Thank you to my new patrons: Adam Blair, fdcxx, Kevin, Kris, Annie Ber, Zenku, Magnus
-/-
The following day, Joey woke up bright and early. He yawned, stretched, cracked his jaw, and cursed Sabrina.
He'd ended up sleeping over on the couch in Oak's laboratory, which the man had been kind enough to give to him for the night.
However, rather than commiserating with Joey, the man had been, if anything, more amused by his plight.
"It is a bit funny," Joey was forced to admit to himself as he went over to the coffee machine to make himself a cup.
While the machine whirred, he drank a glass of water.
The thing about Sabrina's abandonment was that he hadn't prepared for sleeping over, so he didn't have new clothes, a change of underwear, or even a toothbrush.
He only had his Pokemon, his wallet and his Pokenav.
Enough to take on the whole world, then, just not enough to do so comfortably.
As he was nursing his cup of coffee, Oak entered the laboratory and raised an eyebrow at Joey before looking at the clock on the wall.
It was only 6 am.
"Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise," Joey responded before raising an eyebrow. "At least I only woke up early. You're already at work," he shot right back.
Oak seemed to consider that for a second before shrugging.
"I checked the ferries going from Viridian to Vermillion yesterday after getting home," he said. "There are two a day. If you go now, you could probably catch the one in the afternoon. Then, from Vermillion, you can easily get to Saffron."
Joey nodded thoughtfully.
Distances in the Pokemon world were obviously not comparable to those in the games.
You certainly needed more than a minute to get from Pallet to Viridian. Thankfully, his being stranded here was quite lucky.
The distance between Pallet and Viridian was short. Half a day's journey if you were willing to walk a few hours. Or a two-hour journey if you had a bike.
Similarly, Vermillion to Saffron was also one of the shortest trips in the region. He'd probably still have to sleep there, but he'd be in Saffron the next day. He also knew a hotel, so that wasn't the issue.
But… Yesterday, after Oak had left with stern warnings not to touch any of the machines, he'd started thinking about something.
"I was thinking, actually," Joey muttered thoughtfully. "I got invited to the Indigo Conference as long as I cover my own lodging. It's not that far off, and it's a good offer. Does it make sense to go back to Saffron only to come back to Viridian in a few days? It's from there that you can get to the plateau after all."
Oak blinked in surprise before rubbing his chin with a faraway look. "That's a good point. You must have good connections, though; those tickets aren't cheap," he praised.
Joey nodded. In a world that glorified battling, the biggest competition of the year, indeed, wasn't cheap. You could buy daily tickets if you wanted to see a specific trainer, but the whole thing ran for eight days, with two days of rest in between. During this time, the League would organise different events to keep people's attention while the trainers rested. Buying a ticket for ten days, suffice to say, costs about as much as one month's rent in a good apartment in an expensive city.
The offer from the Institute was a very generous one.
Joey would have probably bought it himself; he could afford it now, but it was still nice.
Also, Bruno would face Blaine at the conference, and he needed his money to gamble.
"I was thinking of staying there in a tent, preparing for next year. Also, I can't imagine there's any space left in the hotels. It's called Pokemon League Village, not City," Joey said.
"That sounds like a good enough plan; youngster or not, you're now qualified to stay and traverse low-risk areas. I can tell you, the village during the conference is a place that most wild Pokemon like to avoid," Oak joked.
"Will you be going as well?" Joey asked curiously.
The older man nodded. "I was actually invited as a guest commentator, so I'll be there. I'll fly or teleport there the day before it starts. If you want, you can come with me. If not, there's a bus several times a day every day before and until the finals from Viridian," he offered.
Joey nodded gratefully. "Maybe I can tell you later. I still have more than enough time, after all. First things first, I'll go to Viridian to buy camping equipment and the things needed to stay in nature for these weeks. Then I'll camp around the area. The Route between Pallet and Viridian is the safest in the region, so it'll be good practice."
"Ah, if you're already going, maybe you can bring back a package for me. It's at Pokemart. They had issues with the delivery and asked if I could come pick it up," Oak said off-handedly.
Joey raised an eyebrow. A fetch quest? Wasn't he too over-levelled for this? He shrugged.
"Sure, that's where I'm going anyway.
"Don't bother trying to challenge Giovanni, by the way. He only accepts seven badge trainers, and you're not quite ready for your fifth badge anyway, from what I saw in the tournament," Oak said idly.
"No worries, it's the one main badge I'm not aiming for," Joey reassured.
"How come?" Oak asked, surprised.
