Alex, Estoria City

Alex walked through Estoria, slash flying above him. Many people looked, and gasped at the Pokemon flying above him, as they had probably never seen a shiny, or at least a shiny Starly. Even though he had been back for long, the walks through the city were just as nostalgic as his first day back, the sights, the smells, the FOOD. Boy, was the food good. But his mind was off task, and he noticed he had passed the Pokemon Lab. As he turned around, he noticed Starly was waiting for him on the steps. He put his face in his palms and shook his head. He walked up the steps and opened the door.

Lab

"Layla, is all the stuff in order, the new trainers will be coming to pick up their things any moment."

Proffesor Cedar was rushing, in a way, trying to get ready for the oncoming trainers. It was always exciting, having new trainers come in, it made her feel that her work was successful.

"Yes ma'am, it is. Five Pokeballs, a Pokedex, and a Gen 7 Pokenav."

Layla, the Proffesor's assistant, was a kind happy person, but she sounded dull, she was tired, rushed, and now a new set of trainers were coming, which made her feel even more rushed. Cedar gasped.

"Is everything ok!?"

Layla turned around, seeing Alex in the doorway. She smiled, Layla had known Alex since he was a boy, she was happy to see him as a trainer.

"Alex! You look great! You've grown into a very handsome young man."

"Moooooooommmmmmmm! You've told me that every day since I got back."

"Well, it's true. And Starly, look at you!

She talked as she hadn't seen them in ages. She handed some seed to the bird Pokemon, as it flew, and landed on her desk, gladly taking the birdseed, and then flying back, landing on Alex's shoulder.

"Well, you ready?"

"Ready? For what?

"You promised a battle when you get a Pokemon, and somehow you've managed to hold it off. Til now."

Layla had a mischievous grin on her face, as to let Alex know what was coming this way. She took out her Pokeball, ready to throw it.

"WAIIITTT! Not here, wait til you get en route.

"Wait, you mean Layla's coming to!?

"Yes, only for a few routes, it'll be a good break for her.

There was a clattering on the stairs, and a knock on the door.

"Well, they're here."

Grand Estoria Hotel - 11:00 AM

___________________

Fantasia woke up to the screeching sound of the hotel alarm clock in the penthouse suite of the Grand Estoria Hotel. With a yawn and one swift motion with her feet to the floor, Fantasia grabbed set her night mask onto the nightstand and removed her sleeping Budew from the glass of potting soil that was used to help her grow.

“Wake up sweetie, it’s time to meet the professor!”

Fantasia gently walked her Budew over to the bathroom sink and began to rinse the remaining soil from her Pokémon’s body, once done she dried the Budew and placed her on the windowsill to absorb a bit of sun before they leave.

Fantasia walked over to the phone and asked the bellhop politely to bring up her most elegant dress, which arrived almost instantaneously to her room.

She briskly put on her lavish dress, fastening her bows and earrings into her ears; pulling her hair back into a ponytail and allowing her curling iron to warm before starting her makeup, humming a sweet melody with each brush stroke.

Once she had completed her hair and makeup, she grabbed her flash headpiece and fastened it into her perfectly curled hair; adding two fresh white roses to each side and spritzing quite a large amount of 1000 Wishes perfume by the famous Coco Picasso.

Ring Ring, Ring Ring – The telephone screeched

Budew was startled by the sudden loud noise and tipsied over onto the soft bed, Fantasia picked her up and held her within her palm as she answered the phone.

___________________

“Hello?”

“Hey Doodlebug!”

“Hi daddy.”

“I just wanted to wish you 'good luck' on your adventure, is Budew doing okay?”

“Yeah, she is fine father... is that all you called for?” Fantasia rolled her eyes and gave her father a rather annoyed tone.

“Well… Yes buggy... I spent a fortune on her.." He sighed, "No, that's not all.. I just wanted to let you know that you don’t have to go; you can come back to the estate and we can work this out. Forgive me, I am sorry.”

