[[quoteright:115:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/048826453_6302.png]]
[[caption-width-right:115:This is what you would call a [[SourPrudes Shrew]].]]

->''"I'm sorry if I misled you, but I have no interest in being anything but friends."''
-->-- '''Jasmine'''

Jasmine is the Gym Leader of Olivine City. She is, in her own words, "...twenty-one and five-foot-four and [[BlatantLies happily]] [[SourPrudes single]]". She is infamous amongst her social circle for being hostile to all concepts of romance, love, and sex. Unfortunately for Jasmine, her innocent, anti-romantic lifestyle is under constant assault from all manner of indignities, from friends who tease her to unwanted suitors trying to woo her. Shortly into the story, [[LadyKillerInLove Morty]], Ecruteak City's Gym Leader and a middle school [[LovingBully "friend"]] returns into Jasmine's life and brashly [[TheBet declares his intent]] to break her of her prudishness. His boast to get her laid by New Year's Day, four months away, sets off a storm of events that destroys Jasmine's heretofore melancholic existence.

Olivine Romance is a ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' fanfic that follows Gym Leader Jasmine as she struggles with questions of love, maturation, sex, friendship, career, and family. It is written by fanfic author [[http://archiveofourown.org/users/Snowden/profile Snowden]] (no, not [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden THAT]] Snowden) and can be found at fanfic site [[http://archiveofourown.org/works/1609088/chapters/3425729 Archive of Our Own]].

There are also several side-stories within the same universe that occur before the events of ''Olivine Romance'':
* [[http://archiveofourown.org/works/1715165/chapters/3653051 ''Succession'']], a story told from [[LonelyAtTheTop Steven's]] point-of-view.
* [[http://archiveofourown.org/works/1863507/chapters/4011345 ''Transmutation'']], the events of HGSS told from [[TheRival Sil]][[HeWhoFightsMonsters ver's]] point-of-view.
* [[http://archiveofourown.org/works/3385262/chapters/7405925 "Things I Can Never Say"]], a {{Prequel}} focusing on [[TeamMom Eri]][[HiddenDepths ka's]] history as Celadon City's Gym Leader and as one of Jasmine's closest friends.
* [[http://archiveofourown.org/works/4309191 ''Haunted'']], a short one-shot told from Morty's point-of-view.
* [[http://archiveofourown.org/works/5488229/chapters/12680222 ''Path of Least Resistance'']], a story told from Volkner's point-of-view, revealing his tragic adolescence.

Lastly, the author has a "blog" of sorts, called [[http://archiveofourown.org/works/3311441/chapters/7234613 "The Pokemon World"]], which provides [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin in-depth explanations of the Pokemon universe]] in his stories, including Olivine Romance.

----
!!''Olivine Romance'' includes the following tropes:
* AbusiveParents: As the story goes on, it becomes increasingly clear that Jasmine's issues were caused by emotional neglect from her parents, primarily from her [[EvilMatriarch Mother]].
* ActionBomb: The Self-Destruct and Explosion attacks, property of Graveler, Magnemite, Voltorb, and Gengar; the latter uses it to win the Gym Leader Tournament Finals between Morty and Volkner.
* ActionGirl: In addition to going toe-to-toe with male (and female) trainers in Pokemon battles, Jasmine occasionally shows off her gymnastic skills, such as dodging a [[BubbleGun Bubble Beam]] to retrieve the remote from Tyko the Piplup).
* ACupAngst: Jasmine is frequently teased by Erika, Morty, and others about this. She puts on [[PetitePride a brave front]], but inwardly decries not her lack of a bosom, but society's fixation on breast size.
%%* AllMenArePerverts: Jasmine firmly believes this. Morty gives her ample reason to continue believing it.
* AllWomenArePrudes: Everyone seems to think this applies to Jasmine (both in how she acts, and how she thinks the world ought to be), and spend considerable effort trying to convince her [[SexIsGood otherwise]]. Jasmine eventually subverts the trope, saying her issue isn't with sex, per se, but with ''relationships''.
* AlmostKiss: Morty pulls Jasmine aside midway through Part 1 and appears on the verge of kissing her. At the last moment he arranges her hair's spike-tails instead. This is a sign the story is going to take its sweet time developing their relationship.
* AloneAmongTheCouples: Jasmine, during the gala and in general. Notably she's single by choice, but that doesn't stop her from feeling left out.
