[attr="class","merrkpokesI"]

[attr="class","merrktagI"]mission [break][break][break] Annie Mei

Dealing with one Annie was bad enough, but somehow she’d found the one person in Hoenn that thought she had good ideas. Tox looked back and forth between the pair, her amused look quickly being overcome by disbelief as she realised they were really going to make her do it. Even the Sharpedo looked ready to take on the hoard!

Tox groaned as best a Pokemon could, prompting Annie to get back down to her level. Toxapex were more legs than body, so the trainer only needed one finger to stroke her partner’s face. “Everybody’s sure you can do this except you! Especially me. I know you’ll be fine, as long as you show them your brave face.”

Tox grumbled something as a leg (with retracted spikes) nudged Annie’s hand out of the dome. That was as good as acceptance to the girl, who gave her Pokemon a thumbs-up as she stood up straight. “Everything’ll be fine. And if it isn’t fine, then one of you should scream for help!”

Tox crawled to a partner that looked much too kind to be a threat… But the same could be said for a lot of Annie’s Pokemon. A leg was raised in greeting, and then she jumped into the water, using all twelve legs to control her descent. It didn’t take long for the two to find themselves the audience of eight Mareanie, and by extension, the poor Corsola they were making meals out of. Tox barely got two words out before she felt the weight of their glares on her, judging her every movement. She was silent – and slowly sinking.

On the surface, Annie eyed Pokenger carefully. She always had a lot of questions about the world, but the masked fighter was a standout character even amongst the trainers she’d met. “So, er… Why do you, like, wear a costume? Do you wear that everywhere?”

❤ wizz

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[attr="class","merrktagI"]mission [break][break][break] Annie Mei

They were off to a bad start, and from there it took mere seconds for violence to break out. Fortunately, a fight breaking out was enough to snap Tox out of a sullen state, and it happened to be a situation she was much more experienced in. Once Torpedo had performed his drive-by, she followed up with a Pin Missile, unleashing a flurry of toxic spikes on the next wave of Mareanie. Two of their foes were knocked out from the attack, and one more decided that it was better to dine and dash than deal with the fight. That left three stubborn Mareanie for the two to handle. One of them used Wide Guard and went straight back to munching on a pleading Corsola, hoping that the barrier would be enough to dissuade the fighters.

Above ground, and oblivious to the battle beneath, Annie raised a brow at his answer. “Why would you try sleepin- You know what? Never mind. I meant more in general.” The conversation turned to her lifestyle, and she turned away. The cost of her accomplishments had been fame, and where she’d hoped that would mean sponsorships and free food, so far it’d only amounted to people knowing about her sorry state. “Don’t call it that,” she grumbled. When she continued, her voice was mostly fine, but it betrayed a hint of caution.

“It’s not by choice. Not everybody has a home waiting for them at the end of the day. Sometimes you have to make your own. I learned a long time ago to make the most of what I’ve got, and I don’t got much. If that’s just a tree one day, then I’ll make a treehouse. If it’s a cave, then I have to hope something else isn’t sleeping there already. When life gives you venom, you make venomade.” The girl gave a shrug, all too ready to dismiss his thoughts on her life. She’d heard a lot of them, and they’d taught her to have her guard ready.

“You only answered one of my questions.” That was probably deliberate, but Annie wasn’t the best at taking hints. Besides, it turned the conversation away from her troubles, and the pity that tended to follow her mentioning it.

❤ wizz

[attr="class","merrkpokesI"]

[attr="class","merrktagI"]mission [break][break][break] Annie Mei

Annie realised a little late that she didn’t much like the helmet. A costumed hero was a cool idea, and she couldn’t deny that it had its uses, but the human element was somewhat missing. She couldn’t see his face; read it, and see how he’d taken her answers. She’d had plenty of chances to refine it, but her honesty drew out looks of pity she’d rather not see.

On second thought, maybe the helmet helped. The last thing she wanted was yet another person feeling bad for her.

“…You remind me of Oreo,” she said eventually, bending down to watch the water. Her voice drew a little quieter, if only for a moment. “Not the whole costume part, but the, what’s the word… Humbleness? These things don’t ‘just happen’. You make them happy, by doing good things. Or trying to. If somebody asks me how or why I’m here, I’ll tell them. It’s because I’m strong. I want them to know it, and see it too. Guess that’s the difference between people like me and people like you.”

A bittersweet smile showed itself, but only for a few moments. Before she could continue, he made his proposal, and surprise took over her face. Then suspicion. Then a cross between the two, both fighting for dominance. Not just because he’d offered her a place to stay, either. He’d shown his face, and more importantly, it was a face she knew. Where did she know that face from?

There were more pressing questions. He’d already shown that he wasn’t joking, and he’d given his reason, and yet… “Why?” She furrowed her brow. The streets had taught her to be cautious of anything ‘free’, but the man had yet to give her a reason to suspect him. Realising that she’d said as much moments before eased some of the doubt on her face. Some.

“I’m not… totally homeless, you know. There’s a guy in Rustboro, Mister Fader. If I spend the day working at his bar, he’ll let me spend the night in one of its rooms.” It was a start. Evan was a surprisingly nice man, and the work rarely strained her, but the time it took her to earn the night’s roof stopped her from venturing far from the city. Still, it was an option, and to keep that to herself seemed disingenuous. “Besides that, people don’t usually apologise by offering me a house.”

Beneath the surface, Tox was in her element in more ways than one. The Wide Guard did little to sway a Pokemon that knew how the move worked – and knew its weaknesses. She followed suit after Torpedo, slower than the living jet but no less fierce. A Mareanie’s body found itself bashed away from its snack by a Liquidation-enhanced Tox. The last sea star only had to look at the two attackers and realise it was seconds away from a beatdown to decide it was done snacking. Its legs moved in unison to pull it the hell out of dodge.

❤ wizz

[attr="class","merrkpokesI"]

[attr="class","merrktagI"]mission [break][break][break] Annie Mei

Annie listened, oddly intently, as if there’d be a pop quiz at the end. Something about the talk of a legendary brought about a glint in her eye, and then he offered her a card. She held it both hands, stern gaze transferring to the name and number. Several seconds passed in silence – an eternity for the little motor mouth.

“I need help.” How long had it been since those words had left her mouth? Months, at least. Maybe a year. And yet, she spoke them with more conviction than she’d found that day, which was an accomplishment for her. “I want to be a legendary Pokemon too.” She stopped. Paused. Slowly shook her heard. “Scratch that. Or don’t. You get the idea. I… I’m going to be the champion of Hoenn. I have to be. But before that, I have to be an inspiration, a hero. I want strangers to hear the name Annie Mei, and know that everything will be alright.”

She offered the card back to the masked hero. The fire was in her eyes, but he could snuff them out with just a few words. “Show me how, Pokenger.”

Beneath the waves, one foolish Mareanie had found itself in the middle of a tag attack. Torpedo’s crunch swung the poor thing towards Tox, and more specifically, the flurry of spikes Tox had fired into its path. The little sea star was knocked out, floating near-lifelessly in the water. For his efforts, Torpedo found himself approached by the pink poisoner (who was kind enough to retract her many spikes). Six legs tucked the shark into a tight hug as she sang his praises.

❤ wizz

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[attr="class","merrktagI"]mission [break][break][break] Annie Mei