A few days passed, and Hilbert was at it again.
"Madara, keep it up,"
The water type continued to smash into the tree, and Hilbert watched over.
'The buff really helped out,' He thought, activating the system panel, 'but, this thing is more interesting,'
It had notified him when he left the battle against Daniel.
•••
Showing Buff:
Boosts all training and effort done to a multiplier of three (3x)
Defeating a gym leader will amplify its potency by zero point five (0.5x) each time
More ways will appear...
•••
'It is motivating me to do that, to become a trainer,' Hilbert thought, shifting the cap on his head, 'As well as what I got in the inventory,'
He looked at the bar with what was inside the system inventory.
There sat the number five hundred.
'It's like the games where I earn money by beating trainers,' He shook his head, 'That's weird knowing it is in no way the games, but real life,'
BASH!
Hilbert looked at the water type, 'Although, with this money, I could accomplish my goal and not live poorly,'
Madara the Oshawott rammed the tree again.
Like before, a hole shaped like him greeted his eyes when the water type turned around.
Soon after, he began to shake from fear.
'Though I need to beat a lot of trainers to get some money, if that's a lot,' Hilbert thought, looking up at the sky, 'perhaps signing up for the league and becoming champion is a go-'
CRASH!
To Hilbert's left, the tree landed a few meters from him.
It was not close enough to hurt him, but the wind generated from its tumble surely sent his soul to kingdom come.
"W-Wait..." Hilbert quickly sniffed the air and moved from side to side.
After some confirmation, he sighed.
'At least I didn't shit myself,' Hilbert looked at the fallen tree again, 'that could've killed me!'
His head turned to Madara, who trembled at what transpired.
"I should be angry, but I'm not," He said to him, calming down, "good work, Madara,"
"Oshawott..." Madara breathed out, relaxing.
"Take five," Hilbert said, sitting by another tree, "then ram into another tree when you're rested,"
The water type nodded, laying on his back.
"Mhhh!" After laying against a tree, Hilbert stretched, 'If I become the champion-wait,'
'How does the league work?'
This had become the forefront at that point in Hilbert's mind.
And it was a question he didn't bother to ask his parents. Usually, even when they were watching television, Hilbert didn't get a clue about the format.
'Is it like the anime, with that whole tournament then facing the elite four and champion? Or is it like the games with only the elite four and then the champion?' Hilbert thought, running his hand through the grass next to him, 'I should ask my parents about it when I get home,'
"What the!?"
This snapped Hilbert's head in the direction of where he heard the voice.
'Who is that?' He thought, standing up and dusting himself off, 'Maybe they heard the tree fall and are now investigating,'
"Ah, I knew it,"
When Hilbert heard this, he saw two kids around his age walking into view.
He was surprised.
The one who spoke was a boy. His black hair and eyes looked familiar.
The spectacles on his face proved a point to Hilbert.
'Wait, that can't be,' He thought, seeing the other kid, 'maybe it is them?'
The other one was a girl. She had short blonde hair and green eyes. She kept contact with the tree that fell, then looked back at Hilbert.
'No, don't be so naive,' Hilbert breathed out, 'this could be doppelgangers, maybe...I'll try and start a conversation,'
"...Hello," Hilbert spoke raising his hand.
The boy saw the water type resting not too far away, then adjusted his glasses.
"You must be the one that defeated Daniel," He said with confidence, "I'm sure of it,"
Hilbert raised an eyebrow, "Well, uh...yeah, heh..."
"At least we never came across a wild pokémon," The girl spoke, scratching her cheek, "and we stumbled onto you,"
"It was worth taking a break," The boy said, placing a hand on his hip, "now, I have a few questions,"
"Wait," Hilbert said, adjusting his cap, "How are you sure that I'm the one you're talking about?"
"Bianca and I were watching," He replied, pointing at Madara the Oshawott, "I saw that Oshawott and I saw you,"
"If you want more evidence," The boy continued, "it must have a scar, on the right side of it's face?"
