Notes: The next two chapters are somewhat inspired by episode 22 with many, many liberties. I'm featuring Sabrina like woah when her dad was more the focus in the original (along with Ash) and making lots of other changes. In fact, this chapter is nearly all Sabrina. (If you were looking forward to creepy dollhouse Sabrina, sorry, she's not here.) There's also some important worldbuilding if you look closely. This also happens to be another very long chapter. Don't think this'll be the length going forward, the next few chapters are shorter. Chapter length for this story varies wildly but rest assured each chapter is just as long/short as I feel it should be. Enjoy!
25: Sabrina vs. Empathy
Given the opportunity to play, Sabrina ran happily through the house ahead of her father for the suggested card game. As she reached the living room, that joy went away as a stranger was noted sitting on the comfy chair that Sabrina herself most often preferred. She ran behind her father as he entered, not coming out even as he introduced her and the stranger to each other. Sabrina turned away even in the face of her father's happiness. Why weren't they just playing the game with the two of them together, like they had before? It was starting to seem a lot less fun somehow.
"Come on, Sabrina," her father said, kneeling down to meet his daughter's eyes. "I just wanted someone else to see how good you've gotten at this game. You'll play, won't you?"
Impatience. Hope. A little stifled anger as well. Sabrina could sense all these emotions from her father as he spoke, his mental state being quite different from the last time they'd played, when there was only an honest sense of wanting to pass the time with his daughter. Sabrina glared at the stranger, already having forgotten his name. She didn't want to play anymore, but she would, if it would let her beat this guy. Sabrina took a seat on the much less comfortable settee, staring at the cards that had already been set out.
It was a simple matching game. When they'd played before, Sabrina and her father had fun setting out many more cards then there were in the current setup. Sabrina counted twenty-two on each side. She just had to pick one from one side, and then match it to the other. Sabrina flipped over her first card, finding her favorite, the one with the moon and the dogs, then went to the other side, thinking a moment before she flipped over the card and found the match. Sabrina gripped the cards together and took a seat, glaring at the man in her chair.
"Hmph. I wonder if there's a trick," the stranger said. "I did set them up myself, however..."
Skepticism, annoyance. Sabrina tried to ignore the feelings she sensed as he spoke, which became easier as her father spoke. "There's no trick," he said. "Her accuracy is far from perfect, but far beyond chance. I was surprised myself. I assure you-"
"Let's see then," the stranger interrupted, then spoke directly to Sabrina. "Go ahead, continue."
They weren't taking turns? It seemed less and less like a game and a lot more like a test. Sabrina fought back tears as she reached for her next card. It was the happy one with the sun. But on the other side, she picked the one with a skeleton on a horse, the sun setting in the background.
"I'll take that." The stranger took the cards from Sabrina's hand, then took their matches from the respective sides, now leaving only nineteen cards on each side.
Was that how the game was going to work? It wasn't fair at all. Sabrina made one mistake and this guy got two matches! Sabrina bit her lip, only more determined by his poor sportsmanship. She reached for her next card, the serious looking woman clad in blue, a simple crown on her head, a cross on her chest. Going to the other side, Sabrina was sure to concentrate before she picked up a card. A match. She smirked at the stranger as she held it up. They were even now, despite the rules that worked against her.
"Go ahead," was the man's only comment.
Impatience. Perhaps even a bit of boredom. There were those feelings along with the message for Sabrina to just continue. She tensed before doing so, but concentrated on the task, not letting the unwanted visitor get any more matches. This time she was able to find all the matches the first try. At the end, she sat down, somehow not satisfied about having beat him.
"It's impressive," the stranger said. Despite the compliment, skepticism and maybe a bit of jealousy still emanated from him. "Of course, it's just one test."
"We could complete more!" Sabrina's father said, jumping up and wiping his eyes. There was joy, honest elation as he spoke, improving Sabrina's mood as well. "You did wonderfully," he said, directly to her this time. "This is far better than you've even done before!"
Better? Wasn't it just a game? She had won before just like she won this time, what was better than winning? Despite her confusion, Sabrina still took satisfaction at having pleased her father. That was the only reason she continued to complete such boring tasks in days to come at facilities, even more strangers watching, some honestly impressed at her, but still plenty of angry skepticism and jealousy. Any fun that had been present in such games quickly disappeared. How many more times would they have her do this? Completing the task perfectly only seemed to have them want her to do so again and again.
As they brought in the spoons, at least that was something different. But all the spoons matched, so what could they want her to do with them? Maybe there would be some kind of soup or ice cream treat for all of them.
"Here." Sabrina's father gripped the spoon in front of him. "Sabrina, we're going to try and bend these spoons. You also give it a try!"
"You can't use them if they're bent," Sabrina pointed out.
Laughter. Sabrina cringed as a variety of emotions came with it. One older man was honestly amused that a kid didn't know whatever thing they all did. Another man was more malicious, pleased that Sabrina had said something so stupid, despite being better at him at matching cards. There were various emotions in-between, Sabrina unable to read them all clearly with so many people in the room.
"It's okay," Sabrina's father assured. "This is just an exercise. We don't have to eat with them."
Was that all? There had to be better ways to exercise. Sabrina took the spoon in both hands and tried to bend it.
Laughter, this time louder, whatever emotions the people held before now intensified. Sabrina threw the spoon down on the table.
"It's okay," her father again assured, patting Sabrina's shoulder. "We're trying to bend them with our mind - it's called telekinesis."
How ridiculous. Sabrina held the spoon in her hand the same as the others in the room did. Some stared, some closed their eyes and gripped it tightly, others furrowed their brows to ridiculous points, looking like twisted versions of themselves.
Sabrina herself decided to turn her attention to the spoon. Was it possible to bend just by looking at it? Sabrina decided to give it a try, concentrating as much as she could, picturing clearly in her mind the spoon folding in half. But of course, upon opening her eyes, it was still the same as before.
"I think I did it!" an adolescent boy declared. "Look... Just a little... I think it's different!"
The others got up, rushed over to observe his progress. Loud discussion ensued. There were waves of excitement, frustration they hadn't completed the task first, and various other emotions. Sabrina was also curious, yet skeptical herself. Still, she hoped it was true. If this guy was able to complete the task, maybe they'd ask him to do something over and over instead of her. Sabrina relaxed her attention before her father came up to her. "And how are you doing?" he asked, a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Sabrina shrugged. The object in front of her was unchanged.
Two men took a break from the debate on if the boy's spoon had changed to look back at Sabrina. "Guess we can't be good at everything," one said.
"Just keep trying, Sabrina, try harder!" another said.
The words were innocent enough, smiles painted on their faces, but Sabrina felt strong schadenfreude from the both of them directed at her. She pursed her lips, looking at the debate going on, where the boy who had claimed to bend the spoons now emanated worry, strong energy that seemed to be trying to force others to believe. But their energy was just as strong back at him, bouncing all around the room, wanting more proof, wanting it to not be true so they could be first, overall anger and attempts to force their view.
It was just too much. Sabrina ran out of the room. She ignored the beckoning of her father and questions from others as she went. Running through the halls, the people were easily dodged, their questions ignored. Sabrina walked past without stopping, quickly enough that their energies didn't affect her, until reaching the door. Pushing it open, just the first step outside was a relief. There was no need to look back, either - nothing in that building had ever been fun. Sabrina just kept running.
