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Hilda clutched her Tympole close to her, dashing through the Pinwheel Forest, her Tepig running behind and Pidove circling around her head. Her leg still stung badly from where the Venipede had attacked her, but she couldn't stop here, not while her Pokemon were still in danger of being attacked by other wild Pokemon.
It had been a stupid idea, in retrospect. After hearing all of this grandstanding about Pokemon cruelty and 'trapping' them in confined balls, she had decided not to make any of her Pokemon go back inside their Pokeballs, letting them freely roam around her. But once in the forest, she had quickly realized why that wasn't the best idea: Pokemon, especially younger, lower level Pokemon, were curious, and before long her timid little Tepig was squealing helplessly, running out of the grass as he was chased by a particularly angry-looking Venipede. Had she taken a second to actually think about the situation, she could have easily commanded Tepig to burn the bug into exhaustion. But Hilda had never been one for intense thinking, and instead followed her instincts to stand in front of the two, protecting her Pokemon.
In retrospect, that was even stupider. The Venipede, startled by the sudden appearance of a larger foe, had panicked and jabbed her straight in the leg with one of its spikes. Only then did her Pidove swoop in, pecking the insect until ran back into the grass where it came from.
The place where it had stung her burned horribly, and she could feel the searing pain spreading up her leg. It had doubtlessly poisoned her. She had to make it back to town, to a Pokemon center, and get herself healed somehow. But the pain was almost unbearable, and it was getting harder and harder to tell where she was going--
She yelped as her foot hit a rock, sending her and her Tympole flying onto the ground. The fall nearly knocked her out itself, but she maintained enough consciousness to go for her Tympole, asking if she was okay. Tympole looked worried, but not hurt, making her sigh in relief. Hilda scooped Tympole back up and tried to get onto her feet, but weakly collapsed back onto the ground.
It wasn't going to happen. She wasn't going to be able to make it back to Nacrene City. She looked up, her head swimming, at her concerned Tepig and Pidove. "Go... back to town... where it’s safe..." she managed to choke out.
She didn't know whether they understood or not, but both Pokemon reluctantly took off. Her Tympole made a worried noise in her arms as it looked at her, unable to follow the others at her speed. Hilda tried to force a smile. "It'll... be okay..." she whispered. "I'll... protect you..." She closed her eyes, curling her body around the weak Tympole, as her consciousness faded away...
***
When Hilda woke up, her head was pounding, body burning, and a disgustingly sweet taste was in her mouth. She blinked blearily up at the unfamiliar ceiling, then looked down towards the bed she was lying under. It looked less like a Pokemon Center, and more like somebody's house.
She slowly sat up and dug her palm into her forehead, the world swimming so much she felt like she was going to vomit. After a few seconds of waiting for the world to stop spinning, she looked around her surroundings.
She was in a room she didn't recognize. A bed she hadn't been in before. There was a small table and chair off to the side of the room, with a single window letting sunlight in. Outside that window, she could see a wide array of warehouses. She breathed a sigh of relief. Even though she didn't know exactly where she was, she knew she was at least back in Nacrene City. Even if she was all… alone…
Hilda startled. Tympole was nowhere to be seen. And neither was Pidove nor Tepig. She swallowed, trying to quell her panic before it started, and strained her ears instead. It was difficult, given she could practically hear the fluids sloshing around her pounding head, but if she concentrated she could hear... something. Someone talking? And laughing?
She carefully swung her legs off the bed, wincing as her foot touched the floor. Her leg had been bandaged, although a bit haphazardly. It hurt to have any weight applied to it, so she tried to readjust her weight by leaning on the bed as she made her way to the door.
The closer she got, the more her head swam, and the more she felt like she was going to fall over. But she could hear better now, and in addition to one man's voice, she could hear the voices of Pokemon. A Tympole, a Tepig, and a Pidove. Tears sprang to her eyes. She couldn't be entirely certain, of course, but they sure sounded like her Pokemon. They were safe.
She stumbled out into the dark hall, making her way down, ignoring the rising heat and nausea. Her head spun so much she nearly fell over, but she forced herself to keep moving. She needed to find her Pokemon, to be sure they were safe.
The darkness of the hall made way to the light of a living room. The television was on, and Pidove was flying in circles above the couch, chittering away happily. Tepig was sitting on the ground in front of the couch, slowly chewing on some kind of treat. And Tympole was bouncing around happily on the lap of... of...
Hilda's eyes widened in horror. She knew the boy on the couch. She would recognize that pale green hair anywhere. N. Her rival. And the 'king' of Team Plasma.
He was here. And he was going to take her beloved Pokemon away from her. Tepig, Pidove, even little Tympole...
She shoved herself off of the wall, taking desperate, slow, unsteady steps towards the couch. N didn't even notice, too absorbed in talking to her Pokemon. But Pidove, who was making the rounds near the ceiling, noticed her, and immediately zoomed over to her, chattering. The sudden, repetitive noise getting louder closer to her ears... she lost balance in her legs and went tumbling down to the ground. While not as bad as when she passed out in the forest, her body felt like it was in a pressure vice, and it was a struggle to even pull herself back up onto her elbows. She could feel Tepig next to her, quietly nudging her arm and encouraging her. She shakily got onto her elbows. She could see N's visage in front of her, crouching down in front of her, blurry from a mixture of the poison still in her body and her tears. "Don't..." she gasped out. "Don't take them... please... please..."
