academiagal;

The first time she arrived here, as a Team Aqua grunt several months ago, she had her rear end handed to her on one of the food court’s trays as she hilariously misunderstood the building’s basic premise, was trapped in a battle she was woefully unprepared for, with her horribly under-trained Aqua team, and was systematically destroyed.  All over a sub.  A single sub that probably didn’t even taste that good.

Bitter?  Sure.  But Zinnia didn’t care.  She wanted to literally fight this stupid place.  The entire food court.  Just fight the entire concept.

Unable to actually do that, she instead resolved to actually get some food from this damn place.

       A scrape on the knee, a bruise on the arm, those were things that could heal. A hole in her wallet - that might be a little difficult to make up for. It was only one meal, but that was a lot in her standards, so she cursed her clumsiness silently, again and again.

       So when the tension got to her and she asked Annabella about the plan, it came to no surprise that Annabella had to pause for a while. Looks like she had overwhelmed the former, unfortunately. But Annabella's reply did make itself heard eventually, and Naomi internally sighed in relief.

       Annabella spoke of her guilt for receiving Naomi's homely gestures and not carrying her bag along with her. She then softly agreed to the housing arrangements Naomi had made, and designated their next stop to be the Contest Hall.

       Registering Annabella's unease and conscious-striken mannerisms, Naomi then tried to soothe her by tenderly taking hold of both of her hands. Was that too brash? Hopefully not, for it was well-intentioned, and Naomi had always found that the best way for her to express herself was being candid towards the other party.

[✍] "Don't worry, Annabella. We're friends, helping each other out is only natural! You've comforted me emotionally so many times over the months, and I've easily lost count. Plus, I'm your host this trip, so I am absolutely more than ready to make it the best I can - with all my ability!"

        Then she eased one of her hands off and began walking towards the Cove Lily Motel. And despite the fact that Lilycove was certainly no Verdanturf littered with flowers and spring breezes, it had an attractive atmosphere to itself nonetheless, offering an overwhelming amount things to browse for the average person.

       The travelling period of a few minutes passed by in a flash, and easily the duo booked a room for Annabella's stay, with Naomi using her savings to pay for the accommodation. As the service-lady at the counter asked for the both of them to stay in the lobby for the preparation of the room, they eventually settled down on one of the variety of sofas present.

       Not wanting the conversation to stagnate, Naomi decided to come up with something that could keep both of their spirits up. Maybe some chatting would do? 

"Hey! Naomi — I thought it was you. What are ya doing here anyway? Don’t ya have to study for the finals coming up? Mr Carlson would be pretty P.O’d if his top student didn’t ace this one as well."

       His voice rang out calmly, with a pleasant, well-intentioned looking smirk etched onto his face. He winked, and Naomi nodded in response, understanding his intentions. But she could not bring herself to hold eye contact for long or reciprocate the smile, for though she was relieved at his intervention, his words had unintentionally caused her to wince - right now was not the time to remind her of school, or top grades. She did manage to choke out a stilted laugh and reply after much effort, though.

[✍] "Hahah, we all need a break sometimes... Who cares what Mr Carlson thinks. It's nice to see you either way."

       Gruffly, the middle-aged man shuffled out of the accompanying seat, mumbling incoherently under his breath. He swaggered away, bottle in hand. Wow, polite much...? She sighed once again, and took a sip of wine. The flavour danced tangentially on her tastebuds, somewhere bitter, sweet and a little too strong. On any other occasion it would have been fine wine. But somehow all Naomi could feel was the bitterness. As the beverage settled down in her system, she turned towards the kind man who drove the other geezer off.

[✍] "Thank you. I'm not good with those kind of situations."

       Then she looked over her shoulder, and already she noticed there were men getting up from their seats, eyeing the vacant spot the other guy left. Naomi couldn't help but feel unsafe, scared. So in a moment of haste, she turned towards her makeshift 'saviour' and gestured for him to take a seat. Certainly, she never really knew if he was really a good person or not, but beggars can't be choosers and he was her best bet. 

[✍] "Um, if you wouldn't mind..."

