I ended up staying in the hospital for a few days. I didn't mind as much as I thought I would. Jasmine was good company, and after all, I could afford to lose a few days. There still wasn't any news coming in from Hoenn that could relate to whatever incident Mum had spoken about in her letter, so as far as I saw, I was still all right for time. So long as I made sure to get to Vermillion City as soon as I got out of the hospital.
Of course, when I inevitably found myself doubting the practicality of having Jasmine tagging along to Hoenn, she was quick to assure me she wouldn't get in the way. We made the arrangement that we would travel together until one or the other of us found another path to take. She decided that if I wanted her to, she would leave as soon as I found my mum and dad, or came close to finding them, if she was getting in the way. I was happy that she was willing to make sacrifices for me and what I wanted to do, but I assured her in return I wouldn't drop her like a hot brick as soon as I found something better to do.
I wasn't lonely in the hospital at all. I even got a visit from the old man who had given me Aurora, who seemed vaguely amused at the situation I had been in. As well as that, I had Jasmine, of course. We got to know each other pretty well in the couple of days I was in hospital. She came to visit me every day and we spent hours getting to know each other. She was a pretty strong trainer in her own right with six Pokemon of her own. I'd only seen two of them in person, her female starter Bulbasaur which she named Heather. She had received her for a birthday present on her 14th birthday. And of course, Skittle I already knew. She was pretty knowledgeable about Pokemon too, and managed to teach me how to use the Water Pulse TM on Aurora, which I was very happy with.
After finally being discharged from hospital, I was glad to discover that I wouldn't suffer any long-time or permanent scarring from the explosion, thank Goodness. Another happy discovery was that Jasmine knew exactly how to get from Cerulean to Vermillion, having already made the journey twice before, considering she had beaten the Gym Leader there.
Something I wasn't so happy to learn was the prices of the ferry tickets to Hoenn. We had consulted the computer in the Cerulean Pokemon Centre for the prices, and were appalled at them. The money Misty gave me for my win wouldn't even begin to cover one ticket, let alone two. My suggestion at robbing a bank was met on deaf ears and even earned me a tiny shock from Meloi for my cheek. I definitely didn't know she was so righteous, but Jasmine freaked out at Meloi shocking me, especially since I was out of the hospital so quickly.
We decided then that the best way, and the only legal way, to obtain money was to battle trainers along the way to Vermillion. I hadn't known up until that point that trainers who lost a battle were forced into handing over half their money to the winning trainer! I was bewildered and immediately I had remembered the battle I had had with Elliot! I didn't hand over any money to him when I lost! But then again, he hadn't said anything to me about it when I lost…I was perplexed. I made a little mental note to pay Elliot what I owed him next time I saw him.
We moved south from Cerulean City down Route 5, looking for trainers. We didn't have to look very far, as the grassy route was filled with trainers, lounging about drinking lemonade and sparkling water. A lot of trainers were bored, eager for battle. At first, I was a little reluctant, suddenly feeling nervous. I mean, after all, I'd only ever battled properly twice, once against Elliot which I'd lost, and once against Misty which I'd won by a fluke. With a success rate of 50%, I wasn't exactly optimistic about battling. I watched Jasmine battle a fair share of trainers, using the excuse that I already had a decent amount of money already.
Jasmine, although she said she didn't like battling, knew that this was a necessary action and threw herself into it. She was a good battler too, losing none of her fights, alternating between Heather, her Bulbasaur and Skittle, the Skitty. Then with a big smile, she took my money off me and told me it was my turn. I was a little surprised when she told me we were cheating the system; she claimed no-one could take half my money if I didn't have any in the first place! I felt horrible at first for being dishonest, but I understood where she was coming from, and felt better when she told me almost everyone who was clever did it.
I won the first two battles with little difficulty, considering my first two opponents used Fire type Pokemon, and Aurora with her new Water Pulse move made quick work of them. But a thunder bolt attack from a trainer with a Pokemon known as Raichu meant that poor Aurora was knocked out quickly after hitting only one attack. I handed over half my money to the smug trainer very reluctantly.
"Pah. You should've won that battle." Jasmine said sulkily as we healed our Pokemon back at the Cerulean Centre.
"But I had the type disadvantage." I pointed out.
"Yeah, well that stupid trainer made his Raichu evolve too fast!" she huffed.
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Pikachu only evolve into Raichu through using Thunder Stones on them," she explained, crossing her arms. "And that guy made his Pokemon evolve too quickly!"
"How could you tell?"
"It was obvious! Yeah, the Raichu had pretty powerful electric attacks, but it was so slow! Couldn't you see how slow it was?"
"Um, no, I was too busy trying to make Aurora actually battle and stop clapping her flippers every five seconds."
"Well, no offence to your Aurora, but a fully evolved Raichu should have been able to avoid any attacks she sent its way easily! But her Powder Snow attack hit!"
