Very rarely someone of important social standing visited the Johto Battle Frontier. For weeks now everyone had eagerly been anticipating someone, this time around being the Champion of Kanto, Maia Ashworth. The Frontier Brains, including himself, were given the privilege of meeting her. It was exciting but he couldn’t help feeling absolutely terrified. There wouldn’t be a group gathering or celebration but rather, a one-on-one meeting.
All employees watched as the calendar rolled over and finally reached the designated date. Earlier that morning Quinn frantically emptied bins on his floor, tidied his work area and made sure not one hair was out of place. Many spoke highly of her and he didn’t doubt their respect. She was mentioned by many challengers he’d taken on, with the same tones of admiration.
Quinn was about to leave and get his morning tea but stopped abruptly at the elevator. The lights indicated it was in use and he took a step back, nervously fiddling with his hands. As the familiar ding sounded and the doors rolled open his head snapped up, allowing him to stare right at the Champion.
“M-Maia! Hello,” he stuttered. “Welcome to the Battle Frontier. Please, sit.”
He led her over to the spare seating, a plush lemon-coloured couch. Quinn stole a glance out the windows to see dark thunder clouds billowing over the sea. Wind had begun to pick up this morning and had reached a gale.
“I suppose it wasn’t the nicest day to visit here, with the storms. Olivine City can be like that sometimes. A-are you liking Johto so far?”
Don't chase the rabbit, Manami. Come back here. Please. //imsosorryit'sforthememeokayyesiwillleavenow
Send me “Don’t chase the rabbit” and your muse will be shown a random memory from my muse’s past.
✿ – 17 years old ; Jubilife City ; runrunrunawaybaby
Being the most modernized city in all of the region, there are several distinctive buildings that line the streets on the city carved out of mountain by the neighboring town. One of which is a noticeably large, white and cube-shaped building located in the northern section of the city. It is by far the most prestigious-looking establishment and seems to gain several ounces of attention daily from tourists and natives alike. Though the main doors are normally blocked by campaigning groups and a swarm of paparazzi shrouded among crowds of adoring fans.
It even has several people nearby pleading for others to come and form a group with them.
Manami sits inside of the building on the second floor adjacent to where popular trainers are free to come and go as they like, partaking in the event that is dressing up their pokemon using accessories delegated by the television station. She watches enviously as the more experienced players laugh with one another and stick colorful ribbons here and large, floppy hats there before cooing at their companions and snapping several photographs.
It’s not fair... Even though she thinks this, however, she knows that this is the life she had been chosen to lead -- and most of it was on her own accord.
She had wanted so desperately to be in the spotlight among the most talented of performers that the entire world had ever seen. She yearned for the feel of bright lights shinning down on her and for the blood, sweat and tears that came with being a passionate artist. She craved so badly to make people find her singing enjoyable, that they would become infatuated with her comedic acts and that they would continue to admire her no matter how elaborate the different skits she performed were and outrageous the costumes specially hand-crafted that she wore became.
There had been so many longings, but yet she felt so empty now...
It seemed that the life she had craved for hadn’t been all of the glitz and glamour that she’d anticipated. There were struggles and hardships; decisions she had to make that were so unbearable that she’d lost weeks of sleep over. There was no free-style dancing and she was categorized into what type of genre she was to represent, even if she wasn’t a fan of that itself. She wasn’t allowed to have her own friends and ones that would opt to boost her fame were chosen for her -- dating was absolutely forbidden, of course and even if she were to find someone.. well, she highly doubted they would want to be with her solely for her personality.
She was exhausted of always having to smile when she felt moody and for feigning being ecstatic when all she wanted to do was lock herself away in her studio and cry for hours on end. She was tired of being portrayed as a ditzy girl who didn’t know her left from her right. She was weary of the rehearsed responses and the constant casting calls for the same type of roles over and over and over and over again.
She had wanted to become an idol -- yes, that much was true... but she wanted to become it in order to make people smile in her own way. Not for the way that she was supposed to be portrayed as. She’d wanted them to actually enjoy her music instead of changing it and she wanted to tell her own jokes even if they weren’t written by the ‘greatest’ comedic writer of all time. She wanted to host shows that she actually enjoyed watching and she wanted people to understand her love for certain hobbies and activities.
She wanted to brag about how hard her family worked to support her and she wanted to show off that she could actually hold her own in a battle. She wanted, she wanted and she wanted.. but all she got was --
“Oh, I wasn’t waiting long at all!”
