Chapter Text
Feet pounded on the pavement. Lights streamed by in a myriad of colors. Her heart pounded against her chest.
Despite her speed, the grunts were quicker – always quicker. Hilda was falling behind now, further, further. She had little hope of catching up, yet she pressed onward.
It was now or never.
The grunts veered off Main Street and into the maze of alleyways. Hilda stuck to the main road, catching glimpses of white knight suits as she passed the gaps between buildings. After a few blocks, she saw a white streak hit the ground; now was her chance.
Exerting what little remained of her energy, she barreled into the alleyway, grabbing a pokéball from her bag as she went. With a holler she swung her arm and threw the ball, releasing her Dewott. The two stopped just before the fallen grunt.
Her Dewott glanced over its shoulder; Hilda nodded. An unspoken command was passed. The Dewott puffed up its chest and sent a stream of water hurdling toward the grunt, who had tripped over a discarded box.
Hilda smirked as the Plasma grunt coiled back in terror. Both trainer and Pokémon rested hands on hips and struck a triumphant pose, but the trainer’s reverie ended prematurely. Metal clanged against metal. Hilda turned in the direction of the noise but found the darkness that surrounded her nearly impenetrable. Hey, that’s what alleys are for.
The only light came from a moth-littered streetlamp farther down the alley. Slowly, she crept forward, leaving her Dewott in charge of the grunt. As she approached the lamp, she noticed the gleam of a dented metal trash can.
Chuckling, she kicked the can over and smiled when she heard a dull moan from inside. She stood there waiting, giving the grunt inside an opportunity to react, but gave in when they gave no indication of accepting her offer.
“Fancy meeting you here, eh? Though I suppose it’s only natural for you to wind up in a garbage can.” She pulled the grunt out by the cloth on his head and held him at eye level, which for him nearly resembled a kneeling position. She furrowed her eyebrows but still bore a toothy grin. “You and your friend were running for a reason. Mind telling me what that reason was?”
The grunt’s face twitched, his eyes clouded over in fear. He had heard other grunts speak of a short, freckled trainer with a temper that could measure up to Ghetsis, and he had done everything in his power not to meet her in person. But his luck had run out. Time to prove whether the rumors were actually true.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he mumbled, voice shaking and body trembling. His feeble attempts at escape were easily countered by Hilda’s strength. She continued to smile.
“Really? Then maybe your friend has a better idea. Though from his position, I doubt he’ll be any more willing to talk than you. Though I do always have the power of persuasion, I suppose. Cash, ready yourself.”
The Dewott began readying another Aqua Jet, causing the soggy lump of a man to cower even more. The grunt in Hilda’s grasp began squirming and frantically pleading.
“Stop! Please, stop! He…you, you don’t need to do that! Call off that rat! I’ll tell you whatever it is you want to know.” He waved his arms around, desperately trying to either run away or save his friend, but Hilda wasn’t entirely sure which. Her bet was on the former, though. It didn’t matter either way; she wasn’t going to call Cash off until one of the grunts broke down and told her where their Nimbasa City hideout was.
The man’s pleas piddled out when he realized Hilda wasn’t going to budge. He slackened.
“Tell me your hideout.”
“Fine,” he whispered. “Just don’t hurt him.”
The other grunt muttered something about being okay, though he didn’t exactly sound convinced of himself.
Hilda shrugged and rolled her eyes in the direction of her Pokémon. Her hand was beginning to cramp from the grip she had on the grunt.
“Are you sure that’s what you want to know? There are plenty of other things…” he stuttered. Beads of sweat raced down the side of his face, leaving small stains on his hood. “Because-”
“Do you want to walk away without a mortal injury? Are you really going to stand up against me?” She sneered. Her words were empty; she couldn’t do much damage to either of the grunts aside from a broken nose. That didn’t stop her from bluffing.
“N-no, no! That’s not what I mean, I-“
“Tell her and you’re dead, moron. She can’t do much to us. She knows that once she crosses that line, Team Plasma can use full force against her, right trainer?” Hilda glanced at the man on the ground, thinking that he was way too full of it for a man lying on soggy cardboard in the middle of an alley. “Though you’re not an ordinary trainer, are you? We’ve heard plenty of stories about you from a certain green-haired man.”
“Cash, go ahead,” she commanded as she returned her glare to the grunt in front of her. Green-haired man? Ghetsis? How did he know about her? She shook her head and returned to the matter at hand, blocking out the gurgling sounds from behind her. “Just tell me and I’ll call him off.”
The guard looked frantic. His mouth opened and closed like some poor Magikarp before he realized that he actually needed to speak. Before he could mutter a syllable, Hilda’s Xtransceiver rang. She must have accidentally hit ‘accept’ because a bright face filled the screen, and a voice began shrieking from the small speaker.
“Hilda! Is it true that you’ve finally made it to Nimbasa? Oh, I’m so excited! Gosh, I can’t wait to see you; it’s been weeks! How are you? How have you been? Oh, you know what, don’t answer! You can tell me in person. Where are you?”
Hilda clenched her teeth and sighed. “I’m busy, Bianca. Now, if you could please hang up, I’m kinda in the middle of something.”
“Something? What kind of something? Oh, is it a battle? Goodness, I always have the worst timing. I’m sorry. Say, remember that one time we were little and I walked in on-“
“Bianca!”
“Sorry, sorry. But really, where are you? I can totally meet you after you finish the battle. Maybe I can even make it for your win!” She clapped her hands in front of the screen, every part of her radiating joy. Hilda thought it was too early to deal with this, despite the fact that evening was settling in.
Unfortunately enough, the other grunt had managed to stand up and make a break for it, but not before he made an attempt at freeing his comrade. Wasting no time, he swung at the girl, who had caught on only seconds before. She was able to block the blow but not without losing her grip on the other grunt.
Both Plasma members ran off whooping and hollering down into the alleyway, but not before they both found time to send some obscene hand gestures toward Hilda and Cash.
Hilda righted herself before looking down at her Xtransceiver. Bianca’s face still filled the screen, only now her hands covered her mouth as her eyes widened in shock.
“So I guess I can’t make it to see you win then, huh?” She made an attempt at laughter, but Hilda’s stone cold gaze silenced her.