Nothing much had changed.
The interior of his little cottage still has the same layout as she had remembered from her last visit. She closed the door behind her, pocketing the spare key to his house in her bag. She had retrieved Bronzy and her bag from the ship that she was helping to defend earlier.
Volkner still has duties to fulfil in the aftermath of the attack, so once he had confirmed that she still has the spare key to his house that he had given to her years before, he suggested for her to go to his house to wash up and rest. He has no idea how long he will take to clean up the mess and he looked very apologetic about it, but she brushed his concerns away. She understands. They are both Gym Leaders. Things like this do happen from time to time.
She went straight to the guest room where she will be staying for the foreseeable future and put her bag down in the corner of the room. Deciding that she should really change out of her still dripping-wet sundress, she headed to the bathroom to bathe, also taking off the oversized blue jacket that he had given her to cover herself.
She got herself washed up and changed in less than fifteen minutes, picked up her dirty laundry and his jacket, and decided that she might as well wash them while waiting for Volkner to finish whatever he is supposed to do as a Gym Leader. She saw a small pile of dirty clothes in the laundry basket in his house on her way to the washing machine. After staring at it for a few seconds, she took it with her. She might as well help her boyfriend to wash it to kill some time.
The thought of it still makes her blush. Her boyfriend. They are actually now in a relationship, something that she had only dared to dream of in her wildest dreams before this.
A dream that came true. She is glad that they both reciprocated the feelings they have for each other.
Shaking her head in an attempt to get rid of the blush on her face, she dumped the dirty clothes into the washing machine. What she wasn't expecting was for the washing machine to actually jump at her and make a ghostly shriek, causing her to scream as well.
"Prime! Stop it!"
The rotom only cackled as she heaved out a sigh. She has no idea when Prime had sneaked back into the house. Volkner's rotom just loves to scare the living daylights out of people whenever it can. The rotom exited the washing machine and zipped around the house in its plasma form, possessing any electrical appliances it can see in its excitement while laughing in that ghostly cackle, happy that its latest prank was a success.
With Prime distracted and out of the washing machine, Jasmine took this chance to start the washing machine and then proceed to rest on the couch in the living room. What should she do while she waits for him? Train? Or rest? She has a feeling that she won't be seeing him again until it's pretty late, given the scale of the attack which they had just thwarted. Does he even have three regular meals a day?
"Jarvis? Do you know when Volkner is coming back?"
The screen of the TV in front of her displayed a big 'NO' before returning to its usual pitch-black state. Whatever Volkner is handling, it is probably something troublesome.
A chittering sound got her attention as Scrat entered the house through the window. The pachirisu did a leap before flying into the air and landed next to her, its cheeks bulging and full with what she presumes is the berries that the little electric type had found on its way here.
"You better not be hiding berries in Volk's room again, Scrat. You know he doesn't like it."
The pachirisu merely gave her a mischievous look before he scampered off into Volkner's room. Volkner must have sent Scrat back to keep her company, knowing that time tends to pass faster when dealing with Scrat's antics.
Scrat emerged from the room minutes later, its cheeks emptied of the berries it was carrying in its mouth earlier.
"Scrat." Jasmine sighed at the knowledge of what the rodent just did. "You know Volkner will be angry at you if he found that you hid another berry in his shoes or in his cupboard again."
The electric type answered her by flying circles around the living room with Magnet Rise, obviously unbothered by his trainer's anger if he got found out.
With an exasperated sigh, Jasmine moved herself from the comfortable position on the couch and entered Volkner's room. With the exception of his work desk which is strewn with piles of paper documenting who-knows-what, it is surprisingly neat for a guy. Even her own room isn't as tidy as his.
"Alright, time to find those berries you had hidden." Jasmine said with her hands on her hips as she glanced to the rodent beside her. She has nothing better to do anyway, might as well spend it playing find-the-berries with the bratty pachirisu.
"How did you managed to hide… twenty-two, twenty-three…twenty-four. Twenty-four berries in Volk's room?" Jasmine asked in mild confusion as she counted the number of berries she laid out on the floor. How did Scrat even bring in such a large number of berries with that small mouth of his? Scrat has a talent in hiding small objects, that she has to admit. You would have thought that it is easier to find hidden berries in such a neat room but Scrat has a knack in finding the weirdest of places to hide things. In the pillow, balancing on the blades of the ceiling fan in the room, and so on. He is good at hiding things in plain sight.
