[attr="class","header"]Wha- WHAT??

[attr="class","setting"]

Masha was embarrassed, this was an unavoidable fact. Her cheeks were flaming, but she the same words kept repeating in her head. What Josh had said about failing with confidence had stuck with her. She couldn't help but want to see this through. Even if it meant losing, she wouldn't back down. Not now after she'd already made the commitment.
[break][break]
The opposing pyroar moved with a practiced agility as she threw Masha's banette into the air and jumped up after her. With one paw, the pokemon sent Matty careening towards the ground, landing with in the grass, dirt flew into the air all around in a vivd circle. As the dust cleared, the sound of banette moaning could be heard. Masha stepped forward on her platform, right to the edge. She looked down with her eyebrows drawn together. "I believe in you Matty!" she called. And for once, it was true. "Let's show them we won't go down easy!"
[break][break]
It was unusual that Matty took Masha's words to heart. But in that moment, she seemed to. The marionette pokemon lifted itself off the ground, swaying slightly at first. Then it began to glow with an eerie blue light. Three orbs of light, flickering like flames, emerged from its body and flew towards Josh's pyroar. Masha smiled. She knew it was the best the pokemon could do in the current circumstances. It wouldn't be terribly effective, but the fact that Matty had come so far already was everything to Masha.
[break][break]
"Yes! Just like that! Great job!"

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + Josh Devlin

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]Wha- WHAT??

[attr="class","setting"]

Masha smiled as he used her preferred name and nodded. She stood still as he breathed out and spoke. She really did want to know what it had been like for him. She was fascinated by a lot of trainers, but he had a sense of confidence that didn't border on egotism. It made her curious. She covered her mouth with a laugh. "It couldn't have been that long ago!" she said. "You're only..." Her brows creased in thought for a moment as she studied his features. Finally, she held up a finger excitedly. "Twenty six?! Is that right?" She was only guessing, but she felt like she was close enough.
[break][break]
Masha turned her head as Josh whistled and a large manectric came running towards them. He was tall with a purple cloud on his back that reminded Masha of a picture she'd seen in a book at the library. The pokemon bounded from one place to another near them, seemingly teeming with energy. Masha stared at the Manectric with wide eyes. When she shifted her gaze back to Josh, she was already bursting with questions.
[break][break]
"I'd like to hear more," she said. "If you have time."

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + Josh Devlin

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]Wha- WHAT??

[attr="class","setting"]

Masha nodded as Elise spoke. She felt they were on the same page now. But then...
[break][break]
The gym leader spoke and Masha's eyes widened at her admission. If possible, the classroom grew even more quiet than before. No one laughed. No one dared to breath it seemed like. Masha didn't know what Elise was talking about, but whatever happened...the event seemed to weigh on her terribly. She could see how the ghost trainer's shoulders dipped, how her eyes cast down a bit. It made Masha sad and embarrassed. But...
[break][break]
"My aunts used to say that forgiveness isn't always a privilege we have. But..." Masha stopped, reconsidering saying anything at all. But then she screwed up her eyebrows and lifted her gaze to the gym leader once more. "But we can always release something instead." Masha bit her lower lip. "Being a ghost type trainer is hard. I don't think I would have been able to leave home without seeing it was possible because of you. And then I wouldn't be able to live with myself..."

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + Elise Calcifet

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]Wha- WHAT??

[attr="class","setting"]

Masha felt her eyes widen as Josh complimented her on her introduction. She'd been taught some more proper things by her aunts, things she'd never thought would be useful. Just like how she'd introduced herself, a solid handshake was also indispensable, or so they'd told her. She did her best not to look down with the slight sense of embarrassment that came over her. It wasn't as strong as her joy, but still, it was there.
[break][break]
She nodded again obediently. "Josh then. I prefer Masha. Please." Her words were still almost unnecessarily abrupt, but there was no helping it now.
[break][break]
Masha tilted her head as Josh answered her question, his hand sifting gently through the zangoose's fur. Her gaze flickered from the gym leader to his pokemon curiously. She and Tabitha were on good terms, though not nearly so comfortable with each other as Josh and the zangoose. That was something she catalogued in her mind for later inspection. "I see..." She pondered his words, taking her time thinking through them.
[break][break]
She looked up as he continued, holding her hands behind her back. What he said made a lot of sense. But one part that struck her was the bit about being confident in failure too. She definitely wasn't comfortable with that. But...was that part of it too? Was being uncomfortable a good sign? Masha was so afraid of doing something wrong, of having someone take advantage of the moment and humiliate her, that she so rarely took risks. Leaving her aunts had been something she'd pondered for years before finally taking the leap. Even being in Mauville city was difficult for her.
[break][break]
"Josh...where did you start?" She paused. "I mean...when you left home, what was that like for you?" She was making the assumption that he'd had a home to begin with. But most people did, right?

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + Josh Devlin

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]Wha- WHAT??

