Here it is, the eleventh chapter in my latest Hearts Universe side story 'Problems of the Heart' released when I wanted it to be released within the Hearts timeline give or take. I am sorry that it has taken me so long to update this story but alas the timeline just hadn't caught up to where I needed it to be and I only update Problems whenever the next one falls within the main Hearts universe timeline. Fortunately, y'all won't be waiting too long for the next few as there are 5 more planned before the end of Winning with a total of 21 in this series so far planned. As for this one, for those wondering, it takes place sometime between the end of the Pierre Party Arc and the start of the Snowbelle Arc so around Part CLVI, maybe just before it and this is a very different one compared to the others given who it is about but she's also got her own problems that may need to be solved as well. Anyway, that is all I have for this note and as there were no questions or guest reviews to respond to please time to sit back and get ready for the eleventh Problem of the Heart.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.
Sabrina I
Sabrina entered the Pokémon Center a day's walk due east of Santalune City and looked around, her mind buzzing with the usual sounds made by trainers at a Pokémon Center, but she didn't try to use her powers to find what she was looking for. She could if she wanted to but with her broken telepathy using it always came with drawbacks such as a longer time to get back to her current level so best to leave it as is. Besides, she'd rather do this the old-fashioned way anyway, he deserved no less.
It was a few days after Sabrina had arrived in Kalos, the first time she'd been to the region in 5 years or so. She'd last come here a week after Ask Ketchum and a wild Haunter had helped restore her mind all those years ago and given her a second chance at a normal life, or at least as close to normal as Sabrina could live after what she'd done to herself.
That was because for years she'd abused her vast psychic powers first as a child when she was too young to understand what she was doing and continuing as a teen when she began to become dependent on them. It got to the point that she become addicted to them in a similar way to a drug addict did with drugs, and it was an addiction that she fought to this day. Her trip to Kalos had been the start of her recovery that Ash and Haunter's actions had allowed her to make.
She'd come here to seek out Lady Olympia, the Anistar Gym Leader and the second strongest known psychic behind only Sabrina herself at the time. However, unlike Sabrina, Olympia hadn't abused her powers as a kid but used them responsible and could thus help Sabrina out. She did, after recovering from Sabrina's sudden arrival on the brink of a catastrophic relapse and learning that Sabrina wasn't as in control as the reports made her out to be. It was mainly thanks to the two years that Sabrina had spent in Kalos under Olympia's guidance that had allowed her to regain control of her powers and life.
Sabrina had still needed another year and another expert's help to fully stabilize herself as best as possible. Olympia had helped with Sabrina's telekinesis and control, but the Kalos woman didn't have telepathy, she had foresight as her secondary power so couldn't help Sabrina there. Instead, Sabrina had had to seek that help out from another who had full control of telepathy or a similar mental power.
Thankfully, her father had found a person who could help Sabrina in her home region of Kanto in the form of a young empath called Anabel who was a rising star as a Frontier Brain on the Kanto Battle Frontier. Now Anabel was a dear friend of Sabrina's who she saw a few times a year and was eternally grateful to helping her get her telepathy, her most damaged and only permanently broken power, to a livable stage.
After that Sabrina returned to Saffron City to resume her duties as the gym leader there while keeping up with her recovery by going to addiction meetings, running her own for more esoteric addictions like hers, and generally being an advocate for the need for mental health care and destigmatizing it. After all, if a Kanto Gym Leader could be open about her struggles with an addiction that almost destroyed her and mental health, then anyone could be and get the help they needed.
It had been Sabrina's openness that had led her down a strange path she'd not expected to be on, one that further circumstances had caused Sabrina to fully commit to it. It all stemmed from a talk she was giving in Cerulean City a little over a year ago now that had set this in motion though she didn't realize it at the time. That's because her talk had reached a guest only there out of curtesy, that being Cerulean's Gym Leader Misty.
Misty, a woman who Sabrina had avoided due to her own heinous act that she'd committed on the redhead at the height of Sabrina's addiction and her cowardice to make an amends for that, had realized she had her own issues with jealousy and anger that she needed help with because of Sabrina's talk. Those issues mainly revolved around one person who Misty was deeply in love with but who she had lost to another woman. Of course, that person just had to be her former traveling companion and Sabrina's savior Ash Ketchum.
The water specialist had reached out to Sabrina after her talk and had asked for a meeting to discuss her issues as a way to start her own path to get the help she needed to overcome her jealousy and anger issues; a meeting Sabrina almost instantly agreed to. She owed Ash more than she could ever repay for saving her life all those years ago and giving her this second chance so she was going to do anything she could to at least partially repay that debt, starting with aiding Misty in dealing with her issues. That and Sabrina owed the woman an amends that was long overdue, so the meeting allowed for that as well.
Of course, before even meeting Misty, Sabrina had another curveball thrown at her in the shape of Anabel revealing that she too had crush on Ash. Sabrina had learned of this when she'd turned down her first chance to see Anabel that year because Ash had challenged her to a full battle to practice for the Indigo Conference that he was reentering that year that Sabrina accepted almost as soon as she got the request. Sabrina then booked it during her monthly week off right after the Saffron Contest when she returned to the city so delayed her meeting with Anabel but not before learning of Anabel's crush.
Naturally, the curveballs didn't stop coming when Ash showed up with a girlfriend who had once been his traveling companion when he was in Sinnoh. Dawn was yet another girl that had fallen for Ash but unlike the many others she had succeeded thanks to a series of circumstances, though if Sabrina was being honest she felt that only Misty really had a chance of also succeeding but had waited too long and thus lost. Still, that had been a shock and with Misty's email Sabrina realized she would need to be there for Anabel when fate brought her and Dawn together because that was just how fate worked.
Sabrina had ended up helping both Anabel and Misty that year with their issues and giving them the chance to be at peace with their loss. Neither girl was likely to move on, Misty because of how deep her love ran and Anabel due to how she felt emotions, but both were at least in a good place despite the heartache they were in.
Regardless, progress had been made and Misty had even been able to make her own amends to Dawn for past bad behavior towards her before she saw Sabrina and had managed to actually forge a friendship with her rival that was genuine. So much in fact that Dawn had been able to gather 4 rivals to cheer for Ash in full cheerleader outfits in his finals match that year but that was a story for another time.