Scrat merely ducked into a small narrow gap in between the desk and the cupboard before emerging with a Rawst berry.
"Twenty-five berries then." She sighed in half exasperation and fondness. At least they had managed to pass one and a half hours trying to look for the berries that Scrat had hidden in Volkner's room. He had always complained to her about Scrat's habits and how he always had to get rid of the berry juice clinging onto his feet whenever he accidentally stepped on one that Scrat had purposely hidden just so he can step on it. According to her boyfriend, Scrat does it just to annoy him. No matter what he did, Scrat's mischievous behaviour just cannot be curbed.
She took a look on the clock hanging on the wall of his room. It will be dinner time soon and there is still no telling when he will be back. Had he eaten?
Knowing him, probably not.
With her mind made up, she grabbed her purse and her pokeballs before motioning for Scrat to follow. She can feel something hiding within her shadows, and she instinctively knew that Prime must be tagging along as well.
She released Molly, Amphy, and Lucy to accompany her the moment she locked the door of his house. Her steel types greeted her enthusiastically and she returned the greeting. Without delay, she headed for the marketplace, which is already back to its usual hustle and bustle.
Volkner must be working really hard for the marketplace to be able to resume its normal activities so soon after the attack.
If there is a perk when travelling to foreign land, it is that she can walk around freely without people stopping to greet her after walking past every street like what happens to her in Olivine. Being a public figure has its own inconveniences. She is always a little too self-conscious whenever she walks around in her own hometown because of her own status, but none of that applies here since most people in Sunyshore don't know who she is.
It is a refreshing experience.
She quickly picked out the fresh produce on sale with the small group of pokemon beside her. The iconic Sunyshore marketplace has everything. You name it, they have it. It's an inevitable outcome as Sunyshore houses one of the most important ports in Sinnoh, and with that a whole assortment of goods going in and out of the city. With Volkner as their guardian, no one will be able to harm Sunyshore no matter how hard they tried. Because of that, the city's economy had grown exponentially.
"Jasmine? That you?"
The call of her name got her to turn her head to the direction of the voice. A familiar figure with red afro hair walked past the crowd and got to her within seconds.
"Flint?"
Flint gave her a big grin as his flareon, Flare, trotted beside him, head cocked to one side as it appraised her. From what Volkner had told her years back, Flint and Volkner both got Flare and Jo on the same day from the same place when they happened to meet each other on their Sinnoh gym circuit in Canalave. Somehow, they trouble prone duo stumbled onto a pokemon smuggling ring and the two boys, only Intermediate trainers back then, decimated the smuggling ring together on their own. They found two eevees among the smuggled pokemon, which somehow got attached to the both of them. The Gym Leader of Canalave, Byron, made his way to the scene as soon as he got wind of it. Upon seeing how attached the eevees are to them, he persuaded the two young boys to keep it on their team, assuring them that he will handle any administrative matters should they arise.
That was how Volkner got Jo and Flint got Flare.
"Volk told me that you arrived. Thanks for helping to save the city, by the way. Who knows what might have happened if you weren't there."
"It's nothing." Jasmine smiled back at Volkner's best friend. "Not that I am unhappy to see you, but why are you here?"
"Well, an attack of such a large scale just happened out of the blue. Someone has to do something, right?" Flint gave a shrug. "Bertha and Cynthia are here too to help Volk with the clean-up although they should be leaving by tomorrow. The rest of the Gym Leaders are still keeping a close eye on their cities while Aaron and Lucian are now on the hunt."
Oh, so Flint is here to help.
"Anyway, there's nothing to worry about. Everything should be back to normal by tomorrow." Flint gave a flippant wave of his hand. "I will be taking over Volk as the temporary Gym Leader for a short while, so don't worry too much and enjoy your vacation with Volk."
Jasmine nearly choked on air.
"V-Vacation?!"
"What? You two are together, right? Or are you telling me that the groceries in the basket isn't for Volk? I can see all his favourite food in there. You are obviously planning to cook him something for dinner."
She looked down at the basket in her hand. Flint wasn't wrong, she was planning to cook so that Volkner has something to eat when he gets back. But…
"Vacation?"
