A/N: I haven't been very diligent in writing this piece. I'm having a hard time balancing school, work, and friends, so I apologize for the long delays in chapter releases. I hope this next chapter works well. It is the first real character development for Sheila so far.
I would like to thank my two reviewers, liz and Ping Pong 1. Shallow as it may sound, I kind of need the reviews as motivation to keep writing. So, I just really appreciate the reviews.
I just realized that for some reason the italics and braces are all messed up previous chapters. That is so irritating.… The internal thoughts look really stupid and it is hard to differentiate between them and normal descriptions. I will try to go back and fix them sometime soon.
Without further ado…
Chapter 3 – Reality, or Something Like It
Sheila was pissed.
Understandably so, Ranger and M-40 were both knocked out and Emerald was in no condition to fight. More than that, her pride was hurt. Marowak and chinchou both left me, and now I can't even fend off a few wild pokemon. I am so BAD at this. I'm probably the most pathetic trainer to ever grace this world.
This is obviously not true. Sheila cannot be the worst trainer to ever live; statistics alone can prove with relative certainty that there is or was a trainer that is worse than her. Human nature prohibits a true interpretation of reality however, thus the "reality" that one person lives in can be (and usually is) drastically different from "true" reality. Even so, it doesn't matter. The reality that Sheila perceives is that she is a bad trainer.
She found herself at the hole she and Ranger had dug. It was a nice one, as holes go; it was wide enough for a person to comfortably jump down and it had a smooth, rounded edge to it. That unfortunately doesn't lend to climbing back up with ease. Knees folded under her as Sheila crumpled to the floor and sulked.
Why can't I get the hang of training? Mom and dad are always talking about their 'great adventures'. I bet they never screwed up like this. Sheila let out a depressed sigh and picked herself off the ground. Casually brushing her faded jeans off for the third time in one day, she looked around the cramped cave for something, anything that would help her get out of the hole she literally dug herself.
Flicking a lock of blonde out of her face, she spotted a dim light from the area she just left. The faint pitter-patter of feet could be heard, increasing in volume as time went on. Oh great, my knight in shining armor comes to claim his prize. Sure enough, the same handsome young man who had saved her earlier was walking towards her holding a lantern. What a jerk. He had better not expect anything from me.
"You dropped some stuff back there" he confidently explained. His outstretched hand contained a couple potions and antidotes, along with Sheila's trainer's license, but interestingly did not include the ornate pokeball with the shiny zubat prince. His face had a most charming smile plastered on it, instantly disarming Sheila of any hostility.
"Oh" was her only response. She was completely taken off guard by the sincere expression he held. She reached for his hand and reclaimed the items she had dropped during the fight with the zubats. His genial expression remained as he dug his hands deeply into his cargo short's pockets. Why is he still grinning like an idiot?
After a brief silence during which the two stared at each other, the lanky young man held out his hand once more. "I'm Jesse, Jesse Verite" he offered.
Sheila glanced at the hand extended to her. She was still depressed however, and promptly decided she wasn't going to shake his hand in greeting. A harsh nod was all he received for his efforts. Jesse's friendly demeanor quickly left him, replaced by an unexpectedly cold and calculating visage.
Almost as an afterthought, she said "I'm Sheila."
Jesse's smile returned as fast as it had left. "Do you have a last name, Ms. Shelia?" he asked, running a hand through his inch long brown hair.
"Yes." she replied, with more than a little venom. At this he arched back a little, exposing the beginnings of a six-pack as his tight blue sleeveless bunched, and laughed heartily. It caused her to crack a smile, if only slightly. She also stared half a second too long at his newly exposed midriff.
Jesse noticed her wandering eyes and immediately adjusted his shirt in embarrassment. Taking advantage of his minute victory (she smiled, didn't she), he continued. "Feisty one, aren't you?" He chuckled.
She did too. She couldn't help herself. Jesse was simply one of those people with a natural charisma; people just gravitated to him. Sheila had only just met him and she was already beginning to like him. She opened her mouth as if to say something, and then shut it, saying nothing.
"What are you doing in the Burned Tower Cave? You realize that those bats were much stronger than your pokemon." he scolded.
Anger flashed in Sheila's eyes with the reference to her recent defeat. What a jerk! "I-" she started, but didn't finish. She was at a loss for words.
He's right. I shouldn't have even come here. Guilt flooded through Sheila like waters released from a dam. Yet another thing I screwed up. She sat on a nearby rock and sulked.
Jesse realized he hit a nerve with his last comment. He looked down and spoke.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you; it's just that training is a lot more dangerous than people realize." Sheila didn't respond; she merely continued looking away from him. I just met her and I already pissed her off. Great.
