Word: Choice

Summary: "…it's easy to make decisions…but I thought after all that traveling you would have listened a little closer to those whose choice you already made for them all…"

Game: Pokemon Black and White

Characters: Hilda/White, N


Choice

Hilda had not thought much of the boy that could speak to Pokémon; heck, she had carted him off as another Pokémon fanatic and had been on her way as soon as he had run off.

The next time she met him, he still spoke words of strange wisdom, always explaining the side of an argument that by all fair accounts he could not fully prove. Hilda had just stayed silent and listened as he complimented her team; he smiled when they told him of the adventures and fun they had had. And Hilda had smiled then, too, wondering why he would dare question a stranger when every time she saw him he had a different team? Friends discarded to the winds to be forgotten only because it was the right thing to do.

"Pokémon are not slaves," he told her once, upon meeting her in Castelia City. "I long for a world where humans and Pokémon are equals. A world separated in black and white."

"Separation, huh?" she asked him then, remembering the words about him wanting to become the hero and become his 'friend'. "Pokémon are not my slaves, they are my friends, you know."

"I know…and it saddens me to know, that when the world becomes a different place you will be separated." She had smiled at him then, making him blink in confusion at the suddenness of it all.

"But what if the Pokémon don't want to leave?"

"They will leave…they have to. If they are to become perfect beings they must separate themselves from the humans."

"You're not giving them much of a choice."

"Ex-excuse me?"

"You're not giving them much of a choice. Perfection doesn't come from separation nor from closeness to humans, you know. Just because we can catch them inside these Poké Balls doesn't mean we have captured their heart…"

"And when do you give them a choice!?" The boy had yelled, looking annoyed and confused at the same time. "You just go to the tall grass and catch them! You don't ask questions and you don't care abou—"

"It's odd…seeing as you are the one that understands Pokémon the best…I thought you might have listened."

"W-what?"

"Most of my friends with me….I gave them a choice. They took it."

She had walked away that day; Nimbasa City would be the last place they would meet. They would take a ride in the Ferris wheel and then he would tell her the truth and then give her a choice:

Stop him…or say goodbye to her friends.

Hilda had only stared after his retreating form and then, look up at the sky and wonder,

"…it's easy to make decisions…but I thought after all that traveling you would have listened a little closer to those whose choice you already made for them all…"


Author's Note:

Liked the story they presented in these games about Pokemon Liberation. In this small drabble the idea of choice is explored, Pokemon games/anime point out the trust between humans and Pokemon. Do humans actually make the choices for the Pokemon? Or the Pokemon are capable of making the choices for themselves?

N, in my opinion, never explored the idea of choice. He just assumed it was the right thing to do and like the trainers he wanted to separate from their partners, made the decision for the Pokemon instead (even after traveling and hearing the stories of the the Pokemon that cared for their trainers, etc.) He was doing the exact same thing...it wasn't about having the truth or ideals, it was a matter of making choices and allowing others the right to make their own not be forced to take the one that has been chosen for them.

Anyway, if you have ideas for drabbles, just include a random word and I will see what I can do! :) For now, please enjoy and see you next update.