"Eh? He didn't tell you? His application for leave had finally been approved after so long and he is taking a short break. This attack is a little untimely, but it shouldn't affect your little holiday much. However, Sunyshore cannot be without a Gym Leader for such a long time, so I will be taking Volk's place while the both of you are enjoying yourselves."
She blinked. Volkner had not told her anything. She was of the impression that her visit is just a simple visit, and that she will be staying in Sunyshore for the entire duration while he carries on with his usual duties as the city's Gym Leader. Volkner did not have a single vacation in the past five years he had served as Sunyshore's Gym Leader, he is just that busy. Even the rare times he had visited her in Johto previously was because he was in Johto on official business as Sinnoh's representative. He couldn't stay long.
"Uh, oops?" Flint had obviously caught on upon spotting the expression on her face. If Volkner had not told her anything, he had probably wanted it to be a surprise. "Uh… forget anything I said! Haha…" He gave a nervous laugh before taking a few subtle steps backwards. "I…will be going now, criminals to catch, order to restore, damage to assess, you know the drill. Bye!"
And with that, Sinnoh's strongest Fire Specialist disappeared into the crowd.
Jasmine can only shake her head. Volkner does love his surprises, but sometimes she wishes that he will not keep popping surprises one after the other. There is a limit to how many surprises she can take in a single day.
Still, it does not stop the warm feeling from welling in her chest. A vacation. They can finally have a vacation. Just the two of them.
She is already looking forward to it.
The sound of the door opening got her head turning to it. Volkner entered with drooping eyes and his feet dragging across the floor, looking extremely tired by whatever he was doing.
"Oh, Jas." He spotted her immediately. "Uh, sorry for being late. I know today is kinda special since we just confirmed our relationship and all…"
"It's fine." She said with a laugh at how he tries to explain himself. Jo and Squeaky, which was beside him when he entered, dashed to her side the moment they saw her. She indulged them when they nuzzled against her and demand affectionate pats on the head. "I am a Gym Leader too. I know how busy it can be sometimes. Have you eaten?"
"No." He admitted. "I was thinking of- wait." He sniffed the air and his head gradually shifted to where the dining table is.
"You cooked?!"
"I had time to spare, so why not?"
Volkner squinted his eyes and shifted his face closer to the food she cooked.
"No offence, Jas. The last time I ate the things you cooked, I had food poisoning that lasted a week."
"That was like, six years ago!"
He shrivelled a little upon spotting the glare she casted on him and meekly raised his hands up in a gesture of surrender. She stood up and got to his back excitedly, pushing him to the table and forced him to sit on the chair.
"Come on, try it!"
With her excited encouragement, Volkner can only sit himself down and began to eat the dishes she cooked for him. She looked at his face closely, trying to see his response.
"How is it?"
"Delicious!" He clapped his hands once with a big smile plastered on his face. "See? I finished everything!"
"It was really delicious?" She asked hopefully.
"Really." He nodded in all seriousness.
Even when Volkner excused himself to go get himself washed up and changed, she cannot help but have some lingering doubt in her mind. She knew she was a bad cook when they first met about six years ago, but she had been learning in her scant free time how to cook a proper decent meal. Something at the back of her mind is telling her that Volkner was lying.
She peered closely at the leftover spaghetti sauce, bringing her face close to the plate. Scrat, Squeaky, and Jo imitated her action. The three electric types all scrunched up their noses the moment their faces were close enough and immediately bolted.
Uh oh.
She took a spoon, scooped up some of the leftover sauce and put it in her mouth, only to almost puke it out.
How had Volkner managed to finish everything she cooked for him?!
That idiot.
She turned to the direction of the bathroom. The door is closed, but when she placed her ear on the door, she can still make out a faint gagging sound if she listened hard enough.
She sighed once more, a gesture that she has been doing a lot lately. He should have just told her the truth and not finished everything. A talented trainer she may be, but a cook she is not. Cooking is something that she never managed to get a hang of no matter how hard she tried.
Great, first day since their relationship became official and she managed to get her boyfriend sick.
"Are you sure you are ok?"
"Yeah… I think so…" Volkner said weakly as he lay face down on his bed, letting out a groan. He had somehow managed to bathe and get himself changed into clean clothes even after that traumatic experience. "It's… not that bad, really."