In the park, far from the intense energy at that Psychic Institute, was a good place to rest. The greenery and fountain made it pleasant, too. But of course, this was a big city, and others passed by, some walking, a few lingering. Why couldn't she be left alone? Sabrina looked around for where people might not bother her. There was a small area with tall grass between the path and the pond, fenced off, 'Keep Out' sign evident. No one would go there.
Stepping over the short fence revealed the area was rather drab and uninteresting, but that was okay. All the more reason she'd be unbothered. Now to find a place to sit, far away from others.
Except she wasn't even alone there. Sabrina got on alert as she sensed another sort of energy. Whoever this was had a unique energy pattern. Interesting, though not interesting enough that it wasn't annoying to have them there. It didn't take too long for Sabrina to find the source, as it floated above the grass. "Aa!" the pokemon called as she met its eyes.
Sabrina quietly gasped. Of course, she knew all about pokemon. They were fun to read about, watch on TV. Like most kids, she wanted to find out more about them. This was the first time she'd seen one this close. It was an abra. She knew the meaning of its call right away. "Keep away", it had told her. Except, if limiting the meaning of the message to just that, one might assume it was annoyed. Its brief call contained other information all at once... That there was danger there for a small girl, that it didn't want to see her hurt. Perhaps a complete translation would have been "Keep away, there's something dangerous here, it could hurt little ones especially and I'm worried to see you here."
The abra had communicated that all at once, then seemingly shut itself off, no longer emanating its emotional energy toward Sabrina. Yet it was still just as close. Why couldn't she read it anymore? The fact she couldn't was refreshing after dealing with the emotional energy of humans radiating everywhere, yet also confusing. Sabrina wanted to find out more about the pokemon. Would she sense its emotions or other thoughts if she got closer? Completely ignoring the pokemon's warning, she stepped forward, to see it better, find out if proximity would allow her to read its emotions as normal.
As she did, she felt her foot catch on something. As Sabrina started to fall, Abra disappeared, then she felt something touch her, and she was back on the other side of the fence, crying out in pain as she fell on the path. "Aa!" Abra called out in frustration from the 'dangerous' side of the fence. Why hadn't this little girl listened? "Aa, abra." The ground wasn't smooth on this side, and there could be ants, a few poisonous plants as well. Children should just stay away.
Sabrina approached the fence, placing her hands on top, but not going over this time. "I'm sorry," she said. There was more to her message as well. She hadn't meant to annoy the pokemon, she'd just wanted to see it closer. As she spoke, Sabrina tried to emanate all of that in her own brief message.
Abra disappeared again. Teleportation. 'Teleport' was a technique that abra could use easily, and must have been how it had moved her so quickly. Sabrina had always thought the idea of pokemon teleporting was very cool. Seeing it in person was a treat, however, that meant the pokemon had left. Before Sabrina could lament that fact, the abra appeared on the other side of the fence right in front of her.
"Oh!" she exclaimed. Reaching out her hand, Sabrina stopped herself before realizing the pokemon didn't seem to mind if she patted its head. She did so. Even then, Abra's energy seemed to remain closed to her, though from its expression she could tell it was pleased by the gesture.
"Abra!" Abra called.
Nice to meet you was what it communicated, before its energy closed off completely again. That was it, just that one message before a sense of calmness took over again. Sabrina's mouth opened wide, tears in her eyes before she wiped them away, deciding to ask the pokemon a question. "Will you... play a game with me?" she asked in a whisper, finding it difficult to get the words out with how much she wanted the answer to be yes. She'd often wanted to play with other children before, but found she couldn't stand to be around the loud beings on the brief occasions she did.
"Abra!" Abra agreed.
Sabrina gasped again in her glee before continuing. "How about... hide and seek?" she suggested, still whispering.
"Abra!" Abra agreed again. "Aa," it added. Sabrina should respect all signs of caution while they play.
"Okay," Sabrina agreed, smiling and nodding. She hid first, a simple spot behind a bench. It took Abra a minute to find her, and she laughed out loud as it did. When Abra hid, Sabrina felt distracted by all the energy of the others passing around her, but just concentrated on finding that calm pokemon. It ended up being on a branch in the tree. She called it down, then took her turn, this time hiding behind the same tree. That threw it off, so it took a while to find her. On Abra's second turn, it apparently teleported as Sabrina came close to finding it, which she only noticed as she caught it in the act. "Hey!" she protested.
"Abra..." Abra appeared in front of her again and apologized.
Sabrina easily forgave it as she went to take her third turn hiding. As she was looking for a good spot, her father found her instead of Abra. "Sabrina!" he exclaimed, grabbing her arm. "There you are." As Sabrina looked up at him, his relief turned into a harsh wave of anger. "Don't run off like that!"
Sabrina flinched as the energy of unrestrained human emotion hit her. Anger directed toward anyone was difficult to be in the presence of, but from her normally patient father, this intense, directed toward herself? Sabrina was shaken enough to not speak. "Why did you run away?" he asked. Even if she could have responded, he didn't really wait for an answer. "Everyone's looking for you. Don't you want to portray yourself as the splendid psychic you are? You look like a spoiled brat!"
Sabrina fought back tears, but didn't cry, looking around for Abra. It couldn't be found, even though it was her turn to be looked for. Her father tugged her forward to leave, go back home and be punished. Would the pokemon know? Sabrina had neither the energy nor fortitude to make sure as she was led away.
It was later, at home, after reading and listening to rain patting the windows, that Sabrina decided to speak with her father. "Dad," she began in a low voice.
"Hm?" her father looked up from his own reading. "I'm sorry about before, Sabrina. I know you're sorry as well. That's just not how we handle our frustrations."
Sabrina made no motion to either agree or disagree with that sentiment. "Dad, how much is enough?" she asked.
"What's that? Enough what?"
Sabrina sighed. "How good do I have to be at using psychic powers before I'm done?"
"Oh, what a question!" Cheer and curiosity raised from her father as he put down his newspaper. "What do you think?"
Sabrina looked away. She was already the best there from what she could see, so why not stop right away? But that likely wasn't the answer he wanted to hear. "Once you've learned it, that should be it," she decided to say instead. Of course, she'd learned the skills she practiced there before even going, even if she had perfected the skills while there.
"Hardly!" her father exclaimed, smiling with satisfaction. "If you want to be a master, the skill is improved and perfected throughout your entire life."
Sabrina gasped quietly, her father hardly noticing as he completed his self-satisfied speech. Her entire life? That hadn't been anything close to what she wanted to hear. Any kind of time frame would have been good. She just wanted it to be done and over, like when she'd graduated comp-ed. But apparently it never would. Not wanting to argue, Sabrina went back to her book, unable to concentrate enough to read it.
As a compromise between her desires and her parents' expectations, Sabrina made sure to ask when she wanted a break, and her father allowed her to leave to the park. There, time could be spent with her pokemon friend. Abra seemed to enjoy being around Sabrina just as much. They played games or sometimes just sat together. After Sabrina asked, it would teleport her to a secluded area people wouldn't happen by.
These occasions were much better than her time at the institute, where Sabrina continued to be doubted for her successes and mocked for failing to do ridiculous things like bend spoons or float in the air. The levitation exercise seemed completely ridiculous. No one rose themselves off the ground, though they would often talk about how their hair was rising. Hadn't they completed comp-ed? Didn't they know about static electricity?
As no one was successful, Sabrina started to doubt if the type of 'psychic' they described really existed. She certainly had some skills the others didn't, but couldn't do things like bend objects or float in the air.
But Abra could.
