It's been over a week since Hilbert and Hilda had done their first job for Cress. Since then, the two have done more jobs. Through those jobs, Hilbert had learned that it's quite easy to persuade someone who doesn't have pokemon of their own when Houndour looks as though he'll use his Ember attack on them. Hilda had learned some things as well. She found that, as a girl, it was easy to get what she wanted, even without making a threat.
The last job the two did would be a perfect example of her using her feminine qualities to get what she wanted. They had to deliver a package to a man in Accumula Town when they had refused to pay.
*Two Days Ago*
"Dude, just fucking pay up," said Hilbert.
His temper was quickly rising with the man. At first, the man had complained about Hilda and Hilbert being late. Then he complained they had given him the wrong package. When he finally realized it was the right package, he began to refuse to pay.
"No, you two caused me too many problems."
"We gave you exactly what you wanted. So what's the problem?" said Hilda quietly. They were in a café, which while not packed, it wasn't exactly empty either. The last thing she wanted was someone to overhear their conversation.
"Oh, I shouldn't even still be here!" said the man. He stood up and began walking toward the front doors. Hilbert and Hilda were quick to follow him outside. Once on the sidewalk, the man started a brisk pace down the street. Hilda saw they were about to pass an alley when she had an idea.
"Hey, stay back for a minute, okay?" she whispered to her brother.
"Why?"
"You'll see."
"Alright, fine."
Jogging past the man, Hilda stopped in front of him, causing them to almost crash.
"Huh? Hey kid, get out of my way."
"Please, sir. Can you pay us for that package? If we go back empty-handed, the men who sent us will hurt us. You don't want them to hurt me, do you?"
Hilda looked up to the man with fake tears in her eyes and placed her hands on his chest. The man looked down with a hint of sympathy on his face.
"Kid, just-"
"Please, mister!"
"No, you-"
"What if I do something to get the money in another way?"
Hilbert looked from behind the man to his sister, a confused look on his face, but Hilda ignored him.
"What are you talking about?" said the man. He was taken aback by Hilda's suggestion.
"I'm talking about this," Hilda said as she slowly moved her hands down the man's front. They stopped at his belt, which she slipped her index fingers into and gave a slight pull as if to say follow me. Hilda and the man stepped towards the alley.
"Hilbert, keep watch, okay?" she said happily. The man had a smile on his face as he looked down at Hilda. The man couldn't see it, but Hilda gave Hilbert a wink, using the brim of her hat to hide it.
As Hilda and the man disappeared into the alley, Hilbert took to leaning on the wall beside him. Uneasiness fell over Hilbert when he started to hear the two arguing.
"If you pay first, then I'll do it," said Hilda.
"No. If you want the money, then you'll do it first."
"You already tried to skip out on paying for the package. How do I know you won't try to cheat me on this too?"
"Fine," the man said. "Here's the money for the package, plus extra for-GAH!"
Hilbert was about to go and see what made the man scream when Hilda ran out of the alley.
"Run!" Hilda said as she took off down the street with Hilbert in hot pursuit.
The two ran to the edge of Accumula Town before stopping. Once they had regained their breath, Hilbert began asking the questions plaguing his mind.
"Why the fuck did we run?"
"Because," Hilda said. "You know how that guy screamed? It's because I kicked him in the nuts."
"Bitch, why?"
"He wanted me to suck his dick to get the money. I wasn't about to do that, so I improvised."
"You robbed him, is what you're saying."
"Yeah, pretty much."
Hilbert stared at his sister for a moment.
"Alright, fair enough. How much did you get?"
"Hmm," Hilda pulled a roll of bills being held together by a rubber band. Taking off the rubber band and then shooting it at her brother, Hilda quickly counted the money.
"About seven thousand."
"Were we supposed to be paid that much?"
Hilda shrugged as she pocketed half the money and handed the rest to Hilbert.
"Aw fuck," Hilbert said. "I just realized. What if the guy calls the cops on us?"
