On a Night Like This

2. Jasmine

As Jasmine had arrived, she'd seen Sabrina walk in straight from her gym around the corner, only to leave with her Master Ball mere minutes later. Perhaps, she mused to herself, she would have been better off doing the same.

Not that she'd ever be bold enough to try it.

She didn't like parties, if she was being honest. Something about them made her feel so out of place.

It didn't help that she wasn't close with many of the other Gym Leaders. She'd tried talking with Falkner and Janine, but those two were such good friends (maybe even more, she'd thought, but it wasn't her business to ask) that she'd gotten the sense she was somehow intruding.

Her closest friend, Erika, had fallen asleep in a chair, and knowing what a task it could be to wake her up, Jasmine had decided to let her rest. Which had left her as she was now, wondering how in the world she was going to get through the next few hours.

She'd dreamed of competing in Sinnoh's Super Contests, but now she was beginning to reconsider. Did she truly believe she was brave enough to travel to another region all by herself when she could barely even handle a party?

The media only made it worse. DJ Mary from Pokémon Talk was conducting interviews, which Jasmine hoped to avoid. A photographer, whose name she remembered as Cameron, was snapping pictures of people when he thought they weren't expecting it. If he got one more shot of her standing alone, she was going to...

Well, she wasn't going to do anything, but she wouldn't be happy about it, anyway. Fortunately, his camera was now aimed at the door as Whitney made a dramatic entrance in a blindingly pink dress.

Jasmine scanned the room for the rest of the Johto leaders. She waved at Morty, but he seemed to stare right past her. From the look on his face, it was clear his attention was somewhere else.

As she noticed Bugsy, he came over to say hello.

"Hi, Bugsy," she greeted him. "Are you enjoying the party?"

"Yeah. It's cool. And I can't wait to have my own Master Ball!"

Jasmine liked Bugsy. He was a nice kid, and he wasn't hard to talk to, especially if you talked about his favorite subject—bugs. "What will you use it for? To catch a new bug Pokémon?"

"Nah." He grinned. "I don't need a Master Ball to catch bugs."

Bugs didn't interest her in the least, but she was thankful for the conversation. "I wasn't suggesting you did."

"That's okay. How about you?"

She thought for a moment. "I haven't decided."

"Hey, Professor Oak's here!" Bugsy's eyes darted away. "Sorry, Jasmine, I gotta go. There's this new bug Pokémon research I've been wanting to ask him about. See you later, 'kay?"

She watched as Bugsy approached the professor with ease. How was it that someone so young could be more comfortable at this party than she was?

"Jasmine!" Whitney ran up to her, startling her from her thoughts. "You're wearing that?"

She'd chosen a plain white dress. As far as she could tell, it was appropriate enough. "Is something wrong with it?"

"You always wear stuff like that! It's no fun!" Whitney giggled and sipped her champagne. "Oh, yeah. How are you, by the way?"

"I'm all right. How are you?"

"Amazing! Isn't this party the coolest?"

"It's nice. But I think it's a bit much." In truth, she found it rather daunting.