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“A battle you say?” Hilbert asked more or less surprised by the request from the red haired Straiton City Gym Leader.
“Yeah!” Chili exclaimed enthusiastically. “You wanted to train before your next gym battle, right? Why not train here with me!” Hilbert paused, a tinge of pink crept up onto his cheeks. With you… That’s all I want.
“Sure, I don’t see why not.”
The battlefield as the same as always. A large open space with rocks scattered across the surface. Hilbert’s gaze drifted upwards. Of course there would be fangirls watching from the seats above. They also brought discomfort to Hilbert. Did it mean the absolute dream boat of a gym leader who he loved so much was straight? There had been many times Hilbert wanted to pour all his feelings out to Chili, but each opportunity was snatched away from him. He wondered how his fangirls would react if they somehow became a couple; it brought an amused smile to his face. “Hilbert!” Chili grasped his attention from the other side of the battlefield.
“Oh! Right.” He needed to focus.
“Let’s go, Pansear!” Chili released the elemental monkey out if it’s pokeball.
“You’re up, Tepig!” The fire pig pokemon appeared in a flash of light. Chili grinned.
“Your Tepig still hasn’t evolved?”
“Not yet, but eventually.” Hilbert gave him a nod, signaling he was ready. “Your move first.”
“If you say so!” Chili got into position. “Fire Punch”
“Tepig, dodge.” The flames only just missed.
“Now use Fire Blast!”
“Tepig, counter attack with Ember.” Both fiery moves came into contact, creating a miniature explosion. “Use Rollout straight at Pansear!” Pansear had no time to react to avoid the super effective move. Chili watched impressed.
“Seems like your Tepig has learnt a new move… Well, so have we! Pansear, use Dig.” The fire monkey burrowed itself underground.
“Watch out, Tepig!” However it was already too late. The ground beneath partner pokemon cracked and Pansear broke through the ground, getting a direct hit at Tepig. While it was stunned, Chili shouted his next order.
“Pansear, flame charge!” Listening intently at it’s trainer, Pansear dashed towards Tepig coated in scorching heat. Hilbert could hear the fangirls cheering Chili along. He listened to them a little bit, but simply shut them out when he had had enough.
“Tepig use tackle.”
“Pansear, dodge!” Having used flame charge boosted Pansears speed. It moved to the side swiftly and Tepig headbutted one of the rocks.
“You good there, Tepig?” Hilbert called out. It spun around, puffing smoke out of it’s nose to show it was still able to battle.
“Alright! Tepig use rollout again.” Yet another superaffective move against Pansear.
“Pansear use dig!” Hilbert watched Chili for a short second. His eyes were shimmering with passion for battle. If only you could look at me like that. His attention snapped back to Pansear standing strong and Tepig on the ground passed out. Pansear ran back to it’s trainer, climbing up onto his shoulders. Hilbert hurried to Tepig's side, kneeling down beside him. The little pig pokemon opened a weak eye. He smiled brightly back.
“Thanks Tepig, you did great.” He sent it back into it’s pokeball. Chili approached him as he got to his feet. Hilbert could hear the obnoxious screaming from his fangirls. It had always ticked him off. However this time it tipped him right over the edge. He pulled Chili down to his height by his red bowtie. The red haired gym leader was stunned as Hilbert planted a kiss on his lips. As he went to pull away, Chili stopped him, returning the kiss. It was passionate but slow and Chili’s lips were warm. Hilbert smelt like pine needles from a christmas tree. Nothing else mattered to them in that moment. The horrified and shocked gasps of the fangirls were barely audible and Cilan and Cress stood back watching contently. The kiss finally broke a part. “Oh, my heart is pounding so hard right now!” Hilbert said. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to do that for!”
Hilbert and Chili sat around an empty table. The fangirls were long gone but not before they shot nasty looks at Hilbert. It was so quiet. Too quiet. “You know, the the first sign was when I first challenged this gym. I opted to battle you; fire against fire. It was the look in you eyes; they showed your love for pokemon battles. I admired that. After our first battle it motivated me to grow stronger. Then, as we battled more and more, I grew attached to you. I looked up to you, and that later spiraled into something different and a lot stronger.”
“When you first walked into the restaurant demanding for a gym battle, I knew you were different than other trainers I had ever fought before. Your determined smile and even after countless losses, you still had the same look on your face. You weren’t ever going to give up. That kind of strength is something I look up to.” Silenced filled the air again.
“Do you know why I always return to visit you after every single gym battle? It’s because I miss you. I want to be by your side. I can’t go a day without thinking of you.” Another pause. “I love you.” Chili’s face went bright red, completely flustered.
“I love you too.” He spoke awkwardly. Speaking about such intimate topics he wasn't the best at. “So, what does this make us?”
“Boyfriends, of course.” They shared a laugh. Hilbert grabbed Chili’s hand underneath the table and he smiled wide in return. Cilan and Cress had been watching the two the entire time simply happy that their brother had finally found someone to be with, care about and love.