Fight Ice With Ice

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park

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Kyoukon

Annie!
She/Her
16
Employee at the Stray
Cadet
189 height
189 height
i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.
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Annie Mei
Fight Ice With Ice
POSTED ON Jan 1, 2020 16:51:08 GMT
Annie Mei Avatar
[attr="class","anniepost"]
[player]http://k007.kiwi6.com/hotlink/rmxgo5zoxb/13._xxxxx.mp3[/player]
Annie had understood what ‘showing mastery of ice Pokémon’ meant. She may not have understood who was supposed to be showing the mastery.

At least, that was the assumption a passer-by could make as she stood outside the gym. The trainer and her four monsters stood in a circle (three of them ice-types), with their leader several minutes into a big speech. Blitz, a Weavile and the team’s veteran fighter, knew better than most that Annie could go on all day if she felt that it would lift her comrades’ spirits before a trial. To her credit, it was working – for most of them. The Weavile was bored, and it showed on his face. He only nodded along because he’d learned the hard way that Annie wouldn’t stop until she felt that they’d all gotten the message.

He also suspected that it was more of a confidence boost for herself than it was for them, but she’d never admit it.

An observer could also safely assume that there was something special about her team. A teenage trainer with four fully-evolved Pokemon was fairly common, but anybody that could recognise the creatures knew that most of them weren’t quite right. Blitz looked normal enough, but a golden Forretress, purple Ninetales and a green snowy Darmanitan could all draw eyes on their own, never mind standing beside each other. Annie, on the other hand, was mostly distinctive for the wrong reasons. Deep into winter, the girl was stuck wearing the same tracksuit she wore every other day. She’d picked up a scarf and a pair of gloves for the occasion, but they were adult size and she was not. Perhaps her wild gesturing and enthusiasm was a way for her to keep herself fired up… But, more likely, that was just how she always was.

“-on each other’s backs and this’ll go a lot smoother. Especially you, Bastion! A lot is riding on you setting the stage for us, so whatever happens, hold out until the job is done. Even then, this is going to be risky. It’s a trial by fire- well, ice- for this team, and gym leaders never go down easy, but I wouldn’t bring us here if I didn’t think we had a shot! We’re going to make the best darn Hail team that guy’s ever seen!” The quartet cheered, grunted and purred their approval. Finally, Annie was satisfied, and she returned them to their capsules. The smile on her face wavered once they were gone, but only for a second. Only for as long as it took her to remind herself that she couldn’t doubt them. They’d trained too hard for that.

The girl took a deep breath in, turned around and marched into the gym. Both arms flung the front doors wide open, and once inside, she called out to the gym leader, receptionist, janitor, whatever poor soul had to face her first. “Wakey-wakey, Slateport Gym! Annie Mei is here, and it’s about time for her big fight!”
[attr="class","wizzcred"]
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spiral

silph
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FERNANDO SILPH
Fight Ice With Ice
POSTED ON Jan 25, 2020 2:25:52 GMT
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[attr="class","spiral"] The receptionist had been wondering who that was lingering outside. She can make out the shadows of several figures but couldn't distinguish them from the white frosted glass doors. After more than a few minutes of their silhouettes standing there, she pays them no mind and returns to her computer screen, typing away at another challenge request.

It's only when Annie pries the doors apart and march into the Gym that the receptionist looks back up from her computer screen. She answers the trainer with a silent smile and expecting stare, waiting for her to finish her declaration before welcoming her.

"Hello, Annie. Welcome to the Slateport Gym. Did you have a reservation for your gym challenge?"



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Kyoukon

Annie!
She/Her
16
Employee at the Stray
Cadet
189 height
189 height
i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.
awards
639 posts
Annie Mei DOLLARS
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TAG WITH @kyoukon
Annie Mei
Fight Ice With Ice
POSTED ON Jan 25, 2020 8:56:35 GMT
Annie Mei Avatar
[attr="class","anniepost"]
Her smile twitched, then wavered. Arms that had been held up since she’d opened the doors slowly lowered to her sides. “A reservation? Like a restaurant?” The kind of restaurants she couldn’t afford, at that. She gave pause, one finger tapping her bottom lip. “I definitely came here before. And I definitely said a bunch of words to the lady at the front, who may or may not have been you. I said I wanted a fight soon, and that I’d be coming back for it. Does that count?” A revitalized eager grin on the girl’s face implied that she thought it should.
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spiral

silph
SIR
twenty-nine
august 12th
saffron
oppressive
silph co. ceo
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POWER IS TAKEN, NEVER GIVEN—SO TAKE WHAT YOU ARE OWED
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FERNANDO SILPH
Fight Ice With Ice
POSTED ON Jan 26, 2020 0:40:07 GMT
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[attr="class","spiral"] "Yes! You need to make a reservation to challenge the gym so that the Gym Leader can make adequate accommodations before hand." The receptionist answers with a nervous laughter but maintains her smile throughout the exchange. Rather than rely on Annie being able to piece two and two together, the receptionist looks back down at her computer and starts to enter in her information. Considering the eccentric type of trainers who've visited the gym, it's not unlikely that they just have difficulty communicating as such.