“Firstly, don’t call me buggy; I despise bugs-“ Fantasia shuttered, “ –secondly, you scared away the only friend I had growing up when you weren’t there; you expect me to just forgive that? A quick phone call is not the way to bring resolve.”

“I know bu-Pumpkiboo, I am sorry; I don’t expect you to understand what I do, but that Pokemon could’ve made me millions! –We are working on a device that turns Pokemon shiny, Imagine your father being the only man with a shiny-“

“-I don’t want to hear it...” Fantasia reached for the hang up button.

“Okay.. Well, just know I love you and your always welcome to come back home.” He chuckled, “-Pumpkiboo, the real world is for serious people.. please just come home and forget about all this. Please.”

“Sorry, but I am serious, and if you didn't know that by now your not the man I thought you we're growing up... Goodbye daddy; I'll update you soon.” Fantasia hung up wiping a tear from her eyes.

___________________

Budew sputtered out a cute sigh, wiggling around in Fantasia hand.

“Don’t worry Budew, it will all be fine.” Fantasia kissed the little blooming bud that Budew was forming. "-we don't need him anyways."

Fantasia proceeded to put on her sparkly red high heels and make her way towards the door with Budew.

And with that, Fantasia and Budew made their way into the limousine and thus officially began their journey through Estoria. Fantasia couldn't help but feel a bit nervous about living life as a Pokemon Coordinator, but the excitement of starting a new life brought a smile to her and her Budew’s face as they drove to the Pokemon Lab a few blocks away.

"Caw!"

"Hey, come on Tim. We've been here before."

"Caw!"

"It hasn't even been that long, you can't be hungry."

"Caw, caw!"

"I only have three of those! I'd rather save'em for when we need'em!"

To the layman, they must have made a strange pair. A Spearow with a firm grip on a human's head, occasionally letting out a cry, seemingly talking to the human. The human, meanwhile, responded as if the Spearow was a normal person. The odd duo was in fact just a trainer and his buddy. Steven and a Spearow named Tim.

"Caw!" Tim objected.

"You're just bored." Steven countered, walking at a steady pace. "I know you get hungry when you're bored. You can't have any Oran berries yet."

Tim grumbled and bobbed its head up and down, seemingly in frustration.

"That won't work, you know." Steven said, continuing his pace. "I got used to you years ago."

Tim huffed and went back to looking around at the scenery. Steven continued walking to as he pulled out his map. A Spearow's talons digging into one's head was probably painful for many, but Steven got used to it, and it's not like Tim was trying to hurt him. And it's not like he was old enough to start losing hair anyway.

"Let's see..." Steven said, studying his map.

He was trying to get to the local pokemon Lab to begin his trainer journey. His other friends were already off in the wild, trying to have some fun, but Steven figured that if he wanted to go on a grand pokemon adventure, he should grab as much knowledge as he could, so he decided to seek the local pokemon authority, namely Professor Cedar.

Wonder why all the influential pokemon professors are named after trees... Whatever. Steven thought.

"Caw!"

As he stared at his map, trying to navigate it to the town he was in, Tim let out a warning cry, right as Steven was about to step onto a road. Steven jerked to a stop and backed up, nearly dropping his map as a limousine cruised past.

"Woah." Steven said, rebalancing himself. "Thanks, buddy."

Tim puffed up his chest with pride at the words of praise while Steven stared after the black vehicle as it sped out of sight. Steven wondered who would need such an extravagantly long thing, and where it might be headed. But he soon shrugged and put the thought out of his mind. Steven returned to his map to find that it had miraculously focused on his position.

"Aha! Here we are." Steven said.

Tim bent down forward in curiosity to look at the map.

"Look, Tim. We're just over here." Steven said, pointing out a spot on the map. "That means we just gotta walk a little bit more, that way."

Steven pointed out a direction and Tim's body rose to follow it. Tim saw little of interest in that direction and cocked his head sideways.

"Caw?" Tim cooed in confusion.

"We can't see it yet, there're buildings in the way." Steven explained.