Lies. Her magenta eyes sweep across the clock on the other side of the room and she realizes that she’s been waiting for well over an hour for her manager and the producer to come back in. Her manager shoots her an apologetic look while the producer scrunches his nose at her sickeningly-sweet attitude, shaking his head once or twice before he sits a little too-close-for-comfort on the cushion beside her.
“We’ve just reviewed your recent performance and we’d really like to air it on the nighttime channel,” the balding man explains, beady eyes drifting up and down her torso as he leans back against the sofa. “The only thing is.. well, we only have room for one idol spot this month and we’ve already signed a contract with Grace -- you know who that is, right?”
Manami smiles and nods her head politely, shifting in her seat to make the slightest bit of room between them. Her manager tries to ease the awkwardness of the bad news with some encouraging words and a promise that next time will be different, but it soon falls on deaf ears as Manami glances back out the small window towards the trainers happily playing with their pokemon.
When are you going to stop acting like a caged blue bird? She was right.. she didn’t even know her.. had no idea as to who she was or what her life was going to become.. and she was right...
“ -- and she’s been really popular lately. We’ve even read that she’s the next up-and-coming idol and she’s sure to set a record with ratings. We know that you have a lot of experience from former commercials as a child, but we really want to -- !!”
Manami suddenly stands up from her seat on the couch, startling both the producer who had been drowning on and her manager who had been preoccupied with her clipboard. They both turn towards the pinkette and ready themselves for an apology she is sure to give for her sudden rudeness, but...
“It’s really not a big deal. I mean.. with the rise of every star there is a fall. It happens all the time and I’m really not upset...” she pauses and clasps her hands behind her back, spinning on her heel so she is facing the two dumbstruck patrons of the room. She gives them her best smile and readies herself for the end...
Nonsexual Acts of Intimacy ; ♝–; Reading a book magazine together
During the long, drawn-out process that is introducing the competition during the opening ceremony, the Pokemon League Village on the Indigo Plateau becomes a mecca for all things revolving around the conference. It lodges several trainers who have traveled from all of the region and does its part in order to make their stay as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. And while most League activity occurs in the Pokemon League Pavilion and on the battlefields surrounding it, several other activities go on within the village in order to keep the spectators entertained.
Even though there are a number of parades and cinema showings as well as some important ceremonial events unique only to the conference, it seems that Manami’s time is spent elsewhere.
In one of the more luxurious cabins on the far side of the pavilion, the poison-type specialist drapes herself across a large bed and dramatically begins waving her hands. She couldn’t believe it. Finally, after waiting and waiting and waiting for what had seemed like a lifetime-- it’s finally here. It’s finally in her grasp and it’s so close that she can almost taste it on the top of her tongue. However, despite her overwhelming excitement and giddiness, she is thrown for a loop when she finally flips the page and reads the full spread exert from her latest interview.
Her senseless whining is ceased only by her companion who looks at her with disinterested hues before turning her attention back to the television hanging up on the wall.
“Oh my Arceus, Maia-chan!” the pinkette squeals as she pushes her way over to the side of the bed where her best friend is currently trying to do everything in her power to avoid being roped into conversation. She nearly rolls right into the Champion and extends her arms out so half of the magazine is laid on her forearms while the other side is cradled in Manami’s fingertips. She releases the corner of the page and points with a well-manicured finger towards the paragraph that has upset her the most.
“Look, it says right here…” Manami states as she glides her finger along some text that reads, ‘We’ve been given the pleasure of recently interviewing Fuchsia City’s one and only, Poison Princess, Manami Matsumae! Thank you so much for being here today with us Manami, we really appreciate your time. Now… a question that has been on our minds recently is if you’ve been seeing anyone? Our sources tell us that you’ve been traveling frequently to the Kalos Region..’
The pinkette huffs as she points to the answer she’s given them which is a cutesy way of saying that she’s saving herself for her prince charming. Cue some laughter via text and she figured that that would have been the end of it. However, as the reader continues on, there is a segment shortly after that tells that even though she’s denied being in relations with anyone, she’s been seen with another male on numerous occasions. A large photo is shown of when she’d traveled to Shalour City last month and her standing beside a larger, collective-looking male with hair a few shades off from her own.
Beneath the photo there is a caption in bolded letters that reads, ‘Secret Shalour Spotting! Does this Poisonous Princess finally have a Prince for her royal court?!’
