For information, go over to the OOC.

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The sun shines. It's in the midst of spring, the temperature finally on a rise and plants have gained their green colours.

Pureplain City is placed on the south-west brink of Isson, with the town facing the water and spreading quite far. The further in-town you go, the higher the buildings become, but the suburbs spread quite far. In terms of sheer landmass, it might even compete with Worldedge City, although maybe not in height. Life passes normally within this city. Children grow up alongside their parents in houses in the long, friendly streets. Jobs come from the depths of the town in the taller buildings. Schools grow from the reasonably high amount of children in need of tuition. And of course, there are lots of Pokémon.

In Pureplain City, human and Pokémon work together. Be it for manual labour or just for company, Pureplain houses often contain at least one house-hold Pokémon and there are many Trainer's Schools around the city that are plentifully attended. … They were, anyway. With the recent Team Wars between Team Amethyst and Team Virtue, there was a decrease of trainers who dared set out. Pureplain City rejected any team activity, protecting its citizens, and the Trainer's Schools saw a decrease in activity due to what fearful parents might have come to associate trainers with. However, nowhere was normal trainers at fault.

While the town was so normal now that it could be described as boring, with few exciting things ever happening here other than kids growing up, but it was from here a number of new Pokémon Trainers would be embarking on their Pokémon Journeys.

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'Mmmmm-HMMMmmghflnuff...' Professor Kalmia made a noise as she stretched, just having woken up from her sleep. She was inside the house-portion of her Pokémon Lab, where she lived. It was very convenient, having her lab be linked to her real home. In the bed on the opposite side of the room slept her assistant, Vivia, who was snoring way louder that she would ever admit to be doing. On the floor sat her Slowpoke, the pink creature standing towards her on four legs, wide-open mouth and large unintelligent eyes. Eh, nevermind that one.

Kalmia couldn't resist smiling. The sun was shining outside, and today was the day when she would finally be providing Pokédexes to her first batch of trainers since becoming a Pokémon Professor. She might actually be more excited than the trainers she was starting out. All because of that stupid Team War, she had been unable to start out some trainers for a while... but now, ALL THAT WAS GONE! It was time to... to... She quickly retrieved her glasses from the desk beside her, and looked at the time.

'I OVERSLEPT!' Panic took her. She must have gotten too excited preparing for this morning last night. She spun around with desperate eyes towards her Slowpoke, and...

'Slowpoke! Didn't I tell you to wake me up at-'

'SLOW!' And the Slowpoke suddenly shot out a Water Gun straight at Kalmia, who-

'HYAH!' - dodged aside at the last second, falling down into her bed and the spray of water crashed into the window behind the bed, splashing a bit of everywhere before sinking down to the floor. Turns out, the Slowpoke had apparently been intending on Water Gunning Kalmia awake for... a while.

'Wah...' Kalmia sat up slowly, staring with a stunned expression at her Pokémon, her glasses somewhat ajar. 'You were... actually intending on waking me up as I asked you to.' She said in stunned surprise, like she hadn't actually been expecting the Pokémon to do that. Slowpoke made no motion that seemed to imply that it had heard her.

'GOOD JOB!' Kalmia announced happily to her Slowpoke, giving it an excited thumbs-up and a wink. 'There! I told you, Vivia! Tell it the same thing every single night, and you're sure to get results!'

'Ueh...?' Vivia sat up slowly, having obviously been woken up by the noise earlier, but just been lying half-asleep with half-closed eyes staring up into the roof until she had been addressed. Kalmia ignored her and looked to her Slowpoke again.

'Really good job! But, start waking me up twenty minutes- no...' She looked at the watch to check. '… An hour earlier next time! That'd be perfect!' Also, Water Gun wasn't really optimal, but one step at a time!

'Thank you!' Kalmia happily jumped up and started putting on her lab-coat, Vivia wondering what all the fuzz was about before she too slowly looked at the clock and then let out a shriek at how late they were and started getting going as well. The Slowpoke was left standing staring at the soaked window without additional movement.

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Now, then. You all. You were told to gather in front of Professor Kalmia's lab at 8 AM. It's not located in the midst of Pureplain where all the skyscrapers are, but it's fairly close, just where the lower houses start to become the norm. How was your morning? Did you do anything special for the occasion of intending to leave on your Pokémon journey? Any parents you want to say good bye to? Have you come from afar to be here? Anything else?

Note that travel by car is not the norm in the Pokémon World. They do exist, but you're likely not given a ride in one. Any case, somehow or elsewise, you're headed to in front of this single-floor wide building with an off-shoot that looks like a regular house, with a Pokéball symbol on the front of the lab-area, and a sign in front of it that says “Pokémon Lab”. Assuming you weren't more than an hour late, you will have been forced to wait for Kalmia here.

It was a pleasantly cool, early morning in the Blackwoods new penthouse in Pureplain. Claire was glad that she was finally able to get a goods night rest in her bed after finally getting the damn expensive thing moved in. Her mom was a little paranoid about not having the absolute best for her little fashionista of a daughter. At times, it was fun and Claire enjoyed the attention. Sometimes though, it was just annoying. She had the thing imported all the way from Kalos, from the most expensive place the Fashion Designer could afford. After working for almost three days straight in getting everything from her old room in Kalos moved in, it was a welcome rest.

"Hrmm....pancakes..." The redhead stirred lightly under the soft blue covers as the smell of breakfast being cooked below made its way into her room. Drool fell from her open mouth as she began to dream about the deliciousness known as pancakes. They were so delicious in fact, they couldn't be real! They were just too good for the mortal world! So the sleepy teenager cracked open an eye, eyeing a hoothoot shaped clock sitting on nightstand next to the bed. She was silent for a moment, sleepy brain processing the bright lights on the display and trying to recall the sweet savory pancakes she had dreamed about.

"GAH! I'm gonna be late!" Claire shot straight up in her bed, jumping out of the covers and landing on the ground with a light thud. She realized two things when she had looked at the clock. One, she should have been up a looot earlier. She was gonna be pressed for time to do her usual sparring routine with Medi. Two, she was still wearing her clothes from yesterday. That just wouldn't do at all. First thing first though - shower!

