saffronist:
sunyshore is all beaches and rocky outcroppings, warm colors and painfully bright. it makes sense that a city that runs off solar power would be constantly sunny, but sabrina hadn’t accounted for the intensity and neglected to bring sunscreen or even a hat. she can already feel the tightening of her skin that preludes a sunburn. her nose twitches ever so often; the air in the city smells distinctly of saltwater and sabrina hasn’t become entirely accustomed to it. she just wants to get her errand over with, but it won’t do to return to saffron all red and burnt, so she seeks out the closest building to her— which just so happens to be the sunyshore gym. she notices the CLOSED sign but disregards it. if anyone wants to question her, she can conjure up an excuse about visiting on league business.
once she pulls open the doors to the gym, she’s hit with a cool blast of air. necessity is indeed the mother of creation, she muses before entering the gym. its relatively empty, and the only sound in the room is a mild electronic buzz. she turns around and promptly comes face to face with who she assumes is the sunyshore gym leader (she’s not really acquainted with members of the sinnoh league, but she makes a note to brush up on her knowledge once she’s back home.) she notes the irritation on the face of the gym leader and the styrofoam cup on the ground and spilled noodles. ah. so maybe this hadn’t been the best course of action.
she chooses to forgo an introduction. she doesn’t know if she should reveal her identity just yet. “just a tourist trying to get out of the heat.”
“sorry about your food,” she says in a tone that is hardly apologetic, giving a pointed glance at the remains of his lunch.
Oh. Tourists. Volkner practically has to choke back the taste of bile when she says that. The damned tourists. This one in particular has a lot of nerve to her, for sure. She walks in so casually, and suddenly...This. Not even a challenger, not looking for any sort of fight...It’s almost sad. It’s not like Volkner intends to pick a fight with this one. She’s just a tourist, and no matter how strong her Pokémon are, he’s on a break. For a moment, there’s just...Silence, aside from the old mechanical hum he’s used to.
Then, he simply brushes himself off, turns to the door, and gestures for this stranger to leave.
“Again...You’re bold. If you’re not going to stick around and make up for what you just did, though...Get out of my gym. Pokémon Center’s not that far from here.”
Really, he doesn’t want to deal with much more of this. She can make it to the center if she has to find shade. He’s set to head out himself and get whatever he can as far as food goes before his break’s over...
Then, something hits him. She doesn’t look too familiar, but he can swear that he’s seen her face before. He was all set to leave the gym on his own, but then...He’s seen her. Somewhere. Somewhere...Volkner supposes there’s only one question he can ask.
“...Wait a second. Do I know you from somewhere?”