Disclaimer: Pokemon is published and owned by Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri. I own nothing but the computer this story was typed up on and the account that posts it.
This city makes me feel at home somehow. It's next to the sea, and there's a lighthouse.
I closed my eyes and took in the deep scent of the salty sea air. This place really was like home. Much like Olivine City, Sunyshore City had many of the same land markings I was accustomed to back home. From the lighthouse in the lower edge of town to the ocean front port, it really had all the makes of the city I called mine. That is why I make sure to stop by here whenever I come to visit my cousin Roark. I am very prone to homesickness. As it where, I have become somewhat known around here. Not as the Gym Leader from Johto, but as Jasmine. Ah, the tranquility that befalls the mind when the pressure of duty is lifted from the shoulders. I don't have to battle. I'm not expected to. I can battle when I want to, not because someone wants me to. No, here I can simply enjoy the beauties of the land.
I feel a smile on my face. I had been here for a month. Uncle Byron had invited me here on a visit. So leaving my Gym in the hands of the highest Trainer training under me, I flew over to the Sinnoh region upon the back of one of my more new Pokemon, a Skarmory. I choose to leave my Steelix with the Gym so the challengers would have to face the same challenge regardless of my absence. It would be fair that way for past trainers. With me not the there, the others would get a more of a chance to grow stronger - at least I hoped. Besides, Skarmory needed some training before it could be fully ready to take part in the battles. If I got into any battles to tough for it, I always had my trusted Rusty (a Steelix) with me.
Once in Canalave City I had tried to rent a room at a inn on the harbor…but the moment I stood in front of that place…I can't explain it. I broke out in a cold sweat and couldn't stop shaking. That place was dangerous. Evil, even. I don't know why or how, but it was.
Dazed, I went on to my uncle's gym. The first time I came by the gym hadn't been fully built so I was interested to see what he had dreamt up for his own personal gym. Outside was the official Gym Leader building design but inside was more. So much more. It was bigger on the inside, or so it seemed. Reaching high into the air with so many moving panels dangling I felt lightheaded. It was obviously built to intimidate. And intimidate it did. I was on the verge of passing out just looking up at it.
When Uncle Byron called down for me to come up, I refused.
After some playful attempts to get me to come to him he instead jumped down to me. From all the way up on the 4th floor. When his boots thudded to the ground, my knees were the ones that seemed to want to give out. What would surely have broken my legs did nothing to this man. He stood up, walked over, and picked me up as if I were still six.
All my life he was someone I looked up to. He was strong, confident, and unyielding. Everything I am not but desperately want to be. When I was a little girl do to his height and strength I always thought he reminded me of a Onix. That was one of the reason I choose Onix for my first Pokemon, as a commemoration to this man. As if by fate, that Onix I named Rusty acted quite like Byron when it came to me. When the steel-type had been discovered Uncle Byron had swooped down and claimed them as his own type.
'So did I,' I thought as my smile stretched wider.
After visiting with him and Roark, catching up on the times, I had choose to do some sight seeing for once. I had been here many times since I was a little girl but had yet to see the lands. Surely a few extra days wouldn't do any harm. The girls and Steelix were probably fine without me there. My first stop was to a small island called Iron Island. It was not the most beautiful place, but the Pokemon there were astounding. So many steel and rock-types I was amazed. I had spent many hours there, looking around and training Skarmory. After much looking, I even caught a steel-type I had never seen in Johto: a Mawile, a pure steel-type. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I may have acted a little over excited about catching the cute little yellow creature because a man wearing a blue suit had approached me. His smile and comment on how cute it had reacted made me blush. The embarrassment of being seen acting like that still makes my face burn red. The man had told me that seeing me act like that over a Pokemon had him thinking.
Unconsciously, I reached down in to my bag and removed what he had decided on. It was an egg.
The egg stirred at my touch, I noted. It won't be too much longer before what ever it was inside the egg saw sunlight for the first time. He didn't tell me what Pokemon was inside, but he promised me I wouldn't be disappointed by what it was. There's no doubting that. Whatever lay waiting in that shell would never seen me disappointed. I would love it no different even if it was just a Rattata.
I continued my journey after my embarrassment. Sinnoh was such a gorgeous land. Unquestionably gorgeous. It had some of the most interesting landmarks I'd ever seen. Having seen all that Johto had to see, these new places were a breath of fresh air. There was talk of a mountain over here where Magnatons would evolve. This was new to me. It was too bad I left my Magnemites back in Olivine or I would have checked it out. Metal note, next time bring them to explore that cave.
