Annie put a finger to her bottom lip. “Sounds like a wise man’s words,” she muttered, her tone implying that it didn’t suit him much. “But I’ll try to think of it more.” He had some good points, and maybe even good intentions, but he was threatening to ruin the points he’d earned from her with his chuckles. She realised a moment later that he wasn’t laughing at her – just the idea of being normal. At least they could agree on that much.

“I guess I get it. Normal people spend their whole lives just drifting through, blending in. Sounds… dull. And boring. And lame. I don’t know about getting all those holes in me though. That sounds… painful.” Then again, she wasn’t in much of a position to judge. She was lucky that her clothes could be mistaken for a planned outfit, and not the cobbled together batch of charity shop clothes that they were. “If I wanted to give myself some flare – and I do – I would go for something less… permanent. Like a signature style or a hat. A really fancy, one-of-a-kind hat. A leader-y hat, so everybody knows who’s in charge.”

He purred under Evan’s hand, and met the Vaporeon’s eyes with hope and happiness. Small as he may have been, he wasn’t easily unnerved- even as the other trainer tugged him aside. He merely looked confused, as did Annie, but only the latter jumped as the Simisage tried to take a chunk out of its prey. The Shinx was on the alert for more enemies, but only found a Vulpix peering out from behind a rock. Its large eyes reflected curiosity instead of intimidation – a welcome change from the waves of Pokemon they’d been facing. Bolt looked to his trainer for orders; once she’d steadied her heart from the attack, she nodded to him. “Alright, go make a friend.”

Off he went, keeping to a walk and showing a faint smile, so the wild one knew that he meant no harm. That left Annie more time to interrogate the old man. “Why so many, then? Doesn’t it hurt, or take a while to take on and off? Don’t they get cold at night or something? And why try so hard to stand out anyway? I mean, I’ve got my reasons, but people call them silly all the time.” Likely because she only told them half of it. “So I wanna hear yours. Maybe there’s some secret that I’m missing.”

The Shinx returned from his mission, new friend not far behind. Both of them looked up at the trainer expectantly. That was all that she needed to see. She pulled out a Pokeball and showed it to the Vulpix. It didn’t back away, which was her cue to tap it against its head.

❤ wizz

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Nothing about the process of getting and maintaining a piercing sounded appealing to the girl, and it showed. He could have explained the concept of cooties to her and gotten the same reaction. Still, she’s kind enough to spare him her comments, beyond a “…I guess. To each their own, right?” Her question had gone mostly unanswered, but if calling him out on that meant having to endure more talk about putting holes in himself, then she’d happily pass.

Instead, she looked down, hoping to find Bolt. Of course, her Pokemon had taken her moment of distraction as a chance to wander off and pick a fight. The roars of a Pyroar helped her find her Pokemon, who was sinking his teeth into the beast with a Crunch. “I swear, I’m going to get a leash for you some day,” she grumbled, but unlike last time, she didn’t sound concerned. Bolt was small, but his intimidation tactics often meant that one move was enough to scare off a wild Pokemon. Just as expected, the Pyroar began to back away once his attacker let up, and turned tail shortly after.

A smug Shinx marched back to his trainer’s side; she had a disapproving look for him, but decided to keep the rest for later. “If you own a place, shouldn’t you be over there instead of here?” She turned back to Evan. “Clothes are one thing, but even I know that there isn’t much business to do out here. Especially not with me. The only business I’ve got is selling berries and kicking butt.” And even that was debatable, as he’d already seen.

❤ wizz

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“…Wasn’t what I was expecting,” she admitted eventually. Still, he’d seemed honest enough, and his answer implied a little respect for her, age be damned. It was a refreshing change from the uphill battle she often endured just to get an adult to give her the time of day. He’d earned a little smile for that. That, and for helping old people, which was always a plus in her book.