"You idiot." She muttered as she handed him a glass of warm water which he took with shaking hands after he flipped himself over. "Just don't eat it if it's that bad!"
"But you were the one who cooked it."
"Volk…"
"I'm fine, really." He sat upright and tried his best to look fine, but there's no hiding how pale his face is. After he had finished the meal she cooked for him, for the last half an hour he had been puking non-stop, how will he be fine after that?
Myst teleported himself in with takeout in hand.
'I believe this is the porridge that Mistress had ordered. I had already handed the money to the deliveryman.'
"Yeah, thanks a lot, Myst. Just leave it there. You guys help yourselves to the pokemon food, alright? I am kind of… incapacitated right now."
'Don't worry about us. Have a good rest, Master.'
Myst disappeared in a crackle of psychic energy after their shared telepathic conversation, leaving the two of them alone.
"I'm really bad at taking care of others, am I?"
"I guess cooking is just really not your strength." Volkner's words got her to look up again. "But hey, that's why you have me. You know my cooking skills are legendary."
She let out a laugh at those words because it's true that Volkner is undoubtedly the better cook between the two of them. He never fails to cheer her up.
She took a spoon and scooped up some porridge with it. Seeing as it is still steaming hot, she blew at it a few times to cool it before gesturing for him to open his mouth.
"Huh, I don't mind being bedridden again if it means that you will feed me every day."
"Just keep quiet and eat it." She glared at him although she can feel her face flushing red again. Why does it always feel like she is the adult in their relationship saddled with an overgrown child?
He took a mouthful of the porridge and she ate a bite as well from the same bowl. They kept taking turns as they both slowly ate their dinner in this manner.
"Feels like Kanto all over again, doesn't it? Only that it is the other way around this time. Remember the time you fell sick after being stuck in the rain for too long? The time when we were at Lavender?"
She nodded her head absentmindedly. Their trip to Kanto felt so long ago. It has been close to six years since their trip ended. She remembered their trip to Lavender. Back then, she was the one too sick to even lift a finger and he was the one taking care of her. He was the one feeding her food in this exact same way when her fever was running high and she became a little delirious as a result.
"What do you say to another trip? Just the two of us."
"I already packed my stuffs." She said with a gleam in her eyes. "Flint had already let it slip when we bumped into each other earlier this afternoon."
"Stupid afro head." Volkner had a slight scowl on his face when he digested the news. "It was supposed to be a surprise."
"If it means anything, I was surprised at the news when he blurted it out. I assume we are leaving tomorrow morning?"
"That was the plan. Anywhere in particular you want to go?"
"Not really." She said with a finger to her chin. "But don't you have things to do after an attack on your city? I wasn't expecting you to be able to leave the city just like that."
"There was no damage done since we responded quickly enough. It's not like we can do anything else other than sitting and twiddling our thumbs while waiting for Aaron and Lucian to come back with results." Volkner waved her concerns away. "Now that we have a name to attach the mysterious organisation with, it should be easier for Aaron and Lucian to track them down. They are like Johto's equivalent of Team Rocket in Sinnoh, such a big organisation cannot possibly hide themselves from our search totally. There are bound to be tracks left behind."
"Team Galactic, right?"
"Yeah. Stupid name, if you ask me."
"Just… be careful when you are dealing with them."
"I will."
They spent their night in this manner, with her lying by his side as they both recounted their journey to Kanto many years ago, laughing at some of the stupid and embarrassing things that they did. Unlike some of her peers, this is all she needs. She is a simple girl. She doesn't need to be showered with gifts and pretty words. She doesn't need to be pampered with luxurious treatments.
All she asks for is for someone who is able to understand her and is able to make time for her when she really needs it, no matter how busy he may be.
Like him, all she wants is a simple life with a little adventure.
AN: Sorry for the lack of updates recently. For those of you who didn't know, I had been busy with school and the fact that my grades are in mortal danger isn't exactly helping with my situation. My main focus is now on my studies. I only write chapters when I have the free time, usually on Sundays, and it is after many weeks that I managed to get this chapter published.
