"Anyways, it actually has two evolution paths, but the totally crazy thing is no one knows if there's any factor to make it evolve into one over the other! And then—"

Brendan looked over beside him where Swampert had stopped walking and was sitting on the cobblestone road. His head was twisted backwards, staring behind them. Brendan looked back to see Hilda standing in front of a building a few feet back.

"Hey," Brendan called, jogging over. Swampert trailed behind, sitting beside Hilda and looking up at her. "Jeeze, was I boring you that much?"

Hilda beamed over at him, furrowing her eyebrows in excitement. "Your Wurmple story can't top this." She gestured to a poster on the brick wall of the building. "Look! The new Wonder Fighters movie!"

Brendan looked over at the poster, crossing his arms and tilting his head as he read aloud, "Wonder Fighters the Movie Part 24: The Mystery of the Wonder Launcher." He looked at Hilda, unimpressed. "Never heard of it."

"What?" Hilda looked shocked and took a step back, causing Swampert to stand up in alert. "Have you been living under a rock? The Wonder Fighters is like, one of the most popular series in Unova! Even people all the way over in Kanto know about it!"

Brendan closed his eyes. "I never watched much TV as a kid. I was always outside."

"So you really did live under a rock," Hilda teased, and Brendan scrunched his nose in annoyance and embarrassment.

"And what's so great about this Wonder Fighters thing anyways?"

"It's only the best action series of all time!" She punched the air. "It's got battles, suspense, explosions—it's the whole package!"

Swampert stood on his hind legs in the excitement, wobbling a bit to keep balance and letting out an eager, "Swa!" Hilda smiled and rubbed his head, causing him to sit back down and let out a content grunt.

"See? Even Swampert knows."

Brendan raised an eyebrow at Swampert, unamused. "I'll be sure to buy him a ticket." He looked back at Hilda. "You're really gunna go, then?"

Hilda pointed to the poster. "It opens this Saturday!" She clenched her fists and grinned. "I can't miss the premiere!" She closed her eyes and puffed out her chest. "Hilbert and I were always first in line, you know!"

Brendan snickered. "And you call me a nerd."

Hilda gave him a look and shoved him. Brendan laughed and rubbed his arm. Swampert ran over to Brendan in case he were to fall.

"We've seen every movie together," she continued, looking back at the poster. "Bianca never got into it, and Cheren always thought the whole thing was stupid." She went quiet, her eyes not leaving the poster. Brendan looked down at Swampert before looking back at Hilda, furrowing his eyebrows.

"… Anyways," she started, shaking it off. "We better head over to the Pokemon Center before it gets dark, right?"

Brendan raised his eyebrows. "Huh? O-oh! Yeah." He looked back towards the street. "It's not far—this way."

Hilda nodded and started walking, but Brendan paused a moment to glance back over at the poster.

"Swa," Swampert said, nudging Brendan's limp hand.

Brendan blinked and looked down at Swampert, staring at him for a moment before furrowing his eyebrows and smiling. "Yeah." He pet Swampert's head. "I know, buddy."

"Jeeze! Are you coming or what?" Hilda called, crossing her arms from across the street.

Brendan perked up. "Uh, yeah!" He ran over, Swampert in tow. "You just can't bear to be without me, huh?"

Hilda became flustered and shoved him again, harder, and Brendan stumbled before Swampert dashed over and pushed him upright before he fell over.

"H-hey-!" Brendan glared over at her, adjusting the band of his hat.

Hilda grinned before running ahead. "I'll beat ya there!"

Brendan blinked stupidly for a moment before looking down at Swampert who got in a playful pouncing position. Brendan snickered and chased after her.

"In your dreams!"

Hilda sat in the lobby of the Pokemon Center, the setting sun lazily dripping through the blinds of the windows. She flipped carelessly through an old copy of "Trainer's Weekly" that had been sitting on the end table, drumming her fingers lightly against her thigh.

"Swa!"

Hilda blinked and lowered the magazine, raising an eyebrow when she saw Swampert perch in front of her.

"Swampert?" She looked around the lobby. "Where's Brendan?" She paused. "Hey, what do you have in your mouth?" She sighed, frustrated, before getting up and crouching down to him. "You can't just pick up whatever you want, you kn—"

Swampert smiled and opened his mouth to let Hilda slip the paper out that he was holding. Hilda looked down at the little white slips and furrowed her eyebrows.

"These are…"

Hilda stood up and glanced behind her, gasping and stumbling a step back. Swampert nudged her forward before she tripped over herself.

"Brendan!" She shoved him, her face red. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Brendan swayed backwards and laughed as he straightened out his shirt. "Come on, admit it—I got you good!"

Hilda pursed her lips, flustered, her eyes darting between Swampert and Brendan.

"What's going on?"

"What?" Brendan craned an eyebrow, smirking. "Haven't you ever seen a ticket before?"

"There are three," Hilda pressed, frustrated and confused. "Don't tell me you want to go to the movie." She crossed her arms. "You know, it's a huge pain to watch something with someone who's totally clueless."

Brendan closed his eyes and smiled, putting a fist to his chest. "Hey, give me some credit—I am a researcher. I don't just go into something blind."

Hilda was about to protest, but she pressed her lips into a hard line when she caught the black circles under Brendan's eyes.

"… Were you up all night?"

Brendan laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Try four days."

Hilda's face fell, connecting the dots. "You've been watching the Wonder Fighter movies!"

"I decided to check them out," Brendan admitted. "I put the first one on with Swampert." He became a bit embarrassed, glancing down at his Pokemon. "And then I got… kinda hooked." Swampert smiled up at him.

Hilda stiffened a bit in surprise. "S-still! What were you thinking?" she scolded. "You look exhausted!"

"Hm?" Brendan blinked and lightly touched his face before grinning. "A little." He then frowned when Hilda's eyebrows furrowed in irritation and concern. "Okay, okay." He held up his hands. "Look, I," he started, becoming flustered as he averted his gaze. "I know this is your first time being outside of Unova and stuff, and you looked pretty…" He hesitated. "Lonely when you were talking about seeing that movie all by yourself, so I just thought…"

Hilda said nothing and just stared, taken back. She sighed before smiling and playfully shoving his shoulder.

"You're stupid."

Brendan's face heated up as he rubbed his shoulder. "I can take the tickets back, you know!"

"Maybe you should," Hilda said, holding one up. "You bought three."

"For Swampert," Brendan said, as if it were obvious. Swampert perked up and wagged his tail, looking between the two.

Hilda rolled her eyes but laughed, rubbing Swampert's head. "Oh, good. I was afraid for a moment I'd have to sit next to you."

Brendan feigned a hurt expression. "Whose popcorn am I supposed to sneak, then?"

Hilda deadpanned. "Now I know to keep lookout."

"Hilda, I know you can't take your eyes off of me, but do you really want to miss the movie?"

Hilda scowled and pushed him towards the door, Brendan stumbling and holding onto the edge of the door frame for balance. He laughed and pressed his forehead to the wall as Hilda passed by him.

"We're going to be late," she said sharply.

Brendan waved a hand, trying to calm himself down. "Yeah, yeah," he stifled between laughter, catching up to her. "Man, that was a good one." Hilda shot him a glare, but Brendan merely grinned in response.

Swampert eagerly chased after the two, making sure to trail behind them in case either of them were to fall.