Joey shrugged again. "Just don't like the guy," he said evasively.
"Your choice, in the end," Oak muttered. "About the camping equipment, I have some in my garage, so if you get the package for me, at least you won't have to buy all the basics," he offered helpfully.
"Thanks, that helps a lot," Joey said before finishing his coffee. While Oak disappeared into his office, Joey stood up and stretched.
He'd already called Theresa to say that he wouldn't make it home yesterday.
Now that he had decided to stay in the area, he would have to call her again to update her.
The sun would rise soon; he wanted to be in Viridian by noon.
After spitefully eating breakfast at a diner that didn't belong to Delia Ketchum, Joey set off.
His journey was starting off earlier than he'd thought, but that was okay.
After all, the early bird catches the worm, right?
-/-
It would be hard to say that Joey had been a true Pokemon fan in his last life. He'd watched his cousin play the original Pokemon Fire Red on his Gameboy Advance when he'd been a kid.
His cousin, in true cousin style, had, of course, not allowed him to play.
Then, a few years later, he'd emulated Fire Red, Crystal and Emerald on his computer. Later, when he was 12, he'd gotten a Nintendo on which he'd played Platinum and HeartGold.
He'd watched the anime, first on TV, then online until the end of the Sinnoh arc.
Then, as it was inevitable, he'd gained other interests: some video games, then university, then work, starting his own business, and making a family.
Occasionally, if he was bored, he'd watch a video about Pokemon on YouTube, but he'd never play it or watch it again.
In essence, he wasn't a Pokemon fanatic. He just knew enough to get by.
Maybe it would have been more fair for one of the basement-dwelling nerds grinding out hardcore Nuzlockes or whatever it was called to get the chance he'd gotten.
Hell, maybe they had; maybe each Person who died on Earth got their world in which they were the only reincarnate.
If Joey had had to choose, he would have probably picked the same thing.
But what he wanted to get at was that, well, he'd never been crazy about Pokemon. Just briefly acquainted, as most kids had been at the time.
Still, standing on the edge of Pallet Town, in front of the "Route 1" sign leading into a dirt path surrounded by trees, plains and a gurgling stream which he knew would later turn into a small river.
It was a bit of a special feeling.
"One small step for Joey, one large step for Joeykind," he said as he took his first step onto the route.
Nothing special happened. There was no sudden rainbow with a Ho-Oh flying over it. Arceus didn't appear to bless his chosen. The three legendary birds of Kanto didn't suddenly start fighting in the skies above.
It was, for all purposes, a nice and sunny, if a bit cold, November morning.
The Pidgey were chirping, and the wind was blowing through the trees and the gurgling stream... gurgled majestically.
Joey took a deep breath, held it, and then exhaled.
He took off his blue cap, scratched his head, put it back on, sighed, and took the second step.
A slightly disappointed smile hushed across his face.
Saffron had always been his least favourite city back when he'd played the original games.
Pallet Town was exciting; it was the beginning. Pewter was stuck between two harsh environments. Cerulean was by the seaside; Lavender had cool ghosts; Celadon had the Department Store and the Game Corner. Vermillion had St. Anne, Fuschia had the safari zone, and Cinnabar had a freaking volcano.
In the games, Saffron was the place you had to go through to pick up your Pokemon from daycare, and there was an optional second gym you only needed to go through if you wanted a Hitmonlee or a Hitmonchan.
Sabrina, in the games, wasn't the most interesting gym leader, and in the anime, it had been confusing how she'd become a gym leader in the first place. He'd liked the Team Rocket part the least out of anything in the games, so the whole arc at Silph Co. didn't endear him to the city.
Although, to be fair, most of the Kanto gym leaders were absolute clowns in the anime. Brock sort of did his job, while the trio of sisters in Cerulean were just a complete Joke.
Erika had turned her gym into a basic bitch symposium, Blaine refused to accept challengers, Surge was a bully, and Giovanni was a literal criminal.
The only normal gym leader in the Anime was Koga, and even then, it was hard to describe a grown man still playing ninja well over the age of 30 as normal.
Sabrina in the anime had just been a complete screw-up with major serial killer vibes.
These things thankfully made more sense in the reality Joey now inhabited; Surge was a hard-ass, Koga was a murder machine, not just fucking around, and Sabrina was just a bit awkward but was not 'turn you into dolls to play with,' insane.
Still, Saffron, a major turn-off. Who wanted to live in the most industrialised city in Kanto? That missed the whole point of being in the Pokemon world.