"Are you sure it's not just because Aurora is stronger than she looks? It could happen you know," I said, as we made our way back down Route 5.
"No. Trust me, I can tell. That Pokemon was evolved too quickly. That's where so many trainers go wrong. They think its all about fighting and getting strong and try and evolve their Pokemon quickly. Then when they do evolve they realise that their Pokemon missed out on learning loads of moves it could only learn when it was younger. I'm never going to let my Pokemon evolve!" she declared passionately.
I wasn't really listening at that point. Evolving to me always seemed like the quick fix solution to getting strong. As soon as I got Meloi I was eager for her to evolve. Same with Aurora. But from what Jasmine was saying, evolving wasn't always the best route to take. And considering what huge changes to a Pokemon's physical appearance came about from evolution, I wasn't sure I wanted them to evolve anymore. I hated to admit it, but I had grown quite used to Meloi and Aurora the way they were.
We battled for a while longer at Route 5. I used Meloi this time in the battles. I only lost the last one, losing out to a trainer and its well trained, probably over-levelled Eevee. However, it wasn't all bad. I had spotted Jasmine and her Skittle battling a Pokemon known as Hoppip. which had a small pink body and long green sprouts coming out of its head. The Hoppip had used an attack called Cotton Spore to release cotton like spores that clung to Skittle's body, making it difficult for the kitten Pokemon to move. Meloi had been watching too, and to my immense surprise, used the attack on the Eevee she battled! I wasn't even overly bothered when I lost the battle; I was so happy and proud of Meloi for learning a new move! I was even happier when the trainer I battled waved away the money I offered him, claiming he didn't need it. I was a little taken aback…how much money was in Pokemon battling if he didn't need mine?
We were satisfied with the progress we'd made as the evening began drawing in, and we decided to skip ahead of Saffron City and take the underground path which in itself, proved hairy to say the least. The place was crawling with tough trainers, taking advantage of the darkness to jump any unwitting trainers travelling underground. We fell victim to it a few times, but the trainers didn't prove to be much of a challenge and we managed to emerge from the underground tunnel tired and a little cranky, but more or less unscathed. Also, by this time we had accumulated enough money from battling to fund our trip to Hoenn, so we were doubly happy!
We emerged just short of Vermillion at Route 6. The path down into Vermillion was a long, winding path, coiled into an S shape. The place was covered in tall grass and we picked our way across cautiously. Our Pokemon weren't that tired, but we trainers certainly were. We avoided the gaze of the trainers milling around and sprinted the last little while until we came into the city.
We arrived into the seafront city just as it was coming close to late evening. The sun was dipping just into the horizon, bathing the whole city in bright red light. It was a spectacular sight. However, Jasmine wasn't as eager to take in the sights, after all, she had already seen them once before, and dragged me into the Pokemon Centre for a meal and some rest.
After stuffing ourselves silly, we took Pokemon food upstairs to the double room we had requested for the night's stay. The double room was just as basic as the single, with two little beds as opposed to just one.
"Do you mind if I release all my Pokemon?" Jasmine asked, perching at the end of one of the little beds.
"How else are you gonna feed them?" I asked, sprawled out on the other bed, rolling Meloi and Aurora's Pokeballs across my stomach.
"Good point," she said, unhooking all six Pokeballs from her waist.
"Besides," I carried on. "I've been interested in seeing what other Pokemon you have besides Heather and Skittle."
"Really?" she frowned. "Then why didn't you just ask?"
"I dunno." I shrugged. "I didn't want to seem rude. Or nosy."
"Honestly!" she sighed. "We're friends, Sienna! You could've just asked!"
I contemplated this. "Nah. Guess I was just waiting for the big dramatic reveal." I rolled over on the bed to face her. "Come on. I wanna see."
"Okay," she said, blushing as if embarrassed. "Well, Heather and Skittle you already knew." She released the Bulbasaur and the Skitty whom I had gotten to know over the days I was in hospital. Skittle was a very clingy Pokemon, always wanting to be near Jasmine or her other Pokemon. Heather was a very independent Bulbasaur who had a seemingly endless appetite and acted rather like an unofficial leader, often smacking Skittle with her vines when he wasn't behaving.
"Hey guys," I grinned, scratching Skittle under his chin and tossing a pellet of Pokemon food to an awaiting Heather. I looked up to Jasmine. "Well, go on then. I'm eager to see who else!"
"Well, this is the Pokemon I used to win at the Electric Pokemon Gym here," she said, carefully picking out a Pokeball and throwing it to floor.
"Sand! Sandshrew!"
What looked like a small, sandy coloured mouse sat in front of me. It had a tough hide but a soft looking underbelly with sharpened claws at the ends of its paws.
"This is my Sandshrew." Jasmine introduced us to save me reaching for my Pokedex. Good thing too, it was all the way over in my bag at the other end of the room. "I found him in Mount Moon. His name is Terra."