Now that she thought about it, Abra was a 'psychic' type pokemon. Of course, its ability to levitate in the air was shared by pokemon that weren't classified under that type. Even so, what other psychic-like traits did Abra have?
One sunny day, sitting on a rooftop, observing the humans walking like ants below, Sabrina decided to ask it. "Hey," she began.
"Aa!" Abra let her know she had its full attention.
"You're a psychic... that can read minds and float," she began.
"Abra," Abra denied, shaking its head. It only read what Sabrina shared.
"Hm." Sabrina smiled slightly. It seemed the psychic type pokemon wasn't as sensitive to the emotionality of humans as Sabrina herself. Of course, Abra itself was also much unlike a human. All emotional waves it sent to her were purposeful. "Are all pokemon like you?" she asked.
"Abra!" The pokemon had known exactly what she meant, confirming that this sort of 'psychic' connection was how pokemon communicated.
It made sense. Pokemon called out repetitive sounds that hardly resembled a language, yet still conveyed a message somehow. Even so, the conversation didn't satisfy Sabrina's curiosity. "They call you psychic type," she explained. "Can you-" she stopped herself, tensing up as recalled others trying to get her to do other things just because she could perform a few psychic tricks.
"Abra!" the pokemon called into the silence. It would answer any questions about its abilities without hesitation.
It really trusted her. Sabrina wouldn't let it down. If Abra was psychic only in name, like her, that was completely fine. She decided to continue her questioning without hesitation too. "Can you tell the future?"
"Aa... Abra." It didn't think about the future much, but no, it couldn't.
Sabrina nodded, then continued with the questioning. "You can move me. Can you bring me anything?"
"Abra." It had to be touching something in order to teleport it.
"Pokemon have telepathy, so can you communicate with the dead?"
"Aa... Abra?" Sabrina's idea of 'telepathy' didn't completely match what Abra associated with pokemon communication, and didn't 'dead' mean that someone was gone?
"It does," Sabrina confirmed. Going along with requests to try and do so had always seemed particularly wrong to her, especially coming from people with departed loved ones that believed she really might. Sabrina put those feelings aside to continue her questioning. "How about telekinesis?"
"Abra!" That skill was absolutely something it could do. In fact, the task was easy. Abra put out its arms, concentrating. An unworldly light surrounded the pebbles on the roof around them, lifting them into the air. It then waved its hands, causing them to drop.
Oh. Sabrina had been starting to wonder why the pokemon was called 'psychic' at all, at least when compared to other pokemon. But this was something. "Can all pokemon-" she began.
"Abra." Only a few could. Only other abra, from what Abra had seen.
"Can you-" Sabrina began, then tensing up as she paused her questioning again. Abra had just shown her an impressive trick, and she was about to ask it to do more.
"Abra!" Abra threw up its arms, offering to continue. "Abra." It was a game, so they could continue as long as it was fun.
The sentiment was enough to lighten Sabrina's mood. "Can you... Manipulate the objects? Maybe break that rock?" she pointed to one of the pebbles.
"Abra." It would try. The pokemon pointed its arms forward, lifting the rock with ease. It remained in the air without change, Abra seeming to sweat almost. Eventually, the small rock burst into dust.
Sabrina stared, transfixed as the wind took the remaining fragments away. Suddenly, another pebble raised in the air, turning to dust right away this time. "Abra!" it called. That had been fun for the pokemon to try. And it had learned relatively easily, at least when compared to the humans at the institute, Sabrina included, who could do nothing of the sort.
Neither Sabrina nor Abra seemed to be psychic in the purest sense of the established idea. But perhaps together, they could both be more of one.
"She thinks she's special but she's really, really not."
Sabrina couldn't miss the whisper, but more than that felt then sharp hostility of the girls every time she was near them. They were around her age, which was becoming more common. When Sabrina had first been brought there, she was definitely the youngest. But now that she was several years past that, more and more aspiring psychics her age were joining.
They struggled in areas Sabrina had long ago perfected. Though she held no judgment toward them for that, they directed their anger and frustrations toward her. Even when their snippy comments were absent, she could feel their emotions, anger at her successes. Was there any point in continuing this?
"I'd like to be excused," Sabrina decided to say when they were bringing out the cards to match again.
"Are you not feeling well?" the director asked, looking up with some concern after placing the decks on the table.
"I'm fine," Sabrina said. "I've just done this enough already. Others need the practice."
Despite being able to read the emotions of others perfectly when they felt them, Sabrina could use some work in predictions. She'd assumed the girls that hated her would be relieved to not have to be compared, and everyone would see her off without comment. Instead, the fury of the girls roared out, both energetically and in their words. "Need practice? Who are you to talk? I don't see you using telekinesis or levitation! Just doing some matching and making easy predictions!"
"That's right! You think you're better than us? You need plenty of practice too!" another girl added hotly.
Again, Sabrina clammed up. There was plenty she could say in response, but felt frozen in the face of their unexpected fury. The director that had been leaning toward just letting her go now just wanted to quickly end the conflict. "Come now," he began with a smile on his face. "Even if you think you've mastered something, what's the harm in practicing more?"
Harm? Perhaps there was no harm, except the time that was wasted. Instead of doing the same thing she'd done over and over around the group that shot streams of negativity toward her for doing so, she could be spending time with Abra instead. They might have some tea together, Abra could surprise her with a new sight seeing location, or they could find a new game to play. Maybe she'd just get a break from all of these people and do nothing at all, except perhaps peruse books, the only energy coming at her being from Abra's purposeful calls. That was all so much better than this.
The upset was enough that Sabrina missed a match for the first time in a long while. As she gave a quiet gasp, the girls that had accosted her shrieked in giggles that they quickly stifled, though the wave of schadenfreude was unmistakable. "Guess you do need the practice," a girl commented as the cards were being set out again.
So she'd slipped up. Sabrina realized that. The girl who smirked and was pleased at the mistake still only found one match on her own, despite acting like Sabrina was the one who needed the work. What were either of them learning? Were they there just to snipe at each other for their failures? Later in the day, Sabrina decided to discuss it. "Dad," she addressed her father as she lay on the floor of their living room, neither her favorite book nor the classical music from the cassette player comforting her.
"Yes?" her father said, again focusing his attention away from his newspaper and on her.
"Uh-" for a minute, Sabrina found herself unable to speak. She eventually forced herself. "I think I'm done with the institute. I've learned all I can there."
Her father wrinkled up the newspaper and sighed. "I've heard some talk... That you might be a bit arrogant. Don't ever discount what others can offer you. Arrogantly thinking you're the best, that is, beyond anyone else will lead to your downfall. You understand, right?"
Though Sabrina nodded and did understand the advice that would certainly be relevant to someone, somewhere, it didn't address her concerns, her desires. What was she to do when she was both actually beyond anyone else's skill in reality and didn't give a damn - neither about being the best nor getting better? What if she was just being driven mad by the repetitive 'lessons' combined with the crowds of people? What if she just really wanted something different?
Sabrina's eyes scanned the same text over and over without really reading it. Everyone was used to her talents by now. They had become commonplace, even if others didn't share them. How would everyone react if she were to show something new?
Abra easily agreed to participate. When Sabrina warned of all the energies it might encounter at the institute with so many humans around, it didn't seem concerned. Apparently, as a pokemon, it could pick up on some things, but not as easily as Sabrina, and usually only when interacting with humans, or watching them interact with others. Otherwise the energies were blocked out.