Unfortunately, their destination was obscured by a few tall buildings of dubious levels of usefullness.

"Come on, buddy. It's not too far ahead."

"Caw!" Tim said, flapping his wings excitedly.

The odd duo of man and bird walked through the streets as some strolling pedestrians pointed and talked amongst themselves. Steven and Tim ignored them though, because they didn't care. It was a good day to start a journey with a friend.

Having left his home in Grand City, he was now at Estoria City, he was told by his parents that this should be the first place he should go, to receive some important items from the professor here. They wanted to take him here via transportation, but he insisted on going it alone. Doing so did him some good, having easily won a few battles on the way, his Eevee Empress was better for that.

He spent a lot of time enjoying Estoria City a little, with Empress nagging at him to get going, but he was having a lot of fun browsing the shops and seeing the sites. He saw the Grand Estoria Hotel too, which he had stayed in once during a visit with his parents, he had the money to stay there, but that was of no concern at the moment.

As he finally arrived to the Pokemon Lab, he saw a limousine park up right next to it as he approached the doors.

"Well fancy that", Empress didn't seem too impressed, limousines weren't new to her.

"Come on Empress, let's just get inside, I can't wait to see the inside of the lab, it's been years since I was last here", with that he entered the lab along with his Eevee.

PokeLab - 12:30 PM
_____________________
It has been 15 minutes since the limousine had arrived at the Pokémon Laboratory, Fantasia was eager to walk in and meet the Professor, however something seemed to be keeping her from getting out of her transportation.

She wasn’t sure if her dress was caught on something, or if it was just her own intuition giving her second thoughts of anxiety; one thing was for sure – she felt paralyzed under the pressure of the life she was about to pursue.

“Miss Heirloom?” the driver spoke, “Everything alright?”

Fantasia looked down at her smiling Budew whom was smiling and making cooing noises, she couldn’t help but smile back and pull her close in a sweet hug.

“Yes, I am fine...” Fantasia looked out the window, “First impressions can be tough, and I think I just need a moment to take it all in...”

“You know, Miss Heirloom-“ the driver looked back towards her, “-you don’t have to go, I could drive you home right now if you would like, it’s only a few hours.”

“Thank you, you are very kind; but I have made up my mind.” Fantasia smirked, her eyes unmoving from the scenery outside the tinted window, “If I went back, my father would only use me to search for her; and that’s not how I want to live my life.”

“Who is her?”

“It doesn’t matter, it is over; and I am not going back.”

“Very well, you’re welcome to sit as long as you would like; just don’t be late.”

Fantasia stared out the window with Budew, watching the world move all around them. Fantasia closed her eyes for a brief moment, then abruptly opened them to see a light-haired boy wearing underwhelming bland clothing with his Eevee walking up the steps and into the Lab.

Fantasia sighed and took a moment to just breathe, humming a soft melody as she rolled down the privacy window between herself and the driver.

“I am ready to go.”

With that, the driver hopped out of the front seat and made his way to the back of the limousine; opening the door where Fantasia was located.
She picked up Budew whom was bouncing gleefully on her lap, securing Budew in her small purse making sure Budew could see and was comfortable. Once completed, Fantasia then reached for the driver’s hand; exiting in one fluid motion making a glamorous exit from the vehicle.

One heel click after another, she made her way up the steps as her driver opened up the double glass doors and into the building.

Elvenheisen, Estoria city, Trainer Hostel - 7:30 AM

Elf's eyes darted opened as he pulled himself up, It was still early morning but that was the natural for him, after all 4 years of the lifestyle resulted in habits. Elf looked at the window of the Hostel he was staying at, he had been sleeping on the floor next to the perfectly made bed, old habits never die he guessed. raising to his feet he walked towards the window. he braced himself at the windowsill as he peered out, he was looking for something, in the back courtyard of the hostel, and there he was. Elf opened the window.