With Anabel and Misty aided, Sabrina had learned of 2 more girls who had feelings for Ash but lost him to Dawn thanks in no small part to that cheer squad for Ash that she'd seen. Due to meeting a third of them, a Hoenn girl called May who'd been a traveling companion there and in Kanto for a year, at Ash's party and guaranteed to meet a Sinnoh girl called Angie later that year when she faced Sabrina at the Saffron Gym, Sabrina had decided to help all the girls who lost Ash to Dawn that she could find.
So far, she'd fully helped Misty, Anabel, and Angie with the last one actually in a place to move on from Ash after Sabrina had a long chat with her following Angie's win over her at the gym on her second attempt a few months back. May was still not there yet. Sabrina had had one chat with her and helped May reach a good point so that she could travel with Ash again, but she needed at least one, if not 2, follow up ones to make sure she was fully ok. Thankfully, May was in Kalos and with another girl who'd lost Ash that Sabrina hadn't met called Serena so Sabrina would get to chat to both soon.
Sabrina couldn't right now as the girls were currently on their way to the Wallace Cup in Snowbelle City. Misty had been invited to participate again by Wallace himself, though she'd declined to participate but did decide to attend, and it was being held in Kalos as Kalos had been the best prepared of the 4 expansion regions, so it got the moving Contest this year. Next year it was apparently headed to Unova as it made a circuit of the 4 new regions over the next few years.
Alas Sabrina couldn't attend the Wallace Cup herself. Her broken telepathy meant that she couldn't turn it off, a result of her abuse of it, and large crowds were now impossible for Sabrina to handle. She'd learned that the hard way when she was last in Kalos and had gone to the Anistar Showcase that year as Olympia's guest but had ended up having a seizure when her weak mental defenses were obliterated by the crowd's thoughts. Had it not been for Olympia and Haunter's reactions to get her to safety she may have relapsed then and there and that would have been really bad.
Thankfully, she hadn't but since then Sabrina had avoided crowds which had positives and negatives for her. Despite that, Misty had invited Sabrina to Kalos for it and while Sabrina had turned down attending the Wallace Cup, she hadn't turned down returning to Kalos for a bit. She hadn't been on holiday in a long time, well frankly she'd never been on one as her 3-year absence was due to medical reasons, and needed this so her dad would run the gym for the rest of the year. That and Sabrina had a reason to come back to Kalos that was unrelated to everything else. He was here and she had to see him.
Back when Sabrina had first come to Kalos she had met a local trainer and his Charmeleon in a Pokémon Center near Dendemille Town as she made her way to Anistar. They'd bumped into each other by accident and ended up battling because Sabrina was from Kanto so knew of Charmeleon as it was a native to her region and the guy wanted to get a Kantonian's impression of it. Of course, Sabrina almost relapsed as it was her first battle since regaining her mind as it was still as fragile as glass at that time, but Haunter helped her, and the result was a friendship with the guy.
His name was Alain, and he was heading to Anistar as well to do research for Professor Sycamore, the Kalos Professor, so Sabrina had joined him on the road to have a traveling companion for the last leg, and help riding a Mamoswine over the mountains to get to Anistar. He was a few years younger than her but enthusiastic about Pokémon and a nice guy to be around. He became Sabrina's first friend ever and helped her when she almost relapsed thanks to a poacher near Anistar which was what led to her rather dramatic first meeting with Olympia.
After that they hung out as much as they could while she was here though he didn't know her true identity as Sabrina used a nickname while here, a name and look she still used when she was traveling like now in fact though without the black hair dye these days. However, before she returned to Kanto she had told him and Sycamore the full truth of who she was as they had deserved it. They'd exchanged contact information and still messaged at least once a week despite not seeing each other for 5 years.
Alain had had some issues of his own in the intervening years. Sabrina didn't know the full details, but she knew that he'd been upset about something that had driven him to do something that had led to a rift with Professor Sycamore. That rift was fixed now and Sabrina's contact with him had never changed during it but still, she knew he'd had a rough few years.
That was part of why she wanted to see him, to make sure that he was ok and see if he needed help. If anyone could help him it was her. After all, Sabrina herself was damaged by her own addiction but she'd overcome it thanks to help and gave back because of it. If she could help her first ever friend when he needed it then she'd take it in a heartbeat.
However, that wasn't the only reason she wanted to see Alain, there was another one, one that she'd always known in her heart to be true but had been denying it to herself for years. She'd been denying it because her addiction made her fearful of anything that could easily lead to other addictions. She knew enough addicts who had multiple addictions to not want that for herself. Given her own addiction she was sure that she had an addictive personality and that scared her. It was why she didn't drink, take prescription drugs, gamble, and why she was terrified of physical intimacy.
Alas, as Sabrina was learning more and more during her quest to help the lost girls of Ash as she called them, she'd learned that the heart wanted what the heart wanted, and it wasn't so easy to control. Dealing with so many girls in love with a man that they couldn't have and in many cases unable to let go of that love, though finding healthy ways to deal with it, had forced her to deal with her feelings for Alain.
Now, after a lot of thought in her buildup to returning to Kalos and seeing him again, Sabrina knew the truth and could admit it to herself. She had romantic feelings for Alain and had had them for a while, but her own issues had prevented her from acting on them. They still did and she had a feeling Alain had his own problems that would prevent anything on his end at the moment, but she wanted to see him and talk with him. She'd go from there and deal with her own problems alongside helping the other girls deal with theirs.
That was why Sabrina was in this Pokémon Center because Alain was supposed to be here. She'd arrived a couple days ago in Lumiose City and gone straight to Professor Sycamore's lab to see him and Alain while Misty made her way to Snowbelle City, Sabrina would see May and Serena sometime after the Cup when she could plan a meeting with the former and thus see the latter as well. She'd shocked the Kalos Professor with her arrival, but he'd been happy to see her, and they had caught up over tea though Alain wasn't in town at the moment.
