"That felt amazing! I was on edge the whole time! That kid is gonna be scary when he gets more experience. You felt it too right?" Jasmine exhaled all in the same breath. I nodded while making a noise and touched her knee. As if to say we made a good team out there. She picked me up and hugged me.
"I'd ask you if you want to come with me if you weren't spoken for already!" If only she knew.
"I admit I was scared for a second there, and I wasn't 100% sure you knew those attacks, but I had a feeling." I was simply dumbfounded. How could she possibly know my attacks? Ones that I didn't even know I knew even. How was this human whom I've known for at most an hour, able to connect with me on this level so fast? I couldn't comprehend it.
With me in her arms she started walked around the park for a little bit. Luckily, nobody was paying much attention to her anymore. Jasmine was looking around as if searching for someone. After a few minutes she returned the field.
"But... there doesn't seem to be any sign that anyone is looking for you. Maybe I should take you to Officer Jenny..." She mused to herself. I tensed up in her arms. She squeezed me a little tighter on reaction. Her warmth helped me to relax.
"Ok, so you don't like that plan... Then tell me, are you a wild Mawile?" I just looked her in the eye and she seemed to understand.
"You are? Really? I just don't see how that's possible unless... someone released you..." She looked back at me, and I smiled sadly at her.
"What?! Seriously? Then they're the biggest idiot ever! Ugh! I can't believe people these days!" Somehow it was reassuring watching her get so angry for me.
"Gosh, we were so in sync back there in was scary huh?" I nodded and rubbed her face. She giggled.
"That tickles! Well hey, what do you say to coming along with me?" She lifted me up above her head.
Is this really ok though? What about my friends? Well they'd probably be fine without me, but maybe they'd miss me? A little? I couldn't really imagine just ditching them. Though Jasmine really was the kind of trainer I'd dream about having. Kind, beautiful, smart and understanding. And don't forget the poffins! Ok it was more than that. This girl had a deep love for pokemon, I know that much at least. She'd most likely treat me very well. But I remember a certain someone being just like this once. His eyes were once filled with the same luster and shine as I see in her. And if I went with her, how long until her shine vanished too I'd be wondering. Jasmine seemed to sense my reluctance and put me down.
"Oh right, of course, duh. If someone just left me to fend for myself, I'd be pretty hard-pressed to trust anyone else again too." She paused to think for a moment.
"Well how about we just be friends then? That shouldn't be a problem at all." Once again she seemed to understand what I was thinking without me saying anything. How is she doing it? Is she reading my mind? I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 100...
"My field... my beautiful battlefield!" The old man from before had rushed from his booth and was gently rubbing the ruined battlefield. Then he pulled out a remote and pressed a button. Motors turned on and the field started tilling itself, making it as good as new.
"Well what doesn't kill us make us stronger right? Or breaks us into a million pieces that we'll never recover from..." He then shot a glare at Jasmine. Who didn't notice.
Uh... well. That happened.
I looked back at Jasmine who was eagerly awaiting a response. I nodded at her. And the truest smile I've seen yet appeared on her face. She was really reserved and soft spoken before, but now it's as if she's a little kid.
"Thank you!" She took my much smaller hand and shook it. I was happy too. I'd found my first real human friend in a long time. Jasmine then looked like she just realized something.
"Hmmm... wait, where did Magnemite go? It's always wandering off if I don't keep my eye on it. Oooooo not again..." She had her arms crossed and was glancing around.
"I'm sorry, can you help me find Magnemite?" She knelt down to ask me. I noticed she always does that whenever she address me directly. Is it her way of trying to be respectful? Or is she just trying not to spook me? Either way, I exclaimed happily. An easy to understand yes.
"Steelix!" Jasmine yelled as she threw her pokeball up into the air, her massive steel snake appearing with a roar. It was much bigger close up. It had the look of a stony sentinel, ready to carry out any task assigned with sharp precision.
"Oh right! Steelix, meet out new friend!" Then she gestures to me. Said Steelix just glances in my direction and gives the smallest of nods. Quite the stoic. Jasmine laughed awkwardly.
"Sorry, he isn't much of a talker. But you won't be want for protection with him around. Steelix, Magnemite ran off again, can you help me find it?"
Like a well trained mercenary, Steelix set off on it's assigned mission with set seriousness. Much personality on this one. Such wow.
We all split up after that and searched our respective areas, Jasmine told us to meet back at the field in twenty minutes.
The sun was still plenty high in the sky, and I decided I might as smell the roses as I looked around. It was pretty warm today, with the occasional gust of wind. It really felt amazing. I watched a group of tree branches sway with the coming gusts, picking up stray leaves and tossing them asunder. A sentret was carrying a bunch of random items it found around frantically. A couple of pidgey were asleep in another tree, and I wondered how Tale was doing. Off doing whatever it is he does. While trying to act cool I bet.
A while passed and I was probably gonna be late if I delayed any longer. Oh well, I didn't really look all that much anyway. I decided to head back.
Once I got back, Jasmine was already back and looked majorly relieved. I'm guessing she found the little weirdo. When she noticed me she waved excitedly. I waved back.
"For a minute there I thought you might have just took off. I'm glad you came back." I nodded and smiled at her. Well we are friends now right? That wouldn't be cool if didn't at least say bye before taking off.
After that, Jasmine asked me if I wanted to hang out with her the rest of the day. I agreed since I didn't have much better to do. The day was still young after all. I walked with her around the city. It had a distinct older and traditional vibe and she told me a bit of history behind the city as we walked. How the legendary pokemon Ho-oh roosted atop the Bell, or Tin tower over a thousand years ago, but flew away never to be seen again when the brass tower in the west burned down in a mysterious fire that lasted for three days killing the three legendary beasts that Ho-oh had created. And that burned down tower is now a haven for ghost type pokemon. Who are said to be the vengeful spirits of decreased pokemon. All hogwash in my opinion. It's not as if I'm afraid of ghosts or anything.