She bolted into the adjacent master bathroom that was connected to her room. Or would have, had her foot not get caught on a small cardboard box she had forgotten to put away after she was done unpacking it. She lost her footing...and slammed face first into the floor with a pretty adorable yelp and a squee noise.

"I don't have time to be a klutz! Outta the way you useless piece of cardboard!" She quickly got back to her feet, shoving the box under her bed and making sure to head right to the shower this time. Considering she was gonna be the only one living here once her dad left, she got the bedroom practically all to herself. She was gonna love being able to do whatever she wanted to in the apartment! Thoughts for later though, shower first, then food, then off to Kalmia for her precious little pokemon! After she got into the shower lasted barely for five minutes before she hopped out, pulling on her usual attire for the day before she realized she left her shoes downstairs in the foyer of the penthouse, her jacket downstairs on the back of a chair and her cap...where had she left that?

Eh, whatever, not important. First thing first! Go get some of those delicious smelling pancakes.

She walked from her room, noticing her dad's Medicham - affectionately nicknamed Medi (What? She was like, three and it was easy to say) - cleaning the room below. Claire popped her head over the railing, looking at the floor below. The medicham was humming a little tune to herself, broom in hand twirling about as she cleaned. Well, maybe she could get in a little training after all? Medicham didn't see her at all, and this was a perfect chance for a sneak attack! As quick as she could, she bolted down the stairs, running right for Medicham. She jumped towards the pokemon, aiming a fast paced, hard hitting uppercut right towards the pokemon.

"SHORYUKEN!"

Being a nerd was fun.

The hit connected, catching the medicham off guard and sending it stumbling forwards, causing it to loose its grip on the broom in her hand. Success! She landed gracefully on her feet, smirking confidently as she swished her hair out of her eyes stylishly - without any hands. "Wahaha, looks like you're gettin' rusty my old nemesis!" She waved a finger at Medi, winking provocatively. "That surprise attack should have been easy for ya! At this rate you're gonna get surpassed!~"

Medicham easily regained its balance, the pokemons footwork being as exceptional as it was. It swiftly turned around and glared at Claire with the intensity of a thousand suns, taking a fighting stance. Claire glared back, muscles tensing as she prepared herself for a quick sparring match. She could feel the heat in the room increasing simply from how badly both of them wanted to go at it. Suddenly, they both charged at each other, both aiming a punch right for the others face.

"If you two are gonna destroy this place, at least do it after I leave so I can have plausible deniability if your mom asks." An older black haired man spoke from the kitchen across the room. Judging from the nonchalance with which he spoke, this was likely a common occurrence.

They seemed to ignore this warning, however, as they couldn't stop mid assault. Iron wills clashed and they would not be sated so easily. The sheer pressure from these blows would cause a shockwave of pressure to blow away the entire penthouse off of the roof. Their fists met...and suddenly all that pressure dissipated.

"Haha, looks like we'll have to put this on hold." Claire and Medicham both laughed loudly as their fists met, giving each other a friendly fist bump instead of a cataclysmic battle. Some may have found it odd that a sixteen year old was sparring with a pokemon, but Claire had been doing that since she could barely walk. After all, what better way to learn how to use martial arts than from a fighting pokemon? Flawless logic. She'd gotten quite a few broken bones to start with, but well, no pain no gain as they said!~

"I'm gettin better ya know? One of these days I'll kick your butt Medi!~" She chuckled, giving her a friendly punch on the shoulder as she headed for the kitchen and left the Medicham to pick up the broom.

"Yo, dad, I smelled pancakes." She took a seat on one of the stools at the counter, practically leaping onto it.

"Your favorite. Fluffiest things in existence," He said, setting the plate down in front of her. "Topped with sweet berries, drowned in honey with a side of bacon, eggs and-someone might think I've raised a wild Lickitung as a daughter if you inhale your food like that."

"Can't not inhale. Must get to pokemon lab." Claire said through mouthfuls of food, barely taking breaths between shoving forkfuls of food into her mouth. Claire's dad simply sighed, shaking his head. It was impossible to argue with his daughter when she was like this. Stubborn as her mom was when she set her sights on something. "You see my shoes anywhere?" She asked after chugging down half a glass of milk.

"Chaaam~!" As if to answer her question, Medi walked up to the counter, placing her shoes on on the ground near the table.

"Thanks Medi!" She said, hopping down off of the stool and reaching for her shoes. She quickly put them on, struggling a for a few moments in her haste before standing, tapping her feet against the floor to make sure they were on good and well and making sure that she didn't leave the house forgetting to tie them this time. Next, the energetic redhead spun around, grabbing her jacket off of the back of a chair as Medi walked over to the door that led out of the penthouse followed swiftly by Claire.

"Ah right!" She stopped in her tracks, turning on her heel and scanning the room quickly. "You see my hat anywhere?"

"Right here." Her dad replied placing the hat on her head. "Next time remember to pick it up after you get done beating up poor Medicham over there."

"Right thanks!" She said, giving her dad a hug. "Seeyaloveyabye!" And with that, the redhead zoomed out of the door, grabbing her bag from Medicham as she waited by the door. Her dad simply watched as she left, shaking his head in amusement, finishing the last pancake that had the fortune to survive his daughters ravenous appetite.

---

From her apartment, it didn't take Claire long to get to her destination. Just a short elevator ride to the bottom floor, giving a friendly greeting to the doorman, and then out onto the street followed by a brief walk to the lab. Now that Claire had gotten on her way and out of the house, she was visibly less energetic, though she still walked with an obvious excited bounce in her step. Today was the day, after all! How could anyone not be excited for this? They were getting a pokemon for the love of everything holy and good! This was the most excited she'd been since she beat Medicham in a fight for the first time. She got most of that energy out back home, but she couldn't help but to just feel...GAH! She wanted to hurry up so she could fight something. But she would restrain herself.

Thankfully she arrived...well, on time. Or so she thought? She walked into the lab - or rather, right into the door as she attempted to open it.

"Locked?"

She was on time. Claire Blackwood was never late for a date. Did this mean...she was going to have to wait?

She internally screamed.

