Chapter Two – What He Wants

I stayed in my bed for days, wallowing in self-pity and waiting for Cheren to come apologize and beg to take me back. My friends came and went, pleading for me to open the door and get out of bed, but I ignored them. The only friend I needed right now was Cheren, and since he wasn't coming, my next option was my box of chocolates. But they were almost gone; they, too, abandoned me after being with me for so long. After the third day in bed I chucked the box of chocolates against the wall for good measure.

Stupid Pokémon Academy. Stupid Cheren. Stupid box of chocolates.

Whatever happened between Cheren and I had been meaningless—a whole friendship gone. It was like our lives together never even happened. We never spent long hours together after Bianca went home, never kissed for the first time when I returned home after defeating Alder, never gave ourselves to the other, never made promises to stay together. All of those memories were now false; without Cheren, they meant nothing.

A bang on the door didn't even distract me from my mourning of my dead relationship. It was constant background noise, anyway. Usually my friends would shout words of encouragement and pity at me through the door, and when I didn't respond, they would leave. Ten minutes later, another friend arrived to try her luck. The cycle went on and on from around ten in the morning until ten at night.

But the girl behind the door didn't shout words of encouragement or pity this time, and she didn't stop banging.

"Hilda, you open this door right now!" Elesa's voice called through the wood, muffled only slightly. "You can't stay in there forever! You need to go out and meet someone new. I'm sorry that Cheren broke up with you, but these things happen. You need to go test the waters again. So, get out of that bed, put some makeup on, get a slutty little dress, and go out!"

Ugh. Easy for her to say. She wasn't the one expecting a marriage proposal and getting a break up notice instead. No one understood how it felt. I loved Cheren; I grew up with him. Now—to suddenly have him taken away (by his choice, nonetheless) was like a bullet in the back. I didn't want to test the waters; I wanted to be with Cheren.

"I know you're listening in there, Hilda! You can't ignore me! I will break down this door if I have to," she continued when I didn't respond, and I curled up beneath my covers. "Hilda, you listen to me: you're better off without that know-it-all Cheren. Only super-smart serious snobs go to the Pokémon Academy. Do you really want to associate with that?"

Super-smart serious snobs? That was what Cheren was looking for. I was apparently too fun for him, too laidback, and he wanted someone serious. Well, I could do that. I knew how to be serious. After all, I had been pretty serious when Ghetsis was trying to take over the world. Cheren understood that. He knew I could be serious.

I threw my covers off of me, swinging my legs out of my bed and rising to my feet. I unlocked my door before hurrying into my bathroom—the only other room I had been in since Cheren broke up with me—and turning on the shower. Elesa was right. Not about not wanting to associate with people who went to the Pokémon Academy, but about the types of people who went there. And that gave me an idea.

"All right, are you going out?" Elesa asked, standing outside the bathroom door now.

"No." I squirted shampoo into my hair, rinsing it as thoroughly as possible. After spending multiple days in bed without bathing, my hair looked like an oil slick. I couldn't even believe I let myself do that. "I mean, I'm going out, but I'm not going out out. I'm going to go to the library to pick up some books."

Silence followed this, only the hiss of the shower speaking now. Then, after several seconds, Elesa asked, "You're what? I don't think I heard you right."

I was fairly certain that she had heard me correctly. In all honesty, I didn't blame her for being surprised at my plans. I didn't typically go to the library on Friday nights, and although I had good grades in school, I didn't usually study. In fact, I wasn't entirely sure that I knew where the library even was. Nimbasa? Striaton?

"I'm going to the library!" I repeated anyway, moving onto conditioner. My poor hair needed heavy-duty treatment. "I need to pick up some study guides. I'm going to take the test to apply to the Pokémon Academy—specifically the Pokémon Professor Program. I'm going to show Cheren that I can be serious just like him. He's going to want me back."

"That wasn't what I meant by you being better off without him, Hilda! In fact, that's pretty much the opposite of what I said," Elesa cried, clearly exasperated by me.

Yes. I had my mind set now. A super-smart serious snob who went to the Pokémon Academy. That was exactly the kind of girl he wanted. And I could be that girl. Sure, I wasn't the brightest bulb in the batch, but the library could make me smarter. And sure, I wasn't particularly snobby, but if he was looking for attitude, he'd get it.

Perfect. Cheren would be begging me to marry him.

I finished cleaning up and got out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my body before heading back out into my bedroom. Elesa sighed, sitting down on my bed and blabbering on about how this was a terrible idea. But what did she know? She had never been in love with Cheren. I knew him, and he would be so impressed by my decision. I was about to take initiative, after all, and that was another thing he wanted in a girl.

"Okay," I cut Elesa off, heading back into the bathroom with a pile of clothes and slamming the door behind me. "Here's the plan: first, I'm going to apply for and get into the Pokémon Academy Pokémon Professor Program; next, I'm going to impress him by showing off my amazing intellect, and he's going to fall in love with me all over again. Third, he's going to propose with his grandmother's ring, and we're going to get married and have the most beautiful wedding in the whole world."

Elesa laughed on the other side of the door. "Have you been sniffing Foongus spores?" she demanded, and I rolled my eyes. "Who are you kidding, Hilda? You have to be a genius to get into the Pokémon Academy. I don't care who you think you are. The admissions coordinators aren't going to know who you are in Kanto, and you'll never pass the entrance exam. Your chances of getting in are about as low as they come."