But now, on Route 1. The last romanticism that he'd held on to disappeared.
The Pokemon world was awesome, beautiful, bewitching, challenging and peaceful.
It was also real.
And reality never met inflated expectations created in times of childhood nostalgia.
Joey started walking.
It was a nice walk.
At some point, he sat down with his Pokemon for an early lunch and a short training session.
At some point, a Rattata came to challenge him to a battle, maybe looking for a trainer. It was a small and scrawny thing with only hope and no intelligence in its eyes.
Joey would have felt too bad having any of his Pokemon beat the little thing up, so he just gave it a berry and shooed it off.
He wasn't attacked by a flock of Spearow; no other Pokemon came to challenge him, and he barely even saw the hint of a Magikarp when he stopped at the small river Misty had been found fishing in the anime to drink some water.
He arrived in Viridian after taking the Pokemon world equivalent of a somewhat long hike on flat ground.
Entering the larger city, he couldn't help but scratch his head.
There had been no trainers on the route. No rare Pokemon. No mysterious encounters.
"Well, they can't all be bangers," he muttered with a sigh.
That was when a small childish form with bright magenta hair suddenly rushed at him, crashed into him and absconded into the distance.
Joey stared at the child, running away into a Viridian alleyway.
"Bitch got my wallet, didn't she," he muttered, putting a hand in his pocket and confirming his suspicion.
He tilted his head, thinking about how, these days, he mostly used his PokeNav to pay for things and how his new Pokedex also served as a trainer ID.
The only thing in his wallet was a physical copy of his trainer ID, some small cash notes, his library card, and his membership in the Saffron Theater Appreciation Society, which gave disadvantaged and young people access to theatre and opera.
All of the things stolen, ignoring the small amount of money, could be replaced for free.
"I should probably, right?" he asked himself. "It's a bit unfair, though," he said, scratching his chin.
He shook his head and walked into a dark alley, where he melted into the shadows.
"Bad for the street cred," he eventually decided. "Bad luck, kid," he finished with a sigh as his form disappeared into the darkness. "Wrong target."
-/-
Jessie ran with tears streaming down her face. The wallet she'd stolen from that stupid-looking boy clenched tightly in her hands.
She didn't want to steal, but since she'd recently failed out of Pop Idol school, her dad had kicked her out of the house, saying that he was done supporting her stupid decisions and that she should leave on a journey already.
But she didn't want to be a Pokemon trainer. She'd wanted to be a star, like Astin would eventually become.
Now, her second career choice, becoming a nurse, was becoming increasingly unreachable as the registration fee loomed ever closer.
If things came to the worst, as they often did in her life, she'd join the nursing school for Chansey, which was free because Pokemon didn't have money. The only reason she could enter, she'd checked, was because the administrators of the schools hadn't even thought of the possibility that a human might want to be admitted to a school meant for Pokemon. It was a safe option, although she had heard that a theft had occurred in their breedery recently.
She diverted her course into a dark alleyway where she usually managed to ditch any pursuers because of how much trash was strewn on the floor. She hopped over a trash can and sidestepped a Grimer lying insensitively on the floor before stumbling to a halt as she reached the end of the alley, only to find the exit blocked.
The youngster from whom she'd taken the wallet stood with his arms crossed and an eyebrow quirked.
"You're just a kid," he said in surprise.
"You're a youngster; I'm older than you, brat!" Jessie shouted before the reality of the situation settled in.
The boy had four Pokeballs on his belt, which meant that if he'd caught up to her as he did, then she couldn't escape. Nothing could escape a Pokemon. Even a Slowpoke that was trained well enough could move faster than the fastest human.
The youngster took a step towards her; there was something red and ominous glinting in his eyes.
Jessie wanted to take a step back, but she couldn't. She was frozen in fear.
Another step.
She whimpered.
He reached out a hand and…
Plucked his wallet from her limp fingers.
Then, he promptly turned around and started walking away.
"Pick your targets better next time," he said to her over his shoulder.
Before Jessie could stop herself, realising that nothing was going to happen to her, she shouted.
"Wait!"
-/-
Joey put his wallet back into the pocket it had been kidnapped from and shook his head.
The Pokemon world was sometimes so utopic that he forgot the existence of thieves and street rats.
Sometimes, it seemed like there were only normal people or hardcore terrorists like Team Rocket—no in-between. You basically never heard of cartels, loan sharks, murder, assault, thievery. It just didn't happen.
Still, wherever there were children, there would be some that slipped through the cracks.