* AlwaysAccurateAttack: In Jasmine's battle against Warren, the key to depleting Warren's stockpile of Revives was using X Accuracy to ensure Steelix's [[OneHitKill 1HKO]] Fissure always hit.
* AnnouncerChatter: During high-profile matches, an announcer is present to give blow-by-blow commentary to the media audience. Sometimes Jasmine's friends act as the ref and announcer, where they exaggerate every outcome with all the gusto of a LargeHamAnnouncer.
* ArtisticLicensePhysics: Jasmine habitually exploits [[HollywoodMagnetism electromagnetism]] in ways that don't make sense outside of the Pokemon universe.
* AwesomeByAnalysis: Pretty much anyone who wins a Pokemon battle does so by this. Many of the losers could count as well.
** Morty figures out Volkner gave a Lum Berry to Electivire and then lied about Electivire's ability... twice.
** Jasmine figures out Violet's Pokemon fight in identical pairs to confuse opponents by noting their gender.
** Jasmine goes into GREAT detail to explain how she figured out the zombies were [[spoiler: [[ShapeShifting Dittos]]]].
* BaitAndSwitch: [[spoiler:The climax of part four sends a suicidal Jasmine to the Crescent Bay Bridge for what appears to be a tragic ending, only to find Ethan preparing to jump. The fateful meeting spares them both.]]
* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind: At the climax of Jasmine and Warren's battle, they begin calculating the outcome of the final exchange in a kind of telepathic dialogue. The scene is a homage to the climax of ''Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows''.
%%* BelligerentSexualTension: Seemingly the basis for Jasmine and Morty's relationship.
* TheBet: One is made in Part 1: Morty bets that Jasmine ''will'' get laid before New Year's Day, four months from the time of declaration. But not necessarily with him. Another is proposed by Jasmine to Morty in Part 2: He has to find Amphy a mate and Jasmine will give him her FirstKiss. [[spoiler: [[WhamLine Except it's not her first.]]]]
* BetaCouple: Lyra and Ethan; although they're not without their own relationship issues, they seem paltry in comparison to Jasmine's emotionally-rife courting by Morty.
* BigStormEpisode: Six years ago, a massive, extremely powerful hurricane hits the coastal region surrounding Olivine. It wrecks havoc on the city, flooding downtown, sinking ships, grounding air traffic and knocking out power. For Jasmine, its worst effect is cutting off travel to Cianwood, right when she needs a medicine to save her Ampharos that can only be acquired there. [[spoiler: Ash flies through the storm atop his Charizard and delivers the medicine in the nick of time.]]
* BlatantLies: Used regularly between trainers as they battle, such as when Volkner makes two outlandish lies about Electivire's ability during his battle with Morty (he almost gets away with it).
* BoringButPractical: Moving beyond this strategy is a part of Jasmine's character development.
** When Jasmine can't overcome Violet's tactics, she has to rely on her newly-caught, disobedient Skarmory and his absurd [[MadeOfIron defense]] to win the match.
** Early on Jasmine discovers that compared to many of the other gym leaders, her own strategies tend to be very boring and one-note, typically revolving around her Steelix. As the story progresses, we see her adopt more intricate strategies and diversify her team.
* BreakingBadNewsGently: Pryce delivering the results of Jasmine's Gym Leader exams to her. It helps that Jasmine was expecting to be fired rather than be put on probation.
%%* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: Steven Stone and his wife Cynthia.
* BuryYourGays: Gill from ''Path of Least Resistance'' commits suicide as a response to relentless bullying targeting his homosexuality.
* CapturedSuperEntity: Although it could be applied to some of the stronger Pokemon and their trainers, it doesn't really elevate to this trope. Tobias, however, makes a living out of capturing and taming [[OlympusMons legendary Pokemon]]. His team reads as a laundry list of Pokemon deities, and he's used them to win a World Championship. For this he's become a living legend in his own right and is in contention for the title of "World Strongest Pokemon Trainer".
* TheCasanova: Played straight and subverted. Morty loves flirting with ladies and often succeeds in seducing them, but rarely takes them to bed.
* ChainOfDeals: Jasmine's subordinate Ted asks Jasmine to deliver a love letter for him to Janina, her other subordinate. Jasmine shirks this task off to a third subordinate, Connie. By the end of the chapter, a throw-away character brings the love letter back to Jasmine, telling her a complete stranger shunted the task to him. Jasmine wonders how many hands the letter passed through throughout the day, before finally handing it back to Ted and telling him to give the letter to Janina himself.