Afterwards, Sabrina had asked where Alain was, and Sycamore had told her that he was in the field but that he should be based out of this particular Pokémon Center for a few weeks at least. That was because he was monitoring a nearby cave known as the Chamber of Emptiness and the particular Mega Stone that was in it as it was one of the tricker ones out there. That was because it was apparently for a Banette, and Alain had had troubles retrieving it when he'd first found it.
Sycamore had theorized that it was one of those Mega Stones that required the actual Pokémon to get it and Banettes weren't common in Kalos. However, Sycamore had already talked with one of the few trainers in Kalos who was known to own a Banette, a Top Coordinator from Sinnoh called Dawn, who he felt had the best chance of retrieving it and she'd agreed to help out. That had been a while back and since then Alain had been to Ambrette Town to get another Mega Stone and then returned to that part of Kalos to investigate a few more while they waited for Dawn to reach the area on her travels.
All that had sparked a fun conversation about how Sabrina knew Dawn and had some strange history around that girl as well as how it had been Ash who had saved her back before her first trip to Kalos. Overall, the catch up had been fun and Sabrina now knew where Alain was, so she was here to talk to him.
Before she left however she had been informed that Alain was traveling with a young girl of around 12 called Mairin who was a close friend of his and also serving as a research assistant to Sycamore at the moment. Mairin had a Chespin that was not often in his ball so Sabrina could use that to help find Alain if she didn't see him in the common area when she arrived.
In the end that was what she needed to do. Alain was indeed not in the common area after she'd checked in, shocking the Nurse Joy with her Gym Leader card but the woman had agreed to keep it a secret, and had scanned the room. That was actually good as Sabrina wanted the reunion with him to be private and not public.
However, as she scanned the room she did see a young girl with short, spikey, auburn hair under a large, green golf hat with orange spiked sound the base and a yellow poof on the top. The girl wore a yellow ¾ length shirt with a light green robe thing over her shoulders and dark green ¾ shorts held up by brown suspenders. She finished the look with brown shoes, gray stockings and a yellow ascot at her throat.
It was exactly the outfit Sabrina had seen in a picture of Alain with the girl that Sycamore had used to help her identify Mairin. Add in that the girl had a Chespin on her lap who she was taking care of, and Sabrina didn't need her telepathy to identify that the girl was Mairin. With a small smile, she walked over to her.
"Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to be called Mairin by any chance, would you?" Sabrina asked politely when she reached her.
Mairin had been grooming Chespie when she was interrupted by the question. Surprised at being recognized by anyone other than Alain, Mairin looked up at the newcomer and almost did a double take at what she saw. Standing over her was a tall, stunning, woman who had to be in her 20s at least, probably older than Alain if she had to guess and that was just the start of what Mairin was seeing.
The woman had long, dark green hair that was swept and styled into a long tail with an angular fringe that matched her eyebrow but had a parting in the middle. She wore a form fitting red dress that fell to just below her butt and had cuts in the sides along her thighs. It also had a black thing around her waist that accented her decently sized bust that it was below and black sleeves that fell just past her elbows. She finished the look with black stockings and light green ankle boots.
None of that compared to the woman's eyes though when Mairin met them. They were a piercing blue that reminded Mairin of how a Psychic attack looked when used and seemed to almost glow with an intensity of their own.
However, that wasn't the only thing. There was a power behind them that Mairin had never felt before but as she continued to look into the woman's eyes she saw so much more. There was a depth to them, a pain and sadness in them of someone who'd seen and done things far beyond her age. It was the look that Mairin sometime saw in Alain's eyes only somehow this was much stronger more intense than his had ever been.
"Y, yes I am." Mairin said slightly intimidated by the woman. "W, why do you w, want to know?"
"That is good." Sabrina said with a soft smile that helped put Mairin at ease despite the woman's eyes though Mairin did note that the smile reached them. "I take it that Alain is nearby then. Could you please tell me where he is?"
"Y, you know Alain?" Mairin asked shocked, how did this stunning, clearly powerful, woman know Alain, he'd never described knowing someone like her because Mairin was sure that she'd remember it.
"Yes, we met many years ago, but I haven't been to Kalos in about half a decade, so it's been a while." Sabrina said. "My name is Sabi by the way if that helps, maybe Alain has mentioned me. Sorry, probably should have led with that."
Mairin's eyes went wide at that and Chespie picked up on the shock and joined his training in looking at the woman in surprise. This was Sabi! Mairin knew of the person who Alain messaged at least weekly, who he'd hunted for a Key and Mega Stone for, but he'd never really described her beyond saying that she was an old friend from his early days who lived in Kanto. He certainly hadn't told her that Sabi was this busty beauty with an intense aura about her and eyes that Mairin couldn't look away from.
"Y, yeah he has." Mairin said with a nod. "But, um…"
"I take it I'm not what you expected." Sabrina said with a light laugh at Mairin's reaction. "That is the kind of thing that Alain would do."
"He's never been too specific about you whenever he's mentioned you." Mairin admitted. "And I never expected you to just show up here completely out of the blue. He said you were still in Kanto and can't leave easily."
"Well, my day job is one that is hard to get a long break from, but I've not had a serious one if a few years so I'm due this." Sabrina said. "And I wanted to surprise him, so I kept this little trip of mine a secret. I can tell you more about myself and my history with Alain later if you want, especially how we met and this wild Haunter pants him during our Pokémon battle, but I haven't seen him in so long and I really want to see him again."
Mairin's eyes widened even further at the slightly bashful tone the woman had and the blush on her cheeks that she had when she was speaking about Alain. Mairin knew that whoever Sabi was, she held a special place in Alain's heart, but it seemed that she returned that place. Oh, this was going to be good.
"He's up on the roof brooding and staring out at the horizon." Mairin said pointing upwards not that she needed to. "He does that a lot these days."
"I see, well then I will go surprise him and see if I get him to stop brooding for a bit, it doesn't suit the boy I met so many years ago." Sabrina said with a smile and only furthering Mairin's desire to know more about Sabi and her time with Alain. "Thank you Mairin, I'll see you later."
With that Sabrina left Mairin to her thoughts and went upstairs to first drop her bag off before going to the roof. She had a feeling that the young girl would follow her and spy on them before teasing Alain, her shock had been so loud in her head that Sabrina could hear it without effort though now she was fully suppressing her telepathy for her reunion with Alain.
