[break][break]She was nearing the end of her trip to Mauville. One of her associates, really a family friend on her father’s side, had been forced to leave their home for a fortnight to handle some work related business and needed a house sitter to look after their Pokemon. Said house sitter had, obviously, needed to be Fumiki. Her father was old now, too old to make the trip in the dead of winter, and so the duty had fallen upon Fumiki’s shoulders. Still, her time in Mauville was over but as she was making her way to the Corviknight taxi stand a most curious sight strayed into her field of view.[break][break]

She had seen the race track before after all, having been walking past it at least a few times a week, but this was the first day Fumiki saw it so busy as well as the first time she saw that yellow streak blazing down the track. How curious. She tilted her head sides, shooting a glance towards the little Phantump floating just above her shoulder. He, like her, was shielding beneath a parasol not that the weather really demanded it. It was just a fashion choice for her.[break][break]

The little Pokemon met Fumiki’s gaze and, with a simple nod, expressed their shared curiosity. The two of them had spent so many years together that they rarely needed to actually ask each other anything, their experience with the other’s quirks sufficient to know how to read them. That settled it then. Fumiki and her partner would surrender to the whims of curiosity and investigate the assembled crowd.[break][break]

Careful steps, slow and cautious, carried Fumiki towards the crowd. She worked her way through it, approaching the front but unable to get any closer than the third row. However, she did end up standing near the looming Manectric of course Fumiki was still entirely unaware of who the gym leader happened to be and was equally unaware of who the Manectric’s rider was. She did still shoot Josh a gentle smile though, bowing her head slightly in non-verbal greeting.[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] @joshdelvin[break]