The house was so cold now. This abandoned building in Littleroot. Letters littered the entrance hallway, posted through the door but no one there to collect them. No one left but here. She hated it.
She kicked the post aside, moving into the freezing empty building. She needed to get out of these formal black clothes and get away from this house! Once she climbed the stairs, she looked to the open door to her left; she reached into the room, shutting the door quickly before she looked in at the large empty bed and tidy shelves. She turned away from the door and entered the messy room which was hers. The old Lapras doll she'd had since she was ten still standing on the rug. She looked at it sadly as she walked over to the desk, opening the set of drawers which held it up at one side. She pulled out some clothes, some nice red clothes she had folded before she had left.
She changed quickly, throwing the black clothes onto the floor beside the bed. She snatched up the cape which was draped on the mattress and sighed out all her sadness. She needed to keep herself occupied and so she gathered her PokéBalls and exited the room.
When she was downstairs she picked up the letters, looking through them. They varied from doctors appointments for three people to bills.
She threw the doctors letters away, opening the bills and scanning the sums of money owed. She could pay that. Pulling out the money she walked over to the table, two mugs had been left there, she pushed them aside and set about paying the bills for the house which she was ready to leave forever. Once all the details had been filled out she sealed an envelope and tucked it in her bag, ready to post when she arrived at the Oldale PokéMart. She picked up a key from a hook on the wall and exited the lonely building, locking away the memories as she breathed in the fresh air of Hoenn.
She decided to walk to Oldale, no need to burden Flygon for a simple journey like this. Watching the entire little Pokémon frolic in the tall grass she felt somehow detached from life itself. She didn't feel anything as she passed by the happy Pokémon and barely noticed when she entered the next town; her feet had taken her to the PokéMart with her brain not even knowing. She shook her head to dispel this numbness from her mind. But it just seeped back once she entered the shop. She simply placed the letter into the mailbox sitting next to the counter and exited once again, not browsing the shelves or picking up any supplies.
Something niggled at her mind, she should do something, but she pushed it from her mind. She felt the cape billow out behind her and she remembered where she was headed to now. She released Flygon with a sudden burst of white light. He went to hug her, but she pushed him off. "We're off to Ever Grand. Let's go," Her voice was void of emotion. She looked at her Pokémon through blank blue eyes, which seemed to absorb all the shadows instead of reflecting the bright sunlight streaming down upon them. She clambered onto Flygon's back quickly and they launched into the air.
They reached Ever Grand not too long after, Sapphire challenging a few migrating Flying-types to distract herself from the uneventful journey. Flygon felt concern swelling in his stomach. He didn't like this Sapphire. She needed to return to her usual self and fast.
Once they reached Ever Grand, she walked through the four rooms, ignoring the sympathy and condolences the four elite trainers offered her. She didn't nod to them or greet them; she just strolled on, the stirring white cape showing more emotion than she did. Once she walked through the gigantic doors and up the stairs, she took her place in the Champion's room, waiting for a challenger.
Many trainers came, each bringing their best and strongest Pokémon to the table, only to be knocked to the ground by Sapphire's team. Her battle style had become far more direct and unforgiving of mistakes. She brutally demolished team after team, offering no advice or words at all for the trainers who fell before her. She just waited for the next trainer to challenge her.
Her Pokémon were exhausted, but she didn't stop. She had to keep busy, keep her mind occupied with the tedium of Champion life. She had to keep up her title of the best trainer; she had to keep fighting so her mind could not wander into deep pits of despair.
Days passed, her state had not changed. She had not slept the entire time she had been in Ever Grand. When there were no trainers she allowed her Pokémon to rest, setting about the other tasks she needed to so. Feeding herself had become such a task, one she didn't care for and everything she'd eaten tasted bland an unappetising to say the least. She was bored with the minor challenges she had been given by the trainers who appeared in her room. Their faces didn't resonate with her, she just saw them as blank nothingness' as they and their Pokémon fell before her strength and direct battle style.
A trainer came to her, about half a week after she had become engrossed in this monotonous lifestyle. She didn't take in his face, and when his Skarmory was revealed she simply released her Blaziken, nothing about the battle rang any bells in her mind. She had seen many Skarmory in the teams of her challengers, they always fell to Blaziken. The battle raged on, her Pokémon seemed unwilling to battle this trainer. He set out his Aggron, Claydol, Cradily, and Armaldo, something in her mind ticked but she pushed it back. She felt like she knew these Pokémon, but she didn't stop and kept battling, watching with unwavering eyes as they fell, one by one, taking just as many of her Pokémon down with them. She had not fought a battle like this for a long while; the other trainers had not been nearly this good. She was now left with her final Pokémon Metagross.