It was great to see that Elesa had so much faith in me. I took the opportunity to avoid conversation as I blow-dried my hair, but it left me time to think—maybe Elesa was right. Maybe the Pokémon Academy wouldn't let me in. It was a prestigious school for only the best and the brightest, but that was exactly why I needed to go! If I could get in there, Cheren would understand that I was exactly what he wanted. If I could get in, he would know that I could be smart and serious. Otherwise he would never accept me.

Besides, I was doing this for a very good reason. Love always won out in the end, didn't it? All those sappy romantic movies my mom watched ended the same way; the boy and the girl ended up together, and they lived happily ever after. Didn't I deserve my happily ever after? Didn't I deserve to end up with the boy I loved?

So, I would do this for love. I would find that library, read a book, and I would get into the Pokémon Academy.

I ran out of the bathroom, sitting beside Elesa on my bed and hugging her. "I'm going to do this, Elesa. I've never been surer about anything in my entire life, and I would appreciate it if you supported my decision. I can get into the Pokémon Academy—but I would have an even better chance if you helped me."

Elesa sighed, stiffening in my arms. After a moment, she relaxed and hugged me back. No matter how much she wanted to say I was wrong, I knew she wasn't going to. Maybe she was beginning to see that whatever way she looked at it, it was a great idea. Not only would I get Cheren back, but I would get a phenomenal education while doing it.

"The library closes at ten. We should get going," Elesa sighed, and I smiled, hugging her one more time.


"Okay, I have the requirements for admission to the Pokémon Academy," Elesa said, waving a piece of paper at me. I had flooded myself with books, so one more piece of paper wouldn't hurt anything. However, the smell of library books—kind of like mildew and old people—filled the air around me, and I realized why I hadn't come to the library before this. But if I wanted to get Cheren back, I would need to get used to the smell.

She sat down in the chair opposite me, holding the piece of paper in front of her face. "You need at least a 270 on the admittance exam. That means you can only get fifteen questions incorrect—five per section excluding the essay—so you need to acquaint yourself with practice exams and sample essay questions. No more partying."

I nodded, moving several test prep books into a bag to check out. I wouldn't even be able to escape the smell at home now.

"You'll also need an essay based on one of two questions that they ask, designed specifically for the Pokémon Professor Program. 'One, write an essay which adequately describes your experiences working with Pokémon; two, write an essay which adequately explains why you want to attend the Pokémon Academy'. This essay needs to be eloquent, well-developed, and it should fully answer the question asked. The questions are broad, so answering them completely and clearly is key to getting into the Academy," Elesa continued, her voice dry. Even I was becoming a tad overwhelmed by their expectations.

Elesa folded the paper over, moving down the list and adding more to my list of stressors. "Two letters of recommendation—I would get your letters from Professor Juniper and Professor Cedric; they know you and would write you phenomenal letters. If you can't get both, definitely get them from one of the Junipers and maybe Alder. Either way, your recommendations have to be outstanding."

Getting letters of recommendation would be no problem. I knew a lot of important people in the Unova region—all the gym leaders, all the Elite Four members, all the Pokémon Professors… but that had to be the one thing I had going for me. The test would be difficult, and I was never a strong writer. My recommendations would have to make up for what I lacked.

"You've got a lot of work ahead," Elesa pointed out, and I pouted. Boy, did I know it.


How I did it, I didn't know. But I had done everything I needed to do to prepare for the admissions process for the Pokémon Academy. Whatever I got on the entrance exam would make or break me, though. My essay turned out all right after having it revised and edited by pretty much every person I ever met, and my recommendations were, as Elesa told me they had to be, outstanding.

So, the only thing I was waiting for now were my test scores. I studied and studied and studied, reading more words than I had probably ever read in my entire life and studying for countless hours. As each of my friends came banging on my door, pleading for me to come out and have fun, I turned them down. I was serious now.

But it was worth it. If I got Cheren back, it would all be worth it.

And I would wait and wait and wait for those test scores. They were all that mattered now.

A banging on the door shook me from my nervous pacing—which I had taken up considering I never had time to go to the gym anymore—and I ran over to open it. Skyla and Elesa let themselves in, waving an envelope in the air and jumping up and down and screaming. I never saw them so excited about anything in their whole lives.

"Hilda! Hilda, they're here!" Skyla shouted, holding the envelope towards me. I reached for it, my hand shaking, and Skyla nodded. "The scores."

I bit my lip, running my finger beneath the fold and tearing the letter open. My heart beat against my chest so furiously that it almost hurt, and I could feel a thin layer of sweat begin to build above my brow. I had never once been this nervous even on my journey. Taking on people who wanted to rule the world was less stressful than this.

"270, 270!" Elesa whispered, crossing her fingers.

I pulled the paper out of the envelope, closing my eyes and letting the envelope fall to the floor. I exhaled slowly, unfolding the slip and opening my eyes to read the total score.

"271!" I screamed, throwing the paper into the air and jumping into Elesa and Skyla's arms.

I had a chance. I had a chance of making it into the Pokémon Academy. I was going to win Cheren back, and we would be serious together. He would want me when he saw me there. All I needed was the acceptance letter.


Author's Note: My goodness, this chapter reminded me how painful applying for college was. And just think—I get to do it again for graduate school! Yay… Recommendations and essays about yourself and tests galore.

And then once you're at college, you pity every single person who ever has to go through the college admissions process. It stinks.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed chapter two!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, nor do I own the musical on which this fanfiction is based.