Obsessions
Obsessions is a triptych. All three of the parts have events that coincide with each other, but they all take place within the same time frame. Because of this, you can read the parts in any order you like, but to appreciate the whole story you MUST read all three of them, since each character's experience contains unique facets of the story.
Crystal Clear
Eusine had always been one-track minded. For most of his life he had been fixated on one accomplishment…but he had never expected someone else to beat him to it, nor to feel the way he did afterwards.
Eusine had never gotten on well with his parents. It wasn't that they were abusive, they simply never liked him and the feeling was mutual. They'd wanted a boy who was tough, practical and down-to-earth, not an eccentric, flamboyant, starry-eyed dreamer. Though Eusine was born in Celadon City, his family moved to Johto when he was six, so he never thought of it as much of a hometown. For him, that was Ecruteak City. Even though the rustic country town was a big change from the ritzy Celadon City, he preferred Ecruteak. Growing up, Eusine had always been fascinated with the local legends, which had built a strong friendship between him and Morty. Eusine's parents always liked it when Morty came over; it wasn't much of a secret that they wished Morty was their son instead.
It seemed like whatever Eusine did, his parents never really cared…unless it irritated or inconvenienced them in some way. Even when he had snuck into the Tin Tower in the middle of the night with Morty to catch Ghost Pokémon, Eusine's parents didn't seem too concerned. They were more annoyed to be woken up in the middle of the night by one of the sages at their door with their son than with the fact Eusine had done something potentially dangerous.
Although Eusine was largely ignored by his parents, he managed to gain a great amount of attention from his own age group, attracting a large female following-and the accompanying male hostility.
Despite the fact he wasn't particularly interested in being a Trainer, once he reached ten years of age, he was more than happy to leave on his Pokémon journey. There was only one slight disappointment: Morty had decided to stay in Ecruteak to train to be a Gym Leader.
Soon after, Eusine found his own calling.
Eusine had just left Ecruteak City with his starter, the Gastly that he acquired from the Tin Tower. He was still surprised that his parents had let him keep it, but now that didn't matter. He wanted fame and attention, not necessarily through battling prowess, and to be unforgettable and impossible to ignore; someone who could walk into a room and instantly divert the attention of everyone around.
Now his own attention was diverted as the trees at the edge of the woods rustled. Eusine's turquoise eyes brightened. Maybe I can make my first catch! The new Trainer spun to face the noise, releasing Gastly from its Poké Ball. The bushes waved wildly as a majestic pale blue and white Pokémon stalked out of the undergrowth. Eusine froze as it fixed its ruby red gaze on him, too stunned to even command his Gastly. He couldn't believe what he was seeing; this had to be Suicune. It looked just like the photographs his grandfather had shown him. The forest began to blur, until he could only see the Legendary.
As quickly as it had appeared, Suicune raced past Eusine. The young Trainer watched in awe, paralyzed by its beauty, as Suicune ran across the surface of the river, hardly even churning up any waves as it disappeared into the distance.
That memory of his first sighting of Suicune was forever etched into his mind. Eusine vowed that someday, somehow, he would encounter Suicune face-to-face and capture it.
Now here he was, after a decade of pursuit, face-to-face with the Legendary-only it wasn't him doing the catching.
Eusine looked on in an odd mixture of exhilaration and dismay as Suicune was engulfed in the pale red light from an Ultra Ball. The wind, a cool faint breeze from the north, died down and Eusine's rose gold bangs fell back across his forehead.
How had Crystal caught it so fast? All it took was three Ultra Balls. Eusine wasn't sure if he felt cheated of a climactic encounter between an amazing Trainer and an amazing Pokémon or if he was even more in awe of Crystal's skill now. Even from the first time he had met her in the Burned Tower, he had always felt there was something special about her; it irritated him that he could never quite put his finger on what that something was.
For some reason he couldn't figure out, he was actually happy for her. She had just taken away his life's purpose, yet he felt strangely fulfilled.
Another realization dawned on Eusine. What could he do now that Suicune had been caught? He had lost his life's purpose…at 21 years old. Now that he thought of it, he really never had anything to live for other than his pursuit of Suicune. Sure, he had his side job as a Pokémon hunter, but that was a means, not an end. He only used that to fund his travels on his former quest-and expensive tastes.
"Are you okay?" Crystal asked softly.
"Y-yes," Eusine's thoughts faded. "Why do you ask?"
"You seemed a bit lost," Crystal replied. "Are you wondering what you're going to do now that I caught Suicune?"
Is it really that obvious? "I'll sort something out," Eusine replied, trying to keep his tone detached.
Crystal wasn't convinced. She turned to Eusine, her warm brown eyes glowing with emotion. Eusine looked intently at her. That couldn't be the only thing on her mind. To confirm Eusine's observation, Crystal continued talking. "I have something I need to tell you."
