Sprigatito took over Joe's pillow that night. Joe owned a king-sized bed. He specifically laid her to rest on the other side so they both had their own space. No point buying a pet bed, he would be away for a year starting tomorrow.
Joe didn't know how and why she curled up in front of his face, but her tail tickled his nose and he awoke with a sneeze. He saw how he'd been pushed to the last third of his pillow. Apparently she moved a lot in her sleep. He put his head back down. His face felt a bit sticky against the pillow. Had he grumbled in his sleep and Sprigatito had tried to comfort him? Or maybe she was dreaming and he was just tasty food. He grinned and went back to sleep.
That fall from his apartment did some damage, but he could be a still sleeper when necessary. He expected to wake up a lot during the night and to be tired the next morning, but he was all right.
Now that he was awake, there was a fuzzy feeling in his belly. Anticipation and excitement for his holiday.
After a simple breakfast, Joe set out into the streets, Sprigatito on his lying left shoulder. Her new home, apparently. Her belly was on his shoulder, two legs up front, two dangling behind. Joe was glad Hydie mentioned a gender for Sprigatito, otherwise he'd be thinking of the cat as 'it' until he eventually learned. And he wasn't going to check himself. Joe wondered if PokeCenters could confirm a Pokemon's gender.
Whatever, enough of this topic. He trusted Hydie was correct.
He had grabbed the first clothes that entered his vision when he opened his wardrobe. One tone t-shirt, jacket and jeans. Simple and easy without looking awful, in Joe's opinion. Women wept whenever they opened his closet and saw his clothes all looked the same.
Joe's destination was Olivine Gym, but he was an early riser. The Pokemon Gym was still closed. There was nothing to do except walk around the city for a bit. He ended up at the cliff overlooking the docks, where he met Jasmine two years ago. The path on the edge had been sealed off and a new path through the hill had been created. City planners only fixed the problem after someone ended up in danger. Typical.
Amphy's lighthouse had been renovated too. No longer Pokemon operated. Amphy had retired to Jasmine's home. It was for the best. Amphy's failure could've created a shipwreck. Could've harmed hundreds of people. Amphy didn't want to be responsible for such a disaster.
He looked at his watch, the strap made of leather that would soon make his wrist sweat. The Pokemon Gym would open soon. He headed that direction, rubbing his side after stretching a bit too much when he turned.
Strapped to his back was a heavy pack with everything he needed for living in nature. Mainly a tent, sleeping bag, clothes and food. He'd had to cram a bag of pellets for his new cat in last second, but it fit. He liked to make sure his backpack had spare room whenever he went hiking. It was usually for souvenirs, but those weren't urgent so his cat could take up the spare space.
He also had a map, both physical and digital. Didn't want to have an over-reliance on technology. Plus, there was just something about handling a proper paper map that appealed to the young man. Joe liked to have a target destination and know roughly how long he'd be away from society. He had limited resources, after all. He always had to top up at a nearby town, buying new perishables and getting his used clothes cleaned.
Kanto being a mild region was helpful. Once there, he could shed some items. Hand them off to a pawn shop. He wouldn't be needing thicker clothing like a winter coat after Mt. Silver.
He strode along stone paths until he reached the familiar Steelix head. He walked inside and was greeted by the Gym assistant. The same woman he'd frightened to get information about Jasmine's whereabouts. She hadn't changed. Same glasses and hair. Didn't look like she aged either. Must be some form of magic.
As it turned out, the Gym assistant was a good woman. When she learned that Joe's actions were for Jasmine's wellbeing, she forgave him and said she would've done the same. She had been looking out for Jasmine since she got the job, trying to get the Gym Leader to come out of her shell. She was the one who encouraged Jasmine to call the PokeMart and inquire about her own delivery on that fateful day two years ago.
