The young emerald-eyed girl quickly put her necessities in her bag, clothes, snacks, her mother's pocket watch, and her father's old map of Kanto, as well as her brand new adventuring set, with a sleeping bag, kindle knife, and a flint and steel, into her bag and tied it into a noose knot, just to keep things safe, grabbing it, and ran to her door, beaming happily as she rushed to go down the stairs to bid her parents farewell. Marina was so excited to meet Professor Oak that she forgot about the slippery mat outside of her door, and slid all the way to the stairs. She would've fell, too, if it hadn't been for her father walking upstairs to warn his daughter of the time, who'd caught her as soon as she lifted off the mat.

"Where do you think you're falling, kiddo? The only place you should be falling is asleep on your adventure, if you're going to be running around like that everywhere," he chuckled, looking down at her with similar colored eyes. He was a tall, muscular man, sporting a dirty blonde goatee and neatly combed hair, donning a grey sweatshirt, slacks, and an apron, or his work clothes, as he was the manager of the PokéMart in Viridian City. Marina looked up at him and kissed his cheek, grinning widely. "Okay, Dad, you know you won't be able to catch me when I'm out on my journey!" she chastised as he set her down up on the first step.

He looked at her and smiled earnestly, "No, but I think your Pokémon will. You can't only rely on yourself to get things done. That's what the crew is for, got it?"

"Aye, aye, captain!" she replied as she hugged him and rushed down the stairs to meet her mother.

Her mother stood, leaned against the countertop that divided the kitchen and the living room and smiled slyly, her blonde locks hiding her ochre eyes from Marina's view. She licked her lips slowly as she drank from her glass of water and spoke, with a thick accent. "Aye, aye..captain?.." She muttered to herself as she crushed the glass in her hand and glared daggers at her daughter. "Only I am the captain, you deckswabber, you! For your mutiny, walk the plank! You scurvy dog!" she shouted, pointing for her daughter to leave out the door, but now seeing her eyes, Marina could clearly see tears dripping from her eyes, something rarely seen by anyone. "Just..go.." she whispered, whimpering and keeping her eyes away from her daughter.

Marina, her lips pursued and her eyes determined, marched toward the door, but not before looking back over her shoulder towards her teary-eyed mother. "I will be a great leader, just like you, mama. Just you see." And with that, she walked out the door and began to run towards Oak's lab, rushing away from the life she once knew and towards the life she wished to lead. When she arrived to the front doors, she had noticed a sign up next to the door, so she had jumped, leaned against one side, and appeared as if she was looking off the bow of a ship. Soon, she would meet her first mate, and be going on her way, on her grand adventure.

She wasn't the only one there as she noticed another person, looking as if they were also waiting for Professor Oak. She blushed slightly, as she noticed she probably looked like a total dork, how she was. She slowly slid down to sit on the sign and waved shyly.

"Ugh..."

Devon groaned, slowly raising his face from the mass of quilt sheets and fabrics that covered his body in it's overwhelming embrace. Cloudy blue eyes glanced around drowsily from beneath messy locks of platinum blonde hair, before the smooth face underneath it smirked slightly in triumph. He remembered where he was - especially so, considering the overbearing smell of pine that was currently being released from the rectum of his room. He was in a homely brown, oak-wood hotel, complete with a double king-sized bed, a small TV, and a small bathroom. Devon glanced around once more, his blue eyes now half-lidded and alert. He remembered everything now that his brain was refreshed with the oxygen of life. He was at Pallet Inn, the biggest inn/tavern in Pallet Town. He had been dropped off by Staraptor a few days ago, and so far, everything was cool.

"Shit...I'm late." Devon kicked off the blankets that was covering his body, quickly sliding out of bed and falling, rather uncool-like, on his butt. With a snort he leaped onto his feet, throwing the rest of the blankets lazily on the bed. The teen glanced at his alarm clock. "Oh man...when was I supposed to be at the lab?" Now feeling a tad panicked, but keeping his 'cool' persona running, Devon ran towards his closet, kicking open the door and throwing on some regular clothes. A long-sleeved white and red shirt, slim dark red jeans, and black and red converse. His awesome black shades were thrown on next, and the boy glared into the mirror, giving his reflection a 'thumbs-up'. "Looking badass. Totally gonna spin some phat stacks when I get back on the road." Although his voice was it's usual calm, apathetic drawl, the slight smirk on his face gave way to his real emotions, seeing as his eyes were hidden behind his sunglasses. Devon grabbed his pre-packed backpack, filled with a small, compact disk of clothing identical to the ones he was wearing now, along with a few Poke-Balls, a few bottles of water, two lighters, a small sleeping bag, and some epic bags of Doritos. Devon grabbed the curved, sheathed knife - self defense, and he had a license for it. He sheathed it on his belt, before grabbing the Poke-Balls and magnetizing them to his belt as well. His bag now zipped, Devon gave his reflection another smirk before jogging out of the door.