The Pokemon world had orphanages, and those kids were mostly taken care of; this Joey knew from experience. They'd go on a journey, get an apprenticeship to work at a store, or have good enough grades to go into a more specific school. They could easily become electricians, construction workers, etc.
But, if the foster care system was well-developed, that left the kids with the shitty parents.
The thing about people with kids was that a lot of them probably shouldn't have made them in the first place.
It was those kids with abusive parents who more often ended up on the street. They'd been taken care of just long enough that it was hard for them to go to an orphanage, and that they thought they could fend for themselves.
Newsflash: Most kids couldn't survive on the streets. Especially those kids with abusive parents who were most likely also dysfunctional in other ways and had thus never been taught any valuable life skills other than lying and reading the mood to avoid an empty bottle to the head.
"Wait!" a voice behind him suddenly shouted, causing Joey to stop in his tracks.
He turned around curiously to look at the urchin girl, who couldn't be anything but a street rat despite looking a year or two older than him.
Magenta hair discoloured by grime, a white and blue schoolgirl one-piece outfit that had seen better days and had suspicious smudges on the hem.
Joey didn't say anything but just raised an eyebrow.
The girl, who was taller than he was, looked down and said, "I'm sorry. "
The youngster shook his head. "It's okay. You probably needed the money for something. My complaint about the matter was that it was my money. Regarding alternatives to stealing, I'd suggest going to an orphanage or maybe trying to enter a training program or vocational school. One with a dormitory and meals, maybe."
The girl startled and looked at him with wide blue eyes.
"Tha-That's what I was trying to do," she said in a surprised tone. Then she looked away, seemingly ashamed. "To nursing school… But the registration fee."
Joey froze in his tracks, remembering another magenta-haired girl from the Pokemon universe who had wanted to go to nursing school but had eventually failed to get in, being forced to go to school with a class of Chansey.
Naturally, not being a Pokemon herself, she eventually failed out.
"What's your name, kid?" Joey asked.
"Kid?" the girl sputtered. "You're younger than me."
"I meant in terms of maturity," Joey said with a roll of his eyes. "I'm Joey, by the way," he introduced himself.
The girl threw him a wary look. "I'm Jessie," she eventually said reluctantly.
"Look, Jessie," Joey started. "As one kid who's fallen on hard times in the past to another who's currently going through something, can I offer you a shower, some new clothes, and a meal?" he asked.
Jessie seemed stunned by the suggestion.
Joey didn't know why he'd made it himself.
Looking at her now, she was a 14-year-old girl living on the streets. It was the first time he'd seen a similar situation in the Pokemon world. There were so many support structures to snatch up these kids: orphanages, trainer programs, Team Rocket…
At the end of the day, helping a bit now might kill a future Team Rocket member before they were even born.
"What kind of shower?" Jessie asked suspiciously.
"I pay for one day of gym access. You can go inside and shower while I pick out some clothes for you. Then we go eat wherever you want," Joey suggested.
Jessie seemed to hesitate, biting her lip.
"Can I pick my clothes?" she eventually asked.
Joey shrugged. "Sure, but I'll still need to buy you some sweatpants or something while you shower. What you're wearing is unsalvageable, and they probably won't let you into a clothing store like that," he explained.
He wondered for a second as he let Jessie take him to a gym that she knew if he was fucking up the future. After all, Team Rocket had been more of a helpful force later in the series and had saved Ash's life several times over.
But, looking at the downtrodden, homeless teenager whose dreams would be crushed at Chansey Nursing School, he could only shake his head. He refused to believe that good deeds would create a worse future.
-/-
Joey took back whatever he had said earlier. Good deeds could indeed create a worse future, not for the world, but for him.
He looked at his PokeNav to check the time.
Three hours ago he'd picked up Jessie with some basic clothes at the gym. She tried to be grateful, but she obviously didn't appreciate the grey jogging pants, grey hoodie, and grey sneakers that Joey had brought her.
It seemed like that particular ensemble would find itself in the nearest donation box to find someone who would appreciate it when Jessie picked an outfit she actually liked.
If she ever fucking did, that was.
He watched the magenta-haired girl flit around the large store's clothing racks like a bee harvesting honey. She was trying not to take advantage of Joey, which meant that she was trying to put together the sturdiest, best-looking, and most sensible ensemble she could.
His head spun at the amount of possible clothes she'd brought to him to see.
He'd essentially told her that she looked good in all of them, and she did; something in the water in the Pokemon world made everyone at least somewhat attractive.
