Shina's Diary [Gym Leader/Traveler]

[Nanashi Kage Enjeru]

Start of Shina's Diary

Dear Diary,
Oh, I’m so mad! Cindy, the guard’s daughter, Derik, the butler’s son, and Lily, the gardener’s daughter have all turned ten in the last few months, and got their pokemon license. I’m only eight and a half, but Papa has already decided that I can’t have mine until twelve. That isn’t fair at all! I’m already around pokemon lots, so why can’t I get my license when all the other kids do? I take good care of my dressage Ponyta, I brush her, and feed her, and muck her stall, and take care of her tack and everything! I’m around the guard Growlithe a lot too, I helped feed one of the puppies when its mommy got sick, and I know all the proper commands and Tomas says that next week, I’m going to start working with that Growlithe to train it. He says it takes about a year to train a Growlithe, sometimes more, and I had hoped that the Growlithe or my Ponyta would be my first pokemon. Why does Papa want me to wait?  

[Nanashi Kage Enjeru]

Dear Diary,
Tomas let me start training Growlithe today. Growlithe seems kind of confused about what I want him to do, but Tomas says that’s normal, and that after he learns his first few commands, it will get much easier as Growlithe figures out that I’m trying to teach him. Tomas also started teaching me a few other things. He says that Papa is probably worried about me, and that’s why he wants me to wait to get my license. So Tomas says he’s going to teach me self defense, and wilderness survival, and other stuff like that. Maybe if I can learn to take care of myself, Papa will let me get my license on time!  

[Nanashi Kage Enjeru]

Dear Diary,
Richard Elcarl came over for afternoon tea today. He’s a spoiled brat, and I don’t like him! He tried to kick my Growlithe, and when Papa said we should go riding, none of the Ponyta wanted to go near him. The groom saddled a calm mare anyway, since Papa had said we should go riding, and Richard was mean to her too! He kept kicking her and yanking on the reins, and it’s a good thing that the groom chose such a patient mare, otherwise she would have burnt him. I would have if I was a Ponyta!

I don’t like it when Richard comes over. Whenever I have ‘social engagements,’ the mothers always come over too, well, unless they have a nanny, and whenever the other mothers come over Papa always wants me to be more ladylike after. Mama died when I was little, but that’s no reason for him to listen to the other mothers so much! They aren’t my mothers, and they don’t even know me! Mrs. Elcarl is the worst though, and for some reason Papa listens to her a lot. One time after she came over, Papa tried to stop me from visiting the kennel, and wanted me to stop taking care of my Ponyta. Mrs. Elcarl said that it wasn’t proper for me to be socializing with the help, and that a proper young lady shouldn’t be bothered with doing the work a groom should be handling for me! What a meanie! Why shouldn’t I be nice to the people who keep me and Papa safe? And you shouldn’t be riding if you aren’t taking care of your Ponyta. You don’t learn discipline or build a bond with your Ponyta if you only see them to ride. It took me almost a week to change Papa’s mind. I don’t like the Elcarls, and I wish they would stop coming over!  

[Nanashi Kage Enjeru]

Dear Diary,
I’m nine now! Papa had a big party with all the proper guests, which was really boring. I got lots of stupid gifts that were expensive, but really tasteless. Mrs. Sarahi made me nervous though. She told Papa that she’d gotten me an appointment at Felicity’s Foundations and had put a deposit down for my first corset, as it really was best to start as young as possible, before a girl started to ‘blossom’ so that the body could ‘grow naturally into the proper shape rather than needing to be forced into it later.’ What? No one wears corsets for anything but formal events these days, and how is the corseted figure in any way natural? I immediately decided to ‘develop’ a taste for kimono, as those costumes call for fewer curves, not more. The appointment is for two weeks from now, so I’ve got plenty of time to become obsessed with the Kimono Girls and their fashion. I should be able to talk Papa into arranging for the deposit to be used on future brassieres and maybe even kimono padding. I’m not wearing a corset!

The party I really enjoyed was the one the staff threw for me. The kitchen staff made all my favorites, and promised me cooking lessons, both kitchen and campfire! The stable hands gave me a week off of stable chores, and the guards promised me first aid lessons! The cleaning staff gave me a new patchwork quilt, it was so soft and pretty! And all the kids came, so there were lots of people to play with who wouldn’t care if I was being proper.  

[Nanashi Kage Enjeru]

Dear Diary,
I am now, to all appearances, a devoted Kimono Girls fan. I think Papa is a bit confused by my sudden interest, but has decided that it is just one of those girl things he will never understand. I got a beautiful juban, a kind of kimono slip, from Felicity's Foundations. It has a subtle pattern of plum blossoms, sakura, and bellflowers scattered over a background of running water. The flowers are seasonal for winter, spring, and autumn, and the running water is for summer, so I can wear it any time of the year. I really like it! Papa has ordered a few kimono for me, and they should arrive soon. I'm also going to have lessons to learn how to dress myself properly in kimono. So I'll have my school tutoring, my lady's arts, my riding, training the Growlithe, the survival and first aid lessons from the guards, the cooking lessons, and now kimono lessons. And I'll have social engagements, just to make sure I have no free time. Oh well.  

[Nanashi Kage Enjeru]

Dear Diary,
I did a bad thing. I was at Ruby's garden party, and I had wandered into the maze to get away from the other girls. I heard Mrs. Elcarl and another lady talking, and I stepped into one of the little resting spots and listened. I know eavesdropping is wrong, but I heard them mention my family. Mrs. Elcarl has been trying to set up more and more play dates and tea times between me and Richard, and I found out why. From what I heard, the Elcarl's fortune is not as big as they try to make it seem, because someone, I'm not sure who because Mrs. Elcarl only said "he," has made poor investments.