"Fine, fine, play it cool Claire, you got this. Just be your normal fabulous self and you can wait for a bit longer." So, instead, she leaned against the wall next to the door, looking as fabulous and outwardly calm as possible.

Unfortunately, she really was terrible at waiting, and it'd probably show pretty soon.

It was three in the morning, and damn cold it was, too. Sunlight had ceased to beam rays of radiant heat unto the Isson region many hours ago, though would soon do so again in the future. A breeze just short of becoming soft wind was rolling in from the ocean-side of Pureplain City, chilly and calming. It was like the aftermath of some kind of coastal storm, despite no such weather cropping up in the area for at least the past couple days.

That is, from Ren's perspective, anyway.

Standing alone on a hill, staring out at Pureplain City after roaming the night, was Ren Moyra: a lost child whom had forsaken the joys of life in order to escape it's deepest sorrows. Staring at the sky, hood raised, she would give anything to have some reading material. However, she had sold all of her belongings (which wasn't very much to begin with) in order to get her this far - to make this journey happen. The old shack didn't sell for much, either, and she'd managed to make it to Pureplain on the cheapest beverages available before the scheduled meeting time...
... At three in the morning.
She was very early.

Ren took a deep breath, inhaling the cool air of the early morning, and returned her gaze to the city of Pureplain. It certainly was expansive, and she could see the suburbs going on for quite awhile before reaching the inner city.
This was going to be a trek.

Checking her bag, Ren found a single Max Repel, a sandwich, a half-filled bottle of water, and her remaining money, 500p. She knew she would have to stock up on food after getting her Pokemon, and so Ren quickly consumed her sandwich and gulped the liquid down to a quarter. It was rather fulfilling, surprisingly, and she estimated she could hold out until lunch, if she kept focused. By that time her water would run out and she'd be hungry again, but she would deal with that when she got to it. The map of Pureplain she'd memorised from just before she set out on her journey was still well in her mind. Considering the city was rather simplistic, it didn't take a genius to get a general layout of the area. So long as you devoted your time to memory, you could understand the layout of Pureplain just by looking at it! And considering Ren didn't have anything else to distract her, well, it was just that much easier!
Quickly, Ren retrieved her second item and sprayed it on her body vigorously, using about three quarters of the mixture. She then used what water she had to refill the repel spray and shook. Ren still had awhile to go until she hit the outskirts of the city, and even then she wanted to be sure, and would use the second, much weaker spray to get her inside. Though it could very well be worthless when exposed to water, she wanted to test it. After all, she was tight for money...

With a deep sigh, she put her best foot forward, and started heading towards Pureplain City...

---

It was now about five in the morning, however Ren had no real way of telling the time, and was merely guessing. Although, she could see the skies in the east starting to lighten in shade, foretelling the imminent sunrise. Regardless she was still walking, having made it through Pureplain's suburban area with little to no trouble, and was now entering the "city" itself. The tall towers were unlike anything she had ever seen before, towering way up into the sky.

'No wonder people call them "skyscrapers",' Ren thought, marveling at the simple yet incredible engineering prowess of both man and Pokemon alike. She had read about cities before -- Hell, she lived on the very outskirts of one (not Pureplain) -- however it was nothing compared to actually walking down the main street of a big city like this! With Lampent-styled lights illuminating the sidewalk, Ren was provided with ample illuminate light to admire Pureplain. Of course, she kept it to herself, and wouldn't admit it to herself, either.
But, she was enjoying herself!
Navigating the streets without a word, she would often overhear conversations shared by the locals, be it the drunken ramblings of drunks to the lovemaking jibber-jabber of couples. It wasn't an overly unique or special crowd which roamed the streets for the most part, but Ren found it soothing, as she wouldn't have to worry about any surprises. Pokemon also walked (or flew) along the streets of Pureplain alongside their human companions, generally avoiding her, as she still stunk somewhat of repel. At the very least, she knew the stuff worked, to an extent.

Professor Kalmia's lab was at least an hour away from her current location, or so Ren hypothesised. She knew she wasn't especially set for time, and could wander at her own pace. She knew there was a gym in town somewhere, but wasn't quite sure where, and figured she'd have to ask around in order to get that answered.
She didn't plan on asking anyone on the street, though.
If she was going to ask anyone, it would be the professor. Though probably nice enough, Ren would rather not have to engage in conversation with the early birds of Pureplain, simply out of a lack of interest. She didn't want to speak to them. She wanted to talk to the professor.

It actually took an additional hour and seventeen minutes from Ren's hypothesised time to arrive at Professor Kalmia's lab. She wasn't counting, either. It took awhile to snoop around for the exact location; Ren had a general idea of where the Professor's lab was, however hadn't memorised exactly where. So, after spending about forty minutes searching, she finally found the place.

"Early, as expected." She spoke to herself with yet another sigh, tasting the cool air of the morning. The sun was in the process of rising, and the shadows of buildings all around kept the area in relative darkness, despite what the sky was telling it to. The street was practically clear of all people this early in the morning, save the odd few, and so Ren had no objections in claiming a nearby bench all to herself. Sitting, one leg folded over the other, she pulled her hood up some more to block out the growing sunlight. Arms crossed, gaze forward at the entrance to the front of the lab, she gave in to the urge to rest, just for awhile. Anyone who couldn't see her face would think she was just sitting around waiting, anyways.

Time passed, and somehow, Ren managed to sleep through the growing sunlight. Only thanks to the sound of footsteps drawing near was Ren woken, though she hardly moved in response to waking. Not due to the fact she didn't want to be noticed this time (well, partially), but because she was still rather tired. Opening one half-lidded eye, Ren caught a certain red-haired individual in her line-of-sight, though quickly dismissed the person as one of those insane morning workout people who would go for runs and somehow be energetic in the morning. Yet, as the soulless energetic workout giant passed by the hooded, blue-haired midget, a realisation occurred within Ren.
Workout girl wasn't just a workout girl.
She was a Pokemon workout girl too!