"Ah! That's clever!" I commented, privately thinking it was a far cleverer nickname than she'd come up with for Heather and Skittle. "Terra as in the Latin for "land"! Very smart!"
"Yup!" she giggled.
Terra gave me a wayward look and then squealed and hid as soon as I reached out to pat him. Jasmine frowned. "Sorry…" she apologised. "He's a little skittish…"
I shrugged. "It's okay. He's probably just not used to strangers."
Jasmine smiled at me.
"Okay, so that's Heather, Skittle and Terra. Who else?"
"This is a Pokemon I am actually amazed I have," she took another Pokeball from the collection remaining on her bed. "It's not seen here. It's only found in Johto, and it's pretty rare even there. It's normally given out as a starting Pokemon there. I got it in a trade from some rich boy in Johto."
She tossed the ball to the floor. A moment later….
"Cynda! Cyndaquil!"
A small Pokemon with fire coming out of its back with blue fur on the top of its body and cream coloured fur on its underbelly came from the Pokeball.
"This is Sulphur." She announced proudly.
"Cynda! Cyndaquil!" the Pokemon said eagerly and then suddenly sneezed, snorting a tiny blast of fire from its nostrils. Although small, it was big enough to set the bedclothes on fire. Both of us trainers shrieked, I fell off the bed, scrambling for Aurora's Pokeball. The other Pokemon scuttled to the end of the room, screaming and whining in fear.
"Go, Aurora!" I threw her Pokeball.
And at the same time, Jasmine threw a Pokeball. "Go, Mizu!"
Aurora and Jasmine's Pokemon burst out of the Pokeballs. At the exact same time we both yelled "Water Gun!" and the two Pokemon obliged, easily putting out the fire, but almost destroying the bed in the process. Jasmine and I looked warily at each other and sighed whilst Aurora clapped her flippers happily and Jasmine's blue spherical mouse Pokemon chattered mindlessly.
"Well, this saves you the introduction," Jasmine said sheepishly. "And sorry about Sulphur…he seems to have a permanent cold all the time. Added to that, he's got a really sensitive nose. The tiniest things make him sneeze."
"Brilliant. That's just what we need. A fire type with a sensitive nose." I thought.
"Anyway, this is Mizu." Jasmine carried on, oblivious to my dark thoughts. "She's another Pokemon not native here. My dad got her for me."
"Marill! Marill!" Mizu waved her jagged tail back and forth, the blue bubble like thing on the end of it bobbing up and down.
"Spheal! Spheal!" Aurora clapped her flippers together and literally two seconds later, both Mizu and Aurora were rolling themselves all around the room, taking advantage of their spherical shapes. Jasmine and I watched them for a moment, as did the other Pokemon, a bit warily.
"I get the feeling they're gonna hit it off nicely," I grinned.
"I think so!" Jasmine grinned.
"So, that's Heather the Bulbasaur, Skittle the Skitty, Terra the Sandshrew, Sulpher the Cyndaquil and Mizu the Marill. There's one more, right?"
"Indeed there is! Come out!" she tossed her last Pokeball to the floor.
"Drow…zee?"
A bipedal Pokemon appeared from the Pokeball. Half the Pokemon's body was yellow, the lower half brown. It had tired looking eyes and a trunk above its mouth, a round belly and stubby legs and arms.
"This is Nightshade, my Drowzee."
"Nightshade?" I gasped. That sounded ominous.
"Yeah. I caught him up in that grass nearby. Found him on Route 6 last time I came through the underground path."
"But why…Nightshade?"
"Cos he eats people's dreams." She said casually.
"He….WHAT?"
"Oh, no! It's okay! He only does it when ordered in battle."
"Oh…okay…" I still didn't trust the look on that Drowzee's face, but if Jasmine trusted him, I didn't have much choice but to trust him too.
I released Meloi for her food, and she immediately started growling in the face of all these strange Pokemon, but she backed down when she realised she was hopelessly outnumbered and her only possible backup (Aurora) was having too much fun rolling around the room to help her.
We fed the Pokemon and managed to avoid any more potential disasters, especially ones involving Meloi's temper and Sulphur's tendency to set things on fire. It was fun watching the Pokemon interacting and seeing all of Jasmine's Pokemon's personalities. It was especially funny when they tried to steal food off each other, which resulted in a few stand offs, but nothing got out of hand, thankfully. It was times like this I was almost…glad I became a trainer. I felt happy. When night fell and it was time for bed, I felt more content than I had in a long time. Aurora and Meloi snuggled up next to me, Aurora even trying to bury herself under the sheets with me. It was companionable lying there in the dark with the occasional snuffle and snore coming from the Pokemon. I rolled over and let out a contented sigh. I felt happy. At peace. Like nothing could spoil this glorious happy silence I had found.
Well, nothing until the following morning, that is.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S NO FERRIES AVAILABLE UNTIL NEXT WEEK?"
Author's Note
Mainly character development here. And getting the introduction of Jasmine's team out of the way.
I don't have much to say here either...