i’m going to be dropping zinnia and walking away for a while.
it’s very difficult for me to maintain things like this on a regular basis, and i tend to get burnt out. i always enjoy pokémon rping, and i thought i could go longer since i’d been away from it for so long, but this was not the case. so, with that, i’m going to go ahead and leave.
marin and wallace, my sincere apologies for being unable to continue our threads. both of them were very, very fun for me, and i hope they were for you as well.
thanks to everybody. i’ll unfollow everyone so that you guys don’t have a dead account clogging up your follow list, but i won’t be deleting because i may come back. see you all on the other side.
“Would you ever think of moving to another region?”
What an odd question, though only odd in the respect that he had never really thought about such a thing before. Moving? No, Sootopolis had been his home for twenty-eight years- even longer with his family’s history. He could never think of moving..
The man continued to look perplexed, as he rolled the question in his mind, getting a feel for a proper answer. He looked over for a moment at his pokemon, and then heaved a small sigh. “No,” Wallace began, taking another second to assure himself this was the answer he’d give her. “I don’t suppose I would ever think of such a thing, personally I feel more at home in Sootopolis. but if I had a choice on where to stay for a while, I’d choose Sinnoh.”
As he spoke, Milotic carefully set down her tail, draping Aster with her four delicate fins- whom made even more squeaks in delight. How precious..she really was something. He averted his attention back to Zinnia, a small smile on his face. “Perhaps you’d enjoy Sinnoh, it’s much colder, but not quite as..over whelming as Unova.” Wallace had hoped at least, that this would give her something to go off of. She was an extremely smart young woman after all.
“Sinnoh…their legends speak of two dragons, created by the Original One, in order to govern the primal elements of creation itself. Time and space. Two of the strongest beings in existence.”
Folklore was a passion of hers, initially out of obligation, but later out of a genuine curiosity about the cultures and stories other regions told of the beginning of the world. Zinnia took a great enjoyment in learning, always looking to broaden her mythological horizons in any manner possible.
Drawn into her own thoughts a little too far, she shook her head and refocused on Wallace. “My apologies, I got a little carried away there,” she said. “I do love the myths of Sinnoh in particular. I think I could learn far more if I actually visited there, though…”
She stroked her chin. “That’s a big project to take. I would have to plan for a while…do you have any advice?
Zinnia nodded, as she watched Marin climb on top of the Pelipper.
“Yes, indeed. There are certain resources that all Trainers should try their best to have, even if they think they won’t need them. HMs, though they represent an uncomfortable level of commitment, are nonetheless incredibly useful. So I have a big case of them and a bunch of TMs, too.”
Sometimes, it was difficult for her to keep up her mysterious demeanor and manner of speaking, especially when she was working with low-level morons like Team Aqua. Marin, of course, wasn’t one of those, but she still felt the need to elevate herself anyway.
Marin watched Zinnia flinch a little as she asked her question, and the grunt mentally smacked herself for being so intrusive. She should have remembered that some of her fellow Aqua Grunts had dark, personal pasts. The sorry lodged in the blond’s throat as Zinnia patted her comfortingly on the side, immediately restoring the smile to her guilty partner’s face.
“That’s quite the tale, Marin, but I believe it’s…one better served for the return trip, yes?”
Relieved that Zinnia hadn’t reacted with hostility to her questioning like some other grunts back in base, Marin was more than happy to accept Zinnia’s gentle dismissal of her query. “Return trip…got it!” she replied enthusiastically, lightly grasping her partner’s outstretched hand and wrapping their pinkies together with a small giggle escaping her lips. “It’s a pinkie promise now, okay?”
Zinnia gave her hand a gentle shake in response to Marin’s request for a pinkie promise. No escaping it now. Not that she intended to, of course. With her free hand, she gave Pelipper a gentle, reserved pat on the head. Even with its subsequent obnoxious honking, she was warming up to the bird a bit more. Maybe it wasn’t so bad.
“What are we doing in Petalburg Woods again?”
Ah, the mission. Zinnia almost forgot, for a moment, lost in the clouds and the sky. Sometimes, once in a while, it slipped her mind that she wasn’t just traveling on her own, that she wasn’t just some free-spirited soul. That she was burdened with the fate of the world, forced to work with a criminal organization to ensure their continued survival.
She sighed. What a burden.