Well, Mairin was going to learn a lot and have some fun with Alain when she was done but that was his fault for being so scant on the details about her, Sabrina was not going to bail him out from this one. Now though, Sabrina needed to focus on seeing him again as she made her way up to the roof to see her first friend and the boy she'd now fallen for.
It didn't take Sabrina long to reach the roof, her heart pounding the entire time, as she neared where Alain was. With a deep breath, Sabrina opened the door quietly and walked out to see what Alain had become like in terms of appearance as he was still the same as always in his messages to her.
Instantly she recognized him standing there at the railing, leaning on it as he looked out to the horizon almost certainly with a thousand-yard stare in his eyes as he did. He was taller than he'd been when she last saw him, but he was younger back then. Otherwise, he appeared the same with shaggy black hair that fell down past his ears and a flame like quaff on the top, though the sideburns were new and showed his maturity. Sabrina also knew that if he turned she'd see his blue eyes and what was in them now.
There was one thing that was different about him, his outfit. Sabrina could safely say that she wasn't a fan of it. Seriously, he was really leaning into this brooding, moody, youth look a little too much for her tastes, but she didn't doubt that he had a reason for it.
Alain was wearing a black jacket the fell to just past his elbows and he likely had a ¾ length purple shirt on under it as she could see the tips of it poking out under his sleeves, and fingerless black gloves. He wore baggy gray pants with a black center and black boots. To cap it off he had a light blue scarf thing that flared out behind him for some reason. It was kinda a mix of bad boy with wannabe gloomy goth and a side of brooding, angsty, teenager to it. It really didn't work for him in Sabrina's mind.
Clearly Alain was deep in thought about something as Sabrina studied him and slowly made her way towards him on the roof as he didn't look back at her as she approached him. Well, that just made this more fun as Sabrina smiled at being able to surprise him. Still, she was suddenly really bashful around him now that she was in his presence again, and she knew why but she had to push through it, that was something that they could address later.
"H, hello Alain." Sabrina finally got out shyly once she felt that she was near enough, her mind actively closed to keep from hearing his thoughts and her hands clasped in front of her nervously and inadvertently highlighting her bust in the process. "It, it's been a while since we last saw each other, hasn't it."
Alain had been in the middle of his latest brood where he stared out at the horizon and thought about his past, the mistakes he'd made, the harm he'd done as he had tried to save Chespie, and his redemption when he heard the voice. He'd been thinking about the Chamber of Emptiness that he'd been to this year because it was nearby and how it had forced him to face his own demons while still refusing to give up its secrets when the woman who'd snuck up behind him spoke. That wasn't the shock though, no it was the fact that he recognized the voice even if he'd not heard it in 5 years.
Slowly turning Alain saw the last person he expected to be standing there and his jaw fell open at the sight. It may have been years, but Alain wouldn't forget the sight of his old friend, she was even wearing the same outfit she had when he first met her though her hair wasn't black anymore but its natural dark green which looked really good on her and helped accent her beauty perfectly. She was standing a good few feet away from him, hands in front of her and not catching his eye as she shyly stood there with a slight nervous twitch to her that was somehow adorable to look at.
It was a stark contrast to who she actually was. Alain knew her true power, he'd even seen it once when she almost relapsed, and he knew her skill. She was probably the strongest person he knew, especially after all she'd been through to get sober but now she was looking really shy and bashful around him while also inadvertently highlighting her breasts in the process.
He couldn't lie, she was adorably cute right now and even though she was a few years older than him Alain couldn't deny his attraction to her or his feelings, but he'd never expected to see her again, so he never acted on them. Sure, they messaged weekly, and he really wanted to see her in person again, but he never thought that she'd just show up one day in Kalos without any warning whatsoever.
"S, Sabi, I mean Sabrina, it's, it's good to see you again, it's been too long." Alain said finally finding his voice, albeit with a slight stammer, and smiling at her, a genuine smile for the first time in a long time that Sabrina returned as she looked up at him and he met her startling blue eyes and saw the depth there as they showed him what he saw in the mirror only worse due to her own past actions and addiction problems. "W, what are you doing out in Kalos? Shouldn't you be in Saffron and on your schedule? I know how tightly you hold to it to stay sane, and a week is a bit short for a trip all the way out here."
"You can call me Sabi if you like Alain." Sabrina said smiling at him as she met his eyes and fought down her blush as she stared into his own deep blue eyes that held their own problems within them. "That is what you know me as, you don't need to use my full name and, um, I kinda like it when you call me Sabi. That's who I was when we met so that's who I am to you, Sabi the girl who desperately needed to stay sober, not Sabrina the cold and intimidating Saffron City Gym Leader though I'm much warmer there now."
"Ok, Sabi it is." Alain said with a smile at that, she was Sabi to him and always would be, so he liked being able to call her it. "But still, shouldn't you be on your rigid schedule?"
"I've done that for about 4 years now." Sabrina said. "And I've stuck to it the entire time which has helped me continue to stay sober and get so much better. However, I can use a break from it, and I know a thing or two about taking a break for one's mental health so when a friend of mine who I recently helped out was invited to Kalos for the Wallace Cup and asked if I wanted to come as well. I needed a break, and it was a trip to Kalos so a win/win for me but, well, you know I can't attend something like that."
"I know and I'm sorry I wasn't in Anistar that day." Alain said softly. "I can't imagine what you went through. Have you still not found a way to deal with it?"
"You saw me at a similarly bad moment." Sabrina reminded him. "It would have been like that only with an uncontrollable seizure beforehand so even less control if my telekinesis started to flare up but thank Arceus for Olympia and Haunter getting me clear. It taught me something good though and while there may be a way to deal with it, one I will at least check out if I hear more info on it, it's not high on my priority list right now."
"I, er…" Alain tried to say but he didn't really know what to say about it.
"You don't need to say anything Alain, I know that it is hard for you to understand what I went through because my problems are my own and no one else can really understand what I put myself through." Sabrina said. "Even the other addicts in my groups only empathize with the feelings I felt regarding the uncontrollable need to use my power, to get my next fix so to speak, the actually effects of my power abuse are all my own."