For those of you who did not follow my other pokemon story, I Just Want To Travel The World, I have been considering the prospect of combining both stories into a single universe due to the large number of similarities in the worlds of both stories. Meaning, Volkner will meet Vel and Vel will meet Volkner. Of course, like I had told the readers in IJWTTTW, TSOS will still be Volkner's story while IJWTTTW will still be Velda's story. Just think of it as reading a story through their respective perspectives. If you are not a fan of IJWTTTW for whatever reasons, that is fine as well. My plan is that while both stories can be combined into one universe, they can also be read individually so that readers that are only fans of one of the two stories will not be short-changed. Most IJWTTTW readers seemed to be receptive of the idea so far, so I want to get some opinions on this side. I have no idea how many of you guys actually are a fan of both, but the vibe I am getting is that most readers of IJWTTTW read TSOS and vice versa, which is one factor why I am considering something like this in the first place.
Now, this is something that I had only thought about recently after I posted the latest chapter of IJWTTTW. When I thought about it further, I actually thought it might be a great idea to write a story of a series of reincarnated ocs, one for each region (up to Alola), and have each story to be linked in some way to each other. Kind of like how Disney created the MCU for Marvel. I do have some ideas, and this will be a very ambitious project if I ever decide to pursue it. It may or may not ruin all the hard work I put into TSOS and IJWTTTW thus far, but somehow I think it will work. I never saw anyone attempting something like that before and it is why I am very tempted to try it out. I do have a few pokemon stories/ideas that I had scrapped even before I wrote TSOS, and I feel that they can fit into the pokemon universe that I am building up pretty well. That also means that I can readily publish new pokemon stories after doing several minor edits if I decide to go about doing this.
Maybe I am a little too ambitious, but currently I am more inclined to the idea of writing a total of seven pokemon stories, each happening in the same pokemon universe I had built up for IJWTTTW and TSOS and each having an mc who is a reincarnated oc. Wouldn't that be interesting? Of course, updates will probably be slow until this semester is over. I just want to get the opinions from the readers who read TSOS but not IJWTTTW, whether they are willing to accept the change in the direction TSOS is heading towards. I know I cannot please everyone, but I will try.
In any case, let me know what you think about the arrangements. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Pokemon and trainer list:
Volkner Tide: Gym Leader of Sunyshore, Electric Specialist
Titles, Accolades and Achievements: Tie for First Place with Flint in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Electric Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, The Sun of Sunyshore, The Yellow Flash
Main team:
1) Electivire (Franky), male
2) Luxray (Simba), male
3) Jolteon (Jo), female
4) Magnezone (ISpy), genderless
5) Gallade (Myst), male
6) Rhyperior (Tec), male
7) Probopass (North), female
8) Gyarados (Puddle), male
Pokemon used for Gym challenges
9) Raichu (Squeaky), female
10) Pachirisu (Scrat), male
11) Heliolisk (Bask), male
12) Ampharos (Fluffy), female
13) Vikavolt (Vik), female
14) Eelektross (Whirr), male
15) Lanturn (Glowy), female
Pokemon used for Sunyshore's security
16) Rotom (Prime), genderless
17) Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless
Jasmine Terbium: The Gym Leader of Olivine, Steel Specialist
Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Johto's Strongest Steel Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Johto, The Iron Wall of Olivine
Pokemon Team:
1) Ampharos (Amphy), male
2) Steelix (Steely), female
3) Magnezone (Magny), genderless
4) Skarmory (Skia), female
5) Forretress (Forest), male
6) Metagross (Mety), genderless
7) Empoleon (Emy), male
8) Bronzong (Bronzy), genderless
9) Mawile (Molly), female
10) Lucario (Lucy), female
11) Excadrill (Drilly), male
12) Ferrothorn (Thorny), male
13) Klinklang (Clang), genderless
14) Bastiodon (Bobby), male
Flint Cinders: Sinnoh Elite Four, Fire Specialist
Titles, Accolades and Achievement: Tie for First Place with Volkner in the 521st Lily of the Valley Conference, Sinnoh's strongest Fire Specialist, Thirteen Pillar of Sinnoh, Sinnoh's Raging Inferno
Pokemon team:
1) Magmortar (Burner), male
2) Infernape (Might), male
3) Houndoom (Bel), female
4) Flareon (Flare), male
5) Rapidash (Flamel), male
6) Talonflame (Soar), female
7) Volcarona (Buzz), male
8) Chandelure (Wick), female
9) Turtonator (Fuse), female