"And tell them what? This fifteen-year-old girl I tried to have sex with robbed me. Not to mention why we were there in the first place."
"Alright, alright, I get it. Let's find a cab then and go back to Striaton."
"Yeah, not like there's much to do here anyway."
*Present*
Rolling off the bed, Hilda stood up and walked to her motel room's bathroom sink. She looked at her reflection in the mirror.
"Aw man, I have bags under my eyes," she said.
"Probably because you keep going to sleep late," said Hilbert from the bed. He currently has his face in a magazine about gym leaders. "Seriously, go to bed sooner. You're even keeping Houndour awake."
At the mention of his name, Hilbert's pokemon jumped onto the bed and landed on Hilbert's stomach. In his mix of pain and surprise, Hilbert threw his magazine to the side and sat up.
"Ow, Houndour," he said. "Stop doing that."
Houndour stepped off of Hilbert and sat beside him.
"I wish he would stop doing that," Hilbert said while rubbing his stomach. Hilda stepped away from the mirror, chuckling.
"You could just keep him in his Pokeball," she said.
"He doesn't like that. Why don't you keep Venipede outside her ball?"
"Because she doesn't like Houndour. He bothers her."
"He does not."
"Really?"
Hilda took Venipede's ball out of her pocket and pressed the button on the front of it. A red beam had shot out onto the bed, quickly forming the shape of Venipede before she appeared herself. Immediately, Houndour was standing over Venipede, sniffing her shell as if it was the first time they ever met.
"Vennnn!" Venipede cried.
"Venipede, return!" said Hilda. As quickly as she was released, Venipede was back in her Pokeball. Houndour looked at Hilda with his head turned to the side, wondering why she would make Venipede go back into her ball.
"Alright, I see your point. Houndour, come here."
Houndour was quick to obey and scurried up to sit beside his trainer. Hilbert patted Houndour on the head to get him to lay down.
"I do hope we get a job that we could train them on," said Hilda.
"I know what you mean," said Hilbert. "It'd be nice to have them get some experience in battling other trains instead of just wild pokemon. Especially since I think they're too strong for the woods nearby. Even Dreamyard pokemon seem to be avoiding us now."
"Speaking of jobs," said Hilda when a knock came from the door. Since she was still standing, she was the one who walked over to open the door. Awaiting her on the other side of the door, was Cress, who was pretty much their boss, wearing sunglasses and a hoodie.
"I got a job for you guys, so get in the car," he said.
"Houndour, return," said Hilbert.
"You could say please, yknow," said Hilda. "Otherwise, it seems like a kidnapping."
"Oh, shut up and get in the car."
The two complied and walked with Cress outside. Waiting in the parking lot of the motel was a white limousine. The two have ridden in the limo once before, but it still felt unreal as they climbed inside.
The lavish interior was still a sight to behold to them. The cushioned leather seats felt like clouds for the two who had spent most of the last two days staying in their room lying on the cheap mattress. The lights were almost too bright when compared to their single light bulb hanging from their motel's ceiling.
Cress sat down at the back of the limo while Hilda and Hilbert sat down on the lengthy bench-like seat that ran part of the length of the limo, which was across from a minibar built-in to the limo. Cress helped himself to a drink while Hilda laid down with her head on Hilbert's lap.
"What's the job?" Hilbert asked.
"I need you two to provide me with a bit of back up, be some muscle," Cress said.
"Oh, great choice of muscle," said Hilda as she stretched out her arm. She began to flex it, though nothing changed on her forearm.
"Shut up. I was talking about your pokemon. Just stand behind me while I do the talking, okay?"
"Who are the people you're going to talk to, and why?" said Hilbert.
"Gonna make a trade," said Cress. "We get about a dozen pokemon that we'll give to certain people, and the people selling to us will get money plus some good rep."
"WHAT?!" the twins said together.
"Gah fuck, what?"
"Pokemon trafficking? But that's like, so illegal!" said Hilda as she sat up.
