Chapter 16

Their time on the island paradise came to a close far too fast for Sasha, who had only just introduced herself to the dessert buffet and had stolen away to a corner with a plate stacked so high that she was bedridden for the remainder of the trip.

"Totally worth it," was her only response to her sickness.

It would get far, far worse though, as she would soon realize. The mere site of the ship rocking gently on the waves readying itself to carry the crew and passengers back to the mainland sent her into bouts of seasickness. For a while the rest of them decided that her feathers had in fact turned a pale green.

"You'll stay in your ball till we get back Sasha. Let that be a lesson to you," said Jack, zapping her with the red light of her Pokéball and sending her inside. He looked at the others, smiling, but with a hint of worry on his face and continued onto the deck. He didn't say anything, but the others followed him naturally, like a second nature. He liked this feeling, having so many wonderful friends, lovers, comrades, with him like this. It was a simple pleasure, and he was doing his best to take full advantage of it.

The S.S. Anne had been moored in the dock for the whole week, having no other scheduled routes to take and needing to pick up all the vacationers anyway. Its horn blasted through the morning air as the signal for its departure and the onlookers from the island waved goodbye with banners saying "Come back soon" and "You forgot your camera," to which there was more than one frantic person padding himself down just to make sure he hadn't. Jack smiled as the ship began its journey back and remained patiently watching as the island drifted farther and farther out of sight.

It had been an overall wonderful and eventful vacation. Much needed by all of them, Jill most of all. He mused over them now, talking amongst themselves like conspirators in a bank heist and smiled. The little Riolu was pawing at his leg and trying to climb up, but his shorts didn't permit the little puppy to grab a firm hold of anything, so he bent down and scooped her up. She sat on his shoulder and cuddled up to the side of his face.

There was Laura, whom he had come to love and lust in equal shares and whom he knew regarded him the same way. She was strong, but still lacking in real experience in battle. Which he suddenly realized was going to matter if he were really going to take on the Pokémon League Championship.

Then there was Maya, who despite her ordinarily shy nature had warmed up to all of them, especially Jill so much that he would have hardly thought of her as the same Pokémon he had rescued in Celadon City weeks ago. He smiled and thought of how seductively sweet she could be, and how gentle and compassionate she was all the time. By her very nature she was a perfect woman, and yet, there was still something lacking. Not just experience in battle, for she was essentially the newest Pokémon in his team, but something else as well that he couldn't put his finger on. She still hid something from him, some secret desire or need.

He didn't dwell on it for long for his gaze drifted next to Sasha. He remembered training with her from the beginning, from the very moment he set eyes on the tiny little red chicken, young and more fluffy than feathered, he knew he loved her. He smiled as he remembered his first day with her in the woods. The tall grass had meant nothing to him, because he had so much faith in his tiny little Pokémon that nothing could stop him. He frowned inwardly as he recalled the three months he spent training with her, unaware of the necessity of his involvement in her ability to evolve. He recalled how she had transformed twice in one night when Laura had finally clued him in, and knew now, if not then, that his training had not been for nothing. That despite his inexperience he was a good trainer.

No. A great trainer.

How else could he have seemingly won over the heart of his next Pokémon: Jillian? She was by far the strongest of the group, having already been trained for Championship combat by her previous trainer. He regretted not being able to see her advance, but knew that it was merely a fault of timing, not his character. He still wasn't sure if he had truly won her over; not like the others anyway. The others seemed to fall head over heels for him, but Jill had remained stoic, unready to commit herself to him the way the others had. He suspected she may in time, but he also knew that he didn't require her to. There was a mutual trust and respect between them now, and considering all that had happened to her in her past that was more than he could possibly ask her for. No, he didn't desire her like the others, not in a carnal way. But there was something else... something he desperately needed from her.

The four of them were done talking and were staring at him intently. They had asked him a question, but he had been so distant in his thoughts that he hadn't heard.

