What Aquacorde City lacked in size, it made up for in its beautiful vistas. Professor Apple had heard the other lab employees discuss its merits and, as she gazed over the stone bridge crossing the deep blue river separating Aquacorde from Avance Trail, she was inclined to agree. She sat back in her seat - one of eight pulled up around a cafe table. Today was the day: the day five trainers would arrive to assist in her research. If all went as planned, they had the chance to revolutionize Kalos - the whole world as they knew it. She just hoped that, in return, she’d be able to revolutionize their own lives as well.

Professor Apple glanced at the deep blue sky - a light breeze and passing clouds overhead kept the weather from getting uncomfortably warm. Much better than spending the day in the lab. It was a good thing she and her personal assistants had left Lumiose City yesterday. While she had wanted to be early for any of the arriving new trainers, it was nice that she had the time to enjoy such a lovely day. She had even let out her Aron, who sat on top of the table in a deep nap.

Her gaze dropped down towards the riverbank - one of her assistants was sitting over there, gazing deep into the water. It wasn’t surprising; Lynda enjoyed pokemon more than picturesque views.

In fact, one would be hard-pressed to describe the view said young woman was taking in as ‘picturesque’; rather than the mostly calm waters and the sun refracting off the river’s surface, Lynda’s attention was drawn to the handful of Carvanha that were chasing after a desperately struggling school of Magikarp. The Savage Pokémon weren’t indigenous to this part of the river, so it was possible that the lab assistant was fascinated by their appearance; but to those who knew Lynda, it was clear she was admiring the tenacity of the predators in pursuing their prey so far downstream from their natural habitat.

But a moment later, the young woman rose from her squatting position by the riverbank; predator and prey had disappeared further downstream, and the beauty of the river itself didn’t do much to keep her attention. So she turned towards the plaza a short distance away, heading towards Apple with the glint of morbid curiosity still in her eyes.

Professor Apple waved to her returning assistant and looked back to the one seated right beside her. B was perhaps a bit of an oddball, but competent enough at his duties - which, right now, involved putting together some small starting packages for the new trainers. His Y-Unown floated around his head, looking towards Avance Trail.

“You better finish soon; they’ll be here any minute.” She broke the peaceful silence between them. B didn’t answer right away - in fact, it took the chirping of his Unown to disturb him from his task and look up at Professor Apple.

“Right - almost done- oh.” A small pokeball slipped from B’s fingers and began to roll off the table. The Unown darted down and stopped it. “There we go.” B took the pokeball back and tucked it into the bag he was working on before tying the drawstring into an awkward bow. “And that’s the last of them!” He beamed.

“You actually finished before anyone showed up? Congrats!” With that teasing comment towards B, Lynda joined Apple and the other assistant present; choosing to stand near the table rather than take a seat. “Guess that head start was worth it after all!”

B’s smile cracked, and the Unown’s eyelid dropped halfway down. Professor Apple had to suppress her laughter, though her snort woke up her Aron. This was typical of them and, as typical of Professor Apple, she began her scolding to Lynda: “Lynda, B thought it might be a good idea - it’s unlikely these children will be fully supplied, and it’s one less thing you’ll have to care of later. The least you can do is thank him for his work.” She glanced at the messy knots closing off the bags. “And remember that he is lacking some depth perception.” B’s cracked smile turned into a frown.

“Alright, alright, fair enough.” Despite the light scolding, Lynda barely succeeded in stopping herself from laughing at Apple’s own jab at B; it wasn’t quite a smirk, but her lips visibly twisted to hold in a snicker of her own. “Thanks, B, you’re doing God’s work!”

“Mhmm. And next time, you can do it yourself.” B shrugged and began pulling out the pokeballs for the new trainers. Aron looked around, shook his head, and rose to feet with a yawn. Professor Apple patted the small pokemon.

“As I was going to say, however - when the new trainers arrive, please try to remember their faces. We’ll be seeing them for quite some time, after all.”

“Particularly Lynda. I have my own work to do after all.” B finished setting up the pokeballs so they wouldn’t roll away.

“Yeah yeah, I know the plan,” Lynda said somewhat carelessly, as her attention was drawn to the quintet of Pokéballs that B was arranging. In just a few short minutes, she- and a handful of other young men and women- would take their first Pokémon from one of those balls, and then their journey would begin.

“I do have to ask, do you think they’ll be up to the task? It seems you have a lot of work for them.” B leaned back in his seat.

“...I will admit, some of them seemed a big ragtag - and it’s still a shame about that cancellation - but I’m sure they’ll be competent.” Professor Apple redirected her gaze back to the bridge into Aquacorde. Her Aron followed suit, apparently curious over who his trainer had chosen.

The sky was beautiful today, the spattering of white clouds on the blue canvas painted a wonderful image. Sully paused for a second to take a picture of the grassy plains to his left, a picturesque lake sat calmly in the middle. There were a few row boats sat floating in the waters, couples out enjoying the pleasant day. The sound of the camera shutter was followed by the young lad shielding the screen of his phone to hide the glare of the sun. The picture was as perfect as the view itself.

Sully continued along Vaniville Pathway, the excitement caused the faintest of smiles to appear on his face. With the weather as nice as it was there were plenty of people going along the route enjoying themselves. Usually the number of people would cause Sully a great deal of discomfort and anxiety, however today he would be receiving his first Pokemon. It elevated him high above the depths of his self doubt and worry that often caused him to hide within himself. The smile on his face was a sign to the world and more importantly himself, that he could get to a place where he'd feel normal. The years of neglect from his parents had left a lasting impact on him and it was only recently that he started to feel like there was hope. It was all thanks to one person...Alex.

Alex was a transfer student who had moved around quite a bit with her father. He was a well known Pokemon trainer, famed for his use of dog Pokemon. On her first day the teacher tasked Sully to show her around the school. He was distant through out the entire encounter but Alex was persistent. Sully spennt the majority of the time silent but she replied to his silence with more stories about herself and tales of her famous father. When the tour was eventually over, Alex had worn Sully down to the point he agreed to show her around town that evening.

Sully met her in the middle of town at the bus station, her bright blonde, almost white hair making her stand our firmly amongst the crowd. She ran up to him with a gleaming smile on her face, squealing out the words, "Hey Sully!". The gentle giant responded with a muted "Hey..." of his own. Alex laughed and took him by the arm, dragging him along. For a small girl she sure was strong.

The two had spent hours together, watching evening turn into night. Alex demanded Sully walk her home, wanting to get as much out of him as she could. He had already told her more about himself than he had told anyone before. It was nothing more than his hobbies, but even that was a very big deal for him. "Come on!" she insisted. She had pulled Sully around the entire time and had no intention of stopping now. She had been dragging him from shop to shop eyeing up every little fashion accessory she came across and now she was dragging him to take her home.

It didn't take long for them to reach her house, her hyperactivity still the same as when they first met. She finally let his arm go after hours of constant tugging before wrapping herself around him in a hug. She let out one final squeal, "I can't believe I made a friend already!" Sully felt his heart melt in his chest and his eyes immediately began to fill with tears. They streamed down his face into Alex's hair as she gripped him tight.

Alex looked up at the gentle giant crying, "There's no need to cry silly!" She poked out her tongue from behind her smile, causing Sully to let out a deep laugh. Her face turned more serious and the hyperactivity was replaced with sincerity. "I could see you didn't have anyone when I arrived, sat on your own waiting for school to start. You walked to class without looking up from the floor. Breaks my heart to see people like that. I decided that I would be your friend over everyone else." Her smile once again returned and she let Sully go from her vice like hug. He wiped at his face with his sleeve and when he looked up had a smile of his own to share.

From that point on, when he was alone with Alex he was confident and much more open than he had ever been in his life. What they had was not romantically fuelled but was something more akin to a brother sister relationship. Still, the time spent away from her was filled with the all to familiar anxiety and loneliness he had grown up with.