"Roc come on buddy wake up, today is a big day!" Elf said loudly out of the window to his Fletchling who had been resting on a stray branch of an Oak tree, one would be lucky to find areas of green in towns these day's but when you do, its always a good thing. Rocs eyes opened slowly, he flapped his wing's and quickly stood on his talons, before flying up to his trainer.

"Alright buddy its the early morning, you know the routine" Elf said to his partner on his shoulder. They both looked like they where new to the whole concept of being trainer's, some stupid people even said that, Elvenheisen quickly put them in their place. They had both been through a traumatic event, that neither of them liked to speak about, but that trauma came with a upside. They connected with each other like brothers.

Elf was only wearing his boxer shorts, but he quickly rectified that by pulling out his clothes from his hikers backpack. He pulled on his well worn t-shirt that was frying at the arms, he should invest in new clothes but he honestly didn't want to bother. neither the less a few more articles of clothing and he was almost set, he tucked his square of cloth into his trouser's and tied his shoe's, he felt ready and had used all today set of clothes but something was missing. where was it? he honestly couldn't figure it out. Roc chirped in offering a triangle of cloth, that had flames on the end. To the average person this would just be what it was at face value. A piece of cloth but to Elf and by extension Roc, it was a symbol of hardship and the wins and loss's that Elf endured, even more so now.

Elf checked the time 8:00 AM still to early to even bother going to the professors place, "Roc, we woke up early again" Elf said with a obvious sign of slight annoyance in his voice at the problem, it wasn't directed at anyone, it was just because Elf hated waiting. "Fle fle Fletch." Roc interjected obviously coming up with a idea to pass the time. "yea I guess we can do that Roc." Elf said agreeing with Roc who had fluttered down and was now sitting on his shoulder.

_______________________________________________________________

Hostel courtyard, 8:10 AM

"Are you sure you want me to do this?" The Hostel attendee said obviously questioning the training idea that both Roc and Elf had agreed to. Probably because it involved hurling tennis balls at the both of them, "Yes we are" Elf said starting to get annoyed at the attendee. "Well okay then, you brought it on yourself" The Attendee said as she began lobbing tennis balls fast at the both of them, as they both began moving to try and dodge them. Elf and Roc did this for what could be seen as a enjoyable two and a half hours, every time they where hit they would go at it again, their reaction times and speed slowly and steadily improving with each attempt. At the end of the training session both of them where thoroughly exhausted as if they had been through a marathon, and they kinda had, they were sweating but neither of them wanted to take a break.

_________________________________________________________________________
Estoria city Hostel - 10:40pm

"Alright" *pant* "We gotta get to the professors lab now, thanks for the help" *pant* "Come on Roc" Elf said to his partner and the attendee, "your welcome, thank you for your stay" The attendee said as she went back inside. Elf hoisted his pack onto his back, and made his way out of the front door of the hostel onto the streets with Roc riding on his shoulders. Elf took to the streets making his way to the lab. It was a mild annoyance that the hostel was locating on the outskirts of the city while the lab was closer to the center, but Elf could use the time to purchase some supply's for his travel's. Elf and Roc took a side turn into a food shop and quickly purchased some cans of beans, some Kendal mint cake and a few other rations, a few bottles of mineral water and some bird feed as well as general purpose Pokemon food. leaving the store half a hour later, after buying some croissants to eat. Elf and Roc continued on their way down the almost empty streets that slowly began filling with people the closer they got to the lab. it took about an hour and twenty minutes to get there.

Elf was soon nearing the lab when he noticed something that intrigued him, it was a limousine, who the bloody hell was visiting that could afford a limousine, especially considering that he just spent the last of his money he got from tournament winning's and someone was able to fluent their money like it was toilet paper, my god it pissed Elf off, he walked up to the front door of the lab. His hand reaching for the handle slowly.

