‘Synthesis’ sounded familiar, but she didn’t realise just how troublesome it would be until she saw the injuries fading. All of a sudden, it wasn’t just a matter of taking down a vicious enemy, but dealing damage faster than it could heal itself. If the gym leader looked across the field, she’d see an unmistakable look of dread on the girl’s face. It wouldn’t last. It only took seconds for oft-repeated words to echo through her mind. Her own words. Whether or not her partner needed to hear them, she would give them a voice.

“And! Camp Annie Tenet Number Five!” As silly as the words may have sounded, she held nothing but conviction in her tone. “You’re Likely To Succeed If You Try!” Maybe it was the familiarity, maybe it was the volume. Either way, the words reached the Scizor through his aroma-induced haze, returning a call of “Scizor!” in return.

“Then let’s get to trying harder – and winning! On your feet!” Clamp stood up. “Arms at the ready!” Annie drew her fists in front of her. He didn’t look back to see her, but mimicking the action with glowing blue pincers told that this wasn’t their first time. “Quick Attack!” There wasn’t much of a distance to close, but the recovery move had made it brought on the urge to hasten the fight. Likewise, a hook to the face might have been seen as brutal, but The Lurantis had move than shown that it could take a rough hit.

❤ wizz

Annie Mei

The Lurantis went down, but both trainer and Pokemon stood, still poised for battle. It took several seconds for Clamp to realise that his enemy wouldn’t be getting back up, and a few more for Annie to draw the same conclusion. A furrowed brow and a slight frown told of brief confusion, which slowly gave way to relief, then excitement.

“Clamp, you’re a champ!” She rushed onto the battlefield, arms wide open. Even without a look back, the Scizor’s squinted eyes said that he knew the hug was coming, and that he wasn’t in the best state to receive it. Thankfully, by the time Annie had finished her cheering run, she seemed to realise as much, drawing to a halt beside her champion. One arm lowered. The other offered a closed fist to him. With a half-cocked smile, he completed the fist bump, finally relinquishing the Swords Dance. “That. Was. Pretty awesome, if I might say so myself. Not without my help, of course, but you really showed your stuff!”

The Scizor grunted and plopped down onto the arena’s floor. It put him at the perfect height to get a few pats on the head before Annie focused her attention on the gym leader instead. An ear-to-ear grin barely contained her words. “First! I wanted to say that I love your hair! And that it matches your gym! Did you dye it? Actually, you don’t have to answer that.” She quickly shook her head, trying to focus.

“More importantly… I want something from you! Besides a gym badge, of course.” She stood before the woman, hands on hips, without a trace of shame on her face. “Your choice what. Maybe a charm, or some advice, or some cash, or your favourite training spot. Something worth remembering.” Perhaps the victory had emboldened her to dare to ask for more. Perhaps that was simply a day in the life of Annie Mei.

❤ wizz

Annie Mei