Sabrina still had some hesitations about having the gentle pokemon come to the busy, sometimes toxic place. But they'd been practicing, and she really did want to try this trick. With Abra also being enthused about it, she was able to push past her own hesitations. They planned together, and once Sabrina entered the institute, there was no turning back.
"I'm glad we're doing this today," Sabrina said as the director walked in with the box of spoons. Anticipation and surprise radiated from others. This wasn't something Sabrina usually said, in fact, she usually didn't speak much at all. "I've been practicing on my own."
Curiosity, annoyance, anger. Mostly negativity was contained in the silent response to Sabrina's information. She didn't let that bother her, especially as they became distracted by the telekinetic exercise themselves. Sabrina gripped the spoon in her hand as it was given to her. As she started to hold it tightly, she felt Abra's energy enter the room. The pokemon was somewhere hidden, probably behind the curtain. As planned, she paid it no mind, just stared at the spoon in front of her. It started to glow with Abra's psychic pokemon energy, the top instantly bending over.
No one had been paying attention to her in the moment, of course, no one expected her or anyone else there to complete the task. The director suddenly looked back, his expression changing to shock. He blinked again, taking in the sight before he finally believed it. "Sabrina..."
Others started to notice as he said her name. "Wow!" one man said. "If anyone could do it, it's Sabrina." He believed she'd completed the task.
But Sabrina's same-age peers, self-declared rivals, didn't think if to believe or not. Their energy was always directed at tearing her down. "It's got to be a trick!" one said.
"Was the spoon too hot?" another asked. Sabrina fought a laugh. If that was the case, her hand certainly would have been burned.
"It was like that already!" another declared.
"It wasn't," Sabrina declared, staring coldly her way.
"You think you're that good just for a one time coincidence? Try it again if you want to brag!"
Brag? She'd just said a declaration of fact. "Give it," Sabrina said, putting down the ruined spoon and holding out her hand to the one that had dared her. After a moment, the girl realized that she was referring to the spoon, and handed it over. Sabrina held it tightly and stared, this time everyone in the room watching, and the spoon folded over yet again in front of them. She put it down and said nothing else while the room erupted into conversation in front of her.
Though normally she would be bothered by all the noise, emotional and actual, this situation was amusing. Though some of the people there were only interested in their own advancement and dismayed, plenty of others were actually interested in the promotion and advancement of psychic abilities, and were actually excited. Much better to concentrate on them.
Of course, they asked her to do it again, and again. This task was now very simple for Abra, and eventually half the box was ruined. "Should I start fixing them for someone else to try?" Sabrina mused aloud. The question only shot malice her way, but she was in too good of a mood to be affected much.
"It's truly impressive," the director admitted. "Now, we'll all be trying our best to improve our skills. Let's all give it another try!"
That sort of lackadaisical response was enough to kill the moment. Sabrina glared at the man who had spoken as the attention was removed from her and everyone else began to try the impossible task again. Of course, Sabrina had cheated, but she'd been more interested in the response such a success would get than fanfare directed toward herself. Was this really it? Was this truly an institute dedicated to perfecting the very best psychics humanity had to offer as her father had often told her? It was starting to seem like the purpose of this place was to put on a show to placate the various members.
"I'll be able to do it too." The girl seemed to speak directly to Sabrina as she hotly grabbed an intact spoon from the box.
No she wouldn't, especially since Sabrina herself couldn't. This skill seemed beyond humanity and limited to the true monsters- pokemon. No one here would improve at this skill because humans didn't have such a skill. Even the skills Sabrina did have, including reading the emotions of others and intuitively locating pictures and items, she'd had before attending. She'd made improvements for sure, but wouldn't she have done so anyway?
The institute was useless. It was time to stop caring about it at all. In fact, it was time to stop caring about many things. Sabrina had lamented the director for caring so much about the feelings of others, but wasn't she the same? She'd shut herself down as she absorbed the emotions of others, then changed her behavior to accommodate them to the detriment of herself.
No more. Maybe Sabrina couldn't help feeling the emotions of others along with them, but she could decide not to let them impact her as much. Her eyes turned sharply to the curtain, where Abra still waited. If the little pokemon wanted to help her, she was going to take things a step further.
"Sabrina! I heard the news, congratulations!"
As Sabrina finally left the stuffy building, her father greeted her with open arms. Joy, love, even some pride. And of course there would be disappointment and shame were Sabrina to share how she'd used a trick. Both her father's current negative emotions and possible future negative ones were meaningless, because this whole charade was. "I'd like to take a break," she said as she often did.
"But Sabrina, don't you want to celebrate? I've given your mother a call, she's also delighted."
"No," Sabrina replied curtly.
"But she'll even be home early-" her father began.
"I need to rest. I'll be busy." Sabrina kept walking.
"Perhaps it was draining... You did have to have tried so hard there, after so much practice... Well, I'll let her know." Her father finally stopped pestering her and let her continue.
As she reached the park, she saw Abra floating in the restricted area. "Thank you," she said.
"Abra?" Sabrina didn't look like she'd had too much fun.
"I saw what I needed to. Now I want to do something else." Sabrina started to share her plan.
"Abra." Abra didn't mind helping her. "Abra..." However, all she was asking for was complicated, possibly beyond Abra's power. "Abra?" Perhaps its friend could also help?
"Another pokemon?" Sabrina inquired. In response, Abra teleported away, then teleported back in double. Just at the sight, Sabrina jumped back in surprise, but quickly calmed, realizing it was just another abra by its different, yet still uniquely pokemon energy. "You want to help?" she asked.
"Aa! Abra!" The other abra had shared stories with this newcomer, and it was more than happy to join in the fun.
This abra really had a different energy than the one Sabrina had already befriended. It seemed more busy, maybe even frenzied compared to the calm abra she knew. But it still stifled that energy when not specifically calling out, so she could deal with it. "Thank you," she said, accepting the pokemon's offer.
"Abra! Aa!" the pokemon said in response. It was glad to join in, and it had really been looking for a human who would be...
Sabrina paused as she took in the new abra's message. What was this pokemon thinking she could be to it? A human that bonded with it, cared for it, directed it? A human it took care of in return also seemed to be part of the image.
Trainer. That was it, or at least the best human word to fit their image. Was she a trainer, or could she be? Sabrina didn't know much about pokemon training, but she had helped the first abra she'd met with its telekinesis skills. Maybe she could look more into the basics, and really become the trainer for these pokemon, if that was what they both wanted. Though having only paid attention to the whole pokemon training/battling thing briefly before, she did like pokemon. This was something she'd be more than willing to learn about and get better at. "I'll try my best," Sabrina promised both abra.
They teleported to a secluded rooftop and spent that afternoon training Abra's friend. It had difficulty at first with bending the spoons, but only briefly before it did so, then improved in speed, bending one after another. Finally, it turned its attention to the last spoon that Sabrina had borrowed from the institute, and held the object tightly in its hand.
That was when Sabrina noticed the entire pokemon was glowing. This was new. Was this newcomer abra special? The light around it glowed bright until it changed suddenly. "Kadabra!" it declared as the light faded, and now looking like a totally different pokemon.
Again, it took Sabrina just a moment, as one only vaguely familiar with pokemon training, to recall what the translation might be for what Abra said it had done. Was it even still Abra, now? No, it had changed in a drastic, permanent way. Evolution. Of course, this was pokemon's form of evolution, much different from the process of evolution for other creatures. With Sabrina's direction, the newcomer abra had evolved to a different pokemon species. Kadabra? Sabrina chuckled to herself, seeing the pokemon's spoon had even grown, seeming a part of the evolution. Though the presence of the object amused her, she could also tell the pokemon had grown in power with its change. "That's amazing," she said.