Sully's day dreaming had carried him to the very end of the Vaniville Pathway, he had arrived outside Aquacorde City. It was a small place surrounded by wondrous views, views he spent a few minutes capturing on his phones camera. He continued onward, although it wasn't long before he could feel his excitement start to fade away. His feet stopped working as the cafe came into view. His breaths became rapid and fear wracked his body. He closed his eyes and reached down into his pocket, pulling out a pink envelope. He removed the letter from inside it before opening his eyes and reading it. The words on the paper were not of importance, but the fact that Alex had taken the time to write it for him was everything. No gift he had ever received came close to something so heartfelt and meaningful.

Soon the anxiety waned, leaving a smile on Sully's face once more. He returned the letter and envelope to his pocket and made his way towards the cafe. He took his phone from his pocket, quickly typing a message to Alex...'I'm here'. Within moments of sending the text, his phone began to ping as a barrage of messages from his excited friend were delivered. He didn't have time to answer, he was already inside face with a lady who he presumed was Professor Apple. He tried to speak but could only mumble out the words, "Hello...I...I'm Sully..."

The warm sun settled on his skin like the fluttering of butterfree wings. It was a beautiful day, calm and sareen. With hardly a gust of wind to disturb the fields of grass that painted the paths in green. It truly was like a canvas here, one that he could find in his mother's room, clean, crisp even.
His morning was filled with hugs and messages. Mother having tears in her eyes, a hand running through his hair as she continued to go on and on at how proud she was that he made it this far. How he even got a video call from his brother, Steelix at his back while both were eager to challenge him to a battle when he was ready. But it was his Neighbour's Gardevoir that he really had trouble leaving. The proud yet breaking eyes behind the usually ethereal gaze was enough to shatter a spirit.

He just sat with his friend till he had to leave. Watching her expressions change as he thought of places he could see, people he could meet. Even thinking of having an entire team of psychic types only for the pokemon to shake her head, signing in a rough version of his language. "Think all type" right, he should think of all types. Even if it was only a psychic and maybe some ghost types that hear him, he should open his mind more, see the different pokemon out there and wonder if they would even want to join him on his journey.

And so, a small bag over his shoulder, he begun his first step on his journey. A smile on his face, he began to whistle, one of the very few sounds he could still create. He enjoyed the walk, the sky was so blue, hardly a cloud in the sky till he began making his way to Aquacorde City, it was such a quaint little place, and he honestly thought of it more as a town than a city. A tourist spot due to the simple beauty of trickling music, clean waters and soft voices.
A fletchling flew to it's next, the sound of bird chirping joining in as hunger babes demanding to be fed. The animated voices of a group of friends and their day out caused the place to come more to life with every step he decided to make.

It wasn't too difficult to find the growing group amongst the cafe tables. Bags strewn across their space, he noticed a older woman who could only be the professor, with kind eyes and excitement in her features. A boy and girl around his age, one showing a slight calculated look while the other was texting.
A unknown catching his eye was when he noticed the last figure. Someone a little less animated and looking almost spacey. Still, the sight cause a grin to break over his lips as he began to wave over at the group. This was it, this was his first step to the dream he thought he would have left behind a long time ago.

A spring in his step he bowed his head a little when he approached. So, he wasn't the last one here? Well, least there was that, he was honestly a little worried that he would be the last one, to walk over, all sets of eyes and yet all he could do is be met with silence.
Still, ether way, h could not help but look out at the packages, the pokeballs, inside one of those sphears is a friend that would walk at his side for the rest of their lives, the one that he would share his journey with. The very idea of it made his throat go dry.
Realizing he was already at the table, he began to feel the tips of his ears turn red. Quickly he began to sign, only to realize they probably didn't know sign language, still he tried, what was the worst that could happen with trying..right? "Hi, my name's Reeman."

Mia Kita knew she had always been fortunate to some degree. Today was no different. Her parents had given her some minor funds at the train station in Kiloude City before she left, for instance, saying it was in case she needed supplies. For another example, stores in both Lumiose City and Santalune City sold pokemon repel sprays. As such, her journey through Paterre Way, Ouvert Way, and Santalune Forest left her unbothered by any pokemon. Humans, not so much, but no one did anything more serious than bump into her. Certainly unpleasant but by no means harmful. Most of them seemed disinterested in her, heading off on their own errands and training without so much as an apology, but whatever. That was just people. That would probably change once she got her new starter - hopefully something fearsome, like Honedge or Bagon. They'd pay her more respect then.

However, despite how well her day had started, she couldn't help but begin questioning that fortune as she wandered through the Santalune Forest. She would've been glad to have had purchased so many repel sprays if it wasn't for the feeling she was wasting them all. She hadn't seen another person coming from any direction, solidifying the fact that she had, in fact, managed to lose the main path and could very possibly end up late or worse, despite the fact she had set out so early. What would even happen then? Would Professor Apple just give the position to some dumb kid in Aquacorde? Like Mia was going to lose out to a nobody!

The dark woods offered little help to its lost human, with thick branches stretching high into the sky and filtering the sunlight though its leaves, and the rustling grasses of wild pokemon disrupting her focus. A stiff breeze winding through the trees chilled the shade further, and she shivered as she hugged her bare upper arms. It had been so warm in Kiloude - in fact, it had been so warm to the point of annoyance, as she'd been able to hear her younger siblings, among other children, crowding trainers and begging to see their pokemon. Normally, she was among then, but she had to prepare for the trip to Apple, packing extra clothing and bandages and the like for a trip out into the wilderness. The letter had said much: speaking of a long journey, meeting important people, collecting rare items and even pokemon so the professor could advance her work. It had all sounded rather dull, and Mia was sure that was why her parents had considered sending Jay instead.

Admittedly, if the letter hadn't promised a starter to new trainers, Mia might have refused, and it'd be Jay wandering around lose and alone and probably scared since even if he begged to see a trainer's pokemon, he was the first to flinch when things went wrong, and she was pretty sure that was a Pikachu that had just darted by, and he would've screamed his head off there-

Mia sighed and tried to recompose herself. Well, it was a good thing she was the one out here, because she was going to find her way out, and she was going to do it the way a real trainer would: without fear. Jay would never be able to do that. He was just lucky Mia decided she wanted a starter and hoped her normally good fortune would hold up.

Despite her efforts, it still wasn't easy to make her way out. Trying to track the sun through the forest canopy had not been an easy feat and forced her to rely on the movements of pokemon to disturb the leaves and the light, to try to figure out where she was. Eventually, she found a sign, pointing south towards Avance Trail. Something else found her: a Pansear, dropping onto her face with a screech.

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

She threw the Pansear to the ground with strength she didn't even know she had and ran until she finally found the forest's edge. Only when she was safely out did she take a deep breath and smooth out her dress and hair. Everything was fine. She sprayed her last repel and continued down Avance Trail. This path went as smoothly as the trip prior to the forest had gone, and quickly only the bridge was left to cross before she reached Aquacorde City. Small town. Even smaller than Santalune had been. Yuck. What did these people do for fun? Wander the woods? Doubtful, considering how few people she saw. She surveyed it disdainfully before beginning her search for Professor Apple, passing a boy texting on his phone along the way.

It took a few minutes before Mia located the terrace. There were a few people waiting at the table beside the professor. She smoothed the wrinkles from her dress one last time. If nothing else, she was going to look good. She took the steps up two at a time and approached the table. "You must be Professor Apple. I, Mia Kita, answered your letter." She glanced again at the others. Three of them might've been other new trainers selected by Apple. Shame, she wanted to get here first. She cursed her luck momentarily. The last one, an older-looking dark-skinned man, was probably a lab assistant. How utterly lame. She sneered at the Unown floating by his head. Even Magikarp was better than Unown. Hopefully, there wouldn't be anything quite so pathetic among the starter pokemon.

His journey hadn’t even properly started yet, and already Charlie’s feet were just about killing him.

It wasn’t quite noon when he reached the Avance Trail exit from Santalune Forest; but nonetheless, the young man debated opening up the food he’d packed and starting on lunch as he sat on the small grassy bank at the mouth of the forest, taking deep breaths as several beads of sweat slowly worked their way down his forehead. He’d got up early to make it to Aquacorde Town from Lumiose City without hurrying himself along; but between the shady darkness of the forest, the remaining humidity from the other day’s downpour and the the sounds of early-morning wild Pokémon activity, he’d arrived slightly worse for wear than he would have liked.

