"William Walker, Jubilife City from Sinnoh Region." I said finally, "New Trainer. I have a letter of recommendation from Professor Sakuragi, actually."
That caught his attention. His eyes brightened. "Sakuragi? From Vermilion? Why didn't you say so? Let me see the letter."
I reached into my jacket and handed him the sealed envelope. He read it quickly, his expression shifting from curiosity to surprise.
"So you're the one he mentioned," he said, almost to himself. "The one interested in psychic resonance and energy balance."
He looked at me with renewed enthusiasm. "Well, that changes things! Don't worry, my boy. I'll not only teach you how to meditate and control your mind. I'll help you understand how to control that wild energy running through you. My daughter was like you once. And now she's one of the strongest Psychics in Kanto. Trust me. I am very professional."
From the corner of my eye, Sabrina's lips twitched slightly, like she found that comment mildly insulting.
"Right," I muttered under my breath.
'Yeah, and one day she'll turn her own mother into a doll and you will run away like a coward. Then wait for the competent trainer who can help you with your problem. Great track record you've got there, Mr.Professional.'
I forced a polite smile anyway. "Sounds… fun."
He clapped his hands once. "Excellent! Then we'll begin tomorrow. Rest tonight and Sabrina will show you around the city. She's not as unfriendly as she seems."
Sabrina didn't respond. She just turned on her heel and started walking toward the door.
Kirlia looked up at me uncertainly and waited for my commands.
I sighed. "Guess we're doing this, Kirlia."
The doors of the room chamber shut behind me with a soft hiss, leaving only the faint echo of Dr. Fujita's voice and the strange metallic hum of psychic instruments fading into the background.
The corridor ahead was long and dim, lined with old lamps whose glass was tinted violet, giving the air a faint otherworldly hue. Sabrina walked ahead of me, her steps almost soundless, her long hair swaying slightly with every turn. She didn't look back once.
Kirlia followed silently at my side. I could feel her mood which is uneasy and alert. The psychic field around this place was heavy, dense enough that even I felt a pressure behind my eyes.
As I followed her out of the room, the heavy doors closing behind us, I couldn't help but think one thing:
'For the first time since arriving in Kanto, it wasn't a Pokémon battle that made my heart race.
It was the feeling that the real fight which is the one I couldn't win with Poké Balls or commands—was just beginning.'
We stepped outside, and the cool evening air of Saffron City hit like a quiet relief. The streets were bathed in the orange glow of streetlights, with the skyline painted in shades of gold and blue. There was something modern and alive about the city, yet it carried an undercurrent of… stillness.
Like it was listening.
Sabrina finally stopped at the edge of the sidewalk, arms crossed, eyes scanning the horizon.
"Your aura is unstable," she said flatly, as if continuing a conversation we hadn't started.
I blinked. "You really don't waste time, huh?"
She turned slightly, eyes glancing toward me. "You shouldn't joke about it. The way your energy moves… it's not normal. It isn't just psychic or elemental whatever it is, it's alive. Like it's responding to something inside you."
"Yeah," I muttered. "That'd be my Pokémon, probably. We're kind of a team."
"It's more than that," she replied quietly. "You've intertwined with them which is bonded beyond the usual resonance. It's not wrong, but it's dangerous."
"Dangerous like how?"
She looked at me again, eyes glowing faintly in the lamplight. "If your energy keeps growing without focus, your mind will begin to blur with theirs. Thoughts, instincts… you won't know where you end and they begin. And then, the energy will consume you."
Her tone didn't change, but I felt the chill behind her words.
"Nice bedtime story," I said, forcing a smile. "You always this comforting to your students?"
"I'm not your teacher," she said, eyes narrowing slightly. "My father is. I'm just the one who makes sure you don't blow up half the city before sunrise."
"Reassuring," I muttered under my breath.
She started walking again, leading me through the quiet streets. The few people we passed greeted her with polite nods but didn't dare speak to her. There was a kind of distance around her like an invisible wall that even strangers could feel.
We reached a broad open plaza lined with glass panels that reflected the city lights. The famous Silph Co. Tower loomed in the distance, glowing faintly like a monolith.
"This city," she said suddenly, "runs on two things which is technology and thought. Machines can fail. Minds can't."
"Except when they snap," I said before thinking.
