The reality was starting to hit Hilda. Soon she'll be in a venue filled with the region's elite. Gym Leaders, professors, and more. It was slightly nerve-wracking. What if they knew she didn't belong. She's not an official trainer. She's been working with gangs for weeks. Gym leaders have similar power to police, if they found out what she's been up to, she could be arrested on the spot. And if they find out Cress got her involved then he'll go down too.
But he's a respectable Gym Leader. If he just says he had nothing to do with it he'll likely be believed. Hilda didn't think he would do anything like that. But she also wasn't sure he wouldn't. If it meant saving both him and his brothers from the law then why wouldn't he rat her out. He's helped her and Hilbert out before, but mostly in ways that seemed to benefit him. For as long as she's worked for him, Hilda still had no idea if he could be trusted when it counted.
"The fuck you fidgeting around for?" asked Cress. Hilda was so caught up in her thoughts that when Cress suddenly spoke up, she jumped in her seat.
"Uh..." Hilda quickly cycled through all her thoughts. Wondering if any of it would be good to tell Cress. "Nothing..."
"Whatever. We should be there in about five minutes. Maybe longer if this fucking traffic doesn't let up," said Cress. Hilda side-eyed him. While he normal kept himself collected, something about driving caused all his anger to manifest itself. If there was only one time Hilda didn't want to be around him, it was when he was behind the wheel. "By the way. This event is one of the few times a year all the Leaders get to meet up in one place. So, a couple might come up to talk to me."
"Oh. So, is every Gym Leader in the region going to be there."
"They should be, it's in our contracts for us to do League organized events like this. Sometimes someone sends a representative, but they get kinda pissy about that."
Hilda was starting to get excited. After her brother had told her about meeting Grimsley and then watching him herself, she wanted a similar experience. Meeting an Elite Four would've been great, sure. But meeting every Unovan Gym Leader in a night was a much more exciting endeavor. With her nervousness quickly fading, she wondered how Hilbert's night was going so far.
'God, this fucking place stinks!' Hilbert thought as he plugged his nose. He was walking through the same sewer entrance that Cress had shown him earlier. The two had gone through a fair number of turns before Cress made them turn around, saying Hilbert will figure out the rest on his own. Cress told him very little else about the job. He told him he'll end up watching something that happens only a couple times a month. And he told him to follow the people.
The latter remark only confused Hilbert, until now. Once Hilbert had returned to the sewer after taking a walk to clear his nostrils, there were quite a few people entering the tunnel. Not a single one of them appeared to be an outstanding citizen. Hilbert knew better than to go in. Yet he went in anyway. He integrated himself into the crowd, being careful not to get too close to anyone.
Despite the vastness of the sewer system, Hilbert didn't get lost. He likely couldn't have if he tried. He was in the middle of a large group who made their way through the sewer. Cress, luckily, gave Hilbert good advice. Even if it was uninformative.
Eventually the group turned off the main tunnels and went into a slightly narrower tunnel. The floor of the tunnel was made of a solid concrete, with no mixture of water and sewage like before. The tunnel went for a few yards before it turned into a large concrete room, lit up with construction lights. There were dozens of people. Upon entering the room, Hilbert's eyes immediately locked onto a sort of cage comprised of chain-link fences. As he got closer, he saw a couple men wearing thick coats being handed money, which they quickly hid away in their clothing.
The cage in the middle of the room was completely surrounded. From behind the several rows of people, Hilbert couldn't see anything. Whatever was happening in the cage, it must've been quite exciting seeing as how everyone around it was cheering loudly. Aside from a few who hung their heads in a look of shame. Wanting to see what was happening, Hilbert used his smaller size to slip past the larger adults and simply pushed his way past people closer to his size. Once at the front, he was shocked at what he saw.
Each end of the cage had a different man. Both were gritting their teeth and sweating. In the middle of the cage, were two pokemon battling. But it wasn't like any battle Hilbert had ever seen before. The pokemon were wrapped around each other, desperately scratching and biting each other. Neither were using actual moves nor did their trainers order them to.
Hilbert always wondered if wild pokemon battled using moves or if they just used primal instinct. He figured what he was seeing was the answer to that question. At some point, the pokemon parted and jumped away from each other. Hilbert recognized one as a patrat. The other, was a surprise to him.
'A meowth?'
Both the meowth and patrat were weak. Evident by their uneasy stances and shaking. Not to mention the wounds all over them. While training, Hilbert has seen both his own and wild pokemon get badly injured. But everything he's seen doesn't compare to what's before him. The meowth and patrat had gashes on their limbs and torsos. The patrat had three nasty cuts on its face.
Hilbert had to take Houndour to a pokecenter once after a harsh training session, with a few bad scratches. When he was out, Houndour didn't have any scarring. Hilbert wondered if the patrat would be so lucky.
After a few seconds of facing each other down, the patrat fell over. The crowds around the cage erupted in equal amounts of cheers and groans.
"Down a hundred bucks for this shit..." Hilbert heard beside him. Realizing where he was, Hilbert wondered what he should do.
