A/N: This story has over 90 followers! While I am aware that some of them might no longer be around because of all the time that has passed between the two previous chapters, I still think that we can manage more than 3 reviews for a chapter. What do you say, guys? Think we can get 10 reviews for this chapter? :)
Jake simply continued to stand there and watch, for what seemed like eternity in a state of sheer shock and disbelief, as Jasmine continued to cry her heart out after having told him that she wanted to quit her position as the Gym Leader of Olivine City. If he had to randomly come up with a statement that would represent the last thing he'd expected his love interest to say to him, then what the fire-type trainer had just heard would have very likely been on his list of possibilities. What did she mean, she wanted to quit? Why? How could a pokémon trainer like Jasmine, who had every quality a trainer needed in order to hold a position like this as far as he was concerned, suddenly decide to just get up and leave?
He had no doubt that the steel-type trainer enjoyed being a Gym Leader. After all, if it weren't so, she wouldn't have been in possession of the title for as long as she had up until that point to begin with. True, the last thing Jake knew was how much time has gone by ever since Jasmine had been appointed as the Leader of the Olivine City Gym but he very seriously doubted that she was new to the role. It was obviously shocking for him to hear her say that she wanted to resign, but what bothered him even more was how emotionally upset she obviously was about the whole matter. It was clear to him that she was very much distressed about not only having decided to quit, but also, obviously, about the reasons that have led her to come to that decision.
Despite Jake's very much justified curiosity, however, a part of him was making it very impossible for him to try and get some answers. As a matter of fact he felt reluctant about saying anything at all, even in an attempt to calm her down, fearing that whatever he might say would only end up upsetting Jasmine even further. However, at the same time, just continuing to look at her like that was even more unbearable than the thought of unintentionally making things worse. Taking in a deep breath, he forced himself to speak. "Jasmine, calm down..." His words didn't seem to have any effect, but seeing her like this was just too much for him. "Please, don't cry..." After a short hesitation, he gently grabbed onto her wrists before slowly lowering her hands, which were covering her face.
The frequency of her sobs was reduced as Jake did this, either because she really was trying to listen to what he was saying or simply because she didn't want him to see her crying. Well, without her being able to hide her face, that is. Perhaps it was for both of these reasons. "Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" he asked softly, releasing his grip on her arms. "Why are you resigning? Is there anything I can do to help?"
Forcing herself not to start weeping again, Jasmine took in a few heavy, shaky breaths before slowly shaking her head in a negative response. "I doubt that..." What could she or Jake possibly do? Was there anything anybody could do? The first thought that had occurred to her when she'd lost control of herself just a minute or so earlier was that she didn't want to open up and appear so vulnerable around a stranger. But, at the same time, the last thing the steel-type trainer wanted was to be on her own.
"Would it be too much to ask what all of this is about?" asked the fire-type trainer after a short silence. "If you don't want to tell me then that's okay, but..." He fell silent.
"B-but what?" asked Jasmine, a little confused. Erika considered Jake as a close friend and thought very highly of him, but still... However, there she was, standing in front of him, and the urge to just turn her back on him and take off wasn't even on her mind.
"I dunno..." said he with a slight chuckle. "It's just very hard for me to hear you say that you want to leave your gym..." His expression then changed, becoming a little sadder. "I think you're perfect for the role"
"You haven't even seen me battle before..." said the steel-type trainer, staring down at the ground with an uneasy expression. She hadn't really put up much of a fight against Melanie's Charizard earlier...
"I don't think I need to." As Jake said this, Jasmine found herself raising her gaze from her own feet, looking at him. "I mean, I barely know you, but I know that you're a kind and thoughtful person who cares a lot about her pokémon, not to mention that you must have been given your position for a reason." He fell silent for a few seconds. "And when we were on our way here, on the S. S. Anne, Jacob and Melanie constantly kept talking about how they were looking forward to battling the Olivine City Gym Leader because of all the good things they've heard about her; about you..."
