Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except Kaitlyn – she's my only character. In terms of other characters, Jacob belongs to Spidey108, Oliver – howponderous, Aimee – StormMoonRabbit, Jasmine – TreblePlayer67, Ashton – Apathetic Nonsense
A/N – Thank you for reviewing, favouriting and following this story, I hope you enjoy the next chapter
A/N 2 – If you are interested in following the story, or maybe even submitting a supporting character forum/Pok%C4%97mon-Trainers-Unite/160978/
So I'm changing the perspective to that of another of the submitted characters, but they are in Littleroot Town now!
Chapter 04 – Littleroot Town
Jasmine Archer sat on a branch that was high up in a tree with her legs out straight, resting on the tree. Her eyes were closed and she felt the wind blowing through her ponytail. She would have said it was peaceful, but it wasn't. Not after the disaster. The disaster had caused the destruction of the PokéLab. This ultimately forced Jasmine's father to open up their home to be the new make-shift lab. It took a while for her to get used to the presence of Professor Birch and an additional assistant making themselves at home in her house. Even if Professor Birch was content studying the Pokémon in the surrounding destructed area and was barely in the house with his research team.
"Miss Archer – are you coming down for dinner?"
The young wannabe trainer glanced down the trunk of the tree to see her mother standing at the base carrying a little mixing bowl.
"Mum!" Jasmine smiled before jumping down from the tree. "Of course I am, I wouldn't miss a meal for anything."
"Don't catch anyone hearing you say that. If people were aware of the fact that we had the storage bunker, then we would be in trouble because we kept it for ourselves." Mrs Archer developed a deep frown on her forehead.
"I know, but don't you think it's wrong?" Jasmine asked. "There are Pokémon and families that are struggling to cope – shouldn't we help them out? We could give them some food or something, couldn't we?"
"No- Jasmine, you don't understand. The bunker isn't going to last forever with us and the professor's team diving in there every meal, so can you imagine what it would be like if more and more people stuck their hands in on it. Trust me Jasmine, it's the right thing to do. There are reports of strange things happening outside of Littleroot Town and I don't want for Team Magma, or Team Aqua to come sticking their noses where it doesn't belong."
"Okay Mum, I trust you," Jasmine replied, still unable to shake the feeling that what they were doing was wrong. "But I don't agree with it."
"Jasmine," her mother sighed. "You of all people should understand the consequences of that disaster. We haven't seen Ryan in days. He was only supposed to be going to Rustboro City to collect something from a friend."
"I'm sure he's fine, Mum." Jasmine smiled, squeezing her mum's arm gently, hoping that she would stop panicking.
It was true, Jasmine's brother had gone to the city to pick up a package, but that was four days ago, and he hadn't returned home yet. All the worst thoughts flocked to Jasmine's mind and she was beginning to think that Ryan had been attacked and left beside the road to die.
"Trapinch is doing well though, for a newly hatched Pokémon." Mrs Archer followed her daughter into the kitchen through the back door. "I didn't know if the little one was going to make it or not."
"Mum- Trapinch is a strong Pokémon and we're going to be partners. I just can't wait until we get to go on our Pokémon journey, but the disaster sure mucked up my plans there."
"No- a mother's love mucked up your plans. I know what you're insinuating. Just because I said I didn't want you to go, doesn't mean that I was forcing you not to go."
"But you told me that if I went, then you would rent out my room! I'm not having someone living in my room. What if I came back and I couldn't stay in my room because someone was living there?" Jasmine squealed, distraught by the mere thought that her mother had.
"Jasmine, I was joking. Joking. You know, that thing when you don't really mean what you say. Besides, you don't have a tent and I'm not having you sleeping on the ground or powering on until late at night because you were trying to get to a PokéCentre." Her mother put the bowl to one side and watched her daughter help herself to an oran berry smoothie that had been made the night before. "I don't get how you can have that stuff… It's not even designed for humans. That's Trapinch's drink, you know."
"I know, but if it's good enough for Trapinch then it's good enough for me." Jasmine grinned, wiping the back of her hand across her mouth. "Re-fresh-ing."
"You are a funny kid…" Her mother smiled, doting on her child. "But going back to this journey, I would prefer it if you had someone to go with really. I'd feel like you would be safer, and I think you'd prefer the company."
"Of course Mum, I'd prefer the company, but because of the storm, there's no one to go with. I mean, my penpal, Rusty, she's already started her adventure in the Zolya region, and Erica's on holiday in the Montazul cluster. There's no one left."
"Don't be so melodramatic dear. Someone will come to Littleroot town and they'll be dying to go on a journey with you."
Jasmine felt happy whenever her mother complimented her. Most teenagers would have squirmed and felt sick at the pleasantries their parents bestowed onto them, but Jasmine liked it because she felt loved.
"Thanks Mum."
There was a knock at the door as Mrs Archer emptied the gravy like sauce into the tall and large metal pot.
"Would you get the door, Jasmine?" her mother asked, taking a wooden spoon from the drawer and stirring the meal in the pot.
Jasmine wandered through the hallway towards the front door. She was surprised to find a girl about her own age, maybe a little younger, standing in the doorstep.
A possible companion? Was Jasmine's initial thought.
"You are?" Jasmine asked enthusiastically.
The girl blinked in shock, caught off guard by the sudden abrupt question. "I'm Aimee – I'm meant to be journeying through Hoenn with some girl and I thought I'd come to the town where there's a lab. I was really looking for a place to stay for the night. The PokéCentre is a little-… It's not suitable for me to stay there so I've resulted in knocking on doors."