As Joe's and Jasmine's friendship blossomed, the Gym Leader also managed to talk to and make friends with the bespectacled woman. The assistant always smiled warmly at Jasmine, like a big sister lovingly watching over their younger sibling. Joe supposed the woman's motherly instincts kicked in around Jasmine. It added up. Joe was convinced the assistant was at least as old as he was, and he was a couple years older than Jasmine.
He had learned Jasmine's exact age when he looked her up on the Internet. Information on celebrities was easy to find. Even obscure ones like Jasmine. She was twenty when they met. Twenty-two now.
"She's in the arena." The Gym assistant called out as soon as she saw Joe. She knew him well. He was here for one thing and one thing only. Jasmine. Might as well point him her way immediately.
Joe moved through a simple but clean hallway on the other side of the reception area and picked up on the sound of battle. He soon entered a massive room. Powerful lights overhead lit up a dirt arena. There were rows of raised seats surrounding the arena, all empty. Anyone could come and watch a Gym battle at any moment, they were open to the public. Jasmine remained unpopular though.
The battle looked like it would come to an end soon. Massive screens, a couple hundred inches, were on all four sides of the room, fixed to the upper walls and angled down so people could view them. Cameras dotted around the arena focused on the battle. Two Pokemon took up most of the display. But there was a small square in the top right and bottom left of the screens for the Trainers. In Jasmine's corner it showed she had two Pokemon left, while the challenger, a young girl, had one left. The girl could turn it around, but it wasn't likely.
This meant Joe had missed the gimmick. A shame, he liked it. Simple but neat to watch. Jasmine had explained to Joe that every Gym had a gimmick. They varied wildly. Olivine's Gym had a steel cutting competition before the main battle. Joe likened it to watching martial artists cut boards of wood with a karate chop. It wasn't important to the Pokemon Gym or the outcome of battles. Just a little spice before the main event.
Jasmine saw Joe enter and take a seat to watch. She had been dreading his arrival all morning, but she was also glad to see him. Catching a glimpse of a feline on Joe's shoulder surprised her. Had he finally caught a Pokemon? This distraction removed her focus from battle and caused her Pokemon, a metal bird called Skarmory, to be taken out. Jasmine returned Skarmory to a Pokeball. These storage orbs reached far and wide, blue energy reaching the Pokemon with ease and absorbing it.
Joe saw the screens change to reflect this new development. One of Jasmine's Pokeballs faded out. Some electric-loving Pokemon called Rotom worked as an assistant to edit the feed live. These battles were livestreamed, but the cameras were only active when Rotom saw a challenger.
Rotom were starting to pop up everywhere. Even Joe had encountered a few. The Rotom species loved working with electronics so they had no problem living in Pokemon Gyms and sharing the battles on the Internet.
Down to her final Pokemon, Jasmine threw a Pokeball and released a Scizor. A red bug that stood on two feet and had clamps for hands. Looked like Joe wasn't going to be seeing the Gym's mascot, Steelix, today.
A back and forth between Jasmine and the challenger commenced and the Gym Leader handily won, inspired by her friend being there as a witness. She wanted to show off a little. Something she rarely got to do for Joe since her strength was Pokemon battling and work kept them apart. Although this desire was a bit misguided. The point of a Gym was to lose. If one was unbeatable then no one would beat the Gym Challenge, therefore no one would move on to the Regional League. A challenge was something that could be overcome. It wasn't supposed to be an impossible wall to pass.
The challenger returned her blue and white bunny called Azumarill to its ball. Gym Leader and challenger met at the side of the arena as Jasmine encouraged the girl, saying she did well. The girl thanked Jasmine and left, a sour expression on her face. Better luck next time.
Joe stood as Jasmine approached, clapping at her success. "Good job."
She smiled at his words. Always happy to receive praise from Joe. Her vision soon shifted to the Sprigatito on his shoulder. It'd been on her mind since Joe arrived and if there was one thing Jasmine was bad at, it would be suppressing her mile a minute mind. She had to sate her curiosity. "Is this another stray or have you caught a Pokemon?"
"I caught this one yesterday." Joe said, stroking the cat under the chin.
