So I was nervous about an upcoming job interview and asked my friends on deviantART to give the names of two random gym leaders for me to write short pieces about. One of my friends suggested these two, so I decided to give it a whirl. This is the result. Hope you like!

Pokemon belongs to Tajiri Satoshi-sensei and Nintendo.

(By the way, I may actually start shipping these two now...)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

If there was one thing the Olivine City Gym Leader loved more than battling, it was fine dining. It was well-known that the shy brunette was something of a gourmet. Every day she would leave her gym and have lunch at the Olivine Cafe that rested on the coastline. Sometimes she would be visited by Janine, the purple-haired ninja from Fuschia City, or Clair, the blue-haired dragon master from Blackthorn City, and the plates would just pile up.

Clair and Janine were really different. While Janine wouldn't get out a whole lot - she took her ninja training seriously - Clair liked to travel, flying on her dragons. And one day, lunch was spent listening to Clair talk about the restaurants in the Unova region.

"You should consider going, Jasmine," the older gym leader would say to her. "When was the last time you took a vacation?"

"Uh... w-well, I-"

"Come on, take a couple weeks. Get on the ferry right outside your gym door and take a vacation to Unova. All the Pokemon there are fascinating, and the restaurants there are great. Castelia City's a great place to go."

"R-really?"

"Yeah. But the place I recommend the most is Striaton City. See, the gym, itself, doubles as a restaurant. Go on, Jasmine. You deserve a break."

Jasmine smiled softly as she looked out the window. The city on the other side of the glass was busy and bustling with life - quite different from the laid-back atmosphere of her Johto home. It was a clever idea, having the restaurant double as a gym. And Clair said that the gym leaders doubled as the head waiters and referred to themselves as "Pokemon connoisseurs". Such a classification didn't exist in the other regions - Jasmine found it an amusing change.

"Excuse me, miss," a soft, smooth voice interrupted her thoughts, "but would you be Miss Jasmine, of Olivine City?"

Jasmine blinked and looked up - and was greeted by the most handsome young man she'd ever seen. Dressed as a waiter with a very nice suit and an apron, his smooth blue hair cascaded over one sapphire eye. "Ah, y-yes!" she responded, blushing slightly.

"A pleasure, I'm sure." He smiled beautifully. "My name is Cress. I'm one of the gym leaders here." Twirling ever-so-slightly, he bent low into a bow. "And I will also be your waiter for the evening. If there's anything you need or want, feel free to ask."

Her blush deepened as she switched her gaze to the menu in front of her. "Th-thank you very much," she murmured shyly.