* CharacterCatchphrase: "I'm sorry if I misled you, but I'm not interested in being anything but friends." - Jasmine's standard rejection notice. [[spoiler:It's also the phrase Ash uses to turn down Jasmine's confession six years prior to the story.]]
* TheChase: Tyko the Piplup steals the video scoreboard remote. Jasmine, her subordinates, and all of their Pokemon attempt to track the culprit down. HilarityEnsues.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Jasmine and Morty met in middle school, although this might be a subversion in that Jasmine never realized Morty was teasing her out of [[BelligerentSexualTension fondness]].
%%* ChivalrousPervert: Morty.
* ClosedCircle: The Halloween party, after Tobias is murdered. Jasmine, Morty, and co. are trapped in the blacked-out convention center searching for the culprit. [[spoiler: It's an elaborate prank set up by Whitney.]]
%%* CommitmentIssues: Morty may have a problem with this.
* {{Cosplay}}: Jasmine is dressed up by Erika as Sailor Aki Kinyobi-san, a character from a ''Anime/SailorMoon'' {{expy}} anime. This draws plenty of attention from the male cast and blushing on her part at the Halloween party. The author drew artwork of [[http://www.deviantart.com/art/Magical-Girl-Jasmine-376015084 Jasmine in her costume]].
* CountryMatters: Cooltrainer Warren initially earns Jasmine's ire for calling her this. And he wonders why she rejected his love...
* CovertPervert: Lyra claims Ethan is one of these. We've only got her word to go by, but Ethan's SuspiciouslySpecificDenial might support this.
* CurbStompBattle: [[EarthquakesCauseFissures Steelix]] versus the crowd of challengers. [[PyroManiac Typhlosion]] versus Jasmine. Every single battle involving [[TheDreaded Red]] (except [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership Steven Stone]]).
* CynicismCatalyst: Jasmine's hatreds towards men comes off as prudery at first, but going on her issues appear deeper and rooted in an event six years prior to the story.
* DarkerAndEdgier: Needless to say, villain teams are a lot more like actual criminals and terrorists, politics are much shadier and pragmatic, and Pokemon are [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking not restricted to four moves only]].
* DaydreamSurprise: One confusing segment has Morty intrude into Jasmine's bedroom and immediately begin consensual intercourse, which seems OutOfCharacter for Jasmine at this point. It turns out to be one of her masturbation fantasies.
* DayInTheLife:
** "The Tribulations of Being a Gym Leader" chapter is this for Jasmine. She specifically points out the frenetic, stressful, tedious, boring, and crazy events throughout the chapter are ''normal'' for her workday.
** ''Succession'' is framed like this- Just a "normal" day for the CEO of the Pokemon League and most powerful man in the world, Steven Stone.
* DayInTheLimeLight: In addition to Jasmine, the story also focuses on many other side-characters of the Pokemon games, particularly the Johto Gym Leaders.
** ''Succession'' and ''Transmutation'' are themselves Days in the Lime Light for Steven Stone and Silver, respectively.
** ''Things I Can Never Say'' features Erika as the POV character.
** ''Path of Least Resistance'' is Volkner's turn at the forefront.
* DeadpanSnarker: Jasmine, the narrator. In contrast with her ShrinkingViolet personality in the games and her PluckyGirl personality in the anime. To be fair, she displays all three at different points in her life: PluckyGirl during elementary school, ShrinkingViolet during high school, and currently DeadpanSnarker as an adult.
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable:
** Silver's goal towards Red. Red's goal towards Steven. Neither have succeeded so far.
** Jasmine is so convinced she won't be able to beat Red when he eventually comes to her gym, she's trying to pad her win ratio to ensure her inevitable loss doesn't bring her below the 50% ratio required by probation.
* DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler:Jasmine reaches this when her mother casts her out. Unable to turn on her mother, Jasmine redirects her anger into a fantasy about raping and killing Morty. Realizing the horror of her own desires, she resolves to take her own life.]]
* ADogNamedDog: Most Pokemon are simply called by their species names. Since Jasmine is telling the story, she often calls opponent's Pokemon by their species name even when she's been told their nickname.
* DontCelebrateJustYet: Jasmine is ecstatic to catch Skarmory, until she realizes they're in the middle of a giant Skarmory colony full of vicious, territorial birds.
