Introduction: The Interlude Series is basically just a set of random drabbles and snippets on the Gym Leaders, all Gen and game-verse. Here on FFN I'm posting them under one story title in order to save space on my profile. Since I've never been fond of re-naming characters in translations, I'm using the Japanese names for the characters, but I'm sticking to the English names for the Pokemon. I'm also assuming that most trainers would name their Pokemon- we name our pets rather than call them 'dog' or 'cat', after all.
*bows* I hope some of these ficlets manage to be of entertainment!
=o=
Title: Duty
Character(s): Natsume (Sabrina)
Summary: Natsume dislikes battle, but she has her reasons for accepting it.
Notes: The name for Natsume's first Abra was a bit of a random choice- Inoru means 'to pray' in Japanese.
Disclaimer: Pokemon is the property of Tajiri Satoshi and Nintendo. No profit is made from this fanwork.
-+Duty+-
Natsume has never actually cared much for fighting.
Her connection with psychic Pokemon began when her powers first manifested- they understood the paths her mind took more clearly than herself, at first, and she was grateful for their company and guidance.
At first she was not a trainer, either, not in any traditional sense. She and Inoru- her first Abra- practiced techniques together, and soon she was teleporting nearly everywhere. It's as simple as moving from one point in a plane to another- distance is only an abstract concept which the mind can overcome.
She doesn't like battle. All here and now and fast reactions and physical strength. Natsume exists in the mind, in something which will never die and which can rise above the petty concerns of the physical world.
Most people, however, enjoy battles, and an unfortunate number of them also enjoy doing harm to others. Self-defense is important, so Natsume and Inoru have learned to fight. They can throw attackers away with a single thought, and freeze them with another. She builds walls to protect her Pokemon from attackers, although they aren't exactly walls. She's had students in her Gym who think of them as veils, fences, or even the gulf of a valley, separating the two sides. Inoru thinks of her walls instead as the division that exists between two minds when they close themselves to each other.
Gym Leaders protect and train others, preparing them for the future (the future which she can see for them, and watching its twists is one reason to keep a thought on the outside world). It's the perfect position for her, and she's willing to accept battling as part of her duties. A great challenge from her will prepare trainers for future challenges and dangers, she remembers constantly, and unthinking her dislike of battle from time to time is worth fulfilling her duty.