"So? Everything you've been doing for me has been illegal."
"Yeah but, illegal pokemon trading is way different delivering-" Hilbert paused for a moment. "Whatever it was we were delivering."
"Pokemon trafficking could get us fifteen to life!" said Hilda.
"Relax, we'll be fine," Cress said. "The place is secure, trust me. There's no chance of anything going wrong."
"Doesn't mean we want a part of it!"
"As I said, things will be fine. Don't you two trust me by now?"
"No," they said together.
"Well, you should."
"Are you even going to give us a choice?" Hilbert asked.
"Not really."
"Then there's your answer. So, where is this trade taking place?"
"At the gym. That's why I said there's no chance of the police interrupting."
"Hey, Cress?" said Hilda.
"Yeah?"
"How much money does a pokemon go for?"
"Well, that depends on a lot. Like what pokemon it is and what region it's from, along with some other things," said Cress. "For this trade, all the pokemon are from Unova. They also aren't that strong and don't have notable parents. So these pokemon are worth about thirty-six hundred dollars each. So that's-"
"Forty-three thousand dollars for twelve pokemon?!" Hilda said in surprise.
"Uh, yeah. That was fast."
"Yeah, Hilda's always been good with numbers. She's the one keeping track of how much we've been spending."
"Huh," Cress seemed intrigued. "Well, anyway, that's how much money we have riding on this. So, I need you two to help keep things from going south, alright?"
"Yeah, yeah. We will."
The rest of the drive to the gym was silent, aside from Cress muttering into his wrist. He talked too quietly for Hilbert and Hilda to hear his words. When the limo finally stopped, the trio stepped out and walked up the steps to the gym.
"Finally!" exclaimed Cress's brother Chili. "What took you so long? The Krookos are going to be here any minute!"
"Oh, calm down. I had to pick these two up."
"Do we even need them?" said Cilan, Cress's second brother. "We are gym leaders. I'm sure we could handle a few riffraff."
"Shut up. I'm not taking any chances on this."
Before the three brothers could continue their argument, the front doors of the gym opened. In walked six men wearing black suits. They walked with confidence and gave off the vibe of being successful businessmen. They looked around the room as if they were inspecting it. They said nothing until they had marched up to the three gym leaders.
"The restaurant seems to be looking good," said one of the guys. He carried a briefcase and appeared to be the leader.
"Relax, the kids are with us."
"Good. I'm just going to cut to the chase."
The group's demeanor changed. They lost their respectable appearance and began to look as though they had warrants and were outside a police station. Hands in their pockets, they scowled and stood awkwardly. They looked a lot more intimidating than they did a minute ago.
"The twelve pokemon for forty-three grand," said Cress.
"What?!" the man with the briefcase said. "We were told sixty!"
"There's nothing special about those pokemon, they're worth less than four thousand each!" said Chili. "You're trying to high ball us."
"No, we aren't! One of your bosses told us the price changed."
"Tarnal. He's the one who set this up, isn't he?"
"WHAT!?" Cress, Chili, and Cilan shouted at once. "You're lying!"
"No, we aren't!"
"Screw this," said Chili as he threw a Pokeball. "Go, Pansear!"
Cress and Cilan were quick to throw out their pokemon as well, a panpour and pansage, respectively. The three monkey pokemon stood ready for battle as they eyed the men in suits. Without hesitation, four men stepped up and tossed their pokeballs.
Hilbert and Hilda, having seen their city's gym leaders battle on TV before, stood still to witness the fight about to take place. Unfortunately, they had to turn their attention to the last two men, who had now sent out their pokemon on the twins.
"Go, Sandile!"
"Go, Yamask!"
Two pokemon now stood just a few feet from Hilbert and Hilda.
"Fuck..." muttered Hilbert. "Go, Houndour!"
"Aw, son of a bitch...go Venipede!" said Hilda.
When Houndour and Venipede emerged from their balls, they stood as if they were in the motel room. It wasn't until after seeing their trainer's faces, and the two aggressive-looking pokemon, did they realize they were in a battle.