"Kadabra!" It was pleased with her recognition.
And once pokemon evolved, they were more powerful. Sabrina turned to her original pokemon friend. "I won't judge you if you can't... But can you try that as well?"
"Abra!" The answer was neither yes nor no, simply a declaration of it trying right then to do so. Abra called out loudly, and then stared to glow as well. In an instant, it was a kadabra as well, the large spoon in its hand, seemingly having appeared from nowhere.
"Kadabra!" both kadabra called out in unison, expressing their pleasure and desire to keep training.
Though she didn't want to push them, Sabrina could tell how eager both pokemon were to get better. With her direction, they really did improve. It was much more satisfying than watching people fail over and over again at the institute before they finally stopped showing up one day. Thinking of that, Sabrina got a clearer picture of what she wanted to accomplish. She held that image in her mind as her inspiration as she kept directing her pokemon to help them improve their skills.
Having purposefully waited for the all member meeting to take action, Sabrina also made sure to make sure everyone was in attendance and seated in the posh wooden chairs before she made her announcement. As they quieted and looked toward the director coming on the stage, Sabrina stood and walked toward the podium herself. "Good evening," the man greeted, then paused as he saw the girl approaching. "Excuse me? Sabrina? Is something the matter?"
"I'll be taking over as director of this facility," Sabrina announced firmly.
Surprise, or rather, shock, was the overall feeling emanating from the audiences, mixed with a fair bit of confusion. Some couldn't get the image of Sabrina as the quiet, meek child out of their head, and thought something was amiss given the sudden boldness. "Is this a possession?" one asked.
Sabrina could have rolled her eyes, though she didn't. Just because she was speaking out didn't make her a different person than who she was before. "There is no possession. I'm taking over as director for this facility because I'm the most fit for the role."
"Um, Sabrina," the current director began with an awkward smile. "You are quite talented, so perhaps you'll be on the list of candidates to take over when I retire, but now, I don't think-"
"My skill far exceeds your own, and anyone else's here," Sabrina said. "I'm tired of the farce. I'll take over now."
"You can't do that!" a girl in back stood up and shouted. Anger was overpowering her. "You're the same as us, you're not any better than us!"
When had Sabrina ever claimed to be this other girl's superior? As a person, they were equal. Of course, as a psychic, Sabrina had already shown she was better. Though the girl was more concerned with the former, Sabrina decided that actions spoke louder than words for the latter. Without a word, Sabrina raised her hand to signal to Kadabra, palm pointed toward the girl who had just spoken to her. Kadabra lifted the loudmouth into the air. The now floating girl shouted at the bizarre sensation. Sabrina thrust her palm forward, and the window opened thanks to her other pokemon friend. The girl was sent out, suspended in the air, then landed with just a small bump on the bushes outside, far from where her certain negative emotions could affect Sabrina too much.
Kadabra wouldn't hurt humans, Sabrina knew, and wouldn't want it to anyway. But hopefully that would be enough of a show that no one else would question her.
"Sabrina, what are you doing?"
Sabrina looked up. The person that addressed her was her father. She'd vowed to stand tall in the face of him as well, but still felt a moment of pause as dismay and sadness emanated from him. She'd guessed he wouldn't approve of her actions, and that guess turned out to be correct. But though she wanted to please him, she was doing this for herself. "I'm possibly the only true psychic here. It's fitting I take the lead," she decided to say, despite how arrogant it would sound. Internally, she felt no guilt even as the anger from others hit her. Her declaration may be true, after all.
"Why would you hamper psychic development like this?" her father asked.
"I plan to work toward psychic development," Sabrina informed. Though not being the main motivation for her actions, the declaration was also true.
"Sabrina..." her father began, shaking his head. Sabrina raised her palm facing him as well. Though she'd firmly decided to go against his guidance, having him there would still be difficult for her. This time the door was open, then shut tightly so they wouldn't be disturbed by him, nor anyone else.
Sabrina turned back to her captive audience. They were all silent. There was some anxiety and fear, and also shock. They all understood who was in charge. There was no need for any further declarations, other than what would happen from here. Sabrina succinctly explained it before having the two kadabra opened wide the doors and even windows for effect, dismissing them. She was sure they understood, and wouldn't stand in her way.
The first step was removing all of the non-psychics. With the practice they'd been getting, anyone with actual talent should be able to pass some tests. Sabrina had thought that she might be the only one, but being able to work with the two-hundred some members one by one, she found three others who shared her prediction skills, seeming to have a strong intuition, though maybe not her preciseness. She might like to ask them if they were also bothered by the presence of others, but sensed anxiety and distrust from those three. That was fine, she just wouldn't trust them completely either.
There were also ten others she wasn't sure about, including her father. Perhaps there was some kind of genetic basis for these sorts of powers. Of course, that was up to a scientist to test, not that any would. In the meantime, the other ten could stay on a trial basis.
The remaining all had their memberships removed. Sabrina felt a variety of negative emotions from them as she informed them. Sadness and dejection, from those who apparently thought this was something they could learn. Anger and hostility from others, including those who had attached their hopes and identity to being a psychic.
But Sabrina informing them of their lack of talent couldn't have been the first time they'd felt such emotions. They had to have noticed during their many practice times that they had no skill. They'd gotten angry and sad then as well. Sabrina knew because she had felt it off of the lot of them, intensely, for years. Couldn't they take responsibility for realizing this themselves? Sabrina was done feeling their pain, done cowering as they raged at her for being able to do what they couldn't. She yelled right back at them if they yelled at her, borrowed the pokemon's power to eject them if she didn't feel like doing that much.
Eventually, the arduous process was complete. Everyone had gotten a fair try, so there should be nothing to complain about, though certainly many would. Sabrina could finally just sit in this uncrowded institute, help those who could truly be helped, train the pokemon she'd befriended in the meantime, and just be left alone.
Or not. Her father and the former director were the first to bother her off schedule, entering her office and interrupting her reading. "Sabrina... We really have to talk to you about something," her father began.
Sabrina looked up. From his tone and emotional energies, she guessed they were going to ask her to do something she didn't want to.
"Don't you think it's, well, unkind to remove everyone as you have?" he said.
Sabrina looked back down, turning the page to her book. "No," she said.
"You have to understand, the way they feel-"
Sabrina's glare interrupted her father's speech. She understood better than everyone else about the bothersome emotions of others. She'd never let them stop her again. "Despite how they felt about it, I'd also stop telling someone they can fly with just their arms and pushing them off cliffs," she said.
"Oh, w-well," Sabrina's father stammered, apparently unable to think of a response to that.
But the former director had one. "It's not fiscally responsible!" he said.
She'd kept him around only for paperwork purposes, since he wasn't psychic either. But she knew his concerns were genuine. "Why not?" she decided to ask.
"Everyone pays their membership dues... And you've just cut that down drastically by decreasing our members! We have some outside donors, but that was our main revenue. We have some savings, but eventually, with the budget for this building's bills and maintenance-"
The man prattled on about the specific numbers, but Sabrina got the idea and tuned out. So, the Psychic Institute would need more revenue to survive. Her parents were both well off, her father having come from wealth, and her mother being a self-made woman from her talent, dedication, and long work hours. She could ask them to help fund it, especially her psychic enthusiast of a father, but she wasn't going to lean on them. There was another possibility to supply a steady stream of funds.