---

Devon leaned against a street post right outside of Oak's lab, his eyes glancing boredly down at his red Pokenav. He wasn't late - early, actually, and his freak out this morning wasn't even needed. At the sound of footsteps, the platinum-haired teen glanced up casually, his eyes hidden behind his pitch black sunglasses. It was a girl, glaring around as if she was a pirate. Role-play, perhaps? It didn't matter. That was cool.

"Yo captain, name's Devon." He smirked, waving his hand back in a lazy salute, his blue eyes twinkling from beneath his shades.

Marina frowned slightly at the word 'captain', thinking about her mother's reaction before she left.

"Only I am the captain, you deckswabber, you! For your mutiny, walk the plank! You scurvy dog!"

She quickly pulled herself from her thoughts and looked at the young yet snowy-haired man in front of her. "I'm Marina, and I'm not a captain, not yet, that is. Not until I get my crew," she spoke softly as she glanced side to side, curiously wondering where Professor Oak could be, though to him, she probably looked like she was watching out because she was in some kind of trouble. That was the problem with her, always suspicious for no reason.

She looked at the young man and smiled, fixing her hat. "Devon, was it? You're here to get your first mate– I mean Pokémon, too?" She adjusted herself on the sign and smoothed out her dress as she looked to her feet, swinging them gently. "I don't know why you're here, and I don't know why I'm telling you this, well, maybe because some things are on my mind right now, but, if you're leaving far from home, make sure that it doesn't move far from your heart. No matter where you go, you can always go back because you belong there." She giggled and pushed her bangs to the side, tilting her head. "I must sound so silly, talking like some sort of oracle or seer. I'm just missing home already, and it hasn't even been ten minutes! But, I have a duty to uphold, and that's what I'm going to do!"

Devon shuffled slightly, standing up taller on the post and dropping his hand. Home...where was his home? Amongst a bunch of busy body citizens who didn't even have time for anything other than work? Well...there was his mother, and he'd have quite a few Pokémon friends later on. Maybe it could actually feel like home..."Uphold that duty. Show that duty's who's boss. Dominate that shit." He grinned, crossing his arms and glancing at the entrance of the lab.

"I'm hoping for a cool Pokémon, so that I can head out and dominate some noobs myself." Devon glanced up at the sun, before looking down at his watch. "Should be interesting."

Conor reached Pallet Town with ease, sprinting through Route 1 trying his best to not draw the attention of the wildlife that inhabited the forest and rivers around him. He was on his way to get his first Pokemon, his starter. The excitement within his body grew with every step nearing Pallet Town and Professor Oak's laboratory. As he looked around Conor noticed the hill which held the Professor's lab. The sun was shining brightly and warmly as he began his strut uphill. It was early, earlier than he had expected to be there, but he was extremely excited so it only made sense as to why he was.

As he neared the top Conor was surprised to see two other teenagers standing around the entrance of Professor Oak's lab. They looked around his age and were already engaged in a conversation, but not being the shy one the youthful teen stepped up with a smile. "Hi, you two aren't here for your starters too, are you?" Questioning them with one of the only other real choices to be visiting Oak.

The three would-be trainers waited outside for nearly an hour before finally the door opened and one of Professor Oak’s aides stepped outside. He seemed nervous as he smiled and invited them to come inside.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, but there’s been a situation,” he told the three of them. “The professor isn’t available at the moment, but please come inside and follow me.”
He led the teenagers inside the lab. As they made their way through, they could see several police officers questioning the others aides, dusting for finger prints, and taking pictures.

The aide brought them into a much smaller room adjacent to the lab. Once they were all inside, he shut the door behind him and then turned to address them. “I’m sure that you’re all wondering what is going on here. Unfortunately, I can’t say much. But I do know that as of this morning, Professor Oak is missing. The police are looking into the situation now, but I can’t give anymore details then that. Nonetheless, the three of you are here to start your journey as Pokémon trainers and I will fill in for the professor and provide you with what you need.”
He walked over to a table and then opened up a box. Inside, were three Poké Balls. “You each get to choose one.”