“We are to observe a researcher dispatched from the Devon Corporation, studying Pokémon evolution and working out how to enhance Poké Ball capture rates. Team Aqua has an operative that is intended to accost the researcher and steal his research, and there are rumors that Team Magma will attempt to do the same. We are here for observational purposes only. No engagement allowed, no matter how badly the grunt might get his ass kicked. If he fails to acquire the research, we are not to engage, but we are to note how badly the grunt failed. An insurance policy, as it were.”
She ran a hand through her hair, and then patted her leg to make sure her bandana was still in her pocket.
“The ultimate goal, I believe, is to work out a backup plan, in case the grunt fails to secure the research. If we are successful, however, it may lead to further attempts on the Devon Corporation, to raid the company in a more open, aggressive manner.”
Zinnia glanced over her shoulder to gauge Marin’s reaction. “Your specialty is no-engagement recon, yes?”
Allowing her a moment to think about his proposal, the gym leader looked over to Milotic as she dove in and out of her little playing area. The tiny Whismer had gotten distracted long by now, watching his pokemon and making little squeaks. How adorable.
He only drew his attention away, when Zinnia began to speak again.
Zinnia looked up at the clouds above them as Wallace spoke about his travels in the other regions. It seemed like a nice idea, a nice sentiment. There would be some preparations needed, but a vacation to somewhere else - perhaps Sinnoh, the region she’d heard was always so very cold - was in order.
“Would you ever think of moving to another region?”
Time for more probing questions. She needed to figure something out regarding her next move. Maybe she could bring someone along with her. She wondered what Marin was doing right now.
Her gaze shifted to Aster, chasing Milotic’s tail around frantically, squeaking in excitement. Pokémon were so strange, sometimes.
✫ - Fuck. Zinnia was totally right. Sharpedo’s strengths lay within its speed and attack, but as for stamina and health, the shark lacked. A single powerful move could be enough to put his faithful Pokémon on the ropes. Archie grimaces, and thinks: He just had to put out Salamance before that happened.
Zinnia covered her face, leaving one eye exposed to watch as Salamence was utterly destroyed by Sharpedo’s Ice Fang.
Or…wait?
Salamence, the bite wound completely frozen over, wobbled back to its feet. She was, frankly, shocked. Salamence looked as though it were a zombie, but it was clearly responding to her, turning its head back with a look of defiance on its face.
She knew what this was.
She recalled the fight in the Hideout, when Zinnia finally revealed her reasons for joining Aqua. The battle was decisive, falling so supremely in her favor that she’d almost felt bad about it. Salamence was dealing with a severe case of damaged pride, this time around. It didn’t want to lose to an opponent it had so thoroughly trashed in their previous bout.
She’d briefly considered throwing in the towel for her Pokémon’s sake, but Zinnia now knew that that was not an option. She only had one option.
Before she could call out the move, however, Salamence tapped its tail three times and gave her a look. She narrowed her eyes. It wanted to finish the battle its own way, with a new move it had learned recently.
She bit the inside of her cheek. Good power, Dragon-type move, but there was no guarantee it would hit, and Salamence’s precision would be severely hindered by the damage it had sustained in the battle. This seemed more like a middle finger to Archie’s Sharpedo than a real attack.
Zinnia was going to lose this battle. There was no avoiding it. But Salamence was insisting that she lose with style.
“Have it your way, then,” she said under her breath, smirking. “SALAMENCE.”
Marin gasped as Zinnia held out a shiny disc to her and Pelipper, the cool metal sparkling in the sunlight. “Oh! Oh, I know what that is! You have a Fly HM?” the grunt exclaimed in wonder, trying not to gush too hard over her new companion as she clambered happily onto the Pelican Pokemon’s back behind the fellow grunt. “You’re so awesome, Zinnia! I’m glad you’re on my side!”
Patting Pelipper’s feathers gently, Marin suddenly rubbed her chin in thought, her forehead wrinkled in immediate concentration. “Our new friend needs a name…a cute name for a cute Pokemon!” she declared, giggling as the pelican honked its approval. “Side Mission acquired: Operation Name The Pelipper!”
After her dramatic announcement, Marin settled down on the bird, worrying her lip a little. She rested her hands gently on Zinnia’s shoulders and blushed an embarrassed shade of pink. “Is…is it alright if I hold onto you during liftoff?” the grunt murmured sheepishly, looking down at the ground in embarrassment. “I’m a little scared of the…um, ascent. Once we get in the air, I’ll be fine though!”