'An illegal battle ring? Why the fuck would Cress want me to come here?'
He was about to turn around and leave, when a man in a white suit and mask stepped to the middle of the cage. The mask covered his whole face, and only had eye slits surrounded by a thin red line. Hilbert wasn't sure where he came from. It was almost as if he appeared out of thin air.
"Well, well. That was an exciting fight, wasn't it?" said the person. Another round of cheers and boos went around.
"Now, for those who made a loss, there's a few more fights for you to win back your money. For those who won already, now's your chance to double it!"
This time, there were only cheers. Hilbert looked at the masked man. Witnessing an illegal battle of this magnitude was bad. Staying for even more was worse. He wanted to leave. Even despite Cress giving him an order to be there.
"There's a lot of people here," said Hilda. They had arrived at their destination and were now in the lobby. They had to wait in a line for name tags before they could go inside.
"Obviously," said Cress as he fiddled with his Xtransceiver.
The two said nothing more, until it was their turn at the name tag table.
"Names?" said one of the women at the table. Her hair was a rather light pink.
"Seriously?" asked Cress gesturing to his face. Unlike most of the time he went out, Cress' hair and face was on full display.
"You could just say your name, Cress," said the woman as she wrote down Cress' name on a tag.
"Anthea, you know me."
"Yeah, yeah. And you?"
"Uh...Hilda."
The woman with pink hair wrote down Hilda's name then handed over the tags. As they put them on, the second woman gestured to the set of double doors besides them. The doors led into a walkway, with more doors at the end of it. Once passed the second set, the two were finally inside.
Hilda had never been to or heard much about an event of this status, so she didn't know what to expect. Cress did say the event wasn't just for Gym Leaders. Yet she couldn't get the number sixteen out of her head. Eight gyms in Unova. Eight leaders, since Cress was alone, plus one guest. Just sixteen people attending. In reality, there was a few times that. Dozens of people, all elegantly dressed, standing around and talking.
Hilda quickly scanned the room. At the front was a stage with a podium. Directly in front of that, were a few rows of circular tables. To the sides and behind the tables was blank space, which people used to walk around.
The back of the room had more tables. Metal trays or plates of food covered the tables. Most of the people were by the food tables. Eating and chatting away.
Cress began to walk towards the food tables, without saying anything to Hilda. She was still focusing on the room's layout and didn't notice Cress was getting farther away. She jogged to catch up with him. While it wasn't floor-length, Hilda still lifted her dress by the waist. When Cress turned to her, he saw her grinning.
"Why you smiling?"
"Huh? Oh, no reason," said Hilda, dropping her smile. She wasn't sure how to admit how running in a dress made her feel. Whenever she saw a princess running a long dress in a movie, she thought it looked like fun. She always wanted to try it.
"Whatever," said Cress.
The two walked past the tables and Cress looked at most of the food in disgust. Ones he didn't make a face at immediately, he did after inspecting it closer. Hilda helped herself. She grabbed at whatever caught her eye. Once they had reached the end of the table, Hilda had tried half a dozen things. Cress only grabbed and ate one piece of shortbread. When he finished it, he grabbed a glass off a passing waiter's tray. It was filled with a pale yellow liquid. Hilda also grabbed one. She had no idea what it was, but seeing Cress do it made her do it. Before she even thought of taking a sip, Cress grabbed the drink out of her hand.
"It's alcohol, you can't have any," he said. Now holding two glasses, he tried to drink from one. A hand came from his side and tipped the glass back upright. The hand took the glass and moved it over Cress' and Hilda's head as the person walked behind them.
"Neither can you, Cress," said the woman. Her hair was different and she wore a longer dress than normal, but Hilda still knew who it was.
"Whatever," said Cress. He still held one glass, but didn't try to sip from it.
"Um," Hilda started, looking up at the woman. The older woman turned her gaze down to Hilda. "Are you...Elesa?"
The woman chuckled.
"Yes, I am."
Hilda began to get giddy. Her body lightly shook and her lips formed a smile. Before she could do anything with her excitement, another hand appeared above her and took the second glass from Cress. The new person appeared on Cress' side. Again, despite their hair and clothing, Hilda knew who they were.
"Still not old enough," they said.
"Oh, Skyla," said Cress.
Hilda's eyes darted between the female gym leaders. She couldn't believe she was within arms reach of both. She wanted to hug them.
"Oh? Who's she?" asked Skyla. She looked down at Hilda as she spoke. Having Skyla look at her, Hilda got nervous.
"Yeah, who is she Cress? Not like you or your brothers to bring a guest. Let alone someone as cute as she is," added Elesa. With both leaders staring at her, and with Elesa's comment, Hilda's nervousness increased.
"That's Hilda. She's an assistant at the gym. Figured coming to Castelia would be good for her," Cress glared at Hilda as he spoke. She and Hilbert had been told to pretend to work at the gym if they were around someone who didn't know what they actually did. It was also weird hearing Cress say her name, which is rarely did.
