"Y-you knew m-my, my mother? Tell me, what was she like? What did she look like," I frantically asked, tears flooding the corners of my eyes. "Well, Jasmine, your mother was one of the smartest people I knew, always finding solutions no one else had ever dreamed of thinking up. She was also a person who loved to laugh, as well as make other people laugh."

Barry came over and rubbed my back as Professor Rowan continued. "One of her favorite hobbies was pretending to be a human-like Pokémon, like Gardevoir or Lucario, and get passing trainers to try and catch her, only for them to realize that she was a human. Then said trainer would have a good laugh and continue on their way. But, one day, she stopped doing it, devoting herself entirely to research. Something happened to her that ruined the facade, no matter what Pokémon she disguised herself as."

"Y-you mean, she was pregnant with me, right?" "Yes, she was. No one knew who impregnated her, her boyfriend said it wasn't him, and she never told anyone. Eventually, she married her boyfriend and gave birth to you, before returning to researching. But, a few years later, Melody disappeared, along with her husband and you."

"That must have been when I was kidnapped by Team Galactic!" "Yes, it was. I see that you've inherited your mother's smarts." "Yeah, speaking of inherit, I think, what did my mom look like? Did I get anything from her?"

"Yes, you did inherit some physical traits from your mother. Most noticeably, you share the same hair color; the same shade of deep crimson red. Other than that, I don't think there's anything else. Melody was kind of tall, not average sized like you, and she definitely didn't have pink eyes." "Arceus, I...I wish I could meet my mother, o-or s-see h-her again," I said, tears coming back into my eyes, and showing no signs of stopping.

I fell to my knees, weeping into my hands, when Barry squatted down next to me. "Hey, Jasmine, it'll be alright. I know you'll find your mother someday," he said as he rubbed my back. "But for now, you should stay in the present. You finally have a Pokédex!"

"Y-yeah, you're right," I said, picking myself up. "Professor, thank you, for the Pokédex, and for telling me more about my mother." "Well, Jasmine, there is one more thing," the professor said. "Professor, what are you talking about? She has her Pokédex, what else could there be?"

"Well, Barry, had I known that she knew not of her mother, this next thing would also be planned." He walked over to a filing cabinet, before opening and looking through a set of files. "Barry, what's that thing," I asked my blonde friend. "That's a filing cabinet, for holding folders full of papers." "A, A, ah ha, found it!"

Professor Rowan took a tan folder out of the metal box and handed it to me. I looked at the tab on the folder, which read, 'Aria, Melody.' I opened the file and looked at the first document. It showed a picture of my mother, her bright red hair and emerald green eyes staring back at me. I looked at the other information on the page, trying to avoid looking at mother's image.

Unfortunately, nothing else interested me, so my gaze naturally drifted back to the picture. I stared longingly at the picture, tears filling and escaping from the corners of my eyes. Barry saw this and lifted the paper. "Jasmine, there's more here. Look at this," he said, pulling out another document.

I set the new document, a newspaper article, on top and looked at it. It read, 'Murder and Kidnapping at Aria Household.' "What the, what is this," I asked, before reading the newspaper article aloud. "A brutal scene today in Sandgem Town, as a crime occurred in the Aria household. An unknown suspect/suspects left a family of three torn apart, with one Barret Aria, 28, left dead in his home."

"Yes, that was Melody's husband," Professor Rowan said. "He was killed from 2 gunshot wounds to the chest at around 3:30 in the afternoon. The other 2 family members, Melody Aria, 28, and Jasmine Aria, 3, have gone missing, with no reports of their location at this time." "The date says May 7th, 2309. This happened over a decade ago," Barry said.

I wasn't listening, as I was lost in my thoughts. 'This can't be, it just can't! What if by the time I find my mother, she's dead? Then I'll never meet my parents!" "Jasmine, are you listening," Barry asked.

"N-no, I'm not listening. I was just...thinking." "Well, I said that I think we've kept Lucas and Dawn waiting long enough. Shall we go?" "Hang on, there's one more thing." I flipped through the files, looking for something important.

"Ah ha, here," I said as I pulled out a sheet of paper that had exactly what I needed. "What did you need, Jasmine," Professor Rowan asked me. "I found, for whatever reason, a copy of my birth certificate. You see, I have no idea what my birthday is, so I can see using this. It says that I was born on August 8th, that's a few months away."

"So, you'll be 15," Barry asked. "I-I guess so. I-I just can't believe it. I've lived 10 years a prisoner, most my life a slave," I said, my teeth gritted and my fists clenched with rage. "Jasmine, please stop, this won't help anyone," Barry said.

I felt my rage dissipate as I thought of what I could do when acting impulsively. "Barry, I...I'm sorry. I-I just let my rage get the best of me, and..." "Jasmine, it's okay. Everyone gets angry sometimes, and everyone needs some way to let their anger go. If you ever need help, I'm always here for you," he said, looking into my eyes and smiling. His smile was warm and gentle, and forced a smile to cross my face as well.

"Well, I think you two have spent long enough keeping Lucas and Dawn waiting," Professor Rowan said. "Oh, yes, that's right. Professor Rowan, thank you, for the Pokédex, and for the information about my mother." "You're very welcome, Jasmine. Here, I want you to have this," he told me, before giving me the picture of my mother.