Though, truth be told, he realized he likely didn’t have much to be worried about in regards to the last of those; whilst he was starting his journey as a true Pokémon trainer today, the hiss and tart stench of gas nearby him almost served as a reminder that he wouldn’t be selecting a starter.

“J-just a little longer, Phil.” Looking up, Charlie saw the ball of ectoplasm floating in the late morning sunlight a short way away from him; and smiled as the Gastly turned to face him, his eyes glinting with more excitement than his own trainer had. “Aquacorde’s just over that bridge down there.”

In contrast to the human, the Gastly travelling with him seemed far less perturbed by the journey; the lack of legs turning to lead and a host of bugs, birds and monkeys to blast with gas on the way down certainly helped in that regard. As he caught sight of Charlie sitting by the grass at the forest’s entrance, the Ghost-type floated down towards him and let out a soft hiss as he waited for his Trainer to cool down and catch his breath.

The last time they’d been in this area was when Charlie had come out to find a certain rock that was supposed to be in the forest; but instead encountered one of Professor Apple’s aides as that wild goose chase led him straight out the other side from where he’d came. The man’s demeanour had been… well, Charlie distinctly remembered how uncomfortable he’d felt as he’d come face-to-face with the stranger almost the very moment he’d given up on his search. But that’s when he’d been given the opportunity of a lifetime; whatever his prospects of becoming a successful trainer and researcher had been the day before, the chance to go on a journey under the supervision of Professor Apple herself elevated them almost tenfold. Charlie knew well how much of a soft touch he appeared to others; but he also knew well that he’d be a fool to turn the offer to join down.

If only he could turn down the feeling of being a second choice. The aide had been more than happy to emphasize that he’d be replacing a boy who’d canceled his place on the journey.

Another hiss from Phil distracted him from those thoughts. Right, time was getting on and he didn’t want to be late; besides, after the sprawling monstrosity that had been Santalune Forest, Avance Trail left him only a few hundred or so metres from the bridge to Aquacorde Town.

“We’ll eat when we get there, I guess?” With that, he nodded to the impatient Gastly and got back up to his feet, wasting no more time in starting the walk towards the bridge. “If we’re not too late, I hear there are some nice cafés in Aquacorde?”

Phil hardly needed any more encouragement; within a few minutes, the two were crossing over the river to the town, speeding up a little bit at the prospect of spending time in an actual human settlement after their long journey down from Lumiose City. The view they were afforded of the beautiful town in the late morning sun didn’t disappoint; but whilst Phil darted off somewhere to look around, Charlie turned as he caught sight of what they’d came for out the corner of his eye.

“S-sorry I’m a little late!” He said as he picked up the pace and made a beeline for the group he could see gathering by a café table a short distance from the riverbed. He couldn’t help but be slightly embarrassed as he saw the four other children gathered, but he soon pushed that out of his mind as he saw the most distinguished of the people present at the table.

“Thank you for having me, Professor.” He said, as he crossed the distance from the end of the bridge to the gathering group; as he came face to face with Professor Apple.

The wind blew through the hair of the young girl whose eyes were on not the sight of the beautiful town just a few minutes walk away but on the magikarp swimming in the river and the fletchling flying through the sky as they chirped. Rosa was taking in the view, the feeling of the wind, the warmth of the sun and, most important of all to her, the movement of the pokemon. Her hand moved slowly, tracing the lines of the forms of the pokemon which passed her by in the small book she held. There many other such drawings ranging from mantyke soaring to a teddiursa playing with leaves. Not one seemed more special than the other yet, out of all of them, the most she cherished was one of a lapras sitting at a shore and shooting water, the page of which was crinkled from the very water. How long had it been since she and lapras hung out back in the Orange Islands? Nearly three months since she was last there was it? She had lost track of her visits almost twice a year yet had went a third time this year to tell her parents the news.

How excited they were that their little girl was growing up. Her own brothers even came back to their home on the southern Mandarin Island to throw a party and congratulate her. The week she had spent back in the Orange Islands were the best she could’ve ever asked for. Yet, Rosa felt a different kind of excitement now that she was so close to becoming a trainer. She had never watched pokemon battles, finding no interest in them, and never even went to her brothers’ battles. What would it be like, her first time battling with her new partner? Rosa didn’t know the answer but she was afraid and excited to be trying something different for once, it was a new kind of adventure after all. As her mind wandered, she finished the drawings and looked down at them.

Hmm, another good drawing I guess. Could’ve been better.

Her eyes drifted up to the sky as she realized the position of the sun. How many hours had passed? How long had she been there? As far as she knew, she could have already been late for the meeting! Rosa threw her books and pencil into the bag she held over her shoulder and hopped off the tree branch she had sat upon. With a frantic stumble, almost falling on her face as she started to run, Rosa set off down Avance Trail with a quick sprint. She rushed past people, brushing a few aside on accident but aiming more so to dodge past people. As she approached the cafe in the letter, Rosa set to come to a stop only to stumble once more and tripped on her own sandals, falling onto her knees.

With an embarrassed smile, she brushed off her knees and wiped her hands on her pants as she stood up. ”H-hey. I’m Rosaline, you can call me Rosa. You’re Professor Apple, right,” She said as she looked directly at the woman who sat at the table. She took a brief moment to look at the others around her. Her attention was mostly drawn to the unknown floating in the air, almost instinctively reaching for her drawing book and a pencil to start drawing it before she moved her attention to the others around her. They all seemed… interesting to say the very least but her attention was more drawn to the ghastly floating by one of them.

First was Sully - Apple noticed him first, crossing into town before apparently a message on his phone distracted him. It took him a moment longer - another girl passed him by on the way into town - but soon he reached their little cafe table.

"Hello...I...I'm Sully..." He mumbled the words, almost caving in on himself. Apple offered a comforting smile.

“Well, Sully, we’ve been waiting for you. You can have a seat.”

Lynda watched Sully as he joined them, though didn’t seem to acknowledge him too much beyond a friendly smile of her own; it was when the next boy arrived a few moments later that the smile faded in favour of something more.

The first boy had been quiet, but this one didn’t even offer a verbal greeting; instead proceeding into a series of strange hand gestures as he neared them. She stared for a moment, her mind debating possibilities-

But before she could come to a conclusion, it was B who spoke up. “Oh, he’s introducing himself. He’s Reeman-” B gestured toward the second boy. “I’ll hazard a guess you can’t speak? Not that it’s a loss, trust me.” He beamed.

“What my assistant means is, it’s good to listen,” Professor Apple clarified, eyeing over the man. He nodded.

“Right - this isn’t my native tongue, words escape me sometimes.” His smile hadn’t faltered at all. “Come on, sit down with us.”

“Yeah, don’t worry, he’s not so bad.” Lynda nodded to Reeman, the friendly smile returning to her face. So he was mute? She’d have to make a note of that. “It’s just that his vocabulary’s lacking some depth.”

B chuckled. “An endless source of humor, isn’t she?”

“Please stop - at least in front of the trainers?” Professor Apple shook her head.

“Alright, sorry,” Lynda replied, looking away with a sheepish chuckle as the Professor scolded her again; only to find herself distracted by the next of the arrivals, a young woman.

"You must be Professor Apple. I, Mia Kita, answered your letter." Professor Apple recognized her from the bridge earlier. Well, she had no reservations on introducing herself - or passing judgments, based on that sneer at the Y-shaped Unown. The Unown simply glowered back at Mia, to the surprise of neither the professor nor her assistants.

‘Well, she’s certainly more talkative than the other two,’ Lynda mused to herself, continuing to watch Mia as she caught sight of the girl’s unimpressed glance towards the Unown. She couldn’t say she was particularly fond of the weird Psychic-type, but she refrained from adding anything this time; after all, she was more interested in seeing whether the girl could back up the attitude behind that contempt.

It was another few minutes before another voice spoke up: “S-sorry I’m a little late!” Apple looked up at the boy, then at his Gastly, and stared in some mild confusion at the boy approaching. He looked to be in the right age range, but...

“Thank you for having me, Professor.” ....well.

“Ah, you’re welcome.... And you are?” She blinked. Not quite up to her requests, but-

“Oh, Professor! This is the one I recruited! His name’s Charlie! I thought he’d make an excellent replacement - he was off doing his own research when I found him, you know. I suppose I forgot to mention him?” B shrugged. “My mistake.”