       She took a deep breath. Hopefully he wouldn't turn the offer down, her glass was basically full and she was hoping to take as much time as she could. It would be nice to feel safe. For a moment, he looked elsewhere, as if coming up with a reason to excuse himself. Within those few seconds of contemplation, Naomi could practically hear her heart beat in nervousness. She didn't like to paint herself as the damsel in distress, but honestly she reckoned that she was looking at him with rather pleading eyes. But ultimately he accommodated her wish, and sat down next to her.

[✍] "...Thanks, thank you."

       Gratitude swelled within her, and though she had repeated it a bunch of times, she felt like 'thank you' hadn't been enough. There was more to be said. Nonetheless, she couldn't think of any sort of small talk, but at the same time she was hesitant to fall back into silence, languish and resignation. She looked at her drink.It wasn't like her to be tngue-tied. Maybe she would think of some kind of small talk to initiate eventually, or perhaps, hopefully, the stranger might try to converse. But her mind remained numb, and she was sure it wasn't because of the drink. 

[✍] "Sorry, I'm just not in the best state now."

"Yeah, you’ve got it..! That’s me."

She let out a sigh of relief, thank Arceus, she didn’t mess up, that would have been rather awkward for her and Naomi… IF she was a stranger ofcourse.

       Appreciative, earnest, willing. Those were the things that Naomi picked up on in regards to Annabella, and she had to admit that the both of them had rather similar leanings in personality. It would make this trip very pleasant and also rather fun. Gladly, she handed Annabella the list for reference.

On it wrote in swirly handwriting:

Places of Interest for Annabella! >v< (in no particular order)

Contest Hall ~ Pretty obvious what's this about, I'm sure you'll enjoy it tons, really! I've got Teddiursa ready! 

Lilycove Museum ~ There's a lot of beautiful artwork here, I'm not sure if you're into that though! (Neither am I, but I'll love to bring you there if you'd like)

Lilycove Department Store ~ The shopping in Lilycove is it's prized attraction! You'll find things you won't find anywhere else >:3c

Pokemon Trainer Fan Club ~ The atmosphere there is really swell, and I enjoy talking to the people there a lot! They give really good tips.

       As Annabella went through the list, Naomi swung back and forth in anticipation. She prided herself on that list, and hopefully there would be at least one thing that would pique Annabella's interest. Oh, wait. There was also the issue of Annabella's stay. It was sudden, but Naomi wasn't able to provide respite due to personal reasons.

“A trainer huh? Maybe I could give you some tips, after all I was once a gym leader and the Champion of Kanto!”

       Naomi raised both of her hands and practically clamped onto her cheeks in surprise. She could afford to do that, since the wall was still quite intact. Anyways, first he tells her that he's the grandson of Professor Oak, and now this...? She shook her head, trying to dispel her nervousness. Green was probably only a few years older than her, yet he'd already accomplish so much... Naomi felt small, but not in a bad way. She felt like as if her prospects were open, and that she had so much more to achieve. Somehow, his presence brought about a kind of hopefulness within her. Bringing down her hands, she drew up a reply.

[✍] "Wow, again, that's amazing... Yes, well, I've only gotten a few gym badges, but hey, I'm getting there! Also, I-I'd be also more than happy to listen, and I can only thank you so little for sharing, if you'd be disposed to!"

       At this point, she was certain that it wasn't the nervousness anymore, yet she still jittered. Pinning down her speech to excitement, she then internally told herself to calmit. Sure, Green might be an internationally significant figure, with more accomplishments you could even shake a stick at, but he's just a person! She took a deep breath and nodded as he answered her previous query.

"Honestly, I’m still not sure. I’m here in Hoenn to take some research notes to help Gramps improve on the PokeDex. It’s fun to take notes and observe all the different species but, battling is really fun too."

       In her elation, Green's change of tone slipped past her, leaving her ignorant to his slight despondence towards the subject topic. She was never really good with percepting, interpreting and dealing with negative emotions. Reservedness was also not her forte, so instead of leaving his speech open-ended and moving on, she addressed his worries.

[✍] "Oh, well I think it's perfectly fine to be undecided... You've already done so much, and I'm sure you'll go on to do more, Green! Just my opinion, but strive to do what you want to do. If you want to battle, you should go for it! Oh, and if not I look forward to a new update on the Pokedex too, haha." 

       But before a reply had been given back, Naomi's ears picked up on a distinct rumbling of gravel. Crack. Crack. Crumble.

