- Posting Speed
- 1-3 posts per day
- Writing Levels
- Advanced
- Preferred Character Gender
- Female
- Primarily Prefer Female
MENTIONS:
In the middle of an empty field covered in fake, bright green grass, a tall, suited man stood to meet the roaring crowd. His brown hair had been combed back, revealing the salt and pepper that coated the underside of some of the locks of chestnut. Gray eyes peered upwards towards the cheering fans who chanted and cried out with excitement as a frown twisted beneath his mustache and beard. He raised a hand to his beard and twisted a finger around one of the ends of his mustache as a blond boy raced from the sidelines to meet him.
"C-chairman Amaranth! I..." panted the young one. "I got everyone together... haa, any sign of Victoria yet?"
Amaranth hummed as he stroked his beard. "Not a single one, unfortunately." He kept his eyes glued to the black sky.
Cereus suddenly took a deep breath and straightened up, his brows furrowing together in what seemed like juvenile determination. "Well, we can't leave them hanging forever, eh?" he asked as he handed Amaranth a mic.
"Suppose we can't," Amaranth murmured to himself as he took the microphone. After a few more moments of pensive thought and a longing glance back up at the sky, he flicked it on and put it to his lips as he turned to face the crowd. With a flourish of his free arm, he opened his mouth to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen! As you probably know, I am Amaranth, chairman of the Pokemon League. I know that everyone here, and everyone watching from home, has been waiting for this grand moment. It is my pleasure to announce that finally, the Galar region Gym Challenge will now begin!"
The roar the crowd emitted almost deafened him. Arceus, if he hadn't had any tact, he could have lowered the sensitivity in his hearing aids... "Yes, the Gym Challenge! Participants must defeat the eight Gym Leaders and gather the eight Gym Badges in order to prove themselves as a Trainer. Only the most worthy will have the honor of challenging Madame Victoria for her title of Champion of Galar! Now, I would like the Gym Leaders to show themselves!"
The giant flatscreen televisions that had previously been focusing on his face (and had made the crinkles around his eyes and the gray in his beard blatantly obvious) now zoomed onto the entrance of the field. At the sight of the seven shadows that emerged from the depths of the tunnel, he shared a surprised glance with Cereus. Not only were they missing the Champion, but he had to keep his cool in front of the onslaught of fans. Amazing.
"We might be missing our Champion," Amaranth continued pointedly. "But please say hello to Clorin Esbeau, the cool-headed Water-type Gym Leader from the Isle of Armor! Lynn Cuwell, our curious Bug-type Gym Leader from Spikemuth! Thomas Tyrell, the calm-minded Grass-type Gym Leader from Turffield! Nordrin Yasmar, our sweet-toothed Fairy-type Gym Leader from Hulbury! Fraye Armstrong, the feisty Fighting-type Gym Leader from Stow-on-Side! Hestia Quintell, our fiery Fire-type Gym Leader at Circhester! Next, Fiona MacConnell, our Flying-type Gym Leader who makes her roost here in Motostoke! And finally, Silas Griffith, the fierce Dragon tamer from Hammerlocke!"
As he announced their names, the cameras panned from each of their faces, which made the crowd grow even more wild. Amaranth noticed that several of them had noticed Victoria's absence, though it was for the best that they kept up their charade. Now wasn't the time to worry. They had a region to bolster. Nevertheless, he raised his eyes to the sky again. I really, really wish she were here...
"These are the Gym Leaders that we in the Galar region are proud to call our own!" Amaranth motioned to the Gym Leaders once again, and the crowd's cheers, screams, and chants seemed to make the ground tremble beneath his very feet.
"C-chairman Amaranth! I..." panted the young one. "I got everyone together... haa, any sign of Victoria yet?"
Amaranth hummed as he stroked his beard. "Not a single one, unfortunately." He kept his eyes glued to the black sky.
Cereus suddenly took a deep breath and straightened up, his brows furrowing together in what seemed like juvenile determination. "Well, we can't leave them hanging forever, eh?" he asked as he handed Amaranth a mic.
"Suppose we can't," Amaranth murmured to himself as he took the microphone. After a few more moments of pensive thought and a longing glance back up at the sky, he flicked it on and put it to his lips as he turned to face the crowd. With a flourish of his free arm, he opened his mouth to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen! As you probably know, I am Amaranth, chairman of the Pokemon League. I know that everyone here, and everyone watching from home, has been waiting for this grand moment. It is my pleasure to announce that finally, the Galar region Gym Challenge will now begin!"
The roar the crowd emitted almost deafened him. Arceus, if he hadn't had any tact, he could have lowered the sensitivity in his hearing aids... "Yes, the Gym Challenge! Participants must defeat the eight Gym Leaders and gather the eight Gym Badges in order to prove themselves as a Trainer. Only the most worthy will have the honor of challenging Madame Victoria for her title of Champion of Galar! Now, I would like the Gym Leaders to show themselves!"