"How do you spell your name Annie? A-n-n-i-e M-a-y?"



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Kyoukon

Annie!
She/Her
16
Employee at the Stray
Cadet
189 height
189 height
i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.
awards
639 posts
Annie Mei DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @kyoukon
Annie Mei
Fight Ice With Ice
POSTED ON Jan 26, 2020 10:02:21 GMT
Annie Mei Avatar
[attr="class","anniepost"]
“That sounds like a whole lot of extra steps, but sure! That means there’s a free slot today, right? Because I already got myself all fired up, and me and my guys have a really long pep talk out there-“ She jerked a thumb towards the door. “So if we wait too long we’ll be starting at a disadvantage!” A half-truth at best; if what she’d shown so far meant anything, she could keep up her enthusiasm for a while.

“That’s M-e-i! Special spelling for a special girl. Okay, er… Other reservation details… I walked here, I’d like to fight as soon as possible, I’m almost sixteen, I like the heat, but for a fight my Pokemon are going to need lots of cold and ice. Well, there’s four of them, but three are ice-types so it would be best. Wait, is it cheating if the gym leader is? …If it is, then forget that part. My biggest goal in life right now is to get a hat. A really cool, one-of-a-kind hat. Oh! And these guys won’t be fighting on their own, if that’s alright. I mean, I’ll be there too, but I’d prefer if they fight two at a time so they can help each other out!”

There was a slight possibility that she’d never made a reservation before.

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spiral

silph
SIR
twenty-nine
august 12th
saffron
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silph co. ceo
council member
POWER IS TAKEN, NEVER GIVEN—SO TAKE WHAT YOU ARE OWED
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FERNANDO SILPH
Fight Ice With Ice
POSTED ON Jan 28, 2020 6:51:36 GMT
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[attr="class","spiral"] "Well, no," the receptionist is reluctant to rain on her parade but expectations need to be tempered. "The Gym Leader doesn't usually make trips here unless there's a scheduled challenge. There's one for later today but I don't think he'd come early."

She doesn't even get a chance to construe a solid answer before Annie goes off on a tangent. The beginning sounds promising and she starts to type the information down, such as her age, and her challenge type, but there's too irrelevant details. It all goes too fast and despite her waning patience, the reception does her best to answer her with a smile. "You don't happen to have your trainer ID on you? That might make this faster. I'll see what I can do for you in the mean time."



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Kyoukon

Annie!
She/Her
16
Employee at the Stray
Cadet
189 height
189 height
i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.
awards
639 posts
Annie Mei DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @kyoukon
Annie Mei
Fight Ice With Ice
POSTED ON Jan 28, 2020 9:13:49 GMT
Annie Mei Avatar
[attr="class","anniepost"]
The thought that she’d be denied her battle for the day barely crossed her mind, let alone her face. “So you’re saying there’s a chance. No problem. I’ve worked with better odds before.” She flashed the woman a thumbs-up, oblivious to how little she was helping the situation. At the mention of ID, the girl’s smile took a turn for the sheepish. She had her hiker’s backpack on, half her size and near-stuffed with her belongings… But a card wasn’t among its contents.

“Yeeeeeah, funny story. I kinda-sorta don’t have a trainer ID. Or… any ID, I guess. I’m not sure that I ever did. Sorry.” An apologetic smile until her eyes widened. “But I can keep answering questions! I’ve got a lot of answers, trust me! Or we can take a picture right now, if that’s what you need! It’ll have to be with your camera since I don’t have one, but I’m pretty photogenic so it’ll be quick!”
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silph
SIR
twenty-nine
august 12th
saffron
oppressive
silph co. ceo
council member
POWER IS TAKEN, NEVER GIVEN—SO TAKE WHAT YOU ARE OWED
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FERNANDO SILPH
Fight Ice With Ice
POSTED ON Jan 29, 2020 3:49:43 GMT
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[attr="class","spiral"] "You don't have a trainer ID? And you're sixteen?" Annie had said fifteen but since she had jumbled it with so many words and described it as 'almost sixteen' rather than fifteen, the reception misheard what she said while half-listening. "What about your parents? We can see what's under file for them and search your ID that way!"



