Hilbert/Hilda

Hilbert/Hilda
Species	Human
Hair color	Dark Brown
Eye color	Brown (Hilbert) Blue (Hilda)
Age	14 (Black/White)
Base	Nuvema Town
Relatives	Mother
Voiced by	Griffin Burns (Hilbert, 2019) Erica Mendez (Hilda, 2019)
Debut	Pokémon: Black/White Versions

Hilbert and Hilda are the potential identities of the protagonist of Pokémon: Black and White Versions. As in most Pokémon games, the player must select the protagonist's gender at the beginning of the game, with Hilbert being the male character while Hilda is a female character. The gendered character not chosen by the player ends up appearing in a minor role as a battle partner in Multi Train battles at the Battle Subway.

Background

Hilbert/Hilda lived at Nuvema Town in Unova with their mother. Their friends since childhood were Bianca and Cheren. One day, their mothers decided that the three youths were ready for their first Pokémon journey and made a request for Professor Juniper to give them Pokémon. Professor Juniper sent Poké Balls containing three Pokémon (Snivy, Tepig and Oshawott) to them. They opened the box and chose their Pokémon in Hilda/Hilbert's room. Hilbert/Hilda got the first choice of Pokémon, after which Bianca picked for both herself and Cheren. Hilbert/Hilda proceeded to have their first Pokémon battle against Bianca, followed by Cheren, and made a mess of their bedroom in the process. The three trainers then went to Professor Juniper's lab, where she gave each of them a Pokédex and began teaching the trainers lessons about Pokémon. They then set off on their journeys and stayed in contact with the Xtransceiver.

In Hilbert/Hilda's journey, they took on the eight gym leaders of the region in order to earn the badges needed to face the Elite Four. They also met up with Bianca and Cheren throughout their journey and battled each of them several times. Along the way, Hilbert/Hilda also came into conflict with Team Plasma, a group that claimed to be liberating Pokémon from people, but they were actually stealing Pokémon for their own ends. This included several meetings with N, a mysterious young man who revealed himself to be the king of Team Plasma. They battled N several times and learned more about his philosophy while he also came to question what he believed about the separation of people and Pokémon. N later beat them to resurrecting a Legendary Pokémon from a stone at Dragonscale Tower (Zekrom from the Dark Stone in Black or Reshiram from the Light Stone in White). An effort was then mounted to find the stone of the opposing Legendary Dragon-type so that there could be a chance of stopping Team Plasma from taking over Unova. Profressor Juniper later discovered the other stone at the Nacrene Museum, and Lenora let Hilbert/Hilda have it, but they did not know how to awaken it.

Regardless of the threat posed by Team Plasma, Hilbert/Hilda finished the gym challenge and went on to challenge the Elite Four. They defeated all four members, but the champion was already defeated by N, who raised his castle from the ground. Hilbert/Hilda made their way to the castle and confronted N at the throne room. It was then that their stone finally reacted and revived the other Dragon-type Pokémon (Reshiram in Black or Zekrom in White). Hilbert/Hilda proceeded to catch that Pokémon and used it to battle N. Hilbert/Hilda successfully defeated N and convinced him that he was wrong. It was then that Ghetsis arrived to verbally abuse N and revealed himself as the true master of Team Plasma, who had manipulated N. Ghetsis wanted to silence Hilbert/Hilda in order to hide N's defeat, but Hilbert/Hilda was able to defeat them in a Pokémon battle. Ghetsis was then escorted away by Alder and Cheren. N then said farewell to the trainer before leaving with his Legendary Dragon-type Pokémon.

Afterwards, Looker enlisted Hilbert/Hilda's help in rounding up the remaining members of Team Plasma. They could also explore the rest of the Unova region and challenge the Elite Four again in order to truly become a champion of the Unova region. Hilbert/Hilda was also able to meet Cynthia at Undella Town.

Two years later, Hilbert/Hilda did not appear in Black 2/White 2, but they were mentioned by other characters. According to their mother, they were exploring another region in search of N.

Pokémon Roster

As the protagonist, Hilbert/Hilda can choose one of three Pokémon as a starter (Snivy, Tepig and Oshawott). As with all protagonists, their other Pokémon are a variable decided by which Pokémon the player catches. Their only other canonical Pokémon is Reshiram/Zekrom, although it is possible to skip catching even that Pokémon if the player's party and PC boxes are both maxed out when defeating the Pokémon.