She fought a losing battle against the tears that assaulted her eyes. She didn't want to be rude to the good looking and good natured young man, but she couldn't let him see her in a moment of weakness either. I'm so pathetic. As nonchalantly as she could manage, she wiped her eyes and turned to face Jesse. A surprisingly concerned look greeted her. He must be a genuinely good person to care about somebody he doesn't know. He's a strong trainer too, judging by that battle with the golbat. She made up her mind about him with that singular gaze; she would befriend him, and hopefully learn the art of pokemon training while doing it.
"Are you ok?" he asked. Red eyes and streaks down her face made it painfully obvious she had just been crying.
"Yes" she hissed in frustration. He didn't look convinced.
"No" she added. Jesse didn't say anything in response, but nodded for her to continue. He knew the best therapy for some things is to just say it, without any interruptions, to a sympathetic ear. Sheila hesitated, but she couldn't say no to his rich, brandy questioning eyes.
"It's just… I'm so bad at training" she explained. "I never thought it would be this hard." A glance in Jesse's direction proved he was paying attention. And he understands too. Understanding is exactly what Sheila needed. Encouraged by his positive reaction, she became bolder.
"I started training three weeks ago…" she continued to explain her entire trainer's story. When she told him of her first gym match against Jasmine, he arched an eyebrow and left out a gasp. Defeating the Princess of Steel on the first try (especially as the first gym) was no simple task. She finished her story with her arrival at the Burned Tower, leaving out the footprint trail she and Ranger had followed. The whole time she had concentrated her sight on her feet while Jesse's tanned frame leaned against the cave wall.
"…and to top it all off, I didn't even catch one of those stupid zubats. I just don't think I'm cut out for this sort of thing."
At this, Jesse chuckled again. Sheila's emotionally charged face shot up at him. Raising a pair of rough hands in defense, he explained himself.
"That isn't entirely true;" he said. Before she could ask why, he went on "you dropped this really pretty pokeball" she searched her pockets and came up without the purple and gold ball the old man had given her "and there wasn't anything in it. So I took the liberty of catching you this." Jesse was originally going to keep the fancy ball as well as the pokemon; he was taken over by greed, and a shiny pokemon is very rare. After Sheila's display of emotion though, he didn't feel right about keeping them.
He brought out the royal purple pokeball with a golden lion and released the prince. The deep green bat stood on the ground, wings folded in. His leg structure, not suited to standing on flat surfaces, and his weight distribution, quite top heavy, forced him to lean forward in a constant bow. Sheila gasped audibly when she saw him.
"That's the zubat that made the golbat try to take my head off when he fainted!" The zubat tried to fly but his wings failed him. He was still paralyzed from M-40's electrical attacks. Sheila retrieved a paralyze heal potion from her pocket and hurriedly administered it to the zubat. The bat screeched at first, but quieted down when the healing affects took place.
"There you go, little guy – all better." she cooed at the bat. Her demeanor had completely changed. Where she was depressed, thoughts muddled, and not in a position to do anything productive, she was now calm, collected, and in charge of the situation. She gently stroked the shiny zubat's red under-wing, to which the bat murmured in contentment.
"He was the son of the queen golbat. That's why she freaked out and tried to attack you." Jesse said.
"Oh" she responded ", that makes him a prince, doesn't it?" Turning to the deep green zubat "That's what I'll call you then."
The zubat didn't acknowledge her; the stresses from battle and the gentle massage Sheila gave him caused the bat to sleep in her arms. Jesse recalled the bat and tossed the ball to Sheila, grinning from ear to ear once more. He turned to expose his left side to Sheila, hunching on his knees as he did.
"Iris, not now" Jesse said. He stroked the ninetails behind the ears. He turned back to Sheila, now standing. The ninetails wasn't finished, however. The fire fox bit Jesse's backpack now facing her and pulled back. Jesse stumbled but regained his footing before he fell.
"What is it Iris?" That ninetails will be the death of me! Jesse spun on his heels to face Iris again. The fire fox licked her chops and let out a high pitched whine. She darted behind Jesse and pulled on his backpack again on the pouch that contained the food. Taking the hint, Jesse took his backpack off.
"Alright, alright! I'll feed you" he said as he pulled out a bag of high-grade pokechow and a bowl. Iris whined again, shifting on her paws in anticipation.
"Iris, I'm getting your food, be quiet!" Jesse yelled. The ninetails didn't stop whining and shifting until the bowl was on the ground. She dove in happily, quiet for the first time in minutes. Jesse rolled onto his back and sighed deeply in frustration.