"What would that be?" Eusine asked, once again trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible.
"I've always been attracted to you." Crystal hesitated, as if trying to pick out her next words. "I'm sure you already have a girlfriend. Heck, you probably have twenty girlfriends, but I need to get this off my back. Ever since I met you in the Burned Tower, I realized I had to find some way to get you to notice me. When I found out you were after Suicune, I set my sights on catching it so I could impress you and hopefully win your heart."
Eusine wasn't even vaguely surprised by the first part of this revelation. Having women tell him he was attractive was nothing new. Even as a child, he'd attracted many female admirers. Despite gaining a reputation from a relatively early age as a "ladies' man" Eusine was never particularly close to any of those girls, nor was he particularly close to any of the girls he had encountered on his quest to catch Suicune.
Perhaps Crystal was the exception. There was always something different about her; Eusine could sense it from the moment he met her and apparently Suicune could, too. Though Crystal wasn't stunningly attractive like some of the ladies Eusine had encountered throughout his travels, she had some amount of appeal. She certainly wasn't plain.
As much as he hated to admit it, Eusine had never really taken the time to notice how he felt about Crystal before. He had been too focused on pursuing Suicune-too obsessed with it. Though he always liked Crystal as a person and respected her as a Trainer, he never noticed any feelings other than those. Eusine had met plenty of women who were attracted to him on his travels-and why not? He was perfectly aware of his good looks-but he never felt any interest towards them. Some of them he had found attractive, but he never paid them any serious attention. Perhaps that was because they were mostly interested in him for his appearance.
"So what exactly do you find attractive?" Eusine asked, testing the waters. He figured he could gauge if Crystal genuinely loved him or was simply physically attracted to him.
"Well, everything," Crystal admitted. "Your eyes, your hair, your body, your smile, your fashion sense." She smiled, gently grabbing the edge of Eusine's cape and twirling it in her fingers before letting it slip out of her hand. Eusine felt marginally disappointed. Maybe she's not as different as I thought.
"But I also love you for you," Crystal continued, this time without any hesitation. "You're kind, chivalrous, ambitious, passionate, devoted, and honorable. You can be spontaneous and dramatic, but I've always liked that about you. You're brave that way; you're not afraid to go out on a limb. You should know that the main reason I went after Suicune was not to catch it, but because I knew if I could find it, you wouldn't be far behind. Of all places, it led us both here."
"Cerulean Cape is a place for couples," Crystal commented with a small smile. "It's my turn to go out on a limb," Before Eusine could get a word in, she leaned in, wrapping her arms around Eusine's neck, pushed her fingers through his rose gold hair, and kissed him on the lips.
Eusine blushed intensely, for once in his life caught completely off-guard. He flinched slightly at the initial kiss, pushing him back against the stone wall of the cliff. He couldn't get away…but wait. Did he even want to get away? A thought flashed through his mind: Now what? Without even thinking about it, he returned the kiss in the light of the late afternoon sun. No one would ever believe Eusine if he told them this, but he had never kissed before. He might have been a ladies' man, but he upheld a strict "look but don't touch" policy.
"The stones are smooth here," Crystal commented coyly. She pressed into Eusine. As if doing a waltz, Eusine took a graceful step back, letting Crystal pin him between her and the wall of rock. It felt perfectly natural, almost as if he had rehearsed it over and over.
"That's better," Crystal readjusted herself slightly on top of him. Eusine noticed that his cape and pants were picking up dirt from the rocks, and lifted himself ever so slightly off the stones. He had paid a lot for the outfit-far more than he could reasonably afford-so he took great care to avoid damaging it in any way.
A Pidgeotto cried in the distance. A few moments later, Eusine heard the clatter of pebbles from close by.
"What was that?" The blond turned in the direction of the noise, his brilliant turquoise eyes scanning the tall grass.
"I heard it, too," Crystal turned around, then looked in the other direction. Eusine glanced towards the water. Maybe it was just a Pokémon at the bottom of the cliff.
"Hey, long time, no see," A male voice sounded from behind them.
"Whoa!" Crystal whipped around to face the speaker. He was a couple years younger than Eusine and about a year older than Crystal, with glassy gray eyes and long hair the color of red velvet cake.
Eusine looked equally surprised to see him. "Crystal, do you know him?"
"Yeah. We've seen each other around."
Now that Eusine thought of it, the redhead looked vaguely familiar. Eusine couldn't quite put his finger on where he recognized him from, but he had seen him some time ago.
"Silver, this is my...this is Eusine."
Silver... Now Eusine remembered where he'd seen the redhead before, and heard that name. The scenery blurred as Eusine thought back to five years ago, to an elegant mansion in Kanto. []
"I have the Pokémon you wanted," Eusine nervously adjusted his bowtie. There was something about Giovanni that daunted him, but he couldn't quite figure out what. Perhaps it was his reputation as the strongest Gym Leader in Kanto.