As the Battle Subway partner, Hilbert/Hilda uses randomly-generated Pokémon from a pool that includes Excadrill, Conkeldurr, Sawk, Krookodile, Darmanitan, Archeops, Reuniclus, Vanilluxe, Escavalier, Eelektross, Chandelure, Haxorus, Beartic, Cryogonal, Accelgor, Mienshao, Druddigon, Golurk, Bisharp, Bouffalant, Braviary, Audino, Amoonguss, Jellicent, Alomomola, Musharna, Gigalith, Throh, Lilligant, Scrafty, Cofagrigus, Gothitelle, Ferrothorn, Klinklang, Mandibuzz and Durant.

In Other Pokémon Games

Pokémon Masters EX

In Pokémon Masters EX, both Hilbert and Hilda appeared as playable trainers who could be recruited at random through the game's Sync Pair Scout feature. In this game's version of events, Hilbert had the role of the Black/White protagonist character, and Hilda was only known as a trainer who had experienced a similar journey. Hilda also alluded to the two of them battling together on the Battle Subway, in reference to the NPC role inhabited by the character of the gender not chosen by the player in Black/White. Both characters had several variations that were introduced over time.

Hilbert:

• Hilbert's default sync partner was Oshawott, which could evolve into Dewott and then Samurott through Sync Pair Stories in which Hilbert had one-on-one battles against Brendan and Cheren, respectively. In the Sync Pair Story for Hilbert and Oshawott, it was mentioned that this Oshawott hatched from an egg that was left by Hilbert's original Samurott (which was presumably his evolved starter Pokémon).
• Fall 2020: As a Halloween-themed outfit, Hilbert wears gray and black clothing that's reminiscent of the Pokémon this variant is partnered with: Mightyena. This includes a black tail, footwear resembling its feet and a black hat with gray ears attached. Available during limited time periods starting in October 2020.
• Sygna Suit: Hilbert is paired with Genesect and wears a Sygna Suit patterned after the Pokémon, which is a mix of black and purple clothing with a purple hat. Available during limited time periods starting in November 2022.

Hilda:

• Hilda's default partner was Tepig, which could evolve into Pignite and Emboar through Sync Pair Stories in which Hilda had one-on-one battles against Flannery and Cheren, respectively.
• Special Costume: This was a an outfit for the Poké War Games event and consisted of a pink ballgown in the fashion of a Western image of a princess. This variation was paired with Diancie, which could Mega Evolve into Mega Diancie, and it was available during limited time periods starting in November 2021.
• Summer 2022: Hilda wears a summer outfit with a headband and is paired with a Shiny Grappleoct which was mentioned to have evolved from a Clobbopus that had hatched from an egg which was given to her by Bea. Available in limited time periods starting in July 2022.
• Sygna Suit: Partnered with Victini, Hilda wears a Sygna Suit themed on the Pokémon which matches its color scheme. She mentions having met it in Castelia City and wonders if it's connected to the one found in Liberty Garden (which was the one that appeared in Black/White). Available during limited time periods starting at the end of October 2022.

When battled as an opponent, Hilda could also use a Haxorus. Hilda also appeared as an opponent who had Serena had to beat in a one-on-one battle for her Fennekin evolve into Braixen in a Sync Pair Story.