"I know." Alain said. "I just want to make sure that you are ok Sabi. I know how important your schedule is."
"It is important, but I can take a break, I did spend 3 years recovering after all." Sabrina said with a chuckle. "And besides, I go to meetings while here as well because they are always helpful. I went to two in Lumiose City before heading here and am actually going to another tomorrow nearby as I've been traveling for a few days so could do with one. I just had to see you first and Professor Sycamore told me that you'd be here."
"Oh ok, that is good to hear." Alain said understanding what Sabrina was going on about as she'd explained how the recovery meetings for addicts like her helped her. "Yeah, I wasn't expecting to see you today that's for sure."
"It wouldn't have been a surprise if I told you now would it." Sabrina pointed out. "And I wanted to surprise you with my arrival."
"You certainly did so let me return the favor seeing as you're here before me right now." Alain said with a smile back as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a special pouch he always kept there; he had been trying to figure out the best way to get it to Sabrina, but he'd not been able to manage it yet, but this was much better. "I've got this for you. I didn't want to send it as it is valuable, but I wasn't sure how to get it to you otherwise as the Professor isn't planning on going to Kanto anytime soon."
"What…" Sabrina began as Alain pulled out a black pouch and approached her before handing it to her though they remained an awkward, safe, distance apart from each other for the moment. "…is this?"
"I told you that I was hunting Key and Mega Stones." Alain said with a smile as Sabrina opened the pouch and turned it upside down to pour the contents into her palm to reveal a Key Stone, she knew what that was after seeing a few challengers with one, and what had to be a Mega Stone. "I made sure that the first Key Stone I came across was saved for you, I, um, don't deserve to have one again just yet as I haven't atoned enough but you more than deserve it."
"Huh?" Sabrina asked confused by what Alain was saying as she was still taken aback by the stones in her hand.
"Nothing Sabi." Alain said not wanting to get into his past mistakes with her, she had her own to deal with, so it was wrong to burden her with his. "Alas the Mega Stone isn't what I wanted to find for you, I'm still looking for the one that would be best for you, but I know you have the Pokémon for that one and if you'd like, I'd be honored to battle it later to see how the Mega Evolution works as it is one of the ones I haven't seen yet."
"Who's it for?" Sabrina asked as she finally processed Alain's comment about himself for the time being, they'd get to that in time whether he liked it or not, and holding up the Mega Stone to look at it closely. "I haven't seen many of these so I don't know who it would be for."
The stone was perfectly spherical and clear with a pink twist in it that had a cream line on it and a lighter one above it. Sabrina hadn't seen many Mega Stones, only a few, and this certainly wasn't one that she'd seen before so she had no idea who it could be for.
"It's Slowbronite." Alain said surprising her as she looked up at him. "I was hoping to get you Alakazite or Galladite as I know they're some of your best and are close with them, but I haven't found them yet. I did find this though. The Professor thinks that it is was one of the newer ones revealed by the incident last year as we didn't have it on file when I found it so had to run it through the main machine. Once it was confirmed to be for a Slowbro I knew that I found one for you as you have one, right?"
"Of course, I love him as I love all my Pokémon." Sabrina said smiling widely as she put the stones back in the pouch and put it in a belt pocket she had. "I wasn't actually aware that he could Mega Evolve so this is a lovely surprise Alain. He's not on me right now, I have Haunter, Kadabra, Gallade, Espurr, Inkay, and Gothitelle on me as mom wouldn't let Delphox go because he's a huge help at home. I can get Slowbro sent in after this though and send back Gothitelle as she's useful at home as well. I'll get the stones sorted out and fitted tomorrow after my meeting, I have an idea for what I want to use for them, and then we can battle, then we can battle. I'd like to face your Mega Charizard."
"I'm glad you like them, but I can't do more than just use Charizard normally." Alain said not meeting her eyes as he spoke. "I do want to face you though with him and see Mega Slowbro in action, as well as what one would look like."
"You don't have a Key Stone anymore" Sabrina asked before she recalled what Alain had said earlier about not doing so as he wasn't deserving yet. "Why not?"
"You, you aren't the only one here with demons." Alain said evasively, he really didn't want to tell Sabrina about what happened, he hadn't in his messages, and he didn't want to now because he couldn't burden someone like Sabrina with them. "I have my own ones and they are tied to Mega Evolution."
"Oh Alain, I thought that that was the case." Sabrina said and suddenly she couldn't hold it in anymore and closed the distance to him. "This bad boy thing really isn't you. You know you can talk to me, right?"
Alain was too shocked by what happened next to react. Sabrina had closed the distance and suddenly hugged him, and it wasn't a friend hug but a true close, intimate one. She'd wrapped her arms around his chest, holding his back as she held him close and lent the side of her head against his chest as she couldn't reach his shoulder, he was too tall for that now even with her own height. Still, she did the best that she could, and she certainly enjoyed being able to hold Alain like this.
For his part, all Alain could do was wrap his own arms around her and hold her close not realizing how much he needed this from her and how it confirmed something to him, while also ignoring what he was feeling pressed into his chest as he held her there. Sabrina wasn't small in that department for sure and there was no way he was ignoring them with how tightly she held him.
"Sabi." Alain said resting his chin on her head unable to let go now that he had her. "Are, is, is this ok? I, I know how you see things like this."
"It's fine if it's you Alain." Sabrina said her voice slightly muffled as she rested on his surprisingly firm chest her eyes closed. "I, I can stand it with you, but this is about as much as I can do right now I think and even this is pretty big for me. Hugs are fine but, well, this is a little more."
"I understand." Alain said hoping he was reading everything right.
"And you know you can talk to me about anything, right?" Sabrina asked again, she wasn't going to let this one go because she knew the importance and value of talking about things that bothered you. "I had a feeling you had demons even if you didn't tell me, your messages changed when you spoke of helping your friend Mairin out even if you were always the same with me and this look showed me more than you probably thought. My mind is closed by the way so I'm not using that power even passively, but I won't be able to keep this up for long as you know."