She really went into detail about it. Her eyes were lighting up even. I don't remember much of whatever else she said as I wasn't too interested, but she seemed to really like sharing knowledge about stuff. At the very least I payed attention and gave her some sort of visual and audible feedback. It seemed to make her happy.
Of course we ran into more raving fans as well. Seriously, these weirdos were everywhere. I could tell she was really uncomfortable with so many people trying to talk to her, all of them pushing over each other to get her attention. Which is funny since she puts on such a good act.
We visited a clothing store after we evaded all the rabid fans, where she tried on various different extravagant outfits, dresses, and something called a yukata. She kept asking me how she looked, or how about this one? I just smiled and made happy noises. She couldn't understand any words I said anyway. I didn't really get it, but she seemed happy enough. In the end she decided she liked her simple style better and didn't buy any of the dresses. They also had a section with much smaller clothing for pokemon participating in contests and something called a tripokalon or whatever that is. Seemed like a rip off of contests, but whatever. It probably has it's audience. Jasmine told me they originated in Kalos, where the really popular performers are treated like movie stars. More things I didn't really understand. She knows a lot of things.
It felt weird, because she was treating me as if she'd treat any human friend. Asking my opinion on things, teaching me about human culture, talking about battle tactics, and offering me snacks. All the other humans I've ever interacted with never did any of these things. Except the snack part, but I'll let that slide. Those fried dumplings were especially good! She did a lot of that, and I was more than happy to oblige. She didn't tell me much about herself though. It was mostly explaining things that were around us. I got the feeling she didn't like talking about herself that much, and was more comfortable talking about facts and ideas. It wasn't bad by any means, and somehow this all felt familiar somehow. I'm not sure how to explain it.
We bumped into her little friend Janina a little bit after that. Whining about how there aren't any tough trainers in this city. Apparently she was an apprentice trainer at Jasmine's gym, and she begged Jasmine to let her come with her to meet her boyfriend as she put it. Jasmine quickly turned red and shushed her. But she was super excited to meet me for some reason and was all up in my face but Jasmine pulled me away from her and explained that I'm shy and that she should try not to overwhelm me. I was grateful she seemed to get that.
With Janina now in tow, we continued our adventure. We visited a dance theater where there were all female trainers that wore kimonos, though they looked just like the yukata from earlier. They put on shows where they would do some weird looking folk dance and battle afterward. To Janina's dismay however, there weren't any shows planned for today and they were only offering tours. They talked about the origins of their stupid dance, and the asinine reason they also battled as part of it. I noticed there were a lot of Eevee's and it's evolutions lounging around like lazy house cats though. Some of them gave us glances, but not too much more. Jasmine was noticeably less talkative and more wound up and reserved now than when we were alone, and only made the occasional comment or laughed at Janina's horrible jokes.
Finally, we visited the local trainer mart where they sold goods for traveling pokemon trainers. There were several people looking at stands, but they didn't pay us much attention thankfully. It was a far cry from the stuff in Goldenrod, but it was serviceable. Pokeballs, repels, escape ropes, and potions, you name it. They had a bunch of stuff. Most of it seemed pretty useless to me though. What is an X attack supposed to do? There was also another tiny herb shop tucked away in the corner. It smelled like sopping wet foongus feet. We decided to not go inside.
I could tell Jasmine was in her element here. She was explaining stuff to her student, the various effects of the potions, status effects, what you should carry with you at all times, etc, etc. Janina looked really bored however, until Jasmine yelled at her and started asking all kinds of hard questions. I watched them with slight amusement.
They both bought a few things and then we headed outside. Wow it was already starting to get dark. It felt like the whole day went by in a flash. Jasmine knelt down and looked at me. She's so attentive. I really like that about her.
"So... I guess this is where we part ways. We need to catch a train tomorrow back home." She looked really sad for some reason.
"It was nice to meet you!" Janina pet me on the head in a way I didn't like. I just endured it.
I looked back over at the taller girl and made a small whimper while slowly holding my arms out. She didn't waste any time in scooping me up into her arms, nuzzling me. Warm.
"Ohhhh... Are you sure you don't want to come with me? I'd... we'd really love to have you." Oh no not the sad look of hope and longing. We aren't doing this right now. I'm... not crying...
Jasmine held me against her for a minute longer. Probably longer than necessary, but I didn't want to let go either. I could hear the soft thump of her heartbeat. A soft, comforting rhythm. Strands of her hair brushed against my face as she finally set me down, wiping the surprise tears that where straining her face away.
"Goodness... what's wrong with me? I'm not usually this emotional." She let out small sniffles. I quickly wiped my tear stained face too. She quickly composed herself.
"Well... if you change your mind you can always come to Olivine city and find me if you want. O-or..." She paused as if hesitating about something. Then quickly shook her head. She then pulled out a small card from her bag, handing it to me. I took it and glanced at it. It was a business card with her number on it.
"Umm well... you might not understand what's written on it, but you call the number that's on there to reach me anytime." She then started giggling out of nowhere.
"I've never done something like this before. Giving a pokemon my card of all things... but I think you can understand me just fine. You seem really smart." I smiled at her.
Jasmine turned back to Janina and nodded that they were leaving. She stayed surprisingly quiet the whole time.
As they walked away I heard Janina comment on how weird Jasmine was for giving me her business card. And went on to say I probably wouldn't know how to call her even if I wanted to. Jasmine gave me one last side glace before disappearing from view completely. She was gone.