“I was just thinking. About how we met and all that, back at the orphanage. They said that somebody found you, abandoned outside of town. That technically, they weren’t an orphanage for Pokemon, but they made an exception for you. Probably because they realised that we weren’t letting you go anyway.” She paused mid-step, turning to face her Pokemon properly. “I’m glad that we kept you. …In case I don’t say that often enough.” The sentiment got through to her partner. It was a moment too sweet for the sheep to disrupt.

❤ wizz

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Kit knew her smile well. He’d seen it many times before, a wistful, bittersweet look. It cropped up occasionally when she was left to her own thoughts. That was to say, he saw it less and less as their Camp grew in size, and she had more partners to keep her company. There were no humans Annie Mei trusted with that look, and very few Pokemon, but as the girl’s first, he’d earned the privilege that was seeing her vulnerable.

The wild Pokemon could wait. Just for a moment longer. There were a few things that the Zoroark missed about being small, but having paws wasn’t one of them. With arms, he could use a gesture she’d taught him so many years ago. Arms gently wrapped around the child’s body, reminding her that she wasn’t, and hadn’t been, quite as alone as she’d told herself. Soon enough, she returned it too.

❤ wizz

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“Hey. It’s alright, I’m fine.” She patted the Pokemon on the back shortly before freeing herself. “I’m not sad or anything, just… thinking. But thanks.” She didn’t bother to force a better smile on, because she knew that she didn’t have to with him. “Going down memory lane and all that. Thinking about… Kanto.” She’d hesitated, allowing herself to be lost in her thoughts again. Calling it ‘the orphanage’ sounded oddly clinical to her, and yet, she couldn’t bring herself to call it home. It was her home, or at least the closest to one she’d ever known, and yet it felt off. The revolving-door cast that made up her peers and caretakers. The residents, rejects that were mostly friends because they were the closest each other had. The lack of funding that led to a life that was just okay. Spending her days wandering, hoping that she might be whisked away.

It wasn’t terrible – even Annie could acknowledge that. She’d heard horror stories about children raised in care. And yet, even from a young age, she’d plant herself in front of a TV and watch stories of better families, more adventurous lives, fame and fortune… If not for those, she might have been content with ‘good enough’.

❤ wizz

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The glimpses she’d received into other lives made her yearn for something greater. It was why, as terrible and nightmarish as their escape had been, she didn’t find herself minding much that the orphanage had been burned to the ground, and that they could probably never return to their hometown. A life of comfort and complacency had been torn away from them, and she’d been forced on the path of an adventurer to survive Rocket’s decimation. It had been hard. Painful. Stressful. Terrifying at times, and anxiety-inducing at others. Her and her partner had learned survival and fighting skills the long and hard way.

She wouldn’t wish it upon anybody, and she wasn’t exactly in a rush to go back to that life. As troublesome as being homeless in Hoenn was, it was still a massive improvement over a region hijacked by terrorists.

The girl chuckled as the Poochyena ran past. If she told anybody that escaping Kanto had taught her to look on the bright side, they might have thought that she’d left her sanity back there too.

❤ wizz

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She let out a sigh, but unlike her smile, it was more relieved than it was burdened. “We don’t give ourselves enough credit. For making it here, I mean." She turned to her partner, almost confident that he didn’t understand the specifics. The overall meaning, at least, he seemed to get, if the smile he returned meant anything. “A lot could’ve gone wrong. I mean, a lot did go wrong, but we’re still here. Surviving. Winning, in our own way.” Kit nodded along with her words, giving the best words of agreement a Zoroark could.

He stopped mid-speech, his arm shooting out to stop Annie in her tracks. The grass in front of them was rumbling, and she’d been too distracted to notice. The ears, followed by the face, of a golden Tepig appeared from the brush. It didn’t look happy to have been disturbed. Annie looked happy to have found something to disturb. “Kit, sic ‘em.” It was all her partner needed to hear. A light attack against the little critter would serve to weaken it without outright killing it, and so Kit settled for a heavily restrained Focus Blast. His target toppled over, leaving him ripe for Annie’s picking.

❤ wizz

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With yet another little golden Pokemon added to her pack, Annie continued to stroll through the safari. With her inner thoughts put to rest, and her closest companion by her side, she felt free to focus on the task at hand. Another Pokemon sprinted past them. Small, green, shady-looking. Kit looked to her for commands, but the trainer gestured for him to let the grass-type go. She wasn’t in a rush to use the last ball.

❤ wizz

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So of course, the next Pokemon that appeared had to catch her eye. Annie poorly supressed a giggle as the Riolu ran into view, running in a manner akin to a certain animated ninja wizard. It stopped before her, and did… nothing at all. Annie hadn’t realised that she didn’t have to choose the Pokemon; it had read the aura of her and Kit, and it had chosen them. As such, the Pokemon dropping to one knee was a bizarre twist to them… But who was Annie to deny a beast the opportunity to join her? A Pokeball was thrown in short order, and her time in the Safari Zone came to an end.
Until next month.

❤ wizz