It was late. The sun had set hours ago. Hilbert would've preferred to be home. But he was given a job and had to follow through. He marched through the parking lot of some diner and scanned all the people, mostly teenagers his age or slightly older. Most didn't seem old enough to drink alcohol, yet they had cans and bottles in their hands anyway. There was music loudly playing from multiple cars. No one seemed to care for the mix of radio stations drowning each other out. The few adults around were either employees of the diner, patrons getting harassed by teens, or people who bought the alcohol for said teens.

Hilbert had been around places like this before and usually had some fun. Though he didn't have the time and instead glanced around. He settled his eyes on a teen who was alone leaning on the diner wall at the far end of the parking lot. He was wearing a long coat with his hood on. His hands were kept in his pockets and he was constantly darting his eyes around. Only when someone approached him did his eyes focus. From his pocket he would retrieve something hidden in his fist that he handed to the person who then gave him something, which was usually balled and green.

The teen reminded Hilbert of Pierce. However unlike the man who oversaw an illegal battle ring the teen didn't make Hilbert approach him with respect. He walked up to the teen and spoke first before being acknowledged.

"Yo, you Shamus?" Hilbert asked. The teen looked at him, surprised he was called by name. He quickly regained his composure.

"Yeah. What you want?"

"Bless sent me. To talk about that thing. Y'know, about Dee Dee?"

Again the teen's eyes went a little wide before going back to normal. Even if Hilbert hadn't been told what to expect he could tell the teen wasn't experienced. "Oh...right."

Hilbert looked at the crowded parking lot before facing the teen. "There's too many people here. Let's go around back."

"Uh, okay."

Hilbert gestured with his head for the teen to lead and Hilbert followed him to the back of the diner. As soon as they were out of sight of anyone from the parking lot, Hilbert swung his fist at the teen. He struck him in the face and caused him to fall to the ground. Hilbert reached into his pocket and pulled out Houndoom's pokeball and released him. Houndoom stood beside his trainer and glanced at the teen who was on his hands and knees. Hilbert kicked the teen in the side making him fall over again.

The teen, after looking up and seeing Houndoom, quickly pushed himself to sit up and scooted back into the wall. He held his hands in front of him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

"Bless told me you turned down his offer to sell. Why?" Hilbert spoke loud and fast, but clear.

"W-what?"

"Houndoom, Ember."

Houndoom shot a ball of fire at the teen, aiming it directly between his legs. The ball hit the ground and quickly went out, a small part of the flame touched the teen's pants. The teen had to quickly pat out the fire before it spread.

"I said why did you turn him down?"

"Because...!"

"That's not a reason. Why did you say no?"

"Because I-I...only recently started doing this! I just work for other people selling simple shit, man, like aroma! If I start dealing something new on the side, everyone's gonna be on my ass."

"I don't care. Whatever they'll try to do to you is nothing to what I'll do," Hilbert started to lean over the teen and Houndoom also came forward while growling relentlessly. The teen did his best to get away, which only resulted in him pressing against the wall some more. Hilbert glanced at his pokemon and got an idea. "You know they say a burn from a houndoom lasts all your life. Why don't we test it?"

Understanding his owner, Houndoom started a fire in the back of his throat and opened his mouth. The teen began to cover his face.

"Okay, okay! I'll do it! I'll sell whatever you want!"

"Be here tomorrow. Same time. If you aren't, I'll fucking find you," Hilbert returned Houndoom after speaking and stepped back to let the teen get up. "Now get out of here."

The teen ran into the parking lot. Hilbert let out a deep breath. He had never once confronted a drug dealer over anything. Let alone threaten one. Whenever he had seen one on the streets he would always avoid them. He was glad the teen took his bluff. Leaving the back of the diner he went into the parking lot. Many of the teens were standing in a large circle. From the glimpses between people he could see, Hilbert saw an older teen arguing with a man old enough to be the teen's father. They both looked ready to fight at a moment's notice. A teen who wasn't in the crowd approached Hilbert and began talking to him.

"How'd it go?" she asked. Hilbert shrugged.

"Good. I guess. Told him what 'Bless' said so I guess tomorrow we come back here again."

"You guess?" Hilbert shrugged again. The two stood beside each other and watched the argument ahead of them. "You want to get something to eat?"

Hilbert thought for a moment. He was a little hungry but decided against it when the crowd began cheering loudly. The younger man had pulled out a knife. "Nah. Let's just go back to the apartment."

"Alright," said his sister.

As the two walked off, a breeze caused Hilda to shiver. "Damn it's cold."

"Wear a jacket."

"I don't have one. Let me have yours."

"No way, it's mine."

"You haven't even worn it since we went to Castelia!"

"So what? It's mine."

"Fine. Tomorrow I'm going shopping for some more clothes. This time I can actually get something I like," Hilda side-eyed her brother who shrugged for a third time.

"Should've woken up," Hilbert said. Hilda only rolled her eyes and the two said nothing more until they were home. The night's silence was nice even with the faint sounds of sirens that slowly got louder.