Apple nodded. “Well... I suppose luckily you have your own.” She smiled gently at Charlie and looked at the Gastly. “I’ve always been fond of Ghost-types, you know.”

“Especially the ones that apparently used to be human,” B added. “They’ve got the best data - human-like chromosome structure.”

“B, they don’t need to know specifics yet. Not unless they decide to stay once the journey has ended?”

“Right, right.”

It was barely a moment after that morbid turn in the conversation fell by the wayside that someone else appeared from over the bridge and began to approach; only to trip and fall onto her knees as she came within a few meters of joining them.

”H-hey. I’m Rosaline, you can call me Rosa. You’re Professor Apple, right?” And with Rosa’s arrival, the entire group had fallen into place. Apple nodded and looked over the group. With everyone in place, she cleared her throat and stood up. The small Aron on the table watched her rise to her feet.

“I’m glad you could all make it. Now, I intend to say this only once, so everyone please listen. My name is Professor Apple - you may have seen some of my work back home in Unova?” While perhaps not as renowned as the likes of Oak, for developing the pokedex, and Sycamore, for discovering Mega Evolution, she had still published papers on the potential connections between humans and Pokemon, with particular focus on one of the native pokemon - Yamask. “I came to Kalos in order to further my work, by studying Mega Evolution, as you may recall in my letter. While Sycamore is away in Hoenn to understand the influx of developing Mega Stones in the region, I am currently running his lab. His remaining staff, of course, are focusing on his research. While I have my assistants, I still find I’m being stretched too thin. B, Lynda, would you like to introduce yourselves?” She gestured to the two beside her.

“Hey, everyone, I’m Lynda!” The young woman was the first of the two to take the initiative in introducing herself, waving to the five younger children. Compared to how she’d seemed to size Reeman and Mia up, the air about her now was far less tense and focused. “I’ll be tagging along with all of you, at least for a while. My journey starts today, too!”

“And, well, I’m B - it’s, well, it’s a nickname. It can be tough to pronounce my full name and- oh!” As B was rising to his feet, using his chair for balance, the chair slipped backwards away from the table, and B nearly went with it. Only his Unown intervening caught him from falling. “Ah, sorry. Anyways, well, I’m B - I assure you, I’m not so klutzy in my element. Due to the nature of my work, it’s likely I’ll be meeting up with you and Lynda to pick up work and tell you what else Apple needs you to focus on.”

Professor Apple nodded to the two before continuing to address the other five trainers. “These two will help you with the projects I’ll be assigning you. Unfortunately, since I am running Sycamore’s lab for him, it often means I am called away to tend to tasks he’d normally deal with. For example, after we part ways today, I will be with the Pokemon League, dealing with the influx of Zweilous nests in Victory Road. Drasna’s told me it’s been making it difficult for trainers to reach them.” She shook her head. “I’ll get into the details of your first mission shortly. For now, please-” She gestured to the pokeballs sitting on the table. “-pick your starter.”

Relief washing over him, Reeman nodded his head egarly at the man named B. Least someone understood him, for a little bit it seems. Hands in a flurry he began to sit down. "Vocal cords are fried, don't worry I can keep up I swear."
One by one, more came, the place starting to become more lively causing the boy to smile. Watching them, each person just someone who was going to start their adventures, friends maybe? Or rivals, least he can tell that it was going to be fun.

There was the boy who seemed rather distant. Another girl who pretty much sneered at the unknown, Mia was it? She reminded him of a high born from some book, someone who had everything given to her. Charlie and his Ghastly seemed to be the perfect image of a adventurer, though it seemed he could use a little conditioning like himself. Than there was Rosa, she seemed nice, clumsy sure, but not everyone could be graceful.
Professor apple seemed to be able to common their attention. A few spoken words causing his head to snap back as though he had gears in his neck. Doe like eyes focusing and hanging on her every word as she went on about how they would be focusing on research. Introducing Lynda who seemed even more eager than he was, and B who caused the mute to worry for his safety.

It was an interesting place to say the least. Talk of missions, research, adventure. It was all so fast and wonderful. Honestly he was half expecting to wake up and find it all as a dream. Yet when Reeman looked up, he found a set of pokeballs placed in front of them. Orbs of shining red and white, humming with the life that teemed inside. He couldn't hide the grin that began to take over his features, the sparkle in his eye as he held a hand over the pokeballs. Fingers brushing over the surface till they settled on one toward the end, solom, calm, yet full of life.
Eyes holding a gaze of peace, Remman carefully picked up the pokeball. A precious treasure lying in his hands. Closing his eyes he put it to his brow for a moment. "Let's make this the start of a long friendship." He couldn't wait, yet he couldn't put it down. A deep breath escaping his lips he carefully released the creature that lay dormant inside, his breath caught, waiting in his throat.

It was short, barely to his waist with a child like appearance. A helmet of green and red. Confusion in it's covered face as the Ralts look around it's new scene.
He couldn't contain himself, picking the Ralts up he engulfed the creature in a hug, quite, wheezy laughter escaping him while the Ralts gave a cheerful cry. It was like he was reliving a memory of his childhood, when his neighbour introduced him to the Ralts that later became his best friend.
How? How could Professor Apple have chosen a Ralts of all pokemon? He didn't care, he simply held it out, a wide smile on his face while the pokemon gave out a cry of approval. Mouthing his words, "my name's Reeman...." He began to realize that maybe the pokemon didn't understand him.
Yet the nod from Ralts caused his fears to melt. She might not be as attuned to him as Gardivor is, but that could change. With a bit of practice they could be unstoppable in whatever they chose to do.
Finally putting the Ralts down, the Pokemon decided to climb onto the table, looking around at the others before staying close to his side, tilting her head this way and that. He forgot how adorable a Ralts was, and just like that, he was as eager as Lynda.

It hadn't taken long for the number of people to swell, the anxiety starting to work it's way back into Sully's body. However, Professor Apple's greeting and the smile from Lynda helped him relax. He sat down and immediately reached for the phone in his pocket, staring down at the messages he had received from Alex. The fact he sat down was a miracle in itself, but it would be a while before he'd be comfortable enough to hold any sort of eye contact or conversation with those around him. He started to read the texts, 'OMG!', 'SO EXCITING!', 'SO PROUD!', 'YOU'RE GOING TO DO AMAZING!'...just the usual sort of thing an excited fourteen year old girl would send. After he read through the bulk of the one liners he came across something with along more substance.

'Sully I know you're scared, I know you're worried but you can do this. The fact you've accepted me into your life, the fact you're there now...just everything you have done recently...you really don't need to be afraid to let people in. Give them some time and you'll realise that the majority of people in this world are good people if you give them a chance. I won't bore you much longer, just make sure you send me a picture of your first pokemon :) xx'.

He bit down on his lip tight, doing his hardest to hold back the tears and smile that came with the feeling the message gave him. It was a strange sensation for him, happiness shot throughout his body and caused his eyes to start flooding. She made him feel like he could do anything and was the sole reason he got the courage to be sat right where he was. Sully coughed and tried to discreetly wipe at his eyes before letting his lip loose to let the smile out. His eyes quickly dried and he typed away, 'Thank you :)'. He returned his phone to his pocket and returned his attention to Professor Apple.

Apple spoke with a certainty about what she wanted, something Sully had never felt himself until recently. He had never known what he wanted for his future beyond conquering the anxiety that repeatedly beat him down. It was part of the reason he was there now, a chance to view the world and conquer the shadow that had loomed over him most of his life. Now though he had a goal, to become a Pokemon trainer and go as far as he could with it. The bravery it took for him to accept Professor Apple's invite was fuelled by the compassion shown to him by Alex, she was the only reason he even had a phone with him. Like an annoying little sister she demanded he keep her updated with messages and pictures of everything he saw along the way.

Sully rasied his head, catching sight of the pokeballs spread out across the table. It wouldn't be long till he would be taking one in hand and finding out what his first pokemon would be. He had spent alot of time learning the names of everyone he could, but ultimately it didn't matter to him what it was. He would care for it as much as he did Alex, making sure that it would never feel the loneliness he had growing up. It would become family to him and ultimately one of the most important things in his life.

