned back to Hilbert. "Maybe I can form an idea for my next story off of what just happened."

"No." Caitlin suddenly spoke up urgently. "A novel based on them? Let's not give this pair of trainers an excuse to think highly of themselves. We should be on our way."

Hilbert locked eyes with Caitlin. Oh, the girl clearly came from a very well off family, considering the obvious condition of her clothes and the refined and elegant way she moved, but she was rubbing Hilbert the wrong way with incredible ease. Just a few minutes after they met, and she did a spectacular job at raising Hilbert's hackles.

Shauntal didn't argue with Caitlin's suggestion that they start moving, but she looked over at Hilbert and Bianca. "Um, it was nice to meet you two." She managed to say as she started to back up. "I'm looking for inspiration for my novels, so I'm traveling all around Unova. Maybe we'll meet again, I… want to do more for you, for finding my novel."

"Come now, Shauntal. You'll give them an excuse to try and call in favors." Caitlin took one last, dismissive look at the two trainers, then walked off, Shauntal followed her.

Hilbert looked at Bianca. "What did you think of those two?"

Bianca thought. "Shauntal seemed like a nice girl. Caitlin… I'd need some time to get used to her."

Hilbert frowned at the mention of Caitlin. Truthfully, both Shauntal and Caitlin were… quite pretty girls. Not to say that Bianca wasn't as good looking compared to them, but…

"No reason not to head to the Gym now." Hilbert said after a moment. "Shauntal said that this Gym specializes in Normal Type Pokemon." He turned his head, trying to see if there were any handy maps like there had been in Striaton. For a brief moment, Hilbert heard a mental voice whisper the question of why Shauntal, a traveling author, knew the types the Gyms specialized in. He pushed the voice down immediately. She was a traveler who had probably been all around Unova. Why wouldn't the girl have known that?

"Striaton Gym was a restaurant, this one is a… museum?" Hilbert curled his lips in annoyance. Couldn't these Gyms be more obvious at a glance? He motioned at Bianca to follow, they were about to enter through the front entrance…

…when someone suddenly stepped out.

Hilbert took a cautious step back. It was N, who he had seen walking around with Hilda. Hilda was nowhere in sight, she must have left to go back to Cheren by now.

"N." Hilbert addressed the boy in front of him. He suddenly turned and looked at Bianca, and wondered why he suddenly felt that Bianca needed protecting. N wasn't dangerous, he was simply… different. Calming himself down, he looked at N again. "I haven't seen you since Accumula Town. What are you doing?"

N closed his eyes, collecting his thoughts, then opened his mouth and spoke. "I want to see and understand the things no one else does. The ideals, of the Pokemon kept confined in their Pokeballs. The truth, of what being a 'trainer' means. Above all, a future where Pokemon have achieved their zenith, their ultimate potential."

He looked at Hilbert, his eyes scanning across the boy, looking like he was trying to peer into Hilbert's mind. "Do you… also seek such a future, where Pokemon's potential is unleashed?"

Hilbert opened his mouth to speak, but no words managed to come out at first. N's question was… strange. It had come out of nowhere. Yet, a future where Pokemon reached new heights? Hilbert couldn't see anything wrong with that. He opened his mouth again. "Yes. For the sake of the Pokemon."

Bianca smiled, and inched slightly closer to Hilbert. She was in agreement, but N didn't look at her, or even seem to acknowledge what she was doing. Only Hilbert seemed deserving of his attention right now.

"I see." N looked carefully, not seeing a speck of dishonesty in Hilbert. "The world has not yet decided what future it will choose. Perhaps, my Pokemon and I hold the future the world chooses? Shall we test that?"

With slow purpose, N revealed a Pokeball. Hilbert looked at it, and grinned. Battle was something he could understand with ease. He revealed a Pokeball of his own.

N released a Pidove. The little bird flapped its wings, then put its still young talons on the ground and glanced from left to right, moving its head with quick, jerky motions. Hilbert released Pawniard, the vicious Pokemon immediately fell into a battle stance, looking like a fierce hunter.

N looked at the posturing Pokemon. There were many guaranteed outcomes in a Pokemon battle. Only one of them was relevant to N, the pain that the Pokemon would suffer. Yet, to understand what he would need to bring about the future he desired, he had to be strong, just for this battle.

"Pidove. Use Gust." Pidove eagerly obeyed, raising up into the air and flapping its wings forcefully, sending a powerful wind straight at Pawniard. Pawniard held his ground, hunching down slightly to brace against the wind.