"Y-you're giving me this?" "Yes, Jasmine, you deserve something to reference your mother's appearance with." "I...I...thank you," I said, before wrapping my arms around him. After I released him, I walked back to Barry, who smiled and put his hand on my shoulder. We then waved goodbye to Professor Rowan, before leaving the lab to meet back with Lucas and Dawn.

"Mew almighty, you two, what happened? You spent almost an hour inside the lab," Lucas said. "Well, we had some things to take care of," I replied sheepishly. "Yeah, where do we even begin?" "Well, what about your Pokédex, Jasmine," Dawn asked.

"Well, my Pokédex looks like this," I said as I showed them the multi-colored Pokéball on the face. "Wow, that looks really cool! I've heard that it's supposed to represent a certain Legendary or Mythical Pokémon," Dawn exclaimed. "Hmph, so you're back Dawn, eh? And who's the redhead, besides someone to make you look smart," a voice behind me said.

The person's words sent rage flowing through me, and I quickly turned and slapped the person. "Oh, wow, and she can hit! Is she your bouncer," he asked back, causing me to slap him again. "Say another word, moron, I dare you." I looked at the trainer, at his purple hair, his cold, dark eyes, and his sarcastic expression, and I thought of my father as a prisoner, and how he shared the same expression frequently.

I shrieked in terror and fell backwards to the ground, breathing heavily. "Okay, Paul, what are you doing here? You already lost to Ash a few years ago, I thought there was nothing left here for you," Barry said to the other trainer as Lucas helped me up. "That's just the thing, I heard a rumor that Ash would be participating in the next Pokémon League Tournament. I came back to prepare for the League Tournament in 6 months."

"Well, you won't get the pleasure of fighting him, because we're going to beat you before you get the chance," Dawn said almost impulsively. "Yeah, right, and who'll defeat me? I've beaten Barry once before, you two don't have a chance, and your redheaded charity case there will most likely be an incredibly underwhelming trainer," he said with a smirk. "What do you even know about me? We just met each other!"

"A person's eyes can tell a lot about them. The worry you have in yours when you see me tells me that I remind you of someone who has wronged you in the past. Also, your thin stature tells me that you were underfed as a child, but not by your parents, as you never knew them according to the way you look at that picture. Therefore, you were kidnapped when you were little, and have been kept in inhumane conditions for most your life. You only recently escaped, and are hoping to become one of the best trainers in the world, while also finding out where your mother is."

"H-how did you do that? And how did you get exactly that?" "I have my ways, Jasmine, and I know what you went through." "How do you know my name, or what I went through?" "Wow, you really don't remember me, do you?"

"And should I remember you? Should I remember a time in my life I'd do anything to forget?" "I would assume so, otherwise I put up with the nickname 'Cellmate,' for nothing." I had a sudden flashback of when I was a prisoner of Team Galactic. "Hey, c'mon, what's your name? I told you mine, so why won't you tell me yours," I asked.

The purple haired kid who shared a cell with me just looked away, a depressed look in his eyes. "Fine, then from now on, your name will be Cellmate." "Paul, my name is Paul." "Not anymore, now it's Cellmate, and it will always be!" "No, it won't be, because my name is Paul!

"You missed your chance, Cellmate, and now, that's your name." Paul playfully pushed me to the ground, before moving next to me. "So, do you remember anything about your parents, Cellmate," I asked. "Of course I do, I remember them! Do you not?"

"Well, I-I'm so young, I'm worried that I-I won't when I get older. I-I miss my dad's hugs, I miss my mom's singing, I just want to go home," I said through my sobs, my head in my knees. Paul leaned over and hugged me. "It's okay, Jasmine, I'm here for you, and I always will be..."

My flashback ended, and I came back to reality. "Oh my Arceus, it is you, Paul!" "Ah, so you do remember me. Well, it's getting late, I should get going. Our paths shall cross again, Jasmine, but for now, farewell!"

He released a dark blue pokemon, with a yellow beak, red eyes, red feathers on the insides of it's wings and tail, a white cravat looking crest on it's chest, and what looked like a hat on it's head. I quickly opened my Pokedex and scanned the bird. 'Honchkrow: The Big Boss Pokemon, and the evolved form of Murkrow. This nocturnal predator is known to have swarms of Murkrow cronies that he summons with a deep, haunting call. For this, it is known as "The Summoner of the Night." '

Paul hopped on his Honchkrow, which took off, flying into the sunset sky. "So, how do you know Paul, Jasmine," Barry asked. "We were prisoners of Team Galactic together, until I persuaded a Pokemon to help him escape." "What was he like when you two were little," Lucas asked. "He was kind, and persistent, and even though he could be a bit extreme in his methods sometimes, but I really cared for him. He was my best friend."

~~~O~~~O~~~O~~~

Word Count: 2063 Words

Well, that was a pain to write. I tell you, long, emotional talking scenes are not fun to write.

So, the questions pile up. Where is Melody, and is she still alive? Why did Team Galactic capture both Jasmine and Paul? And most important, will Paul and Jasmine get together? All these and more, in the future, because next time would be a lie.

Well, stories don't write themselves, so until next time, Happy Reading!