* TheDreaded: Red. He's on tour of the Johto Region challenging the gyms, and is beating them [[CurbStompBattle handily]]. Jasmine is not looking forward to his arrival.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:The culmination of the non-stop, relentless hardships thrust upon Jasmine in Part 4 results in Jasmine deciding to take her life.]]
* DrivingQuestion: What are Jasmine's issues with romance? [[spoiler:The end of Part 2 adds another: Who was the guy from six years ago?]]
* TheDulcineaEffect: [[spoiler: A mere day after meeting Jasmine, Red, or Ash as he was then known, braves a hurricane to bring her pokemon a life-saving medicine. Jasmine subsequently falls head over heels for him.]]
* EuphemismBuster: In the middle of one of Morty's oblique speeches:
--> "He means sex, Jasmine," Whitney explained.
* ExactEavesdropping:
** Jasmine sneaks up upon Morty and Will having a chess match, and finds out a name that is likely to be extremely important to understanding Morty's character.
** Almost-10-year-old Jasmine overhears her parents arguing over her upcoming birthday present, namely whether they can afford a Pokemon. The scene helps establish the family dynamics of Jasmine's childhood.
* ExplainingYourPowerToTheEnemy: Whether from one opponent to another, Jasmine's internal monologue, or by way of onlookers, most advanced tactics are explained in detail to the reader. The two notable examples: Volkner outright lying to Morty about Electavire's ability, and Jasmine explaining her successful tactics to Silver as a way to calm him down and help him make sense of his mid-battle failures (he goes on to win the battle, but not due to the intel gained from Jasmine).
* ExploitedImmunity: During a double-battle, Steven has his Metagross Zen Headbutt his Tyranitar, who is holding down an opponent's Dusknoir. The Psychic attack does nothing to the [[NoSell Dark-type]] Tyranitar, but the force is transferred through to the Ghost-type Dusknoir.
* FirstKiss: Jasmine runs Morty ragged all through Part 2 on promise of giving her SacredFirstKiss to him. By the end of the arc, he perseveres and gets his reward. [[spoiler: '''[[WhamEpisode It isn't her first kiss.]]]]'''
* FlashStep: Keido uses an Accelgor that can move so [[SuperSpeed fast]], it becomes practically invisible. In double battles, by having Accelgor's partner use Shadow Sneak on its shadow, they too can share in the invisibility fun.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[OmnipresentTropes Everywhere, everything, all the time]]. Whatever isn't this is probably a RedHerring.
** Morty's secret [[spoiler: lover is Phoebe, who was mentioned but not named at various points in the story]].
** Erika [[spoiler: secretly harbors a lesbian crush on Jasmine. She was the only one not fooled by Jasmine's facetious claim to be gay in Chapter 1]].
** A complex series of clues lead to the most significant reveal in the work: [[spoiler: Red's real name is Ash, and is the young man from Jasmine's past. Jasmine had hinted that her crush from six years ago had a short name beginning with a vowel, but with Red, the game protagonist, existing, it naturally stood to reason that Ash, Red's anime counterpart, was redundant and non-existent. However, in other parts of the story Red's rival Blue was also named as Gary Oak, hinting that the color names were merely nicknames. Jasmine has met Red several times in the modern story and senses a familiarity with him, but does not make the connection with her past crush due to poor eyesight and poor facial recognition- two weaknesses of hers witnessed on numerous occasions; notably when Jasmine fails to recognize her teenage idol, world-famous Cynthia Stone when the two meet in-person. Despite Jasmine's sense of deja vu, even the reader is led astray; at this point Red was an unnamed stranger and the familiarity could be attributed to Jasmine subconsciously recognizing Red from popular media. Even in a situation that would surely reveal his true name, during his battle with Whitney, Red's name was obfuscated by a glitchy video display board.]]
%%* ForYourOwnGood: Jasmine's mother's reason for interfering with Jasmine's relationships.
* FourGirlEnsemble
** [[TheComicallySerious Jasmine]]: our CharacterNarrator.
** [[GenkiGirl Whitney]]: the [[PassionateSportsgirl sportsy]] one.
** [[OneeSama Erika]]: the TeamMom.
** [[CheerfulChild Lyra]]: the squad's [[TheCutie cute]] [[TheDitz ditz]].
* FreudianSlip: Jasmine frequently makes inadvertent puns, usually with sexual connotations.