"It's not for me. It's for my son," Giovanni looked around, then stood up. "Silver! Come down! I have the Pokémon that you wanted!"
At the sound of his name, Silver rounded the corner of the final flight of stairs and entered the sitting room. Eusine saw Silver for the first time, a well-dressed teenager of about fourteen years with long ruby red hair and cold eyes. So this is the son I caught it for. Eusine had never known that Giovanni had a son…if that even was his son. They had the right age gap to be father and son, but they didn't look even remotely similar. Apparently Silver noticed Eusine's analysis and flashed him a quick glare. Giovanni looked at the older teenager. "Eusine, where is it?"
With an elegant flick of his wrist, the Poké Ball appeared in his hand. Silver blinked in surprise. Eusine felt a small gleam of satisfaction. Clearly someone liked his sleight of hand. As Silver took his seat in a leather armchair next to his father, the blond pressed the button and released a Larvitar onto the hardwood floor.
Silver looked at the Pokémon with dissatisfaction in his pearly gray eyes. "So what can it do? It looks weak to me."
Eusine looked at the Larvitar, then back up at Silver. "With all due respect, how do you know?"
"A Pokémon at that low of a level isn't of any use to me. I only use strong Pokémon," Silver replied with a smirk. He reached into the pocket of his pants, taking out a Great Ball and pressed the button on the front. A Scizor materialized from the red beam of light.
"Scizor, use Steel Wing,"
In a split second, the Steel-type lunged, striking the Larvitar with its sharp wings. The Larvitar didn't even get a chance to react; it took the blow and ricocheted off the wall, leaving a sizable dent as it bounced. Eusine visibly flinched as the Larvitar slammed into the corner of a nearby hardwood cabinet and collapsed on the floor. Giovanni cast Eusine a glare. You expect me to pay for the damage?
"See? I was right. That was one of my weaker Pokémon, too." There was a smug gleam in Silver's glassy gray eyes.
That was rather cruel. Did you really need to attack it that hard? Eusine was caught off-guard by Silver's callousness; the redhead didn't even seem to care at all about the fainted Larvitar on the floor. Eusine took out the Poké Ball and withdrew the little Pokémon as Silver withdrew his.
Giovanni turned to Eusine. "You saw that. Now go out and get another one."
Eusine looked dismayed at the idea. "You make it sound like catching Larvitar is like catching Rattata. Do you know what I went through to get it?" Do you know what the Pokémon on Mount Silver are like? Eusine silently added. I can't believe I made it out of there alive!
"What do you think I'm paying you for? Catch a stronger Larvitar."
"From where? They only appear at Mount Silver."
"I don't care how you obtain it! Just do it and be timely about it, even if you have to steal one."
Silver let out a sigh and began to get up out of his chair, but one quick glance from Giovanni had him seated again.
"Steal one?! Who do you think I am, part of Team Rocket?" Was it just Eusine's imagination, or did Giovanni twitch ever so slightly?
"You call yourself a Pokémon hunter, right?" Giovanni's gaze hardened. "That means you'll do what it takes to get Pokémon for your clients."
"I won't do things that are unethical or illegal-"
"Eusine Minaki, look at me. Look me in the eyes."
Nervously, Eusine turned towards his client. Giovanni's eyes, darker gray than his son's but with that same intensity, bored into Eusine's brilliant turquoise ones. Perhaps Giovanni and his son looked a little more alike than he had initially thought.
"I've heard about the things you can do. You're only sixteen and you have as much skill as Pokémon hunters twice your age. You have potential to make something great of yourself- and I can help you. Sometimes you need to bend the rules to achieve greatness."
"I-I don't know if I want to do this-"
"You need the money, right? As I remember, you sought out me. You were desperate for funds."
"So can I at least get paid for what I've done so far?" There was a petulant edge to the blond's voice.
At that bit of insolence, Giovanni forcefully slapped Eusine, knocking him off his chair and onto the marble-tiled floor.
Silver spun to look at Eusine as he hit the floor. For a moment, their eyes met, glassy gray and brilliant turquoise, like the contrast of a winter and summer sky. They just stared at each other, their gazes locked. Eusine could see the realization, uneasiness, disillusionment and astonishment in Silver's mercury eyes-and even a little bit of fear, as if he had never seen this side of his father before now.
Giovanni's voice snapped Eusine back into the moment. "How dare you ask for payment when you haven't even accomplished your task?! Get up, go out and get that Pokémon!"