"What?" he asked sheepishly. "What are you staring at me like that for?"

"Weren't you listening to a thing we just said?" asked Laura.

"I can guess what you said," he replied, "Sorry, I was thinking. What was the question?"

"What do you plan to do from here?" asked Jill quickly, not letting the others beat around the bush like she knew they would.

Jack paused for a moment and noticed that he still held the leather pouch that held his four badges. The Rainbow badge, the Thunder badge, the Soul badge, and finally the Volcano badge. He smiled as he remembered each of the battles that had brought him here, and who had truly won these badges for him. He looked at the four of them again and held out the badges marking him as a competitor of the Indigo League.

"The ship makes a stop at the new pier in Pallet Town, from there it's a short walk to Vermillion. That's where we'll find our fifth Gym. After that we'll need to head north again to Brock's Gym and the Boulder badge. We've only come half way so far. We've got a lot of training to do before the league championship."

Sasha, Laura, and Maya seemed content with that explanation, and nodded, but Jill stared hard at Jack in consternation.

"You truly intend to take on the Championship?" asked Jill sternly.

Jack took only a moment's pause to send the same stare right back. "I will take all of you to the Championship. I promised."

Jill relaxed slightly and the tension that the others were feeling lifted slightly. "Then we've got work to do. A week of rest has made you all soft. Meet me in the gym after you've eaten." She said it like a command, and turned around, leaving no room for debate. Laura and Sasha only groaned, but Maya sheepishly smiled. It wasn't that she was looking forward to the kind of training exercises that Jill would put them through, but rather that the sheer force of the Pokémon's will and inner strength was something wonderful to her. She wished she could emulate that strength with all her might. It made her heart flutter to think about it.

The buffet on the ship was substandard to all their tastes, but they had been spoiled over the past week with luxurious food and drinks with little umbrellas and long languid days in the sun or in the bedroom, or the hotsprings, or the beach, or the tub, or... Jack had lost count, truly. Regardless, they found themselves willingly or unwillingly in the gym standing lax before Jill waiting for her first routine.

Laura had tried opting out, and vehemently protested her involvement in exercising, and Jack called her out of her Pokéball and into the gym to show her that there was no way out now.

She shot a glance at Jack with a look that said "That was dirty. I'll make it up to you in bed."

He didn't once protest to that.

"We've been slacking for a whole week." Began Jill, who watched as they all snapped to attention with a start when she spoke. "In terms of the competition awaiting us we have lost a year. Maya has explained that there are certain values added to each of our basic abilities that make us stronger in one way or another. Those we cannot change. But what we can change are values that make us better at practiced skills. Before he..." Jill seemed to pause unnecessarily long and seemed to suddenly burn with a different kind of emotion that Jack had only rarely seen on his Pokémon's face. "Before my master died he trained each of his Pokémon, myself included, in certain attributes. I am trained in physical attack power and special defense. It is your job," she pointed quickly at Jack, who paid all the more attention, "To decide which attributes you would find most useful in combat for each of us. We must all rigorously train ourselves to reach the maximum potential, but once we do, there is little to stand in our way. The attributes you choose will determine the best exercises we should perform and for how long. Think about more than just what could help us defeat our opponent swiftly. Sometimes the best offense is truly a better defense, or speed, or stamina. Think of how we can be paired to compliment each other rather than what we can do by ourselves, because this training means that while we become better at certain attributes, we lag behind in all others. I can break boulders with a single fist, or shake the ground with a single stomp on the ground. But ask me to withstand such, or attack with a move beyond the physical, or outrun another Pokémon, and I will fail."

"Then why didn't your master train you in something else? Why choose your special defenses?" asked Jack, confused by the choice.

In answer Jill turned to Sasha and pointed. "Use your strongest fire move against me Sasha." Jill got into a fighting pose. When she saw the Blaziken hesitate, puzzled, she added, "You have till the count of three." Then began to count. Sasha was running out of options and quickly leapt into the middle of the gym and spread fire around Jill in a circle, seemingly trapping her within a vortex of flames for several seconds.