"Yamask, use Night Shade on that venipede!" said one of the men.
The yamask summoned a dark aura around itself and made it disappear quickly after. A second later, Venipede cried out in pain from the sudden cloak of darkness that surrounded her.
"Vennnn!"
"Venipede!" cried Hilda.
"Relax, Hilda," said Hilbert. "Houndour, use Bite on the yamask!"
Houndour charged Yamask. His teeth seemed to glow as he prepared his attack.
"Sandile, Sand Attack!"
The sandile caused sand to rise from between the floorboards of the gym. The sand then flew into Houndour's direction, causing him to bite a table instead of Yamask.
"Damn it..." said Hilbert.
"Sandile, Mud-Slap!"
"Saaand!" the sandile cried. He opened his mouth, and out came a shot of mud that hit Houndour in the side and caused him to let out a quick yelp.
"Venipede, use Screech!" Hilda yelled.
Venipede let out an ear-piercing cry. While the move did nothing to Yamask, it was successful in stopping Sandile from attacking Houndour.
"Houndour, use Bite!"
Houndour blinked away any remaining sand and ran to Yamask at full speed.
"Yamask, Protect!" said Yamask's trainer a little too late.
Before Yamask could bring up a defensive barrier, Houndour leapt forward and had managed to bite it down the middle.
"Yaaa!" the yamask cried before falling to the ground. The super-effective attack was enough to knock it out.
"What?!" Yamask's owner yelled in anger.
"Sandile, use Sand-Attack again!"
Once more, Sandile launched sand into Houndour's eyes.
"Now, use Sand Tomb!"
Sand emerged from around Houndours paws and began to encircle him. The sand then rose in the air as well, trapping Houndour in a cylinder of sand.
"Venipede, use Screech again!"
Again, Venipede let out a loud cry, causing Sandile to cringe. The sand which encompassed Houndour dropped, setting him free.
"Houndour, come here!" said Hilbert.
When his pokemon came up to him, Hilbert crouched down and pulled out a small bottle that contained a purple liquid. He pulled the trigger, spraying the contents onto the scratches Houndour received so far from the battle. Immediately, his skin healed and looked as if it was never damaged. Houndour then hurried back to the fight.
"Sandile, Sand-Attack on the Venipede!"
"Protect, Venipede!"
Venipede's light blue barrier stopped the sand before it could hit her eyes. Seeing an opening, Hilbert ordered Houndour to use Leer. Houndour then stared at Sandile with a glare that could cut glass. Sandile cowered, and Hilda used this time to have Venipede use Rollout. Venipede curled herself into a ball and began rolling towards Sandile, who was still cowering.
Venipede pushed Sandile back, but it was clear that Sandile wasn't injured. Sandile had recovered from the blow. His trainer attempted to issue a new command, but before he could get the words out, Venipede rolled into Sandile again. This time, the attack did more damage to Sandile, and he took a bit longer to stand up.
"Sandile, use Mud-Slap on the ground in front of Venipede!"
Sandile obeyed and shot mud onto the floor. Venipede rolled into the mud and spun out of control into the wall. Due to her earlier injuries, and the damage she took after crashing into the wall, Venipede was knocked out.
"Venipede, return!" said Hilda, defeated. The battle now rested on Hilbert and Houndour's shoulders.
"Damn it..."
"I don't know about you, but my Sandile can keep going!" said the man.
Hilbert looked to the man's pokemon, and sure enough, it seemed to be just fine going a few more turns. Houndour meanwhile, wasn't looking good. Even after being sprayed the potion, it was clear Houndour couldn't take many more hits.
"Shut up!" said Hilbert. "Houndour, use Leer one more time!"
When Houndour started to stare at Sandile, the man ordered his pokemon to use Sand-Attack once more. The sand landed in Houndour's eyes, causing him to stand down to try and shake the sand out.
