[b][u]Collab between Prints and c3[/u][/b]

Cerise held her breath as she watched the egg shiver in her hands. She was frozen, captivated by the thing that had seemed so insignificant just moments ago. Excitement thrummed through her like an electric shock.

The first crack appeared.

She gave a squeak in surprise, only to have a giggle escape her a moment later. More and more cracks webbed across the surface of the egg. A piece of shell, finally loose enough, poked up and away from the rest. With careful fingers, Cerise plucked the shard and gingerly raised it up and away. An unfocused blue eye blinked at her. 

Cerise didn't bother to hide the way she was beaming, excitement and awe coming off of her in waves. Bit by bit, she worked with her new pokemon to piece apart the egg, until finally she was holding the new born pokemon in her hands, shell fragments scattered on the steps around her.

[color=pink]"Hey there,"[/color] Cerise whispered. The little pokemon in her lap yawned and blinked up at her.

Diego'd let his mind wander during the speech of course. It was more of the same sappy mumbo-jumbo. Of course, it was sappy mumbo-jumbo he agreed with. He just didn't like being hit over the head with it. Again, and again, and again. The professor's assistant sure caught his attention when she started talking, though. He had to admit, she was pretty cute. Despite her clear nervousness, she managed to get all the necessary information across. 

The bit about the gear in particular caught his attention. His PokeGear had served him well back home but using the local technology would definitely be preferred. Who knew if his PokeGear would have any service out in the wild. And it was free, so why not. [color=1a7b30]"Hey Bliss, I'm gonna go take a look at the free gear. We're gonna need it. Why don't you go take a look around. See if you can find any friends to join our team."[/color] He spoke to the Aipom sitting with its legs around his shoulders, looking around at all the people and Pokemon. A grin on her face, Bliss vaulted off his shoulder and disappeared into the crowd, headed in the direction of a more forested area.

Diego himself, headed to the crates the girl had mentioned and grabbed one of each. A Pokedex sure would be useful too. He was messing with his new Holo Caster, something grabbed his wrist and pulled him forcefully away from the box. [color=1a7b30]"What the hell?!"[/color]

[b]"Diego! Oh my gosh! You have to see this!"[/b] His mother's voice carried as she walked ahead of him pulling him along excitedly. [b]"This girl just hatched the most adorable little Pokemon!"[/b] She stopped in front of what looked like a little girl holding a tiny black and purple Pokemon with what looked like bows. 

[color=1a7b30]"Mom... it just hatched. Can't you give them some time to get to know each other..."[/color] So much for not embarrassing him... He looked at the little girl, [color=1a7b30]"Sorry to bother you, my mom just wanted to say she really likes your Pokemon... in case you didn't hear her..."[/color] He looked down. Oh no wait, this wasn't a little girl at all. No, she was small but she seemed to be about his age actually. 

[b]"Well what kind is it? Maybe I can find one of my own!"[/b]

Diego sighed. [color=1a7b30]"Umm, do you mind?"[/color] he asked Cerise, holding up his new Pokedex. [color=1a7b30]"I figure this is a good a chance as any to break this thing in."[/color]

The wonder of watching a new pokemon blink in the sun for the first time was shattered when she heard a woman squealing. Both Cerise and her little doll-like pokemon jumped in surprise, and looked up to see an older woman and a [i]very[/i] tall boy around her age standing above her. The girl and her new partner shared a look as the boy tried to apologize for his mom’s behavior.

Cerise stood up, carefully holding her little pokemon in her hands. She was annoyed that she still had to crane her neck so much to look up at him even when she stood, but she supposed she really should’ve been used to it by now. So instead of making a face, she smiled sweetly.

[color=pink]”Oh, uh,”[/color] she said shyly, [color=pink]”it’s ok, really…”[/color] She blinked at the extended pokedex. Her pokemon seemed to flinch back from the unknown object, and Cerise cupped her hands a little more securely around it on reflex. But… well, [i]she[/i] didn’t even know what sort of pokemon this was. So instead of responding, she just whispered soothing sounds at her pokemon and held out her hands to the boy, her thumb stroking up and down on its fur.

Diego grinned, rather relieved to see that the girl was cool about it. [color=1a7b30]"Okay. I've never actually used on of these but it's supposed to be pretty simple."[/color] He turned it around, seeing as he had been holding it upside down. 

He pointed it at the Pokemon and the rectangular device slid open to reveal a translucent display. The small Pokemon before him appeared on the screen, rotating slowly. A robotic voice began to speak.

[b] "Gothita, the [u]Fixation[/u] Pokemon. Gothita intently observes Pokemon and Trainers. It is looking at something only it can see. "[/b]

Along with the information read out loud, there was quite a bit of other information displayed underneath the picture. 

[color=1a7b30]"Well, there you go mom. Now you know what to look for."[/color] He turned to look at his mom, who gave a quick "Sorry" and "Thank you" to Cerise before backing away with a sheepish grin. [color=1a7b30]"Sorry again,"[/color] Diego said, looking down at the girl. He tucked away the Pokedex. [color=1a7b30]"She gets carried away sometimes... I'm Diego by the way."[/color] He backed away a bit, so he didn't have to crane his neck quite so much, and extended a hand.