"I, I don't mind." Alain said to the last part as he tried to process the first part. "I know what happened with that power and what it is like for you now. If you really need to stop suppressing it do so."
"No, I don't for friends or when I'm having something like this." Sabrina said doing her best to shake her head. "And please, tell me what's up. You know I can at least listen to you about it."
"I don't want to bother you though with my own issues, you don't deserve to share my burden Sabi." Alain said. "I know what you've been through and how bad it all could have gotten had that trainer not saved you from yourself. While what I did was bad and destructive, I don't want to worry you because I know how your problems are worse than mine."
"We all have our problems Alain, and they are important to us even if others might not think so." Sabrina said. "One thing I've learned is that no matter the issue, it is best to hear it out and listen to see if you can help as it can prevent worse down the road. Even if it is just listening to assuage fears or doubts that can be enough to people. So please, tell me your demons and let me help. If there is anyone who knows what it's like to live with demons, to live with deep regret, remorse and shame that will never leave you then it's me. I live with my mistakes every day so I can understand."
"Sabi." Alain said.
"Alain." Sabrina said pulling back enough to look up at him but not letting go of him, so he kept her in his arms that were stronger than she was expecting. "Please, tell me. I can help or at least point you in the right direction to go in."
"I, well." Alain began looking down at her and knowing that his resistance was crumbling as he did. "Well, you were honest with me when you left Kalos about your full past and how you saw yourself so I guess I can be as well."
"That is good." Sabrina said with a small smile. "So, what is bothering you? What happened?"
"A lot and I am responsible for most of it even if I was in some sense duped as I didn't know the end goal and honestly thought that I was helping." Alain said with a sigh. "About 2 years ago I was involved in Mega Evolution research with a man called Lysander and it was through that that I met Mairin. She latched onto me as a traveling companion and wouldn't leave me alone, and no matter what I did I couldn't seem to get rid of her."
"That doesn't sound like you Alain." Sabrina said worried. "You usually wouldn't do that to someone."
"I know it wasn't, but things had been going on and I didn't want her getting hurt." Alain said. "I had gotten involved with Lysander to protect the Professor. He claimed that he wanted to harness Mega Energy for peaceful purposes and that if the research got out it would be used for evil and tarnish the Professor's legacy. I accepted and got a Key Stone in a special bracelet and a Mega Stone for my Charizard that was different from the one the Professor had at the time though he gave it and a Key Stone to some girl called May before she returned home to Hoenn briefly as she said she knew a trainer who could use it."
"Charizard has two Mega Evolutions?" Sabrina asked confused though at the mention of May and a trainer with a Charizard she knew at once who was being referenced, seriously how did he manage to be everywhere. "I didn't know that."
"Turns out so but that's besides the point." Alain said. "I had accepted Lysander's offer and that caused a rift with the Professor as he didn't trust Lysander. I was doing what I could for Sycamore, but I couldn't tell him and that caused problems between us. Then I met Mairin while gathering Mega Energy for Lysander."
"The bracelet." Sabrina said realizing.
"Yup." Alain said with a nod. "It gathered Mega Energy whenever I Mega Evolved Charizard or my opponent did so and as such I faced many trainers with Mega Stones to get the data that Lysander needed. During it I ended up pushing Mairin away when she followed me to Lysander's lab and one thing led to another and her Chespin got hit by something bad and fell into a coma because of me."
"That's awful." Sabrina said shocked.
"It was and I blamed myself for it." Alain said. "So, I set out to finish what Lysander needed and get the data for him so that I could save Chespie. I fought many people and Mega Pokémon to get it for him only losing once to Siebold of the Elite Four here. I was getting stronger so that I could get the data but all I cared about was fixing Chespie."
"And the guilt was eating you up." Sabrina said understanding. "You were obsessed with atoning for it and to do so you had to get stronger."
"I was but that wasn't the worst part." Alain said with a sigh. "No that was the fact that Lysander was just using me to accomplish his own twisted goals of remaking this world. It turned out that he was in charge of the Kalos criminal organization known as Team Flare and I was a willing pawn in that who furthered his plans to use Mega Energy to remake the region."
"I see." Sabrina said as everything began falling into place. "And he launched his attack in the end."
"It was shortly before the Lumiose Conference when I gathered the last bit of energy." Alain said with a nod. "It came from a girl from Hoenn, in fact the same girl who had taken the Charizardite and a Key Stone to Hoenn for a friend she was meeting there, and her Mega Blaziken. I faced her in Lumiose City when she returned there with her friends before two of them flew out to Kanto for something there. She was also friends with the girl who had the other half of what Lysander needed."
"And that's when shit hit the fan." Sabrina said somehow not surprised that someone who traveled with Ash would be part of this almost as if she was a proxy for him. "He had the energy and the other thing all in one place, so he was able to launch his attack I take it."
"Pretty much." Alain said. "The moment that I had what Lysander needed he made his move and well what he needed was a special legendary Pokémon here in Kalos called Zygarde and he wanted to fuse it with the sundial in Anistar City. It would have destroyed Kalos if that had had happened, so I am not sure what his actual end goal was. Turns out the girl with the Mega Blaziken had experience with this kinda stuff before, something about a clash of Groudon and Kyogre a few years back, and with her help, as well as the Kalos and Hoenn Champions and the Kalos Gym Leaders, we were able to stop it. The girl, May, helped me breach the monster that had Chespy at the center and rescue him."
"This May that you've mentioned." Sabrina said. "She's from Petalburg City in Hoenn, right?"
"Yeah how do you know her?" Alain asked surprised by that. "She never mentioned knowing you though if I did mention you to her I would have called you Sabi which she might not have known was your nickname."
"Let's just say that she's one of the people I'm kinda helping for other reasons and I'm hoping to see her again while I'm here as she's heading the Wallace Cup right now." Sabrina said. "But continue, all this was before I met May in person."
"Small world that you know her as well." Alain said shaking his head in amazement at that. "But with her help we saved Chespie and then Zygarde fully formed and sent Lysander to oblivion."
"Oblivion?" Sabrina asked confused.
"He and his monster thing fell into a hole, and he's presumed dead." Alain said simply. "No trace of either has ever been seen since."