She had no idea if pleading would even work on someone like him. But she had to try. She had to.
N was saying something, but she couldn't make it out. Everything felt horrible: her leg was stinging painfully, black spots appearing in her vision, tears that she would consider shameful running scalding hot down her face. Something touched her forehead, pulled back, and then N stood up. Hands slipped under armpits and legs, and suddenly she was up in the air, being carried somewhere. It was over. She was too weak to resist.
Once again, she blacked out.
***
When Hilda came to this time, she was lying on the bed once more. But the pain in her body was much less than it was before, and there was a cool presence near her head, and a warm presence near her stomach. She weakly opened her eyes.
Tympole was sleeping near her head, her cool, wet body providing relief to Hilda’s feverish head. And cuddled with her on top of the sheets was Tepig, who was quietly snoring.
They were still here. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she pet the top of Tepig's head with a shaking hand. Tepig shifted, letting out a soft murmur before settling back down.
Hilda let out a shaky breath. Her Pokemon were safe. She could feel her heart pounding in relief, and her head and body felt much more bearable now.
There was a light titter, and Pidove landed near her face. She couldn't help but smile upon seeing Pidove back with her. The bird chirped, then flew back into the air, squawking as she flew out of the room. Tympole woke at the sound, gave herself a little shake, then hopped off of the bed into a glass of water on the side table, refreshing herself.
"Oh good, you're awake."
The sound of N's voice nearly made her jump. She sat up as quickly as she could, causing Tepig to stir awake next to her.
Standing in the doorway with Pidove circling around his head was N, who was carrying a bowl of... something. "You shouldn't be moving though," he said plainly, walking over to the sidetable and setting a bowl down. "Venipedes can sometimes carry a poison even worse than regular poison. Unfortunately, I think you stumbled on one of those rare ones." He looked back to her, smiling. "I'm glad you're awake though. Your Pokemon told me what happened. You're quite brave, protecting them like that."
She looked away, cheeks reddening. "Not brave," she said, staring at the wall. "Just stupid..."
"Don't say that. You protected them, and they're grateful. …Here, drink this."
She turned over to look at him. He was holding out the bowl, which she could now see was full of some kind of inedible-looking pink sludge. She took it in her hands, sniffing it. It smelled overpoweringly sweet – not the somewhat-delectable sweetness of light perfume, but the nauseating sweetness she thought she could taste whenever she had the flu. "What is this?" she asked hesitantly, holding the bowl as far away from herself as possible.
"Mashed Pecha berries. They counteract poison. I've been giving it to you as medicine for the past couple of days. But from what I understand, people don't like it when you force-feed them while they're awake, so you should take over now."
Well that explained the awful sweet taste in her mouth when she woke up. She looked back down at the bowl, then gingerly took a sip.
It tasted just as horrendous as it smelled. She was generally a fan of sweets, but she wasn't sure if she could even stomach a mint after this. And the nausea that had so blissfully disappeared overnight was threatening to come back with a vengeance.
In the end, she only finished half the bowl before resolutely placing it on the nightstand. N looked up from where he had been absentmindedly petting Tepig. "You're supposed to finish the bowl, you know."
"N, no offense, but if I take another bite of that stuff I'm just gonna throw it all up."
"Hm. You wouldn't last long out in the wild."
Hilda glared at him, but from the way N's attention easily diverted back to Tepig, he hadn't meant it as an insult, just an observation. And speaking of Tepig... it was surprising for Hilda to see her shy Tepig so close to somebody else, accepting their pets so easily. It made her feel... better. More relaxed. She relaxed against the pillows on the bed, watching the boy pet her Tepig. He hadn't done anything to her Pokemon, not even tried to take them. Maybe... he wasn't all that bad.
He spoke again after a minute. "...I cannot figure it out. Your Pokemon, they adore you. They were even willing to enlist my help to save you. They did not trust me, but I was the first person they found, and they risked being separated in order to save you. Despite them repeatedly begging me not to take them from you." He frowned. "...It goes against everything I've ever known."
"...Well, maybe what you've known isn't the entire world. Or at least, not all of it."
N was silent for a moment. His hand paused for a second, then he returned to petting Tepig. "...There are a lot of things in this world that I do not understand yet," he muttered. "But, if it did turn out that everything I've ever known was wrong, then... what exactly would I have left?"
…Hilda didn’t know how to reply to that. At a loss for what to say, all she replied with was, "I'm going to stop you. I promise."
He gave her a small smile, still petting Tepig. "I look forward to the challenge. Just try and stop me."
Deja vu. She remembered him saying the same thing to her near the ferris wheel.
But this time, it sounded less like a a threat...
...And more like a plea.
Before Hilda could respond, N gave a final pat to Tepig's head, then got up off the bed. "You seem to be doing a lot better now, but you should still rest for a few days. Don't worry, Team Plasma bought out this building for the week. Do try to finish the bowl though, alright? There's more berries in the fridge as well."
"You’re leaving?"
He nodded, turning away. "...I have to keep fighting for my ideals, no matter what. I've come too far to just give up now. Even if that means…" He shook his head, and went silent.
"...I understand."
He looked back at her with a faint smile.
And with that, he left, closing the door behind him.
Hilda let out a sigh, settling into the bed. She still couldn't understand N. But she had a good feeling that, deep down, he was a good person. Her Pokemon certainly seemed to agree, as they stared wistfully after him. And if battles were a way for Trainers to understand each other... maybe one day she would.
She looked forward to that day.