After buying the two pokeballs, Sabrina made her way to the park, her father following. She didn't stop him. He couldn't stop her from reaching her goal, so there was no point. But worry emanated from him, and he did talk to her. "Sabrina, I don't know what you think you'll accomplish-"
"A pokemon gym," Sabrina explained. Pokemon gym leaders got a steady salary, plus a small fee each time they battled. With all the traffic she was sure to get in this city, that would be enough for all of their bills. On top of that, she'd have an excuse to spend more time with her pokemon friends.
"Well, some experienced trainers can become gym leaders, but that takes years of dedication. You won't be able to be one overnight."
Sabrina felt anger, this time emanating from herself. How could he say that?! It was a minute before she realized the anger was misplaced, from years of being told to practice what she'd already mastered with talentless masses as if she were on their same level, forever. But being psychic was something she'd proven. Her father had no idea how much she'd practiced with these two pokemon already, even without having caught them. "I'll be one soon," she declared, and decided to let that statement be all.
They breezed down the path, going past a loud man in a lab coat talking to some young children. Sabrina ignored them all, moving to the spot she'd met her first pokemon friend originally. She smiled as they both appeared next to each other, looking like doubles. "Sabrina!" her father exclaimed, shaking her shoulder. "Let's go!"
Sabrina shook him off. "I'm going to catch them," she exclaimed.
"Sabrina, you can catch these things in those objects, but-"
The man in the lab coat yelled, interrupting Sabrina's father and breaking what she had hoped would be a peaceful moment even further. "Stand still! Don't move! That's a new, previously undiscovered pokemon species! Let me get my camera..."
Oh well, despite any onlookers, this would still be a happy moment. Sabrina ignored all spectators and threw the pokeball. Her first friend was drawn inside. It shook briefly before becoming still. "You..." Her father became silent and scratched his head.
The man behind them clicked his camera. "Wait... There's only one now. Don't move, you might scare it..." he said. Sabrina again just threw her pokeball, and the actions repeated as the other kadabra accepted the catch. "Wait... You caught it?" the man exclaimed as Sabrina picked up both pokeballs. "You caught both? Wait, wait! Won't you let me see them, study them? I'm Professor Oak, and I'm making a encyclopedia of-"
"No," Sabrina said to the professor. She'd wanted to just be left alone that day, but that wasn't going to happen.
"Please, it would help in my research," the professor begged. "They've just appeared, and no one knows where they came from-"
"Kadabra. It evolved from abra," Sabrina decided to drop him that hint at the very least.
"That's one theory, but we don't yet know-"
"I saw it," Sabrina said. "Believe me or not, I don't care." With that, she sped away from the professor, and he thankfully decided to stop the pursuit.
"You did catch them very easily," her father said. "How did you manage it?"
"I communicated with them psychically. They wanted to be caught." That wasn't the whole story, but it was enough of an explanation.
"Oh." Sabrina sensed relief as her father breathed out. Why? He spoke before she could wonder about his reaction more. "Training pokemon can still be difficult," he said.
He was right. "I've been reading about it," Sabrina decided to share.
"Were you really that interested in the topic?"
"Yes," Sabrina confirmed quietly. Ever since she'd met her first friend, she'd wanted to be around pokemon more. She'd never even considered a life outside her repetitive existence being 'taught' to be more psychic. But here she was, grabbing it for herself.
"It's good to have varied interests," her father admitted. "But do you suppose those two are psychic type?"
"They are," Sabrina confirmed.
"Of course, they telepathically communicated with you!"
For once, her father was showing enthusiasm for something Sabrina wanted to do. "Would you..." she paused, fully considering her question before she decided to speak it. "Would you like to train them with me?"
Her father seemed to hold similar pause before he finally nodded his head and smiled. "Of course!" he said.
As the days went on, Sabrina trained not just with him, along with other trainers around the city, and sometimes just alone, coaching her two pokemon on various things. The time she spent with her father, she allowed him to instruct the busier kadabra, while Sabrina called out instructions for her first friend. Their power was about equal originally, but then her first friend started winning more and more often.
That day, the busier kadabra seemed determined, holding out its spoon as it shouted in frustration. "Don't," Sabrina said, sending the pokemon the message to not get too worked up.
Then the kadabra her father was instructing started to glow. This had already happened, back when it had first evolved to kadabra. Why was it happening again?
It seemed the pokemon was able to further change. Already quite large, it grew slightly, losing its markings and long tail, now holding two spoons in both hands. "Alakazam!" it declared its determination to fight after it had finished evolving.
Alakazam, was it? The newly evolved pokemon's psychic attack defeated its friend, though the surprise had to have something to do with the win as well. "Well, well," her father said. "That was quite the transformation."
"Evolution," Sabrina corrected.
"Was that what it was? Pokemon are strange creatures, aren't they?"
Sabrina nodded in agreement. "Good," she said to Alakazam, patting its head as it came closer. Even with her brevity, as a pokemon it knew how she felt from that word alone. "We're ready now. We'll make this a gym."
"Sabrina, I believe there's a process, you can't just declare it like you did here," her father said with a sigh. "I also believe there's already a well established gym here. There can only be one gym per city or town, or so I've heard."
Sabrina nodded. She'd known that already as well. This fact had already been taken into consideration.
The current gym in Saffron had been active for about five years, and was hardly full of pushovers. They'd fought a long time for their status. As a major city, Saffron was a high demand location as far as gym locations went, often pelted with challengers, so they'd have to be good. Even so, Sabrina was fairly sure she could beat them.
She walked into the gym feeling out of place. In her formal wear as director of the Psychic Institute, she resembled neither a traveling trainer nor the typical mainstay at this gym. Everyone remained focused on their exercises as she entered, and she watched with some admiration as the martial artists practiced side-by-side with their fighting-type pokemon. Energetically, these people were different from typical humans. They were hardly the same as pokemon, but their emotions were much more controlled, their thoughts focused on the task at hand, distractions of the mind minimized.
Overall, this crowd was much more comfortable to be around than others. Sabrina took the time to observe them without issue. Similar to what she hoped to create, they practiced their skills alongside their pokemon. Both human and monster had different abilities, but they could improve and compliment each other side-by-side.
It was a while before Sabrina was noticed. As one activity seemed to end, one of the muscular men shouted out to greet her. "Hey! Lady, we hardly noticed you. When'd you get here? You looking to join us? Or just a badge? There's a schedule for sign ups, you know."
Sabrina slowly approached him. "I'm looking to replace you," she declared.
The energy in the room changed. Focus turned to anxiety, and despite these people being more emotionally controlled, there were twinges of anger as well. "Ha!" the man who initially spoke to her laughed, smiling through his anxiety. "You don't look like you've been training to be a karate master, but I assume you're talking about our status as an official pokemon gym! You must be the rumored psychic girl that thinks she's got the experience to run the official Saffron Gym."
"I'm Sabrina. The Psychic Institute I'm in charge of will soon double as this city's gym," she said.
"Don't think that will be so easy. I'm Kiyo, this city's pokemon gym leader who doubles as karate king! You aren't the first to challenge either status, and you won't be the last!" Kiyo paused, looking back at the dojo members with a raised eyebrow. "Are you a real psychic?" he asked.
"What do you think?" Sabrina asked.
"Hmph." Kiyo smirked. "That's the rumor, but I don't know what to think. If you're a real psychic, why don't you tell me what I'm thinking right now?"
