"This is the life, Jas. No phone calls, no battling snot-nosed trainers, just you and me here on the beach enjoying the sun, the sea, and the drinks."
Jasmine let out a small laugh from where she is lying down on a beach chair next to Volkner. They are both on a private beach at the Resort Area, located on an island in the north of mainland SInnoh. It is a luxurious place where the rich will go for their vacation. Given how much they both earned as Gym Leaders, they are definitely both qualified as rich people.
The couple bathed in the rays of the early morning sun for a little longer, enjoying the lazy atmosphere as their pokemon frolic around on the beach near them. Like Volkner said, no work-related phone calls, no training, no entertaining gym challenges, no duties, just spending some quality time with each other and enjoying themselves.
This is really their long-awaited vacation.
Volkner took a sip of the cocktail before placing it back on the small table beside him, adjusting the sunglasses that he wore over his eyes to ensure that he didn't get blinded by the sun while sunbathing. She isn't a fan of alcohol, so her drink is a simple but refreshing juice that is a nice mix of various fruits and berries.
She adjusted her own sunglasses as she peered at the beach to ensure that her team didn't accidentally destroy something. Her pokemon sometimes underestimated just how strong they are. A casual swing of their arms or tails might break a tree or two if they are not careful.
Satisfied that her pokemon are not up to any unruly behaviour yet, she scooted over to Volkner's side and wrapped her arms around him. She can feel his arm around her waist as well. She is usually not a touchy-feely person. Far from that, really. She usually doesn't like having physical contact with just anyone that isn't her family, but being around Volkner always helps her to relax. She likes to cuddle with him. Maybe it is also because their relationship had been stuck in the awkward stage of 'friends-but-actually-more-than-just-friends' for so long that the moment they finally expressed their feelings for each other, they are fine with intimate physical contact almost from the get-go. For someone as shy as her, she had thought that it would be awkward to get so intimate with him straight away and that they would need to 'warm up' to each other, to get used to the sudden change in their relationship, but she found it alright. It's like she finally found the missing piece in her life.
"You know, since we are already at the beach, it would be a waste if we don't do some water activities." Volkner said in that lazy tone of his while she closed her eyes and rested her head near the crook of his neck.
"What do you have in mind?" She asked a little sleepily, the lazy atmosphere in the air today makes her a little unwilling to even move a single finger. It's not every day that she is able to get uninterrupted rest.
"How about water skiing?"
"Water skiing?" She raised her head and looked at her boyfriend questionably.
"Glowy and I do that sometimes on the sea around Sunyshore when we have the free time." Volkner explained. "I have a harness that I will put on her and she will pull me along while she swims as I hold onto the cable with the skis on my feet. I brought the equipment along just in case we might need it. It's fun, trust me."
She bit the inside of her cheeks. She had never been a sporty person even if her physical fitness is just fine. She had always steered clear away from any form of extreme sports.
"Come on, you should try it. Who knows, you might love it."
"I have a feeling that I will regret this, Volk."
"Never know till you try, right?"
SPLASH!
She swam to the surface before coughing out the seawater that she had accidentally drank in. This is the ninth attempt at trying to water ski for anything more than ten seconds before falling off. She is getting a little sick of the falling part.
"You are doing great, Jas!"
She honestly doesn't think that she is doing that great of a job.
Glowy swam back to her and allows her to cling on its body to get a short rest as they floated on the sea not far from the beach. Volkner is standing on Puddle, who is just floating nearby and snoozing away in the sun near where she is.
"I don't think I am suited for this, Volk." She said with a sigh as he hoisted her up with a hand and helped her climb onto Puddle. She briefly readjusted her bikini and sat down beside Volkner, taking a break from trying out water skiing.
"Well, at least you tried." He said as Glowy leapt from the waters with a powerful flick of her tail and landed on Puddle's still form before hopping comically towards Volkner. Volkner helped to unbuckle the harness on her as he folded the water-skiing equipment back to its portable form.
Jasmine lay down on her back as she used her right arm to cover her eyes from the sun. She had put on a thick layer of sunblock beforehand, so she isn't afraid of getting sunburnt. Still, she thinks that there are probably better things to do for their vacation than spending the entire day on the beach. But what else is there to do on this island?
"The sun is getting hotter. It must be nearing noon." Volkner mused as she shifted her arm over her eyes a little to take a peek at him. "Want to head back?"
"Might as well." She conceded. They can always come back here another day anyway. Maybe they can make a visit to the beach an every morning affair throughout the duration of their vacation here? That sounds like a nice idea.