"Sandile, finish him off with Assurance!" the man yelled.
Hilbert looked on helplessly as the sandile began to run up to Houndour. Sandile jumped, ready to deliver the final blow when Cress's voice interrupted the sound of Sandile's footsteps.
"Panpour, use Scald!"
"Pan!"
Cress' blue monkey-like pokemon had shot out a large gush of steaming water. The water hit Sandile hard enough to send him flying into the wall. When the dust from the broken pieces of the wall cleared, Sandile was lying there, eyes wide, and his body unmoving. The battle between the gym leaders and the gang members was over. The gym leaders had won.
Hilbert and Hilda looked over to where Cress and his brothers had battled. The only pokemon they saw were the ones belonging to the brothers. Pansear and Pansage were staring down the gang members with malice in their eyes.
"Damn it," the man Hilbert had fought said. "Sandile, return!"
"Now," said Cress. "Get out."
"Just you wait, we'll come back."
"We'll roll the red carpet out for you, now leave," Cress's words felt venomous. "And leave the briefcase."
"What?! But we didn't get paid!"
"You lost your right to the money when you lied about how much the pokemon cost," said Chili. "Now get the fuck out before Pansear shows you his Flame Burst attack."
"Fine," said the man. He tossed the briefcase onto a table and turned around. He looked at his men and signaled for them to leave as well. The door slammed shut as the last man left. Hilda shuddered at the noise.
Hilbert walked over to a table and sunk into a chair. Houndour walked over to Hilbert and placed his head into Hilbert's lap. Hilda walked over to join them.
"Cress," said Hilda as she sat down. "Who were those guys?"
"The Krookos gang. They're small-time, but that doesn't mean you should underestimate them, as you two just found out."
Hilbert cursed under his breath. His first battle against other trainers and he couldn't win on his own. If it wasn't for Cress, chances are the man would've had both him and Hilda beaten. Or worse.
"Hou!"
Houndour gave a small bark to get Hilbert's attention. Looking at his pokemon in the eyes, Hilbert gave a weak smile. He saw a look of defeat but placid on Houndour's face. As if Houndour was glad to have battled, even if it did result in a loss. Hilbert gave Houndour one last pat on the head and called him back into his ball. His smile faded.
"So, now what?" said Hilda. "Those guys left without being paid, won't that cause problems?"
"Nah," said Chili. "They wouldn't try to fuck with us again. They're too weak for that."
"Besides, it's all Tarnal's fault," said Cilan. "He should have said something to us about changing the pay before they arrived."
"You think they were telling the truth?" said Cress. "About Tarnal changing the pay?"
"There's no way. They probably just tried to say that to get us to pay more. I doubt the Pokemon would be anything worth more than forty-five grand."
"Who's Tarnal?" asked Hilbert.
"Oh right, I haven't told you yet," said Cress. "Tarnal is more like a code name for one of our bosses. He's the leader of Plasma."
"What's his actual name?"
"Not telling."
"Fine. So what pokemon did you get from that?" said Hilda as she eyed the briefcase.
"We don't know what exact pokemon we got," said Cress as he walked over to the briefcase. "Just that they were pretty basic pokemon."
Cress opened the case. Hilbert noticed how similar it was to the one that belonged to the man he met outside the fast-food joint. He saw that inside the briefcase were round slots cut into foam padding, which lined the case. Each slot had a Pokeball occupying it. Cress grabbed two of the balls and turned to Hilda and Hilbert.
"Here," said Cress. He tossed both balls to the twins. Hilbert caught the one thrown at him, but Hilda fumbled hers, before dropping it onto the floor.
"Aw man," she said as she bent down to pick the ball up.
"You sure, Cress?" said Hilbert.
"Yeah. Consider it payment for helping out today."
Hilbert looked down at the new ball in his hand. Curiosity filled his mind. He looked at Hilda, who was dusting her ball off. Hilbert looked back to the Pokeball, occupying his hand and tossed it into the air. Out came the red light which shot to the ground and formed an outline. The said outline then turned white before revealing what pokemon was inside.