The next day, Cress showed up at the apartment. He let himself in and sat at the armchair. Hilbert was watching TV on the couch.

"How'd it go last night with Shamus?" asked Cress.

"He said he'll start selling for you. Just have to see him again tonight."

"Good," Cress looked into the hallway. "Where's the other one?"

"Out shopping."

"I guess it doesn't matter. I don't have anything for you two to do anyway."

"Really? Not even any deliveries?" asked Hilbert.

"Nah. You can do whatever you want until tonight," Cress got up and went to the kitchen to get himself something to drink. Upon checking the cabinets and fridge, he realized there wasn't anything besides water. He spoke up as he began to fill a glass. "You know if you're going to live here you two could at least make it livable and buy groceries."

"Well, me and Hilda have just been eating out," Hilbert called from the living room. Cress left the kitchen and sat back in the chair.

"Never mind about the do what you want then. When your sister's back you two are going to go to the store and buy proper food."

"Why?"

"Because I said so."

Hilbert glanced at Cress with a questioning look but Cress only watched the TV. Neither said anything more until Hilda was back with two bags in each hand. The bags bore the brand of a clothing store that Hilbert knew he and his sister were never able to shop at before.

"Oh, Cress, you're here," Hilda said when she saw her boss.

"I had some time to kill so thought I'd see how you two were doing," he said as Hilda walked to her room. She came back and sat on the couch beside her brother.

"By the way, I told him already, but you have a new job today."

"What is it?"

"You two are going grocery shopping," said Cress. Hilda turned to Hilbert who only shrugged at her. "And buy real food too. Not just random snack junk or heavily processed stuff. You know what, hold on."

Cress got up and headed back to the kitchen. Hilda and Hilbert followed him in curiosity and watched him look through the drawers. Eventually he found a notepad and a pen and began making a list which filled the front and back of the page. He handed it to the closest twin, Hilbert, who scanned the list. On it were quite a few things he didn't recognize.

"There's a store just a couple blocks from here. It should have everything on that list," said Cress. He pulled out his wallet from his pocket and opened it to pull out his money. He counted it out before handing it to Hilbert who counted it himself to be over three hundred dollars. "Keep whatever change you get, but you better get everything."

Cress walked past the twins and sat down on the couch while grabbing the remote. He changed the channel from whatever Hilbert had on before Cress arrived at the apartment. Hilbert and Hilda noticed Cress wave at them, which they knew was the sign they were supposed to leave.

Despite the size of the list, the two only had to carry two bags in each hand and didn't struggle on the walk home. When they were back, Cress was gone so they just began to put everything away where they figured it made sense to go. They walked back and forth from the kitchen table to the pantry and refrigerator. They never said anything but would glance at each other as they passed. Without words they knew the other felt the same.

For the first time in their life they had gone grocery shopping for themselves. As opposed to eating whatever their parents happened to buy. For the last few years of their lives, neither of them had gone to the store with either of their parents. It was a weird feeling, but neither Hilbert nor Hilda felt upset at the thought of their old home life. Neither so much as frowned. When they were all done putting the food away and putting all the bags into one and putting it neatly in the hall closet, they sat down on the couch to watch TV with smiles on their faces.

Hours later the two were back in the same diner parking lot they were in the night before. This time they walked together up to the diner. Hilbert wore the same clothes as the day before, a plain black shirt and his baggy pants. Hilda had on some of her new clothes such as a light blue short sleeve blouse, a thin white zip up jacket, and black pull-on pants.

Hilbert saw Shamus and the twins approached him. Shamus flinched upon turning and seeing Hilbert barely a foot away from him.

"Remember me?" said Hilbert. Shamus only nodded. "Remember what I told you?"

"Y-yeah..." said Shamus. Hilda almost felt bad for him. Hilbert had told her about him and she knew he wasn't tough, but seeing him in person made her feel somewhat sympathetic. Hilbert looked over the parking lot to make sure no one was looking.

"Here," he said to Shamus. Hilbert reached into his pockets and pulled out some bags of Dream Dust. "Thirty bucks a gram. How long will it take you to sell it?"

"Shit, man..." Shamus quickly put it all in his jacket pockets counting the bags as he went. He stopped counting at twelve bags. "Depends how the night goes. A lot of my usual buyers already got what they wanted so I might only get to sell a couple at best."

"Fine. You better sell all of it by tomorrow night. If anyone comes to you, you try to sell our shit before anything else. Got it?"

"Whoa, hey, man. You can't expect me to just start pushing the new stuff to my clients. They always get the same thing, I can't-"

"I don't care," said Hilbert. He pulled out a pokeball and made sure Shamus could see it. "Am I gonna have to use Houndoom or are you gonna sell our shit?"

"I'll sell it! I'll sell it! I swear!" Shamus backed into the wall as he talked. Hilbert pocketed the ball.

"Good," said Hilbert. He turned and walked away with Hilda taking a second to look at Shamus before following. Hilda always feared drug dealers, but the one in front of her she could only feel pity for.