Zinnia nodded, as she watched Marin climb on top of the Pelipper.
“Yes, indeed. There are certain resources that all Trainers should try their best to have, even if they think they won’t need them. HMs, though they represent an uncomfortable level of commitment, are nonetheless incredibly useful. So I have a big case of them and a bunch of TMs, too.”
Sometimes, it was difficult for her to keep up her mysterious demeanor and manner of speaking, especially when she was working with low-level morons like Team Aqua. Marin, of course, wasn’t one of those, but she still felt the need to elevate herself anyway.
“You’re so awesome, Zinnia! I’m glad you’re on my side!”
Zinnia smiled, her cheeks tinged with the faintest pink. She waved the other Aqua Grunt off a little.
“No, no, don’t do that. We’re on equal footing here, Marin.” She reached back and patted the girl’s side.
Then, she groaned, when Marin rambled on and on about naming the bird. Zinnia wanted no part of naming this demon that they rode. Especially because it honked at least three times a minute, and Zinnia was convinced that the Pelipper was doing it just to anger her.
“You think on that, and I’ll give you input on whatever you come up with.”
She felt Marin grip her shoulders, gently but tightly, as she explained her worries with flying. Zinnia gave another smile and nodded.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s always a rough ride, the first few times.”
By this point, she’d tapped the HM to Pelipper’s domed noggin, and the bird was in the process of absorbing the HM’s information. She considered mentioning their take-off to Marin, but her mischievous side reared its head, and she didn’t bother, smirking in a sinister manner.
“What’s Pelipper doing with that H -AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”
Zinnia let out a bark of laughter as Pelipper zoomed off, registering in the corner of her eye that Marin had just barely had the presence of mind to withdraw Wailmer before they got too far from the ocean.
She felt Marin let go of her and offer an apology, to which Zinnia said nothing. Her eyes closed, she took a minute to feel the air running past her face.
The sky was not the dominion of humans, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t encroach upon it. Flight was such an odd, mystical sensation - alien to her species, but second nature to creatures like the Pelipper that kept them aloft. There were very little sensations that matched soaring through the sky, tasting the purest air possible. Zinnia imagined herself clinging to the legendary dragon of old, its green skin shimmering in the bright sunlight as it slithered its way through the sky. She hoped that dream would be real, some day.
Not that she had a choice in the matter.
“Say, why did you join Team Aqua anyways, Zinnia? Do you want to make people happier, too?”
Shit.
It was going to come up at some point, Zinnia supposed, and she had several ready-made blow-off answers to that question. But this wasn’t just any Grunt, and Zinnia no longer felt comfortable feeding Marin the same sort of bullshit she would feed, say, Shinsuke.
This mission would quickly show her whether or not Marin was worth fully trusting. For now, she would have to deflect a little.
“That’s quite the tale, Marin, but I believe it’s…one better served for the return trip, yes?” she replied, carefully. She reached back and patted Marin’s side again. “A long story, indeed. But it is one you will hear, eventually.”
She deeply, deeply hoped that would satiate the blonde’s curiosity.
It had seemed as though the other girl was stuck in-between accepting the offer and running the other way altogether — but Lisia was optimistic; (even with this nagging sense of familiarity the dark-haired trainer had emitted…)
A premature cheer bubbles from the Starlet as the beginning of the sentence comes to her hearing Well, I mean I can— but her mood had come crashing down instantaneously at how far she was willing to squeeze the situation. Lisia had felt almost threatened by Zinnia’s words, but thinking about how her preparation work was about to become dump pushed her quickly to the acceptance of such blackmail.
"Promise it’s nothing weird?" Retreating behind the door increasingly, Lisia’s heart had begun pounding against her ribcage so much she was beginning to consider that enlisting the help of such a stranger was not wise at all. Stranger danger, Lisibeth-dear. Don’t invite anyone unknown into your apartment, alright?
— But she did consider Altaria a great source of human-judging, and the other had seemed friendly enough; whatever was off definitely wasn’t as bad as it could be, then.
The door closed, and the strange, domestic version of Lisia retreated once more.
What a bizarre experience.
“That was pretty o-o-o-o-odd, don’t you think, Tari?” Zinnia asked her Altaria. The bird responded with another derisive chirp, which Zinnia pointedly ignored as she hopped on its back instead.
