Through the Eyes of Those Observing
			LH-chan! 2000

		#1 - Kasumi


	Satoshi.
	Little brother Satoshi.
	
	I hated you when I first met you.
	Who wouldn’t have?
	You stole my bike, and destroyed it.  To this
day you still don’t know quite how important it was to me.

	You stole my bike to get Pikachuu to the Pokemon
Center faster, you wrecked it trying to save Pikachuu’s life.

	Your insistence we spend all those days in Tokiwa
Forest, trying to catch--of all things--_bugs._

	You struggled so hard back then, seemingly without any
knowledge of raising, much less battling, a pokemon.  Your heart
was always in the right place.

	Impetuous Satoshi.
	You would throw yourself into battle ahead of your
pokemon, given the opportunity...it seems as though the League
rules against such tactics were written with you in mind.

	Pure-hearted Satoshi.
	I have doubted that you have any common sense many times
since I met you, but never once have I doubted your courage.

	I swore I would never go easy on you.  I would not base
your merit as a Trainer upon your personal bravery, as other
Masters have.
	A Trainer can not become a Master on the strength of his
blind courage alone; but I could see then, as I can now, that you
have what it takes to become a Master, despite how deeply it may
be buried sometimes.
	I swore that I would make you see the foolishness in the
idea that if you tried hard enough you could always triumph.  Before
I met you, I was certain that such an idea was nothing but nonsense.
	But you made _me_ see.

	The things I’ve seen you do--especially you and Pikachuu
together--kindred spirits in that belief.

	She defeated Raichuu, Iwaaku, Ishitsubutte...feats that
should have been impossible.  But you two just kept trying, and you
really achieved those things that I would have never even thought
to attempt...things that should have been impossible.

	Strong-willed Satoshi.
	Able to triumph, fueled by determination alone.
	You struggle just as hard as your pokemon, your dearest of
friends.  You live every bit of their pain and struggles alongside
them, yet you press doggedly on.
	Protecting their lives, heedless of your own.

	Many times, I have difficulty holding back my pride at how
far you’ve come, how great a Trainer you have become--just like you
always dreamed.
	But I must hold back.  Can’t have you getting a swelled
head after all.

	Little brother Satoshi.
	After all this time I’ve spent with you, hearing you speak
broadly of your dream, of becoming a Pokemon Master, tears threaten
my eyes as everyone present sees your dreams dashed to pieces within
the span of a few moments.

	You don’t whine, or make a scene--as you would have back
when I first knew you.
	I see a tear glisten on your cheek as you drop your head
onto your chest--your precious League cap shielding your face from
Hiroshi’s eyes--but you brush it swiftly away.

	Then you stand, your smile genuine--that same bright, honest,
expression that you favor the world with on your best days.  You are
proud of your opponent, your friend, for defeating you.

	And I?  I could not be prouder had you won...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

	Legalities: Pocket Monsters © the zillion people who own
the series, none of whom are LH-chan, who just borrowed their
characters for a brief jaunt through their brains. =^_^=