They made their way back to the beach where they collected their stuff and recalled some of their bigger pokemon back into their pokeballs. They then walk back to their villa together barefooted with their pokemon around them, walking at a slow leisurely pace as they enjoy the sea breeze blowing at them as they held hands.
"Anything you want to eat for lunch?"
"There is a restaurant near the entrance of the Resort Area. It looks like it serves some nice food." She suggested as she wriggled her toes a little, enjoying the touch of the smooth white sand beneath her feet.
"Sounds good. I'm still thinking about what we should do later after lunch though, we had nearly explored everything we can during our first three days here. I'm thinking that maybe we should visit somewhere else?"
"Let's think about that after we had our bath." She said with a yawn.
"You mean bathing together?" Volkner asked hopefully before dodging to a side to avoid a step to his toes. She can feel her face flushing up again at Volkner's suggestion. While she has no problems with them kissing and cuddling with each other, her take towards relationship had always been on the conservative side. She is not yet comfortable with that idea. She knows Volkner is being his usual joking self and that suggestion is just that, a joke. He knows her personality inside out and she knows he would never suggest anything that she is uncomfortable with.
She knows it takes a lot for her to come out of her shell. That's why she's glad that she has Volkner with her. He never forces her to do anything she doesn't like to do but yet, always encourages her to try something new that she will not be totally averse to. With him around, trying to get out of her comfort zone is a lot easier.
"Just kidding, Jas."
"I know. I just want to step on your toes." She said in mock anger and gave him a pout. "All is forgiven if you let me step on them."
A look of mock horror crossed his face.
"What did my toes ever do to you?"
"It just feels fun to do so."
"Is that a weird fetish that I hear? Cos I don't think I ever come across something like that before, Jas."
"I'm your girlfriend now, deal with it."
They ate their lunch at the restaurant she said that she wanted to try out. It was halfway during their lunch when Volkner received a text message that made him frown.
"What is it?" She asked in curiosity as she took another bite at her meal.
"Flint is asking for me to check on Stark Mountain. Did he forget that I am on a holiday? Why am I still saddled with League related affairs on my holiday?"
"Stark Mountain?"
"The name has the word 'mountain' in it, but Stark Mountain is in actuality a dormant volcano at the far north of this island. The locals here say that it is the home to the legendary heatran, although no one had seen it for close to two centuries. Flint said that recent intel suggests that Team Galactic might be targeting heatran as well, and since I am already here, he is asking me to help out to check on Stark Mountain. I'm just going to tell him to send someone else. I am on a holiday. I mean, I am not the only Gym Leader in Sinnoh! Why is everyone relying on me to do everything?! They could send in the Special Forces too!"
"Heatran?" She said with a tilt of her head. As a Steel Specialist, she is interested in catching a glimpse of the legendary steel-fire type pokemon. No other pokemon have that particular dual typing as far as she knows.
Exploring Stark Mountain may not be that bad of an idea after all. The last time they explored a volcano together, it was the one in Cinnabar. Why not go on another adventure? This time in Sinnoh.
"I really don't mind exploring the mountain." She said and she saw how her boyfriend giving her a look that screams 'Are you serious?'. "I really want to see heatran, even if that chance is slim. And doesn't it feel like our Cinnabar trip all over again? Exploring a volcano, I mean."
"I guess you are right." Volkner scratched his head in thought. "I just don't like how everyone seems to be disrupting our vacation. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth. First true vacation in five years and I cannot even get a break."
She doesn't know what to say to comfort him, because he is right that it is a little too much for the Sinnoh League to be bothering him when this is the first true vacation that he has in five years. He doesn't even want to be a Gym Leader in the first place. The only thing she can do is to show him her support when she reached for his hand and gave it a light squeeze. He gave her a thankful look in return.
"Well, let's tell Flint our decision then."
She's thankful that the heat in Stark Mountain isn't as unbearable as what they had experienced in Cinnabar.
They are both wearing casual clothing with matching dark blue long-sleeved shirts complete with jeans. Volkner is wearing a cap to hide his bright blonde hair since he doesn't want to be recognised in public when he is on vacation in his own region. He usually also has a pair of sunglasses to complete the look, but he had taken it off the moment they entered Stark Mountain. Their current attire is the lightest they can go to help them with dealing with the heat.
Despite that, the heat they are feeling is still unbearable. The only solace they can take is that the heat here is not as unbearable as the one they remembered facing at Cinnabar.
