When Sabrina was only eight years old, she had an uncanny ability to guess what you were thinking.
Adults whispered about her. It was no good to whisper, she found out everything anyways.
It was no surprise to anyone when she became a psychic-type trainer. It wasn't even a surprise to see her create a gym, although her beating the fighting master was a bit of a shock.
She was the epitome of psychics, with dark eyes that glowed red—or was it an illusion? —staring right at you and no doubt pulling all your secrets out and reading them like a children's book.
She was, without a doubt, the strongest psychic of all.
She was respected, feared, even. Unapproachable. Eventually, lonesome.
And no one bothered to find that out.
At least, not that she had foreseen.
And when she finally decided to give up on waiting for a friend, the first surprise of her life showed.
He was surprising in many ways.
She took one look at him, in her grand, golden city, and decided 'she' was one of those weak, mediocre bug-catchers you see in Viridian Forest.
She decided 'she' had no place in her elegant, high-class city—what with the unruly hair, boyish grin, and tattered net over the shoulder.
She was about to go scare the catcher off, accompanied by her Kadabra, but 'she' approached her.
Surprise: it was a boy.
All the same, she quickly recovered, and decided that was even worse: males were brash and stupid—well, a majority of the ones she had been challenged by. All of which had lost spectacularly.
"Hi! M'name's Bugsy."
Unoriginal name. Bug type with a simple –sy added at the end.
And improper etiquette, as well. Too familiar, too informal.
"Ooh, you're the gym leader here? Well, can't say I'm surprised. You look so serious and uptight, just like the city! Perfect, but a bit stiff. Don't you ever relax a bit?"
Insensitive and rude.
She could tell he meant it in a joking way, however. Did it look like she was smiling? Why was he still smiling?
"Oh, right! Why I came. I was actually supposed to go see someone at the Fighting Dojo, but they bailed. So I came in hopes to meet the leader. Say, wanna battle?"
He didn't take it seriously. The goofy way in which he asked her made her almost refuse, but then she realized this was the perfect chance to drive him away.
Surprise: he was a gym leader.
The expert of those immature bug-catchers, as it were.
It was a tough battle, one Sabrina had, again, not anticipated. But in the end, she won. She always did.
And he surprised her even more by laughing.
"Okay, I know this is—pfft—pretty unprofessional, but, geez! Did you see the way Yamnega— pfft —twirled in confusion?! That was one of the best battles ever!"
People weren't supposed to do this.
They supposed to enter the battle, hopeful but scared, and end it defeated and terrified to what she'd ask of them.
He wasn't. In fact, his smile was contagious. In fact, she did see the way Yamnega whizzed about.
In fact, she knew the favor she would ask him.
"Oh, yeah! So, whaddaya want me to do for losing? I don't mind the doll thing so much, but when it rolls the ball it's actually pretty dangerous, you know? I hope it's never injured anyone, otherwise you'd need good insurance . . ."
She cleared her throat. He looked up at her, with fun and like shining in his eyes.
No one had looked at her like that before. They were wary, respectful, as if they were handling a bomb.
And that cleared away any doubts.
"Spend the day with me. Tell me about yourself. And . . ."
He smiled up at her even wider. She could see him planning out the day, imagining what they could do.
"And . . . don't stop smiling."
He grinned up at her, his smile reaching his ears.
"Oh, okay, great! You know, I'm pretty glad you didn't ask for money, I was hoping to eat at that diner nearby, you know? Oh! We could go there for dinner!"
And she let him drag her, no teleportation. No mystics. No illusions.
No fear. He wasn't afraid of her.
A smile, albeit a tiny one, came to rest on her face.
She was psychic, after all, and she could tell this would be a good, long, fun, relaxed path.
She was fear itself, she knew. But, it turned out, he didn't care.