Chapter Ten – Ethics
"Hilbert, I need you to do something for me," I requested, kicking my legs against the edge of my bed. I didn't know why I was asking him to do this, but I knew that he would understand. He would help me, just as he always did. I was too scared to go at it alone, and I knew I would feel better about it if he came with me.
He looked up from the book he read at my desk, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes glowing with concern. "Anything."
I nodded, rubbing my hands together as I thought about how to word this. Perhaps I was sticking my nose in a matter that didn't involve me, but Bianca had been confiding in me for quite some time now. I wanted to make sure that she got what she deserved, and if that meant sticking my nose where it didn't belong, I was willing to take that risk.
"Will you come with me to get Bianca's Stoutland back?" I asked. Clearly, this hadn't been the question Hilbert had been expecting since his eyes lost all trace of concern. Instead, he looked mildly impressed. "When she first moved here, she started dating this complete tool. But he left her for another girl and took her Stoutland with him. I want to go get it back, but I don't think I can do it alone."
"Well, I think you could," Hilbert said with a wink, "but I will be more than happy to provide the support that you need to make this happen." He stood up as I jumped down from my bed, grabbing my jacket from the hook on the wall. "You need to have more faith in your abilities, Hilda. You know what you're doing."
I didn't say anything to this; I smiled to myself when Hilbert wasn't looking, thinking to myself that he always knew exactly what to say.
"Do we really have to do this, Hilda? I mean, I may act all brave and omniscient and stuff, but… I don't know about this. I'm not the type of girl who knocks on a door, spits in a guy's face, and takes my Pokémon back," Bianca said solemnly, but even Hilbert was chuckling behind her. I shot him a look, and when Bianca raised her eyebrows, I just smiled.
The three of us stood outside a lopsided trailer a couple towns away in Cerulean. We had flown here together on our Pokémon, but I had to admit, I thought Bianca was going to turn around and leave us. Still, we made it to her ex-boyfriend's filthy shack without much resistance from her. Now, however, was a different story.
"Bianca, you can totally do this!" She lowered her gaze; she was so unsure of herself. I sighed, trying to think of ways to motivate her. "Look, you were a complete badass when you took the role as Professor Juniper's bodyguard when Team Plasma went crazy. And you obviously followed your gut when you started promoting your dream spas. That's all you need to do! You need to go out on a limb, follow your gut, and do what's right!"
She shuffled her feet against the ground, glancing between Hilbert and me. It was amazing what love could do to a person. Here she was, a girl who used to stand up to her father on a daily basis, and now she couldn't even stand up to a man who broke her heart. Love was so powerful, so rewarding, but when that love hurt, it crushed a girl.
At least she's not like me, I thought, remembering how badly I had hurt after Cheren broke up with me. How could I have ever thought that changing who I was was a good idea? At least something good had come out of it; even if I came to the Pokémon Academy for the wrong reason, being here now wasn't so terrible.
"Well, it is Stoutland's birthday. I made her a cake." Bianca lifted the lid off the box she was holding, showing Hilbert and me a small frosted Poké cake. They were popular back in Unova, but I hadn't seen any since I arrived in Kanto. She must have made her own—I wouldn't be able to do that if I tried.
"That's devotion," Hilbert said, and Bianca smiled.
"This means…" I dragged the word out, putting a hand on Bianca's shoulder, "you really care for your Stoutland! If you keep track of its birthday and bake it a cake, then you deserve to be with her. So, go march up to that door, knock on it as hard as you can, punch that asshole in the face, and take your Stoutland back!"
"No need to resort to violence," Hilbert muttered, but Bianca had already moved closer to the house with her hand curled up in a fist.
She hesitated as she lifted her hand to knock on the door, and for a second I thought she might back down again. But she pounded hard on the door, and I nudged Hilbert. He smiled at me, nodding reassuringly, and we watched as a man who resembled a Hariyama answered the door. Bianca seemed to get smaller.
How she had ever fallen in love with a guy like that was beyond me. I wasn't one to settle for looks alone, but I always thought Bianca could do better than this. He looked like a tool. His patched clothes, beer belly, and shaggy hair were not what I pictured when Bianca described this man to me. Maybe he had been good-looking once, but apparently his personality caught up with him. I didn't feel at all sorry, just disgusted.
"Oh, it's just you," the ex said, staring down at Bianca with something like contempt in his eyes—as if he had anything to be bitter about! Who did he think he was, anyway? What kind of sorry, pathetic man stole a girl's Pokémon when he broke up with her? She was scared, distraught, and he took advantage of her. "Get off my property."
"I want Stoutland back," Bianca said in a small voice, and the ex laughed. If there was one thing I wouldn't stand for, it was mocking. I knew what it felt like to be laughed at, and Bianca was too innocent to have to deal with it. If that man tried anything else, I was going to show him exactly who was boss. "I want her back! I bet you didn't even know that it's her birthday! I baked her a cake and everything."
The ex's face relaxed, and I curled my hands into fists. "Oh, how sweet!" he said snidely, ripping the cake from Bianca's grasp and tossing it to the ground. Bianca whimpered, and Hilbert grabbed my arm to keep me from running up to the man and punching him in the face. "Take your fat ass off my property. No one wants you here."
He slammed the door in Bianca's face, and she stepped backwards in surprise, backing right into the pile of mush that once was a cake. She turned back around, looking at Hilbert and me with sad eyes, and wiped the cake off her boot with the dead grass. I hurried towards her, pressing her against me, but she didn't hug me back.