Minutes passed and finally the professor said that they could start picking their pokemon. Sully watched on as the boy opposite him picked his first. As he opened the ball Sully could see the boys expression change to one of pure elation. It was the look of someone who got exactly what they wanted and it filled Sully with a warmth. He saw a kindred spirit in this boy, someone who clearly had to struggle through life, but through their struggles he was confident they would find a common ground...maybe even become friends.

Professor Apple gestured to Sully, prompting him to pick one of the balls. His hand shook as he reached out to the one that was nearest him, but as the smooth surface touched his skin the trembling stopped. He drew it back in close to his chest and looked down at it and took a moment. 'I'm going to take care of you...' he thought to himself. Then with bated breath open the pokeball. Once the beam of energy disappeared it revealed a small pokemon, just over two feet tall it had a greyish hue to it's skin. From it's mouth two tusks stretched outwards, one each side. He immediately identified it as an Axew, his smile now revealing the teeth hidden behind his lips. The small pokemon looked up at Sully with it's big eyes looking right at his. The boy usually filled with anxiety with any sort of eye contact looked right back. Axew smiled as big as it could before letting out a wail of excitement, pouncing onto Sully's chest. Sully wrapped ran his hand across the back of the Pokemons head, "It's ok little guy...i'm glad to meet you too..." Axew let go of Sully's chest and took a seat on his knee. He looked once more at his new trainer before looking excitedly around the room at the other people, waving wildly at anyone who would look at him.

Charlie paused and flinched as Apple completely and utterly drew a blank on him. Freezing up for a moment, his face slowly drained of colour as his mind began to move over a million miles an hour in mounting panic.

What was this? What was happening? Had he come all this way for nothing? Had this all been a bad joke at his expense?

“Oh, Professor! This is the one I recruited! His name’s Charlie! I thought he’d make an excellent replacement - he was off doing his own research when I found him, you know. I suppose I forgot to mention him? My mistake.”

Or, as he turned to notice the dark-skinned, one-eyed man who’d just about jumped him at the entrance to Santalune Forest about a week ago, it seemed he was the victim of a simple misunderstanding.

“... Y-yeah, I guess so,” Charlie said with a sigh of relief as Apple acknowledged the situation and made the comment about Phil. The panic that had been building up in his head slowly deflated, replaced with dark thoughts about Apple’s assistant. That jerk. “Sorry for the confusion, and thanks again!” And with that and an uneasy smile as Apple commented on her fondness for Ghost-types, Charlie began to fade into the background as her assistant spoke up again.

Finishing his sweep of the immediate surroundings, Phil faded back into existence next to Charlie, and joined his trainer in looking over the growing group. Out of the four who were already gathered besides Apple and B, three looked around the same age as Charlie; the remaining girl seemed at least a few years older. Judging by how close she was standing to the two researchers compared to the others, it seemed she was familiar with them; another assistant to Apple, perhaps? The other children stood out far less; both of the boys seemed as quiet as Charlie himself, though the other girl seemed more standoffish than quiet.

A moment later, Charlie found himself distracted by the ‘thud’ of something falling to the ground; and turned to see a girl with blue hair arrive, stammering out a greeting before her attention seemed captured by Phil.

Realizing he was being stared at, the Gastly grinned; but Charlie’s attention was more concerned with Professor Apple as she rose to address them all. As she started her brief speech, Charlie nodded along somewhat unconsciously; Apple was an up-and-coming in the world of Pokémon research, and the various news sources about Lumiose had her career fairly well-documented.

What caught him by some surprise, though, was when the older girl he’d noticed standing near Apple and B introduced herself and revealed that she’d be coming along with them. Seemed like he’d been right about her being one of Apple’s assistants, but the absence of a Pokémon around her was interesting; he could understand the other children his age only just now receiving their starters, but surely Lynda would have had a Pokémon of her own by now if she was interested in a journey like this? Judging by the absence of a third Pokémon at the table alongside the Aron and the Unown, and the number of Pokéballs at the table, it didn’t seem like she was in the same position as Charlie.

“Anyone mind if I go next?” As if on cue, Charlie heard Lynda posing a rhetorical question and turned to see her leaning over the selection of Pokéballs; it seemed that the two other boys had already chosen theirs, leaving the girls to take the remaining three. The brown-haired boy with the purple scarf seemed to have chosen a small Dragon-type- an Axew, if Charlie wasn’t mistaken- whilst there was no mistaking that blonde in the jacket had a Ralts. Despite his half-attempt to fade into the background, Charlie couldn’t help but smile as he saw how happy the previously-quiet pair were as they met their partners for the first time; and he heard Phil hiss as the ghost made his way over towards the blonde boy with the Ralts.

Lynda, meanwhile, took the leftmost Pokéball from her position over the table; and in a moment far less dramatic than Sully and Reeman’s hesitation in sending out their starters, pressed down on the button on the front right away, the lower half swinging open to reveal her choice.

Almost immediately as the red light cleared and the contents of the ball materialized, she saw the small blue creature staring up at her. She blinked, and then it blinked in turn, watching her carefully as she crouched down to get a better look.

“Not bad.” With a content nod, she extended a hand to pat the Totodile on the head; watching with interest as it blinked again in response, still observing her fairly impassively. “How’s it going, little fella?”

Mia surveyed the other... trainers, once Professor Apple confirmed their role. The boys all seemed withdrawn, and the other girl seemed rather a klutz. What were they going to do as trainers? Real trainers practically bled confidence from their veins, not tears and muttered words and scraped knees! Well, maybe the last one. But only from high-intensity training, not from walking up some steps! Once this project was over, she couldn't see any of them striking off on their own to challenge the pokemon league or challenging gyms. Heck, she wasn't even sure what they'd do the first time a real trainer challenged them! Mia would probably have to step up. Whatever, she was good at that.

Professor Apple then went into a speech, one Mia would begrudgingly admit was pretty alright. She hadn't actually read the professor's Unovan work - though she had read reports on her work with Sycamore. It was interesting, to say the least, and had played a small part in her decision to accept Apple's offer. The introductions went... a tad more interestingly. Mia had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. They were getting a chaperone. Really? There were 10-year-olds who went out with a flipping Caterpie and left to their own devices. She was 13! But at least Lynda looked kinda cool. She wouldn't mind getting a jacket like that. The other assistant - Mia paused as he introduced himself. B? Really? Really? Even knowing it was a nickname didn't help much - pretty lame nickname. She looked him over. Maybe Patch instead?

Then back to Apple, revealing the pokeballs. Mia studied them - maybe some gnaw marks, a scratch, some hint as to the resident they held within. She wanted to get the best pokemon possible, something fierce and strong.

The hesitation cost her. Already, Lynda and two of the others had grabbed pokeballs. The Ralts was no big loss but - an Axew? A Totodile? Heck no! She grabbed one of the remaining two and let out the pokemon, hoping for the best. The light condensed, first into an orb-like shape before sprouting a few features: a pair of legs and a tail. When the light faded, a Poliwag stood there. His gaze was focused on some faraway point, and his mouth seemed stuck in a perpetual tiny smile as he wagged his tail slightly. Mia stared and then groaned. Of course. This was what she got for waiting. She looked over at Professor Apple. "Hey, I think th-" She was cut off by a raspberry. She looked back down to the Poliwag, who looked up innocently at her. "Please tell me I can sw-" And another raspberry cutting her off. She glowered at the Poliwag, whose expression hadn't changed in the slightest before looking up in exasperation. "Does anyone want to tr-"

And there went the longest raspberry yet to end her question before it could even be asked. And then the Poliwag resumed his slightly-dopey smile.

"Arceus help me."

Though her interest was seemingly on the unknown and gastly, Rosa was indeed paying attention to the Professor. Her entire speech about her reason for being in Unova, her purpose and reason as to why they had been brought there, all of it stuck in the absentminded girl’s head. So they were to help her in her research while she did the mundane tasks that the normal professor would do? What exactly did that entail if her focus was on the human aspect pokemon themselves had? Rosa wasn’t knowledgable at all in the professor’s research nor pokemon research at all really so, if her mission was to gather data like some scientist work for the professor’s around the regions, she’d likely be as good as useless.