Sheila simply sat on her rock, bemused by the whole spectacle, but her face was emotionless. Her earlier depression kicked in full blast. I don't have that kind of relationship with any of my pokemon. The next few minutes were held in silence, save for Iris' munching. Sheila glumly avoided Jesse's brandy-eyed glances at all costs. In her mind, she didn't want to appear weak in front of a stranger, however nice he may be.
Iris finished her meal and bounded over to Jesse in two strides, sliding to a stop in front of him. His lanky form still lay stretched out on the ground. Abdominals and biceps bulged as he grunted to sit upright. Iris' reddish-brown eyes scanned him for a moment, centering on his waist. His pokeball belt, a rugged brown that blended into his shorts, only contained two balls. The fire fox pushed at one with her snout, causing the ball belonging to the pokemon named Kirin to drop off the belt, opening it in the process.
Red light filled the small cavern, fading into the form of an ivysaur. A casual observer would take one look at the beautiful flower petals peeking out from its green prison, and remark that this particular ivysaur was close to evolving. The plant pokemon stretched its tough hide and yawned. It had obviously not recovered from previous battles and needed a treatment at a pokecenter. The decorative leaves at the base of the budding flower were torn in places, and several cuts marked the plant pokemon's body. Despite the beat up appearance, it was well groomed and quite healthy, evident by the bright green of the vegetation.
Iris barked a couple orders at the yawning Kirin, eliciting little response. The plant pokemon simply stood still, eyes darting around the cavern, taking in its surroundings. Iris grew impatient; tails swaying behind her, she approached the ivysaur and barked out louder than before.
Jesse shook his head at his pokemon. They were strong battlers, stronger than most opponents they came across, but they were just so … weird.
"You'd better do what she wants Kirin. You know how testy Iris can get when she doesn't get her way."
Kirin's entire body suddenly tensed. Vines whipped out of the base of the flower bud at lightning speed, entangling the hapless Iris, who was too surprised to struggle. Kirin directed his vines to lift the beautiful ninetails (with a sour expression to say the least), and carrying her up, through the hole in the ceiling Sheila and Ranger had dug, and gently released her outside the cave.
He repeated the process for Sheila, taking delight as she squirmed, uncomfortable to the sensation of being suspended by vines. Kirin picked up Jesse in the same manner, panting as he did. Previous battles and the current strain were finally catching up to him. Jesse recalled the plant pokemon with a red beam from his pokeball, which was gratefully received by the ivysaur.
A cool breeze sent a shiver down Sheila's spine as she peered down the hole she was just rescued from. Well that takes care of one problem.
Jesse and Sheila, both covered in dirt and growing wearing with the setting sun, headed back towards Ecruteak, and the comfort of a warm bed at the pokecenter.
It took them much longer than Sheila expected, due to the fading light. The sparse conversation between her and Jesse was dominated by long gaps of silence and clipped tones from Sheila. Jesse took the hint – she didn't want to talk. The silence proved therapeutic to Sheila.
She doubted herself as a trainer. She knew she wasn't very skilled in the art of pokemon training. Flashes of the recent battle with the zubats only reinforced her inability to train. She pictured the wicked air cutter that buffeted M-40 around like a piece of paper in the wind – and she was resistant to flying attacks! Sheila remembered the brave way Ranger jumped into action, even though he wasn't able to accomplish much. She recalled Emerald's new star attack, swift, flying through the air to meet the golbat queen, and how the bat shrugged it off without much effort.
But I got something out of it. Sheila mused. She glanced down at her ragged jeans, towards her belt. Three customized blue and green balls resided, adjacent to a royal purple ball with a golden lion emblazoned on it. How fitting for Prince to have such a grandiose ball.
Just then, Sheila remembered the old man who had given her the ball. He was right. This ball did change my life. She risked a look at the lanky, but defined young man walking next to her. He seemed lost in his own thoughts, staring off into the darkening sky. I may not be good just yet – she looked away from Jesse, whipping blonde tresses about her face, and smiled – but maybe I can learn.
A/N: How do you like the story? I am kind of pleased with the way this chapter turned out, even if it wasn't what I originally intended.
Iris seems to dominate everyone else, doesn't she? Did anyone notice that there were only two pokeballs on Jesse's belt? Didn't he have an espeon that fought the queen golbat?
These issues will be further explored in the next chapter.
Oh yeah REVIEW! The point of me writing this story is to write something that you guys like. But I don't really know what that is, so please leave me comments, I really could use them!