"Christ..." Ren muttered to herself under her breath, when the red-head also took a liking to one of the seats outside the lab. She was a little too close for comfort, though considering Ren didn't like to be around people, being in proximity with anyone was generally too close for comfort. She could make out from beneath her hood Workout Girl was irritated, most likely at the lab not being open yet.
Heh.
Ren had been waiting around all morning in the cold for this event, and Workout Girl was already ticked? Something told Ren she and Workout Girl would clash at some point during their journey, and that it would probably get feisty when it did. Perhaps multiple times, even.
She would hate to have a rival this impulsive...

The faint smell of repel lingered in the air...
... And the sound of a stomach grumbling also quietly made itself apparent.

'Professor Kalmia? Please hurry up.' Ren mentally ordered.

❄Erika Olson❄

---

Today was the big day and there was almost no reason not to be excited but Erika had found a way. It was early, too early in the morning for Erika to be waking up, but seeing as Erika was still in Cooldome City and had to be in Pureplain City in a few hours, it was understandable as to exactly why Erika had to be up.

With a kiss and a hug from her mother, Erika sleepily followed her father out the door and into the cold biting mountain air. Erika was pretty resilient and her sweatshirt did help but this morning she made the choice to wear shorts, chilling her exposed legs. It felt like a long, exhausting walk to the train station but they eventually made it and Erika followed her dad to an open seat. There, Erika passed out rather quickly as the warmth inside felt like a thick blanket compared to what she was just experiencing and the train seats weren't that bad for comfort.

Erika was awaken by her father seemingly moments later. "Are we there yet?" Erika groggily asked as she was getting up from her seat. Her father chuckled and replied, "No, not quite. We still have a drive ahead of us.", and with that reply Erika can only groan her tired frustration. Thankfully being as tired as she were, it made the trip go by faster and she wasn't dealing with a lot of anxiety, yet.

The two found their car moments later as residents and visitors to Cooldome City couldn't easily bring their cars inside the city, let alone drive in that unique place, so many stored their cars in a parking area just around the train station that shuttles passengers through the tunnel. Again, Erika passed out almost instantly but she could feel the butterfrees flying around in her stomach.

When Erika awoke, she discovered that they had just about arrived to Pureplain City and it was at this point she started to feel very nervous. The impressive towers and landmarks of Pureplain offered a paltry distraction as the two drove through the quiet city as it was still too early for their to be a lot of activity.

The lab came in sight just as the car rounded the corner and already there were two people there waiting. Erika took a deep breath as the magnitude of what she was just about to do became apparent. In truth, she had never really left Cooldome all that much and now she was off on her own. Erika's dad pulled up and glanced over to his daughter. "Well here we are and not a moment too soon!" Erika turned and faced him, the nervousness must have been apparent because he chuckled again before leaning over and embracing his daughter. "Good luck, Erika! We will all be cheering for ya.." The two had their moment before Erika slipped out from his embrace. "And we'll be home if you ever need us." Was the last bit of words Erika's dad offered, other than a goodbye of course, as Erika opened the car door and stepped out.

She approached the other two, not looking back as for the moment, she felt like she was going to cry when she heard the car switch gears and drive off. She took a heavy swallow but didn't turn to watch her dad drive off and instead inspected the other two who were waiting. They weren't really talking and one of them looked pretty... odd. Erika wasn't one to judge, per se, but well, it was hard not to draw accusations against the girl in all black and smelling of repellent compared to the relatively normal looking girl in the workout gear. Then the realization dawned on her, she was just standing in front of these two staring and she quickly found a seat right next to the workout girl.

Normally not one to be the first to converse, Erika couldn't sit still with everything going through her head so she leaned forward and offered a friendly smile before introducing herself. "Hi! I'm Erika!" sounding perhaps a little too friendly this early.

Reiji was still buzzing from the news he had gotten merely two days before today's event. The letter from Professor Kalmia had excited his whole family and even a few of the people in Lakewatch City. His father had even mentioned that the Gym Leader Lesley had mentioned looking forward to their battle, even Sawk, Throh, and Lucario were excited enough to help him get in some last minute Martial Arts training with his father. That morning had been the start of something bigger that Reiji could have expected and now that he was finially reaching the outskirts of Pureplain City Reiji couldn't contain his excitement and let out a shout of pure joy which got a few shouts from the locals who were just waking up. Man I'm so excited to meet my Pokemon I can hardly stand to keep walking like thi-...Why am I walking? he thought as he hefted his bag onto his shoulder making sure it wasn't going to fall away or move too much and after tightening his headband took off at a full sprint toward the towering skyscrapers of the city. His mother had told him where to look and in what felt like an hour Reiji reached the building and quickly noted a fiery looking red head and another girl not too far off. After taking a moment to catch his breath Reiji approached the red haired girl smiling kindly as his mother had drilled into his head.

"You must be here to see the Professor too, either way its nice to meet you. I'm Reiji Hoshino by the way." he said offering his hand to the girl in a handshake-like manner. Internally he hoped the girl wouldn't think of him as arrogant and annoying but he still wanted to introduce himself anyway as the girl gave off the vibe of a fellow martial artist.

Lucian sighed as he checked his watch for the tenth time. He had been waiting at outside the lab for the last half an hour, the door was locked at 8:00am and it was still locked now.
Lucian had only recently reached Pureplain city, arriving at about 7:00am before quickly finding a cafe and wolfing down some breakfast and a cup of tea before beginning his journey to the lab. This city was not what Lucian would expect for such a large city, there were no dark alleys and very few rough looking areas,there was an extremely friendly atmosphere,he noticed, as many of the city-folk would cheerfully greet each other. This place seemed more like a small town than a city.
Moving through the larger skyscrapers in the city, Lucian arrived at the smaller houses where he was told the professor's lab was. The atmosphere was surprisingly similar to that of the main part of the city. Lucian chuckled when he noticed a puzzled looking child inspecting a metapod Must have just evolved , he thought.

As the darkly dressed teenager finally reached the lab, he checked his pocket watch. Okay, I'm a little early, may as well check if the professor got here early as well . Lucian checked the door,it was locked. Well, I suppose I am early, I can wait. Some time later, Lucian was getting tired of waiting. He sighed as he noticed a red-haired girl sitting awkwardly next to a hooded girl who seemed to wish the other girl would go away ,a boy wearing a headband was speaking with the red-head and another girl with pink hair also greeted the red-headed girl. They had not seemed to notice him as he was now standing a fair distance away from the lab, but that suited him just fine.