“Come on, let’s get this done, nice and quick-like, yeah?”
Nodding, the bird took off, leaving a large cloud of dust in its wake.
~~~
Zinnia returned shortly after, a thick bag of sugar tucked under her arm. With her free hand, she knocked on the door, a small smirk forming on her face.
“Miss Hikikomori, I’ve brought your su-u-u-u-u-u-gar…”
"…." Wallace watched for a moment in silence as the Altaria sat on Zinnia’s head. It truly was beautiful and a very healthy Altaria at that, just like Ali was, and seeing Zinnia’s reaction was refreshing. "You’ve done a good job raising her," he finally said smiling a little more "It’s wonderful to see." Although that wasn’t really bugging him..
“You know, surely you can go and travel else where, catch more if you’d like. Perhaps even meet the Dragon master of Johto, what was his name…Lance? yes, that’s right. Perhaps that would be good for your Pokémon as well? To travel elsewhere and see new things.”
Zinnia rubbed her chin and considered Wallace’s words. Obligations had never allowed her to leave the Hoenn region, but those obligations no longer existed. She could, indeed, try visiting other regions now. That, however, was quite the fearsome prospect - she’d never even escaped Hoenn’s boundaries. Not even once.
The idea danced around in her mind as Wallace stared at her, waiting for a response. Eventually, she snapped out of her reverie, and nodded.
“That might work, maybe.”
She tilted her head. “Wallace, have you ever been outside Hoenn? What’s it like out there?”
She holds her breath as the ruby-eyed figure approaches her door — a sense of apprehension arresting her as the proximity was cut; the look of curiosity on the other’s face. For the brief moment Lisia considers panicking and slamming the door in the stranger’s face, but a familiar figure lends a sense of calm.
She has an Altaria— Surely then, she couldn’t be that horrible of a human, right?
This girl - the great Lisia - couldn’t take like five minutes to get a pack of sugar?
Zinnia had to try very, very hard not to let her expression betray what she was feeling at that moment. Oh, but it was so, so difficult not to. Why was she being so cagey for such a simple task?
But she looked so…apprehensive? Scared, almost. This entire situation was just so, so bizarre.
Zinnia’s Altaria floated to Zinnia’s left, resting her head on Zinnia’s shoulder, cooing gently. Zinnia pursed her lips - she just wanted to get this over with.
“Well, I mean, I ca-a-a-an do that, no problem. But I work for a prize, you see.”
Was she proud of this? Not necessarily, but she was annoyed at this situation already, so she decided to milk it a bit.
“How about this - I’ll get the sugar, I’ll even cover the price, and then when I get back, I’ll let you know what my prize will be. Don’t worry, nothing inappropria-a-a-a-ate, nothing monetary. I’ll think on it as I’m going.”
Altaria let out a noise that approximated calling Zinnia a piece of shit, but she ignored it. She wanted to have some fun today, for once.
Marin initially winced at Zinnia’s aggressive use of language, but soon brought her hand to her mouth as a giggle escaped her lips. The grunt could tell that her mysterious friend meant well for the two of them, and that this excitability was just a part of her personality. As she watched her partner expertly take down the Pelipper over the water in awe, the Aqua Grunt felt a new sense of admiration for Zinnia welling up inside of her. She’s so strong!
In that moment, Marin caught herself wishing that she could be brave and blunt like her new companion. Zinnia is so cool!
Zinnia dropped to her knees when she heard that fateful click of a successful capture. She’d never been so invested in such a low-level capture before. Maybe Marin was already rubbing off on her.
She let out a breath, and then gasped again when Marin jumped into the water spontaneously, with no regard to her clothes or whatever she might have been carrying with her.
“Marin, no - well, too late for that,” she said to herself, patting Marin’s Wailmer to have it move closer to Marin as she retrieved the ball. At least she had a second to regain her composure, now. She’d let the battle get to her a little too much, shown off her battling side too early - she’d have to crank the aloofness up a little bit more to make up for it.
She wished that she didn’t have to play such games with other people, but she couldn’t help it.
“Ooops…I guess I got too excited about your catch and just jumped right in…but at least we have a new friend now!”
Marin released the Pelipper, and Zinnia watched as it immediately became adjusted to the two of them, flapping around excitedly. Then it flew next to Zinnia and honked in her face.