But Jill sprang through them, seemingly unharmed, though some of her fur was a bit singed by the heat.

"I said your strongest!" she yelled.

The others began to get nervous. Jill was taking this seriously.

"You two! What are you doing Jill? Stop!" yelled Jack, suddenly worried about the safety of his Pokémon.

Jill wouldn't heed his call. She was furious that the Blaziken could take such a lackadaisical approach to a battle. She thrust out with her hand to punch, and for a moment her fist took on the sheen and polished appearance of pure steel. Jack knew that move. Weak overall, but if what Jill had said was true about her physical prowess...

"Sasha! Overheat! Now!" said Jack. Blaziken was too slow to dodge the Bullet Punch, and it connected with hir chest and sent her sprawling to the other side of the gym. She wasn't done yet though, and stood back up, wheezing for breath and wiping some frayed feathers out of her face.

"It's on now dog!" she screamed, and immediately her body began to heat up. So much so that Maya and Laura had to back away before they too took the brunt of the attack. Jill smiled and began her assault anew, though from the other side of the gym it would take a moment to reach Sasha again.

That moment was all the fire Pokémon needed.

Such an intense heat wave erupted in all directions from Blaziken's body that Jack called back his other Pokémon and sheltered Riolu in his shirt to partially protect her from the ensuing blast. Jill didn't reach the Blaziken. Instead she felt the immense heat radiate through her body, damaging her like she knew it would, and withstanding it.

Overheat was called such because it truly was an overheat. Blaziken would spend nearly all her energy performing that attack, and it would cause incredible amounts of damage to everything around her, and Jill, being typed as part Steel...

When the inferno subsided and the room became tolerable to stand in again Jack looked at his Pokémon. Sasha looked exhausted, sweat beading on her forehead from the exertion. And then Jill, who was in the middle of the gym, lying face down on the floor. For several long breaths they each stood still, and Jill lay seemingly lifeless. But then, as though she still had strength left, she stood up again, wiping her chin from sweat and drool, scalding hot to the touch, and smirked.

"That's better." She said, her voice raspy. Jack flipped open his Pokedex, the indicator on the top sensed the battle and switched modes instantly, reading both Pokémon's vitality and other attributes. Jill was standing, but only just. Any other Pokémon, even one not weak to fire's element, would not have survived that attack. Even Blaziken had taken more damage than the Bullet Punch could deliver.

"That's why he trained me in my defense against special attacks." Said Jill, who dropped her battle pose for a stern one once more. The battle it seemed, was over.

But not for Sasha. The Blaziken was already leaping at the exposed dog Pokémon and delivered every ounce of strength into a punch emblazoned with fire. "You want fire you bitch! Have some!" she screamed, boiling tears streaming down her face as she pinned the smaller Pokémon to the floor and wailed on her. Punch after blazing punch connected with the Lucario, until not only did it seem that Jill had completely fainted, but was bleeding from more than one place on her body. The Riolu, in an attempt to save her mother from further punishment escaped Jack's embrace and raced to her aid, but in her frenzy she could not see friend or foe, and swatted the Riolu with the same kind of punch she had delivered to her mother. Riolu fainted even before she hit the ground far away.

"How's it feel?" yelled Sasha, still too blinded by fury to let up her assault on the fallen Pokémon. "Tell me how it feels damn it!" The flames around hir fists was gone, every ounce of punishment left in her gone. Instead she gripped the scruff of Jill's neck and banged her against the floor.

Now it was Jack's turn. Even as he had seen Riolu launch herself at Sasha in defense he too tried to join the fray, warded off by the still massive heat emanating from his Blaziken. In his panic he hadn't even considered her Pokéball. It had become second nature to let her roam free anyway. When her fires died out he launched himself at her, toppling her over, off of the fallen Lucario and grabbing both of her struggling arms and pinning them to the ground.