Eventually, I found my way to a city where some sort of contests were held. Asking around town, I discovered that they were basically beauty pageants. Oh, how I wasted so much time there with those contests. With Rusty, we won so many contests. It was a bad use of time, just a lot. Rusty had enjoyed them so, and the judges had enjoyed him too. Much like Uncle Byron, there was nothing Rusty loved more than showing off his own strength.
Despite all the excitement and new things, I began to feel so homesick. That is why I am here in Sunyshore now, watching the sunset.
"I did it! I got all eight badges," I hear an excited girl's voice coming towards me.
An older woman's voice follows with, "There was no doubt you would."
I turn back to look at the approaching twosome: a blue haired girl a few years younger than me wearing a wool skull cap and a blonde woman wearing black. They were smiling and laughing with each other. From what I gather from my eavesdropping, the girl, Dawn, was a trainer who had just completed the Gym Leader challenge and the woman, Cynthia, appeared to be some sort of mentor to the girl. Such a warm display of friendship. Seeing how those two got along made me happy somehow. It must be wonderful having a friend like that. A person that you can share anything and everything with. A person you can compete with without fighting. My cheeks warmed as I thought about it. It made me feel sort of warm seeing those two.
Seeing those two close friends. Close even despite the age gap. My eyes caught something though. Something I had missed at first. As I watched closer I realized what that something was. They were holding hands. I looked to their faces. Long and warm stares were shared between the two. I paid attention to the words they said. There was affection carried in their words.
I let out a silent gasp, and clapped my hand over my mouth when I realized the truth…A couple. They were a couple. My slightly red cheeks were burning like a Mamar's tail-tip at the realization.
The situation worsened when my eyes focused on where I was no looking. Up on the walkway a blonde man with spiky hair was looking out at sea like I had. This was the only similarity of our two situations. I had been looking at the ocean alone while thinking of home. He was looking out at sea with a spark of passion in his eyes, and a man with a curly red afro draped over his shoulders. The two were talking but I couldn't make out there words do to the height and distance between us. My face was surely as red as that fabled Gyarados that had been in the news a lot lately when the two men shared a kiss.
My feet and the sand suddenly became so very interest. I was ashamed at having been spying on these two couples in their own private moments. I felt like a pervert for watching them like that. As I looked back to the sea, I began to think of something new instead of home. How wonderful it must be to have someone to love and hold next to you. To kiss and touch them while they kiss and touch you the same. It was warming to the heart to see such displays of open love. After all, love is so much strong and grand than even friendship, an already mighty force. What a feeling it would be to have someone to hold, and to have hold you.
I don't have anyone like that.
A new feeling overtook the embarrassment and humiliation. A stabbing feeling in the chest. Besides my family and the friendship that my Pokemon gave me I didn't have anyone else in the word. I had never been in love, or had someone love me back in a romantic sense. Some had looked up to me, but they never loved me. My chest fell. Who would love me? Some stammering and bashful girl with weird hair.
I didn't have many human friends back home. I had those that wanted to be my pupils. There was no friendship there. Only those trainers wanting to be stronger. My only remaining family lived here on this island far away from me. My Pokemon were my only companions. My only friends. All my life it had been impossible to make others like me. No matter how hard I tried, they never cared about me. They never stayed with me.
My vision began to get a little blurry as my eyes felt an increasing moisture. I wrapped my arms around me as I swallowed back the tears.
Why had this affected me so strongly?
Had…Had I always been this lonely inside?
My body began to shake slightly. No, I can't cry. Not out here. Not where everyone can see me. My knees became a little weak. Slowly I lowered myself down to the sand. Shaking, I reached out, grabbed a handful of water, and splashed it in my face. To mask my tears with sea water and play off the weakness in my body as an attempt to wash out the tiredness from my eyes. That way if anyone saw me there, they wouldn't see the me they always saw: a weak fragile little girl with no body.
I shoot up when I heard footsteps coming towards me.
"Are you okay?" came the familiar voice of the girl Dawn.
Wiping my eyes, I turned to the approaching duo and gave a weak smile.
"I…I'm f-fine," I said. My voice was a bit hoarse. I swallowed the lump that had been forming in my throat before continuing. "Just a little tired…and homesick."
The woman stood up behind Dawn, and put her arm on the girl's shoulder.
"Homesick?"
I nodded.
"I came from very far away because I wanted to get stronger. On the way, I met all sorts of people with Pokemon." I was stammering now. I was that embarrassed, I noted, that I was now yammering on about absolutely nothing to these complete strangers about things they hadn't even ask. But I couldn't stop myself. "They all looked like they were having fun. I felt happy seeing it."
When I ran out of words, I bite down on my lip and looked at the sand again.