"I'm not even going to ask you whether you love your position because I know that you've held it for a very long period of time already." Falling silent once more, Jake let out a sigh before looking at his love interest with a worried expression. "Jasmine... Why do you want to quit? What's happened?"
"I..." Once again, Jasmine seemed quite hesitant to say the least. "I just can't take this anymore..." she said, repeating the same words from earlier that day in her gym. Jake seemed as if he was about to ask her to explain herself, but she cut him short. "This is not Gym Leading..."
That statement obviously confused Jake even further. "W-what do you mean?" he asked, obviously not understanding what she meant in the slightest.
"Do you know what it's like?" asked Jasmine after a short silence. She appeared to be much calmer now, most likely as a result of being occupied by their conversation, because she wasn't crying anymore. Jake slightly tilted his head to one side, having once again found himself unable to understand just what the steel-type specialist was trying to imply. "Being a in charge of a Pokémon Gym, that is."
"Oh..." Jake scratched the back of his head for a brief moment, trying to think of what he should say. After all, he wasn't a Gym Leader himself, but he had been a part of Blaine's Gym for quite some time not to mention the fact that he was also in touch with a few other Gym Leaders as well like Erika, Misty, Flannery and a few others he'd met in the past. So, in some ways, he knew a little bit about the responsibilities that came with the position."Well, obviously, not much.." he said. Was Jasmine trying to tell him that the reason for her planned departure from the gym was the pressure the job came with?
"There's more to it than just battling trainers, Jake." said Jasmine softly. "It's so much more." A small smile appeared on her face as she talked. "You don't only test the strength of your challengers. You help them find it in case they are unable to surpass you in skill. You expose them to different battling styles whenever you face them and you help them work on their bond with their partners by giving them a challenge - by throwing something completely different at them every time." A short silence followed before she spoke again. "It's not just about battling another trainer in an exhibition of power. Not for the Gym Leader, at least. That's what's so wonderful about it. When you lose to a challenger you've beaten before, you know that the trainer you're about to give a Gym Badge to has improved with your help, whether he or she realizes it and whether they do not."
Jake smiled. "Well, I doubt what you've just told me will ever be of any importance to me, but I'm happy to have heard it nonetheless." Hearing her talk so positively of her title significantly brightened up his mood. But, at the same time, it made him even more confused than he already was. If Jasmine adored her position so much then why was she resigning? She was obviously very devoted to her gym. "But if you love what you do so much, then why are you... I'm sorry, Jasmine, but I just don't understand..."
"Because being a Gym Leader used to be about helping other trainers." replied the Gym Leader, once more a little shakily, as she stared down at the ground yet again.
"Y-yeah," Jake was becoming more and more uncertain as to what to even think with every passing second. "You already told me that, but-" he paused for a brief moment. "Wait... used to be?"
"I did not accept this position so that I could chase criminals around all day a-and watch people and pokémon get hurt..." Jasmine's eyes then got teary again all of a sudden. It was then that Jake finally realized what this entire mess was about. He should have figured as much. "I did not become a Gym Leader so that everybody could blame me whenever something went wrong! And now... What am I supposed to do about these... These..." She let out a frustrated sigh. "What are they even called?!"
"That Shadow Triad bunch?"
"How am I supposed to stop people who can easily kill somebody else in the blink of an eye if they want to?!" Team Plasma grunts were one thing, even if her unwanted dislike of her position had originally started to grow because of them, but this... "I-I'm sorry, Jake, but this is not what I signed up for when I accepted the leadership of the Olivine Gym! I'm tired of being exposed to people and pokémon getting separated from one another all the time! It's the complete opposite of why I love the position so much! And with the Shadow Triad in the picture now, my own life might be in danger!"
"Jasmine, please, you can't know that for sure..." The fire-type trainer desperately wanted to calm her down, but how was he going to assure her that she was safe from the Shadow Triad? Would anybody be safe if Team Plasma decided to get rid of them?
