~Twist Mountain~

"What do you mean you don't want us to take her Pokémon?" Ghetsis asked, sternly.

"I just don't want you to take them," N said, "of course, she will give them up once the time comes but-"

"-But what?"

N flinched at Ghetsis' tone, "But it saddens me to think of such good friends being torn apart like that"

"Friends? Friends? Her Pokémon aren't her 'friends'! They're her slaves, child!"

"But you don't know! You've never seen them interact! Her Pokémon speak so highly of her-"

"They've been brainwashed, N. They no longer realize listening to her is wrong. She uses them as tools to get badges!"

"But it's different with her!"

"What's so different?" Ghetsis hissed. "Why is she so different? Tell me boy"

Grunts gathered around Ghetsis and N, listening for N's response.

"She treats them like family; she looks out for them, cares for them, and always has their best interests in mind" N said.

"Is that why she forces them to battle and hurt themselves and others?"

"But-"

"-You surely say 'but' a lot"

"I don't think she would hurt them! She's so kind and caring, I've...I've never met anyone like her..."

The grunts groaned. Ghetsis shot them a glare and they all cowered and fell silent.

"N," Ghetsis said, less sternly, "she doesn't care about her Pokémon, she doesn't care about their health or well being,"

"But Hilda is-"

"And she certainly does not care about you!" Ghetsis yelled.

Hurt, N turned away from Ghetsis. He pulled his hat down to hide his face.

"She's corrupted you," Ghetsis said, acid dripping from every word "you're lucky you have me to remind you of what is right"

Ghetsis began walking away, ushering the grunts to follow him. Footsteps echoed as Ghetsis and the grunts walked away.

The footsteps faded. N sat down on a nearby rock, putting his face in his hands.

And she certainly does not care about you

Did she really not care about him? No. She had to care, even just a little...right? She obviously trusted him to some extent; she met him after hours when he could've ambushed her and taken her Pokémon. They had been so close then. So close to-

"Hey!" A voice yelled, snapping N from his thoughts. N looked up to see that the wiener of the voice was Hilda's friend Cheren.

"I've got a bone to pick with you" her friend said harshly.

"Don't you all?" N groaned standing up.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cheren asked accusingly, crossing his arms.

"It just seems you and most of your friends don't like me"

"'Most'? Last time I checked, neither of my friends liked you"

"You're not as sharp as you seem"

"What is that supposed to mean?

"It means you clearly don't pay attention to your friends"

"Who do you think you are? Just wait, Hilda and I are going to obliterate you and your precious Pokémon thieves"

N rolled his eyes, "You're no threat to me. I can already tell that your Pokémon don't have full trust in you"

Cheren was seething now, "I'm no threat? How about a battle? You and I, right here, right now"

"I'm not going to waste my time with a pointless battle"

"Why you-"

"Cinno!" A Pokémon cried, running to N and jumping into his arms.

"Cinccino!" N said, smiling.

"Cherry!" Cinccino's trainer called, throwing an arm over Cheren's shoulder. N's heart instantly became more at ease at the sight of her.

"Hilda! N has your-" Cheren began.

"-Cinccino, what did I tell you about being lady-like" Hilda scolded teasingly. Hilda began walking towards N, but Cheren threw an arm in front of her.

"Hilda stop. I think Cinccino doesn't know the difference between good people and evil people"

"Evil?" Hilda asked, "Who's evil?"

Cheren nodded his head towards N.

"N isn't evil..." Hilda said, pushing Cheren's arm away and walking over to N and Cinccino.

"Right Cinccino?" Hilda asked her Pokémon, taking her from N's arms. Cinccino chirped in agreement, settling into Hilda's embrace.

"But he's the king of-" Cheren argued.

"Team Plasma..." Hilda grumbled. "But just because his views are different than ours, doesn't make him evil" Hilda said walking back over to Cheren.

N smiled. She was defending him! She did care!

Cheren looked like he was about to argue, but someone called, "Lord N!"
N turned to see a grunt standing behind him.

"Cinccino return..." Hilda whispered to her Pokémon who retreated into its home.

"What is it?" N asked her.

"We found what you needed!" She said.

"Really?!" N asked excitedly, "Perfect!"

"What's perfect?" Hilda hissed, arms crossed.