Her gaze flicked toward me. For a second, I thought she'd read the thought right out of my skull.
Instead, she said quietly, "That's why we train."
She walked to the center of the plaza, stopping under a faint circle of blue light cast by a hovering street lights.
"Show me," she said.
"Show you what?"
"Your strength. The thing my father saw in you."
I frowned. "You mean a battle?"
"Yes," she said simply. "You and your Pokémon. Against me."
Kirlia perked up instantly, her psychic field flaring faintly.
"Sabrina...." I began.
She raised one hand, and suddenly three Poké Balls floated around her, spinning lazily in the air. One of them clicked open, and light burst across the plaza which is forming into a floating Kadabra.
Its spoon gleamed like polished silver, eyes narrow and focused.
Kirlia stepped forward without waiting for my command. Her aura pulsed softly, like ripples spreading through calm water.
"Fine," I said, exhaling slowly. "Kirlia, let's give them something to remember."
Sabrina's eyes glowed faintly violet. "Kadabra...Barrier."
A shimmering dome of psychic light wrapped around her Pokémon instantly.
"Kirlia, Double Team!"
Multiple afterimages flickered into existence, circling Kadabra in a blur of motion.
Sabrina's lips curved slightly. "Predictable."
"Psybeam."
The air cracked with a sharp flash and then Kadabra unleashed a focused beam of psychic energy that sliced through three illusions at once. The fourth Kirlia darted sideways, spinning on her heel.
"Teleport!" I shouted.
In a blink, Kirlia vanished, reappearing behind Kadabra mid-spin. Her hands flared with pink light which is Psychic power but Kadabra twisted without turning, countering with another invisible blast.
The two energies collided in the air, bending the light between them, sparks dancing across the ground.
Kirlia staggered back slightly, panting, and I could feel her frustration through our link.
"Alright," I said under my breath. "Let's shake things up."
"Kirlia uses Mystical Fire!"
The temperature shifted instantly. Blue-pink flames erupted from her hands, swirling into a spinning vortex before launching forward. The blast struck Kadabra's barrier, flames licking against the psychic wall.
Sabrina's gaze sharpened. "Reflect."
The barrier thickened, the flames scattering harmlessly into sparks.
Kirlia gritted her teeth, eyes glowing fiercely.
"Push it!" I shouted.
Her energy surged through the flames flared brighter, shifting from pink to white, until they cracked the psychic dome with a sharp snap! Kadabra was thrown backward, landing hard.
Even Sabrina's expression flickered in surprise.
The flames died down slowly. The plaza was still.
Kirlia stood breathing hard, her aura dim but steady.
Sabrina raised her hand slightly, and Kadabra floated upright again, unharmed but visibly cautious now.
"Interesting," she said softly. "You don't command her like most trainers do. You connect."
I shrugged. "Guess I just trust her to decide what's next."
She studied me a moment longer, then recalled her Pokémon. The battle ended as abruptly as it began.
"That will do," she said finally. "My father was right. You're… unusual."
"Can we take that as a compliment?"
Her eyes softened ever so slightly. "Maybe."
She turned toward the far side of the plaza, where the night sky stretched wide above the glass towers. "You should rest. Tomorrow, my father will begin your training. Meditation first. It won't be easy."
"Nothing ever is," I muttered.
As she started to walk away, I called after her. "Hey, Sabrina."
She stopped, half-turning.
"Why ask what I am?"
Her expression was unreadable, eyes reflecting the city lights like twin shards of glass.
"Because for a moment," she said quietly, "when I looked at you, I couldn't tell."
Then she disappeared.
No flash. No sound. Just gone.
I stood there for a long time, the silence of Saffron wrapping around me like a second skin. Kirlia stepped closer, her hand tugging lightly at my sleeve.
"She's strong," she said in my mind. "But she's… lonely."
I exhaled slowly. "Yeah. Maybe too strong for her own good."
The wind picked up, rustling through the plaza. Somewhere in the distance, the hum of psychic energy pulsed faintly, blending with the heartbeat of the city.
Tomorrow, I'd begin my training with Dr. Fujita.
But tonight, standing under the quiet glow of Saffron's lights, I could feel it clearly.
This city wasn't just about battles.
It was about minds.
And mine was about to be tested in ways no Pokémon League ever could.
***************
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