"But the danger exists, doesn't it?!" Her Steelix was rather restless, probably because of the knowledge that the three members of the Shadow Triad really were that dangerous. "You said so yourself at the police station - Team Plasma always has an ultimate goal! That Unova Gym Leader we were talking to on the phone agreed with you on that! He even said that any interference from Gym Leaders would not be tolerated!"
"When I went after them-"
"They were there looking for me, Jake!" she blurted out all of a sudden, her anger once again replaced by fear. "You know that! I don't want to live my life in fear and I certainly don't want other people to put themselves in harm's way because of me!" A long silence followed. "Enough is enough... I'm done..."
"Well, um... To me they said they wanted to determine the Gym Leaders' levels of skill..."
"You might as well have talked to a brick wall." said Jasmine with a frown, the sarcasm more than noticeable in her voice.
Jake fell silent. Jasmine was right and he knew it. The Shadow Triad might have lied to him, and even if they hadn't... They did say they meant the Gym Leaders no harm yet. He remembered the word 'yet' very well. "I still think you should stay." he said softly. Before Jasmine could protest, however, he spoke up again. "Think about it, Jasmine. Please, just listen to me for a moment." The steel-type trainer then took in a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down and get her tears under control. "Why would Team Plasma want a Gym Leader out of the way?"
Jasmine remained silent for a short moment. Was there some sort of a catch to his question? "Um... They don't want anybody getting in their way..." she said eventually, her voice once again quiet and gentle like it usually was.
"Exactly. Gym Leaders are skilled trainers." said Jake with a nod of his head. "Also, they have been a symbol of resistance to Team Plasma ever since the failure of the first attempt to conquer Unova."
"Jake, where are you going with this?" asked Jasmine with another sigh. Everything the fire-type trainer was saying only appeared to be emphasizing her point.
"What I'm trying to say, Jasmine, is that you are an amazing trainer." Doing his best to ignore his own reservations, he gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "That will never change. No matter what you do - you're the trainer you are regardless of your title. Gym Leader or not - you're a trainer Team Plasma is afraid of. Quitting your position will not change anything." If anything, what Jake was saying to Jasmine was making her even more uneasy, but he carried on nonetheless. "Besides, deep down you understand that resigning won't change the way you choose to act whenever these thugs are around. We both know that you will not stand on the sidelines and watch Team Plasma do bad things because you hate what they do - you despise the way they separate pokémon from their trainers."
Jasmine stared at him for a brief moment without saying a word - as if in a small state of shock. "So what you're saying is... that leaving won't change a thing..."
Nodding slowly, the fire-type trainer continued. "I know you're scared. It's okay to be. Do you think I'm not scared, even if I'm not a Gym Leader?" He paused for a brief moment. "Jasmine, I've been constantly getting on Team Plasma's nerves ever since I started my journey. The Shadow Triad said that I'm of interest to them." Another short silence followed. "That just might place me in a position identical to yours in the future..."
"I..." Jasmine didn't know what to say. "I wish things were different."
"So do I, Jasmine, I honestly do..." said he with a sigh and a small smile. "But if Team Plasma does succeed, whatever it is they're up to this time, then what you and I are both afraid of will happen. We will lose our pokémon and our lives will never be the same again. Don't you understand? If you do quit your position and do nothing - you will only end up increasing the chances of having your fears come true."
The Gym Leader looked at him for a brief moment and then, all of a sudden, her expression changed completely. "I... I think i get it now." she said. "Hiding from Team Plasma won't help - if anything, it might make the situation worse..."
"Exactly." said Jake, feeling glad to see that he'd managed to get his point across.
"If I am to lose my pokémon either way - I might as well do so while trying to prevent it from happening." She let out a heavy sigh, staring down at the ground. "I'll be protecting them that way. Unfortunately, that's just the way it is..."
