The world hadn't been so kind as to give her a safe place. She wasn't even sure how long she'd spent travelling the region. Maybe a year, at least. It was a lot easier now that she'd learned how to survive, but the knowledge had come through trial and error. Mostly error. Having a team of Pokemon to back her up was a massive help too. Once upon a time, it had just been her and a Zorua, wandering aimlessly, with only each other to rely o-

The grunt of a bovine beast snapped her out of her thoughts, and she blinked herself back into reality. She'd almost walked straight into the horn of- "...Is that the Afro Tauros?" She couldn't help but sound surprised. Bouffalant was a Pokemon that she'd met before, and aside from the fact that it'd attempted to raid her precious farm, it was a pretty cool creature!

One that she wouldn't mind having around. Fortunately, having to defend her berries had taught her what their kind liked. From her pocket, she retrieved a handful of berries. She'd stashed them there just in case she needed to entice a few wild ones, but the first recipient was big enough to eat all of them if it wanted to. And it did want to, for as soon as she extended her hand, the treats were gobbled up.

So much for that plan.

"Alright, you're a big eater. I can work with that. There's a lot more where that came from down at Camp Annie, if you'd like to join us!" If her message wasn't clear enough, showing the bull a Pokeball would surely help. Her free hand went to its face, giving it a few gentle pets. And, perhaps not coincidentally, wiping the saliva off her palm.

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There sure were a few more cutie pies in the Safari than she remembered on her last visit! More importantly, they were much more docile. She only noticed the Tepig because its ears bounced back and forth as it chased after a berry. The Pokemon stopped, stared at the trainer, and then decided to mind its own business. Annie showed a small smirk. The perks of living in a controlled space, she mused. Predators rarely found their way into the zone, so its denizens were never taught fear. How sweet.
Part of her was a little jealous.

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Something about the Darmanitan rang a bell. She already owned one, although it would take long after the encounter for her to realise as much. After all, her Darmanitan was more snowman than Pokemon, and didn’t look nearly enough like its peer for her to recognise it. Still, as long as it was minding its own business, she would too. “Come on Belle, we’re not done yet.” The two girls ventured off in search of more suitable Pokemon.

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Now that was more like it. The bluebird was quick to catch Annie’s eye – and her smile. “You’re a little cutie…!” She reached for a Safari Ball… Only to pause halfway. She’d learned her lesson on being too eager to catch a Pokemon before. Several times. At best, her eagerness led to remorse. At worst, it’d led to her own Pokemon turning on her. It left her thinking twice about being so eager to catch the first few creatures she saw… And so she slowly shook her head and continued on.
No doubt, she’d meet another of its kind soon.

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The Camerupt was fast asleep, and Annie was two steps away from stepping on him – and giving him a rude awakening. Belle’s panicked whisper stopped her mid-step, and she slowly backed away from the living volcano. “Well spotted, flower girl. Let’s just… walk in another direction for a bit.” Annie whispered her orders, and together the two set off to find a different potential partner.

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Of all the things Annie was expecting to encounter, a lump of coal with legs wasn’t on the list. A bigger lump of coal than the one that she already owned, even! Belle watched the Carkol as she gently swayed back and forth, but it seemed that the Pokemon wasn’t too keen on picking a fight. Annie preferred that things stayed that way, and beckoned her partner to follow her elsewhere.

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That time around, she hadn’t sent out a Pokemon to aid her. Not right away, anyway. She wanted to put what Professor Florian had put her into practice, and try catching a beast all by herself! If one of them didn’t catch her eye, as was the case with the wandering Treecko, then she would merely give it a wave and go on her way. Without a partner to train, there was no need for her to disturb a Pokemon that wasn’t bothering her.

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Annie paused, halfway through reaching for her Whimsicott’s Slowpoke tail. She stared at Shinra for several seconds before she repeated herself: “Five-plus-one. The last one isn’t finalized.” There was an edge of confusion to her voice, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “One day there’ll be six, or maybe five-plus-two. I don’t really plan these things out.”

She pulled the stick out of the blanket, only to realise that there was no tail left. “Wha- Trixie, that thing was, like, a third of your size!” The Whimsicott sunk into her trainer’s lap in response, eyes shut in absolute bliss. Annie rolled hers. “I don’t know where you put all of that…”

She shook her head, settling her eyes back on Shinra. “Bold claim, stranger! But we’ve got a big camp. Too big for me to have out all at the same time. And, more importantly… I wouldn’t have them fighting for fun right now. Not in this weather. Not when I can’t promise that they’re taken care of after.” She beckoned her Vulpix over. The little fox drew close, allowing her trainer to pet the top of her head. “So I’ll have to take your word for it this time. Besides, you look like a pretty beefy guy yourself, so I’d bet that your guys are tough too.”

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[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!”

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By that point, Annie had done her fair share of travelling. Seen a few Pokemon, battled a few trainers, broken a few bones, the usual stuff. She’d noticed a rarity amongst Hoenn’s battlers – few utilized the potential that was nature itself. Pokemon could summon the weather, some with ease – so why didn’t any trainers use that to their advantage? That was what she was looking to find out. To start, she’d need some Pokemon that peaked in harsh weather. Fire types loved to bask in the sun, and so did her Bellossom! Her grass-type would be the perfect bait for any fired up fire-types, and if they happened to attack?
Well, Belle could use the training anyway.

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The first time, luck had given her a free ticket. The second time, she’d allowed herself to buy the luxury as a one-off treat. The third time, even she couldn’t deny that it wasn’t her best purchase. The money could buy clothes or food or shelter – all of which were in short supply for her. And yet, some of Annie’s most unique Pokemon, the stars of her camp, had emerged from the field. She couldn’t just ignore that, could she?

Probably. But that wouldn’t be very Annie of her.

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Was that the problem? Most of the Pokemon Annie found were lone travellers; as far as she knew, they had no family, just like her. To have one, and then have some random human run in and take it away… She felt a pang of guilt. It might have been stronger, but the violence that stemmed from it had drained a lot of her sympathy. “I’m trustworthy,” was all she could muster in defence, but even that was half-hearted.

She nodded to Trixie, giving herself an easy excuse to avoid meeting Samuel’s eyes. The cotton ball started searching through the grass for something. “You’re gonna wanna to back up. He doesn’t take too kindly to strangers. Or anybody, really. Catching him wasn’t anything that fancy. I just threw a Pokeball into a crowd of them. Got lucky, because he didn’t break out. Sent my Scizor in to get the ball and then we ran like hell before they could kill us for it.” Her small frown grew as she realised a capture that enraged both her target and his family might have been the cause of her troubles.

Trixie returned to her trainer’s side, waving a tall blade of grass around. “Alright, we’re all set.” She hesitated to withdraw the Pokeball, but soon enough it clicked open. White energy contorted into a creature that dwarfed them all. Two metres of armoured beast stood on the field, but something was off about it. It wasn’t just that it was immediately annoyed; if Samuel had seen a Tyranitar before, he’d surely notice that Goliath’s colours weren’t quite right.

“Hey.” He followed the voice. Saw Annie. Roared. His cry carried for dozens of metres, which meant that for somebody as close as Annie, covering her ears was a reflex. If she’d been trying to act confident, she was off to a bad start, and the nervous wavering in her voice as she continued didn’t help. “I was hoping that, maybe, we could try talking again? Feels like we got off on the wrong foot last time.” The titan was glaring, and it was becoming clear that they were seconds away from a battle if nothing changed.

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