nerdfuck said:
The sun was shining, in the distance music played loudly and within the main League building spirits were bustling. Many trainers had spent their whole lives training for this competition, many had just begun their journey and wished to challenge their Pokemon, and then there were trainers like Tallulah. Tallulah had spent a good portion of her life learning of Pokemon and how to develop a harmony with them. She was neither an inspiring Pokemon Master nor an upcoming breeder. She was left somewhere in the gray area. Not new, but not exactly seasond either. This would be her first competition and her anxiety was displayed clearly in her eyes. Would the battles that would take place here be too much for her Pokemon? Was she knowledgable enough to keep up with the more experienced trainers? Tiime would tell and this experience would help her grow.
Tallulah's right hand gripped a packet of papers, her left ringed handclenching an expanded pokeball which she held nervously up to her full lips. She looked much the part of a child shielding itself with a teddy bear, but for her it was the pokemon nestled away inside. She waited in line patiently, or perhaps impatiently. There was a lot going on around her but she seemed unmoved, fixated on the head in line in front of her so not to rattle her nerves more than they already were. She internally tried to convince herself she was stagnate.
Tallulah stuck out from the other trainers just by her looks alone. At average height, her body was shapely in all the ways a young woman should be. Her skin was a mixed mocha color that was neither dark nor light. It matched her long dark brown hair and her dark brown eyes.. A single braid lined down her hair line, two Pidgeotto feathers braided into it. Her clothes were not exactly mainstream, a long white skirt and a green tank top that hugged the most supple part of her body well. A belt with five more pokeballs rested loosly on her wide hips, small buttons and charms lining it. It was hard to place where she had come from off looks alone, that perhaps made her stand out the most.
The head she had been staring at in front of her suddenly ducked out of line and Tal was thrown for a loop, mouth opening as she stepped up to take his place in line..
The wait in line was killing Gale...
It had been more than an hour, and that was his reward for arriving early for registration. He was signing up for the three-on-three event, wanting to place well enough to grab the attention of sponsors and maybe even score a an endorsement or two. He had taken it all in the singles tournament last year, and while it was satisfying, he knew that he had gotten by on as much luck as skill. He had the requisite number of pokemon on a belt loop on his backpack, and though he enjoyed hunting for new pokemon, he was happy to have the opportunity to sleep in a decent bed for a change. Plus, in some of the quarters, the girls were good at more than just training their pokemon for competition and contests.
He took an appraisal of the room, plenty of girls were around his age, some were too young--and while he didn't discriminate against older women, there weren't many who had registered for competition. He had hoped to see some of those seasoned coordinators, as their aesthetic sense tended to carry over into their personal lives. He finally made it to the front of the line, handing over his paperwork, only to find out that the terminal was having problems, and that they would be merging the lines shortly.
"Ah, Gale, welcome back!" A man emerged from the back office to inspect one of the terminals, and greeted the young man, remembering him from last year.
"Oh! Doctor Elder? You're still a League official?" Gale shook the man's hand, a man in his early thirties, messy black hair and black rimmed glasses being characteristic of the researcher. He also served as a judge for the various competitions, though he preferred the pokemon contest and team battles to everything else.
"Oh, but of course! My research staff are on furlough, mostly so they can attend this very event. So, why stay home when I can have a good time with my favorite subjects!" He laughed, spreading his arms wide, his open lab coat fluttering to reveal a t-shirt and tan slacks for his outfit. He was a very informal sort of person, and had earned a slight reputation for his eccentricities. "Ah, well, just step over to the next terminal. We'll get you registered, no problem."
"I hope this isn't special treatment..." Gale said as he walked to his left, leaning in close to a young woman in a green tank top and a long white skirt. "Sorry, they told me to come over here and register--oh, I'm sorry, you were here first huh?" He hadn't noticed her before, but now that he was this close, she had some serious charm points that he'd like to explore, not to mention, those Pidgeotto feathers had an excellent shine to them.
The clerk waved away any concerns and processed both their forms and their pokemon, registering them for their events in a heart beat. The young man followed the young woman out of line, admiring her feathers, though he wanted to expound upon the qualities of her hips and rear at a later date.
"Are those from your pokemon? If so, I have to commend you. You don't see Pidgeotto with colors that vibrant or with a good balance of oil for that matter." He noted that he forgot to introduce himself, adjusting his black cap with white accents. "The name's Gale! Should have done that first, huh?" It was clear that Gale had a country twang to his voice, and with how pale he was, he was likely from Sinnoh. He was a tall lad, standing a little more than six feet, and had the broad shoulders of an athlete. His chestnut blonde hair was layered, trimmed neat and swept forward, blue eyes as clear as the ocean. He was dressed in a black jacket and sun-bleached jeans, a white collared shirt beneath that.
"Anyway, we should probably find a place to rest. I know I've been looking forward to this for the food as much as the competition." He chuckled to himself, as while he wasn't as famous as he would have liked, anyone who cared about trainer rankings would know about his victory the last time the League convened, though he was only one of many competitors to place high marks that year.