"Who is it Jasmine?" Mrs Archer called through to the house.
"An axe wielding murderer Mum, can I let them in?" Jasmine replied sarcastically.
"If you think so, but only if they take their shoes off please."
"If you wouldn't mind…" Jasmine pointed at the girl's trainers. "I'm Jasmine."
"Like I said, I'm Aimee. Aimee Vipond, and I have had the worst journey to get here." Aimee kicked her shoes off, marking the skirting board which made Jasmine's eyes widen.
"Can I put your bag somewhere?" Jasmine looked at the sports bag that was hanging in the crook of the girl's elbow.
"No- I'll keep a hold of it, if that's okay."
Jasmine shrugged her shoulders and watched the girl. "Relax, this is the Archer family's house. My mum will offer you the spare room."
"Of course, come on through stranger." Mrs Archer was a little sceptical of the girl who Jasmine had welcomed into her home. "Hello there, I'm Jasmine's mum, Mrs Archer."
"Greeting Mrs Archer. You have a lovely home, I'm Aimee and I'm every so thankful to have the opportunity and hospitality of staying in your home, but don't worry, I won't be here long. I should be going to Rustboro City – I just want to see as much of the Hoenn as possible."
"Well, that might be a problem child, the Hoenn region isn't what it used to be… That storm tore the place apart." Mrs Archer lifted the pot off the stove and placed it on a wooden chopping board. "Grab some bowls out of the cupboard, Jasmine."
Aimee intervened once she realised which cupboard the bowls belonged in. "Here."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." The newcomer turned to Jasmine. "So what do you want to become? Are you a Pokémon Master, a breeder, or something unique?"
"I would like to be a gym leader one day. Me and Trapinch are willing to go all the way. What about you?"
"Well I was supposed to be meeting a girl in Rustboro City, but the storm mucked up everything, and she didn't turn up for days. So I decided my best bet was to travel to Littleroot Town and see if she had come here because of the lab." Aimee sat down at the table with a tepid bowl of soup in front of her. "It smells, delicious, Mrs Archer."
"Thank you, Aimee. That's very nice of you. So tell me about your family- what are they like?" Mrs Archer joined the pair at the small rectangular table in the corner of the kitchen.
"Trap-Trapinch!"
Jasmine peered under the table to see Trapinch centimetres from snapping Aimee's toes clean off with a single snap of its jaws.
"No, Trapinch!" she squealed, scooping her Trapinch up off the floor. "You're going in your little pen now…" Carrying her slightly aggressive Pokémon to the garden, she placed him in the large pen that her father had created for him so that he had his own space and didn't wander off. "You'll be alright in here for the moment."
After dinner, there was a little shower that confined Aimee and Jasmine to the living room. Still, Aimee kept a tight hold on her bag – probably because she had her most valued possessions in it.
"So what is Rustboro City like now?" Jasmine asked, crossing her legs and leaning back in the armchair.
"Oh, em, well it's not too badly affected. Maybe a power outage here and there, but because it's a little built up, the technology is on the scene to fix the failures. All that needs a little work is the gym."
At the mention of the gym, Jasmine's mouth hit the floor. "What? What's wrong with the gym? Is Roxanne okay, what's happened?"
"I don't know…" Aimee mumbled. "There was a huge press team and some woman interviewing a representative of the gym, but I couldn't see Roxanne anywhere. It was really crowded in Rustboro City because lots of people thought that aid and resources would be there because it's a larger city that is connected to Petalburg, Fortree and Verdanturf- and also Oldale, maybe Dewford too… Fortunately, I was able to grab a ride to Oldale town yesterday and then walk to here in a day, but my food supply is running so low that I needed to stop somewhere and get whatever I can. Any suggestions as to where I could get some?"
"Well our family has-" Jasmine started, only for her mother to interrupt.
"No- supplies are depleting here too, I'm afraid. I have resulted to cooking everything I can together in a huge pot stew. It's not the best method in the world." Mrs Archer placed a lid on the pan. "We're running low on gas and there's a backup generator in the basement. It's not good, but it gets us through the day slightly fed, with enough energy I'd say."
"That storm really mucked everything up, right?" Aimee rested her fist on her chin. "I can't believe how difficult things have been for me and my Pokémon because of the storm. Seeing Rustboro City so devastated, and then Petalburg City only just being repaired – I'm surprised that no aid has come to the region."
"What region are you from?" Jasmine asked, eager to know who this girl really was.
"I'm from the Orange Islands- I go a ferry into Slateport and arrived in Rustboro City a day before the storm hit, and that was a horrendous night. I never want to experience anything like that ever."
"It wasn't pretty here either. My Trapinch got trapped under a fallen tree branch… He's still recovering. And my brother never came back from his trip." Jasmine didn't like how slow Trapinch's recovery was, but at least it was improving.
"Listen – I think it might be nice, but I want to know what you think…" Aimee looked at Jasmine. "Do you want to travel with me through the Hoenn region? You can battle all the gym leaders and enter tournaments and I can study the Pokémon and your strategy. What do you say?"
Mrs Archer made a decision a little before her daughter. "Oh that sounds wonderful, doesn't it Jasmine?"
"It sounds like a neat idea – why not?"
Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = Hopefully the wait for this chapter wasn't as long as the wait for the third chapter! And we have met not one, but two new characters – what do you think of Aimee and Jasmine? Make sure if you haven't already to leave a review