A Meeting of the Mineral-Minded

A Meeting of the Mineral-Minded
One-shot shipping fic(?!) by Saikou/jollyGreninja
Content warnings:
· Accidental shipping (Jasmine x Steven Stone)
· Contains no smut! What a twist, huh? Don't worry, I'll probably write another chapter that has some in it anyhow.

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	Entertaining the light of Glimmer Lighthouse was one of Jasmine's most beloved pastimes. Ever since the Ampharos who cast out the shining beacon had fallen ill and relied on a passerby Trainer for assistance, Jasmine had spent a lot of her free time in the lounge atop the tower keeping the lonely Amphy company. Although she was sometimes at a loss as for how to actively entertain him, the electric sheep Pokemon often seemed to appreciate just her company enough. In turn, Jasmine found her time up at the Lighthouse to be quite relaxing; while she loved her own Steel-type Pokemon dearly, she had plenty of time to bond with them while attending matters at Olivine Gym – as well, though she would never be so cruel as to tell them, a Steelix or a Magneton is far worse for cuddling than Amphy was. She took solace in being able to relax for an hour or so, curling up with Amphy while he rested for the night's work and reading a book to idly bide the time.
	This particular evening's relaxation, however, was cut short by the shrill chirp of her PokéGear's ringtone. Amphy bleated in surprise, startled by the sudden noise, and Jasmine fumbled for her phone as fast as she could in an effort to calm the panicked sheep.
	“I-I'm sorry, Amphy,” she apologized hastily, running her hand along the Pokémon's furry back soothingly. “I need to take this call, though... Sit tight, okay?” After taking a moment to compose himself, Amphy nodded and settled himself as Jasmine excused herself to the other side of the room to take the call. “Yes, hello?”
	“Jasmine, you've got a visitor.” It was Preston, a gentleman who often trained his Growlithe around the lighthouse and sometimes in her Gym. He had volunteered to look after the Gym while she spent her evenings with Amphy, a gesture she quite appreciated. “He says his name is Steven Stone. Oh, hoho! I could be mistaken, but if memory serves, I'm fairly certain this fellow's the Champion of Hoenn!”
	“Former champion,” she heard a younger voice clarify sheepishly in the background.
	“Is that right? Sorry to hear that, then, lad.” An unreciprocated chuckle and an awkward moment of dead silence followed that remark, causing Jasmine to crack a silent smirk. “Er- Anyway, he'd quite like to see you, it seems. Do hurry down, would you?” She was only marginally paying attention, having leapt up and begun gathering her things at the first mention of Steven's name.
	“Y-Yes, alright, thank you Preston! I'll be down as soon as I can!” Without waiting for a response, she snapped her PokéGear shut and shoved it into her pocket hurriedly. Amphy tilted his head in confusion, unable to decipher the conversation having only heard Jasmine's end of it.
	“I have to go meet Steven,” she reminded him, adjusting her outfit in front of a mirror nervously in the meantime. “Do you think I look alright?” The question was only half-rhetorical, but the Ampharos nodded earnestly, giving Jasmine that small comfort. She gave him a quick hug before all but tripping into the elevator in her hurry down the lighthouse.



