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Nimbasa city was once again bustling with people under the cold evening of New Year’s Eve, its carnival lights decorating the park in its vibrant colours. Hilda had just cleared the last gym, but before ascending upwards towards the champion, she decided to head to Nimbasa to enjoy the festival the locals held for New Year’s Eve.
“What should we get?” She asked her Braviary, Stella, who was perched on her shoulder obediently, and her Samurott Ollie, who was sniffing the air curiously as the dozens of novel smells all entered his snout at once.
Stella scanned the area expertly before nodding towards a magenta and white stall ahead of them. She nodded, motioning for her pokemon to follow as well. As they approached, a sweet smell wafted through the air, drawing them to inspect at a closer distance.
Not more than a few feet from the stall, she could already tell the stall was selling the signature cotton candy they sell at Nimbasa carnivals at every event, where children and adults alike fight for the queue just to get a taste, as simple as the treat is. It was already nightfall, so evidently most of the people had gathered in the park, chattering to each other after having stuffed themselves full with the numerous snacks they could find. Hilda stood in line and waited for a stick of the silky cloud of sugar, handing the lady at the stall the spare change she just earned when she emerged victorious from the gym several hours ago.
Just as she was about to leave for the central plaza, Ollie sniffed the air again and prodded her leg, pointing his nose at a tall point on the hill right next to the park. He seemed to be desperately finding a way to tell his trainer something, his whiskers aggressively flickering and his paw motioning towards something. Stella took one glance at him before taking off to where he had been pointing too, returning moments later with a dangling charm in her beak.
Without needing to examine it, Hilda recognized N’s void cube that he carried with him at all times. So N is here too, she thought to herself. An idea struck her, and she dashed back to the stall, buying another stick of cotton candy and hurrying towards the small hilltop.
There he was, sitting cross-legged on the edge, his knees swaying up and down like an eager child. Surprisingly, there was only one pokemon with him—his Liepard that Hilda first fought as a Purrloin back when they first met. She supposed the feline was his partner, even as he claimed that he despised the idea of fighting with pokemon.
“Hey, what brings you here?” She called out to him as she approached, slowing down her footsteps.
N flipped his head around, his green hair a dark shade of celadon under the shade of a nearby tree. “Hello, Hilda.” He spoke as quickly and quietly as he always did. “I am merely observing the people who are participating in this festival. I have never quite been to any event in my life.”
Stella gave an exhilarated chirp and flew down to N’s knee, dropping his cube in his hand and straightened her chest proudly, pretending that she had found his lost cube. Whether N knew the pesky bird had stolen it just to return it again or not, Hilda would never know—but he laughed and accepted it anyway, petting Stella on her chest feathers.
Hilda got to his side and sat down on the opposite side of his Liepard, handing him her second stick of cotton candy. “Here, I got you something.”
He took it apprehensively. “What is this?” He asked, a strange glint in his eye.
“It’s cotton candy. You should try it—really tasty,” Hilda assured him.
He took a whiff of the sweet confection before taking a small tentative bite, his eyes instantly brightening. “This sweet—it is simply wonderful,” He exclaimed, leaning forward to take another bite. “I will admit that my experience of food is quite limited during my time living with my father. Do people generally enjoy this snack?”
“Yeah, totally. Kids and adults all love it,” Hilda responded digging into her own cloud of sugar, before letting out a half-giggle, half-sigh. “You’ve got a bit of that stuck on your face,” She mused, reaching out and flicking off a piece of the sugar off his face. “You’re eating too fast!”
“My apologies, it is simply irresistible to me,” N told her, swiveling his head to look at the lively city below them, his wide doe-eyes gleaming with interest. Hilda was acutely aware that the multicoloured lights from the carnival sparkled in his eyes, giving him the look of a child’s first trip to the pokedoll shop. It was adorable—the way he approached almost everything that was new to him, due to his innocence, but there was that pang in her heart when she realized his innocence stems from his dark childhood, a life of torment. And yet, staring at his curious gaze, his childish interest in cotton candy, the past seemed to be but imagination.
She returned her eyes back to her own sweet, finishing it in bites before he could notice her staring intensely at him—it would be a few more hours of explaining when he asks why—
“You were looking at me,” N mused without turning to face her. He always had this eerily accurate intuition, as if spending half of his life with wild Pokemon had heightened his senses the way wild creatures do.
Hilda laughed. “Well, you looked cute.” She admitted, being completely honest. There was nothing to hide—N was not a person who overthinks or complicates things, rather that he normally doesn’t understand them.
“Is that supposed to be positive or negative?” N wondered, turning to look at her finally.
“It depends on if you like being called cute,” Hilda shrugged, allowing herself to hold his gaze, catching the glimpse of confusion in his eyes, her head tilted to the side to get a better view of his face underneath his cap. In the end, she couldn’t resist the urge to reach forwards and brush the stray lock of green hair away from his eyes. Something flashed across his expression for just a brief heartbeat, but it disappeared as soon as it came. Hilda was glad that the shade of the tree they were under was dark enough to hide the slight blush creeping up her face, stifling the curiosity of whether he had a change in the tint of his ears as well. She was glad that her Pokemon knew her well enough not to tattle to N—they would normally inform the green-haired boy whenever Hilda spoke of him, a secret form of communication that she couldn’t possibly join in or understand.