"Oh, how lucky! I wish I got to work at a gym when I was your age!" exclaimed Skyla. Her mouth turned into a large smile and she got a little closer to Hilda, softly pushing Cress away. "So, be honest. How good of a boss is Cress?"
"Uh..." Hilda again glanced at Cress who continued his glare. "He's fine..."
"Sounds about right. Say, Cress. Didn't you come last year? I thought Chili always comes after you," asked Elesa. Hilda's smile faded and her eyes widened. She remembered what she was told about Chili and looked to Cress.
"He was just sick. Should be good soon."
"Oh, well that's too bad. Skyla was really excited to see him-"
"Elesa!" Skyla playfully smacked Elesa's shoulder making both girls laugh. The two laughing made Hilda relax. Skyla acted the same way she did on shows or in interviews, but Hilda was surprised with Elesa. Everything she had seen of Elesa, whether on talk shows, watching her battles, or even reading magazine interviews, she was always confident and stern. It was almost intimidating.
"How's it going at the Striaton gym?" asked Elesa to Hilda.
"Oh, uh, pretty busy," said Hilda. She remembered Cilan telling her to keep any answers about the gym short and simple. He even told her some words to remember to use for the gym. Things he said were always true. Elesa seemed to be wanting to ask more, but Cress spoke up before she could.
"Assuming you two came with guests. Why aren't you with them?"
"They went to the bathroom," said Elesa as she turned her head around. "But, I do believe they're both out. We'll talk to you two later. Bye."
"Bye!" added Skyla.
Elesa and Skyla walked off together into the crowd. Cress let out a relief filled sigh. He strided over and leaned his back on the wall beside the food tables. Hilda quickly went to his side. It was a couple minutes before Hilda asked a question she had since Elesa first showed.
"Hey, Cress. How old are you?" she asked. Cress glanced down at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Nineteen."
"Really?" Hilda said. She made no attempt at hiding her shock.
"How old did you think I was?"
"I don't know...never thought about it," Hilda didn't want to admit she always thought Cress and his brothers were a few years older than what Cress said. "So...Elesa and Skyla don't know that you...you know."
"No. They don't," Cress spoke in a hushed tone. Hilda did as well, but Cress made her realize she could've been quieter. He also looked around as he talked, making sure no one was overhearing them. "As far as I know. None of the other Gym Leaders are affiliated in any way."
"Seriously?" Hilda thought about all the Gym Leaders in the region. Having only Cress, Cilan, and Chili involved in crime would be a shock.
"Why are you so surprised by everything?"
"Huh?" Hilda asked startled.
"Never mind," said Cress with a sigh. He pointed his head down and closed his eyes. A few seconds later, he opened them and scanned ahead. "By the way. Whatever you do. Outside of tonight, avoid him as much as you can."
Hilda followed where Cress' eyes went and was in awe at who she saw. They were surrounded by different people, yet his presence took all the attention. It took Hilda a moment before she realized what Cress said. "Wait, why should I avoid him?"
"Because," Cress got a little lower and spoke softer. "He's the only Leader to work directly with the police. And if he found out about my brothers and I, he'll take us down."
Again, Hilda's eyes went wide. She turned back to Drayden, Opelucid's Gym Leader and mayor.
The battles Hilbert witnessed didn't get much better. Only some of the trainers he saw actually used moves. It was mostly the pokemon relying on savage instincts to battle. Even the ones that used moves only used a couple before going back to slugging it out.
Hilbert thought the fight the other day with the gangs was bad. People got hurt in that fight. Though it was mainly accidentally. But here pokemon were getting hurt seemed to be the point. Even in battles were his pokemon took serious hits, they were never badly injured. Some rest for a few minutes at a pokecenter was all they would need. From what Hilbert's seen, all the pokemon would need days or weeks of healing. Underground battling was brutal.
Only one thing kept Hilbert there. Just one thing, that without, Hilbert would've left long ago. That was the man in the mask. After each battle the man stepped to the middle of the arena, yet Hilbert never saw where he came from or left to. He would just appear to announce the winner and excite the crowd once more. Then he was gone.
The two battlers Hilbert was watching neared the end of their battle. Their pokemon, a purrloin and minccino, could barely stand straight. Both swayed side to side in one spot. Until the purrloin suddenly lunged forward and scratched its opponent. The minccino's ear was torn and it fell over, unconscious. The owner of the purrloin cheered happily as he returned his drained pokemon. The other battler only returned his pokemon and walked away in silence. Once again, the strange man appeared.
"Well, wasn't that an exciting match?" he said. The crowd roared, for a reason unknown to Hilbert. None of the fights were exciting. Brutality aside, it was just pokemon going back and forth striking each other. No strategy or greater thought involved. As boring as they were, the crowd loved it.
"Now, despite all the fun we're having, we have to end it here. It was a great night. Hopefully you all won more than you lost!" Again, the crowd either cheered or booed. Mostly cheered though. A small number of people began to step away from the fences. "Though, I suppose we could always have a final, surprise, special fight!"
The people who were leaving stopped and turned around. They all came back to the fence. Everyone's interest, including Hilbert's, was piqued. He wondered if by special the man meant real trainers.
