Broadmarsh was mostly dark, save a few streetlights and a single light. The single light was shining from the window of the office of Fletchback Farms. Inside the office, a Charizard was hurriedly filling out the final form for the most recent shipment of cheri berries from a Romianda farm.

The Charizard, a female, was average-sized, but for a Charizard, that was rather large. A small spot of ink was drying underneath her left eye, and ink stained her talons. There was a half-melted candle on her desk, and a raggedy coat was hanging on a hook on the back of the office door.

She finished the final word, double-checked the form for perfection, and then leaned back and sighed. "Jasmine, Jasmine… you're not doing good things to yourself," the Charizard said to herself. She stifled a yawn and stood and, yawning again, picked up the papers and tapped them on the desk to even them out.

"I sure hope that Dyan is still in the office," Jasmine muttered as she put on her coat. With practiced ease, she licked her talons and extinguished the candle. As she opened the office door, a breeze caressed her, sneaking through the holes in her coat. Jasmine closed the office door and locked it with a key she pulled from a pocket on her coat.

The moon was covered by dark, heavy clouds, and a sense of foreboding rose in Jasmine's heart. It was similar to the feeling she felt when it was going to rain, and so she shrugged the feeling off. Even without the feeling, though, the night was still oppressive.

It only got worse as Jasmine entered Dyan's domain. The ramshackle buildings and broken streetlights suggested either a general lack of care or mischievous ghosts. Jasmine wasn't sure which she preferred. The one showed that Mayor Winston had no control here, but Jasmine was also afraid of ghosts.

The two horrible suggestions were quickly drowned out by a crack of thunder. Jasmine, hearing the thunder echo through the empty and forsaken streets, shivered. When a second burst of thunder pealed out, she flinched. Lightning was something she could handle. Thunder, on the other hand…

Jasmine arrived at the door to Dyan's office just in time. After she entered, the clouds began dumping their contents on top of the City. A brilliant bolt of lightning illuminated the street, throwing the various pieces into sharp contrast as Jasmine closed the door. A small smile stole its way across her face at the wonderful lightning.

She made her way through Dyan's office, dodging uniformed Pokemon and pitchers of water. But for all of her dexterity, Jasmine ended up running straight into Krowck. The Blaziken gasped and gripped his side.

"Oh, Krowck! I'm sorry about that!" Jasmine exclaimed. "I didn't mean to do that! Did I hurt you?"

Krowck chuckled before gasping sharply again. "No, no."

Bakon came up behind Krowck. "Come on, Krowck. Boss wants the new contract before midnight."

"Oh, a new contract?" Jasmine asked, intrigued. "What kind of contract?"

Krowck snickered, then gasped in pain again. "High-intere-" Bakon cut Krowck off by elbowing him in the side.

"Stop yer quacking! Do you want Boss to put you on low-end again?" Bakon growled. "Excuse us, Miss Jasmine." Bakon grabbed Krowck by the arm and dragged him away.

"What did Krowck mean by that?" Jasmine wondered. She knew what 'high-interest' meant. Before Dyan came to the forefront of the City's business, there were multiple Pokemon who dealt in the extending and sudden retraction of loans. It came to be known as 'high-interest business.' When Dyan came into the fray, most of the high-interest business disappeared. No one had really given it much thought, except for maybe a quick 'hmm.'

A terrible shadow passed through Jasmine's mind as she walked toward Dyan's inner sanctum. She froze in mid-step. "No…"

She shook off the paralysis and ran, dodging uniformed Pokemon who tried to dive out of the way but ended up running into Jasmine and rebounding. In no time at all, she stood in front of the door to Dyan's sanctum.

As Jasmine tried to catch her breath, Wade opened the door. "I'll have Bakon and Krowck report when they get back, Boss," he said over his shoulder. The Buizel turned his head and saw Jasmine standing in front of him. "Ah, Jasmine! Do you have the reports?"

She shouldered past Wade. His forehead wrinkled in confusion, but then he shrugged and went off toward his own office.

Dyan stood at the window in his office, looking out over the darkened streets. Jasmine stormed up to his desk and slammed the papers she held down on it. His shoulders tensed ever so slightly.

"Thank you, Jasmine. I will make sure the reports are sent to the appropriate groups. Have a good night."

"Is it true?"

He chuckled and turned to face Jasmine. "Is what true, Jasmine? You must provide more context."

She didn't meet Dyan's eyes. Scanning his desk, she noticed many papers characteristic of high-interest business. Loan forms, credit reports, warning notices, and more were scattered across Dyan's desk. Each paper had some sort of writing on it, from preliminary information to completed client pages.

"It's true…" Jasmine whispered. Her head whipped up and she met Dyan's gaze. "You're a loan shark."

Dyan smiled easily. "What makes you think that, Jasmine?"

"Krowck let it slip, Dyan. He's going to start a new high-interest contract." Jasmine's eyes were hard. "These papers on your desk prove it wasn't just a slip of the tongue."