"Oh ok." Sabrina said deciding to leave it at that. "And? Was that it?"
"Yup that's basically it." Alain said. "So yeah, I was almost responsible for the destruction of Kalos because I was manipulated by Lysander and guilt ridden by what happened to Chespie. Chespie was ok which was good, but I was in trouble for helping Lysander even if I had been duped. I turned over my Mega Stone, Key Stone and the bracelet to the authorities as evidence to help convict the members of Team Flare and then swore not to Mega Evolve until I'd atoned for my sins. The good thing that came from the incident was that more Mega Stones have appeared all over Kalos and as part of my atonement I am helping Sycamore gather them."
"I know of your mission." Sabrina said. "I had tea with the Professor before coming here and he told me of what you'd found here, your trip to Ambrette, and you return to this area to wait but more on that in a moment. Thank you for telling me what happened. I understand now."
"You do?" Alain asked a little surprised.
"Remember, queen of past fuck ups here." Sabrina said with a dry chuckle. "Ok I didn't nearly destroy a region, but you know my power, imagine if I hadn't been saved all those years ago and was still under its sway. I was a monster then when I was in my power induced haze, and I know that I would have only gotten worse if I hadn't been met that persistent rookie trainer."
"I can't imagine." Alain said with a slight shudder. "Unchecked you might be able to destroy a region on your own."
"Exactly though it would take even me a fair bit of time to do that and hopefully if I'd ever reached that point someone would have ended me before I got that far." Sabrina said not wanting to dwell on where her powers could have led her had Ash and Haunter not given her the lifeline they had. "So, I know what you're going through Alain, and this makes us closer so thank you for telling me. Just remember that it is over now, and you are making your amends for it just as I still am for my past mistakes. In fact, I am on a new mission to help out women who have lost their love to another as part of it but that is also due to a debt I can't fully repay but by Arceus I'll do all I can to do so."
"Huh?" Alain asked confused.
"I'll explain more in a moment." Sabrina said knowing that she'd have the time to do so. "First I want to make sure that you know I'm here to listen to anything else you may want to talk about."
"Oh ok, thank you." Alain said. "Sorry for not telling you Sabi, I didn't want to worry you."
"You can never worry me Alain, not after what I've been through." Sabrina said. "I am here to help, remember that."
"I know." Alain said. "And those stones are part of my atonement. I just don't know what else to do other than helping out the Professor. This stuff, it's new to me."
"Hmm." Sabrina thought before she smiled as she had an idea, and it was all tied into things because of course it was. "I have a suggestion if you are willing to listen. It may not help but it will at least give you a chance to understand more because I know he hasn't changed."
"Of course." Alain said. "What is it?"
"Seek out a trainer by the name of Ash Ketchum." Sabrina said much to Alain's confusion at the statement and the seriousness behind it. "You will run into him soon; in fact, I am certain of it. When you do, challenge him to a battle, he should have something interesting on him by now knowing him, and give your all to it. The greater you can challenge him the stronger his challenge back to you will be."
"Um ok, why?" Alain asked really confused by all this. "I've heard that name before though, I'm sure of it but I can't place it and I know I've never met the guy."
"If you met May you would have heard of him, and Sycamore may have told you about him given all that he's done recently." Sabrina said. "But I know that Ash can help even if he won't appear like it or knowing him realize that he's helping at all."
"You do?" Alain asked. "How?"
"Because he was the man you got me sober." Sabrina said bluntly, shocking Alain with the news. "Yeah I never mentioned his name before because it wasn't relevant until now, but Ash was that pesky 10-year-old who kept challenging me and with the aid of a wild Haunter saved my life without even realizing it. He just wanted his Marsh Badge but, well, Ash tends to work in ways that a normal mind can't fathom and he sure as shit doesn't understand it himself."
"If you're saying this then the guy who brought Haunter to you." Alain said his eyes wide recalling that story well and what Sabrina was saying meant. "Is currently in Kalos?"
"He is and he's worth checking out." Sabrina said. "And when you do battle him with all you got. Ash is very dense, but he solves things with battles, and you will see. He'll help at least give you a sense of what you might need to do, I promise."
"Um ok but how will I run into him?" Alain asked. "I don't even know where he is."
"He's currently either in or near Snowbelle City." Sabrina said. "But you won't need to go there, he's coming to you."
"He is?" Alain asked confused again. "How do you know all this Sabi?"
"He doesn't know it, but he is, and I know because I know why you are here." Sabrina said. "Professor Sycamore told me about your current Mega Stone problem. You need a Banette to get it, right?"
"From what I can gather one is needed but the issue is that they aren't common here." Alain admitted. "I've seen one in my time and don't know the Mega Evolution well. I tried to get the stone, but I couldn't, and the Chamber of Emptiness isn't a place you enter again and please Sabi you shouldn't enter it, ever. However, if a trainer with a Banette can overcome the Chamber then he or she should be able to retrieve the stone."
"That is strange, but I guess that makes sense if the Chamber is some strange place, ghost types are freaky and tend to have strange ways of messing with things." Sabrina said deciding to heed Alain's advice about the Chamber, but she was going to ask him about his experiences in it later as he probably should talk about it with someone if it was bad enough for a warning like that. "And didn't Sycamore say that he knew of someone who could help out, a trainer with a Banette who he felt could get it."
"Yeah and I have met the Banette that he wants to use." Alain said. "It belongs to a Sinnoh girl called Dawn who's here this year helping the Contest circuit as she's a Top Coordinator while also doing Showcases which she actually used her Banette in once apparently. The Professor told me about her when I was last in Lumiose City as he'd gone out to ask her to help retrieve the stone and he showed me her Banette and Spiritomb as they're here. The latter is something else. I've never seen a Pokémon like it."
"It really is." Sabrina said. "Both spectacular and scary at the same time and the greatest bane to a psychic specialist like me."
"You know what a Spiritomb is?" Alain asked shocked. "I'd never heard of one before Sycamore showed me and according to him that Spiritomb was only the third one recorded in the last half century at least."