Pawniard began to slowly slide back, but he never fell backwards. Pidove eventually tired of swinging its wings and ceased the attack, settling back onto the ground. If Pawniard had a visible mouth, it would have grinned as the opportunity presented itself.

"Use Scratch." Hilbert commanded. Pawniard dashed forward, the blade on the end of its right arm gleaming in the light of the noon sun.

"Peck!" N counter-commanded. Pidove suddenly lunged forward with its beak. The arm that Pawniard planned to use to end the fight immediately instead was used to block Pidove's attack. Pidove immediately jumped back, stretching its wings out and readying itself for the next round of combat.

"Press the attack." Hilbert said. "Fury Swipes." Pawniard charged forward, Pidove took to the air and used Gust once more. Pawniard kept moving, forcing himself through the wind, and eventually managed to get underneath Pidove, free of the wind Pidove was generating. Pawniard leapt into the air right behind Pidove, Pidove turned, and was met by two swipes of Pawniard's blades.

Pidove fell from the air, landing hard on the ground. It tried to get up, but the blows Pawniard inflicted, combined with landing so hard, and painfully, upon the ground, sucked all of Pidove's strength. It could not get up, N reluctantly returned Pidove to its Pokeball.

N held Pidove's Pokeball firmly in his hand, just looking at the red and white thing, as if he was apologizing to Pidove. He looked back at Hilbert and Pawniard, and slowly reached for his second Pokeball.

Out came a Tympole, bouncing and floundering on the dry land. Hilbert looked at it, and almost laughed at the sight. He held himself back at the last moment, if N intended on using this Pokemon, then it was something he should take seriously. Pawniard didn't seem to pause to express amusement at all, it was taking this completely seriously. Hilbert emulated that seriousness. The time for relaxation, and perhaps a cocky attitude, would come when the fight was over.

"Tympole. Bubblebeam." N said. Tympole sucked in air, then blew it out as a legion of fast moving bubbles.

"Pawniard. Guard yourself." Pawniard hunkered down and crossed his arms over his face. The bubbles came at him, hitting him with a force that seemed illogically hard since they were, bubbles.

Eventually, the blows stopped. Pawniard lowered its arms, and Tympole was again floundering, looking almost helpless. Pawniard looking over his shoulder at his trainer. Hilbert nodded, giving the okay to lunge forward and attack.

Pawniard dashed forward. N looked at the developing situation, and spoke calmly. "Supersonic."

Tympole opened its mouth, and released a… peculiar sound. To Hilbert it was like nails on a chalkboard. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. Beside him, Bianca had covered her ears at the sound. While the sound was annoying to the humans, Pawniard clutched his head, looking like he was in agony.

Tympole eventually stopped releasing the sound. Pawniard put its arms back down, but shifted clumsily from foot to foot, having no steadiness. He blinked tired, dazed looking eyes. Tympole was still in front of him… or, three Tympole were in front of him. They all bounced in unison, they were becoming increasingly blurry as well, and it was making Pawniard dizzy.

"Not sure what that was supposed to accomplish, but…" Hilbert relaxed, seeing that Tympole had stopped doing… what it had been doing. "Alright. Pawniard. Finish this!"

Hilbert had given an order to attack. No, no, he said to brace for an attack. Or… what had he just said? Pawniard couldn't think straight. Slowly, he brought his arms into position, taking a defensive stance and waiting for something or other to happen.

"Pawniard?" Hilbert looked as Pawniard seemed to ignore the order, doing the exact opposite of what Hilbert just said. Tympole looked pleased, perhaps smug, at this development.

"Bubblebeam." N commanded, having Tympole repeat its first actions in the battle. Tympole sucked in air, more air then the first time, and unleashed an armada of bubbles.

"Pawniard. Take a defensive stance!" Hilbert yelled. Pawniard turned back in confusion. What had Hilbert just said? Start attacking? Pawniard looked ahead and obeyed what he believed he heard. He lunged forward, and was pummeled by strangely hard hitting bubbles. Pawniard was wracked with pain, and was eventually knocked back, rolling and then skidding to a stop.

"What is going on?" Hilbert asked aloud. Pawniard had never seemed to make a point to go against his orders like this before. He blinked, and recalled the sound Tympole had made. Somehow, it had to have been causing this. Cheren might have known exactly what was happening, he'd have to talk about it the next time they met.

Pawniard got back to a sitting position. Was it his imagination, or was Tympole getting… less, blurry? He wasn't seeing three Tympole anymore, either. He didn't understand, but…

He stood up, waiting for an order.

"We'll try one more time. Pawniard, attack that Tympole."