He maintained eye contact with Jasmine, but his brow furrowed. "Jasmine, this is a dangerous line of questioning."

"You LIED to me!" Jasmine exclaimed. "I asked if you had any shady business, and you said you didn't! You lied! I can't believe I trusted you!" Jasmine's voice caught. She swallowed the sob and continued, voice lower. "I thought you were a good Pokemon, Dyan."

Dyan clicked his tongue. "Good is relative, Jasmine. What's good for me may not be good for you."

"That's a lie, too," Jasmine hissed. "Good is not 'relative,' Dyan. You may as well get someone else to handle your accounts." She spun around and stalked toward the door. The Mewtwo followed her and reached out to grab her hand. Jasmine slapped Dyan's hand away. "Don't try to stop me. Don't follow me."

As Jasmine opened the door, Dyan's words stopped her in her tracks. "Very well, Jasmine. I wish you well."

"Why?"

Dyan shrugged. "I cannot say that you're wrong. That would be lying. So I may as well wish you well in your life."

Jasmine shook her head and slammed the door behind her. It took all of her self-control to not knock anyone over the head with one of the ever-present pitchers in the outer offices, but once she left the building, the emotion wouldn't stay in any longer. She yelled a wordless cry to the sky, then fell to her knees and cried.

She wasn't sure how long she knelt there, crying. Bakon and Krowck passed her, but she didn't return their greetings. She didn't say anything as the building behind her emptied, one by one and two by two. She ignored Dyan as he locked the office and walked past her.

Then the clouds, which had been closed while she had been outside, opened. Rain began to fall, drenching Jasmine within seconds. She retreated deeper into her tattered coat, her tears mixing with the rain that managed to get through her coat.

In the distance, splashes were heard. They were rhythmic, clopping splashes that came from something other than the raindrops. Jasmine lifted her head and stared in fascination as a Keldeo drew closer. A Victini sat on the Keldeo's back, obviously enjoying the rainstorm.

"Why?"

The Keldeo skidded to a halt. The Victini was barely able to hold on. "Why what?" the Victini asked.

"Why are you so…" Jasmine struggled for the right word. "Why are you so cheerful?"

The Victini exchanged a look with the Keldeo. "Why shouldn't I be cheerful? The plants need the rain to grow, and I do, as well. It makes me feel alive."

"Don't you know how bad the world is?"

The Keldeo laughed. "Miss, the world isn't that bad. It's really quite a good world. You just need to look beyond yourself."

The Victini jumped off of the Keldeo's back. "It's true. I might have said it differently, but there is good in the world. When you're surrounded by darkness, miss, you just need to look a little further."

Jasmine frowned as she mulled the words over. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Perhaps this would be better," the Victini said while hopping back onto the Keldeo's back. "Never surrender. Go somewhere new. I guarantee you'll find something-or someone- good." The Victini winked and, as the Keldeo whinnied and raced off, made a sign with two fingers: a V.

That small sign, for some reason, struck Jasmine's heart. She nodded. "They were right." She pushed herself up and began to walk away from the building behind her.

Soon, she emerged from Dyan's domain into the City proper. The streetlights were cheering, but the shadows of what Jasmine had learned began engulfing her again.

"How could Dyan have lied like that?" she murmured to herself, wrapping her coat more tightly around her. "How could he do such a thing?"

The rain steadily intensified.

"How could I have been so blind?"

A creak sounded through the pattering of the rain.

"What do I do now?"

Footsteps came up to Jasmine.

"Please, come inside!"

Jasmine hesitated and looked quickly at the Pokemon who had said that. It was an Ampharos- a handsome Ampharos- wearing an apron and a concerned expression. He took her by the arm and gently pulled her inside a nearby building.

"Harry!" the Ampharos yelled. "Warm up some of that hot cocoa, would you? We've got someone shivering and soaked!"

That's right… the Victini and Keldeo said there was good in the world… "Th-thank y-you," Jasmine stuttered.

"May I help you with your coat?" the Ampharos asked. Jasmine huddled deeper into her coat, not quite ready to put away the protection of her soaked rags. The Ampharos shrugged and led Jasmine across the room. "We do have a fire. Here it is. Sit and warm yourself up."

After making sure that Jasmine was comfortable, the Ampharos left. As he left, Jasmine watched his back.

There is good in the world. He's a good Pokemon…

Jasmine smiled to herself.

I wonder how many others like me the Victini and the Keldeo have helped.

As the Ampharos came back with a mug of hot chocolate, two thoughts passed through Jasmine's mind.

This Ampharos is someone I'd want to marry.

I hope something happens that makes you change, Dyan. I bear you no ill will.

"Here you go, miss," the Ampharos said. Jasmine looked up and took the mug and, as she took a drink, a warmth passed through her that wasn't just the hot chocolate.