[attr="class","katherine"]
“I am afraid there aren’t enough windows in my gym to allow people to smoke,” Katherine says, her expression adorning a short, apologetic smile. “Wouldn’t make sense with all the mirrors we’ve placed around here, y’know?” She gestures around with one of her hands, showcasing the many, identical mirrors that surrounded them and decorated each wall, floor tile and even the ceiling inside the facility.

“Do you have a challenge scheduled for now?”

Her eyes peer down at the journal Amber, her assistant, has left her with. This was clearly not the right time for her to take a lunch break, but Kat preferred to allow those whenever asked.

Unfortunately, the cost of such a courtesy was that she was left to deal with paperwork all by herself. It was evident that her talents belonged on the battlefield, and not behind a desk.


notes: hi boo

[attr="class","katherine"]
“Oh, oh. I see.”

She expected an old man wearing a pair of round glasses to bring her back her pokemon, not someone who was as young or, well, easy on the eyes as Zenji. Having his reflection duplicated within her gym was better than any snack she could’ve had for lunch.

“Thank you, then. I didn’t think you guys do special deliveries, but it’s very nice of you.”

A light smile touches her lips, brightening her expression.

At his introduction, she nods her head to confirm that he was right about her identity. “Yes, that’d be me. You can call me Kat, if you’d like.” Her own eyes drifted across the room when the professor looked around, admiring the beauty of her own facility along with him. “Ah, yes. I get that often.”

“You said you had business to tend to in Mauville, right? Anything I could help you with? I know the way around the city, and I have some spare time.”


notes: hi boo

[attr="class","katherine"]
“I am ready.”

It took her no more than a minute or two to prepare herself to head out, after retrieving her bag and placing a couple of capsules inside it. It wasn’t often that she got to tour someone around her city, so taking advantage of the situation was more alluring to her with each passing moment.

“Where do you need to go first? The Pokecenter?” It was nothing more than a guess, but one she was willing to act upon as she led her way in that direction. Of course, depending on Zenji’s answer, their path could change.

“Oh. Honestly? Too many people refuse to face what they are, the actions that they take, and the things they say. I’d like to think that facing their reflections might help with that,” Was the official, practiced answer. The honest one came immediately afterward.

“I also really like looking at myself, so I guess it's a win-win situation.”


notes: hi boo

[attr="class","katherine"]
Katherine failed to see a fault in herself. Self-love was of the highest virtues, if you ask her.

Of course, no one did ask her for such a vain and self-absorbed comment. People rarely did, but Kat found it right to share such feelings regardless. You either learned to ignore it or grew to disdain the woman, there was no in-between.

“Hm, yes. I suppose that’d be fair to say.” She answers after weighing his question in her head for a few moments, “I construct my challenges in a way that ensures that there’s always a way for someone to win, you could say. If they manage to find it, they pass. If they manage to impress me in a different way, they pass.”

And if they fail to achieve one of the two options she’d described, they fail.

“But, I don’t believe it ends there. Battling, that is. A fair fight in a gym is nothing like a real one, y’know? You can have as many as badges as you want, but it takes more than that to be ready for the real deal.”

It’s on the tip of her tongue: war. Nothing can truly prepare you for it.


notes: hi boo

[attr="class","katherine"]
“Fear isn’t always a luxury you can afford.”

It wasn’t just the war that taught her that, but the battle in Mauville was certainly a harsh reminder of such a fact. It was a wake-up call to many in the region, including Katherine herself. Some naturally thought that it means they have to be prepared for what comes next, for whatever enemy might strike Hoenn in the future.

Katherine, however, knew it meant only one thing.

As it stands, or rather, as it stood a few months ago, she wasn’t strong enough to defend herself. Now, after acquiring a particular beast, the tides have shifted and she is in fact much more equipped to handle what comes next.

“I was stressed, confused, and angry,” Katherine confesses, recounting the events of that day. Lucas Lane came to mind, mostly, along with a particular Pokemon she’d failed. “Scared, though? No. I am afraid there wasn’t enough time for that.”



notes: hi boo

[attr="class","katherine"]
He was envious of her experience?

The mere comment, despite the nonchalant way in which Zenji managed to spit it out, prompts Katherine to raise a questioning brow, “Jealous?” It almost sounded like a joke. Almost. Considering his neutral expression, she assumed that it was no jest.

“I assure you, it wasn’t just… Nifty. People lost their lives that day.” It sounded as if he was making the war sound much more lax and forgiving than it actually was, much less grim and scarring. Truthfully, Katherine herself was less focused on those they’ve lost, only the loss of a single person caused her to feel sorrow and regret.

Now, hearing Zenji’s words, she can almost see Lance in her head. She can almost sense his spirit reaching to her in the way that it did due to the punishment FERNANDO SILPH devised for her.

However, despite the silent rage that almost compels Katherine to lecture him more, his final comment brings a wave of serenity to wash over her. She’s reminded of who she’d met on that fateful day, who she’d set free.

“..Something, yeah.”

Zenji was in luck, for Katherine’s gym was located near Mauville’s Pokecenter. They reach the facility after a short while that’s spent mostly in silence by the woman.

”It was a pleasure meeting you, mister Jabami. I hope you’ll find it right to pay my gym a second visit, sometime.”

Her features adopt a fake, manufactured smile before she turns to leave.


notes: hi boo