After Jessie got to clean herself and got out of her previous clothes, she cleaned up fairly well.
After having picked her outfits, she looked even better.
Not that any had satisfied her.
He buried his head in his hands.
-/-
In the end, it had taken Jessie four hours to put together an outfit. She'd eventually settled on some relatively sturdy-looking dark blue skinny jeans, a blue hoodie that looked like any other to him but which she described as avant-garde, and black platform shoes, which to him signalled that she'd spontaneously decided to take a break from stealing, as she certainly wouldn't be able to run away from anyone in those.
It was as if their day together was drawing to an end when Joey finally asked the question he had been curious about.
"So, what exactly is stopping you from going to nursing school?" he asked. "You talked about the registration fee, but even if you get that, won't each year also come with a cost?"
Jessie, hastily munching down the rather unladylike large burger she'd ordered, shook her head.
"The course requires a registration fee, but you can get a scholarship if you score well enough on the entry exam. Then, if you continue your excellence at the end of the second semester, you get another one. The course only lasts one year, so that's it," she explained. "They have a dormitory and a canteen."
Joey raised an eyebrow. "And you've been able to study in your…" he trailed off. "Condition?"
Jessie blushed and avoided his gaze, having finished her burger and now eyeing Joey's half-finished one. "The public library has all the books you could need on the topic," she muttered.
"So, how much is this registration fee?" Joey asked curiously.
Jessie shrugged. "It's 3000 Pokedollars," she said.
Joey wondered if that was a lot. It was basically around the amount that he received for being an active trainer with four badges per month, without doing anything.
Well, considering this was supposed to sustain one trainer and four Pokemon for a month, it was quite a lot.
"How would you even gather that with stealing?" he asked curiously. He'd spent only a few hundred on the girl today, including a large meal, a shower at the gym, and a whole new wardrobe.
"I already have 2479.5," Jessie said proudly.
Joey blinked. "When is the registration deadline?" he asked curiously.
Jessie looked at the table and clenched the table edge. "In thirteen days, when the league season ends."
Joey hummed.
"How about I just donate to the cause? I'll be honest; a thousand Pokedollars is pocket change for me right now." He almost had a million, and his Pokemon weren't that expensive to upkeep. They were all small and uncomplicated.
With the trainer stipend, he was saving a bit every month. Giving away a bit once would mean his liquidity would go to zero one month out of twelve.
"Why would you help me?" Jessie suddenly asked suspiciously.
"Because looking at your condition makes me sad," he said. "I'm an orphan, and if I'd been more unlucky, maybe I would be in the same situation. I'd wish someone would help me then." He rolled his eyes. "If it makes you feel any better, I can just give you the money. Then you can go register, or not, we don't have to talk ever again."
Jessie looked at him suspiciously for a few seconds before looking away with a red face.
"I accept your offer," she eventually said with a nod, as if this was a negotiation. "You can leave me your number, and I'll call you when I get the scholarship," she offered.
Joey simply shrugged. "Alright, let's see what you got," he said challengingly. He took a napkin, scribbled his phone number, and then slapped a few bills on the table to make what Jessie had already saved into a solid 3478 Pokedollars.
"This is too much," Jessie complained.
Joey could not help but sigh at the vicissitudes of life. For some, it was too little; for others, it was too much. "It should be enough to get you a room and some basic food for the remaining 13 days," he said. "Wouldn't want you to miss the registration deadline because you were in prison." He then embarrassingly scratched the back of his head. "Also, I don't carry any smaller bills," he admitted.
He saw Jessie shake her head at his first answer before nodding dumbly at his second one. This was the difference between the rich and the poor. The poor had to mention decimals when saying how much money they'd saved, while the rich forgot what the bills worth less than 200 of the currency even looked like.
"Should I go and become a trainer?" the girl muttered confusedly.
"It's lucrative if you're good," Joey said with a shrug. He left out that his career was only lucrative because he had taken several jobs and then won a bet.
"About the stealing," Jessie suddenly said awkwardly.
"What?" the youngster asked. "Don't tell me you like it."
The girl blushed.
"I won't have to do it again, but I might have taken something from the store while searching for an outfit," she admitted.
"If anything, steal from big stores like the one we were in," Joey said. "They have insurance, and you're not taking anyone's livelihood." He paused. "What did you take?"
"Well, you said you're a youngster, and I understand your outfit represents that," Jessie started awkwardly.
"Yeah," Joey nodded. The common youth resistance garb wasn't obligatory for all youngsters, but it was discounted to maintain conformity.