"Enough Sasha! Stop! Sasha, listen to me! Sasha!"

It took several moments for the Blaziken to even realize where she was, who was on top of her. Her pupils dilated furiously as she regained focus of her surroundings. She felt weak, but energized, hot but chilled to the bone, angry, but ashamed, all at the same time.

"Sasha, that's enough... please, come back." Begged Jack. He lay there on top of her, his head tucked under her chin. She began to sob, her chest heaved heavily with the adrenaline that had so recently been coursing through her veins. When she spoke it was in hushed whispers, and she had to choke back a wave of nausea.

"Jack... I..." she sniffled hard and broke down completely. He released her arms and she instantly wrapped them around his back, holding him tightly. He propped them back up into a sitting position. She had her eyes closed, not wanting to see what kind of destruction she had unleashed. "I'm sorry... I..."

He shushed her. "Stop. Don't think. Just let it out. Everything is going to be all right." He cooed softly. His arms tenderly stroked her back and she tearfully opened her eyes again.

"Oh Jack... I... I hit her... I hit them both... help them... please." She begged. Then all she saw was blackness, as she too passed out.



The rhythmic beep of a monitor beside her roused her awake. Jill lay on a soft, comfortable bed. But it wasn't any type of hotel suite's bed, nor any bed that Jack would normally scrounge up either. It was an emergency room bed.

She felt sore everywhere, and in some places she still hurt. Like her face. She sat up too suddenly and careened back down with a yelp as her back suddenly jarred with pain.

"You're awake." Came a familiar voice. Jack opened the curtain to her semi-private room and took a seat at the edge of the bed.

"So it seems." She replied.

"You won't do that again." He said patiently.

As a being that could sense auras she could sense his right now. It was red. A seething anger permeated his very being, heart and soul. She would do well to tread lightly here. She took a long time to respond. "It was the only way to-"

"No it wasn't!" Jack yelled, standing upright and imposing his height upon her. He leaned over her body and she sank back into the bed. She was seeing his anger for the first time. She knew she would regret it, but she had never expected herself to be so afraid of it. "You're here because of your own shortsightedness. Your own pride." His face was so close to hers that she could feel his breath on her nose. He smelled of anger, and she could see rage burning deeply in his eyes. She wished she were smaller, that she could crawl away, slink under a rock and hide, so frightened was she of him then. "You pushed beyond too far Jillian." His use of her full name scared her even further and she could feel the beginnings of tears welling up in her eyes. "You will never provoke such a battle ever again. Understood?" He commanded. When she didn't respond he repeated, in a sharper tone. "Understood!"

She could feel her breath catch in her lungs and the pillow furrow around her ears as she tried to press herself deeper, away from him. She nodded quickly, her tears showing, but she did not reply. Not even a whimper.
He turned and left her alone then, seemingly satisfied with her response. The curtain didn't close all the way, but that didn't stop her from releasing a torrent of tears and wails when he left. She curled into a ball on her side and pulled her blanket over her head, covering her eyes with her hands, quickly soaking the fur with wet. She gasped quickly and sharply, trying to regain her breath. Her monitor beeped wildly, so fast was her pulse. A nurse came to check on her to see what the commotion was, but seeing her she was more wary of disturbing her. It was no small feat to leave the Pokémon to herself.

It would have been so much easier to take his anger if she still hated him. But she couldn't deny that she didn't. She couldn't hate him any more than she could walk on the moon. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest not with hatred, but with such immense yearning that she could almost burst. It would be so much easier to take if she hated him. But she didn't.

Quite the opposite.

She was alone for the rest of the day in her curtained room, but she would have begged for some company.



Jack had stormed back to his room on the S.S. Anne. He swung open the door and the other three immediately stood, noting immediately his state of mind. He sat on the bed facing away from them and lay down, pulling the pillow out from under his head and slamming it down on top of it to block out any other noise.