The woman Cynthia looked a bit confused at the outburst. She gave a delayed nod of understanding once I had shut up. Dawn, however, looked enthralled. Her eyes were gleaming with an adventurous excitement. A smile of pure joy stretched across her lips.
"Me too! I'm from Twinleaf Town! I'm a Pokemon trainer so I was going around battling all sorts of people!"
Cynthia smiled down at Dawn's excitement.
"So where are you from?" Dawn asked.
I blinked in surprise. Was she honestly interested in me? I decided she must have been doing it out of politeness.
"She's from the Johto region."I looked at Cynthia, even more surprised. How had this woman known? She didn't look like anyone I had faced before. Could she have seen my face from somewhere? She must have seen the shock and worry on my face. She gave a warm smile and began to explain.
"It's your accent. You've got a Johto dialect."
"Oh," came my dumb reply.
A silence over fell us. That excitement in Dawn's eyes, I wondered, was that the same kind that man in blue had seen in mine? Something compiled me to want to give her something in exchange for seeing that passion in her eyes. No, more like letting me see that love she shared with this woman. I glanced over at the bag by my side. She had said she had just finished the Gym Leader challenge, right? So she would be needing…I had an idea.
"It may seem odd, but I'd like you to have this as my thanks," I said as I leaned down to look for it in my bag.
"For what?"
I smiled up at her and Cynthia.
"For letting me see the," I stopped. I had to pick my words right, in case they didn't want others to know they were a couple. "The, um, f-friendship that you b-both share." Found it, I realized and pulled out the small disc, holding it out for Dawn to take. "This isn't much, but…That Hidden Machine…It contains Waterfall. If you use it, you get to the Pokemon League."
Dawn took the disc. A confused look crossed her face as she looked from me to Cynthia.
"Pokemon League?"
Once more the girl surprised me. A trainer who didn't know about the Pokemon League? How odd. I prepared myself to explain until I looked at Cynthia. She was biting light on her bottom lip. Her eyes showed an emotion of…worry? Those eyes looked at me, and I understood. She wanted to talk to Dawn about that matter in private. Giving a silent nod, I took a step away from the two.
"…Um…I…I don't know how I should say this, but good luck," I stammered.
With a small wave, I walked away from the two. I heard Dawn call out a "Thank you" before I got far away enough to give them some privacy. That look in Cynthia's eyes…It made me wonder what kind of conversation the two were going to have. Was she worried Dawn couldn't make it? That did make some sense. Maybe that's why she needed to be alone when she talked to Dawn about whatever it was. So no one else heard her tell the girl that she thought she might need more training. More training than the trainers on Victor Road could give her.
I stole a glance back up to the walkway, but the two men had already left.
My Pokegear went off suddenly. I raised it up to look at it. It was the phone number of my Gym. Someone was calling me from way over there? It must have been important to have them risk such a pricy phone call. I pressed the talk button.
"H-hello?"
"Jasmine? It's Ira," a voice I recognized as one of the girls from my Gym. "Normally we wouldn't call you while you were a way but something bad has happened."
I swallowed a new lump in my throat.
"W-what's happened?"
Silence on the other end, then…
"It's Amphy…He's…He's really sick."
My knees felt weak again. Amphy was sick? Amphy never got sick. My heart was pounding in my ears. I was beginning to panic.
"W-what happened to him?"
"I don't know, he just got really sick all of a sudden," Ira explained as best she could. "We were wondering if…"
"I'm on my way," I said, turning the Pokegear off.
I reached for Skarmory's Pokeball in my bag. Calling the metal bird out, I hopped on its back. With only the word "Olivine" said, the Skarmory gave a nod of its head and took off. I don't remember the flight home. I don't remember even dismounting Skarmory and calling her back to her Pokeball. All I remember is a long run up the steps of the Lighthouse, coming to the top floor, and finding Amphy lying in bed. He's fur was matted with sweat, his chest heaving hastily, his mouth hung open as he desperately fought for air.
One thought spread through my mind as I saw him like this, and I voiced it.
"This is my fault. If I had just come home quicker I wouldn't have…He wouldn't have…"
I felt tears in my eyes as I began to do all I could for the Pokemon I had known since childhood. My oldest friend. My first friend. My only friend.
Author's Note: Pity Jasmine. You will pity her. Just clearing up why Jasmine was in Sinnoh and that she is actually lonely. Lyra (Kotone) is coming though, Jassy. Don't cry anymore.
Also, I'm thinking up names for this shipping. Here's two: Twintailshipping & Brightbowshipping. But if a shipping name exists for this pairing (doubt it) tell me.
Lastly, note that a couple of the lines Jasmine says are actual lines from Pokemon P/D/P