"Fine then. I quit." Eusine stood up surprisingly fast, considering how hard he had been hit. Silver watched as the blond dusted himself off and swiftly exited the room, without even a glance back. Eusine realized with some amount of astonishment that Silver had probably never seen that side of his father before. Why else would the redhead have looked so shocked, and even a little frightened? Eusine hadn't exactly been on good terms with either of his parents, but at least he had known what to expect from them. He briefly wondered what it would be like to have had a life like that, with parents who not only showed some interest or concern towards him, but even would go out of their way to try and make their son happy. Eusine noted with resignation that he would have to find another client-and soon. Still, despite that he had been mostly living on canned soup for the past few weeks, he certainly didn't regret buying that five-piece tuxedo. He looked too stunning in it to pass it up. From the reactions he'd seen, apparently most women thought so, too.
Eusine's memories faded into the background as the present took the reins again. Eusine briefly wondered if the redhead still remembered the incident. That was a while ago. I doubt he'd remember me.
Eusine offered his hand to shake, but Silver ignored him and turned to Crystal.
"So why are you here?" Crystal asked with as much politeness as she could muster.
"I was looking for you," Silver replied.
"Really? Why?" Crystal's soft brown eyes widened. She looked both surprised and flattered to hear this.
"I was looking for a good chance to tell you how I feel…I love you."
Eusine looked just as surprised by this as Crystal. So how does she feel about him?
"Silver, before you hold anything against Eusine for this, I need to tell you something," Crystal moved towards Silver, until there were only inches between them.
Eusine looked at Crystal in confusion. What was Crystal going to say to the redhead? Could she change her mind that fast?
"I never loved you," she stated bluntly, though trying to be gentle at the same time. "Today doesn't change that. Eusine was always the one for me."
"All right, fine. But when you want a guy who actually has some balls, I'll be long gone." Silver turned away from the couple slowly.
"What do you have against Eusine anyways?" Crystal snapped.
"Not my lips, for one thing."
"I only ever liked you as a friend. I don't get why you have to make this into a problem."
"Problem? I don't have a problem. Mr. Perfect is the one with the problem," Silver cast a side glance at Eusine. "Besides, he's not you type."
Crystal put her hands on her hips. "And how would you know what "my type" is?"
Eusine caught sight of a shape in the distance approaching. There was something sort of familiar about this person as well. As the figure got closer, Eusine recognized Gold, along with his inseparable Marill companion. Why was he here?
Silver's long red hair whipped across his face as he turned and looked down the hill. Quickly, he turned back to Crystal and Eusine. As Crystal looked at Gold, Silver gave Eusine an intense glare and a rapid middle finger, fast enough for Eusine to see but not fast enough for Crystal to notice, and walked off.
Eusine turned to Crystal, irritated by Silver's treatment of him. "Of all the nerve! What's his problem?"
"I guess he's jealous," Crystal admitted sheepishly. "Even though Silver can be a jerk sometimes-okay, a lot of the time-deep down he really does have a good side. I always knew he loved me; I just never loved him back. I was always enamored with you."
"You're here, too?"
Eusine and Crystal turned around as a brunet a year or so younger than Silver came up the hill followed by a Marill. Now Gold is here, too?
"So I heard a rumor that Suicune was sighted here," Gold continued. "Did you see it?"
"Absolutely! Crystal caught it!" Eusine announced, surprised by how genuinely enthusiastic he was about the fact. After Crystal's revelation earlier that day, he didn't know what to expect from himself anymore.
"You don't seem as disappointed as I thought you'd be," Gold commented.
Crystal hugged Eusine. "Of course he's not disappointed. I may have got Suicune, but now Eusine and I have each other."
"Okay," Gold turned to Eusine and lowered his voice, enough so that Crystal was out of earshot, but not a whisper. Eusine was surprised by the intensity in the brunet's voice; apparently Gold felt strongly for Crystal as well. "But if you break her heart, Merrimack will keelhaul you from here to Sinnoh." As if to accentuate Gold's words, the Marill made a punching motion. As soon as Gold finished speaking, he turned back to Crystal.
"Well, I'll see you guys later," Gold picked up his backpack and put it across his back. "C'mon, Merrimack." He beckoned to his Marill, who let out a squeak and followed his Trainer. Eusine mentally thanked Gold for having the courtesy to leave. It wasn't that he didn't like the brunet, he just wanted to enjoy the moment with Crystal without any more interruptions.
As the couple glanced out over the water, hand in hand, Eusine felt a sudden enlightenment, like a window pane being wiped cleaned so the view was no longer clouded. This was how it was meant to be, only Crystal had realized it before him. He had sought attention-and between his looks and his personality certainly got his share of it-but that had never really satisfied him. Even when he made catching Suicune his main goal, in the back of his mind there was a niggling emptiness. Still, his quest for notoriety and to catch Suicune had led him to something greater.
For once in Eusine's life, everything was crystal clear.