"I've seen the same one you have out in Kanto once." Sabrina said surprising Alain again and smiling at that. "You see, Dawn is Ash's girlfriend, so I know her decently. She knows all about me and my struggles, I told her and Ash my tale over tea after I had a full battle with Ash for part of his training last year and what a battle that was. I know that the Professor has you in this area to intercept her when the time comes as she'll be passing through after the Master Class. I also know the story of how she caught her Banette back when it was a Shuppet which is why Sycamore believes that she has a Banette who can do it and she will get to keep the Banettite for her troubles."
"If she can retrieve it we will owe her no less, and I am looking forward to seeing her Mega Evolve it." Alain said. "But that is a few weeks away at least so I have some time now to spend with you before I head to Santalune Forest to check out another Mega Stone that might be there before I meet up with her."
"I will be around to spend time with you, but I will also be heading to Anistar to see Olympia and I will be meeting up with Dawn at some point as well." Sabrina said. "I have to see May again as well as a girl called Serena who are both traveling with her and Ash. They need my help, and I will do all I can to help."
"Um ok." Alain said. "Why?"
"Love." Sabrina said resting her head on Alain's chest again and grinning as she felt his heart pick up at the word. "They lost in the game of love and while I don't know it myself, I'm not at that stage yet, I can help. It started with another girl, Misty, and I've helped many since and it is all tied to the debt I am repaying by helping them. I've spoken to May once but this is a second time as there is more going on now so I will be around."
"Good, I did miss you." Alain said. "And thank you for hearing me out, it helped more than I realized to be able to just voice it to you and be heard without judgement."
"I do know what I'm doing, I've been through hell myself." Sabrina said. "But there is one more thing I have to say, and I need to say it now while I have the courage to do so."
"What is that?" Alain asked.
"Just this." Sabrina said lifting her head up to Alain's again but staying in his arms. "My recent mission to help girls who have lost their love to another has helped me sort out my own heart and I know how I feel. Alain, I, I like you and not just as a friend, I like you as more than one and I don't need my powers to know that you feel the same."
"Sabi…" Alain began not sure what to say but Sabrina finally broke from his arms reluctantly and held a finger to his lips.
"Don't, I know and that is enough for now though I will want to hear you say it whenever you are ready to do so." Sabrina said with a smile at him. "We both still have our respective demons to sort out and those are paths we must walk on our own even if we can help each other on them at the same time. All I will ask is that you wait for me as I wait for you for when we are ready."
"I will." Alain said knowing it to be true as Sabrina removed her finger. "I promise."
"Good." Sabrina said before surprising herself as she stepped forward, got up on her toes, and kissed Alain on the cheek causing him to go beat red before stepping back blushing deeply herself and unable to look at him. "That, that was the first time I ever did something like that, sorry."
"Sabi." Alain said his eyes wide as his hand went to his cheek where she'd kissed him.
"Anyway, we can discuss this when we're both better." Sabrina said looking at him and holding back a grimace as she felt the pain begin to build in her head and knowing what was coming. "But right now, I'm at my limit for actively suppressing my telepathy and it's about to break through which is never pleasant when that happens. I'm going to go and lie down to recover but I'll see you and Mairin at dinner, I want to get to know her and let her get to know me."
"Ok." Alain said as Sabrina smiled at him before turning and heading back to her room unable to really say anything else.
She really did need to lie down and take a break from this. She'd see Alain at dinner, and they could talk more then. She also passed Mairin as she left and smiled at the girl who'd been eavesdropping for at least the last bit that would be the juiciest for her and winked so that Mairin knew it was ok.
Things were going to get interesting for sure and for the first time in a long time Sabrina really felt as if she had no issues in that moment and she knew why. She swore she'd get better so that she could finally embrace what she wanted.
All in good time though. She'd done her part for herself, now she was going to help May, Serena, and anyone else in Kalos who needed her help before having at least one more deep chat with Alain before she left. She couldn't wait to see what problems she could help solve while here be they others or her own.
Alain just stared after Sabrina still holding his cheek as she left. He'd never realized she felt that way about him until today though he knew the feeling was mutual. He also agreed with her though, they needed to work out their own demons first and then they could go forward once they were ready for it.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice Mairin pop out from behind him with a wide grin and stars for eyes. She'd seen the end of that and knew what was going. This was an opportunity she couldn't pass up.
"So, Alain." Mairin said to get his attention. "You never told me how beautiful Sabi is. Why not?"
Alain jumped and turned to see a grinning Mairin there. He knew there was no way out and sighed as he began to tell her the story of Sabi and how he knew her though some of the things he'd let her fill in as they were hers to tell not his. Regardless, he wasn't going to get out of this anytime soon.
I couldn't resist an ending like that, Alain is not getting out of this anytime soon and I am sure Sabrina will play into it a bit later with Mairin. Anyway, after many chapters in the main series and the Supplement this is where we get to see Alain for the first time in the Hearts universe because I felt like this was the best place for him given his relationship with Sabrina and all that that I have built as well as how the actions of XY took place during Dreams so he wouldn't have a big role to play in Winning. He still has to meet Ash though and naturally I am not going to say when or where that will be so y'all will have to wait and see on that front. Other than that, this was the first of Sabrina's own problems of the heart that her journey has led her too and she's finally finding her own acceptance with it but there is still work to do both with others and on her own so plenty more to look forward to as this aspect also grows in its own way throughout the series. Also, to anyone wondering why I went with Slowbro for Sabrina's Mega Evolution and not Alakazam or Gallade the reason is that she's the only character with a Slowbro that could probably Mega Evolve so to diversify the Mega Evolutions around just in case I decide to do a special Mega Evolution tournament side story Sabrina got Slowbronite while Kenny has the Mega Alakazam and if it ever comes to it Zoey will have the Mega Gallade. On that note, if people want to see a battle between Sabrina using Mega Slowbro and Alain and his Charizard (no Mega Evolution) then I can do it as a special chapter though I'm not sure where I'd put it, but I have an idea. That is all I have for you, and I will not say when the next Problems chapter is set to come out here as I don't want to tip who it might be so I will just leave this chapter off here. As always, given the content all I will do is ask that if you want to read more that you favorite or follow it and let me know what you think of it in your reviews or PMs to me. Until next time.
Stringdog