The giant flatscreen televisions that had previously been focusing on his face (and had made the crinkles around his eyes and the gray in his beard blatantly obvious) now zoomed onto the entrance of the field. At the sight of the seven shadows that emerged from the depths of the tunnel, he shared a surprised glance with Cereus. Not only were they missing the Champion, but he had to keep his cool in front of the onslaught of fans. Amazing.
"We might be missing our Champion," Amaranth continued pointedly. "But please say hello to Clorin Esbeau, the cool-headed Water-type Gym Leader from the Isle of Armor! Lynn Cuwell, our curious Bug-type Gym Leader from Spikemuth! Thomas Tyrell, the calm-minded Grass-type Gym Leader from Turffield! Nordrin Yasmar, our sweet-toothed Fairy-type Gym Leader from Hulbury! Fraye Armstrong, the feisty Fighting-type Gym Leader from Stow-on-Side! Hestia Quintell, our fiery Fire-type Gym Leader at Circhester! Next, Fiona MacConnell, our Flying-type Gym Leader who makes her roost here in Motostoke! And finally, Silas Griffith, the fierce Dragon tamer from Hammerlocke!"
As he announced their names, the cameras panned from each of their faces, which made the crowd grow even more wild. Amaranth noticed that several of them had noticed Victoria's absence, though it was for the best that they kept up their charade. Now wasn't the time to worry. They had a region to bolster. Nevertheless, he raised his eyes to the sky again. I really, really wish she were here...
"These are the Gym Leaders that we in the Galar region are proud to call our own!" Amaranth motioned to the Gym Leaders once again, and the crowd's cheers, screams, and chants seemed to make the ground tremble beneath his very feet.
TWO MORNINGS LATER...
The morning was crisp and chilly; Hestia could tell from the frost that filmed her window panes. Circhester mornings were some of the darkest among Galarian cities and towns, only dwarfed by the ones that were found in the deep south. The pink-haired lass yawned as she pulled herself from bed and tousled her wild locks. Despite the nippy climate, her sleepwear consisted of a tanktop and some gym shorts, and she slept barefoot. She liked the cold weather here-- she didn't understand why people complained about it. Sure, it was cold, but that didn't mean that people had to bury themselves underneath layers and layers of clothes. If one trained their bodies to withstand the cold and moderate their body heat, they'd be able to withstand subzero temperatures! At least, she thought so.
Hestia brushed her teeth and sat down at her kitchen table. The drip-drip of her espresso machine rang through the silence of the room as she switched on the televison screen only a room away. Even though she couldn't see the television, she could hear its mindless droning about the weather. It was due to rain later in the day... that was something she couldn't stand: wet weather. She sighed as she walked over to the half-full cup sitting below the machine's spout, leaning against her dark marble countertop as she peered over at the television. Ugh, it wasn't even only going to rain in Circhester-- the storm system was going to wash over most of the cities in Galar. Great. That meant she had to pull out the raincoat if she went outside. Ugh. Maybe this was a day to stay at home.
A small, black form wriggled out from under the kitchen table and leaped up onto the counter. Hestia's souring mood suddenly halted as she looked down at big, blue eyes. "Hey, Sirus. What's up, bud?" Hestia greeted the Zorua as she ran her hand over the longer tuft of fur upon his head. The small Dark-type Pokemon let out a little chirup of happiness as he bumped his forehead against her palm. "Sleep well 'nough? There's storms a'coming, so maybe it's best if we stay inside for today..."
"Ra..." Sirus whimpered, shuddering. Of course the very furry Pokemon would hate to get wet; the water would definitely weigh the poor thing down.
"IN REGARDS TO THE SEARCH FOR THE REIGNING CHAMPION OF GALAR," the newswoman continued, "THE POLICE FORCE HAS RETURNED TO WYNDON EMPTY HANDED. AUTHORITIES CLAIM THAT VICTORIA ACTON HAS BEEN MISSING SINCE THREE DAYS AGO, WHEN SHE DID NOT ATTEND A PRE-PRESENTATION PRESS CONFERENCE. IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT HER POSSIBLE WHEREABOUTS, PLEASE CALL YOUR LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENT."
"Huh? They still haven't found her?" Hestia thought aloud. If she was really okay, Victoria should have reached out to Chairman Amaranth already, either through text, phone, or email. And it wasn't like her to suddenly up and run away from responsibilities. Concern began to bubble up in her as her mind raced. Maybe she actually had enough of the whole champion thing and eloped with someone? Or maybe a wild Pokemon attacked her out of the blue? She reached for her phone, beginning to dial Amaranth's number before she stopped. Wait. Maybe this whole ordeal was better off spoken about in person. But a trip to Wyndon, in this weather? Hestia's heart dropped when she glanced outside; the clouds were already darkening. Looks like I'm going to have to break out the raincoat after all...