Self-Discovery
Chapter Three
Shinji
Somewhere in a Pokémon center was Shinji, watching Satoshi's match against a man named Takuto.
When Pikachu was declared incapacitated, along with the Latios, he wanted to be disappointed for him, but as always, Satoshi was smiling and cuddling the yellow creature to his chest, congratulating it for a job well done.
That loser, he thought warmly.
He would admit, only to himself, that Satoshi had become someone important, second only to his older brother, though if the other boy had not been so persistent, maybe he still would have gone on to ignore him and his compassionate approach to training Pokémon. But seeing the strength and fiery determination of his once little and inept Chimchar, Shinji had to concede that Satoshi was not entirely wrong about being more encouraging than critical.
And as much as he tried to deny, commending Electivire for its hard work yesterday had felt… satisfying.
The television zoomed for a close-up of the winner and then zoomed out when Satoshi began walking towards him. They joined hands in a handshake, but instead of separating, the two trainers came closer into a friendly hug.
He ignored the spark of jealousy that ignited as Satoshi stepped back and took Takuto's wrist, lifting it in the air which received a thunderous applause from the audience, the announcer commenting on their affable interaction.
Shinji turned his back on the video feed and headed out of the center with unwavering purpose.
He had to defeat Jindai and get back to Satoshi, as soon as possible.