Abigail had fallen asleep pretty late last night. It wasn't her fault, there'd been a marathon of her favourite movie series on the TV, alright? What was a girl supposed to do, not stay up until 3AM watching badly-acted, overdone, cheesy action movies? Apparently so, but that just wasn't a life worth living. Still, it made getting up in the morning pretty painful. Luckily, Abigail knew exactly how to deal with the ear-piercing sound of her alarm clock going off. After all, a hero always had a plan!

In this case, the plan was to forget about it completely until it stopped going off. It wasn't working quite as well as she'd hoped. Why'd she even set an alarm anyway? It wasn't as though she was ever busy. Did she have some sort of appointment or something? Abigail paused for a minute before the realisation struck her.

Oh yeah, I'm supposed to get a Pokemon today, huh?

Wait. I'm supposed to get a Pokemon today. Like, right now. And I'm still here.

With a noise that was half panic, half excitement, Abigail started getting ready, not even paying that much attention to what she was putting on, which resulted in her looking a little like she'd been attacked by a clothing store. Luckily she'd at least had the forethought to pack her bag, which she quickly put over her shoulder before running downstairs. A more accurate description would be tumbling, but she felt like giving herself a little more credit than that.

Her parents had already left for work, but she quickly scribbled a note for them. Essentially saying that she'd gone off on that Pokemon journey that they'd been so against her doing, with an accompanying cartoon of a stick figure skipping away into the sunset. Once she was satisfied with her drawing, she set off towards the lab.

It didn't take her too long to get there, since she'd heard enough about the place from Luke. Once she reached the lab, she headed in, noticing a few people were gathered there. With an almost unbelievably cheerful smile, Abigail greeted everyone. "Hey, are all of you guys here to meet the professor too? I can't believe she's not here yet, I thought I was so late, and then-" she decided to stop herself before she talked for too long. "Um, I mean hi. Sorry." she smiled, looking a little embarrassed.

She paused, taking a few moments to actually look at the other people who'd gathered there. A redheaded girl, a broody-looking one who seemed kinda weird, a pink-haired girl and a guy with a headband. It was a collection, that was for sure. Abigail decided that they seemed like nice enough people. Or at least not serial killers or anything.

Figuring that she didn't want to interrupt any more conversation than she already had, she looked around the area, spotting a guy who was standing a little further away from the lab than anyone else. He was dressed kinda fancy, with dark clothes, and he seemed to be looking at everyone else in the group. With all the grace and subtlety of a charging Tauros, she yelled out to him. "Hey, are you here to see the professor too? Or do you just like to stand around random places looking all mysterious and stuff?"

It was a great day out. The skies were clear, and the woods were tranquil. Martin got out of his sleeping bag. He's been traveling for a bit and was on his way to Pureplain city via Route 1. He was still packing up his camping equipment, it wasn't much just enough to get here from Goldshore. He gave a long stretch, it wasn't his plan to stop a small distance from the trail, but it's not the best idea to wander around at night. Still, his watch said it was about 6:00am. He could not wait to arrive for his own personal Pokemon.

He didn't have to worry about getting dressed as he slept in his normal clothes. It wasn't because he was lazy, it was because sleeping in the woods meant being ready to go if needed. Still he could probably used a quick washing of his face, but it wasn't the worst possible outcome. By this point he almost considered himself a rookie camper. He could have prepared better for this, as most of his savings has dwindled to 500 Pokedollars now. The last of his food and water used this morning. Being this close meant that will be fixed soon enough though.

It was still quite a trip, looking around he learned a bit of the trails. There was no shortcuts, he has been walking these trails for almost 4 days now. No sane person goes this far for a rumor. He made up his decision a week ago and he wasn't stopping now. Besides, all this walking was good for him and he traveled most of Isson now. None of that was too important though. He made it here early, which was impressive. He finished packing and carried it in his bag on one shoulder. "Lets see what makes this place so special."

He took his first steps into this town, the first thing he noticed was how clean this place was. Buildings rising from the ground and it all looked so much better than Goldshire. Well, it might be a nice place, but he didn't come just for the view. He looked around and liked what he saw. Pokemon and humans, now this was how it's supposed to be. It was already looking like those rumors might be true. If he remembered right, he was looking for the lab. Some building with a Pokeball symbol on it. He pulled out a piece of paper he's been writing on. It looked to be a hand drawn map of the routes he took. Pureplain, this was the right place.

It was a bit of time getting through the place, asking around for the lab. He was an outsider and it showed. Eventually he found his way to the lab, it was closed. Some girl in red was sitting on a bench. Her outfit was pink and screamed of money to spare. Next to her was a girl in mostly shades of blue. They had quite the contrast being next to each other. Still off on another bench was a girl clad in black, her hood obscuring her face from prying eyes. She looked more like she didn't want a conversation anyways.

There was already quite the crowd gathering, adding in a guy with a headband already trying to make some friends as well. Even the straggler in a trench coat wasn't forgotten as he was being greeted by a girl in golden braids. Looks like Martin was definitely in the right place. His journey began here, and he could feel it.

Still, it's always a good time to make new friends, especially in a new place. He approached group of people and just decided to break the ice. "So many people have gathered for this as well? My name is Martin Price, anyone else care to introduce themselves?"

Dawkins silently awoke and listened for a moment. Luckily it seemed none of the others were awake yet. That made his task easier. He stealthily dressed himself in a red shirt, a black hoodie, gray sweats, and white tennis shoes. Then he carefully made his way into the kitchen and began the task of making breakfast. He hadn't gotten far when he heard someone stumble down the stairs and make their way into a chair. Said person was quickly greeted by three pancakes on a plate being served in front of them. "Three banana pancakes." Then he was back to cooking. "Thanks big bro." came the belated reply as Jeff began digging into his pancakes. This time a pair of footsteps made their way down, followed by loud noises overhead that indicated the slow awakening of the rest of the brothers. The twins arrived at their seats and were greeted like Jeff. "Two plates of plain sugary pancakes and one plate of eggs with cheese." Dawkins informed them. "Thanks big bro." came the reply over smothered giggles from the twin mouths of the two there were commonly refereed to as Thing 1 and Thing 2, in no particular order as they were identical and few could tell the two apart. That and they were notorious pranksters, such laughter obviously indicated they were up to something but there was little Dawkins except hope it wasn't too troublesome.