"For the first in our history, we will have an experienced trainer, strong enough to face Gym Leaders, grace us with their presence! Can a Mr. Hilbert please step to the middle of the arena!"
'What?'
Hilbert froze and was shocked. He wasn't expecting anyone here to know his name. Let alone invite him over to fight. As much as he didn't want to fight, running away didn't seem right either. If they knew his name, they must know what he looked like. Chasing him through the sewers would be easy.
'God, I'm gonna kill Cress when I see him,' Hilbert thought. He started to back away unknowingly. It only led to him bumping into a man who grabbed him by the shoulders. The man started to pull him through the crowd and to one of the ends of the cage. Hilbert's struggling did nothing. They stopped where two separate fences met, forming an entrance. There was a chain and padlock connecting them.
Another person opened the lock and fences, before Hilbert was shoved into the cage. Now on his hands and knees, he turned to the men who only stared down at him. A step from ahead pulled Hilbert's attention forward. Just about a yard ahead, he saw black dress shoes and white pant legs. When Hilbert was first put in the cage, it was empty. Yet now the man was right in front of him.
The man got even closer to Hilbert, forcing his neck to an almost ninety degree angle. The mask was much creepier up close.
"Our mutual friend has said much about you," the man hunched over as he spoke. While his back was bent, his legs were straight. Whatever Hilbert tried to say got stuck in his throat. "Now get ready. Your fight starts soon."
Hilda's heart was beating faster than normal. Even faster than when she first met Elesa and Skyla. She was sitting right beside Elesa, with Skyla only one spot away from Elesa's side. Excluding Cress, Hilda didn't know anyone else at the table. They gave their names, but Hilda forgot them the moment she heard them. She only cared about the female Leaders.
Skyla, Elesa, and their dates talked about recent battles the two girls had. Elesa talked about a tough battle with a trainer who almost completely countered her team. Skyla brought up a trainer who also only used flying types. Halfway through their battle, the two just watched as their pokemon flew around. No moves were ordered nor did their pokemon battle on their own. Just two trainers enjoying the sight.
"What about you, Cress?" asked Elesa.
"What?"
"Have you had anything interesting battles lately?"
"No. I haven't," Cress said coldly.
"Oh, come on, Cress. Drop the cool guy act. As a first rank gym you must get all kinds of interesting trainers," said Skyla.
"What's a first rank gym?" asked one of the other people at the table.
"All gyms are given a rank based on performance," started Cress. His eyes were on Hilda, until she met his gaze. Then he turned to the one who had asked the question. "The better you do for longer means you're more likely to have your rank go up. It starts at one, which my gym is, and ends on three."
"If a gym is first rank, any kind of trainer can challenge the gym. Novice and veteran trainers alike." added Elesa. "The leader also has to abide by some restrictions. Such as using weaker pokemon and holding back a bit in battle."
"And what do the other two ranks mean?" asked the same person from earlier.
"A second rank means you can only challenge them if you already have at least one badge. They also have a bit more freedom with their strategies," said Skyla.
"Third rank," started Cress. Hilda looked to him and saw his face get hard. "Means you can use whatever team you want, how you want. Every trainer must have a badge from all the lower ranking gyms. In Unova, there's only one person who holds that rank."
Cress turned away from the table and looked to another one. Only when the rest of the table followed suit he finished what he was saying. Hilda had to lean back in her chair to look past Cress.
"Drayden. The strongest behind only the Elite Four themselves."
As the table ogled at Drayden, Elesa let out a small chuckle. Everyone but Cress turned to her. "Nice to see that rivalry with Drayden is still going strong."
"It's not a rivalry," Cress snapped. Elesa only responded with a small laugh.
"Speaking of strong trainers," said Skyla. "I hear Sinnoh has three gyms with the third rank."
"Three?" asked Hilda. She only just learned about the rank system, yet wanted to hear more about it. Elesa nodded.
"Sinnoh's Champion runs a tight ship over there. Even the rank one gyms are rather tough from what I hear."
"Can't imagine the quotas they must have," said Skyla.
"Yeah, I know. But I hear Kalos is a lot different. Supposedly four of their leaders are rank one and they don't even have a single third rank."
"Ah, that Diantha. She's a great actress and beautiful woman, but she really can't run a region."
The table quickly devolved into political and business talk, all of which bored Hilda. She turned to Cress to see if he had anything to say to her. All she saw was him on his Xtransceiver. Ignoring everyone else.
Just a few yards away was Hilbert's opponent. An older man, maybe mid thirties. His clothes were stained and his hair was obviously unwashed. Hilbert didn't want to go anywhere near him and not just out of intimidation.
The man kept a hand in his pocket. No doubt clutching a pokeball to bring it out as fast as possible. Hilbert noticed that as a strategy in the other fights. Whoever got their pokemon out first had a bit of an advantage. Whichever pokemon was first had more time to adjust to the environment and get a quick attack in.