“I do quite like it,” N decided, fixing his hat nonchalantly, lowering his hand to pet his Purrloin. A small shiver sent him wincing ever so slightly, no thanks to the thin layer of clothing he wears for all occasions. Hilda pulled out the huge cape she had been keeping in her bag on her travels.
She offered him the cape. “My mom insisted that I would need it, but I bought a jacket before coming here. Do you need it?”
N shook his head frantically. “No, please do not bother yourself with—”
Hilda ignored his reply and threw the cape over his shoulders, and his expression instantly betrayed how much he did need it. He flashed her a guilty glance. “Do you not require this?” He asked, a puzzled tone in his voice. “Perhaps we should share this…”
Hilda rolled her eyes. “Alright, alright,” She muttered, moving closer to him and crawling into the warmth of the cape. Their Pokemon snuggled in as well—perhaps her mother was not so wrong after all—the cape was large enough for all of them.
“Here,” she said under her breath, tapping his shoulder and pulling him close enough to let his head rest on her shoulder. He was significantly taller than her (and any other normal person, to be honest), but sitting down, his head fit perfectly there.
Out of nowhere, N broke the silence. “Hilda, is this what they call ‘liking someone’?” He asked tentatively, his childish tone returning.
Hilda could feel her face heat up again. Never in the world had she expected such a question from the boy before her, and she sure did not expect him to dwell on such a topic.
“Perhaps,” She began slowly. “What is it that you feel?” She asked him, hoping to confirm whatever her mind so desperately wanted to know.
He didn’t reply, though. His eyes were momentarily distracted by the sudden swarm of people at the centre of the plaza, where various types of Pokemon were readying themselves for some kind of show. Hilda swiveled her gaze to the plaza below as well. Ollie tugged on her arm, nosing at her wrist where her watch sat. 10 seconds left.
5…. 4…. 3…. 2…. 1…
The moment her watch struck midnight and the people began cheering, the Pokemon on the stage began their show. There was a Raichu setting off thunderbolts across the stage, and besides him, a Sneasel and a Sylveon were using blizzard and dazzling gleam respectively, lighting up the stage with sparks.
“Happy New Year, N,” She smiled to N, who suddenly pushed the cloak off them, bouncing onto his feet.
“Come on, Hilda,” He spoke quickly, reaching out his hand and pulling her to her feet. When she took it, he dragged her by the hand down the hill they were on, all the way to the plaza where they could see the show up close. She was aware that he never let go of her hand throughout their whole journey.
“N, aren’t you bothered by the Pokemon being made to perform or something?” She yelled above the noise.
He shook his head, his green locks dancing in the night breeze. “No, I can sense that they are happy. You have shown me that they…” She couldn’t make out the rest of the sentence. It was either the fault of the boisterous laughter of the people or N’s habits to never speak above his normal tone, but she understood what he meant anyway, so she returned a smile and gave his hand a grip.
After Ghetsis was escorted away by Cheren and Alder, Hilda felt her breath hitch in her throat, unsure whether the boy before her was silent from his father’s remarks about how he could care less about his son or his relief that his father was finally gone. Shallow, nervous breaths from Bianca standing somewhere behind her indicated her friend’s concern mirroring hers.
She was about to open her mouth to ask if he was faring fine when he suddenly looked up and met her gaze levelly.
“Hilda,” He called her name, quickly and quietly as usual, so she inched closer to him. “I want to learn more about this world, to experience the friendship and love that you and your friends have demonstrated to me. I wish to travel to regions of different colors and witness their people and pokemon, and to renew my ideals.”
“That’s great!” Hilda exclaimed. Though she knew she worried for his safety, she was glad that he could have the chance to explore the world for himself for the first time in his life. “I’d like to join you… but I gotta help clear out the rest of team Plasma for the time being…” She muttered, though she kept the grin on her face.
“That is alright, I have Zekrom to keep my company for the time being,” He said, giving his pokemon a reassuring nod.
“You will return though, right?” Hilda asked warily, dreading the worst from the unpredictable boy before her.
He seemed to ponder the question for a moment, before lifting off her cap to plant a tentative kiss on her forehead, sending her heartbeat tumbling into orbit. “I shall return soon. Then perhaps I could learn to bond with your friends too.” He decided.
Hilda thought for a moment, still flushed from the previous interaction, before raising her hand to take off his hat as well, leaning in to press her lips against his briefly, before pulling back and placing his hat on her hat. “How about this—” She placed her hat on his head. “That way, you’ll have something to remember me by, and I you!” She suggested.
N gave her one of his rare, genuine smiles. “Of course,” He replied excitedly, climbing onto the back of his Zekrom. “I will see you soon.” He whispered into the pokemon’s ear right before it lifted off into the air. Before they flew off, he gave both her and Bianca a wave goodbye, then vanished into the cloudy sky.
“Wow…. What a guy.” Bianca giggled, both hands hiding her face, pretending not to notice their exchange.
Hilda nudged Bianca’s arm indignantly, but she was laughing as well. “Let’s go check up on Cheren,” She suggested, flashing Bianca a knowing grin.
Her friend squeaked, colour rising to her cheeks, before dashing out of the place. “Race you!”
She giggled and followed suit, not willing to go down to Bianca, who was already halfway out.
They had plenty of time ahead of them.