Cerise looked down at her pokemon – her [i]gothita[/i] – and the two stared at each other for a moment. Then the little pokemon perked up and smiled, and Cerise couldn’t help but giggle. She looked back up to wave goodbye to Diego’s mom before turning her attention back to him. 

[color=pink]”It’s no problem,”[/color] she replied, [color=pink]”I didn’t know anything about her, so you actually helped me out. At least now I know what she is.”[/color] She blinked down when he stretched his hand out to her, and repositioned her hands so the gothita was held in the crook of her arm, freeing up the other. [color=pink]”Cerise,”[/color] she answered, taking his hand in her much smaller one.

Diego laughed. [color=1a7b30]“Yeah, there’s so many Pokemon. It’s hard to know all of them by sight.”[/color] He grinned, shaking her hand firmly. [color=1a7b30]“It's a pleasure to meet you. So, you planning on taking that little Gothita out to explore? Or you just going home after this?"[/color]

[color=pink]”No,”[/color] Cerise answered a little too quickly. She blushed a bit and drew her hand back from his to brush her hair behind her ear. [color=pink]”I mean, we’re going exploring. Not home.”[/color] She smiled again as she looked down at her gothita. [color=pink]”Me and… Iris?”[/color] The pokemon just continued to stare at her. Cerise’s smile grew and she gave a little nod to herself. [color=pink]”Iris. We’re going to travel around a bit. What about you?”[/color] She supposed asking about him was the polite thing to do.

[color=1a7b30]“Travel around Kalos, huh? That’s gonna be fun. I’m going to be doing some of that myself. I came to find myself a Pokemon to start my journey as a trainer. I mean, I'm already sort of a trainer. I've just never trained Pokemon for battle." [/color] He laughed softly. [color=1a7b30] "It can't be that different right? I'll probably earn all eight badges in a few months. That's why my mom's here too actually, finding a Pokemon so she's not all alone while I'm gone. I still have to find my own new Pokemon actually..." [/color]

Cerise nodded along, showing an appropriate amount of interest. She raised an eyebrow at his assertion he’d claim all the Kalos badges in such a short amount of time. From the way her mom talked about being a trainer, it’d take [i]much[/i] longer than that. But Cerise didn’t have any interest in debating with this boy, so she just smiled up at him.

[color=pink]”I’ve never had pokemon at all, so I’m sure you’ll be much better at it than me. I’d wish you luck, but honestly I think I’ll need it more.”[/color] She gave a little self-deprecating laugh, and pulled Iris a little closer to her chest. Well. She wouldn’t really need luck to be a pokemon trainer. Mostly because she had no [i]interest[/i] in being a pokemon trainer. But alas, traveling the region to study plants wasn’t a good enough reason for her mom to let her leave home. 

Diego laughed. [color=1a7b30]"Yeah I think we all need a little luck. I just need less than most people."[/color] He laughed again, pleased with his own joke. 

He jerked a bit as he felt something suddenly tugging at his pant leg. He looked down to see Bliss, who swiftly climbed up his leg and back taking another seat on his shoulders, a huge grin on her face. [color=1a7b30]"Oh hey, Bliss. You manage to find anyone to take with us?"[/color] He ruffled the fur on the Aipom's head. She nodded and pointed with her tail in the general direction of a group of trees. [i]"Pom!"[/i]

[color=1a7b30]"All right, we'll go check. But first, meet Cerise and Iris!"[/color] He picked up Bliss off his shoulder and held her in front of him so she could see Cerise face to face. [color=1a7b30]"This is Bliss, my Aipom."[/color] Bliss waved, excited to meet someone new. 

[color=1a7b30]"Oh hey, you know what before I go, lemme register your Holo Caster. You can call me up if you need any help." [/color] He placed Aipom back on his head and pulled out his shiny new Holo Caster and gave it a few quick taps. And then a few more quick taps. And then a few more. His mouth curved into a frown and his brow furrowed as he tapped it a few more times. He let a soft sigh escape as he finally managed to figure it out. [color=1a7b30]"There we go. Just make sure you register me and now you can call me up whenever you want. Get lost? Need a bodyguard? Hey, you can even call me up for a date!" [/color] He began laughing once more. [color=1a7b30] "Well it was nice to meet you Cerise. I better get going before my Pokemon's taken. I'll see you around."[/color] He reached out to shake her hand once more. He'd then turn around to head off in the direction Aipom indicated, the Pokemon bouncing excitedly.

Cerise was quick to follow his lead, and registered him in her Holo Caster. Her smile grew from polite to amused as he prattled on about how she could call him, and her hand shake was more genuine than their last had been. She watched him bound off, an eyebrow slightly raised. After a moment she looked back down at the little gothita in her hands.

[color=pink]”He was kinda cute,”[/color] she whispered conspiratorially. Obnoxiously tall. But cute. Iris just blinked in response. With a little giggle, Cerise sat herself back down on the steps, scratching the top of Iris’ head. She’d met someone who wasn’t terrible company. She had Iris. Maybe this trainer business wouldn’t be so bad after all. 

[hider=TL;DR]cerise gets her first official pokemon, diego figures out how to work a pokedex, and the two exchange numbers.[/hider]