Standing with his own hand in his pocket, Hilbert shifted the pokeballs around his fingers. He wasn't sure who to use. Houndour seemed to be a good choice, it was the one he had the longest and trained the most with. But he also wanted to try out his newest pokemon. Whichever he chose, he knew he had to counter his opponent. All the long fights he witnessed got bloody.
"Fighters," said the masked man from the sidelines. "Fight!"
Immediately, Hilbert's opponent revealed his pokemon. Out came a tall, brown, quadrupedal pokemon with antlers. Across its face and legs it had some scarring. There were also a few flowers on each antler. It was a pokemon Hilbert knew of but had never seen in person.
'Fuck...' he thought. 'What type is it? It has flowers...grass right? It better be grass...'
Upon being released, Houndour let out a small bark and scanned the area. He saw the man and pokemon ahead of him and saw the fence around them. More people on the other sides of it. He knew it was a battle, so he stood ready for his master's commands.
"Sawsbuck, use Take Down!"
'So he's an actual trainer...' thought Hilbert as he watched his opponent's pokemon charge his own. Sawsbuck charged ahead, its head down and antlers growing white. As it ran, the glow transferred down to its head.
"Houndour, use Roar!"
With his paws planted firmly on the ground, Houndour let out a booming cry, which produced visible sound waves that traveled to his opponent. When they reached, Sawsbuck slowed quite a bit. Quickly the slow turned into a push and Sawsbuck began sliding back, ever so slightly.
'Damn, was hoping it would go back into its ball. Its strong...' thought Hilbert.
"Sawsbuck, Charm!"
Despite being Roared at, the sawsbuck stared directly at Houndour and blinked, almost endearingly, at him. Houndour immediately stopped his roaring to stare back.
"Now, Take Down!"
Again sawsbuck charged with its glowing antlers. Hilbert yelled for Houndour to dodge, however the sawsbuck simply turned towards Houndour and hit him. His body rolled until it rammed into the fence.
'Shit...it's more agile than I expected,' thought Hilbert. Despite Houndour not getting off an attack, Sawsbuck stood still and buckled its front legs. As if it had somehow taken damage. It wasn't badly hurt, but it was inactive long enough for Houndour to get to his feet. Hilbert wasted no time in getting out a new order. "Houndour, use Ember!"
With a small roar, Houndour spewed fire from his mouth that sped towards his opponent. Houndour's attack landed directly on Sawsbuck's chest. The pokemon let out a cry and took a few steps back to shake off the fire.
'It hit hard. Good. Looks like it'll only need a couple more of those,' thought Hilbert. He quickly ordered Houndour to use the same attack, but the other trainer also gave a command.
"Sawsbuck, Double Kick!" they said. Sawsbuck, having regained its composure, began charging. When another fireball came towards it, the sawsbuck jumped over it. As it came back down, it aimed its hooves directly at Houndour.
"Ember, again!"
Houndour shot another fireball and Sawbuck soared down with glowing hooves. The ball of fire collided with Sawsbuck's attack and created a mini explosion. The resulting plume of smoke covered both pokemon from their trainers and spectators. Not able to see a thing, Hilbert hesitated to act.
'Shit...be okay...'
The smoke went from charcoal black to a light asphalt before it began to dissipate. It was slow to clear, leaving everyone watching with bated breath.
'Come on, come on, come on...'
Eventually, the smoke cleared enough to see the outline of the pokemon. Both were still standing. However, one of them was swaying. It hard stepped to one side and then to the other. Its whole body shook from its legs to its head. Its attempt to let out a cry failed as it crumpled to the ground with closed eyes. The spectators roared and Hilbert let out a sigh of relief.
"And we have our winner," said the masked man.
Hilda clapped along with most of the table. Cress was too focused on his food which arrived just minutes before. He either didn't notice or care they were starting the award ceremony.
"How do you mess up seared basc?" Cress muttered to himself. Hilda had gotten the same meal Cress did, yet she didn't notice any flaws. If anything, it was one of the best things she ever had.
'I guess a chef would be more critical of food,' she thought.
"I'm so happy for Lenora," said Elesa. Everyone at the table watched as the Nacrene City Leader went up on the stage. She shook hands with the hosts, one of whom was Grimsley, took the award, and started a short speech. Hilda thought he seemed even taller than Hilbert said he was.
"I'm surprised she got Most Challengers Accepted though," said someone else. "Would've expected Burgh to get it."
"Burgh would get it, if he did more battles. He sometimes goes months of not battling. Plus, Lenora gets a lot of return trainers who failed her before."
"That counts?" asked Hilda.
"Since the majority of trainers train more after they lose or try new strategies, they're seen as a brand new challenge. If anyone doesn't change either of those then they'll probably not make it very far," said Elesa. Everyone but Cress and Hilda laughed. Though Hilda at least let out a small chuckle. Cress never looked away from his food.
The award ceremony continued smoothly. There were even awards for non-Gym Leader things. Mostly city official work and the like. Hilda didn't care for any of it, but clapped to not seem rude. Finally, the hosts began trailing off, the event was almost over.
"And now, I'm proud to present a historic award," said the host.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot about this! You must be excited, Cress. Someone finally broke your gym's record," said Skyla. Cress only mumbled something inaudible.