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Kyoukon

Annie!
She/Her
16
Employee at the Stray
Cadet
189 height
189 height
i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.
awards
639 posts
Annie Mei DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @kyoukon
Annie Mei
Fight Ice With Ice
POSTED ON Jan 29, 2020 7:47:09 GMT
Annie Mei Avatar
[attr="class","anniepost"]
Almost sixteen. I thought you were writing this down.” Her head tilted to one side as she wondered what the lady had been doing that whole time. What had all the questions been for?

Oh. Oh. The lady was set on making it one of those conversations. The kind where the other person couldn’t put the pieces together about a lone teenager with no papers, carrying everything to her name on her back. A reasonable person couldn’t fault the lady – young trainers weren’t all that uncommon, after all -, but so many rounds of the same talk and ensuing pity party had worn at her patience. Annie deflated, her eyes suddenly telling that she’d rather be somebody else. With all the enthusiasm of a minimum-wage employee, she began:

“I don’t know who my parents are. I was left at an orphanage. In Kanto. It’s ashes now, so there’s nothing to check there. I left when it burned down, because it was in the middle of the Rocket invasion. I’ve been living on the road since. I don’t have any ID because every piece of paperwork I had was in that building, and I haven’t had a fixed address to start making new ones. And, to be honest, even if I could, I’ve had other priorities, like finding a fixed address and making sure my Pokemon are taken care of, or previously, surviving the invasion.”

Blunt? Perhaps, but experience had taught Annie that hitting all the key points had saved her about three minutes of tiring back and forth.
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spiral

silph
SIR
twenty-nine
august 12th
saffron
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silph co. ceo
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POWER IS TAKEN, NEVER GIVEN—SO TAKE WHAT YOU ARE OWED
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FERNANDO SILPH
Fight Ice With Ice
POSTED ON Jan 30, 2020 1:37:44 GMT
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[attr="class","spiral"] Annie's attitude is noted and unappreciated but the receptionist continues to hold a polite demeanor as professionally as she can. Rather than dignify the question with an answer, she just waits for Annie to continue on while searching for something on her browser.

And after Annie's explanation, she's glad to have held her patience. Naturally, her expression softens a bit out of sympathy but she doesn't dare interject. The mention of Kanto is still a sensitive topic for most former citizens and considering the Gym Leader's past, she knows better than to make light of the region.

"Uhhh!" The sudden change in atmosphere is bleak and awkward — she can barely steer the conversation and stutters in the moment out of nervousness. "Let me see what the Gym Leader says and he'll decide from there how we'll proceed."

And, for the first time since her employment, the receptionist has never been so eager to text Fernando Silph.




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Kyoukon

Annie!
She/Her
16
Employee at the Stray
Cadet
189 height
189 height
i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.
awards
639 posts
Annie Mei DOLLARS
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TAG WITH @kyoukon
Annie Mei
Fight Ice With Ice
POSTED ON Jan 30, 2020 10:00:10 GMT
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[attr="class","anniepost"]
Tagging:
Some people fell over themselves apologising. Some suddenly saw her as a lost puppy that needed their guidance. One woman had saw it fit to hug her; another man walked away without a response. Compared to those, the woman steering clear of her little speech was a welcome change.

“Thanks. I appreciate it.” Annie forced on a faint smile, but even that barely lasted two seconds. She sought out a chair to rest on; in the absence of one, she’d settle herself on the floor. She stared at the floor while she waited, her brow furrowed as if it was to blame for her problems. Given a few minutes of peace, she’d bounce back to her regular self. She always did. She had to, if she was going to keep herself sane.
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silph
SIR
twenty-nine
august 12th
saffron
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silph co. ceo
council member
POWER IS TAKEN, NEVER GIVEN—SO TAKE WHAT YOU ARE OWED
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FERNANDO SILPH
Fight Ice With Ice
POSTED ON Feb 1, 2020 21:15:33 GMT
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[attr="class","spiral"] Thankfully, Annie takes a seat among the many chairs that line the lobby. Naturally, Fernando does not respond instantly but after a few minutes the receptionist gets a response and calls out for Annie.

"Annie! We can go ahead with your challenge but your options will be limited to what we have available for today. Mr. Silph would also like for us to go ahead and get you registered with a trainer ID prior to the challenge." The sound of shuffling papers can be heard and a clipboard with a form is left on the counter for Annie to grab and fill out. "Just fill it out to the best that you can and we'll take a picture of you when you're done!"