"Way to go, Hilbert. Very scary," Hilda said. The two walked towards the diner entrance.

"Shut up. Why'd you come up if you weren't going to say anything?" asked Hilbert.

"I was the silent intimidation," said Hilda. Hilbert chuckled as he opened the diner door. As the two approached a booth, Hilbert's Xtransceiver beeped. He answered the call from Cress who asked how everything went.

"Good," said Hilbert.

"Good. Now come back to the apartment," said Cress.

"What? Why?" asked Hilbert. He and Hilda were just about to sit down when Cress told them to just listen and go back home. Despite how hungry they were, the two groaned as they left the diner. The smell of other people's food made their stomachs growl and their mouths water.

As the two walked down a street, a sudden breeze caused Hilda to shiver, despite wearing a jacket. She looked to Hilbert who didn't seem bothered by the wind.

"How are you not cold?" she asked. Hilbert just stared ahead and shrugged.

"Just not I guess."

"Weirdo."

Hilbert gave his sister a look before staring straight ahead again. He had noticed his lack of care for the cold and instead seemingly always feeling warm. Though it wasn't something he thought of much or noticed without it being pointed out. What he was feeling, more than anything, was an awkwardness he couldn't describe. Every glance he gave Hilda he felt more and more weird. It wasn't until he stared at his sister for more than a few seconds that he realized what it was.

For the first time in his life, he felt as though he couldn't stand next to his own twin. He looked down at her outfit and knew it was the cause of his discomfort. Her clothes were brand new and had a tidy sense of style. Meanwhile his clothes were dirty and felt like two random pieces of clothing thrown on. He felt they fit him well, but that might only be because he hasn't seen himself in anything else in so long. There was a small tearing at one of the knees of his pants and the neck hole of his shirt was stretched a bit. He planned the next day to buy some new clothes if he wasn't busy.

Once the two were back at the apartment they saw Cress was back and he was in the kitchen cooking, to their surprise. Cress went back and forth in the kitchen as if he was in the middle of a dinner rush at the restaurant. He called the twins without even looking at them. "I'll be done soon. Go wash your hands."

The twins gave him a weird look but still did what he said, going to the bathroom one by one to wash their hands. Not ten minutes later did Cress tell them he was all done and had them sit at the kitchen table. It was a round table with only three chairs and the twins sat across from each other. Cress put a plate in front of Hilbert and Hilda. On the plates were a type of meal neither twin had had before or knew what it was called. It consisted of meat and vegetables coated in a sauce. As Cress took the third seat at the table he said it was called stir fry.

Hilbert and Hilda grabbed their forks and went to take their first bite. The smell alone was making their mouths flood. Once they got a piece in their mouth they couldn't help but take another, then another, and then another. The only reason they stopped taking bites was because their mouths were full and they had to chew properly before swallowing.

"This is amazing, Cress!" said Hilda. Hilbert tried to agree, but his mouth was full.

"It's not that special. Though it is probably one of my favorite things to make," he said. His mouth was curved every so slightly in a grin. The twins noticed that among the savory flavor of the dish there was noticeable spiciness. Not enough to mask any of the unique flavors of the meat or vegetables, but rather complimenting each and being its own thing. It reminded Hilbert of something.

"Hey, Cress. I wanted to ask you. Ever since Castelia I haven't really felt cold from anything. Do you know why?"

"Sounds like you should see a doctor," said Cress. Hilbert gave him a weird look and Cress chuckled. "Just joshing ya. You're probably just accustomed to your pokemon's type."

"Accustomed to my pokemon's type? What?"

"Trainers eventually get used to their pokemon and their typing, usually to the point of taking some trait or mannerism or something from them. Houndoom was your first pokemon, right?" Cress asked before taking a bite.

"Yeah, he was."

"See, houndours are fire types. And when a trainer gets used to a fire type..." Cress paused to chew. "They usually begin to be a lot more resistant to heat and cold. I think there's some other stuff to know, but you'll have to ask Chili about the specifics."

"Hm..." Hilbert stared down at his food for a while. "Alright, I will."

"What about me and Whirlipede?" asked Hilda.

"What about you two?" asked Cress.

"Is there anything special about bug or poison trainers?"

"Do I look like an expert in either of those types?" Cress said while scratching his head. "Just try and find anything about Burgh and what he's said about it. He's probably the only one in the region who uses more than a single bug type on his team willingly. There's also a girl on her journey who's making a name for herself by using only poison types. She hasn't challenged the gym yet so you might meet her."

Hilda didn't say anything more and instead continued eating. She wondered who the girl Cress mentioned and she thought about what Burgh would have to say about bug types. She pictured Whirlipede in her mind and imagined the two becoming top trainers and her becoming an expert in both types. She smiled as she ate.

Hilbert would have asked about dark types but he remembered Grimsley. While he may be an Elite Four member he was still involved in Hemlock in some way, so Hilbert felt they would meet again and he could ask the best dark type trainer in Unova himself.

Cress was glad the twins weren't asking him anymore questions. He had forgotten just how annoying the two could be.

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~~~Sikoh