Despite the bravado, and better than average ability to control his emotions, the anxiety was starting to creep up on him. He knew Sabrina wasn't just psychic, but also trained psychic type pokemon, which had an advantage over his own pokemon, well trained as they were. He wondered if she might beat him, and what the consequences of that might be. As Sabrina observed him silently, he didn't even stop there, thinking about his hard fought status as karate king, and how he didn't want to lose that title until he was ready. Apparently, there was someone wanting to challenge him in the coming days.
"Well? You're not saying anything. Finding it difficult to read me?" Kiyo covered up his own anxieties by jabbing at Sabrina's skills. Being challenged on two levels at once, possibly losing everything, really was difficult for him.
But that wasn't Sabrina's problem. She had her own goals in mind. "Should I spill your thoughts to everyone here just because you carelessly release them to me?" she demanded. He'd hardly be pleased if she did, and besides, proving herself as a psychic to anyone who demanded it was something she was giving up. "Believe I am or not. I'm just here to beat you in a pokemon battle."
"An off schedule challenge? Maybe I'll give you a badge if you win," Kiyo said. "Miss Sabrina, understand I do get defeated by challengers, and they don't get to take over as gym leader."
"Oh." Sabrina had gotten too used to communicating with pokemon. They usually understood unspoken context, even when listening to humans. Pokemon's way of communicating, though not always perfect, went far beyond blurry human words. But since this was a human, she'd just have to use more fallible symbols to try and clarify herself. "By 'you' I meant 'you all'." In the stunned silence, she took out her first pokeball. "Ultimately, the collective of gym leaders will decide. Me defeating the current gym leader and all of his disciples at once will clearly show them my strength."
Though some there found her annoying and haughty, Kiyo just nodded seriously to the other martial artists around him. "That's fine," he agreed. "Of course, if one of them defeats you, there's no need to go further. Are you prepared?"
"I have been," Sabrina informed.
Everyone cleared the large dojo floor, which apparently doubled for pokemon battles. Spectators sat on the floor in this gym, behind barriers that protected them while defining the area for battle.
Sabrina let Alakazam battle first. It was always eager to go, not that Kadabra didn't also put its all into a fight. She'd switch them both out, letting them have breaks in-between. They were both plenty prepared for the long haul.
Alakazam breezed through the first few challengers with no problems. It unleashed the 'psychic' attack before the fighting types could even land a hit, instantly knocking them out. When it got tired, both physically and seeming of the routine of fighting types revving up to fight only to get defeated so easily, she switched it out for Kadabra, who teleported away from the fighting type's attack before unleashing its own.
Eventually, only Kiyo was left to battle. He stepped into place without hesitation, the tension Sabrina could feel not at all present in his demeanor. "Go, Hitmonlee!" he shouted. "Focus energy!"
Kadabra misread the situation and teleported as Hitmonlee performed the technique, standing firm and starting to glow as its energy changed, becoming more focused. So, Kiyo wouldn't go right for the attack. He had some skill as a gym leader, after all. "Kadabra!" Sabrina shouted to give her pokemon some direction.
Kadabra understood her command just from her calling its name. The next command Kiyo gave would be offensive, so the psychic type had to attack faster. "Hitmonlee, high jump kick!" Kiyo ordered, confirming Sabrina's prediction. Kadabra raised its spoon and used psychic first. Hitmonlee not only was hit, but crashed to the floor, failing the attack and being knocked out.
Kiyo returned it and sent out the next pokemon just as quickly. "Go, Hitmonchan!" As soon as the pokemon was released, he shouted the attack. "Mach punch!"
"Kadabra-" Sabrina stopped. It was too late, Hitmonchan rushed forward with incredible speed, punching the poor psychic type in the gut. Kadabra had taken the first hit for her side for the whole challenge. As the punch hit, Kadabra floated backward, still able to maintain its levitation. Even so, she wasn't going to push it to continue. "Return!" Sabrina shouted, then threw the next pokeball. "Go, Alakazam! Psywave!"
"Alright! Hitmonchan, Mach punch!" Kiyo ordered.
Though Alakazam had to take a hit as well, it was able to perform the psychic attack perfectly after Hitmonchan hit dead center. Kiyo's pokemon was instantly knocked out as the psychic energy hit.
Though feeling a sense of satisfaction as the fighting type pokemon fell to the ground, Sabrina made no outward gesture of celebration as she returned Alakazam. "I've won," she said, going with a statement of fact instead. "I'll be taking your sign."
"Wait," Kiyo said, raising up his hand.
Sabrina turned back, knowing what he'd been about to say before he spoke. That sign, it was important not just as a pokemon gym, but as a dojo. Did she have to take it, humiliate them further? Sabrina said nothing, but of course she was going to take it. When pleading her case for why her institute should be able to become Saffron's new official pokemon gym, being able to dramatically throw down the sign would catch everyone's attention.
Kiyo apparently decided not to beg. "I'll be asking you for a rematch."
Sabrina nodded in response before she left.
He did end up asking her several times, coming to the institute's application gym whenever it was open for challengers. Sabrina didn't win every match from her practice challengers, though she won most of them. However, she continued to win against Kiyo each time, more quickly every occasion they battled.
After a few months, she attended the semiannual gym leader's meeting at the Indigo Plateau as an applicant. The other gym leaders' energies indicated they were already decided, Sabrina apparently having been a hot topic of discussion amongst them all in-between meetings. After just a bit of discussion, the Psychic Institute was officially also known as Saffron Gym, the Fighting Dojo stripped of its status as such.
The fifty members of the Psychic Institute were practicing on their own that day. It was difficult to trust the former student members to act as teachers, but Sabrina had started to, slowly, though she still often went to observe. She also supervised the care of the now many pokemon of the institute, mostly abra and its evolutions, though some members had acquired a few other psychic types over the years. They all went to a collective area to be cared for during certain parts of the day, and it was important to make sure the care was proper.
But the institute's staff was becoming more competent, so she could leave them be more often. However, as gym leader, only Sabrina herself could battle against any challengers. Though she hadn't been to any gym leader meetings in years, apparently other gym leaders had family members or understudies they switched off with. But even though some of the resident psychics were improving their pokemon training along with their psychic skills, she didn't trust any of them that much. Her gym's pristine reputation had to be protected, since there were plenty that would love to have their own pseudo-gyms become the official Saffron Gym. They'd gotten more members and more private donations over the years, but the gym was still important for the revenue.
Mid-summer, there was always a barrage of challengers. Unfortunately, they often came with spectators, some of which they'd brought along, others just wanting to see the famous psychic gym leader in action. But this day, the morning was their blocked out period, and in the afternoon there was some kind of festival, distracting everyone, including any would-be challengers. Meanwhile, Sabrina would be staying home, resting beside her pokemon, re-reading one of her favorite novels, and definitely not dealing with any crowds of trainers.
There was just one trainer in the afternoon though, wasn't there? Sabrina went outside to get the schedule book from its spot. Before even touching it, she knew there was a change, but remained in denial that it would affect her that day until she flipped it open and saw that someone had signed into a time slot since the previous day. She'd have to deal with "Ash of Pallet Town" breaking up her planned period of rest away from all the people she constantly dealt with. Sabrina slammed the book shut, then went to prepare the gym for the afternoon battle.
Of course, she had some time to relax with her pokemon, but she couldn't really turn herself off completely as planned. Alakazam and Kadabra also had their energy hyped up some for the coming battle. "It will just be you," Sabrina finally said to Alakazam, hoping to allow Kadabra the day to refresh.