"I can't believe I ever went out with that piece of trash," she whispered, though only because I doubted her voice was strong enough to speak in a normal tone. When I pulled away, tears were bubbling in her eyes, and she was fighting them as hard as she could. But when she blinked, some slipped over the edge, dripping down her cheeks like little streams.
No one made my friend cry. No one.
"Hilda," Hilbert called just as I was making my way over to the pathetic excuse for a house. I stopped only after he pulled me back, holding onto my chipped shoulder and spinning me back around to face him. "Remember your reading from the other night? The one you went over in Oak's class? Remember what you said about Sato?"
I furrowed my eyebrows. Well, sure, I remembered what I said. It was the first time I had ever said anything particularly worthwhile in class.
Sato may have been Machoke's trainer, but that is not to say that he owned it. Machoke didn't belong to Sato. I think it's reasonable to say that Sato had no right to take Machoke back because Machoke chose to leave Sato behind. Allowing Sato to get away with this means that we're saying it's okay for trainers to neglect their Pokémon.
Right!
"Hilbert, you are a genius," I told him, standing up on my tiptoes and kissing him on the cheek. "You're the best."
I turned on my heel, stomping up to the door and banging on it. I feared that I would leave a dent before I realized that I didn't actually care if I did. I would have much preferred leaving a dent in this guy's skull, but Hilbert probably wouldn't be very impressed with me if I did that. Besides, talking it out would work just fine.
"Whaaaaat?" the ex called, swinging the door open. He stood up a little straighter when his gaze fell on me, but I just crossed my arms and pursed my lips. "Oh, hello."
Normally, I probably would have puked—preferably all over his ripped sneakers (which made me want to puke anyway)—but I ignored the urge. This man had to be the definition of trashy. Considering he left Bianca for another woman, he clearly wasn't too attached to that lady, either. Somehow, I didn't feel too badly for the other woman.
"Good afternoon. My name is… Hillary… and I am a Pokémon Professor." I paused. I had no idea if I was allowed to do this. "It seems that we have an ethical violation occurring in this household according to this young woman. Is it true that you have in your possession a Stoutland that once belonged to her?"
"Uh… yeah," the ex said, and I nodded, clicking my tongue.
"I see. And is it true that Stoutland had no choice in the matter, and that you took this Pokémon against its will and its master's will?" The ex opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He wasn't the brightest, clearly. "Therefore, this Stoutland still has the opportunity to choose who it wants as its master under ethical code number… 46. The Pokémon can leave any dangerous or uncomfortable situation in accordance of this code."
"Huh?"
"Stoutland wants Bianca. We're taking her back," I said plainly, and Bianca called for it. The Pokémon came running, bouncing around the ex's legs and hurrying towards its true master. I laughed as Bianca hugged Stoutland, grabbing the door from the man and slamming it shut. I pictured the guy standing there with a perplexed expression.
That was that.
"Hilda… this was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you," Bianca said, her Stoutland close to her legs. Bianca pulled me in for a hug, squeezing so tightly that my bones might crush. But I laughed, anyway, brushing her hair out of her eyes and nodding. I felt just as happy as she did.
Wait… yes.
I had been wrong when I asked Hilbert to help me this morning. I hadn't been asking him to help me at all. No… this was what being a professor was about! This was exactly what Hilbert had been telling me when he said I needed to find that chip on my shoulder. I wasn't asking for help for me; I asked for help for Bianca. And helping others was exactly why being a Pokémon Professor would be worthwhile. This was why we did this.
This was why I wanted to be a professor.
As Hilbert and I walked back towards the Academy, leaving Bianca back at the spa with her companion, I couldn't help but think about this. I really wanted to be a professor—because I wanted to help people and Pokémon. If helping people and studying Pokémon and doing all this was what the job entailed, it was perfect.
"Hey, are you okay?" Hilbert asked, and I glanced at him. I hadn't realized I had been walking with a rather dazed expression.
I nodded. "I'm great actually. Thank you for coming with me."
He just smiled, and without another word we continued walking. I thought about what just happened, so happy to have this time to reflect upon it. The whole scene played back in my head like a movie, and each time it restarted I felt even surer about what I wanted. It wasn't until we stopped at our bench outside Ivy Hall that I spoke again.
"Can I get in trouble for impersonating a professor?" I wondered.
Hilbert laughed, swinging an arm around my shoulders. I felt so comfortable against him; I grabbed the hand dangling over my left shoulder, holding onto it and pulling myself closer to him. I fit perfectly against him, and he was so warm and soft that I felt I could fall asleep on him in any second. I leaned my head against his chest.
"Does it matter? You did a good thing," he pointed out, and I hummed. That was true, but it still seemed like I could get in trouble if anyone found out about this. It was so unlike Hilbert to be so nonchalant about the whole thing.
"I think I'm having a bad influence on you." I could hear his heart beat against his chest, a steady drum like a beat in the background of a song.
"I think so, too," he agreed, and neither of us spoke again. We just sat together on the bench, and I listened to the beat of his heart until I fell asleep.
Author's Note: If Hilda hadn't turned away right after she kissed Hilbert on the cheek, I think that would have been the best reaction in the whole world. But I purposefully decided that it would be better off leaving Hilda ignorant of that reaction, and if she didn't see it, we didn't see it. Just imagine it, folks. ;)
And awwwwww. How cute.