Through lashes she eyed the old crone sitting rigid on the plush seat, passing time by following the white ringlets which spiraled out of the light blue gypsy head wrap to hug the mature woman's squat toad face.
Wrinkled hands shaking more than usual folded over the head of the cane as the compartment vibrated, effects from their choice of transportation, the obvious selection, one mega city to another, Saffron to Goldenrod: the Magnet Train.
With the elder's eyes completely shut, the sixteen year old mistook her for being asleep.
"WHAP! Hard smooth round surface contacted with the teenager's jaw. The perpetrator bobbed up and down eye level in the air mockingly.
It's rude to stare" the woman opposite commented without bothering to open her eyes.
Her student took a couple of seconds to rub her stinging jaw, mustering up enough neutral tone to respond "yes, Madam Rayel." before reaching for the red and white pokeball still hanging midair in front of her.
She gave the orb a long look, trying to see past the exterior to the Pokemon nestled inside. After a few moments, she attached the pokeball back to her belt. The tournament arrived too soon, too soon to know what birthday surprise thrived inside.
Her shot to make a name for herself boiled down to this tournament. Losing meant the risk of forever being judged as the Psychic Mistress's daughter. She no longer wanted the label. Ava craved acknowledgement for her own achievements with the brand dwindling to nothing more than a side note. A wave of sadness wash over her combating the resentment she felt towards her mom. Rayel had accompanied the fifteen year old in her mother's stead. Sabrina felt the occasion not grand enough to shut down her gym. Instead adhering to the excited challengers coming to try their luck against a master psychic. Competitors trumped her own daughter's first real Pokemon match. Ava's compensation for her mother's negligence, a pokeball for the road.
"Too much unnecessary backlog" to quote her workaholic of a mother.
And to make matters worse, the trip's majority consisted of Madam scolding her for insolence. How wrong and foolish a trainer is to wait for the dawn of battle to bond with a Pokémon. Ava appreciated the generalization of the lecture since Madam Rayel never used her name, but the elements of the sermon still called her out. The talk made no dent in Ava's already made up mind. She loved the thrill of the unknown even over her search for a challenge. That pokeball, the only sign her mother actually cared about her daughter, held both.
"Ava, you should have at least registered Haunter as one of yours, you still have a Pokemon slot left to fill, your mother recommended..."
"Haunter is not a beginner Pokemon." Ava addressed pointedly, hoping to avoid another lecture if possible.
A loud explosion forced the entire train to wobble. A series of shouts and screams gave Ava the idea the trickster of a Pokemon had been waiting to hear his name. Chuckling followed as a purple mass materialized into the room.
Madam Rayel ugly eyeballed the ghost type with disdain, finally huffing. "He acts like one."