The young girl watched in silence as the others opened their pokeballs to receive their pokemon, with the exception of those who already had pokemon that is. First was one of the boys, he hadn’t said a word since she arrived and it seemed that he had possibly made signs with his hands earlier to speak. Rosa didn’t know what to make of him nor did she really understand him when he was signing either, though her attention had been on the gastly and unknown at the time. She was amazed when the pokeball he opened released a ralts, she had never seen one before and was so excited at how cute the little baby pokemon was. Her hand drifted to her pencil and notebook as she watched the two. The temptation to draw was strong but she simply watched as another boy opened his pokeball to reveal a small axew. The dragon type was near irresistible to the now excited and, coincidentally, sketching Rosa.

Her hands moved with precision as she drew the sight of the axew and ralts, hardly paying attention as the professor’s helper named Lynda chose her pokemon. When the small, albeit seemingly quiet totodile looked at Lynda, Rosa was still finishing up drawing ralts and his owner. It wasn’t until the other girl opened her pokeball and tried speaking. In fact, it was the blown raspberry which attracted Rosa’s attention to the small poliwag staring at its now owner. She quickly drew the totodile and poliwag, not noticing that her turn had come until she finished the poliwag with its tongue stuck out.

”Oh, uh sorry. I guess it is my turn. Sorry again,” She barely sputtered out as she reached for the pokeball and pressed the small button in the center. The bright light and flash burst out of the ball as it popped open and, once all was done and said for, a small round yet blue orb with a small face and some flippers stared at Rosa curiously. She and the spheal watched each other with equal wonder until the spheal happily clapped at her causing her to squeal with delight as she picked it up and twirled around. ”Well, aren’t you a little cutie. A spheal, my parents took a picture of a few of you guys while I was away. I never imagined I’d meet an actual one though!” The spehal once again clapped happily and Rose held it tightly against herself with joy.

Professor Apple couldn't help but smile as each trainer met their new pokemon. These pokemon were all tame; she'd checked them herself before bringing them to Aquacorde City, and it seemed like she had made good choices as each trainer expressed their love for their lifelong partner. Except the Poliwag. Professor Apple swore he had behaved fine back in Lumiose City. Well, unless there were reports of the Poliwag turning violent, there was no real problem. Just a lesson that some pokemon could get mischievous in the hands of novice trainers. Four happy trainers out of five was quite a reasonable goal, and it had been met.

She glanced down at the Aron on the table, edging back from the sight of the two water pokemon now joining them. She recalled the small pokemon so the others could enjoy having theirs out. Let them have it - she remembered when she had gotten her first pokemon, and the joy she had felt. She glanced to B and his Unown, who seemed to be watching the appearance of each new pokemon with curiosity. Admittedly, she had told him what she was bringing, but he had been busy when she evaluated them - it was his first time seeing how each one acted.

Once the excitement began to fade to a more manageable level, Professor Apple decided to pick back up where she left out. "Now, as new trainers, I don't know if you're aware of the basics of battling. I wouldn't expect much trouble from other people while completing projects, but there will be wild pokemon." She surveyed the group. "Given the size, I would suggest anyone who doesn't know how to battle, talk to Lynda for help. While Totodile will be her first pokemon, it's not her first time battling." As her supervisor, Professor Apple had frequently loaned Lynda pokemon for small tasks, and the streets of Lumiose City were not always the safest, particularly the back alleys. Checking to make sure the remaining five trainers could battle would likely devolve into chaos. "For those encounters - B, if you would?" B nodded and picked up four of the small bags on the table, with his Unown taking two and flying down to Reeman to hold out the bag.

"While we were waiting, I prepared a few beginner's bags. Just the basics - some pokeballs, some money, and a Revive. Arceus knows you'll need it!" He beamed, hanging a bag to Mia, Lynda, Charlie, and Sully. Once Reeman had the small bag dropped into his possession, the Unown delivered the other bag to Rosa.

"Thank you, B. Now, then, your first project is simple. Wulfric, as you may know, is the gym leader of Snowbelle City. About a week ago, he called Lumiose City's pokemon lab with the news of ...something past Route 20. Now, gym leaders tend to be rather busy and notoriously bad at returning messages." There was a trace of annoyance in Professor Apple's voice. "While it may not hurt to ask him for details when you arrive in Snowbelle, I also think you'll be able to find it if you search for yourselves. Past Route 20 is a natural pokemon habitat, so I suspect anything that got his attention would certainly stand out." The Pokemon Village was a bit of a known secret - its true power laid in the difficulty of finding it. Though, while the village itself was fairly warm, Professor Apple considered Snowbelle and looked over the six trainers. Of the group, perhaps Charlie and Sully seemed best suited to withstand the cooler temperatures of the city.

"Given Snowbelle City is one of the few areas in Kalos with snow, I suggest you stop in the Santalune City boutique for jackets and gloves. Once this project is complete, the lab will reimburse you for money spent on clothing specifically bought for Snowbelle's weather conditions." Surely that would be fair.

"Are there any questions?" And now it was time to see what this group was thinking. Sure, the assignment wasn't glamorous, but it wasn't the most difficult either, and it was unlikely Wulfric had called the lab over nothing. Surely, whatever was there had to be interesting.

Sully looked down at the excited pokemon sat on his knee, waving wildly at the entire room. He could tell from the few minutes they had spent together that he had a friend for life in Axew. The small bundle of energy was infectious, Sully could feel the barriers within himself starting to erode away. He rubbed the back of his new friend, it's skin much smoother than it looked. As he did so, his ears perked up to Professor Apple when she mentioned battling. Since meeting Alex, Sully spent alot of time watching pokemon battles. Initially Alex would show Sully her fathers battles but soon the two would spend days watching videos, live events, just anything to get their fix. He had studied battling more than he had his school work. While he was nervous of the social aspects involved, he felt confidence in his ability. With Axew to help him, the confidence multiplied ten fold.

Soon the professors assistant began to hand out bags to the group of teenagers. Axew stood up on Sully's knee reaching up for the bag, but B passed it straight to Sully. Axew slumped down on his new trainers knee with a face of disappointment. Sully gave B a muted thank you before handing the bag to Axew. The pokemon took the bag, turning to give Sully a massive smile. Opening the bag Axew forced his head inside, trying to get a closer look. When he brought his head back out he had a mouth full of pokeballs. Sully let out a laugh as Axew spat them back out into the bag. "You really can't eat them silly..." Looking up at his trainers face as a smile stretched across it, Axew handed the bag back. Sully zipped it up and put it underneath his chair.

Professor Apple continued on before finally announcing the first project the group would be undertaking. The mention of Snowbelle City made Sully's day even better, it was a place he had always wanted to visit. He loved snow, the way it felt in his hands and the way it would blanket a landscape. It provided a comfort within him, although he had no real idea why. Growing up he would stare out of his window in the winter months, watching the snow gradually cover the grass and trees until everything became cotton white. Everything that had happen so far, it just Sully feel like he was in the right place...he was meant to be part of this.

"Are there any questions?" asked the Professor. Sully took a deep breath, the excitement within gave him a bravery he had not experienced before. He looked up at the Professor and began to speak. "Professor...I...I don't really have a question...I just wanted...I..." Sully could feel his anxiety creeping back, his eyes beginning to drop as he felt himself slipping. It was then he felt a tiny hand on his. His eyes caught sight of Axew who looked back at him, not with the jolly demeanour shown to this point, but one of support and encouragement. A wry smile crossed Sully's face as he looked back at the professor. "Thank you..." It was clear to Sully, as much as he was going to be there for Axew, the pokemon was there for him equally.

Watching the pokemon that greeted their new trainers, Reeman kept Ralts close, the little thing not having any complaints about the situation as it sat on his lap, barley tall enough to see over the table yet seeming to want to take charge already. She wasn't shy in the last, good, means they could try news things even more so.
He was shocked to see some of the others. The boy named Sully getting an axew, another getting Todadile. It was quite a sight, but he was more than happy with Ralts, he could see a pair of red eyes look up at him with kindness, seems she could understand his emotions at least, that was a wonderful step.
Still, there was one girl who was paired with a poliwag and it seemed to be a bit of a off match. The girl didn't seem happy at all, than again she seems like someone who is never happy.

