Poke-genetics: girls' confidences
Her hair was different from the usual police haircut she sported. They were freely falling on her shoulders, underlining her gracious features. She was wearing a sumptuous dress and was even wearing make-up. She was… surprising.
«O… officer Jenny? »
This was bad. She was underage and she had just bumped into a police officer in a night club!
«Don't… look so… panicked. I'm not… working…»
She had a strange look in her eyes, was she drunk?
«What are you doing here? » Misty asked.
«After that incident with the girl from Team Blast, I asked for a vacation which was immediately given to me. Tonight, my friend said I should try to have some fun, so she dressed me up, but all I could bring myself to do was order drinks. »
Her head was tilting to the side, just like she had trouble keeping her balance. When she fell on Misty, the poor teenage had to use all her strength not to be taken down.
«You… should… go to sleep. »
«You're right… barman, could you please give me my keys? »
The barman looked at her for less than a second before declaring:
«No, you're too drunk. Come back tomorrow morning. »
«I'm not… drunk… » she protested.
But she felled to the ground and decided to correct.
« Maybe a little… »
The old guy looked at Misty and asked:
«You're her friend? »
«Huh… kind of. »
«Then you should bring her back home. She could use a good night of sleep. »
Nodding, she put Jenny's arm on her shoulder and they left the club.
Both girl remained silent for a while, surrounded by the calm night. Misty was trying not to think about Ash, but she missed him so much it was painful.
«You should not keep it inside… » muttered a perceptive officer.
«Huh? What are you talking about? »
«It's obvious… your love… »
«You're too drunk. You're being silly. » she tried to shrug off.
«I was in love before…»
«Really? With whom? »
«A wonderful man called John. »
As she answered, she smiled and her beauty bloomed. She looked so filled with happiness that looking at her eased Misty's pain.
«We met at the police academy. I was at the top of my class while he… » she chuckled gently «wasn't the most successful... He had no talent in close-combat, had poor athletic abilities and wasn't the best growlithe trainer there was. Everyone was betting on how long he'd last before he'd give up. »
Misty listened attentively.
«But you know something marvelous? John always succeeded. No matter how bad the odds were, he never failed a test. At the academy, it was safer to bet on his success than his failures. I heard he managed to pay one of his classes like that. »
«That's clever of him. »
«Oh, he certainly was clever. I remember the first time we talked. He was training for his running test. Like always, his results were too poor for a police officer. It is shameful, but at the time, I mocked him. »
«What did he do? »
«He just smiled at me and said that if I found pleasure in looking at him fail, I would be quite sad the day of the test. I took it as bragging… »
She almost tripped on something and Misty had to support her even more.
«What do you think happened? »
«He succeeded? »
Jenny laughed brightly. Somehow, it was even more touching than her previous smile.
«He certainly succeeded. He finished first! »
Misty gasped.
«For real? »
«If you asked me at the time, I would have denied it. Now, I'm saying it was very real. Naturally, I was angry at myself for losing and at him for beating me. So, I went to see him again. This time, I didn't mock him. Instead, I defied him. »
«What did he say? »
«He refused. »
«What? »
«He said I was lacking something to compete with him. I couldn't believe my ears. I was supposed to be the best, coming from a family of great officers and «I» was lacking something. »
«That had to hurt…»
«My pride having been offended, I worked like crazy to beat him. I wanted to show him. At the next test… he was first again. »
«No way! »
«It made no sense to me either. But I kept trying. And every time, he beat me. »
«How was he doing?»
«Funny you ask, because that's exactly what I wanted to know. When I asked him, do you know what he answered? »
Misty had no answer herself. Jenny looked to the stars. Her voice almost failed her as she whispered.
«Beliefs. »
Jenny started to cry.
«He said that he believed that the world could be changed for the better, that by being a better person he'd help our world move forward. »
«That's… » Misty didn't know how to say it. She was touched by Jenny's story.
«That day, he looked so reliable. He seemed like he would move the world by himself. He was a naïve fool… and he was the most wonderful man I've ever met. I… love him… »
Jenny cried on her shoulder.