"Piiiid!"
"A pidove?" said Hilbert. It was clear by his voice that he was quite surprised having such a common pokemon emerge from the Pokeball.
"Piiid!" the pidove cried as it flew in front of Hilbert's face. It fluttered in front of Hilbert, an angry expression written on its face.
"Oh, um, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you," said Hilbert.
The pidove accepted his response. It chirped happily before flying up and nestling on Hilbert's hat.
"I'm surprised that a pidove is one of the pokemon we got from this deal," said Cilan.
"Yeah, I know," said Cress as he reached back into his pocket. When he pulled his hand out, he was holding a Pokedex, like Hilbert's. He opened it up and pointed it at the pidove on Hilbert's head.
"Pidove: The tiny pigeon pokemon. Each follows its trainer's orders as best it can, but they sometimes fail to understand complicated commands. This pidove is male and currently level twenty."
"Well, that's the level it's supposed to be...so why..."
Cress fiddled around with his Pokedex. After a few seconds, his expression turned from confusion to one of shock.
"What is it, Cress?" said Hilda.
"That pidove," said Cress. "Has the ability Rivalry."
"What?!" said Cilan and Chili. "God damn it, that means it's worth at least five thousand!"
"Hilda, take your pokemon out," said Cress.
Hilda did what he said, throwing her Pokeball into the air and waited for the red light to come out and turn into a pokemon.
"Cub!" cried a small, white, bear-like pokemon that had a thing of frozen snot coming out of its nose.
"Oh my god, so cute!" said Hilda.
Cress turned the Pokedex onto the new pokemon.
"Cubchoo: The chill pokemon. Its nose is always running. It sniffs the snot back up because the mucous provides the raw material for its moves. This cubchoo is male and currently level twenty."
"Son of a bitch," said Cress. "It has the ability Rattled."
"FUCK!" yelled Chili. "They have hidden abilities."
"No wonder they said the price changed," said Cilan. "They probably were telling the truth then, about Tarnal."
"What are hidden abilities?" asked Hilda.
"They're rare abilities that pokemon can have," said Cress. "The only known way to smoothly obtain a pokemon with a hidden ability is through selective breeding. But even then, it's not a sure-fire way."
"And," said Cilan. "A pokemon with a hidden ability is worth a lot more than one with a normal ability."
"Which would explain why Lacnova was saying the price changed," said Cress with bitterness in his voice.
"Lacnova?" said Hilda.
"He was the guy with the briefcase."
"Someone let Tarnal know what happened," said Cilan.
"I'm not doing that," said Chili.
"Fine, I'll do it!" said Cress.
Cress rolled up the sleeve of his hoodie to reveal he was wearing a watch-like device on his wrist.
"What's that, Cress?"
"Do you ever stop asking questions?"
Hilda turned her head away from Cress and puffed her cheeks in a pout.
"It's an xtransceiver," explained Cress. "It can do a few things, but the most important is the fact I can call anyone at any time."
"Couldn't you, you know, use a phone?" said Hilda as she turned back.
"It's harder to hide a phone. On the drive here, you didn't realize I was talking into it, did you?"
"Oh, hey, that's right," said Hilda. "I just thought you were muttering into your wrist for some reason."
"Though normally, I wouldn't be that obvious."
Cress began pressing buttons on his xtransceiver. With each press came a small beep. After a few seconds, a voice came from the device.
"What is it?" said the voice.
"Are you still in Striaton?"
"Yes, I am. Why? Did something happen?"
"Yeah, and it'd be best if you could come to the gym."
"Alright," the voice sounded slightly agitated. "I'll be there in ten minutes. Just have to deal with something first."
A new beep signified the person on the other end had hung up. Cress let out a sigh and turned to the twins.
"You two should leave."
"What, why?"
"You have done some jobs for us and the gangs we keep organized," said Cilan. "But that doesn't mean you have a trusting name."