He stopped, he looked at Roc who was on his shoulder, It was deja vu like, he had done this before, with Alver, Roc's dad while Alver was just a murkrow, four whole years ago, he stepped through that door, four whole years ago he started his journey, those years ago, he was a innocent kid. Then Team Nexus killed his entire team and now he might be subjecting Roc to the same scenario. Fun times for ages and then crippling reality, could he really do that to the little Fletchling he had come to see as family, Elvenheisen turned around, he didn't want to subject Roc to it, but then something made him stop, something had pecked him in the ear, it hurt alot, but Elf didn't care, he knew what it meant, it meant that Fletchling wanted to do this, and who was he to stop him. Elf slowly turned around to look at the laboratory door, it was a fresh start for the both of them. for the memories of the those that came before. "Alright Roc, I'll do it for their sake and yours." Elf said grinning at his partner, before straightening his face again and heading inside.

It was a new start after all...

Bailey - Estoria City

Bailey and her Mareep, Cream, were running down the streets of Estoria City. The pair are late for their meeting where they're supposed to meet up with the pokemon professor. the pair has exited their hotel which was some odd blocks from the pokelabs and after paying the hotel fee the pair started running so they can get to their meeting. After a few blocks Cream was starting to lag behind her trainer since her stubby legs aren't as long nor as fast as Bailey's, Bailey seeing her Mareep lagging behind Bailey scooped her up and placed the Mareep on her back as the pair ran across the city. People all around them watched as the duo ran incredibly quickly and somehow dodging everybody that gets in their way and being all around reckless as Bailey pretty much did everything in her power to do things the hard way. Like Jumping over garbage cans instead of walking around them and jumped down whole flights of stairs instead of walking down them, Cream was getting dizzy from her master reckless running and jumping.

"Baa...." Cream baa'd as if she was about to get sick.

"Don't worry Cream we will be there any minutes now!" Bailey assured her Mareep, which after she saw the sign that says the pokelab is just around the corner. "see! Nothing to worry about!" Bailey yelled as she jumped over some more garbage cans and almost ran into a couple people. But the Duo has finally made it, to the pokelab. Bailey was breathing loudly trying to catch her breath while her Mareep slid off her back and when it landed on the ground it tried to gain back its balance from that dizzying experience.
The two looked sick as they stood at the front of the pokelab. But today is only the start of their Adventures.

It has been some time since she left her home city though that was of concern to her. Heading towards Estoria city she couldn't help but marvel at the sights it was different from where she grew up in at Hoenn when she was younger. Despite protest from her to get there in the form of transportation she had rather decided that she would walk towards the city and start off her journey. Despite a few odd encounters that was quickly settled by Soma her Clauncher it was a pretty easy trip all things considered.

Arriving at Estoria she took a bit of time to look at the sights with Soma who was riding on her shoulder for a bit. She did see the Grand Estoria Hotel and while fancy it was a bit to much for her liking preferring the simpler things in life. Still getting a small tap from the large claw by Soma shook her thoughts from that as she headed towards the lab once more.

Having finally arrived to the Pokemon Lab and spotting the obvious limo parked near by Rin couldn't help but shake her head some people just didn't understand that fancy displays and money meant nothing when on the road.

"So there appears to be a rich kid here huh?" She questioned aloud as she her Clauncher moved its eyes left and right trying to catch in all of the scenery.

"Come Soma we best get a move on and you some water just in case. Dont want a repeat of last time do we?" Rin joked with her pokemon as she entered the lab to start her pokemon journey.

Sophia Pax - early morning route 2.

Sophia awoke to the sensation of something tugging on her foot. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see her lovable Litwick, Charon, trying to wake her. Its flame danced playfully in the light morning breeze. Sophia shifted as she began to stir and almost lost balance. She had forgotten that she was in a tree about 15 feet above the grass covered ground. She fell asleep here because it was safer to in the tree than in the tall grass. The near fall was really made her wake up. Her heart leaped around crazy in her chest as she stabilized herself leaning against the trunk of the tree. Sophia reached out to pet Charon, but Charon ran out on the branch away from her. He pointed off to the distance. Sophia looked to see the first rays of light breaking the horizon. She chuckled, "Yes, the sun is rising. I could have slept for a few more hours at least."