They said mean things about Papa being a "new money merchant" since it was only Great-grandpapa who started the business, and Papa actually works for a living. Apparently though, Papa is rich enough to let that slide, and I'm "a pretty enough thing, if a little . . . overindulged." Mrs. Elcarl thinks that if I could be gotten away from Papa's control, and possibly sent to a nice finishing school, that my "rougher habits" could be discouraged, and I could be made into a more biddable girl. Rougher habits?! Mrs. Elcarl was the one who tried to get me to stay away from the "help" and not take care of my Ponyta, and I suppose my survival, first aid, and cooking classes would utterly horrify her. And I'm overindulged? Her Richard is a spoiled brat, with no care for anyone but himself!

Speaking of Richard, it seems that she actually wants me to marry him! I'm Papa's only child, and with Mommy gone and Papa not looking for a new wife, I'm going to be the one to inherit his fortune. So, at least as far as the ladies are concerned, I have my looks and Papa's money as my strengths, while my family's relatively new position in high society and the fact that we are merchants is a drawback. Richard is from a very old blood family, with a good position in society. He isn't horrid to look at, and their money problems are still secret, so he is apparently quite a catch. As far as the ladies are concerned, a marriage between myself, with my family's money, and Richard, with his social status, would be ideal. I don't think so. I wouldn't marry Richard if he was the last boy alive! I haven't told Papa what I overheard, and I don't plan to, since I'm still far too young to even get engaged, but I won't forget this.  

[Nanashi Kage Enjeru]

Dear Diary,
Poor Growlithe! An Ekans somehow got into the kennels and the Growlithe I was training got bitten. The Ekans was chased off, but no one realized that Growlithe had been bitten. When I went down this morning, his leg and paw were swollen and he wouldn't get up. The guards gave him an antidote and a potion and took him to the Pokemon center. He hasn't come back yet, and I'm very worried.  

[Nanashi Kage Enjeru]

Dear Diary,
Growlithe will have to stay at the Pokemon center a while longer. He's going to live, and they don't think that he will lose the leg, but he is very sick still.  

[Nanashi Kage Enjeru]

Dear Diary,
Growlithe came home today. He's doing much better, but Tomas says he will never be a guard Growlithe now. Growlithe can walk, and his leg looks okay now, but it was damaged by the poison, and will never be as strong as it should be. Growlithe also gets tired very easily, but that should get better with time. Tomas says that when Growlithe is stronger, we will teach him some new commands. Growlithe is very smart, and even when he was hurt he didn't try to bite anyone, so Tomas says Growlithe may be able to be trained as a service Growlithe, to help someone who is disabled, or maybe as a comfort Pokemon, to visit people who are in the hospital. Growlithe is scared of his kennel now, so he will be staying in my room. Staying inside and learning indoor manners will be good for Growlithe's new training, so it will be okay. I'm a little sad that Growlithe won't be my first Pokemon, but I know he would not be happy as a pet, and with his leg hurt, he won't be able to protect me. So I'm going to do my best to train him for his new job, and make sure he goes to a good home.  

[Nanashi Kage Enjeru]

Dear Diary,
I'm ten now. I had a big party, again, and spent most of the party smiling politely as everyone tried to tell me what I should do, want, and think about everything. Some kids leave home to start their Pokemon journey at ten, but listening to the people at my party, you would think they expected me to be some sort of delicate, empty-headed fluff that still needed help getting dressed in the morning. There really is more to life than fashion, boys, and gossip.

Papa wouldn't let me get my Pokemon license yet, but that's okay. Growlithe still needs training, and I really don't have time for another Pokemon right now. My dressage Ponyta is a good Ponyta, but she is really too specifically trained to ever survive outside of the stable or ring, so she wouldn't make a good first Pokemon either, though she will always be special to me.  

[Nanashi Kage Enjeru]

Dear Diary,
You won't believe what Tomas did! A week ago, he woke me up before dawn and told me to be at the kennels, packed for a multi-day hike, in half an hour. When I showed up, he gave me a tracking necklace with a panic button, bundled me into a helicopter, and made me wear a blindfold. When we landed, we were in the middle of nowhere. Tomas told me that he thought I was ready for my graduation test for my wilderness survival skills. If I pushed the panic button, someone would come and pick me up, but I would fail the test. To pass, I had to find my way back home. The left me there, with just the supplies I had packed, as the sun started to rise. I found a stream and followed it, and a few days later I found a tiny village. They pointed me towards another town a day's walk away, where I rented a Ponyta and rode home. It took me a week all together to get home, but I did it! I'm very tired now, so I'm going to go to bed.  

[Nanashi Kage Enjeru]

Dear Diary,
I've decided I want to be an Eevee breeder. I've been looking to the Kimono Girls for fashion for some time now, and I couldn't help but notice their Pokémon. Kimono Girls tend towards the Eevee lines, and lately I've been researching these Pokémon. Rare, genetically unstable, and the Pokémon with the greatest number of evolutions, Eevee seem to be a very intriguing breed. There is a family that breeds them, commonly known as the Eevee brothers, and they are very rarely given away by the professors or the box experts, but other than those sources, they are extremely rare. Even I wouldn't be able to afford an Eevee from the Eevee brothers on my allowance unless I saved for a long time. Papa would give me one if I asked, I'm sure, but somehow that doesn't seem like the right way to start out a partnership. I wonder if I could convince Papa to let me work at the Eevee brother's breeding center to earn an egg? Probably not, proper young ladies don't do things like that.  

[Nanashi Kage Enjeru]

Dear Diary,
There was an intruder scare at the Tramini estate. Papa is worried, and is looking into increasing the guards at our estate. Tomas suggested that I be given training as to what to do if I were ever kidnapped, as such things are a concern for a girl from a wealthy family. I believe such things as how to act and how to escape will be covered.