The sound of the shower began as Alan entered it, he would come out in about ten more minutes eager for his coffee and toast. Nick was 'too old' for breakfast so he didn't need any and Fred always slept in, coming out a few minutes after Alan did, needing only orange juice to start his day. Dawkins fed everyone and sent them on their way with surprisingly little trouble, perhaps they were being so cooperative because it was his big day. It was easier when they didn't do anything troublesome like the rare times they woke up rarely to prank him or worse, try to make him breakfast. His parents were out for the weekend and had trusted him to take care of them before he left. Dawkins didn't envy any babysitters that came after him, even with years of practice mornings rarely went this well. With everyone gone and breakfast cleaned up after Dawkins gave a sigh of contentment. Today was going to go well, he could feel it. Dawkins walked out the door-

and was greeted by the sight of all six of his brothers waiting for him, with grins that stretched ear to ear, a cake, and six remarkably in synch cries of "Good luck big brother." Technically speaking Alan, Fred, and Jeff were all older than him, but they called him big brother all the same, he certainly acted like it more than they did. Despite his protests that it was pointless to wish him good luck, then delay him for a party, he was crowded back inside and sat down at the freshly cleaned table. With a sigh that spoke irritation but a grin that said 'thank you', Dawkins sat down and enjoyed the small surprise party, purposefully ignoring the desperate pleads of his beeping watch and inner perfectionist. After all, how often did something like this happen? More than two hours later Dawkins was on his way, the party had been... Extensively planned. He'd planned to be early by an hour but now it seemed he would have to deal with being late, hopefully it would not diminish the professor's view of him overly. His extended strides that were more in-between a power-walk and a jog quickly took him to the lab.

A quick glance around indicated he was... 8th. Seven other people. Disappointing to have arrived this late, but by all indications he was not the only one, it seemed the doors were not being opened. Dawkins let out a small sigh of relief and tapped his watch once to reassure himself, everything had turned out alright. Still his journey starting off with such an infraction, even one so minor, was a source of great irritation. Another quick scan of those socializing. It seemed most were either engaged or not wanting company, in some cases both. Dawkins stood straight, one hand in his pants pocket, the other hanging casually at his side. He would wait and listen for now, it would allow him to determine who was worth knowing and who would just be annoying without actually dealing with people himself, as well as gathering random information from their conversations. A satisfactory outcome, call it a silver lining.

@Pirouette - Returning the greetings
@Keyblade87 - Returning the greeting

---

As expected, she was doing a horrible job of not showing both impatience and mild irritation at being kept waiting. She folded her arms against her chest, foot tapping on the ground as if playing to some unheard rhythm or beat. At least mentally going over her plan for becoming the most awesome trainer in the region was doing its job of keeping this from being completely intolerable, though. Step one: Get starter. Step 2: Beat all the gyms. Step 3: become awesomer than she already was. Easily doable.

"Hi! I'm Erika!"

The voice startled Claire slightly, as she hadn't heard the other girl approach. Pink hair, shorter than her, blue eyes...kinda cute. Another trainer? That was the only reason she could assume she was here. Well, someone to talk to would help take her mind off of this stupidly long wait.

"Oh hey!~" She cheerfully replied, not minding the over friendly tone of Erika. If anything, hers was a lot more so anyways. "You here for a pokemon too?" Before she could get a reply though, a boy ran up, a bit out of breath. Probably trying to make sure he wasn't late. Dark hair, kinda young looking. He looked pretty fit, though. Maybe she could spar with him later? Well, whatever, he was holding out a hand for her to shake, and she wasn't exactly gonna say no.

"Heh, next time wake up earlier and you won't have to worry about being late." She replied with a playful grin to Reiji. "Though it looks like the professor is late, and I'm getting tired of waiting~" She continued with a huff, running a hand through her hair, frowning slightly.

"Anyways! Claire Blackwood!" She continued her frown quickly turning into a grin, returning the handshake with a likely surprisingly firm grip and shaking it vigorously before finally releasing him. "Nice to meet ya both." The both of them at least seemed like good people to be around. She didn't think they could exactly keep up with her, but she'd see. Erika at least seemed enthusiastic, while Reiji seemed somewhat more reserved, though maybe that was just a bad first impression. Strong silent type maybe? Meh, not important.

Looking around now though, it seemed like quite a few other people were here. Hrm...maybe she should go and greet them?...naaah, she was gonna stay firmly rooted to the ground right next to the door so she could bolt in as soon as they opened. She wasn't about to let the chance to be the first to get her pokemon slip by.

Reiji laughed at the comment about being late and looked around to the others that had gathered.
"Well Claire as i said before I'm Reiji, Reiji Hoshino. Oh and just so you know I wasn't running because I was late. I was running because I wanted to." he said with a smile before straightening out his clothes from his run and greeting the others that had greeted him and anyone else with a simple 'Hey I'm Reiji nice to meet you.'

Ren wasn't particularly fond of introductions, that was for sure. She listened and listed off the names and conversations of those around her, eavesdropping only because they were all talking too loud. She looked almost dead sitting there, unmoving, the morning sun beating down on her black coat and cooking her from within. It was a dastardly tactic in attempting to get her to reveal herself, however not having anything to drink in several hours made keeping identity secrecy a little difficult. As much as she didn't want to associate with the commoners, she may very well be forced to do so, given enough time...

With a gulp, Ren issued an atheist prayer: 'For the love of God, Professor, please can you speed this up...?' It was but a small request to not have to keep Ren dehydrating any longer. She really wished she'd spent some of her 500p prior to arrival, however she wanted to make sure she could get the cheapest supplies first and look around, rather than buy things blindly. At this point, however, Ren just wanted something to drink, and maybe eat, too.