"Wellitkindoflookslikeshit," Jessie blurted out with a face as red as her hair.
Joey palmed his face to hide his tears. In his opinion, attractive people looked good in anything. He wasn't wearing anything bad, but it was at least average, right? Going by that, she was calling him… mad ugly. He uncovered his face to glare at her. He had money, but she was pretty. Why did life have to be this unfair?
"So I stole you an outfit," Jessie finished by admitting, not noticing his whole traumatic experience.
"You know trainers have to wear special resistant clothing to contend with the ravages of training Pokemon. Even then, they need several sets because even that will break," Joey cautioned.
Jessie rolled her eyes. "Of course, I know that," she said blithely. "I took trainer clothes, obviously."
Joey threw up his hands. "How? We weren't even in any store that offered them?" he asked in exasperation.
"I drilled a hole through the changing cabin and took a few," the girl said proudly before putting a hand in her pocket and pulling out… a whole ass bulging shopping bag the size of a Primeape.
"What the fuck," Joey said quietly while Jessie explained.
"You see, the blue and yellow colour combination doesn't match your complexion and hair colour. You're fairly pale, so you shouldn't be wearing something so bright. It makes you look washed out," Jessie started as she pulled out the first article of clothing from her magically appearing bag.
Joey, meanwhile, self-consciously looked down at his yellow t-shirt.
"This is why we have to change your colour palette," Jessie continued undeterred. Joey looked up to see that she was pushing towards him a pair of sturdy black leather boots that were shining at him with that new shoe glaze. The black was only interrupted by the tastefully applied white lily print on the ankle. "Black is one of the safest colours for people with your skin tone, so we'll start with that. Boots instead of sneakers make you look more grown-up without appearing pretentious, which is what would happen if you wore loafers or dress shoes. The pants have to be long, not only because it's winter but also to hide how short your legs are." A pair of black pants joined the boots. They conformed to the military pants style, just that they were similarly black and made out of more stretchy and soft material. Lots of pockets.
Jessie continued undeterred. "Now that we've saturated your lower body with black, we have to offset it somehow. I still wouldn't want to wear white, so I took a dark purple T-shirt that was slightly too long to wear underneath a black hoodie. That way, you get all the advantages of breaking the monotony and having a more androgynous colour composition while still going with black, which is your biggest strength." She pushed over a purple t-shirt and a black hoodie towards him. "And, since I saw that you like hats, I also snagged something," she said, pulling another object from her bag. It was a hat quite like the one Joey was already wearing, just that its base colour was white and that in the front, above the rim, it had a purple flower.
"It's nightshade," Jessie warned seriously, as if it were real. "It matches the lilies on the boots and gives a certain danger to your clearly cultivated style." She paused. "Now, remember this," she warned. "Never, ever, wear the hat backwards; it makes you look like an idiot," she said, causing Joey to put a hand up to his head and note that he was doing exactly that.
Jessie shook her head. "There's some more stuff I would have wanted to get, but I couldn't find it." She took a napkin to write on. "You can put a jacket over the hoodie when it gets too cold; just keep in mind to make it either a purple/pink/leather/jeans one or a black puffy one. In the summer, when you switch from pants to short athletic wear, do black, please. You'll also have to find some black sneakers with purple highlights. If you ever want to replace the hat with something warmer, find a purple beanie, preferably with a white rim." She paused again before nodding in a self-satisfied manner.
"And I think that's it," she said confidently. The girl looked up to see the inevitable look of starstruck awe in her benefactor's eyes, but all that remained sitting across her was a pitiable corpse of a boy with spirals in his eyes, leaning over precariously, looking like he would fall over any second.
Jessie used fashion talk.
It was super-effective.
-/-
After the burger joint, Joey and Jessie parted ways cordially, Jessie promising to call Joey when she got accepted.
While Joey went to buy the rest of the camping equipment he needed and to pick up Professor Oak's package, Jessie happily strode into the park, where she often spent a few hours reading the books from the library.
It had been a splendid day. Registration fee in hand, another fashion disaster averted, and a new friend made?
She sat on a bench and pulled out the napkin with Joey's number. Dark clouds were covering the sun, so she could barely read it. She needed glasses.
Thunder rumbled in the distance.
A raindrop fell straight to the middle of the napkin, immediately smudging the number beyond recognition.
Fate is cruel.
-/-
AN: Will they ever meet again, will Jessie pass her nursing school exams? Find out on the next episode of… (or on Patreon if you're an impatient fucker like me).