This time, the order, the correct order, was heard clear as crystal. Pawniard rushed forward. N's face flickered to surprise, he had assumed that Pawniard would continue to be unable to hear Hilbert's orders correctly. Instead, Pawniard heard the order perfectly, and struck Tympole with just a single blow, but with the power necessary to end the fight.

"Back over here, Pawniard." Hilbert called. Pawniard immediately obeyed. N recalled Tympole, surprised at what had happened, and knew he was down to his last Pokemon. Taking his last Pokeball out, he took a deep breath, then released Timburr.

Hilbert looked at what was in front of him, then looked down at Pawniard. "Let's let Snivy have this one." Pawniard's eyes widened in offense, but as the Pokeball came out he bowed his head and didn't fight going back in.

Taking his only other Pokeball that had a Pokemon in it, Hilbert released Snivy. The Grass type Pokemon swaggered forward. Timburr frowned at the haughty movement, but did nothing without instruction.

"Timburr. Brace yourself." N commanded. Timburr tensed, every fiber of its being on edge. It waited for Snivy to make the first move.

Hilbert was not going to be stupid enough to tell Snivy to get in range of Timburr's wooden beam. "Keep your distance Snivy. Use Vine Whip… at least get that log out of Timburr's arms."

Snivy extended the vine and snapped it at Timburr. Timburr raised its wooden beam, letting the vine crack and bounce off of the wood. Snivy tried again, and this time the vine wrapped around the wooden beam.

Timburr smiled, Snivy's eyes widened in realization. Timburr hoisted the wood overhead and spun it around, dragging Snivy and the vine with the movement. Timburr eventually stopped spinning, and thrust the wood down. Snivy followed the movement and slammed straight down upon the ground.

Raising his head, Snivy wasted no time in retracting the vine before getting back to his feet. He was somewhat bruised, but not meaningfully hurt.

"Let's not do that again." Hilbert mused to himself. "Alright. Snivy, get in close, but watch that beam." Snivy darted ahead, evading Timburr's attempts to club Snivy with the piece of wood. Snivy ran circles around Timburr, evading every single attack Timburr tried to hit the Grass type with.

Eventually, Hilbert yelled for Wrap. Snivy suddenly jumped onto Timburr and spun around, looking like he was trying to crush Timburr's chest. Timburr's arms were not pinned down, he could still swing the beam. He aimed for Snivy's head, positioned right in front of Timburr's neck.

"Detach! Now!" Hilbert ordered, Snivy let go and let himself drop as Timburr made his attack. Rather then strike Snivy as it intended, its attack instead send the wood crashing hard into its own head.

Timburr took several awkward steps around, clenching its eyes shut and reacting to the pain it had unintentionally self-inflicted. Snivy ran forward and smashed itself into Timburr's chest.

N looked down as Timburr skidded fairly close to his legs. He looked back at Hilbert and Snivy, and sighed. "For the second time, I face defeat at your hands, Hilbert."

Bianca inched closer to Hilbert, taking pride in her friend and his victory. Snivy turned around and climbed to his nest, the top of Hilbert's hat.

Recalling Timburr, N closed his eyes and thought for a long moment. "The world has not chosen a future path to walk yet. As I and my Pokemon are now…" He looked sadly at his Pokeballs. No, they won't suffer under his orders again. They won't be hurt like this again. "I cannot save all Pokemon, or help them reach their ultimate potential. Not as I am now… the formula to change this world for the better is still unsolved. But I know the missing piece I need."

His legs started to move, he walked past Hilbert and Bianca. "I need power, and I know exactly what power I need." He stopped, still speaking to Hilbert, even though he was no longer looking at the boy. "That of the legendary Pokemon, who, with a great hero, created this Unova region." He took in a good, long breath, looking like he was collecting his thoughts, but he knew exactly what his next words would be.

"Resharim." N said. Almost on cue, a wind came and swept his tea green air. "Resharim… I shall befriend Resharim. I will become… a hero. Resharim's hero." The words seemed to fill N with conviction and confidence. Straightening himself, he spread his arms briefly, then, without turning back to Hilbert, walked away.

Bianca watched as N left, then slowly turned to Hilbert. "So, what do you make of him?"

"N…" Hilbert began slowly. "He is… strange. A little strange. But, I'm starting to consider him a friend."

Bianca nodded. "I'm starting to feel the same way." She looked at Hilbert, then they both looked at the museum. It seemed to loom above in a manner that was almost challenging. Hilbert smiled, then pointed a thumb at the entrance.

"I'm ready for my second Badge."

Well, hmm, I'm planning on using the members of the Elite Four for some... specific purposes. There's a point to that scene.

Please review.