That's when she realised vending machines existed!
She looked left...
... Then right...?

... No such luck. By now Ren had no choice but to remove at least her hood, exposing her face to some wind. The gentle breeze from earlier in the morning had faded, however the air suddenly felt a lot cooler with her hood off, and her hair feeling a lot less of a sting. To her fellow motley crew, she probably looked more masculine with her face revealed, what with her harsher complexion and general look of irritation which suited the males a lot more than the females.

... Though, if they looked hard enough without being seen, they may also notice that Ren was simply a rather 'small' young adult.

Lucian raised an eyebrow to the girl before formulating a response to her rather blunt question "Yes I'm here to see the professor and, judging from your rather...interesting choice of clothing, I'm guessing you are too. And that you were late waking up." Lucian looked at the lab and sighed slightly "Lucky for you, the professor is also late because...well I suppose you could ask her when she gets here but whatever the reason, she's late." Lucian paused for a moment before continuing, "Well now you've spoke to me, I suppose introductions are in order. I'm Lucian, and you are?" He asked, gesturing to the girl with golden hair.

As Lucian spoke to the girl, he noticed a few more people arrive at the lab , a boy with red hair and another with blonde hair mostly covered by a cap. Rather suddenly, he had a rather interesting thought What sort of pokemon does the professor even have? Are they all from Sinnoh? or Kanto? Or as she picked starters from all over the world? Lucian kept the thought to himself but it had peaked his curiosity.

Donna Riverwell

It was six at evening, when the ship arrives at the Pureplain city. Sighing she walked out to the boat and breathed the fresh air, before looking at this peaceful looking city. Pureplain city was bigger what she had imagined and it made her feel more exited about her upcoming journey.
He walked out of the port area and shuffled slowly toward the city. Only a few blocks away showed already familiar building, Poke market. This market looked really similar like any other market she was seen, only the color was different.

She entered the market and looked around, she was trying to find a map for this region, but could not see any.
"Hey! I am not seen you before, are you new?" old bearded man asked, glancing at her, sitting at his stool.
She nodded little shyly, but relaxed when she noticed that this man was probably the seller.
"I guess you're one of thoise new trainers...thats good, thats good..." old man muttered with kind smile "So is there something I can help you with?" he asked
Donna nodded again "I am looking for a map..." she said silently.
The seller stood up and scratches his beard "Hmm, yes, yes...I guess there is still some left" he said, stepping toward the magazine shelf "There is been so many new trainer asking for maps, these few days" he said, taking a one map in his hand and handed it to her "There is it...it's completely free" he continued with a smile.

She taked the map and nodded "Thank you..." she said, before turning around and was going to leave the shop.
"Oh, by the way, If you're looking for a selter, there is really cheap motel and not too far for the lab..." the old man said, sitting again to his stool "You could check it out" he said, but get disturbed by a another customer.
Donna gived a small smile and got out to the market. Only a few minutes of walking she reached to this motel tha old man was talked about. Motel wasen't very big, but was a comfortable-looking from the outside and the inside. one night there were only 20 pokedollars, includes evening meal and breakfast. Inside of the motel was a small kiosk too.

It was getting late and she was begin to feel tired. So she got to the second floor where
her room was. Room was small, but homely, with bed, tv, phone, table and bathroom.
Dropping her bag to the chair she jumped into the soft bed and relaxed. Her mind was full of thoughts, happiness, but also fear.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Was at 6 in the morning, when her clock began to ring. Yawning she stood up immediately, which was rather odd to her, because she liked to sleep long. The motels breakfast begins at half past six, which was good, beacause she had plenty of time to walk to the professors lab.

After the breakfast she packed her stuffs and left her motel room. The street was very quietly at this early in morning. The weather was nice and cool, but not too much. Ten minutes of walking she saw the lab and walked over to it. Clock was not yet eight so she decided to wait for a moment.

❄Erika Olson❄

---

Claire seemed nice and definitely had a more attractive, positive personality based off of that first impression. Even though Erika had wanted to reply to Claire, a boy, Reiji had arrived and eagerly introduced himself to Claire. Strangely, Erika got the vague sense that she was being entirely ignored by that boy as he didn't even look her way when introducing himself, but trying to be a good person, Erika simply smiled politely and let those two talk until Claire brought the conversation back around to include Erika again.

"It is nice to meet you, too!" Erika replied in earnest, though she found herself meaning it more for Claire than Reiji. It was around this time that Erika began noting the many new arrivals, some were eagerly introducing themselves while others kind of let others come over. It reminded Erika of that other girl who was here when Erika first showed up and she leaned forward in order to past Claire and get a good glimpse of the shady girl.

She was no longer hiding under her hood which gave Erika a good glimpse of her face. It was strangely masculine and she looked really ill right now or something akin to that. Maybe she was just tired? Regardless, Erika felt kind of bad nobody had come over to talk to her yet so Erika spoke up for the girl to hear her. "Hello!" She said with a wave. "Here to get a Pokemon, too?", she asked trying to sound friendly.

The soon-to-be Pokémon Trainers were gathering in front of Kalmia's Lab as the minutes went on, past 8 AM and towards 8:30, yet there still weren't any sign of Kalmia yet. People were moving by, either on their way to somewhere or walking their Lillipups or Growlithes or whatever they might have, perhaps smiling at the bunch of young people in front of the lab knowing that they'll be receiving their Pokémon as Kalmia had been so excited about.

… A tall man came walking down the road. He was clearly distinguishable from the rest of the normal people due to the fact he was wearing a black suit with long drapes of clothe hanging down in front and a vest hanging down over his pants, as well as had nicely outfitted himself with a top-hat. Both the suit and hat were outfitted with red ribbons. The tall, silver-haired man also wore glasses and gloves, and carried himself with quite the dignified stance and... perhaps way too confident a stare, knowing exactly where he was going.



If a person in the group wasn't specifically paying attention to whom was walking the streets, they might have missed him as he stopped a bit away on the other side of the street, putting one hand on his chin and steadied that hand's elbow with his other hand as he inspected the individuals in front of the lab.

