Kalos Region, Aquacorde City. It was a picture-esque view, to say the least. A nice bridge leading off in the direction of the next city, beneath which was a lovely blue river was the primary feature in the nice sights Professor Lily Apple saw from an outdoors table for six. Today, four trainers were to gather in Aquacorde. Her lab assistant was also here, but it was only natural that the two got here first. The fact that they left Lumiose City to get here yesterday may have also had something to do with it. Still, today was a lovely Kalosian day, so it was nice to not spend it all in a lab. Apple was sure her lab assistant - simply called B - could have agreed to that.

On the table she sat at, there was a sheathed sword with a blue cloth hanging from the hilt. It was her faithful Honedge. Next to her, also sitting, B, accompanied by an Y-shaped Unown he brought with him to Kalos. The young trainers-to-be were to arrive today, so it was only fitting that the professor and assistant be here to greet them once they arrived. Breaking a short-lived silence between the two, Apple spoke up. "They'll be here any moment, B. Make sure to remember their faces; I'm sure we'll see them again later on."

B didn't respond right away - he was sorting through the pokeballs. It was his Unown's chirps that finally tore his attention back to Professor Apple. "Of course we will. How else will you get your dat- oh." One pokeball slipped out, and B fumbled to grab it. "You think they'll be good enough?"

"I admit, a couple of them seem kind of ragtag, but I think they'll be capable of the task." Setting her gaze back to the bridge, Apple awaited the arrival of the appointed quartet. Her Honedge could be seen blinking occasionally. Even he seemed eager to meet the people Apple chose.

Miu knew she had always been fortunate to some degree. Her parents had given her some minor funds, for instance, saying it was in case she needed supplies. As another example, stores in both Lumiose City and Santalune City sold pokemon repel sprays. As such, her journey through Paterre Way, Ouvert Way, and Santalune Forest left her unbothered by any pokemon. Humans, not so much, but no one did anything more serious than bump into her. Certainly unpleasant but by no means harmful. No, her biggest problem was getting lost in the forest. She would've been glad to have had purchased so many repel sprays if it wasn't for the feeling she was wasting them all. She hadn't seen another person coming from any direction, solidifying the fact that she had, in fact, managed to lose the main path and could very possibly end up late or worse, despite the fact she had set out so early.What would even happen then? Would Professor Apple just give the position to some dumb kid in Aquacorde? Like Miu was going to lose out to a nobody!

It was only after managing to follow the sun, via select glimpses through the tree canopy, that she managed to find a sign. Something else found her: a Pansear, dropping onto her face with a screech.

It was a good thing she was alone, as later she could deny the ear-splitting shriek had been hers.

She ran until she finally found the forest's edge and then smoothed her dress and hair. Everything was fine. She sprayed her last repel and continued down Avance Trail. This path went as smoothly as the trip prior to the forest had gone, and quickly only the bridge was left to cross before she reached Aquacorde City. Small town. Even smaller than Santalune had been. Yuck. She surveyed it disdainfully before beginning her search for Professor Apple.

It took a few minutes before Miu located the terrace. There was someone else waiting at the table beside the professor. She smoothed the wrinkles from her dress one last time. If nothing else, she was going to look good. She took the steps up two at a time and approached the table. "You must be Professor Apple. I, Miu Kita, answered your letter." She glanced again at the others. The other person, in retrospect, was probably a lab assistant. How utterly lame. She sneered at the Unown floating by his head. Even Magikarp was better than Unown.

Bailey de Chance was having a hard time. Same old same old there. She'd managed to get lost in Santalune Forest and had been going in erratic circles for quite a while. She had somehow managed to get a nest of almost-evolved Beedrills mad, tripped on the tail of a Pansage, and have a Scatterbug from freaking nowhere leap out of a tree and onto her face. To call her walk in the woods far from a walk in the park was...well...a cakewalk of an exaggeration.