«Where is he now? »
What she said utterly shocked Misty.
«He's dead. I killed him. »
The young woman completely fell to the ground. She had stopped supporting her own body. She was crying helplessly to the ground.
«I… killed John…»
Misty felt her own tear fall.
«We were about to get married… a few days before the ceremony… that horrible woman… a professional burglar at the time… broke in Viridian City's bank. »
She took a deep breath.
«John and I were the ones leading the operation… »
She sobbed.
«She had taken hostages… we tried to negotiate… she wouldn't hear a thing… she was growing impatient… she threatened to kill all her hostages and flee. »
She stopped. Her voice was faint.
«John immediately proposed to switch place with the hostages… I… let him… Janes seemed amused… he told me that as soon as she got behind him as a shield I was to shoot through him, wounding him and killing her. »
Misty felt Jenny's grief grow. Her sadness affected Misty so much that she couldn't say anything.
«It went exactly as planned… she let the hostages go and took John in their place… I aimed under the clavicle… and… when it was time to pull the trigger… I… hesitated… I couldn't do it… She realized something was wrong and took a knife… »
«No… » gasped Misty.
«I finally pulled the trigger… the bullet flew straight toward them… we all realized how big of a mistake we were making when her pokemon got out of the shadows… »
Jenny's voice shattered and she broke down into tears again.
«The bullet… stopped in front of them… her kadabra was using psychic… she looked at the bullet with a vicious smile… asked her pokemon to paralyze John… and got away from John… making sure he was going to be mortally hit…»
«Everyone was frozen in horror… John could still talk… he said he loved me… and her kadabra stopped using psychic... »
Misty put her hands on her mouth. It was so sad. She was crying all the tears in her body.
«Janes… just looked at his body… and… said: «What a pity, he was my type.»… After that, she used her psychic pokemon to teleport. »
It was like a nail had been planted in her heart. Jenny yelled.
«SHE COULD HAVE GOTTEN AWAY WITH TELEPORT WHENEVER SHE WANTED! I KILLED JOHN! …I killed… John… »
«YOU DIDN'T ! » Misty yelled back. «YOU DIDN'T KILL JOHN! That… monster did it! »
«It's my fault! »
«IT ISN'T! You're not to blame for this! »
«… I'll quit being a police officer. »
«What? Are you crazy? »
«I have no beliefs… I'm useless… I killed rather than saved… I'm not fit to be a police officer. »
«Look at me! » Misty ordered.
Empty, Jenny looked at her in the eyes.
«You believed in John. Are you saying it's a lie? »
«NO ! I believe in him! »
«Then, you have beliefs. You believe in him, you believe in HIS beliefs. Take them upon you. Do what he didn't have the time to do! Change this world! Believe that there is hope for something better! Give this hope yourself! »
«I…» she stried to say, lights shining in her eyes.
«SAY IT! » insisted Misty.
«I will change… this world…»
«Better than that! »
«I will change this world…»
«BETTER!»
« I will change this world! I'll perpetuate John's belief! »
She stood up, proud and strong. In her eyes, there was a burning flame that would not be so easily extinguished.
«HELP! » yelled a croaking voice. «THIEF! »
They saw a man with a hood running toward them with a handbag. With a surprising ability for someone that drunk, she knocked him to the ground, forcing his neck to make contact with her arm. The hit made him fall on his back.
«Well…» the man smiled lecherously «… isn't that poor little Jenny? How about you break down like a good girl and let me go? »
The man had a very bad surprise.
Jenny put her high heels shoes on his chest and looked down on him.
«Too bad, you lost your chance for that. You should have come earlier. Right now, I feel like making this world better… and that includes sending jerks like you to jail. »
Misty smiled quietly. Jenny was back in the game, stronger than ever. And she felt like she was too.
Ash told her to wait for him to return. Fine, she'd do that. She would wait, but she didn't make any promise concerning was she was going to do while she was waiting. She'd find the right thing to do and she'd put all her effort in it. She'd try to be like Jenny. A woman fighting for what she believed in… and she believed in Ash.