Chapter 1

Sly Meets Shy

Silver walked into Olivine City, feeling a chill in the air. Must be because I'm by the sea, he thought, and walked towards the gym. He had four badges so far, as well as a motley crew of Pokémon. He had a Totodile that refused to evolve, but was very powerful. He also had an Eevee, a Haunter, a Golbat, a Sneasel, and a Kadabra. He was extremely confident in his abilities. He had heard of the Olivine City gym leader, Jasmine, but figured she would be no match for him.

Silver's past was very checkered. He had stolen a Pokémon off Professor Elm in his rebellious times, but later came back to Elm offering ¥10000 to keep Totodile, who was attached to him. Elm forgave Silver and did not even take the money. He made one request, though, which continued to echo in Silver's mind: "Humble yourself."

Silver was very proud, confident, and often overly arrogant; being abandoned by his parents at a young age, he was jealous of rival trainer Gold, who had at least a mother. Supposedly, from what Gold told him, Silver's father was searching for him, but he still had no sign of this father of his. And who was Gold to be trusted, anyway?

So when Silver came to Olivine City, he had no intention of slowing down. Gold was apparently gaining momentum and on his way to Goldenrod City, where he could claim his sixth badge, which Silver found hard to believe. Nevertheless, Silver would still talk on the phone at times to Gold, trying to keep up on his progress. And apparently Silver was way behind, but Gold had no Mineral Badge, and Silver figured he was about to get one from the Olivine City gym leader.

Silver walked up to Olivine City's gym, expecting a bunch of lackeys hanging around the gym leader. "Outta my way, I want my badge!" he yelled as he opened the door.

One girl stood in the gym, by herself. She did not even look up, instead staring at the ground.

"Well, I guess I'll only have one battle for the badge!" Silver said. "Or are your friends hiding?"

The girl did not respond, looking distant.

"Okay, you'd better be Jasmine," Silver said. "I want to win my badge, and I'm in a hurry!"

The girl still was silent, getting Silver furious.

"Look, girl, I got no time for games," he said. "If I don't get my battle, then I demand a badge! Are you even the gym leader?"

The girl nodded, then pulled out a few Poké Balls.

"I will oblige to a battle," Jasmine said quietly.

Silver grinned, but noticed Jasmine's eyes were still downcast. He figured there had to be a better way of talking to her.

"Jasmine, what's the matter?" he asked. "Why are you so upset?"

Jasmine sighed, not looking up. "It's lonely here," she said.

"You? Lonely?" Silver asked. "A gym leader who's lonely?"

Jasmine nodded.

"How?" Silver asked. "How… when you seem really nice… you are really

nice… I don't understand."

Jasmine sighed. "I'm in charge of the lighthouse here in Olivine," she said. "There aren't many people who visit the top of the lighthouse. When I'm not at the lighthouse, the only people I meet are trainers who are want a quick battle so they can get their badge and move on."

Silver realized that he was one of those people Jasmine was talking about. He looked at Jasmine with care, staring at her long brown hair. He forgot about the badge for the moment.

"Jasmine," he said, "some day, a guy will see you, fall in love with you, and you won't be lonely anymore."

Jasmine found the courage to look Silver in the eyes, something due to her shyness she had never done before. When she looked at Silver this way, his heart melted, and his proud attitude disappeared.

"Jasmine," he said.

He held out his hand, which Jasmine slowly grasped.

"Let's talk," he said, and the two went to a coffee shop in Olivine City. There Silver got the reserved Jasmine to open up ad talk to him about her life. She trusted Silver, even as he told his life story, one that caused many to hate him. They both found each other physically attractive, though neither would admit it.

"I wouldn't care so much about beating others," Jasmine said. "You don't go through a Pokémon journey just to win, but to learn- even from losing."

"I hate losing," Silver said. "I don't lose often, but when I do- I hate it."

"This journey…" Jasmine said. "Is it a solo journey?"

Silver smiled, figuring out what Jasmine was hinting at. "No one likes traveling alone," he said. "Not even me."

Jasmine and Silver then decided to take off for Cianwood City together, as Silver was hoping to earn more badges.

"How many badges do you need to enter the Pokémon League tournament?" Jasmine asked.

"Eight, unless you're a gym leader," Silver responded.

"How many more do you need?" she asked.

"Four, I think…" Silver said.

He took out his badges, handing them to Jasmine.

"Yeah, four more, he said, as he handed a waitress ¥400 for the coffee.

"Are you sure?" Jasmine asked him, handing back the badges.

"Yeah, I'm-"

Silver then saw his badges, counting five. He looked back at a smiling Jasmine, who had given him a Mineral Badge.

"I didn't earn this…" Silver said. "I can't keep this."

"Oh, I think you did," Jasmine said. "For the way you've treated me."

"You're a great girl," Silver said. The two left the coffee shop hand in hand.