Hilbert nodded, "He does, huh,"
'Wait!' He paused, 'I just heard him say Bianca. Maybe they are those two,'
While he thought this, the girl walked over to the resting water type, who snored away.
"Aw, he does have a scar, Cheren," The girl said, looking down at Madara, "such a cute face as well,"
Hilbert and the boy watched as she reached down to rub the water type's head.
Before the girl could touch a single strand of his fur, the resting Madara rolled out of the way.
"Osha..." He immediately got to his feet and stared the girl down, "...Wo-Wo-Wott!"
However, his forever shivering figure came to light as Madara saw the true size of the threat he saw.
Hilbert was gonna speak but realized the girl said 'Cheren', and decided to ask another question.
"How did you two find me?" He asked, turning to the boy, "Was it the tree?"
While he asked, the girl attempted to pet Madara, who swayed away each time.
"We were playing tag," The boy replied, looking back at him, "we heard something fall, found the tree, and here we are,"
"Hmm," Hilbert nodded, satisfied with the information.
"I didn't get your name," The boy pointed out.
"It's Hilbert," He replied, holding the tip of his hat, "yours?"
"Cheren," He replied, adjusting his spectacles, "and that's Bianca,"
Both of them looked at the girl.
She was running.
In front of her, was Madara.
Running for his life.
"OSHA! OSHA! OSHA!" The water type kept up his escape, but Bianca was not too far behind.
"Now that I can talk to you," Cheren spoke, looking away from the pursuit, "I have a few questions,"
Hilbert nodded.
For some time, Cheren asked him a load of questions, each one he had to answer with full-on paragraphs.
That's why, when Hilbert finally said farewell to the both of them, he was exhausted.
'I'm happy to have met them,' He thought, heaving along, 'but that was way too much conversation for me!'
Although, he had to admit. At least the friends he makes in this world won't die as easily as in another one.
'It may be a different pokémon universe,' Hilbert walked forward, 'But death won't be as high, though I can only hope,'
'Oh yeah, I must head home,' He thought, 'I need to ask them about the league,'
He reached his house a few minutes later.
Inside he saw his mother taking a break, reading another magazine.
"Hi, Mum," Hilbert said, closing the front door, "I want to ask you something,"
When she heard this, whatever was in the magazine instantly evaporated from her mind and her attention focused solely on Hilbert.
"What is it, Hilbert?"
"When I get my license, how do I fight the champion?" He asked, making sure to say it in that way.
"Oh, honey," His mother laughed, placing a hand on his head, "you're not able to battle him instantly,"
"You need to get the gym badges first," She continued, pressing his nose, "but you need to either do two things,"
His mother raised a finger.
"One, beat the elite four, and then battle the champion," She raised another finger, "or two, enter the league and face the champion that way,"
Hilbert narrowed his eyes at this.
"How are they any different?" He asked.
"Well," His mother looked around, "In the league, it is a tournament and the prize for first place? A direct challenge to the champion. You don't need to fight the elite four if you join the league, and even if you do battle them, they are pretty hard to win against,"
"Okay," Hilbert said, nodding his head, "can they challenge the elite four anytime they want?"
"Yes, Hilbert honey," She replied, smiling, "I did it that way, and your father did it by winning the league,"
'So that's how the league works,' Hilbert thought, 'there is more to it, but I guess she is sparing the details. I am tired right now and not up for that,'
'I can finish it off with another question,'
"What is the champion's name?"
"His name?" Hilbert's mother looked away for a moment, "His name is Alder..."
Her voice trailed off at the name.
It was as if she was in a trance.
Or she was shifting through bad memories.
Either way, her face grew blank and her eyes looked to stare far into the distance, so Hilbert couldn't tell.
A second later, she snapped out of it.
"Oh, uh...sorry, Hilbert," She said, a hand on her forehead, "I was trailing off again, but that's his name,"
"Thank you, Mum," Hilbert said, walking up the steps of the stairway, "I'm going to take a nap,"
Hearing the words from his mother, he continued into his room.
As he laid his head on the fluffy pillow, Hilbert thought of something.
He still had a long time before his journey.