'Hm. Interesting. So these are the new trainers. The average age appears older than usual.' He said, rather silently, seemingly only to himself. 'Fu-fu. A result of the Team Wars holding them back, or a bunch of coincidences?' He asked the nothingness, chuckling a bit for himself. He was likely too far away for any of the to-be trainers to hear him, unless they have really sharp hearing.

His eyes drifted between the different individuals, especially focusing on those on their own. Dawkin. Donna. Ren. Lucian, although Abigail had started speaking to him. The man had a serious expression as he looked at them, analysing. And then... he saw young Erika greeting Ren, the young girl daring to breach through the air of uncertainty. … The man couldn't help but smirk, recalling a certain event from his own memories. Eh, back to analyzing the rest of them. He resumed staring creepily at the group of kids from a distance.

For all intents and purposes, this adult man is part of the background and can be ignored. However, he looks pretty unique, and appears to be waiting for Kalmia the same as you lot.

Inhale...~
Exhale...~

Breath in...~
Breath ou-

"Hello! Here to get a Pokemon, too?"

The voice visibly shook Ren from her little daydream, and it took her not a moment to find the source of her distress. She shot a glare at the young girl whom had disrupted her little impromptu meditation, looking perhaps even more annoyed now than before. Her eyes stared deep, as though they were looking straight into Erika's soul, with a single question in mind: 'Why the Hell did you do that?'

... Silence passes.

Ren sighs, shutting her eyes, her irritated look fading just slightly. She couldn't blame this girl for being curious, but it was a bit startling. "Next time, I implore you not to startle me." Her voice was scratchy and somewhat deep, but in a feminine sort of way. She leaned back against the bench and tapped beside her, signalling Erika should sit. "Something tells me you'll be speaking with me awhile, so come, sit. You'll get in the way of traffic." She was referring to the passing pedestrians; her voice carried a sort of no-nonsense attitude to it. Also a little bit odd how her eyes seemed so fixed on Erika whenever she opened them.

"My name's Ren, and yes, I'm here for a Pokemon. I assume you have the same reasoning, Miss...?"

Well, at least she had manners...

---

He was...running because he wanted too? Pffft.

"Sure thing, Reiji." Claire chuckled, grinning somewhat impishly, intending to tease him just a bit. "Someone who runs wouldn't be out of breath from a little jog like that." Of course, before she could say much else, he started speaking to everyone else present. Kinda rude, to do that in the middle of a conversation, but eh. With Erika speaking to the smaller looking...girl. She was gonna say it was a girl because she'd be cuter if she was a she.

With the conversations directed towards her dying down, she didn't have much to say herself at the moment, though striking up a conversation would sorely help with her impatience. As she scanned those gathered, no one looked particularly fun, save for that girl dressed in black.

And then she saw a man standing some distance away dressed rather fabulously. She knew fabulous when she saw it. She had the same sort of clothes made for when she inevitably participated in a contest. He was a bit of a ways off to be sure, but it was hard for someone like her to miss someone so...uniquely dressed. As curious as she was though, he was standing a looong way off. And she was already positioned conveniently next to the door. Her head swiveled from him, to the door, back to him, and then back to the door.

...grrrah.

She remained firmly rooted in her spot, deciding to let her curiosity go for now. Ain't nothing was gonna stop her from getting a pokemon here. Instead, she turned back towards Erika and the girl she was talking too. Close enough to the door for her to still leap inside of the lab as soon as those doors opened. The redhead wasn't particularly interested in conversing with a ton of people, so she settled on perhaps getting to know Erika a bit better. She seemed friendly enough. Besides, this 'Ren' person looked liked they'd be fun to bother talk with! She was also conveniently close enough to speak to without her having to move from her spot by the door.

She didn't catch much of their conversation, but it didn't matter much to Claire. She was gonna interject anyways. She turned her head to Ren as she asked for Erika's name.

"Hey, Ren!" She chimed in, giving her a grin. "The names Claire! And can I just say that you look fabulous? In a 'I'm a spooky scary ghost' sort of way?" It was true - while it wasn't something she'd wear or ever be caught it, the hooded outfit had its merits.

Abigail looked down at herself. Now that he mentioned it, she really was kind of a mess, huh? With an embarrassed laugh, she looked up at him. "You're kinda observant, huh? Yeah, I sort of slept in a little. Guess I didn't need to rush as much as I did."

Smiling, she introduced herself in return. "Oh, and I'm Abigail! Nice meeting you, Lucas." she looked around the area. It seemed like a few more people had turned up. Some of them looked, kind of normal, but some of them seemed a bit weird. "Looks like I wasn't the only late one, though. Besides, if the professor's not here yet, that pretty much means I'm early anyway. I'm pretty sure that's the rules."

One of the people that looked especially strange was the man in the suit at the end of the path. It felt like he was... Watching them, almost. Now, Abigail was a kind and accepting person - as a future hero, she had to be. It sucked to have someone think they knew you from just the way you looked. In fact, she'd go as far as to say that she gave every single person a chance.

Saying that, this guy was clearly a complete and utter weirdo.

What kind of fully grown adult stood around watching kids in their free time? Abigail was pretty sure that could get you arrested. She looked back at Lucian. "Is it just me, or is that guy staring at all of us? It's creeping me out."

Ignoring Abigail not using his name, Lucian looked at the odd man. He was dressed strangely, but still he didn't look terrible, "Perhaps he's one of those Team Virtue people everyone seems to love, I wasn't told much about this region but I was told about them and their holier-than-thou attitude towards trainers. But maybe I'm judging a book by it's cover, the fellow could just be curious about the first batch of trainers to receive pokedexes in years." Lucian guessed.

As Lucian turned his attention away from the odd man, his curiosity got the better of him "..So what sort of pokemon are you hoping for the professor to give you? " The question probably seemed out of nowhere but Lucian was legitimately curious what these people wanted, mainly to see if he could guess their preference before being told though, he guessed Abigail would like some sort of electric type as she seemed like the..energetic type. Lucian also wondered if the professor had pre-selected pokemon for each of them. Probably not, she has no idea who we are so she'll probably let us choose from a selection.. Lucian continued his silent conversation until Abigail replied.