%%* FromBadToWorse: [[spoiler:Part 4 in all of its BreakTheCutie glory.]]
* GeorgeJetsonJobSecurity: Minor tardiness lands Jasmine in trouble, eventually leading to "Gym Leader Probation". The entire Pokemon-battling portion of the plot revolves around Jasmine attempting to keep her job.
* TheGovernment: The Pokemon League. They're not actually the government, but they are a world-wide organization with jurisdiction over all Pokemon-related matters, including Pokemon battles and the Gym Leader system. They come with all the ineptitude, corruption, and banality inherent to the trope, which has made Jasmine's career a bureaucratic hell.
* HalloweenEpisode: The first arc of Part 3 consists of this. Naturally, a mysterious murder kicks off a [[OutOfGenreExperience genre swerve]] into [[{{Horror}} survival horror]]. [[spoiler:It turns out to be an elaborate hoax, masterminded by ''[[BewareTheSillyOnes Whitney]]''.]]
* HasAType: For Jasmine, it's tall, dark-haired, clean-shaven, and considerate. Although that describes her father, it most likely comes from Jasmine inheriting her mother's taste in men.
* HeelRealization: Downplayed. Characters experience this in one form or another, with the most prominent one being [[SourPrudes Jasmine]] [[{{Tsundere}} herself]] at the end of Part 3, regarding her dismissive nature towards Morty's affections. [[spoiler:Which is quickly turned upside down to hell and back when she discovers Morty [[PrimalScene cheating on her]]... or more accurately, [[WhamLine cheating with her]].]]
* HeroicBSOD: Jasmine seems afflicted by a chronic version of this. Each time she reboots and tries harder, life throws something new to break her down. The most prominent happens in Part 4, when [[spoiler: she catches her boyfriend Morty cheating on her]], leading to a series of revelations and unwise reactions that strips every joy and refuge from her existence. She becomes so withdrawn that her battle record plummets from a very health positive to a dead tie just from all the missed matches.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: Silver's quest to take down his [[ArchnemesisDad father]] and [[TheMafia Team Rocket]], with some help from Lyra and Ethan.
* HopeSpot:
** [[spoiler: After several chapters' worth of reveals that completely break her spirit, it seems like Jasmine might finally be picking herself up after a call from Whitney. [[FromBadToWorse Nope]].]]
** Subverted during the confrontation with Edward. [[spoiler: Jasmine is about to be raped by Edward, and looks up to find her mother watching the assault. At first she's hopeful her mother will intervene, but when she doesn't, Jasmine thinks it's another hallucination, or else her mother is allowing it to happen to teach her a lesson. Then her mother DOES intervene at the last second and kicks the crap out of Edward. She held back in order to collect video evidence of his crime]].
* InSeriesNickname:
** Morty and only Morty calls Jasmine "Jazz". It annoys her to no end. [[spoiler:She learns to accept it somehow.]]
** And as per usual of the series, many Pokemon are given nicknames by their trainers. Jasmine has "Tyko", a Piplup, and "Choir", a Corsola. Her Skarmory is also sometimes shortened to "Skarm Skarm". The Olivine Lighthouse is still Amphy. [[spoiler: Amphy's mate, who was caught by Morty as part of Jasmine's request, is nicknamed Spectra.]]
* InterruptedSuicide: [[spoiler:Jasmine heads to Crescent Bay Bridge, fully committed to jumping off and ending her life. She arrives to find Ethan doing the same.]]
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[spoiler: Erika harbors a lesbian crush for Jasmine. Realizing Jasmine's heterosexual preference and the impossibility of reciprocation, Erika conspires to give Jasmine happiness by setting her up in a relationship with Volkner. Only in a moment of extreme torment does Erika reveal her feelings for Jasmine with a kiss. Jasmine turns her down gently.]]
* LetsSplitUpGang: Inevitably happens during the [[HalloweenEpisode Halloween murder-mystery]]- the plan ''had'' been to split up and go around the upper-level balcony of a food court to catch a suspect, but the plan didn't survive contact with the [[OurGhostsAreDifferent enemy]].
%%* TheLoad: Some of Jasmine's weaker Pokemon, particularly Graveler.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: [[spoiler: Part 4 reveals that not only were Morty and Erika conspiring to bring Jasmine out of her shell by having Morty fake a relationship with her, but pretty much everyone in Jasmine's social circle was aware of what was going on. [[{{Understatement}} Jasmine does not take this well]].]]