Manami lets out a scream and thrusts the magazine towards Maia hastily, cradling her head in her hands as she hysterically goes off for the umpteenth time in the last ten minutes. She lifts her head when she gets no response and watches as her friend lazily glances over the magazine before turning the page to read about some places that are good for isolated vacations.
“What are you doing, Maia-chan?! Didn’t you read what it said?! It has a picture of me and my brother and it’s saying that we’re a couple,” she cries, feigning being heartbroken as she throws herself over her friend and wraps her up in a tight hug. “And here you are, just reading about where to take vacations for a single person! Don’t you know that we can’t be together then?!”
Marie whispered the name she only learned recently. This new friend appeared to be distraught; crying almost. Actually, she just might be. They may have just met, but Marie wished to help anyway she could. Though, she was completely unaware of the reasons behind the other girl's emotional state.
“Eh, please don’t cry! It’s going to be okay, alright? I know it will.” The young Gym Leader smiled warmly in an effort to comfort her new friend. She lifted a hand and gently tried to place it upon the others shoulder.
Kanto was a brand new place to explore. And while she didn’t exactly have long to do so, she was determined to cram as much as she could into the short slot of time that she would be in the region. Two weeks was far too short to cover the entire area, of course. But it would get her a nice taste and head start for whenever she would come back one day.
Her eyes were wide with wonder as she took in the scenery of Cerulean City. At her side, her frillish floated in the air, also looking around with curiosity. However, it wasn’t long before the girl snapped out of it and quickly pulled her pokemon into a hug. The water and ghost type let out a slight noise of surprise but did nothing to suggest that he disapproved of his trainer’s behavior. Instead, his tentacles wrapped themselves ever-so-slightly around her arms as though he was returning the gesture.
❝I can’t believe we’re actually in Kanto, Reggie! I’m so excited I almost want to just make it our next long-trip and just save Kalos for later!❞ Senna gushed softly to her pokemon. The frillish made neutral noises in response, as though he were simply replying with the pokemon equivalent of ‘uh-huh’. Had the girl been paying more attention, she would have noticed that his eyes had strayed to her hair clip rather than focusing on her or her ramblings. ❝But no, I made up my mind that Kalos was next. And I’m excited to explore more of Kalos too. We’ll spend our two weeks here and then go back to--ah!❞
Reggie had managed to wriggle free from her loosening grasp, and snatch away the hair clip in one swift motion. And before Senna knew it, her pokemon was floating away into the crowd. Another one of his little pranks! Oh, he could be such a handful sometimes! She darted after him, weaving in between people and keeping her eyes peeled for the mischievous frillish.
Finally, she found him floating behind a woman with rather long hair. His tentacles were outstretched as though he was going to put Senna’s clip into the hair of the stranger. She motioned frantically to her pokemon, trying to deter him from following through, but he seemed rather set in his actions. Before young trainer could stop him, Reggie clipped the hair piece into the woman’s hair and floated around in circles looking rather pleased with himself.
❝Ahhh, Reggie, no,❞ Senna groaned, running forward to wrap her arms around him once more before turning to apologize to the stranger. ❝I’m sorry about him!❞
Before Rocket, he had always placed himself in situations where he was above all - the smartest, most well-dressed and cultured figure in the room. But all that was irrelevant now, as he had made the poor decision of transplanting himself from his usual abode and instead walked the corridors of the base, so far as to leave the science wing.
His eyes were like darts, shifting from the left to the right, right to the left, as he received all manner of grimaces and sneers. He rubbed his palms together. They were clammy, a sure sign of his nerves. He was going to die here, flogged to death by Rocket grunts. It actually made him miss Plasma. At least the grunts there covered their mouths.
Then someone caught his eyes. Among the sea of black uniforms and dirty faces was a girl. A notably smaller girl, with long brown hair and a style of her own. It was a refreshing sight to behold, a difference in this stream of sames. He readied himself to ask her help, but as she walked past Colress saw her eyes. It wasn't the colour, nor the shape. It was the gaze. The white, empty gaze. There was nothing behind it. It was as if someone had perfected an android. For the brief moment they passed, Colress felt the heat from her body, took in the smells emanating from her. She was human, there was no doubt in Colress’ mind. But that gaze..
He rounded on his heel, trembling hands clasped together. He weakly waved out towards her back, and then realized sound might be more effective. Being in such a contrasting environment had turned him into a quivering fool.
“Pardon me.. ma’am, um, could I ask you for some directions?”