Charon ran up and down the branch making an excited muttering sound. Sophia grabbed her bag off a nearby branch. "Agreed," Sophia replied, "Thank you for pulling guard duty, Charon. I know you are excited. So am I. Today, we will make it to Estoria City. We are going to meet with Proffesser Cedar. Let's go." Sophia put on her backpack and climbed down. Charon bounced down from branch to branch following Sophia. Sophia used the rising sun to get her bearings as she walked towards Estoria City.

Sophia Pax - Estoria City. Pokemon Lab

Sophia reached the pokemon lab with Charon in tow shortly after noon. Sophia took outside the building and took it all in. She had made the journey from Solstice Town by herself. Not that she had anyone left. Charon was her only real companion this far. This building held much importance to Sophia. This place is the starting place for her real pokemon adventure. She took a deep breath and entered to building to find Professor Cedar.

One after another, the trainers came into the lab. One, being elegantly dressed. Alex did think it was over the top, but she was pretty. Layla noticed Alex, seeing him not take his eyes off the girl. Layla, jealous, stepped in front of him, blocking his view. Professor Cedar gasped for the second time today.

"Is everything ok?!"

"Elf! It's you!" Completely ignoring Layla, Professor Cedar walked over to the boy, noting his Pokemon, and how much he's grown. Layla put her hands to her face and shook her head.

"For the second time today, she's done that." She whispered to Alex as he tried to contain his laugh at her remark. But he failed in doing so, and it came out as a loud, groggy sound. That got the Professor's attention, and she continued with what was most important.

"Anyways. I'm Professor Cedar, but you probably know that already. My assistant, Layla here, has some items that will help you along your way." She glanced over to Layla, signaling her to speak.

"Yes, yes I do. For each of you we have five pokeballs, a Pokedex, and a Gen 3 Pokenav. A Pokenav is a special device, that has many useful tools, like a map, and my favorite, the DexNav. The DexNav tells you about Pokemon in the area."

"Well it has been good to see all of you for the first time. I hope you make many strong bonds with lots of Pokemon, and have a great journey. Remember appropriate travel wear is best for this, like jeans, a T-Shirt, and a jacket for if its cold. She glanced in the direction of the girl in the extremely over the top, ruffly dress

"Any questions?"

Elvenheisen, 12:35 PM

The Professor addressed everyone like they where new trainers, sure they where but Elf wasn't. He was a veteran battle hardened and ready, and yet the professor just treated him like a child, did she not remember who he had matured? at all? Well not matter, he would gratefully take free stuff the professor was giving, free stuff is always good.

@Suku

he walked over and tapped someone near him, It was a girl wearing a blue hat, Elvenheisen didn't care who the hell she was, honestly he didn't really care for stranger's but he was interested, in understanding the new people, because they might become influential figures in the future. so he began to spoke up, his voice clear. "Hello their what brings you to come here and start a journey" Elf said staring at the blue hatted girl, his stare would make anyone a bit unnerved.

(this is a slightly shorter post because my last one was so long...)

Hadaron eyes's snapped open as his watch gave a small beeping noise and he tapped it. The day he officially started his Pokemon journey. They had already spent the night before training until nearly midnight and he felt he was ready to handle anything. He grabbed his backpack and shook Ralts awake. His Ralts a little sleepy yawn and Hadaron scooped it up placing it on his head. Hadaron quickly ran outside grabbing a sandwhich his mom had kindly prepared for him and jumped on his bike giving a wave as he biked away. He easily made his way to the lab and parked his bike outside. He took a deep breath and took Ralts of his head looking into its eyes, "Here we go buddy." it nodded back and Hadaron put it back on his head before walking into the lab.

@1Charak2
"I been meaning to start a journey since I waited for a few years to study a bit more on pokemon. Though if you mean this region my family moved here a few years ago so what better place than to start at one your already at?" Rin answered truthfully it was of now harm to tell him why she was here after all. "So let me ask the same question why are you here? If you go by my own observations you already have experience with a pokemon journey so what are you doing here though I do not mean offense by asking." She stated it was a question but she did not want to pressure or ask anything that might be to much to ask or a bit on the personal side.