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played by

Kyoukon

Annie!
She/Her
16
Employee at the Stray
Cadet
189 height
189 height
i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.
awards
639 posts
Annie Mei DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @kyoukon
Annie Mei
Fight Ice With Ice
POSTED ON Feb 1, 2020 22:33:58 GMT
Annie Mei Avatar
[attr="class","anniepost"]
The good news brought out the sparkle in her eyes. “Really? Oh, thank geez! I don’t know what I would have told my guys if all that talk was for nothing!” Two palms planted onto the armrests propelled her onto her feet, backpack and all. There was a catch, of course, but a battle with strings attached was better than none at all. The vigour she carried as she walked in showed itself again as she approached the lady’s desk, setting herself to work filling in the form once she’d pulled her gloves off. “This is gonna be great! I’ll live with whatever options there are. A good trainer’s got to be adaptable and all, right?”

Thankfully, there was a lot that she could fill in. Contact details were left blank for obvious reasons, with the exception of an email address, but as the receptionist had already learned, she was more than happy to share details about herself.

“…Sorry if I seemed a bit grumpy for a bit there earlier. I’ve been camping outside the city, and I came in just to try this gym out. Imagine carrying all this around for the day just to hear that you’re being roadblocked by something you’ve already been stuck on for a while.” Her smile took a turn for the sheepish as she tried to make eye contact. “That’s not your fault, though. You just wanted to know.”

Silence hung in the air as she filled out the form as best she could. Honesty was the name of the game, unless the form asked about anything of a criminal nature. She’d already revealed enough uncomfortable truths about herself without discussing her desperate measures. “Why is ID so important here, anyway? The other gym I went to just made me sign a bunch of waivers, and then they were happy to drug me up.”
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silph
SIR
twenty-nine
august 12th
saffron
oppressive
silph co. ceo
council member
POWER IS TAKEN, NEVER GIVEN—SO TAKE WHAT YOU ARE OWED
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FERNANDO SILPH
Fight Ice With Ice
POSTED ON Feb 3, 2020 9:44:14 GMT
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[attr="class","spiral"] "Oh no, it's quite alright! It's understanding considering your circumstances. I'm sure you've been through a lot." The receptionist is quick to dismiss Annie's apology, a mixture of awkward embarrassment and sympathy quickening her speech. The mention of her carrying all her belongings and camping outside the city go amiss and for the moment the realization that Annie is homeless goes over the receptionist's head.

"Mr. Silph prefers to do things by the book. It's easier to keep track of challengers, reach out to winners, and other documentation with proper ID. We also need to make sure that challenges are legal as well. And I suppose we can also help get trainers like yourself ID'd too!"

The form itself is very simple, requiring basic information about the trainer and not much else. The assumption was that any trainer applying didn't already have crimes under their name and even if they did, they wouldn't confess to it. When Annie returns it, the receptionist accepts it with a nod before showing her a list of available challenges. Among them is one for trying their hand against ICE pokemon in their home field.



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Kyoukon

Annie!
She/Her
16
Employee at the Stray
Cadet
189 height
189 height
i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.
awards
639 posts
Annie Mei DOLLARS
part of
TAG WITH @kyoukon
Annie Mei
Fight Ice With Ice
POSTED ON Feb 4, 2020 10:11:47 GMT
Annie Mei Avatar
[attr="class","anniepost"]
If she hadn’t learned to push aside the darker thoughts that came with her ‘circumstances’, she would’ve been consumed by them months into her journey. Perhaps, then, it isn’t much of a surprise that her smile doesn’t waver, as long as she isn’t made to bring up specifics. “Well, you know what they say. When life gives you venom, you make venomade!”

Instead, the woman’s explanation gave her food for thought. Who would be ‘illegal’, and crazy enough to try a gym challenge anyway? “Guess I never considered that any bad guys would be that bold…” Then again, it wasn’t unheard of for criminals to travel to new regions, trying to start a new life, to say nothing of characters the League suspected. “This Mister Silph must be something, to make his gym into, like, border patrol. …And you too, of course! Since I guess he wouldn’t even see the bad guys if you stopped them.”

Her finger landed on a challenge before she’d finished reading the sheet properly. “Ice! That one. Wait a second.” She squinted, leaning in a little closer. “It’s against ice types?” It was the most surprise she’d shown since walking in, but even that wouldn’t last. “Alright, I can work with that! All the better to show off our skills! I’m dedicating this future victory to the kind receptionist lady that didn’t kick me out for needing a hand. I hope that you get a chance to watch too!”
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