"Took you long enough." Jasmine replied. For someone that was constantly looking after Pokemon, it had taken Joe a strangely long time to adopt one. "It doesn't suit you though."
"What did you expect, a Machamp or something?"
Joe was joking, but Jasmine earnestly nodded. She really had expected Joe to get a strong Pokemon. One that matched his own image.
"Well who knows, maybe Sprigatito will evolve and it'll be a meathead like me." The cat started tapping Joe's cheek repeatedly until her Trainer looked. Sprigatito then began violently shaking her head. "What? You don't evolve into a strong Pokemon?"
"Um, not really?" Jasmine answered for the cat. "Meowscarada doesn't need muscle. It usually attacks from slight range with grass-type moves. It has a signature move it uses from a few meters away to keep foes at a distance. I've fought a few and they rarely attack at close range. They always like to expand on the signature move, staying away from my Pokemon with other ranged attacks."
There she went again. It was easy to get Jasmine to talk about the capabilities of Pokemon. She excelled in the subject. Earlier on in their friendship, she would've acted bashful at talking Joe's ear off, thinking she was a nuisance, but Joe didn't mind. He never had. Even if it didn't affect him, he was still curious and was happy to hear specifics.
Joe hummed in response. He doubted Sprigatito would evolve anyway. He had already come to the conclusion that he wasn't going to use an easily frightened Pokemon in battle. And just in general he wasn't going to battle. No reason to.
A brief pause in the conversation allowed Jasmine's mind to start racing. Now it wasn't just the challenger with a dour look. Jasmine's eyes clouded and the smile she had when Joe entered the arena dissipated. She knew why Joe was here. She looked at the ground and grabbed her dress with both hands. Not a sundress this time. A normal dress. It was light blue with white frills on her shoulders, white sleeves getting close to her elbow. "Are you really going…?"
While Joe had been looking forward to this day for a long time, Jasmine had been fearing it. She counted it down starting a few months ago. Joe often talked about his love of the wild and desire to see more of the world. Joe was leaving and there was nothing she could do about it. It was selfish to want him to stay, but she couldn't stop herself feeling this way.
"I sure am. I'd ask if you want to come with me, but then it'd be cut down to a six-month vacation." Joe grinned. Tried to lighten the mood. If Jasmine tagged along then he, as the man, would be obligated to pay for everything. He didn't really need to, Gym Leaders had a brilliant wage, but he just couldn't picture himself letting Jasmine pay for anything herself.
Besides his chivalry, they both knew it wasn't going to happen for another reason. Jasmine struggled enough here in her home town. She didn't want to go with him. Too anxiety-inducing. She was scared by the thought of an adventure on the scale of an entire region and didn't know how she'd survive out in the wild. The exploration lifestyle just wasn't for her.
The Gym leader didn't reply to Joe's comment. Instead, tears started silently rolling down her cheeks and hitting the dirt. She sniffled, giving her away. She rushed to rub her eyes with her arm and Joe placed a hand on her head.
"Come on, don't cry. You've made friends, you don't need me around anymore. I'll be back before you know it, but only if you live your life properly. Time flies when you're living a fulfilling life."
Jasmine looked up at Joe to see a toothy grin. She was drawn into the moment and her lips curved too, despite her eyes still being wet. "…Be sure to keep in touch, okay?"
"You bet. I'll write you a letter every month."
Hearing Joe laugh, Jasmine started feebly punching his rock-solid chest. "Use your phone! It's what technology is for!"
It'd taken a while, but Jasmine had eventually gotten used to Joe's teasing and would retort when given the chance. When they first met, it was inconceivable that she would bite back like this. It just showed how far she'd come. She had slowly worked through her anxiety.
He didn't know because she had never voiced these thoughts, but Jasmine really enjoyed her time with Joe. She had a good friend. Maybe something more…? He was patient with her despite her shy personality and always helped when he was needed. He brightened her life up. Seeing that big grin always made her feel comfortable.