Within the PML Arc of the game's Main Story, they were both featured as opponents in Chapter 18. Hilbert and Cheren were competing together as a team for the Pokémon Masters League tournament and decided to recruit Hilda for their team. Their team was defeated by Scottie/Bettie's team, and afterwards Hilbert convinced Cheren to join the other trainer's team. Hilda was featured in the Story Event "The Girl in Black and White", in which she and Roxanne fought battles together while waiting in line for Casteliacones and argued about the different approaches they took, with Hilda being more impulsive while Roxanne preferred to plan anything out. The vendor ran out of Casteliacones before they could get any, but their combined mix of fighting styles was able to impress Thorton enough that he gave them two extra cones that he had, so the two came to appreciate the difference in their battle styles. In the "Fight or Fright" Story Event, Hilbert was featured in his Fall attire when he and Acerola brought Scottie/Bettie to take part in "fight or fright", a Halloween-like festivity in which trainers battled each other to earn candy. Hilda also appeared during the story and challenged Hilbert to a battle without understanding the "fight or fright" holiday. Hilbert would later also appear in the "Midnight Battle Ball" Story Event, in which he attended the titular event with Scottie/Bettie in his fall outfit and was frightened by the proceedings. Hilbert and Hilda were also featured in the Story Event "The Ideal Formula", in which N arrived on Pasio. Hilda spotted him first, and ultimately Hilbert was reunited with N. Hilda's special costume was featured and explained in the "Poké War Games" Costume Event, in which she and Diantha were chosen to lead one team of trainers in competing against Guzma and Jasmine's team in an event known as The Battle of Golden Spheres. In the Story Event "Summer Nights & Wishing Stars", Hilda (in her summer attire) and Hilbert took N out to a summer festival, and Hilda won them pendants that were replicas of the wishing stars from Galar as tokens of their friendship. N's was ultimately destroyed by Team Break, but Hilda maintained that their memories of the festival would remain etched into their hearts.

Hilbert and Hilda were later featured in the Unova chapter of the Main Story's Villain Arc, where they clashed with Team Plasma while seeking the missing N and Hugh. Hilbert bonded with a Genesect which led them to its lair, and Hilda provided a distraction with her Victini. Hilbert also somehow found a second Kyurem, which fused with Zekrom and opposed Ghetsis's own Kyurem, which forced him to retreat. Hilbert entrusted N with his Kyurem in the process, and Hilbert and Hilda later donned Sygna Suits for their new Pokémon. Hilbert and Hilda were later featured in the Story Event "We Should Battle!", in which Cheren introduced Nemona to Hilda, as he felt that the two of them had similar levels of passion when it came to Pokémon battling. Hilda teamed up with Nemona and Bede for a tournament, and Hilbert also joined on a team with Lear and Cheren, with Nemona and Hilda's team being victorious in their battle. Nemona, Hilda and Cheren ultimately lost to the team of Red, Blue and Leaf, but they enjoyed the battle.

Other Appearances

Canceled Appearances

• Unused text found within Black 2/White 2 indicates that Hilbert/Hilda was initially intended to appear as a competitor in the Pokémon World Tournament. This would have made them the only protagonist character aside from Red to reappear in another game within the main series.

Other Media

• In the Pokémon Adventures manga, characters based on both protagonists were featured in the Black/White arc. Black was based on Hilbert and was an excitable trainer whose dreams of becoming champion were so overwhelming that he needed his Munna to regularly drain his dreams from his head. A character named White was based on Hilda and ran a multimedia company called the BW Agency, which ended up creating both the Pokémon Musical and Pokéstar Studios. Black worked on Unova's gym challenge, while White dealt with her business, and both characters shared the same title among Pokédex holders of "Dreamer".
• In the Pokémon Generations manga, Hilbert made a brief non-speaking appearance at the end of one episode, where he was seen arriving at the Giant Chasm to help N in battle with Ghetsis and White Kyurem. This was based on a scenario from Black 2/White 2, except that Nate/Rosa was present instead of Hilbert, who did not appear in the game.
• Hilda appeared in one episode of the Pokémon Evolutions anime that was based on Black/White. Hilda was first seen with her Tepig watching one of Ghetsis's speeches. At the end of the episode, she reappeared wielding the Light Stone when she went to face off against N.

Trivia

• Hilbert and Hilda's Japanese names are Touya and Touko, which are both based on a Japanese word for "fight". Their English names are derived from names with Germanic origins that refer to "battle", and Hilbert's name is also derived from one meaning "bright".
• As with other Pokémon protagonists, their name is chosen by the player, and their official names are revealed by the names used for the non-playable version of the character from the Battle Subway.
• Cynthia mentions that they have an uncanny resemblance to a trainer she's met before, in reference to Lucas/Dawn.
• In Black 2/White 2, Hilbert/Hilda's mom briefly confuses Nate/Rosa for their child. If the Memory Link is activated, she would refer to her child by the name that was chosen in the original Black/White file.
• Cheren mentions having known Bianca for ten years and knowing the player character for their entire lives. This suggests that they likely did not meet Bianca until they were around four years old.
• In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, one of the alternate costumes for the female Pokémon Trainer has a color scheme based on Hilda's outfit.