Reaching for the bag he gave B a smile, nodding his thanks, he allowed Ralts to look and examine each object before carefully placing them back in. Their attention being grabbed immidetly at the idea of travailing and even battling.
Battles, it's been a while but Reeman had fond memories of borrowing his brother's pokemon and they would battle in teams of three whenever their mother was not looking. A smirk appeared on his features, one that was shared with Ralats. It already looked like they were sharing a mind, or at the very least trying to.

Carefully he began to sign, only to notice that Ralts was watching his hands with a very intent expression, studying each and every movement for later use. "So to snowbell than? Sounds like a lot of fun, can battle on the way as well."

Rosa stared at the floating unknow for a short while as it held the bag prepared to her. It was such an interesting pokemon to the young woman who had never seen a pokemon like it. Sure, she had seen gastly and haunter, yamask and litwick, and even a phantump on her way there, but she had never seen anything similar to an unknown except in books. Yet, it wasn’t like the one she had seen exactly in the book, it was a different shape. Such wonder filled her mind and eyes as she smiled at it, setting down the little pokemon she held in her arms to accept the bag. ”Thank you, little deary,” Rosa muttered as she slipped the bag over her shoulder and kneeling down to pet the top of her spheal’s head. Her fur was so soft to the young girl, bringing back memories of her adventures in the orange islands and the feeling of the fur of mankeys and snorlax which inhabited some of the forests she ran free in.

Her attention snapped back to the professor at the mention of their assignment, to visit Snowbell city and investigate Route 20 for reports of anything unusual. She had heard of the town, home to the gym leader of the region’s ice type gym, Wulfric, and one of the few areas in Kalos that was actually cold. Rosa took a quick look at her pack containing a few changes of clothes yet certainly nothing that’d be fitting for use in the cold weather. ”Heh, I guess I will have to stop at the boutique when we get to Santalune. I uh, have never battled before. Well, never battled but I watched my brothers battle once or twice and they told me everything they knew about battling. I guess I’m a bit behind everybody else then,” She said in a solemn and soft voice as she looked at her spheal. She didn’t know how much she was prepared for battle, let alone with a pokemon which had an obvious abundance of trust in herself and her trainer.

”A-aren’t we also suppose to name our new pokemon? I thought that was something we did, right? My brothers and mother say it makes the bond stronger between trainer and pokemon.” She chimed in a light hearted tone as her spheal gently nibbled on her fingers.

After watching with interest as the other trainers received their very first Pokémon, Charlie’s attention was straight back to Apple as she continued her address; he couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable as Apple brought up the possibility of battles along the way, though that faded quickly enough when she mentioned her assistant’s experience and Lynda enthusiastically vouched for her own skills. It seemed she wasn’t exactly a beginner after all, though he was still curious as to why she was only receiving her first Pokémon now.

But once again, he didn’t get long to dwell on those thoughts; it was only a moment after one assistant was mentioned that the Professor called the other one to attention, and Charlie turned to see B offering him a bag of supplies.

“... Thanks.” He did his best not to stutter; he couldn’t help but remain feeling uncomfortable around the one-eyed man, but besides being genuinely grateful for the contents of the bag, he wasn’t going to give him the chance to get another dig in at him.

After that, the topic moved to their first actual assignment; and that was when his interest was piqued. Besides housing a certain dumb rock, Route 20 was an area known for high levels of spectral activity, enough that wandering off the beaten path could lead to someone being lost for hours as the forest seemed to warp them randomly about itself; if someone as experienced as Wulfric-one of the longest-serving Gym Leaders in Kalos Region history- was reporting something out of the ordinary in the vicinity, it had to be something worth checking out, as the Professor herself was happy to point out.

“So, um- did he mention anything at all about what was out past Route 20?” Whilst Sully took the chance to thank Apple- which Charlie made a mental note to do again in a moment- Charlie instead decided to ask about the assignment itself. Maybe there were one or two details that Apple hadn’t thought prudent to mention, but the main thought that entered Charlie’s head was- “Isn’t there a Pokémon sanctuary there?”
---
Lynda looked up as Apple began to speak once more; and Totodile looked away from her to check out the rest of the Pokémon assembled with the group, looking around with quiet interest as they met their new trainers.

“Yup!” Totodile flinched as his trainer reacted enthusiastically to Apple’s reference to her battling skills; she sure was a lot louder than the little crocodile had hoped. “Feel free to ask me for tips and pointers whenever you want!”

The conversation continued on, and Totodile lost interest despite his best efforts to keep up. There was only so much the Pokémon could do to keep up with human matters, and it wasn’t as if he was entirely disinterested in the other Pokémon.

Axew, Ralts and Spheal all seemed to be cut from the same cloth; Totodile had only seen the other starters from a short distance back at the lab, so this was his first time encountering them too. The first impression they gave was a uniformly pleasant one; they all seemed happy with the trainers that had chosen them, and they also seemed to be tame and well-mannered.

The only visible standout was the Poliwag. The smile on the tadpole’s face didn’t suggest anything in the direction of not being tame; but Totodile hadn’t failed to notice him blowing raspberries at his trainer when her back was turned.

Then again, with a trainer like that, the Poliwag was the lesser concern. Totodile wasn’t sure what to make of his own trainer yet- she was certainly enthusiastic, if nothing else- but he felt a reasonable deal of relief that the other girl hadn’t picked him.

Besides Apple’s Aron and B’s Unown, that just left one more Pokémon...

… Who was seemingly nowhere near his trainer.
---
Phil’s assessment of the other Pokémon was similar to Totodile’s, in a sense. Ralts, Axew and Spheal were tame well-mannered; so none of them were of much interest to the little Ghost-type at that very moment. It wasn’t that Phil wasn’t interested in them, but they were too caught up in greeting their new trainers to pay much mind to him or otherwise show off; so he’d moved on quickly from each of them, his presence barely perceivable.

The cheeky little Poliwag, however, was another case entirely.

Curious about the little tadpole, the Gastly drifted slowly along the ground towards him, letting off an inquisitive hiss as he watched the other Pokémon roll about idly. It wasn’t quite a kindred spirit he was sensing in the Water-type, but there was definitely something more familiar about him; after all, that had been a rather impressive raspberry he’d let rip at the girl when her back was turned.

Admittedly, Mia’s day had not been going so well. Besides the starter pokemon she did not seem to get along with, as opposed to everyone else’s perfect match, there had been the incident in Santalune Forest. Though she seemed to have shaken it off superficially, the hiss at hip level and the sensation of something brushing against her left forearm seemed enough to startle her once more before she could ask her own questions of Apple. She let out a yelp, stumbled back, and the heel of her boot hit the edge of a loose brick. Her arms pinwheeled as she bit her lower lip - how far was the edge of the terrace? She hadn’t exactly thought about it until now.

“Oh, got it!” Apparently it was B who decided to respond first to Mia’s plight, darting forth so quickly, it almost seemed his clumsiness was forgotten. He stopped in front of Mia and, grabbing her right hand, pulled forward to re-steady the girl.

And then forgot to let go or check his own balance.

“Oh-”

The two both fell - Mia forward, B backwards - into a heap on the ground. B groaned as Mia pulled her hand free of his and tried to get back on her feet.

Over with the group, Lynda was the first to notice what had happened; she was quiet for a moment as she processed what she’d seen, and then her mouth curved upwards into a smile before she very visibly struggled to hold in a laugh.

“... Wh- what happened?” Meanwhile, it had happened a bit too fast for Charlie to take in; he hadn’t even had the chance to get an answer from Apple about the assignment when he heard the commotion and turned around to see the Poliwag’s trainer climbing off of B. Most of his other concerns went out of the window for the moment as he made his way over. “Are you alright?”

“Ugh. The heck was that?” Mia brushed her hair away from her face. “The heck brushed against me?” She glanced at B, who managed a shrug despite still being pinned to the group. Mia glanced to where she was standing, and got her answer. “Oh come on!”
---
Poliwag had reacted, though probably not in the way Mia would have wanted. First he looked up at the hiss and saw the Gastly at her arm. The shriek couldn’t be ignored, but he was an armless and rather small pokemon - his tail just lowered as she began trying to avoid her fall.