"And award for Youngest Acting Gym Leader goes to...Iris!"
A young girl ran up stage, the same girl Hilda saw talking with Bianca earlier. Hilda had another question on her mind after seeing her. "What does acting Gym Leader mean?"
"It just means she serves as Opelucid's Leader for Drayden, sometimes," said Skyla. "Usually when he's busy being mayor or helping police and whatnot."
"She's even younger than you are, but she's as strong as Drayden," said Cress. Hilda turned up to him in disbelief. Looking back at Iris, Hilda had a question for in her mind.
Hilbert felt conflicted. It was nice to be in the spotlight. Having all eyes on him. However, knowing they'll cheer when pokemon were mauling each other made him not want their attention. Regardless of his clashing feelings, he and Houndour stood tall. The latter let out barks and slammed his front paws onto the ground. The man in the mask approached Hilbert.
"Excellent battle. One of the best we've had in a long while," he said.
"Well, I am an actual trainer. Unlike these-oh!" Hilbert had to quickly step back when Houndour got between him and the man. Houndour growled as if he was facing a rival pokemon. The man chuckled.
"I suppose it wouldn't have been hard for you," he said. "Care for more?"
"Eh, no. One was enough," said Hilbert. As much as he liked battling and praise, this definitely was not where he wanted it. More than anything else he wanted to leave.
"That's too bad. I'm sure you would go quite far if you continued this venture," the man walked past Hilbert as he talked. Houndour was careful to stay in between them. "Please, follow me."
"Houndour, return."
The two walked towards the cage's entrance. A man on the other side opened it and they walked out. While Hilbert had to weave his way through the crowd earlier, now they all stepped aside to let him and the man through.
"I was told that you're only visiting Castelia. How are you liking it?" the man asked once the two entered the tunnels.
"It's nice, I guess. It's a lot different than Striaton."
"Yes, quite."
Hilbert felt a little odd walking with the man in silence. But neither of them said anything more. Normally Hilbert also would've been wary of the man. Especially since he had no idea what he looked like, but he wasn't. Something about him made Hilbert calm. Maybe his demeanor or voice or even just his presence. It was a feeling similar to having one of his pokemon by his side. Soon the two came up to the entrance of the sewer and Hilbert was happy to be out of it.
"Finally..." said Hilbert as he took in a breath of fresh air. When he was watching the battles and participating himself it was easy to ignore the stench. After walking back through the tunnels there was nothing but the smell to focus on.
"I hope you enjoyed your time tonight," said the man. He turned from Hilbert and began to walk back into the sewer tunnel. "Have a nice rest of your trip."
As the masked man walked away, Hilbert couldn't help himself.
"Hey, wait!" he shouted. The man stopped and turned just enough for Hilbert to be in view. "Can I...see under your mask?"
In the dark, Hilbert couldn't even see the man's eyes. But he heard him chuckle clearly. The man raised a hand up to his mask and gripped it. Before he pulled it off, Hilbert's vision became fuzzy. An eyelash, a speck of dirt, or something, got in his eye. He wasn't sure what. He closed both eyes and rubbed them. It took him no longer than a couple seconds, yet when he opened his eyes, the masked man was gone.
The entrance of the tunnel was a straight path for twenty, maybe thirty feet. The man couldn't have made it far enough to be out of sight in the time it took Hilbert to regain his vision. Hilbert looked to his sides, then spun to look around.
'What?'
Hilbert faced the sewer and took a step back. After a few seconds, he took another. Then another. After doubling his distance from the tunnel, he turned his back on it and left the area with a quick pace.
"Say, Cress," said Hilda.
"Hm?" the blue haired boy said. He looked down to Hilda who was looking ahead at something else.
"Can I battle her?"
Cress followed the girl's gaze. Upon seeing who she was staring at, his eyebrows raised automatically. "You want to fight Iris?"
Hilda didn't answer immediately. She only watched Iris as she spoke with some people. Drayden stood beside, giving occasional nods and shrugs but not saying much.
"Yes, I do," Hilda finally answered.
"You'll lose. Badly. She's about as strong as Drayden is," said Cress. Looking back down at the girl, she never broke her gaze from Iris. The response Cress was waiting for never came. He looked to Iris again. Then up to Drayden. After a moment, he let out a small sigh. "Would prefer to avoid Drayden, but fine. Follow me."
Cress got off the wall he was leaning on and marched forward with Hilda right behind him. They both went right up to Iris and Drayden's group.
"Yo, Iris!" said Cress. The entire group turned their heads to him.
"Oh, Cress! What's up?" said the young girl. Despite her age and being surrounded by adults, Iris wasn't any less confident. Hilda had been nothing but nervous since she's arrived.
"This is Hilda. She's got something to ask you."
The group all turned their eyes to Hilda, much to her annoyance and anxiety.
"Um, can we...have a battle?"