Tec and Whirr strolled beside them. Tec's rocky armour protects him from the heat and Whirr's Levitate ability means that he can float in mid-air without support, preventing him from burning himself when he comes into contact with the hot stone floor in the interior of the volcano. Jasmine herself have Magny and Bronzy with her who are also able to levitate with their own power.
They slowly explored the interior of the volcano, checking every nook and cranny for any signs of Team Galactic. Even after two hours, they found nothing other than the usual wild pokemon taking residence within the volcano.
"I guess this is a false alarm." Volkner mused as they walked towards the last cavern in the volcano. "No signs of anything other than lots of zubats, geodudes, rhyhorns, the occasional magbys, etcetera and their evolutionary lines."
"And a lot of sweat." Jasmine half-joked. The two of them are drenched in their perspiration from exploring the volcano for close to two hours. "I don't care what you say, we are teleporting out of Stark Mountain once we are done."
"Did you just use Mind Reader? Because you totally read my mind there, Jas."
Their banter was cut short when they entered the last cavern and spotted a group of people they really do not want to see right now.
"Oh, come on." Volkner muttered as they both quickly hide themselves out of sight. The Team Galactic grunts did not seem to have spotted them yet. "Just when we were about to leave too."
The two of them cautiously peered out of the large boulder that they had hidden themselves behind. Jasmine did a quick estimation in her head, spotting about 50 Team Galactic grunts in here.
That is quite a sizable number of Galactics right here.
"Search harder! The Magma Stone must be here somewhere!"
"Magma Stone?" Jasmine whispered her question to her boyfriend when they heard one of the grunts barking out orders. "What is that?"
"Not anything good." Volkner has a concerned frown on his face, looking genuinely worried. "It is just a stuff of legends, but according to the locals, the Magma Stone is supposedly a rock with untold power. Legends said that it is a stone formed when boulders melted in extremely hot magma, then hardened. The process repeats itself over and over again until all that is left is a rock that is made of very pure magma. The pure liquid magma remains sealed inside while the exterior hardens, forming a hard shell to contain it. The description kind of reminds me of an egg, if you ask me."
"So? What makes that so valuable?"
"The catch is that a Magma Stone is said to be able to control the legendary Heatran. Don't know how true that is, but I don't want to find out the hard way. I won't be surprised if there really is a Magma Stone here in Stark Mountain. It is a volcano after all."
Jasmine sighed. They just can't seem to catch a break even on their holiday.
"How long do you think we will need to take to bring them down?"
"Hopefully? 15 minutes or less, considering it is 2 vs 50 here and we are inside a volcano. Realistically, expect the duration to be much longer if there are any skilled trainers in their ranks. I'm hoping the cavern will not collapse on us when we are fighting it out later."
"The only thing I am hoping is that the volcano will not erupt while we are here."
"That too. I am calling for reinforcements. Jarvis." Volkner brought up his poketch closer to his face as he gave his loyal porygon-z his command. "Tell Flint what we have found here. Ask him to hurry with it."
"What do you need me to do?" Jasmine asked. Dealing with criminal organisations is Volkner's specialty, not hers. It will be wise to ask him for advice.
"As far as I can see, there is only one entrance to this cavern which is also the only exit. Guard the exit and make sure these idiots don't escape. I will handle the rest. Refrain from using your larger pokemon and more destructive moves if you can help it."
"Got it." She whispered back before looking at Volkner's face. He gave her a curious look when he spotted her gaze.
"Yes?"
"Stay safe." She gave him a light peck on the cheek and took great satisfaction when he started to blush a little from the unexpected gesture. Who's the blushing one now? She's so going to tease him for it later.
"You too."
The couple quickly took their positions. Volkner made a flashy entrance when he recalled Tec, then threw his pokeball high up into the air and landed it in the middle of the group of Team Galactic grunts. The hulking rhyperior announced his presence with a savage bellow, sweeping his large tail across the cave with an Iron Tail and knocking many grunts out in a single blow.
Volkner released his entire team save Puddle, who is too large to be released here unless they want to bring the entire cavern down.
"Get them! Don't let a single one escape!"
Volkner's pokemon immediately leapt into action in flashes of yellow. A few of them remain by his side to act as his guards as Volkner and his team crushed any opposition systematically and ruthlessly, not allowing them a silver of a chance to fight back.
Jasmine spotted a few of the smarter ones abandoning the battle and heading towards the exit where she is.
"Bronzy, Gyro Ball."
Her bronzong spun on the spot before catapulting itself forward, knocking aside every grunt and their pokemon in its way. It then quickly used Hypnosis to put them into a forced sleep.