And then it was taken care of, and she was perfectly fine. And he had no reason to be worried anymore. He looked back to the Gastly and wagged his tail a little with a chirp.

“Poli?” What had brought the Gastly over anyhow? He seemed fine hanging out with his trainer, after all.

“Gassss.” Another hiss came from Phil; like the one before it, it was devoid of any kind of malice, seeming to be the ghost’s equivalent of a friendly greeting than any attempt at intimidation. Though his smile was less innocent; he’d seen what he’d inadvertently caused the girl and the one-eyed man to do, and though it had been unintentional, he was clearly rather pleased with himself.

“Pol.” Poliwag chirped and then seemed to giggle at the ghost-type. After all, it wasn’t like either seemed hurt, so, really, it was quite funny. Why not laugh? He glanced at the other pokemon for their reactions and then resumed chattering towards the Gastly. Nice to talk to one of the other pokemon too. Did he spend a lot of time out of his pokeball? What was weather like? Mago didn’t mind the time to stretch his legs and now might not want to go back in his ball, after all.

Phil let out another series of hisses in response, the rapid-fire sounds sounding like a snicker together. Last time he was in his Pokéball had been a few days ago; he only ever really went in there when he was tired because, questionable discipline aside, he was trusted enough to not cause trouble. Though he managed to push that, sometimes.

Mago nodded and chirped back - he might not be quick, but if it wasn’t too warm out, he would probably be fine rolling about. Sounded like fun, even. Of course, not that he had much say in the matter, but he could try his best, right?
---
“... Oh.” More than a little colour drained from Charlie’s face as he looked over towards the two Pokémon and, putting two and two together, realized that it had been Phil that had caused Mia to fall over. “... I am so, so sorry.”

“Uh huh.” Mia did not sound amused - though, at least to Charlie’s credit, she seemed equally annoyed at her Poliwag’s indifference. This pokemon was going to be lucky if she didn’t nickname him ‘Slimer’. She finally managed to untangle herself from B and push off from the ground to get back on her feet. B, for his part, sat up and brushed the dirt from his shirt and then glanced up at Mia, then Charlie.

“So, anyone giving me a hand back up? Charlie?” He beamed, clearly unharmed by the fall.

Charlie blinked. Well, his feelings about B aside, that wasn’t too unreasonable a request-

"Don’t worry, B, you can do it! You're missing an eye, not a hand!" And then Lynda chimed in.

“Also a sense of balance, O Lady of the Gothic Age.” B shrugged as his Unown bobbed by Lynda, its buzzing and chirping apparently agreeing with its trainer.

“... Right.” Shaking his head, Charlie extended his hand to help B up. B nodded and stumbled as he got back to his feet - and again seemed to forget to let go of someone’s hand, this time Charlie’s as he turned to go back to Professor Apple. Thankfully, his grip wasn’t exactly very tight and Charlie’s hand slipped away easily.

Mia glared down at Phil and her Poliwag. “Right. Professor Apple, I have a question - can we trade starters? Like with you-” She pointed to Lynda. “Still a water type either way.” She then glanced at Sully. “Or you.” Either one worked for her, even if these pokemon so far seemed unusually sedate.

Professor Apple listened to each of her new assistants - perhaps proteges? - in turn, watching as they interacted with their pokemon as well. Even with the faded excitement, they all seemed to enjoy talking to and interacting with their pokemon. Always a good sign. First up was Sully, and Apple couldn’t help but smile gently at him. True, this wasn’t entirely out of the goodness of her heart but rather practical concerns, but it was lovely to see how already her efforts were making a change. He seemed nervous enough, so Apple decided to simply answer with, “I understand.” She did, too - her first pokemon changed her life, but there was no need to make a big production over it.

Next up was Reeman - with B helpfully translating - and she nodded. After all, there was a reason they had gotten pokemon. The roads between cities weren’t always safe, but it was nice to see that at least one of them was interested in fighting. Perhaps once her work was done, they’d want to stay on full-time.

Rosa asked about naming, and Apple took a minute to think. “Well, it’s up to each of you. It’s not a requirement to train pokemon but, yes, many do. Personally, I do enjoy nicknaming my pokemon, as Fey can attest to.” She reached back towards the Aron and petted his head. He nuzzled into his trainer’s touch.

Well, Charlie was clearly a good choice after all, as he asked about the details, and her eyes lit up. “Indeed it is! It’s said that the forest of Route 20 prevents people from cutting through with brute force - and thus, that’s why the sanctuary was set up there. Wulfric usually goes to check for any epidemics or new residents. I personally wouldn’t expect much trouble there - he didn’t report any violent pokemon or illnesses spreading about. You should be safe.”

And then the last girl, Mia. She had seen the Gastly and didn’t think it was necessary to bring up its presence - they had all noticed it earlier, after all, surely. Yet clearly Mia had not been paying enough attention, and Apple raised a hand to her mouth as Mia reacted. It wasn’t the worst way to react, but it was up there - and B rushed forward before Apple could do anything.

She couldn’t say she was surprised about the outcome. At least her assistant didn’t seem particularly harmed.

“Well, I... suppose if anyone agrees. Do remember, though - I don’t think anyone else here is struggling with their starter, and I imagine it would take quite a bad experience to persuade them to trade.” Hopefully, the idea would be dropped quickly, or she’d find another trainer to trade with. Whichever option didn’t disrupt the work planned for them.

“Now, if that’s all, it is a bit of a walk to Snowbelle. B and I are going to tie up a few loose ends here, and you can start on ahead. B will probably meet you in Couriway Town to check out your findings and let you know what other projects need to be done. As for me-” Apple paused. “Well, I’ll see you later. Hopefully as more experienced trainers.”

“In your own time then, guys.” Again, the first to react was Lynda; who threw up a hand to wave goodbye to Apple before turning towards the bridge to Avance Trail. “Take as long as you want, me and Totodile are gonna go check out what’s up ahead!” As if on cue, the little Water-type diverted his bemused attention away from the Gastly and Poliwag to realize his trainer was leaving, and waddled after her as fast as his little legs could carry him.

When the words reached his ears Sully felt his body freeze, they were now officially under way. He had experienced almost every kind of emotion up until this point, everything from excitement to fear and all that came with those. Now though, they had technically started, he just didn't know what to feel. His eyes caught glimpse of the older girl Lynda getting up and walking towards the bridge, her Totodile in close pursuit.

There was a tug on Sully's shirt, Sully looked down to see Axew with a handful of fabric. The pokemon smiled excitedly and gestured towards the bridge, clearly Axew was looking forward to the adventure. "Ok Axew...we'll go..." Sully spoke quietly with a smile for his new friend. The small pokemon hopped from Sully's lap onto the floor, landing clumsily on his feet. Off balance Axew stumbled into Sully's chair leg. "Be careful," Sully said with a laugh, getting up from the chair.

"Professor...thank you..." Sully spoke with sincerity, managing to hold eye contact for each word. He felt a sense of pride and positivity wash over him, it had always been hard for him to hold eye contact with people. The situation, Axew, Alex...it was all helping him deal with his anxiety. While each of the people on this journey were strangers and unique in their own ways, they each chose to join the professors group. Deep down Sully clung onto that being enough to bring them together, to allow them all to open up and accept each other. What he dreaded more than anything was going through all the anxiety and worry to this point, only to have the group reject him. Alex had reassured him that would not be the case if he let them in, it had worked on her, why not this group?

Sully raised his hand ever so slightly in a poor attempt at a wave before heading towards the bridge with Axew at his side. He reached down into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Axew come here." Sully knelt down, Axew scrambling up onto his shoulder. "I promised my friend I would send her a picture when I left...I'm sorry..." The Pokemon let out what could only be described as a laugh before looking at the phones camera lens. Sully did his best to smile, only managing to look like he was confused. The shutter clicked and the picture was on it's way to Alex. Within moments his phone lit up with a wave of messages from the energetic girl.

'OMG!'
'CUTEST THING EVER!'
'LOOK AT THOSE EYES!'
'CRYING HE'S SO CUTE!'

Sully looked back at Axew, "She really likes you..."