She released the monster that had never lost a battle, watching as the opposing trainer recalled his fallen Pokémon and picking his last, holding the PokéBall close to his heart for a second before flinging it with his right hand, the way he threw the ball rang bells in her head, great clanging bells of familiarity. Another Metagross burst from the PokéBall, slamming into the ground and rattling her with the great vibrations it caused. But still she did not see his face, only seeing a shadow of an enemy across the battlefield from her.
The great Steel-types crashed into one another repeatedly, both using their Mega Forms to enhance their strength and speed as they slammed heavy blows into one another, her Metagross showed weakness and his took the opportunity, using a fast Bullet Punch to knock it flying. She could see he was beaten. This trainer had beaten her undefeated team.
Something slammed hard into her mind, opening up everything she had been holding back. Flooding memories and realization burst through the dams of numbness which had kept her mind in limbo for all this time. She blinked in the sight of the opposing Metagross, shifting back into its usual form as she recalled her fallen partner. She looked past the Pokémon and saw the trainer fully for the first time.
His skinny frame was draped in his usual dark suit, purple patterns decorating the black jacket, a pin with a Key Stone evident resting on his chest, a red necktie neatly tied stood in stark contrast to the white shirt visible around it. Silver hair was neatly combed and styled; it matched his sharp, concerned eyes perfectly as he stared at her.
A great well of emotion lapped at her mind, she was close to the edge, she was doing all she could not to fall into the bottomless pit of despair. But now she had lost her championship title because she had treated an elite trainer as if he was an amateur. She had no one but herself to blame for this turn of events.
Her knees trembled slightly as she began to lose the fight with her own mind. This sudden realization of everything which had happened had knocked her mental grip of sanity.
"Sapphire, I came here on the request of the members of the Elite Four. If I had any clue of this before I would have been here sooner." He paced across the room to her, he grasped her shoulder - looking directly into her eyes - a million emotions raging within the deep blue irises, great purple bruises lined her eyes. She looked as though she was making herself sick in this limbo she had created for herself.
She didn't react to his touch of his words. She just stood there, her hands untying the cape, throwing it onto his shoulders instead of hers, her lips expelling the formal congratulations for defeating the Champion, she turned around, explaining about the Hall Of Fame behind her and making to walk into it. Her mind was trying its hardest to reclaim the numbness which would save her from the gaping pit she teetered on.
He spun her to face him once again, glaring down at her as he attempted to break through her defences. "Sapphire, listen to me!" He shook her shoulders, watching as her head lolled and her eyes fixed on him. "Your parents' deaths were not your fault. There was nothing anyone could do to save them. I'm terribly sorry for your loss but they would not want you to act this way. Dammit Sapphire! You've got to face these things not push them from you! Or you'll lose everything which makes you your own person!" She stared blankly at him, his words bouncing around in her head. "I know this Sapphire! I too have lost someone dear to me. I lost my mother remember? I have told you this before! Why didn't you come to me?" She picked up on the distress in his voice, what was happening here? "You don't need to face everything on your own. I know you're capable of amazing things with no one but your Pokémon by your side. But when this happens you need to talk to someone. You can't bottle it up inside. Or it'll destroy you entirely. Don't make the same mistake I did all those years ago. Don't shun the world and retreat into yourself, it's a horrible existence."
She looked at him deeply; his eyes were filled with sorrow, but at what? Her mind ticked once more - she could feel it burning away at the numb walls she had placed around her mind - it wouldn't take long for the dam to burst and…
She blinked, her emotions flooding out all at once. She felt tears racing down her cheeks, felt her throat catch as her knees gave. She found herself on her knees, feeling the cold steel of the floor sapping heat from her body.
He knelt before her, embracing her kindly as her sobs continued, rocking her body. "I have no one left! They're gone; the house is so cold now! Everything is cold now! I can't go on alone like this!" Her voice broke out - it was so loud - she hadn't used it properly for these past days, now it cracked from her lips so much louder than she thought it would be. "I have nothing left now!" She felt her voice catch in her throat and the burning tears that stung her eyes seemed to grow cold as soon as they set out down her cheeks. Her body was shivering fiercely as her wails sent trembles up and down her being.
He hugged her tighter, feeling her tears soaking his shirt. He rested one hand on the back of her head, gently caressing her hair as she wailed into his chest.
Once she had ceased her sobs, hiccupping as she rested her head against his shoulder softly, he looked down to her, his quiet words echoing in this large room. "Sapphire, you are never alone. You will always have me. I promise you that. You needn't feel alone or scared. You always have a home in Mossdeep." She felt his warmth steady her tremors, chasing the ice from her veins. His words and comforting warmth brought tears to her eyes once more, these ones drifted down her cheeks slowly, unlike the others these felt warm.
Her heart opened to him, feeling the familiar fuzzy emotion filling her, chasing away the despair and sorrow which had pinned her into a corner of numb nothingness. She closed her eyes, sighing out three little words that had been locked away for all the years she'd known him. "I… Love… You…"