It was the first time for any of them to see him so angry, and none knew what to do about it. Maya left the room, feigning a desire for some fresh air.

After a long while Sasha spoke up, creeping onto the bed to join her master. "Jack." She whispered at first. Then, a little more boldly, "Jack, please?" But still nothing. She got off the bed and circled around in front of him. "Jack." She repeated again. Finally she yanked the pillow from his face and suddenly saw why he had buried himself with it. Dark wet spot stained the sheets beneath his eyes. He had been crying terribly.

"Oh Jack." Said Sasha, suddenly enveloping him in her arms and letting his tears instead stain her feathers.

"I lost my temper. I couldn't stand it... I scared her speechless Sasha. I've made her scared even to speak to me, let alone train."

It had been four days since the incident. Riolu had been wary of approaching Sasha for a while, but had soon enough felt comfortable being in the same room with the Blaziken again. Sasha too had recovered, and so had Maya and Laura, who had reasonably less to recover from anyway. Blaziken was there for him though, cradling his head against her chest and cooing to him softly, gently. Laura held Riolu in her arms instead, keeping her away from the scene.

"I can't lose her Sasha," he said, crying into her chest and gripping her shoulders tightly. "I can't chase her away like this. But I was so angry."

"I know... I know, it's all right. Everything is going to be fine, you'll see." She wasn't sure of the words herself, but they sounded comforting as she said them at least.



Maya had gone to the emergency room as soon as she left, racing down the halls at top speed. It broke her heart to see Jack like he was, but it was truly heart wrenching to come to the curtained area and hear the wailing cries of the berated Lucario. She slipped into the semi-private room and calmly placed a hand on Jill's shoulder, who wrenched herself away defensively.

"Go away!" she screamed. "I don't want to see anyone!" But her tears belied her exclamation.

Maya did not relent, though instead of a calming hand, Jill soon felt a calming, soothing cold drifting down around her body, replacing her shivers of sorrow with ones of chill. She closed her eyes and turned over, slowly peeking out from below the sheets and sniffled, her eyes still full of tears.

"Jack hates me..." she wept.

Maya didn't respond, only shook her head and continued showering the Lucario with the calming mist.

"He was so angry... I was so scared... I've never felt so..."

"Weak?" finished Maya.

Jill didn't reply, but she closed her eyes tightly and squeezed out a great many tears instead. Her breathing was rapid, and her heart buzzed on the monitor. Maya stopped her soothing mist and instead crawled up onto the bed beside the dog Pokémon. "Jack loves you," she said matter-of-factly, "He's angry, yes, but that's not how he is. You've seen his good side too. Remember?" A delicate watery hand slipped the sheets down from the rest of Jill's face and cupped her cheek. Despite herself Jill found herself leaning into the soft touch, her cold damp nose tickling the Vaporeon's wrist.

"Jack loves you very much," she repeated. "He's so angry because he's so in love. We all see it, even if you don't. Even if you don't return those feelings, he-"

"I love Jack," she whispered, clenching her eyes shut even tighter, as if to escape to another place.

Maya's hand slipped behind the Lucario's neck and suddenly pulled her forward. Their lips touched delicately for a moment before parting. Then they touched again, a little tighter.

"I know you do." Maya replied, smiling at the Lucario even as she thumbed away the Lucario's tears.

"It would be so easy if I didn't." Said Jill.

"Good things aren't easy." Replied the water Pokémon.

That made Jill return to tears again, only this time she balled into the Vaporeon's chest, embracing her tightly.Chapter End Notes:********
I know that it isn't one of my normal chapters, but I've always been influenced by my mood. This was something I needed to get out, partly to get out of my terrible case of writer's block, and also to move along with the plot again. Sorry for the wrench in the nicely oiled machine, but every romance needs one now and then right?

Anyway, please comment and rate. I'm dying to see where I can improve; I feel really out of practice after so long