* LoveMakesYouDumb: [[spoiler:Not explicitly stated yet, but it's clear that one of the reasons Erika's plan failed was because both she and Morty had feelings for Jasmine that clouded their better judgement.]]
* LuminescentBlush: Jasmine comes down with these when sexual innuendo aimed at her hits too close to the mark.
* MagneticWeapons: Jasmine has Steelix and Magnezone team up to perform a railgun attack. Steelix coughs up a metal spike to use as a projectile, and Magnezone fires it using its magnetism. The technique proves to be AwesomeButImpractical and ends up causing significant property damage.
* MaleRestroomEtiquette: Steven complains about violators of this while mentally appreciating his own private Executive Restroom.
%%* MamaBear: Jasmine towards her Pokemon, or at least she tries to be.
* MyBelovedSmother: [[spoiler: Erika turns out to be covertly acting as a non-familial example towards Jasmine, to an insane and damaging degree. The author even describes her attitude as "I know what's best for you, because I care for you."]]
* MyGreatestFailure: Steven Stone blames himself for the atmosphere of ultra-competitiveness and brinksmanship that led to the Castelia World Championship Massacre. Upon taking leadership of the Pokemon League, he swears an oath to prevent a repeat of the massacre, as well as addressing the social unrest that resulted from the tragedy.
* NoSell: All of the standard [[ElementalRockPaperScissors elemental type immunities]] of the Pokemon series are in play.
** This is Skarmory's schtick: He wins his first battle despite completely ignoring orders, simply because the opposing [[GreenThumb Grass-type]] specialist has no way to seriously injure the [[MadeOfIron bird]]. Even against stronger opponents, he takes significantly more beating to take down compared to the rest of the Pokemon.
** Red's Pokemon exhibit this, by virtue of their sheer PowerLevel.
* NotAMorningPerson: Most Gym Leaders, on account of their long hours. Jasmine and Morty in particular; she stays up late playing computer games in order to de-stress, and he goes on paranormal hunting trips. The result is general grogginess and grumpiness before the noon-hour. For Jasmine, this leads to the tardiness that kick-starts the probation subplot.
* OneHitKill: Warren abuses a loophole to allow items during his battle against Jasmine. Jasmine turns the tables by using an X Accuracy, ensuring Steelix's Fissure can one-shot foe after foe and burn through Warren's stockpile of Revives.
* OppositesAttract: Invoked by Erika, deconstructed by Jasmine:
--> "Hey, you know what matter and anti-matter do when they attract? Kaboom!"
* PantyThief: The ghost in the gym basement steals Jasmine's several years prior to the main story. [[spoiler:It's a Haunter, and Morty catches it as his first Pokemon.]]
* ParentalNeglect: Jasmine's parents, in different ways:
** Jasmine's mother raised her with strict expectations but little support and no guidance on how to meet those expectations. She often berates her for minor misbehavior and is not above hitting her, and it seems she does so not to try to discipline Jasmine, but out of anger for impinging on her own life.
** Her father is more kind and caring, [[WhenYouComingHomeDad when he's around]].
* ParentsWalkInAtTheWorstTime: Not her actual parent, but close enough; Erika walks in upon Jasmine [[UnusualEuphemism having trouble with her tampons]]. TheTalk shortly follows. [[spoiler: Jasmine gets to taste this trope herself when she [[HilarityEnsues walks in on Amphy and Spectra]] [[InterruptedIntimacy bonding]]. Amphy [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments promptly calls Jasmine "cock-block" in his native language]].]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Jasmine''': "You're supposed to be guiding ships into Olivine's port! [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Not guiding your wing-wang into Spectra's port!]]"]]
* PintsizedPowerhouse: Red's Pikachu is 1 foot 4 inches tall. It also nailed 55 straight KO's on Clair's team, including a 6-on-1 battle, without taking a ''single'' scratch.
* PosthumousCharacter: Mr. Beret, Jasmine's mentor and predecessor as Gym Leader of Olivine City.
* PowerLevels:
** Like the games, Pokemon can be level 1-100, and individual stats such as Speed or Special Attack are occasionally given, but in general they're treated as "guidelines" for comparison's sake and almost never determine the outcome of a battle.