Hilda's heart began racing. Having so many people stare at her asking such a question was bad enough, but she also worried about Iris' answer. Iris was a gym leader. An apparent third rank as well, meaning her challengers would need seven badges. It's possible she wouldn't even want to battle. Either due to the event they were at or knowing Hilda wasn't a true trainer.
"I'd love to!" said Iris. "Were you wanting an official match or just a quick one?"
"Oh, uh, just for fun. Is that okay?"
"Of course. I'm always down to battle," Iris spoke with enthusiasm and confidence Hilda has never seen before. It made her wonder why she loved battling so much. Maybe there was a deep reason for it. Or maybe that's just how she was.
Hilda wanted nothing more than to battle Iris. So much so that she forgot all about what Hilbert had told her. Outside of select areas, pokemon battles were banned in large cities.
"Um, where could we battle?" she asked. She could hear Cress letting out a sigh through his nose.
"There's a courtyard beside the lobby. You two can have your battle there," said Drayden. He had spoken so suddenly and with such authority Hilda almost jumped. She had seen him many times in different things, yet couldn't remember ever hearing him speak. His voice was as gruff as she expected.
"Seriously?" Iris asked Drayden. The older man nodded his answer. "Awesome! I'm gonna go make sure it's battle ready. Meet you there Hilda!"
Hilda, Cress, and the rest of the group watched Iris as she ran quickly through the room heading into the lobby and out of sight.
'Damn she's fast...' thought Hilda.
"I'll go make sure she doesn't cause any of the staff problems," said Drayden. After his departure, the ones who were in his and Iris' group also dispersed. Each heading in their own direction, leaving Cress and Hilda standing alone again.
"You really want to battle her?" asked Cress.
Hilda looked away from Cress and towards the direction Iris ran in. She wondered how their battle would go. If she would have any chance. If it would even be worth it.
"I do," said Hilda.
The courtyard was much larger than Hilda thought it would be. Though as she thought of it more it made sense. The venue was large enough for hundreds of people. There were also no surrounding buildings.
In the middle of the yard was a slab of concrete with markings on it similar to the ones she saw at Grimsley's battle. She stood on one end and Iris at the other. Drayden was to the side, as Iris requested he judge the battle. Cress watched from the sidelines. His back against a wall and his arms crossed over his chest.
"You're not going to coach her, Cress?" asked Elesa. She and Skyla were two of the few that happened to be standing beside Cress.
"Why would I? It's her battle," he said.
"Yes, but it's against Iris. Does she even know what type Iris uses?"
"She knows Drayden uses dragons. She should be smart enough to know that Iris would also use them."
"But still, she-"
"Oh, relax, Elesa! Just enjoy the show," said Skyla.
"Are both battlers ready?" asked Drayden. He waited for both girls to nod, before nodding himself. "The challenger will release their pokemon first. The battle ends when one side has no more remaining pokemon or both parties agree to end it. Now, let the battle begin!"
Reaching into her dress pocket, which she was glad her dress had them, Hilda gripped a pokeball. She pulled it out, enlarged it, then tossed it. Her pokemon stood near the center of the slab and cried.
"Aw, a cubchoo!" said Skyla. "I was expecting her to use a normal type."
"She has a lillipup she uses for the gym, but she left it back home," Cress lied.
"Using an ice type against a dragon type. Smart," said Iris. She quickly released her own pokemon. A quadrupedal pokemon with a blue body and thick spiky fur which lined its shoulders, neck, and head. Most of its face was also covered, leaving its mouth and nose exposed. Its fur formed a sharp point on the top of its head.
'When she get a Deino?' thought Cress.
"Deino, Headbutt!" demanded Iris. Her pokemon moved as quickly as she spoke, startling Hilda.
"I-icy Wind!"
Cubchoo inhaled, then released the breath at the charging pokemon. The deino ran through the icy cloud. While it didn't stop, it slowed down enough for Cubchoo to dodge the attack.
"Now, use Powder Snow!" cried Hilda. Cubchoo raised his front paws at Deino and snow began to form in the air between them. It quickly fell onto Deino, who shook aggressively.
"Use Bite!" Iris shouted. Her pokemon's mouth began to glow white and it snapped towards Cubchoo. It was successful in chomping down on Cubchoo's front leg, causing the smaller pokemon to cry and shake.
'Shit...' thought Hilda. After being released from Deino's jaw, Cubchoo shook and backed away from Deino. He was considerably faster than just a moment ago. Hilda knew why he was faster. While she didn't expect it, she was quick to react and order Cubchoo use Fury Swipes.
"Does her cubchoo have the rattled ability?" asked Elesa as she watched Cubchoo charge Deino with glowing claws. She and Skyla were both wide-eyed at the sight of a pokemon with a hidden ability.
"Yeah, it does," confirmed Cress just as Cubchoo was about to make contact.
"Headbutt!" Iris ordered. Deino stood its ground and swung its head downwards, hitting Cubchoo on the head. The ice type fell onto its stomach and didn't get up.
"Cubchoo is unable to battle. Challenger, withdraw him at once and bring out your next pokemon," said Drayden.
'Sorry, Cubchoo,' thought Hilda as she watched her pokemon get swallowed by red light. She grabbed her next pokeball and readied her arm to throw. 'Don't let me down.'