“Why, you little - “
She responded by bonking it right on its dingus little head with her fist. The Pelipper briefly went swirly-eyed, but recovered, honking again.
Bastard.
“Now we can fly to Rustboro, right?”
Zinnia couldn’t help but smile at the excitement on Marin’s face, and she nodded, recalling her Carvahna and climbing on the Pelipper’s back. She also reached into her pocket and revealed something - an HM.
Feeling the small bit of tension slip away, Wallace could relax a little; although the rest didn’t last long either, upon seeing her tiny Whismer rolling about on it’s back. Milotic helped her up and although the notion was rather adorable and so like the water pokemon to do, Wallace couldn’t help but feel a bit of pride- no..wait. He always felt that about Milotic. It still brought a smile to his face, anyhow.
“I can’t say that catching new Pokémon to add to what you have isn’t a bad idea, however you’ve got quite the group yourself.”
Zinnia nodded again as she considered Wallace’s words. The team she had now had never been rotated; she’d only had a full team for about two years, and most of that time was taken up by her assignments with Team Aqua, where she couldn’t even use her primary team. She’d never really considered adding new Pokémon to her team, and rotating others out for a while; it seemed wrong, for some reason.
Maybe if they were dragon-like…
“I do remember hearing you had an Altaria, correct? They certainly are beautiful as well. Especially if entered in contests…”
Zinnia reached into her bag, pulled out a ball, and released her Altaria in response. The large, fluffy bird enthusiastically circled her trainer’s head a few times, before resting on Zinnia’s head, to her immense dismay.
“Yeah, yeah…” she said, reaching up and petting the bird with a reluctant smile. “This dingus has been with me for a while. I’m rather fo-o-o-ond of her.”
Marin watched on excitedly as Wailmer coasted to the edge of the flock, floating placidly on the rippling water. She was finally going to see an awesome Pokemon trainer successfully catch a Pokemon…how cool was that? If there were two things that Aqua Grunts rarely saw, they were Pokemon captures and strong Trainers. Nodding fervently at Zinnia as the mysterious grunt stared down a certain Pelipper, Marin clenched her fists in eager anticipation. Zinnia looked so cool as she lobbed a foreign-looking Pokeball at the Pelican Pokemon.
Unfortunately for the both of them, the Quick Ball went right into Pelipper’s mouth.
Marin winced as Zinnia shot off a profanity, the grunt’s shoulders slumping a little after her failed catch. Incensed, the wild Pelipper gave the girls little time to brood as it turned towards their Wailmer ferry, a Water Gun erupting from its bill. Carvanha and Wailmer absorbed most of the impact, but Marin let out an eep! of surprise as the cold water sprayed across her clothes, clutching onto Zinnia for support.
Zinnia stomped her foot in frustration, though she tried her best to pull the stomps and not let them hurt the Wailmer she and Marin stood on. She was so frustrated - this fucking bird made her look like a total chump.
She hardened her stance to absorb the light shock waves from the Pelipper’s water gun, and began reformulating her strategy. She always used Quick Balls to catch Pokémon, and battling without mercilessly obliterating her opponent was difficult for her. Plus, she only had basic, standard-issue Poké Balls at this point, so they were in for a bit of a haul.
She blushed a little when Marin latched onto her as Wailmer rocked around in the water, but she brushed it off.
Before she could shout out another command, however, Marin passed a couple of Ultra Balls to her.
“I bought these in case I wanted to try catching a new friend someday, but now I want to donate them to Team Zinnia! I know you can catch it this time!”
This girl. Was there a single disingenuous bone in her body? Arceus above.
Zinnia looked down at the new arrival in her hand, and nodded to Marin.
“Thanks.”
Now even more determined not to look like an asshole, she pointed at the Pelipper.
“YOU’RE GOING DOWN, MOTHERFUCKER!”
Probably a little overboard. Nonetheless, Carvahna took the initiative while the Pelipper began to recover, soaring out of the water, chomping down on the bird’s wing, and dragging it down so that it couldn’t move. Lining up her throw, Zinnia, wound back, said a silent prayer to Rayquaza, and threw.
This time, Pelipper couldn’t do a bullshit counter, and the ball bounced off its head, opened, and dragged the bird in, floating in the water and wiggling.
One.
Zinnia narrowed her eyes. It was really hard to see it.