"And this guy keeps himself hidden," said Chili. "So it might be bad if two random kids, who are free to do what they want, learn of his identity."
"When you say that, it makes me want to know who it is even more now!"
"Let's just leave, Hilda," said Hilbert.
"What?" Hilda was surprised by Hilbert suddenly speaking after a long period of silence. "Aren't you curious too?"
"Not really."
"But!" Hilda moved her lips for a few seconds, trying to get a word out, but gave up and let out a sigh. "Fine, let's go."
"I'll go tell the limo driver where to take you," said Cress as he followed the two outside.
The two rode in silence pack the motel parking lot. As they got out, Hilda thanked the driver, but Hilbert walked straight to their room. Putting the key in the lock and opening the door, Hilbert stepped into the unlit room and made his way to the mirror.
"Hilbert?" said Hilda as she turned the light on and closed the door. "Are you okay? You haven't said anything since the gym."
Hilbert didn't say anything. He leaned forward and gripped the countertop tightly while looking at his reflection. Hilda could see how tense Hilbert looked from behind and noticed his breathing changed to one that made him look angry, with his shoulders rising and falling quickly with each breath. Hilda was about to approach Hilbert when he started to take his jacket off and tossed it into the wall.
He then pounded his fist onto the counter until the side of his hand was pink. When he finally did stop, he took his other hand, balled it into a fist, and punched the mirror with all his strength. Concentric circles formed where his fist had impacted the mirror. Droplets of blood strained the broken glass and dripped from his knuckles as he pulled away. Still shaking with rage, Hilbert stepped back into the wall and slumped down to the floor, covering his head with his arms.
"Hilbert!" cried Hilda when she saw the blood. She raced to grab a washcloth, wet it, and then crouched down to address her brother's hand.
"I'm sorry..." said Hilbert, though it was a little muffled since he was facing the ground and had his head between his knees.
"It...it's fine...just please don't punch a mirror again," said Hilda trying to keep a steady voice.
"Not this," said Hilbert. "I'm sorry about what happened at the gym."
"The gym? What are you talking about?"
Hilbert lifted his head and looked at his sister's face. "I'm sorry for losing..."
"Wh...what do you mean for losing?"
"If Cress or his brothers weren't there," said Hilbert. "If we had been alone and Houndour had been knocked out...then I wouldn't have been able to stop those guys from doing whatever they wanted to us."
Hilda didn't say anything. She just stared back at her brother.
"If I had trained Houndour better...if I was a better trainer..."
Hilbert brought his arms back over his head as he hid his face again. Hilda looked at him with fear in her eyes. She had never seen her brother look so low before. Even when he was getting yelled at by their parents, he was never one to get sad.
"Never again..." said Hilbert. "...never..."
"Never what?" said Hilda with desperation in her voice. She was becoming more and more worried about Hilbert with each passing second.
"I promise..." Hilbert said as he took his pokemon's pokeballs out of his pocket.
Setting them down, he pulled the cloth around his hand off, showing the cuts he received from the mirror's glass. Taking the index finger of his uncut hand, Hilbert scooped up some of his blood. He then picked up one of the balls and wrote something on the white underside of the ball, away from Hilda so she couldn't see. He did the same with the other Pokeball.
"Hilbert?"
"Hilda..."
Hilbert pointed the bottoms of both balls towards Hilda, who could now see what he wrote. On Houndour's ball, Hilbert had written the letter I. On the ball of his newly acquired pokemon, Pidove, he had written the letter W.
"...I promise..."
And that's chapter five. In all honesty, I feel like this is the best chapter so far. But man, took me so long to finish this. I've honestly changed this chapter multiple times. Looking back, I'm glad I did that. Also, updates are gonna be slower than normal (I know this one took 3 months but like, hush) since I'm going back and editing all my other chapters for this story and AHS. Just to make them look better. But anyway that's it. If you like, fav/follow and leave a review.
Anyway, peace.
~~~Sikahdik.