But when the time for the battle came, Kadabra teleported to watch them anyway. Sabrina wouldn't critique its choice. She hoped to be done with this battle quickly anyway.
The challenger arrived on time at least. Sabrina frowned in irritation as she saw he came in a group, two boys and a girl. Now that she thought about it, 'Ash' might be a girl's name.
Except the girl wasn't the challenger. It was the very young-looking boy in front. He had the energy of determination, someone ready to battle. His focus was nothing other than the upcoming match. The girl had a lighter sort of feeling, looking at Sabrina with an excited sort of determination. A fangirl ready to see the famous psychic gym leader battle in person. That shouldn't be too much of a problem, as long as this girl didn't expect Sabrina to have a personal chat afterward. Meanwhile the older boy behind him had a more focused energy that she appreciated. He was also ready to observe as a spectator. However, as she met his eyes, he shyly turned away, perhaps another thought in mind.
It was all quite distracting. At least there were only two additional people. A boy she'd battled a week ago brought a giant fan club that cheered loudly for him and then spread their woe around the room when he lost. That had shaken her up quite a bit, exhausting her for the final two battles of the day. That boy had declared to his fan club that he'd be back for a rematch, but luckily the energy off of him said he had no intention of returning and was going to seek out badges elsewhere.
This child would certainly lose as well. Sabrina only hoped that would be the end of it. If only she could have the hanger-ons wait in the lobby, but she had to allow spectators as a gym leader. She did have the right to make it uncomfortable for them, though. The two spectators now went to stand in the sidebar she called a spectator's area, no chairs to be found.
Sabrina herself went to her area as the gym leader, sitting down on the crystal-adorned throne, which had some powers to dull the constant energy of other humans. She sighed in relief as she sat, then spoke to Ash. "Are you ready?"
"Um, yeah," the small boy responded.
Confusion. Of course, Sabrina just wanted it over with and didn't bother with formalities, and this often confused others. "This will be a two against one battle," she began.
"That's not fair! Is that how you win so much?"
The voice of the girl echoed through the room, and her fiery energy hit Sabrina roughly despite the buffers. Was this girl really that quick to anger? Sabrina tried to let it pass her, but now the annoying energy was flowing throughout the room. "I don't have time for three against one today," she said hotly, letting the young girl's anger affect her, perhaps a bit too much. "So just get your two pokemon ready," she said, turning to Ash.
The spectating girl now radiated embarrassment instead. She'd accosted the person she admired over a misunderstanding. Hopefully that would keep her quiet the rest of the time. Sabrina's rules were atypical, that was because otherwise her win ratio might seem too high to be an appropriate challenge.
"Two? I never had two for just one before." The boy frowned. He'd already decided on the one, and now sat around rather than take action because of the unexpected change in his favor.
How irritating. "Just battle," Sabrina barked. "Go, Alakazam!"
The pokemon, already out of its pokeball, levitated in front of Sabrina, posing with the two spoons in front of it. "Alakazam!" it declared its willingness to fight.
"Pikachu?" The pokemon at the boy's feet tilted its head, curious about the larger pokemon.
They shouldn't dawdle. Sabrina raised her hand, facing her palm toward the pikachu, and Kadabra, recognizing the gestures and apparently watching, lifted the small pokemon using telekinesis. "Pikachu? Wh-what?" the confused challenger sputtered.
"She's psychic! It's telekinesis!" the spectating boy stated the obvious.
"Pikachu?!" the pokemon called out its horror at the unfamiliar experience.
Sabrina gestured for the pikachu to be dropped in place as the challenger's pokemon. The second it was, she shouted her order. "Alakazam, use psychic!"
Making quite a show, Alakazam conjured a swirling mass of purple energy, which soon surrounded the challenger's pokemon. "Pikachu!" Pikachu cried out as it was hit.
"Pikachu, thunderbolt!" The challenging boy finally got hold of himself and was ready to fight. This hadn't been the pokemon he'd been planning to use, but he adjusted.
"Pika, chu!" The pokemon also got used to the situation quickly and followed the order, shooting the electric attack toward Alakazam and hitting it rather easily.
Sabrina flinched along with her pokemon as it was hit. This opponent was stronger than expected, so better to finish it off quickly. "Psychic, then recover!"
"Alakazam!" Sabrina's pokemon hit Pikachu with the mass of psychic energy again, then glowed as it attempted to recover.
"Pika..." Pikachu pulled itself to its feet. Still? This one really was unexpectedly tough.
"Pikachu, quick attack!" the trainer ordered.
"Pikachu," the pokemon called as it ran toward Alakazam before Sabrina could respond and hit it.
"Now, psychic! Finish it off!" Sabrina shouted.
Her pokemon was similarly irritated at the tiny electric type that wouldn't stay down. It took the time to concentrate more, then hit Pikachu a third time with the powerful psychic type attack. "Pika!" the pokemon shouted before it hit the floor.
"Pikachu!" the boy shouted.
"Keep back," Sabrina ordered her pokemon as the opponent ran on the field. Alakazam had already fallen back, crossing its arms in a state of nonaggression as the young human retrieved his pokemon. The pikachu didn't have a pokeball, apparently. Well, children did tend to lose small objects easily.
Holding the electric type and returning to the opponent's podium, the challenger sent out his next pokemon by throwing a proper pokeball. "Go, Charmander!"
Sabrina had been ready for another tough fight, but she could tell this pokemon was different from the first the moment it appeared. It was much more timid. If she just had Kadabra lift it, it might be too scared to continue the battle. But she wasn't about to team up on the little fire type with two pokemon, even an unseen one.
"Charmander?" the challenger's new pokemon called out its hesitance.
"Charmander, flamethrower!" its trainer ordered.
"Psywave," Sabrina ordered. This technique wasn't as powerful as the technique called psychic, but it was even flashier. Sure enough, as Alakazam began it, sending the visual, circular waves of energy toward its opponent, Charmander was too shocked to continue its own attack, and stood still as it was hit over and over by the repeating waves.
The fire type was splayed on the ground afterward. Despite how powerful the first pokemon had been, this simple attack was more than enough to finish this one off. The boy frowned as he lifted his pokeball and returned it.
Disappointment, frustration, and an overwhelming desire to try again. Whatever, just leave, Sabrina almost wanted to shout aloud. "Come on, Ash," the older boy tapped his friend's shoulder as the defeated trainer stared up at the floating Alakazam. At long last, they left.
Sabrina sighed and closed her eyes, leaning back and looking at the calm white crystals that made up a good portion of her custom-made throne. Despite them being gone, their busy energy lingered in the room. She had to deal with people more than ever just to keep this whole place running. And why were most of the trainers so young, their immature energy often all the more piercing?
Despite being affected by the energies of the various people that had been in the room, Sabrina still stood. She had the rest of the afternoon and the evening to herself. She may as well take advantage of it, since there was a busy schedule for tomorrow. "Let's go," she said to both her pokemon, walking back to her cozy office.
End notes: Sabrina and Meowth's chapters seemed to work great side-by-side. Between the pokemon that can use human language and the human who can understand pokemon calls, how pokemon communication works in this verse is probably now pretty clear.
And yes, since I'm pretty sure someone will ask: Ash still has Butterfree. This is not a 'fix it' - episode 21 is great and I like it, but it'll be obvious why that story doesn't fit with this story's world later if not already.
Next chapter: Misty vs. Sabrina
(If you're getting tired of it, I promise this is the last gym with the formula of Misty confronting the gym leader after Ash loses to them, but I do think this next chapter is fun.)