Joe ignored the beating. If he couldn't see it, he wouldn't know it was happening. Jasmine's slender arms weren't made for hurting.
It didn't take long for Jasmine to stop with the fake outrage. The duo walked through to the lobby while chatting about Jasmine being busy with the Gym since she was on rotation this year. Six-day work weeks every week for a year sounded rough, but she had also been given the entirety of last year off so it balanced out. Intense work followed by plenty of relaxation.
Once they were in the reception area, Joe immediately noticed the assistant smiling at Jasmine. At this point he'd find it weird if she wasn't following through on the big sister act.
"Well, it's about time I go. I've got a ferry to catch." Joe pat Jasmine's head again, but only briefly. "I'll see you later, Jasmine."
He turned to leave and took a few steps. But then he was stopped. Jasmine had jumped at Joe's back and wrapped her arms around his waist. He raised an arm and looked down at her, but he couldn't see her properly. He took a step forward and Jasmine let her feet drag.
That got him to talk. "What are you, a kid? But damn, you must really be eating steel. I don't think I could carry you ever again. You're way too heavy."
In response, Jasmine glared up at him even though he was facing the door and couldn't see what face she was making. Jasmine decided to pinch his sides, which earned a yelp from her friend. Jasmine had actually managed to cause Joe pain, albeit only by using an existing injury. Joe took a few more steps and Jasmine continued to let her feet drag, not letting him go.
With no other option, Joe worked to unburden himself of Jasmine by tearing her arms off him. Her grip was strong, but ultimately her arms were too short compared to Joe's size. If Jasmine had been taller, had longer arms, then maybe she could've intertwined them in a way that made it near impossible to get rid of her. But alas, Joe eventually succeeded. He held her arms out so they were as far away from him as possible, then he ran. She was too slow. He'd escaped before she could catch him again. Joe dashed out the building while shouting his goodbyes once more for good measure.
Jasmine stood in the doorway, watching him go. She never did thank him properly, person to person, for his help with Amphy. It'd been building up for years. She opened her mouth. For perhaps the one and only time in her life, Jasmine raised her voice and shouted.
"I love you, Joe!" Even Jasmine was surprised, but not unhappy, at the words she spoke. She looked to see if perhaps he had heard her and returned, but no such luck. He was long gone into the sea of buildings.
A couple of people walking nearby were startled by the sudden shout, but soon went back to walking.
The Gym assistant came out to stand by Jasmine and put a hand on her arm. "There's always next time."
Jasmine didn't know it yet, but this action caused quite a stir for fans of Pokemon Trainers. Rumours spread as people wondered if she had always been this cute. A woman in love just looked different, apparently. Through word of mouth, more people started talking about Johto's steel-type Gym Leader and how she had seemingly confessed to someone. This created curiosity as people realised they didn't know much about her. They started tuning into livestreams of her battles. Some people cheered her on while others fought over who her lover was. Her fanbase steadily grew over the subsequent months.
She'd avoided it until now, but perhaps it was inevitable. Gym Leaders usually had a lot of eyes on them regardless of their personality. A confession that few heard managed to drag Jasmine into the limelight. It spread like a myth or legend due to the lack of evidence and people that witnessed the event.
* * * * *
Joe rushed through streets, aiming for a pier to the south. His chariot awaited. As much as Joe liked making his own way to a location, it'd take him over a month just to walk to Mt. Silver. He figured he might as well speed things up a bit. Catch a ride to a town called New Bark at the base of Mt. Silver.
The ferry was going to travel through the sea south of Johto. Pass by towns and cities like Goldenrod, Azalea and Cherrygrove to eventually arrive at New Bark. The ferry would then move on to some other region that wasn't Kanto. New Bark was the last stop for new customers to join or old customers to disembark before the ship was out at sea for a while.
As he ran, he could hear Sprigatito's excitement. She'd never moved this fast. She was enjoying the sensation of wind on her fur.