"I'll be chosen as the hero, Hilda! The world will finally be perfect!" N explained. Hilda's face turned pale, and her arms dropped to her side. Her legs looked like they were about to fail her as well.

"What does that even mean?" Cheren snapped.

"Don't talk to the King like that!" The grunt shot back.

"The king of what? A bunch of idiotic thieves who won't even stop to think about if maybe they're wrong? That doesn't sound very appealing" Cheren argued.

"The King is ten times better than you'll ever be, scum" the grunt hissed back.

"Hilda?" N called. He noticed her eyes getting shinier, and she was shaking slightly. Cheren and the grunt whipped their heads to look at her.

"I can't believe it..." Hilda whispered.

"Can't believe what?" Cheren asked, worry clear in his face.

"I can't believe I let this happen to me!" She screamed, turning and running away from the group.

"Hilda? Hilda!" her friend called after her, running to catch up to her.

The grunt smirked, "Ooo she's so scary"

"Leave her alone" N spat. "Lets go already" he said glumly. The grunt bowed and turned to leave the mountain.

"Ha?" someone cried. N looked down to see Zorua at his feet, looking up at him with disappointment. N waited until the grunt was out of ear shot before speaking to Zorua.

He knelt down to speak. "You look disappointed"

"Gee how'd ya guess?" Zorua said.

"Okay, how would you have handled that?"

"It's not what you said, N. It's what you didn't say"

"And what should I have done?"

"I thought you two were friends," Zorua stated, scratching his ear.

"I don't know about that. I don't know if she could get past me being King of Team Plasma"

"Well I thought she did. Surely looked that way for awhile"

N's fingers curled around his necklace.

"What do I do?"

"Don't ask me. It's YOUR life. YOU are the one about to lose your only human friend"

N thought for awhile, until an idea surfaced in his mind.

"Hilda! Hilda!" Cheren called.

Hilda ran. Far away. She didn't want to see Cheren. She didn't want to see N. She didn't even want to see her own Pokémon. She needed to be alone.

Once she no longer heard Cheren's voice, she assumed she'd lost him. She collapsed on the ground, tears staining her face.

How could she let this happen? How could she let herself trust him?

How could she let herself fall for him?

For minutes, all Hilda heard was her own sobs. She knew this was what he wanted. She knew this was his goal.

I guess I just didn't expect it so soon, she thought.

When Hilda heard footsteps behind her, she dried her face quickly, stood up, and dusted herself off. When she turned she saw not a human, but a Pokémon. Zorua to be exact.

"Zorua?" Hilda asked. Zorua nodded, something in its mouth.

Hilda knelt down on her knees. "What's that you've got there?" She asked as Zorua ran towards her. She took the object from Zorua and held it in her hands.

Her breath caught in her throat.

"His necklace? Why?" she managed. Zorua looked like it wanted to explain, but since it can't talk, it tried using its Illusion ability to help.

It first transformed into N, which didn't help Hilda at all- it just made her even more upset. Zorua grumbled and tried a different Illusion- this time of Cheren.

"What does this have to do with Cheren?"

Zorua groaned, but pointed to Hilda's bag.

"My Pokémon?" She asked.

Zorua nodded, then transformed into N again. Zorua pointed to itself and then to Hilda's bag.

"N is a Pokémon? I knew it that little-"

Zorua shook its head. Zorua made the same motion again. When it clearly wasn't working, Zorua began pointing to Hilda and then to the bag.

"My Pokémon...my friends?"

Zorua smiled and nodded its head frantically.

"Friends? What about friends?"

Zorua once again took Hilda's hand and brought it to its chest.

"N...N wants to be friends..."

Zorua nodded its head before returning to its normal form. Zorua climbed into Hilda's lap and looked up at her.

"Are you waiting for an answer or do you just want me to pet you?" she asked with a tired laugh. Zorua nodded.

"Well that doesn't help" Hilda sighed, petting Zorua's head. It purred at the affection, but still remained to look at her.

"You wanted both, huh?"

Zorua gave a slight nod.

She stared at the necklace in her hand. Wouldn't people notice he wasn't wearing it? Wouldn't people notice that she was?

"Oh we'll be friends alright," Hilda said putting the necklace on, "and my first act as his friend, is going to be stopping him"