[attr="class","setting"]

What the older ghost type trainer offered was valuable. But it wasn't quite what Masha had meant. She was more curious as to how the trainer was able to cope with failure on a personal, emotional level. Because if she were being honest, that was what Masha struggled with the most herself.
[break][break]
She nodded and scribbled the words down in her notebook. "Yes, thank you," she said. But then she looked up again, her brows drawn together. "But...what about...when you make those mistakes, how do you move forward without dwelling on them?" Masha colored. "What I mean is...to have gotten as far as you have, you must have learned...how to live with yourself."
[break][break]
No one was laughing now. If anything, there were several eyes trained on Masha with obvious shock at how direct she was being. There was a vulnerability there too that struck those who were present. Their gazes switched to Elise, curious as to how the gym leader would respond.

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + Elise Calcifet

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]Wha- WHAT??

[attr="class","setting"]

Masha already knew she would lost. It was a quick lesson to learn, but a lesson nonetheless. She needed a stronger move set not just for Matty, but all her pokemon. They only had four moves each, and that was obviously a recipe for disaster. She'd been considered before the battle, but now she understood the true error of her ways.
[break][break]
Matty emitted a horrifying screech, causing even Masha to grit her teeth and cover her ears. She watched as Josh's Pyroar grew agitated and bucked about, throwing her hind legs out behind her and spinning around in a circle. She used a move then, one that Masha didn't recognize. All she could hope for was to make it a close battle by wearing down the pokemon's defenses. She had no chance of winning, but she could at least do her best.
[break][break]
Matty finished its scream as the Pyroar flashed with brilliance and heat. The Banette was immediately hit by the swirling cloud of flames that burst out from her opponent. She was buffeted back, wincing. Matty's cloth-like body was singed, tiny flames clinging to her body. She blinked and made a eerie sound that echoed through the room. Masha could tell the Pyroar had done a fair bit of damage. Another move like that and it would likely be nearly over.
[break][break]
There wasn't much Masha could do. She only really had two moves at her disposal, and one was almost entirely ineffective. Whatever the Pyroar had done, she seemed to have done a bit of damage to herself as well. So at least that was something. Masha would have to apologize to Matty later for putting her in this situation. Hopefully the ghost type would understand.
[break][break]
Masha's brows squished together on her forehead. "Again!" she called out.
[break][break]
The banette looked absolutely put out by its trainer's voice, but thankfully did as she was told.

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + Josh Devlin

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]Wha- WHAT??

[attr="class","setting"]

Masha watched as the older trainer dismounted the zangoose with a practiced skill. She took a small, almost imperceptible step back as he touched the ground. He immediately said they had a ghost type specialist. Then he mentioned Elise Calcifet's name and Masha's eyes grew as big as saucers. "N-no no no no!" The word came out a bit too loud, but she was far more concerned that he would bother Elise for her than she was about drawing attention to their conversation. "I don't want to bother her! She's so..." How could Masha explain that Elise was her idol? Someone she looked up to more than almost anyone else in Hoenn? "I...I'm not ready to meet her yet." Masha twisted the tip of her foot in the grass, looking down at the ground.
[break][break]
She looked up and blanched as Josh asked for her name. She'd forgotten to introduce herself!
[break][break]
Straightening her spine, Masha took half a step forward and held out her hand to him. "My name is Marya Kareva," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you." The words came out only slightly robotic. Years of practice under her aunts had helped it seem more natural. Still, it was by no means what they would have considered a perfect introduction.

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + Josh Devlin

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]Wha- WHAT??

[attr="class","setting"]

With her head bowed, Masha could see the details of the gym leaders shoes quite accurately. She analyzed them for a moment, her cheeks red as apples. He spoke to her in a kind, reassuring voice, asking what she needed help with. She bit at her lower lip again and eventually straightened her back. Moving her hands behind her and clasping them together, she sighed.
[break][break]
"Well...you see...I want to be a trainer. A ghost type trainer." She worked to ensure her words were at a normal level. Not too quiet or too loud. "And I...you know how to make decisions quickly. You're confident."
[break][break]
Masha finally looked up at him, meeting his eye. "How do you do it? How...how did you become that way?"

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + Josh Devlin

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]Wha- WHAT??

[attr="class","setting"]

Masha was used to her classmates teasing her. It was something that happened often and it never went terribly far, so she'd learned to live with it. This meant she was surprised when Elise told the others to respect her. She said they must have been taught manners and Masha's eyebrows shot up her forehead. She stammered a moment as the older trainer said she had noticed how raptly Masha had been listening. She wasn't used to people paying much attention to her. At least, not in a positive way. Masha's lips parted, then closed. Once. Twice. She cleared her throat.
[break][break]
Finally, Masha leaned back and rested her hands in her lap. "I uh...well...I was just going to ask how you cope with failure? Like...when something down't go well...a battle or..." Masha trailed of and cleared her throat again, her cheeks growing flushed. Her gaze fell down to the surface of the table in front of her and she gnawed at her lower lip.

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + Elise Calcifet

[attr="class","pokeclass"]