"Now a venipede? There's not much synergy in her team so far..." said Elesa.
"Come on, Deino, another Headbutt!"
"Venipede, Screech!" Deino ran to Venipede, but was halted due to her harsh cry. "Now, Bug Bite!"
Venipede scuttled to Deino and jumped on it. She quickly got little bites off all over, causing Deino to shake. Once Venipede was off, Deino was panting heavily.
'We might actually be able to do this,' thought Hilda.
"Deino, Dragon Breath!"
A blueish purple light began to form in Deino's mouth. It started as a small ball but quickly grew in size. Deino then pointed it's mouth at Venipede and turned the ball into a beam.
"Venipede, Protect!" Hilda tried to order a command. But the attack was too fast for Venipede. The beam hit her directly and sent her rolling back towards Hilda. She only moved with twitches in her legs and antenna. "No!"
"Venipede appears unable to battle. Challenger, withdraw-hm!" said Drayden. He cut himself off when he noticed Venipede began to glow. Hilda could see her curl up into a ball and then grow.
Venipede grew more than three times in size before the glowing began to fade, revealing a new form. Her shell, now gray, encased her body and was segmented into six plates. Each plate had two poisonous barbs, with four being exceptionally long and horn like. The long barbs had two dark gray stripes around them. A red ring rested between each barb. The open center on her two sides matched the stripes in color. Her yellow eyes looked out from the center on either side.
"Whoa! It evolved into a whirlipede!" said Iris excitedly. "Cool!"
Hilda wasn't sure how to react. She could only stare at her pokemon with an open mouth and wide eyes. Not once in her life as she seen a pokemon evolve. Not in person, on TV, or anywhere. Soon she came to a realization. One that made her close her mouth and smile.
'She evolved for me,' Hilda thought. "Okay, Whirlipede, Rollout!"
"Deino, Headbutt!"
The two pokemon began to charge. Deino running and Whirlipede rolling. Both on a straight path for each other. The struck each other with such force a small shock wave was felt by the trainers and crowd. The pokemon held against each other for only a moment, before Whirlipede was tossed back. She landed with a bounce and fell on her side. Her one visible eye was closed. Drayden cleared his throat.
"It appears now that Whirlipede is unable to battle. Challenger, do you wish to continue?"
"No..." Hilda withdrew Whirlipede. She stared at the pokeball before putting it back into her pocket. "She was my last pokemon anyway."
"I see. Since the challenger is out of usable pokemon, Iris is the winner!"
The audience clapped as Iris cheered for herself. Jumping up and down raising her hands into the air. Her deino also joined in celebrating with little hops. When Iris returned Deino, Hilda walked up to her.
"Thanks for the battle, Iris. It was fun. Even if I did lose," said Hilda.
"Anytime," said Iris with a smile. She quickly waved to Hilda then ran towards Drayden.
"Did that live up to your expectations?" Cress asked. He walked up to Hilda alone.
"I guess. I didn't think I was going to win, but..."
"Yeah, it sucks to lose. Least you lost to someone like her. You've won other battles that were more serious," Cress gestured for Hilda to follow him. The two made their way to the lobby, Cress wanted to leave early. Hilda thought about her past battles Cress mentioned. Ones that she did win and that were serious. Each one was with Hilbert. She had yet to battle anyone by herself.
When the two were outside the front, Cress went up to a valet attendant and spoke with them. The valet then left and Cress came back to Hilda. The two sat down on a small wall. Hilda stared at her boots while Cress watched for the car.
"So what made you want to battle Iris?" asked Cress. Neither moved to face each other.
"I don't know. I think I just wanted to know what it was like."
"Was what like?"
"Battling someone. Just me and them."
"Have you only ever battled with your brother?" asked Cress with genuine curiosity. He turned his head to look at Hilda.
"Yeah..." Hilda reached into her pocket and pulled out Whirlipede's ball. "He was the one who caught Whirlipede for me. The only time I've battled alone was against wild pokemon. But I wanted to know what it was like against another trainer."
"That makes sense. When my brothers and I were younger we got our first pokemon from our dad. We would only battle each other and any wild pokemon we could find. Once we were in school to become trainers and battled other people we got our asses handed to us."
Cress laughed, making Hilda smile.
"What was trainer school like?" asked Hilda.
"Pretty much like normal school. Just focused on pokemon and battling. Had we not gone to it I don't think we ever would've become Gym Leaders."
"I always wanted to go to one. But, my parents didn't let us."
"That's too bad," Cress went back to watching for the car. "You're a trainer now though. No point in dwelling on the past."
Hilda said nothing. Only stared at her boots. She thought about Cress' words. Despite knowing he was right, she couldn't help but do the opposite. Wondering where would she be if she had gone to trainer school and attempted a real journey. If only her parents were nicer. If only she and Hilbert were more lucky. If only she had a childhood she could think back on fondly. If only.
Should've been done with this chapter months ago. Least I'm done now. Fav and comment. Peace.
~~~Sikoh