"Jasmine..." Smiling, Jake removed his hand from her shoulder and placed it beneath her chin, using it to gently raise her gaze so that she was looking at him. "Being afraid is natural, but it won't do you any good..." Having gotten her to pay attention to him, he lowered his hand. "Let me tell you something that I learned the hard way. Life is like... like a messy pile of everything you have and everything you've experienced... There are good things and bad things. The good things don't always help us completely ignore the bad things, but they're always there. What we have in our lives that's positive will never be unimportant just because of what's negative. ... Do you understand what I'm saying?"
After a short silence, Jasmine nodded. "You love what you do - even if you have to stand up to Team Plasma whenever they cause trouble here." continued Jake. "But you must not forget that you have your pokémon, your friends and everything else that's good in your life. If I'm not mistaken, there are currently two very promising trainers who are waiting for you to evaluate their abilities and the bonds they share with their pokémon." He grinned, causing her to hold back a slight blush. "So... What do you say?"
After what seemed like forever to Jake but was actually a rather short, yet very stressful moment, Jasmine finally smiled for the first time since the encounter with the Shadow Triad at her gym earlier. "Whatever happens, I want you to remember something." continued the fire-type trainer, smiling as well. "There's always something to look at . All you've got to do do is to open your eyes."
To his surprise, and maybe even embarrassment, his love interest suddenly wrapped her arms around him and embraced him in a hug. "Thank you..." she said softly, not noticing the slight blush on his cheek because of the position they were in.
"Y-you're welcome..." Hearing the sound of hooves heading in their direction, the two trainers looked and saw Jake's Ponyta slowly walking towards them. "Want a ride back to the gym?" asked Jake with a grin as Jasmine let him go and stroked the horse-like pokémon's muzzle.
"Um..." As shyly as ever, she looked at him while rubbing the back of her head with a hand. "I think I'd rather walk..."
Chuckling, Jake patted Ponyta on the back. "Sorry, pal. Perhaps we could go for a run on the beach sometime later."
On their way back to the gym, Jasmine and Jake caught sight of Melanie and Jacob sitting at some random coffee house. Melanie was busy talking about something rather enthusiastically while Jacob was doing his best not to fall asleep with his head on the table. Somehow, despite how sleepy he looked, he spotted his friend and the Olivine Gym Leader. "Hey, guys, we're over here!"
Turning around, Melanie smiled broadly upon seeing the two. "Hey!" She and Jacob stood up and made their way over to them. "Where have you been?"
"Yeah." said Jacob, a small hint of concern in his voice, "Is everything alright, Jasmine?" he asked, looking at the steel-type trainer.
"Yes..." said Jasmine softly, smiling a small smile. "I'm sorry for taking off like that, I just..." She looked at Jake for a brief moment and then back at his two friends. "I just needed a moment to relax." Then, turning her attention to Melanie in particular, she continued. "I do believe I owe you a proper match." When the brunette let out an excited squeal, for the first time, the Gym Leader didn't look bothered by her over enthusiasm. "What do you say?"
"No time for talking!" Grabbing her by the wrist, Melanie literally dragged Jasmine along in the direction of the Olivine Gym, causing the steel-type trailer to let out a started yelp.
"I think she'll be alright." said Jake with a chuckle.
"What happened?" asked Jacob as the two girls headed off, looking at his friend. He obviously still remembered how upset Jasmine had been back at the gym.
"It's nothing." said Jake, giving Jacob a short, dismissive wave of his hand. He saw no reason to tell anybody else about Jasmine's emotional breakdown or about how she'd almost left her position as a Gym Leader. "Come on, I bet you'd like to get there in time to see Jasmine battle before you take her on yourself."
"What are you so smug about?" Jacob raised an eyebrow as the two of them began to walk, having easily noticed the smile on Jake's face.
Aside from having managed to convince Jasmine to stay as well as to get her to stop worrying so much about Team Plasma, there was another reason why Jake looked so satisfied. "Oh, let's just say that you and Melanie are going to be eating without me tonight." he said, looking at his friend with a grin. "I've got a date."
A/N: Please review! Look at it this way - my focus is on another fanfic at the moment. This means that, the more reviews I get, the more frequent future updates to this story are most likely going to be. Think about it! :3