	“Stephen, I'm here!” Jasmine arrived promptly, just as promised. She approached at an awkward gait somewhere between being, and not trying to look, hurried.
	“Uh, Jasmine, hey!” Steven extended his hand for her to shake, trying his best to pay no heed to her graceless entrance. “Glad you could make it! Sorry I had to interrupt your time hanging out with your Ampharos.”
	“It's not a problem, really,” she assured him. “We meet a few times a week, so it's no big deal to miss part of one night.”
	“That's good to hear, then.” A short, awkward silence washed over them before being broken by Jasmine.
	“So, um... Perhaps we could take a walk around, Steven? I can show you around our proud city of Olivine, i-if you'd like.”
	“That would be lovely,” Steven agreed. “Lead the way.” Jasmine gave a small smile and led him off on their tour after dismissing Preston, trying her best to be formal as the ambassador of Olivine City ought to have been. She made small talk; Steven was only here to stop by during a  trip through the region, she'd been told, so she asked him a bit about his trip so far. As they walked together and conversed, though, Jasmine found herself loosening up a fair bit – having only met Steven in person several times before, she surprised even herself with how she came out of her shell and held such lively conversation with her guest.
	There wasn't much to show Steven in a small town such as Olivine, of course. As they walked past it, she pointed out the Glimmer Lighthouse – as night had suddenly fallen, rays of Amphy's light now shone brightly out of the lantern room atop the tower.
	“Is there really no one else to take care of him?” Steven inquired. “It seems like there ought to be someone up there tending the lighthouse with him. He's got no trainer of his own, huh?”
	“Well, in a sense I'm his trainer,” she replied with a touch of pride. “I'd never think to drag him into a battle, as he's simply not cut out for it... But I've taken care of him for a very long time, yes, and I spend a lot of time with him in the evenings while Preston watches the gym.”
	“To run the gym, take care of Amphy and have the time to entertain guests on a whim... You sure keep yourself busy, huh?”
	She blushed, finding herself inexplicably speechless. After a while she managed to stammer out a “thank you,” but after that her words hung in the air and died, another bout of uncomfortable silence coming over them. Luckily, it wasn't much longer until they finished their short tour.
	“Up that way is the Battle Frontier,” she said, pointing out some lumbering buildings in the distance. “It's undergoing some renovations, though, so it won't be open for a few weeks. You've got one of your own in Hoenn, right? Um, a Battle Frontier, I mean.”
	He nodded. “That's right. Since I used to be the Champion, I know a lot of the Frontier Brains there pretty well. A lot of them talked about putting together an international exhibition tournament with your guys here in Johto, but nothing really came of it.”
	“They've got busy schedules, of course. I'm unfamiliar with such proceedings myself, but I imagine it would be next to impossible to comfortably arrange free time for every Frontier Brain from both regions.”
	“Fair enough, fair enough. Would've been awesome to see, though, wouldn't it?”
	“Definitely,” she giggled. The conversation died down again as their tour came to a stop on Olivine Beach, and the two of them took a seat on a large, flat rock to relax for a moment.
	“You know,” Steven muttered, only vaguely directed at his company, “this beach looks pretty awesome at night.” Jasmine hummed quietly in agreement, finding no words to add to the conversation. Indeed, it was a sight to behold; for the most part, the sky around Olivine was crystal clear and the night sky was filled to the brim with bright, twinkling stars. Now and then a beam of light from the Lighthouse would flare across the horizon and cut the stars from view, but after only a moment as the light passed, the tiny specks of light would reappear and twinkle once again. The two sat in silence, admiring the view of the glimmering ocean waves and the clear night sky for a long while, simply enjoying the company of one another.
	Steven yawned, cutting off the silence abruptly. He checked the time on his PokeNav and stood up immediately, bowing in apology. “Thank you for the wonderful time, Jasmine,” he said, “but I've just realized it's a whole lot later than I thought it was. I... Really oughta get back to the hotel in Goldenrod now. Sorry to cut our evening short!” He said that, but in reality they'd spent until long after dusk together; his clock read 11 PM, and only after noticing the time did Jasmine catch Steven's yawn and parrot it with one of her own.
	“It's quite alright,” she insisted, “please, I don't want to keep you too long. ...I really enjoyed our evening together, Steven,” she added quietly. “I-I... I'd like it if you visited again before you leave Johto.”
	He barely needed any time to consider before nodding and accepting her request. “I promise,” he pledged. “I'll be sure to call you a day or two ahead of time, just to be sure.”
	“I'm looking forward to it. See you around, Steven.”
	“See you!” Waving farewell happily, he reached for a Poke Ball on his belt and released his Skarmory. Together, they flew off into the horizon in the direction of Goldenrod, and Jasmine was left on Olivine Beach alone, inexplicably content and satisfied with the night's events.
	The walk back to her Gym and a short time lying awake in bed were filled with thoughts of her visitor, and she found it difficult to get him out of her head. More than anything, though, she longed for his next visit. She could scarcely wait until he made his rounds through Johto and returned to Olivine a few days later with more stories to share, and she would plan out an evening for them rather than a simple walk. A date, even? Yes, she quite liked the sound of that. As she drifted off to sleep, she felt her cheeks grow flushed as she subconsciously planned out her first date with Steven Stone of Hoenn, and that night he was all that  filled her dreams.