After countless twigs, birds, bugs, and electric rodents, Bailey somehow managed to find the exit. Five hours ago. Right back into Santalune City. Then it was right back into the woods to try and get out in the right direction. She was just now emerging from the woods, onto Route 2, thankful that it was a short one. She could almost see Aquacorde City from where she stood, and so started running. It was a few steps later that she was reminded to tie her shoes, after tripping on the laces. After taking a couple of moments to tie her shoes and just barely avoiding being the new home of Pidgey crap, Bailey got back up on her feet and made a beeline for Aquacorde. Her new adventure was waiting, and now that it was going to start in just a few moments, she was getting excited about it again. What kind of Pokemon would she get? She just kinda hoped it was a Ghost-type.

Dashing up to the first group of people she could see, Bailey declared, clearly out of breath, "...pant...Bailey de Chance...pleased to meet you, Professor." She then extended her hand to the one she addressed as Professor. The man with the Y-shaped Unown floating by him; the one who wore the eyepatch.

"Over here," the actual Professor Apple said. Nodding toward the eyepatched man Bailey mistook for being the professor, she continued "This is my lab assistant, B. He assists me in researching Pokemon evolution. Naturally, you lot will help out in your own way, too. Together, the two of us have done a bit of work and gathered up three Pokemon; one each. B, if you will." Wait, one...two...

"Oh dear. We appear to be missing one. I know Lynda came into town with us...strange." Shrugging it off - she'd be back eventually - Apple gestured toward the Pokeballs. "For the time being, you two should pick a Pokemon to begin your journey with."

For what it was worth, Charlie’s journey had been reasonably less chaotic than the others’. Used enough to travelling through Santalune Forest, the journey hadn’t been too difficult to make. Without the false promise of a stupid rock to lead him astray, it hadn’t taken him much longer than an hour and a half to make it through the sprawling green monstrosity.

Of course, his companion likely helped.

“J-just a little longer, Phil,” he said to the ball of gas and ectoplasm floating a short way away from him, as he slumped against a tree at the mouth of the woods to catch his breath; “Aquacorde’s just over that bridge down there.”

In contrast to the human, the Gastly travelling with him seemed far less perturbed by the journey; the lack of legs turning to lead and a host of bugs, birds and monkeys to blast with gas on the way down certainly helped in that regard. As Charlie finally caught his ever-elusive breath and climbed to his feet, the Ghost-type floated down towards him and let out a soft hiss.

Neither of them really needed to say or do anything after that; the final stretch to Aquacorde was less than eventful, and the bridge in the near-distance was soon at Charlie’s feet, in all its’ rustic glory.
Charlie paused for a moment, thought to himself quietly as the Gastly next to him just watched a Carvanha streak through the water after a small school of desperately struggling Magikarp.
This was it. There wouldn’t be any going back after he went over the bridge.

Swallowing his apprehension, he gathered himself up and pulled himself together before taking his first steps onto the bridge…

… and he was less than halfway over it when that all went out the window like a spooked Fletchling.

“Ohnonothim,” The boy mumbled to himself in near-panicked dismay as he saw who was waiting for him over the other side of the bridge with a cluster of other figures; a dark-skinned man in an eyepatch who had sure as hell noticed him too.

“Perhaps she went off to look at the shops? I doubt she went far.” B shrugged as he reached for the pokeballs. “Besides, she’s not the only one l- oh-” One of the pokeballs began to roll away and fell off the table before the Unown caught it and dropped in into B’s arms. He chuckled. “Sorry, I’d lose my arms if they weren’t attached to me.” He placed the pokeballs at the end of the table closest to Bailey and Miu. “Might wanna grab your starter before Lynda gets back - she seemed pushy.” The Unown squeaked, circling around Miu and Bailey before stopping and looking off in the direction of the bridge. Then, it bobbed in the air, and B looked to the bridge as well. “Oh, speaking of the late...”

Miu blinked at the assistant's - "B, that had to take his parents forever," she muttered - words before shrugging it off. What a weirdo. She stepped forward, snagged one of the pokeballs, and tossed it to see her choice. The light condensed, first into an orb-like shape before sprouting a few features: a pair of legs and a tail. When the light faded, a Poliwag stood there. It glanced up at Miu and yawned. She groaned. "This one's a bit too tame, I think. Probably in-" She was cut off by a raspberry. She looked back down to the Poliwag, who looked up innocently at her. "Please tell me these thin-" And another raspberry cutting her off. She glowered at the Poliwag, whose expression hadn't changed in the slightest.