Bailey and Cream after catching their breath went into the Pokelabs and the two listened intently to the professor assistant rambling and honestly Bailey was getting incredibly bored by it. And suddenly as she was finished talking Bailey rushed ahead and grabbed the items, and lift them up to the air in triumph and she even made a little tune as she cheerfully held them up. Cream seemingly baa'd in worry as she watch the display that her trainer has caused. And suddenly the tomboy started to the juggle the items in her hands with a fine finesse to the act. She was just so excited that she could barely contain her excitement, and she didn't even care if the question asked by the dark haired weirdo was aimed at her.

"Tis simple, To become a famous pokemon trainer and have fun adventures!" Bailey chirped in a singsong tone, and she suddenly stopped juggling the items and lift up the worried Mareep off the ground, "And to make this little Mareep here, Cream, to be strong and the pride of my family ranch!" She started to hug the mareep who started to spark from the movements of the hug. "Baa?"

Steven arrived, finally, at the front of the pokemon lab.

"Look buddy, we're here." Steven said.

"Caw!" Tim replied.

Steven noted that the limousine was parked in front of the pokemon lab. That was one question answered, but who had ridden it and what were they doing at the pokemon lab? Try as he might, Steven couldn't really figure out the reason for it. He didn't really see a need nor a want a rich person might have to go on a trainer journey, but then again, there were all kinds of people in the world, so he shouldn't be surprised. In the end, Steven shrugged and went inside the pokemon lab.

Upon entering, he saw that a group of trainers had already gathered there, which meant one thing.

"Aw man, I'm late." Steven said.

It seemed that it was already time for questions, so he was actually pretty darn late. He squeezed past the trainers in front of the professor, offering the occasional "excuse me", while Tim eyeballed the other trainer's pokemon. Steven noticed, but he was a bit busy trying to get to the professor.

"Hey, professor." Steven said, making his way to the front. "Uh, my name's Steven. What did I miss?"

@Sho Minazuki

Fantasia stood in the corner, striking a rather gaudy pose inside of the Pokelabs, she watched trainers walk in one-by-one; each one giving her mixed emotions of glances. As more and more trainers proceeded to enter the Lab, Fantasia became more anxious and held Budew -whom was peeking happily out of her purse, closer to her.

“-I'm Professor Cedar, but you probably know that already. My assistant, Layla here, has some items that will help you along your way." Fantasia began to zone in, listening intently to the words the professor was speaking.

After the long speech Professor Cedar had spewed out, the young trainers began to stampede poor Layla in an attempt to get the items she possessed quickly.

Through the fog of the stampede Fantasia believed to have seen an old acquaintance, Blair Aschenford.

She composed herself, lifted her dress ever so slightly for easier movement and made her way towards Blair.

“Blair Aschenford?” She came in for a hug, “Oh darling, it has been ages!”

“It’s simply refreshing to see a familiar face though this frumpish and simply unkempt crowd!” She looked out into the crowd of casually dressed trainers and shuttered.

“Anyways, How have you been? How is the company?”

Professor Cedar walked off, not hearing the boy. Alex and Layla laughed when she was gone.

"No, not much. Just a little speech, oh and you might want to take these." Layla handed him the Pokeballs, Pokedex, and PokeNav.

The sun had been revealed from the clouds, shining brilliantly through the double glass doors, illuminating the whole first floor. That also meant that the sun room was in perfect condition to let the Budew run free in. Layla left the two to talk while she went to the sun room to let the Budew out, and absorb the sun.

"Um, hi. My name is Alex, Alex Cedar. It's nice to meet you." Alex stuck out his hand for a shake. He wanted to make many friends as he did not want to travel alone. Although, if the boy he was talking to right now decided not to travel with him, he would prefer to travel alone, rather than with the girl in the poofy dress. He could imagine her getting stuck in all the doorways in Fordis.