Perhaps that was why she decided to tell the truth as well. She would have loved to tell him that business was going great, that she was a young entrepreneur on the rise, and her face told as much when he spoke. At the same time, her clothes told that she was nowhere near. “…Not really. Nobody’s around here, and the people that do pass through aren’t keen to hang around. People don’t want to buy wild berries from a kid, when I can even find some to sell. So I’m not here to sell. Just to train up this little devil, and maybe catch a few more. Speaking of which…”

The little lion was poised to spring, his eyes fixed on a Golbat hanging from the ceiling. It was hard for Annie to not be amused by his eagerness. “You’re gonna wear yourself out at this rate… Alright, go for an Ice Fang.” Bolt pounced, fangs glimmering with ice shards caught in the light. One super-effective bite brought the Golbat crashing into the ground, while the Shinx landed a little more elegantly. Given a few seconds, and a little gesture from Annie to let it be, the Golbat scrambled onto its feet and fled the scene.

“He’s always had too much energy, so a bit of training helps him get better and let off some steam.”

❤ wizz

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His respect for her had put a smile on her face, but his kind words had kept them there. The girl didn’t have much (in case that wasn’t obvious already), but the few Pokemon she had, her Campers, her family… She treasured them above all else. To know that others could see that she was not only trying, but succeeding, brought out a relief few could draw out. “…Thank you.” It was an uncharacteristically meek reply. The girl was no stranger to praise, encouraging it more often than not… But most people glossed over the training of her Pokemon.

“Warm was what I was hoping for, but this is way too much for me. This is just uncomfortably stuffy. Makes me want to lie down, but not in a good way.” Speaking of lying down, the Vaporeon delivered a bird that had been doing just that, in what Annie would consider the bad way. It was enough to wipe the smile off her face and bring concern into the eyes of her and her Pokemon. She had no qualms about striking down beasts that threatened her and her peers, or even just to train her team, but she wasn’t even seen the Torchic, and she doubted that the Vaporeon was eager to show its hard work. Something or someone had given it a solid beating and left it for dead… And that didn’t sit well with her.

“Hold on, I’ve got this.” She took a few steps back, making a gap for the nurse to be sent in. A moment later, her Chansey stood between the two humans, wide eyes immediately fixed on her patient. A worried cry followed shortly after. If Evan allowed it, the pink ball placed a hand on the bird, and then both hands on her pouch. “Fortuna, think you can help?” The egg in her pouch had started glowing before she finished asking. Soft-Boiled lifted a glowing copy of the egg out of her pouch, which faded into the Torchic, taking some of the bird’s injuries with it.

“Now? We find a place to sleep. I like to think we’re a pretty self-sufficient bunch-“ She patted the top of her favourite egghead, who was in turn petting the little bird. It wouldn’t be completely healed, but if nothing else it would survive the trip back to wherever home was. “but the one thing we can’t make is a good bed. Camp Annie Tenet Number Three is ‘Eat well, sleep well’, so we’ll find a decent place, stop and camp out.” It was the same routine in a different location every night. Annie didn’t mind, but then, it wasn’t as if she had much of a choice. She opened her mouth to continue, but Bolt’s back drew her attention elsewhere.

An Arcanine had appeared, staring at the group – or specifically, at the Torchic, shortly before it disappears into the ball. The ‘Legendary’ Pokemon recognises that they aren’t the cause of its pain, and better still, they were trying to help it. That’s good enough for him to approach them, Bolt’s wary look be damned. Fortuna looked from the bird to Annie, indicating her owner, and so the Arcanine stopped before her. Annie looked up at the dog, confused but not afraid – she couldn’t be, when a pair of her Pokemon were on standby. What little fears lingered in her mind were put to rest when the beast lay down before her (in a good way!), showing that it meant no harm… Or perhaps, that it was offering itself to her.

The girl smiled, placing her free hand atop his head. “Well, you seem pretty alright… And I could use a big guy in the Camp. How about it?” She didn’t wait for an answer before she retrieved a Pokeball, pressing it against his head.

❤ wizz

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