Leaf irritably chewed on her straw, flicking the straw's wrapper with her fingernail. Her father gave her a predictable "I know why you're upset but pouting will not make a difference," smirk while he ordered their lunches. Leaf looked over at the table of girls where her irritability had sprouted, and stared at the cheerful bunch with a potent mixture of disdain and jealousy.
They were trainers are Erika's Gym, and no girl in Celadon City wanted to train with Erika more than Leaf did. The girls were all about her age, thirteen or fourteen and not only did they have their own Pokémon already, but they were good enough to become Gym trainers. Her father remained silent until their lunches arrived, which he responded to enthusiastically by unraveling his cloth napkin with gusto. Leaf ate her fettuccine alfredo slowly and without much enjoyment, the bitter taste of jealousy shrouding her senses like a thick fog. Unable to ignore her pouting much more, Leaf's father finally tried to start a conversation, being mindful to deter the topic from Pokémon.
"Have you seen your one friend lately? What was her name, Aqua?"
"No," Leaf growled, wiping her chin, "she left to take on the League like a week ago."
Leaf could see the disappointment cloud her father's face at his failed attempt to take her mind off of Pokémon and traveling. She imagined the gears turning in his skull as he tried to retrace his steps with a counter question or another topic, but he settled with one brief nod and then took a large bite out of his chicken parmesan.
He then spoke up suddenly, "You know, I forgot to tell you. Your mother wanted to take you to the Department Store later on today, do you feel up for it?"
Leaf nodded, not looking up from her food. He continued, "She said to meet her at the fountain. I'll walk you there when we're done eating, then I'll head home. Do you girls know what you're going to buy?"
Her father sounded at ease now, glad to find something to talk about that could get a positive, non-Pokémon related reaction. Leaf just shrugged, thinking of something to satisfy his questions, "Maybe some new running shoes. My old ones are getting pretty worn out."
He nodded approvingly, seemingly satisfied with his attempt to turn the conversation around. It was short-lived, though, as soon enough he was paying the bill and they were walking out into the sunny, bustling streets of Celadon. They made their way through the crowded streets of Saturday shoppers, gamblers, and other individuals seeking to throw their money around. Soon enough they were approaching the fountain, where tourists gathered around to take pictures or wait for others. Leaf's father had left quickly, and she sat on the edge of the fountain with her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands, looking around for her mother.
She was spotted first, but not by her mother. The group of girls that had been having lunch in the same restaurant as she and her father recognized her and made their way through the crowd to approach her.
"Hey," one of the girls spoke up, she was a confident girl with olive skin and shiny black hair, "you're a trainer, right?"
Leaf was caught off guard, and fumbled with her words, "Ah, no. I mean, not yet. I will be soon, though."
"'Not yet?'" The girl repeated, confused, "How old are you?"
"Eleven," Leaf quickly lied, "and I'm on vacation, so I haven't had a chance to get my starter Pokémon yet."
"Oh, sorry." The girl apologized half-heartedly, "It's just we thought you were a local trainer and the Gym Leader in this city is looking for some more trainers… And, it's a girls only Gym so we thought we'd ask. Sorry to bug you."
They left as quickly as they'd approached, disappearing into the crowd but leaving a heavy weight in Leaf's heart. Erika was looking for more Gym trainers…? Before she had a chance to dwell on it any longer, her mother appeared breathlessly before her, beckoning her to follow her into the Department Store.
Leaf trailed after her, answering her mother's questions about dresses and socks and bracelets with such a morose tone that her mother stopped in the middle of her question about whether the pink-tipped socks or the blue-tipped socks were preferable to interrogate her daughter on her attitude.
"Okay, Leaf, what's the deal? Why are you giving me such attitude?" Her mother snapped, shaking Leaf from her melancholy.
"I'm not," she protested, then lied, "I'm just tired."
Her mother eyed her suspiciously, not believing her but not wanting to press her any farther in a public setting, either. She threw one of the pairs of socks into the cart without looking and pressed on into the shoes section. Leaf perked up and looked around for the first time since they entered the Department Store, and her mother caught on with a smirk.
"How about this," she proposed, "I'll give you next week's allowance in advance, and you go ahead and treat yourself to some retail therapy, whatever you want. I'll go ahead and do my own thing."
Leaf beamed, her mother handed her 4,000 Pokédollars, and she was soon bounding through the shoe aisles in search of some sneakers. She found a cute pair with a pink band across the top that were on sale for only 2,000 Pokédollars, so she held the box tight as she flew through the different floors, making another purchase of a white and pink-banded boater hat that she felt matched her new sneakers marvelously. She was left with 1,000 Pokédollars to spend, and an idea on what to spend the remaining money on sent a chill down her spine.
She found herself descending the floors almost as if her body was out of her control, she was constantly wary of where her mother was, and when she passed the fourth floor and saw her rifling through the different patterned stationery on display, she dashed down to the second floor - the trainer's market. She sheepishly browsed the shelves where different bottles and cans were lined up with large labels and warning labels on the back that Leaf felt she would have needed a magnifying glass to read the extensive warnings, "...for Pokémon use only! Use only if your Pokémon exhibits the following symptoms…," and so on.
Leaf eventually spotted the Poké Balls. Lined up neatly behind the counter, she was mesmerized by all of the available types and yikes - some of those prices. She carefully stepped up to the counter and the young employee smiled down at her, "Do you see anything you like?"
"Um," Leaf started, but felt timid all of a sudden, what was she doing there?! "May I have a Poké Ball?"
"Just one?" The employee asked, curious. "Most trainers buy several at a time, but if it's just one, that's no problem."
He turned and pulled open a drawer underneath the Poké Balls on display. He pulled out one before Leaf interjected, "I mean, five!" She put her money on the counter and glanced over her shoulder wildly before the employee could turn around and grow suspicious.
He slid the money off the counter and into his register seamlessly, and she fumbled to stash the Poké Balls into the bottom of her messenger bag, which seemed to amuse him. He bid her a good day and waved farewell as she climbed the stairs up to the fourth floor to meet up with her generous, oblivious mother.