If there's one thing she learnt from Volkner, there's no such thing as a fair battle in mob battles like this. The faster the battle ends, the better. Knocking the trainer out before they can send out their pokemon is always more efficient than trying to engage them in a pokemon battle.
There is still some left who managed to call upon their pokemon and charged at her. She let out her team in response, leaving only Steely in her pokeball since she is too big and destructive to be released for battle here.
Her bastiodon, Bobby, let out a massive Flash Cannon that took down the opposing pokemon they faced as her forretress, Forest, slammed into any enemies it can find with Gyro Ball. The rest of her team weren't idle either as they made quick work of their foes.
There is a smell of ozone in the air followed by a crackling sound. She only managed to cover her ears with her hands just right before a massive Thunder struck down in the middle of the cavern with a deafening crash. A massive cloud of dust and smoke was thrown up into the air and Jasmine quickly barked at Skia, her skarmory, to disperse it.
Didn't her boyfriend just told her to NOT use any destructive moves in the cavern?!
With a powerful flap of her winds, the smoke was dispersed by Skia. Her boyfriend and his pokemon team stood in the middle, looking as though they are the victorious conquerors that just emerged from a war.
He looks quite dashing too, with the way he stood in confidence amidst the settling chaos and his shirt clinging onto his body due to his sweat.
But that Thunder was totally unnecessary. Her eardrums nearly exploded from having the Thunder occurring so close to her. What was he thinking?! If he was trying to impress her, then he has another thing coming.
That showoff.
She really wants to berate him for being such a showoff, but then again, she has to admit that it worked on her. She was entranced by the earlier display.
"That was way quicker than expected, although I think it is mainly because they only sent the grunts out. The grunts aren't that good in combat." Volkner commented, which pulled Jasmine out of her thoughts. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." She reassured him and quickly glanced at Volkner to check him for any visible signs of injury. He seems to be unscathed. Thankfully, it looks like Team Galactic didn't managed to find the Magma Stone too. She can only pray that Heatran remains undisturbed by the commotion here and not erupt Stark Mountain with its powers in rage.
"What do we do now?"
"Wait for the SPF to show up and bring them in." Volkner told her as his pokemon began to pile up the unconscious bodies of Team Galactic grunts and their pokemon into two separate piles. Vik used a String Shot to tie them up even more tightly for extra measure.
Jasmine pinched her nose and moved away from Volkner when he stood closer to her.
"You stink." She complained and waved a hand to clear the air around her. Volkner is sweating too much and with it comes the horrible smell of his body odour.
"Jas~ You are breaking my heart here!" Volkner whined comically which got him an eye roll from his pokemon team. Franky bonked Volkner on the head to get his childish trainer in line.
"Ouch! Hey, Franky! What was that for!"
"Good job, Franky." Jasmine praised the electivire, who gave her a big smile in return.
"J-Jas!" Volkner looked as if he just paled and cracked into a million pieces at that comment. Jasmine pretended not to notice before she was reminded of something.
"Didn't you told me to not use the more destructive moves here? What was that Thunder for?"
"Uh…I can explain!" She can see him waving his hands frantically, trying to think of a plausible excuse as she narrowed her eyes.
"Explain to me after you are done here. I'm heading back first, you wait here until the authorities arrive. That's what you get for nearly making my ears go deaf from that Thunder." She huffed in mock anger and motioned for Myst to come to her side, who did so immediately and teleported to stand beside her without a word. A knowing smirk is forming on Myst's face, he had probably already caught on to what she is planning.
"I will be waiting for you back at the villa!" She clapped her hands once happily as her team quickly gather by her side, realising what she is planning. "Bye, Volk! Say hi to Flint for me if he gets here!"
Volkner's eyes widened in realisation.
"W-Wait! It would take me forever to get out of Stark Mountain without Myst! Myst! Don't Teleport out of here without me, you hear me? I am your trainer! Remember the good times we spent together? Hey- hey!"
Jasmine waved a cheery goodbye to Volkner just as Myst starts to power himself up for a Teleport.
"J-Jas? JAS! DON'T LEAVE ME BEHIND!"
AN: Sorry for the wait. I have no excuses, so I won't make any, I just hope that this short and slice of life chapter is enough to make up for the long period of silence.
I also recently just posted two new pokemon stories, Reach for the Skies and Rocket's Exterminator. I myself prefer Rocket's Exterminator, but that is my own bias speaking. Like TSoS and my other existing pokemon fics, they will all be happening in the same world.
Hope you enjoy 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
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