** Trainers are ranked as well. However, this is more akin to media's sports rankings than to actual power level; even in-universe they acknowledge the rankings are, at best, marginally accurate. A section of one chapter has a vivid debate about the most powerful trainer in the world. One character points to the rankings chart for support, while another dissects the analysis of said chart.
* PrecisionFStrike:
** Jasmine so rarely cusses, especially out loud, that her friends ogle her when she does break out a swear word.
** Erika delivers one to Danielle, ending the conversation.
* PuttingTheBandBackTogether: Part 5 is framed around Jasmine reclaiming her Pokemon team.
%%* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech [[spoiler: Chapter 61 ends on Volkner giving an absolutely scathing one to Jasmine.]]
* RedHerring: As with {{Foreshadowing}}, liberally applied throughout the story.
** A guy named Edward is brought up in Part 3 and implied to be the boy who caused Jasmine's hatred towards men. [[spoiler:He's not, but he knows about the guy who did.]]
** Danielle is made out to be Jasmine's rival for Morty's affection. [[spoiler: She's not a serious contender.]] However, [[spoiler: the unseen woman at the Halloween party who was hanging out with Morty backstage and whom Jasmine was told was Danielle, was actually Phoebe, Morty's true lover. Careful readers will pick out the fact that she calls Morty by his given name, while Danielle only uses Morty's surname.]]
* RelationshipUpgrade: After freaking out over their first kiss, Jasmine thinks her second kiss with Morty marks this occasion.
* RescueRomance: [[spoiler: Ash crosses the open ocean through a category five hurricane in order to deliver life-saving medicine for Jasmine's Ampharos. She subsequently develops a deep crush for him.]]
%%* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl: Ethan and Lyra form this kind of couple, with a dose of UptightLovesWild.
* SexEqualsLove: Jasmine thinks sex and love ought to be unequivocally interlinked. [[spoiler: [[NotGoodWithRejection A crush gone wrong]]]] leads to sex becoming a collateral casualty of her hatred towards romance.
* SexIsEvilAndIAmHorny: Jasmine's sexuality starts to manifest in Part 3, despite her conscience's loud protests.
* ShoutOut: Numerous, including ''Franchise/StarWars'', ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'', ''Franchise/SailorMoon'', ''Series/{{Lost}}'', and especially ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}''.
** At one point Tyko forces the gym to listen to opera, the lyrics of which were lifted from the ''VideoGame/{{Portal2}}'' end sequence.
** Jasmine and Ethan's mock fight is full of these. A full list: Boku no Hero Academia, Naruto, Serenity, Hulk, Psy, Hunter x Hunter, Teggen Toppa Gurren Lagan, One Punch Man, Bleach, Coldsteel the Hedgehog meme, Dragonball Z, and Star Trek.
* {{Soaperizing}}: Essentially. Pokemon and Pokemon battles are a subplot compared to the human-focused romance and drama that make up the main plot.
%%* StalkerWithACrush: Cooltrainer Warren.
* StrawNihilist: Silver starts out as one, believing mainly in EvilVersusEvil. He gets better as Lyra's personality starts to wear off on him.
* TakeOurWordForIt: The group describes Steven and Red's exhibition match as the battle of the ages, but Jasmine wasn't around to witness it ([[FirstPersonPerspective ergo she couldn't tell]] [[UnreliableNarrator the readers about it]]).
* TantrumThrowing: When Jasmine [[spoiler: learns the truth of Morty's infidelity]], she throws an entire computer monitor against a wall hard enough to break the screen. One wonders what would have happened had she been face-to-face with the perpetrator.
%%* TeamMom: Erika. [[spoiler: There's more to her than what meets the eye.]]
* ThereAreNoTherapists: Well, there are, but Jasmine's too stubborn to see them. [[spoiler: This is a major plot point. Erika's belief that Jasmine can't or won't seek professional help for her issues leads to Erika coming up with her plan as a way to help Jasmine. Subverted in Chapter 76 when Jasmine tells Ethan that she once shared her darkest secret with a therapist who dismissed it like it was nothing.]]
* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: Jasmine puts on an image of femininity, preferring feminine dresses and acting demure and sensitive under normal conditions, but underneath she has the personality of a tomboy. She can be bossy, loud, and vulgar when agitated, is interested in all manner of traditionally masculine hobbies, from Pokemon battling, to hiking, to video games, and strongly believes in female equality in all professions. She doesn't mind getting dirty or braving danger in order to help the ones she cares for (shoveling manure, fording ponds, climbing a mountain in the middle of a snowstorm, etc). [[spoiler: Her relationship with Morty was strained from the beginning, partially due to both of them trying to assert themselves as the "pants" in the relationship. Her relationship with Ethan is more fruitful because she can assume the "pants" role and Ethan the "skirt" role.]]
* TrainStationGoodbye: Morty says goodbye to a sleeping Jasmine and then gets ''off'' the train.
* TroubledBackstoryFlashback: Used to show Jasmine's childhood, particularly some of the more jarring moments with her mother.
%%* {{Tsundere}}: Jasmine towards Morty. Also Morty towards Jasmine during middle school. Lyra and most of the cast think Silver is one.
* TheUnapologetic: Jasmine ''never'' apologizes to another human in good faith. She is often called stubborn and prideful, even by herself - a trait she got from her mother.
* UnreliableNarrator: Jasmine constantly gives her own opinion on things, fails or is unable to convey other people's knowledge, opinions, or feelings, often makes factual mistakes, and hides things about herself from the reader- [[spoiler: like the fact that she had been kissed years before Morty reappeared]]. Jasmine acknowledges she's a self-centered and biased narrator. In Jasmine's own words, "I'm the most dishonest person I know."
* UnresolvedSexualTension: Jasmine/Morty. Figuring out why Jasmine won't just do it is the main focus of the plot.
* WeightWoe:
** Erika suffers from a mild case of this, as she tends to binge on chocolate when stressed. Mild, in that Erika is still well figured and it's not a major issue to her.
** On the other hand, Jasmine is repeatedly teased for being [[HollywoodThin inordinately skinny]]. Erika constantly insists on feeding her, Morty and others remark on how child-like she looks and treat her like a little kid. [[spoiler: This becomes HarsherInHindsight when we learn Jasmine's parents frequently neglected to feed her]].
* WellIntentionedExtremist:
** From the back story, there's Lance, a man who is disgusted by Pokemon abuse and wants to see Pokemon treated well by trainers. During his tenure as Chairman of the Pokemon League, he goes about trying to "fix" these issues through increasingly draconian and elitist policies that wind up allying him with people who outright fear and dislike Pokemon ownership. It all ends with him ousted and incredibly unpopular.
** [[spoiler: Erika and Morty. They're genuinely concerned for Jasmine and want her to be happy, but they had no qualms about manipulating her or conspiring to create a doomed relationship to bring her out of her shell.]]
* WhamEpisode:
** At the end of Part 3, [[spoiler: Jasmine discovers Morty having sex with another woman]].
** At the beginning of Part 4, [[spoiler: Morty reveals he is engaged to Phoebe, and that he never said he loved Jasmine.]]
*** Parts 3 and 4 are basically one bombshell after the other.
** After so much pain, hardship, and emotional turmoil, it all culminates at the end of Part 4 with the greatest shock of all:
--->[[spoiler:Jasmine goes to Crescent Bay Bridge to end her life.]]\\
[[spoiler: And there finds Ethan about to jump himself. The fateful meeting averts both of their deaths.]]
* WhamLine:
** The end of Part 2, from Jasmine to Morty:
--->[[spoiler:You can't take what's not mine to give... You weren't my FirstKiss]].
** [[spoiler:Chapter 56, from Morty to Jasmine, in quick succession:]]
--->[[spoiler:She [Phoebe] is my muse, my solace, my hope. The girl of my dreams, and the woman I love, and intend to marry.]]\\
[[spoiler:... I never said I loved you.]]
** After almost four years of build up, Chapter 63 drops the biggest bomb in the entire story with two lines
--->[[spoiler:Ashley K. “Red” Satoshi]]\\
[[spoiler:Jasmine:....my first, and only, crush.]]
* WomenPreferStrongMen: As applied to the Pokemon Universe and understood by Morty, women are attracted to powerful trainers. He tries to attract Jasmine by winning the Gym Leader Tournament.
* WorthLivingFor: [[spoiler: Jasmine waves off her own suicidal thoughts in order to try to save Ethan from his suicidal thoughts.]]
* YouNeedToGetLaid: All of her friends, with varying degrees of politeness, to Jasmine. Contrasts with her Mother's [[SexIsEvil advice]]. Whether to resist or give in to this advice forms much of the romantic plot.
----