"Atta girl Eevee! Hey Naomi look at this!"

       The wall parted and gave way in a second, rock particles falling systematically one by one by one. Soon enough, the debris had been quickly dispersed by both Eevee and Raichu, and the latter stood back, smirk evident on its face. Naomi ruffled it behind its ears, tossed it a Pokeblock, and called for it to retreat. In a flash of red, it was gone, and now Naomi had a clear view of Green, who she had come to look up to.

       Well, metaphorically and literally, because he was pretty tall, after all. Wait, didn't this mean they had to part ways? Agh, but there was still so much more to be talked about. Like those trainer tips he offered, or what he planned on doing after. Hey, wait, maybe not just yet! After all, Naomi knew Hoenn pretty much better than most, and why not help him out with his clothing dilemma for just a bit? Speaking of, now that she got a clear look of him, wow, he was really in the wrong kind of attire. Nonetheless, Verdanturf can wait, and this would have more academic value. Plus, Naomi was really quite eager to listen to Green. With great resolution, she began to make the offer.

"Honestly, I’m heading to Rustboro to get some new clothes, I made the mistake of assuming Hoenn having fine weather only to find out that it’s actually a very tropical climate."

       As he spoke of his reasons of crossing the tunnel, she couldn't help but try and choke back some light laughter. Well, then again, Hoenn can be cold once in a blue moon, so he probably wasn't advised against bringing some winter wear.

"Suitable for the assorted Pokemon you guys have here, especially the aquatic Pokemon, and let’s not forget Tropius!"

       Noting that he was privy to the region's native Pokemon, Naomi smiled in approval, as it was nice to know that he shared the love of the creatures. Perhaps he was a fellow student, on a learning journey? Then he moved on to the Friendship Rater and Contests, which in the latter he asked for advice regarding. Biting her bottom lip, she began to quickly recall some of her contest habits.

[✍] "The Friendship Rater is really neat and Contests are rather fun, yes! Oh and I'd be more than glad to give pointers, if you'd accept them from me. My skill level ranges from around intermediate to advanced, so of course I'm no expert, though. Uh, let's see, well, the first thing you have to take note is - actually, the first two things you need to heed is your Pokemon's Condition and Moveset, and you have to evaluate both based on Pokemon Contests, not Battling. Not to say that a Pokemon that partakes in one can't in the other."

[✍] "Then, as you will also realise, Contests are segregated into five sub-sections - Coolness, Beauty, Cuteness, Smartness, and Toughness. You should try and develop your Pokemon to be a specialist in one section only. For example, in a Cool competition, a Pokemon with a full moveset of Cool moves will most likely beat another Pokemon with lets say, half a moveset of Cool moves. Nothing is certain, but that's just a generalisation. Ah, and as a result of that, research is key. You have to study over the appropriate moves and Pokeblocks you plan to give to your Pokemon. Um, I think maybe that's all..."

       Darn, she's rambling. In her hastiness, Naomi carelessly omitted the most crucial factor - friendship and trust. But the other party had begun to speak when she had realised this, and not wanting to seem overbearing, she decided not to interrupt. That would've sounded a little cliche, bookish and would've been to much to take in, she reassured herself.

"Hey you know what? I never introduced myself to you! My name is Oak, Green Oak! I’m the grandson of Professor Oak. Maybe you’ve heard of him? He’s the one who came up with the PokeDex!"

        It was at that point that Naomi flared with embarrassment, with her breath noticeably hitching. How could she not have noticed? Of course she had heard of the Pokedex and the family name of Oak, it was the most revolutionary Pokemon information storage device of its time! In fact, she had one assigned to her from the Academy, and it was in her backpack right now. And this was the grandson of its creator? Oh man. Her eyes widened slightly, not knowing what to say in response. She had so many queries and so many curiosities about him. But she calmed down in a second, for it would be a lifetime shame if she let this opportunity pass by being a little nervous.

[✍] "Th-That's amazing! It's nice to meet you, Green! May I refer to you as that? Or would just Oak be preferred? Ah, anyways, of course I've heard of him! Wow, it's an honour to meet you! I'm Naomi, and I'm a Rustboro Trainer School Acedemic. I'm studying to be a Trainer and Coordinator. Do you happen to be a Professor just like your grandfather?"