(@lord santa here you go. Short post FTW)

@MissFortune

The procession of getting the items was a little long, but necessary. He was under the assumption everyone here was a new trainer, and even if not, to do it like this was considerate to those who actually were. Blair was new, but not fresh-new. He voluntarily took a journey from Grand City using a shortcut. His parents insisted he be transported here, but he didn't see the fun in that. After receiving his Nav and Dex, he turned to his Eevee. They looked at each other for a moment, before he scanned her on his Pokedex. Like magic, the information appeared and registered. Empress just looked at him unamused, but she seemed to be having fun.

"This is a rather fun device", he was clearly enjoying himself. After a moment he noticed a familiar voice. There was a mixture of fear and relief, as it turned out to be someone he hadn't seen in quite some time. She went in for a hug, a rather strong one, making him step back a little to deal with the force.

"A-aaahhh, that's a little tight, but it is good to see you too Fantasia", he responded. As always, her fashion tastes were flashier than normal, she would also as usual admonish others' fashion sense were they not to her standard. Otherwise, she never meant any harm. In fact he can remember distinct times where she would help others.

"I, well, my family is doing well, they insisted I be transported here instead, but I didn't see fun in that. I came straight down from Grand City, and Empress is doing well as usual. How about you? I see you and your Budew still never fail to be best-dressed anywhere you go", he responded, referencing the Budew's unique colouration. On Empress' mention, she simply held her head high. For an Eevee that was normally plain she had a very fine coat. Everyone also told her whatever she would evolve into, it would be beautiful.

@Sho Minazuki

Fantasia smiled at Blair, reaching a hand out to pet his Eevee.

"Oh, this old thing?" Fantasia smirked, twirling her dress around then let out a chuckle, "-Just kidding! This is is a Von Goshe exclusive from the 'Year of 1000 Dreams' collection; I picked it up in Kalos last time my father let me use the private jet. -and Budew.."

She calmly looked around for a moment, watching her Budew waddle towards the sunlight with Professor Ceder.

"She's great, been growing an awful lot since you've last seen her! She was blooming earlier, but I think she is a bit anxious with all the people here!"

Fantasia walked delicately towards the Budew, cradling the Pokemon in her arms while pulling a chair close to keep the Budew in direct sunlight. Almost instantly, Fantasia patted the seat beside her to Blair.

"Anywho, I've been decent; I had a run in with a-" Fantasia hesitated for a moment, "-well, never you mind that; just know I've left home due to 'artistic differences'."

She smiled at him, fanning her eyes in attempt to hold back the tears.

"It's just been so hard.." she pulled out a handkerchief and began to dab at her eyeliner, "-I thought this was what I wanted but.. I just don't know.."

She breathed a deep breath then exhaled "-now I am causing a scene! Go figure!"

After a few moments of awkward silence, Fantasia broke it.

"So, what are your plans?"

@MissFortune

"Hmmm let's see...", he opened the Nav. He remembered this piece of technology, he fiddled around with his mother's once. And as he thought, there it was, the region map. It seems Fantasia had her own troubles and concerns, it didn't look like a good time to pry into that. She had some doubts about being a trainer too and taking this journey...

"If you have something to aspire to, I guess try holding onto that and working towards it, so don't worry too much", but what did Blair aspire for he wondered. Maybe he just thought this was all fun... Actually that's probably what it was.

"Anyways, there are a few option, I can take the ferry back over to Grand City from Harport and then decide again from there, or I can go the reward route, and cross the desert from Dune Town to Darnyss and then go to Niquora for the cherry blossoms. Despite living so close to Niquora I never really get the chance to go there... Strange, so it'd be quite the reward after crossing a desert... Hmmm... And I am interested in Solstice Town, it seems like a fascinating place", he began, reading the map. He went silent for a bit as he checked the other towns.

"Neat, there's a beach city too, but that's further away and far north". There appeared to be a few ways they could go. Going through the desert may yield new companions, on the other hand they have more options by going to Grand City first. Options options, where to go...