He arrived just in time. Only a minute to spare. He walked up a long metal walkway to the deck of the ferry. His chariot was a large white vessel with red accents for company branding. Once he was aboard, he spotted a Pokemon battle arena at one end and a swimming pool at the other. He remembered the company advertising a casino and other forms of entertainment. Some people would be aboard the ship for a few weeks. They needed a variety of activities to keep them busy.
A stewardess stood at the end of the walkway to greet customers with a polite smile plastered on her face, but when Joe approached, she seemed to waver. She looked at him with pleading eyes. Joe ignored it and moved on. He figured she was just silently asking him not to be a troublemaker.
Bedrooms were below deck and that's where Joe headed first. He leisurely strolled down a narrow staircase and through white hallways until he arrived at a door with '47' on it. Iron numbers painted gold. He knew the room would be small, but he barely fit through the door. He ducked his head and turned sideways. No other way of getting inside. Behind him, Joe heard a kid laugh and a mother shush her boy. Joe grinned at this. He could imagine what he looked like trying to fit through the small door frame.
Once inside, he realised why the stewardess looked at him funny. The bed was tiny. No way was he fitting in that. He tossed his backpack in a corner as he thought about tonight. The best option was probably to pull the quilt onto the floor and rest on it. He had a blanket in his bag so he could put that on himself.
A problem for later. Joe went and enjoyed all the forms of entertainment he could for the rest of the day. Sprigatito was a scaredy-cat so Joe wasn't going to enter the arena, but he still watched some battles from the sidelines because why not. He had to admit, being close to a fight was totally different to watching a battle on television. He could feel the pressure from elemental moves. Waves of rushing air washed over him as fire and water collided or two blades clashed hard.
He lost a bit of money in the casino. It was working as intended. Gamble long enough and everyone's a loser.
It didn't take long for Joe to find his way to the cafeteria. The food was mighty fine. His favourite was a steak. He enjoyed the grilled meat as Sprigatito looked at him with shock on her face, shivering at the thought that that could've been her.
That night, Joe was in his room, doing push-ups. No gym on the ferry. Sprigatito stood on his back and yipped every time Joe reached the peak of his ascension. The cat was frightened of him just yesterday afternoon, but now look at her. It was nice to permanently have someone around, even if they were an animal. Joe wanted a family one day, so he'd have to get used to others being in his life. Sprigatito felt like preparation for having a child, but without all the troublesome bits.
Once he could see the moon high up in the sky through his room's oval window, Joe got his floor bed ready. As he lay there, Sprigatito curled up by his head, he thought of Jasmine. He had heard her confession but had run away from it. He liked Jasmine, but he wanted to solve his own problem first. At this point though, he had no idea how he was going to fix his life
A couple of years ago he asked for help. Joe had approached his mother and told her he noticed something wrong with his memories. His adult years were fine, but his school years were a bit of a blur. He struggled to recall specifics. Beyond that, his single digit years, before he was ten years old, were completely gone. He couldn't remember a thing from before middle school.
Joe's mother had always been a doting parent, but when he mentioned his problem, she had been unusually stern with him and told him to drop the subject. Joe obeyed, for some reason. It was weird. Like he had no free will in that moment. He just casually moved on without answers. It sounded like brainwashing to him. He was conditioned to avoid specific memories, and if he started questioning things, he was brainwashed to just… leave it alone.
This was why he didn't feel right accepting Jasmine's feelings. His brain was scrambled. Couldn't always think straight or act the way he wanted. While he'd only noticed the inability to research himself, there could be more to it. He may have forgotten other parts to his problem.
It wasn't fair to get involved with someone when his head was messed up like this. It may result in errors in the relationship, and Joe may not even know. Joe believed his adult years were fine right now, but what if that changed? What if he suddenly forgot how he met Jasmine? What if he forgot what she looked like and thought there was a stranger in their home?
Joe sighed, rolled over and closed his eyes knowing he would have no motivation to look into his past when he awoke.